There and Back Again

By Philip Mogul <phmogul@mindspring.com>

Rated PG-13

Submitted: February, 2007

Summary: A Kryptonian history describing several generations of Kryptonians and chronicling the key events leading up to and beyond the demise of the Planet Krypton — An El family saga.

Standard Fanfic Disclaimer’s apply

Again, many, many thanks to my GE, Jeanne Pare, for her invaluable assistance in assembling this Superman story into a more readable and interesting tale.

CAUTION This story contains some descriptive scenes that are of a violent nature. I set this warning for those individuals who may have difficulty with this kind of material.

NOTE: An addendum at the end of the tale will assist the reader in identifying key characters and their relationship to each other.

***

Prologue

Lara and Jor-El, two soulmates, were taking a leisurely stroll through the rose garden attached to the palatial estates they would inhabit once the couple had completed their marriage rituals within a month’s time.

The year of mourning following the death of Tor-El, Jor-El’s sire, would be concluded within the next moon signaling the end of the mourning period. And, as tradition dictated, Jor-El, being the eldest offspring of his father’s house would become the First Lord of Krypton and shortly thereafter marry his beloved Lara.

Together, the two soulmates would preside over the Council of Lords, which together with the House of the People govern the affairs of the planet Krypton.

Although Jor-El and his bride to be did not wish to assume the mantle of political power, they were bound by tradition to accede to the will of the high council, a conglomerate of the People’s House and the Chamber of Lords, which would be the advisors to the First Lord of Krypton and his soulmate.

Jor-El and Lara were both scientists and very much wished to continue studying the mysteries of the cosmos. Knowing of her brother and sister-in-law’s desires, Jor-El’s sister, Kitara, was willing to assume the political office that was being thrust upon her brother and his wife. However, she was disallowed from doing so because, Kit, as she was generally addressed by her family and friends, was second in the line of succession after Jor-El — a female head of government would take the title of First Lady or Sela.

When Lara and Jor had reached a relatively secluded bench within the rose garden, both soulmates seated themselves and waited until the garden area was devoid of people. As they waited for the number of people to dwindle, Lara summoned Jor-El’s sister, Kitara, to their secluded locality within the rose garden.

A few minutes later, Kitara joined Jor-El and his life companion in the rose garden. It was there that Kitara became aware that Lara and her brother were pregnant. Because of her gravid condition Lara’s life was in jeopardy. While many soulmates were not chaste before their final marital vows were expressed, most people didn’t really care. They knew that the soulmates were lovers, and the Kryptonian population was well aware that the connubial bonds between the life partners often became too potent between lovers and had to be satisfied before any final nuptial statements were articulated.

However, when it came to the First Lord and his consort, the Kryptonian people expected, no demanded, that the couple’s virginal purity be in tact. If the couple were found to have been lovers before their nuptials had been completed, the First Lady would be executed according to the laws of Krypton. The male in this situation would be sent into exile for life.

It was fortuitous that Jor-El’s sister was a practicing physician. Jor-El also had some knowledge of the medical arts. To be of service to Krypton, Kitara had earned advanced degrees in gynecological medicine. Using her gynecological skill with Jor-El’s assistance, a special kind of surgery was secretly performed later that week in Jor-El’s hidden laboratory. The developing fetuses (there were two growing children in Lara’s womb) were removed from the body of Jor-El’s soulmate and placed in a life capsule — where the unborn children would continue to develop until term was reached. In this manner, Lara and her unborn family were saved from a hideous execution and Jor-El from exile.

After the gynecological procedure was carried out, Kitara then performed a second surgical function which removed any evidence of Lara’s pregnancy.

As Lara was recovering from her medical ordeal, Jor-El, Lara, and Kitara discussed what should be done with the children when their gestation period came to term and were born, so to speak.

The conversations on this subject continued for many days.

Finally, it was decided that Kitara would take Lara and Jor-El’s developing babies and using one of Jor-El’s secretive faster than light interstellar ships would journey to a world known as Earth eight billion light-years across the cosmos. The journey, Jor-El computed, would require seven years.

Jor and Lara reluctantly consented to Kitara’s journey across the universe with their unborn progeny because she didn’t have a soulmate and at her age it was unlikely that she would encounter a potential spouse on her home world. As it now appeared, Kitara would travel the highways and byways of her thousand year life span alone. Although Jor-El and Lara would keep her close, it would not be the same as having a soulmate lover and with such a companion enjoy the benefits that such a relationship would provide to the a loving couple.

Most Kryptonians who remained single for one reason or another generally became explorers and traveled vast distances through the void — generally within a hundred million light-years of their home world — and transmitted the knowledge they acquired to the Kryptonian academy of knowledge, where it was stored in their home world’s planet wide archives.

After Jor-El had reluctantly agreed with Lara and Kitara’s scheme, the future first lord fashioned a communication device and placed it within Kitara’s intergalactic vessel. This surveillance instrument would allow Jor and Lara to remain in video and audio contact with Kitara and their children’s spacecraft and watch as their children matured during the first few years of their existence.

While not telling Lara and Kit, Jor-El doubted that the communication system he’d installed on Kit’s interstellar spacecraft would function when the interstellar vessel was beyond three light years from Krypton.

When contact with Kitara’s intergalactic vessel finally ceased, Jor and Lara would have to wait until one of five miniature intergalactic spaceships launched from the Earthian habitat would inform them whether Kitara and their children had arrived safely on Sol Three and how they were faring. A repetitive message within each of the returning miniature ships from the Earth solar system, sent by Kit over intervals of time after they reached their destination, would read “trip completed, all is good.”

Before Kitara and Lara and Jor’s fetuses left Krypton, Jor-El informed his sister, “From the evidence I’ve acquired about the planet Earth, the genome of the people inhabiting Sol Three is nearly identical to the people of Krypton. There seems to be a slight modification between chromosomes nineteen and twenty-one in the Earth and Kryptonian populations. From my study,” Jor-El added, “this slight variation is primarily caused by the solar radiation bathing the planets within both star systems — Krypton’s sun is red, while the Earth’s solar furnace produces a yellowish hue.”

Jor-El continued, “My dear sister, your physical characteristics will place you in a Caucasian grouping according to the Earth’s racial hierarchy. You and each of our infants will have a slight ruddy complexion, according to Earth’s scheme of things. Your bone structure will indicate that you and our children possess a slight Asiatic tinge when your physiognomy is viewed by the indigenous population of the Earth.”

After a slight pause, Jor-El further remarked, “Lara and I want you to name the children, after their birth, of course, Kela for our daughter and Ari-El for our son.”

Kitara nodded, and replied, “You know,” Kit reminded Jor, “Kela is my middle name.” Jor-El just smiled and then gave his sister a rather vigorous hug.

“Another detail you should know, Kitara,” Jor-El said to his sister. “During my examination of the radiation bathing Earth from a type G star, I discovered that a Kryptonian test subject became stronger and could elevate itself at will defying Earth’s gravitational field. When the yellow light source was removed, the Kryptonian experimental animal’s unusual behavior returned to normal over a short time. It is just possible, my sister, that you and our kids will develop marvelous unique super abilities under the yellow sun of Sol Three.

“And, Kitara, my sister,” Jor added, “you and my children are biologically compatible with Earth folk. If you and/or they can locate soulmates on the new world of Sol Three, procreation is a definite possibility. If you and the children survive in this space venture, remember that chromosomes from Kryptonian genome will be the dominant factor if my children or you create a family between our two peoples. It also appears,” Jor stated, “once the predominant genetic material has been passed to the hybrid progeny of a Kryptonian-Earth mating, the genetic dominance of the Kryptonian genes will continue to exist as long as that family line subsists. Also, my sister,” Jor continued, “the soulmate characteristics will function within an Earth-Krypton individual as it would on Krypton itself. It appears,” Jor added, “physical contact would be required to create an auric bond between soulmates involving a Kryptonian-Earth individual and another pure human or one of Kryptonian stock.” Smiling, Jor said, “Maybe, Kit, my kids and you could be the progenitor of a new species, one that is biologically compatible with Earth folk and those from Krypton itself. I placed some further information on the ship to help if what I surmised comes to fruition.”

As Kitara, toting two life chambers, boarded the interstellar spacecraft, Lara said, “Good luck and G-d speed.” A short time later, Jor’s sister and her unborn cargo were off on their great adventure.

***

***The Journey To Sol Three***

While Kitara and the unborn children sped away from Krypton across the wilderness of space towards Earth, Kit began to feel the pangs of loneliness and, at the same time, joy that she had chosen this notable enterprise for her life’s work.

After Kitara left Krypton, she had to wait five months until her fetal charges became independent entities and left their life tube — were born so to speak. During the intervening time, she explored her traveling home, an interstellar vessel, which would keep her and the coming children safe and comfortable for their cosmic voyage of seven years.

As she investigated her space sailing home, she discovered that the intergalactic ship was made from a substance Jor had called stabilized neutronium, a nearly indestructible material. There was a weapon system also built into the fabric of the spacecraft and an electronic library system to be used for Kela’s and Ari-El’s education and her enjoyment.

Kitara also encountered ten functioning droids with material and plans to construct more of the intelligent electronic robots if needed.

Her immediate entertainment and news were provided by Jor-El’s communication system, which would function for approximately three years in her voyage.

***

The babies made their appearance right on time. She and the droids were constantly busy with the infants for the next four months or so. While Kit had to rest at intervals, the droids, with proper maintenance, could function nearly twenty-four/seven.

About four to five months after Lara and Jor-El’s babies emerged, the infants began developing their own internal living schedules. As the babies’ sleeping and eating patterns became more matter-of-course, Kitara and the droids had more time to do their own thing — for Kitara to rest and study as she saw fit and the droids being cared for at regular intervals.

Just when Kitara thought she had it made in the shade, the babies’ first birthday arrived, a time which commenced the children’s education and caused another time upheaval in the children’s differing biological schedules.

When the babies were nearing their third birthday, Jor-El’s communication system between the interstellar spaceship and Krypton began to deteriorate, as predicted.

The hurtling intergalactic spacecraft was reaching its cosmic intercommunication limits, and its ability to maintain contact with Kitara’s home world was rapidly degenerating. Then it happened. One day, not long after the communication signals started to worsen, the electronic transmission between Kit and her family vanished — Jor’s sister and his children were now alone in the vast universe as they hurtled through the desert of interstellar space from one cluster of stars to another.

***

Seven years and four months after leaving her home world of Krypton, Kit’s interstellar space cruiser glided into orbit about Sol Three — the planet called Earth by its inhabitants.

As the Kryptonian space vessel approached Earth, a stealth field generator, imbedded within the fabric of the interstellar spaceship, was automatically activated.

The spaceship’s stealth field functioned by refracting special light frequencies, which made Kit’s spacecraft indiscernible to the surveillance instrumentation used by Earth’s nation states to spy on countries that were perceived as potential military threats. Astronomers and astrophysicists also utilized similar equipment to peer into the enormous cosmic void — the immense universe that surrounded humankind’s little cosmic home.

Kitara and her niece and nephew remained in Earth’s orbit for fifteen additional years. During this time, Kela and Ari-El matured and mastered nearly all the knowledge in the colossal Kryptonian library housed in their planetary home — their star vessel from Krypton.

Kitara noticed during her charges’ maturation that Lara and Jor-El’s offspring were mentally alpha tam primes, brilliant individuals whose metal abilities could not be unequivocally measured even on the sophisticated Kryptonian intelligence measuring scale system. The birth of such people was very rare — only several dozen of such men or woman could be expected to be born into a general Kryptonian population every one hundred thousand years or so.

Also, the yellow star which nourished Earth seemed to have provided Kitara, Kela, and Ari-El with the unique abilities that Jor-El had eluded to — learning rapidly, impenetrability of one’s body, levitation, x-ray vision and laser eyes, super hearing, and freezing breath. They might have developed more superpowers, but the discovery of any further abilities would have to wait until they settled somewhere on Earth’s surface.

Because of Kela’s and Ari-El’s enhanced leaning capabilities, the speed at which they could absorb information within the ship’s library was phenomenal, as was the ability to master most of the languages used by the inhabitants of the planet their star ship orbited. Kitara, too, rapidly learned to verbalize and read most of the languages common to humankind.

When the twins were fifteen years of age, after an intense discussion about attending an Earth university within a country called The United States of America, U.S.A., Yale University was selected as the school for Kela’s and Ari’s matriculation.

Looking at her kin, Kitara was now well aware that her niece and nephew were fully mature and ready to enter the world at large. During Kela’s and Ari’s maturation, Kitara had managed to pass on to her niece and nephew the dignity of what freedom provides to a society, and she showed them how to utilize their unusual powerful abilities. Kitara also instilled upon her charges that their superpowers should always be utilized for a blessing never to be employed in conquest or to hurt other life forms.

Kitara was justly proud at what she accomplished during her nurturing of Lara and Jor’s progeny, Kela and Ari-El, to their full mental and physical potential.

During the next six months, using Krypton’s advanced computer technology, all the necessary documentation was installed in the official repositories throughout the country — grades, transcripts, diplomas from a reputable secondary .school, birth certificates, SAT scores and other pertinent social information.

Just past their sixteenth year, Kela and Ari-El, with their aunt Kitara, made their way to the off campus lodging’s department of the university. A small house was rented from Yale’s housing unit, which was several blocks from the main campus and close to the science annex. The science building contained mathematics classes, physics and chemistry courses, and provided instruction in the life sciences.

That afternoon, three super beings quietly cleaned up their rented abode and placed a teleportation transmitter, disguised as an armoire, within the second floor hallway that linked the twins’ sleeping quarters.

The rented abode was at eighteen Pine Street. It was specifically requested from the housing office because the landscaping about the house could provide a camouflaged area for their Kryptonian activities, if they needed to be executed in a location other than their space habitat. If special super activities had to be employed on the Earth’s surface, the teleportation transmitter would be utilized to transmit them to a clandestine location where superpowers could be applied without discovery.

As a routine, Kela and Ari would teleport to their space dwelling each evening and return to their earthly university residence each morning at sunrise.

Because of Yale’s testing policy to advance students to higher level courses, Ari-El and his sister Kela were admitted into the junior level physics and mathematics programs. Their course advancement was the largest the university would allow an undergraduate.

Entering their math and physics junior classes, Ari-El and Kela were somewhat startled that students in their courses numbered less than ten. Kela also discovered that smaller classes also existed within the chemistry and geology disciplines, while they discovered that the biology lectures were a bit larger. Ari-El later found out that engineering students followed the same trend as the physics and chemistry disciplines.

When Kitara was told of this situation, she murmured, “A low number of students in any discipline will eventually hurt the research output in those academic areas.”

While deploring the low numbers of science students, Ari-El and Kela never-the-less pushed on.

As the semester progressed, their grades, as expected by their Aunt Kitara, were the highest among the junior class. Ari also excelled in journalism, while Kela outperformed those in her literature and poetry classes — courses she adored.

A few weeks into the semester, a young man about six-two with blue eyes and nearly platinum blond hair introduced himself to the twins. His name was Michel Kivi Miller. As Michel approached the two Kryptonians, Kela felt a strange, but pleasant sensation, a feeling she recognized from her Kryptonian studies on the orbiting star ship, her home in space.

As Michel was about to invite Ari and Kela to dinner, another young man with rather coarse mannerisms pushed his way between Michel and Kela and her brother. He said quickly, “My frat is having an open house this eventide and I would like you to both attend.”

Then, Kela noticed that a group of other young fellows had entered the lecture hall and intentionally blocked Michel from getting closer to the twins, and to Kela especially. She inquired of the repugnant frat person, whom she later learned was called Nigel Luthor, “What about Michel? Is he invited to your soiree this evening?”

With a rather sarcastic smile the young Luthor promulgated, “Michel is not the proper sort to be invited to my frat house.”

“And, what type is that?” Kela asked.

“Why, he’s a descendent of Abraham,” Nigel replied somewhat surprised at Kela’s query.

Reviled by Nigel’s rather prejudicial remark, Kela said, “Then, Mr. Luthor, I don’t believe my brother nor I would be considered as the proper sort to rub elbows with you and your pontifical clique. We come from a non-prejudicial family and would have difficulty in dealing with your sort.”

Being rebuffed in such a manner was something Luthor and his fellow maggots could not stomach, and they stormed out of the physics classroom in a huff.

Turning toward Michel, Kela said, “You were going to invite my brother, Avi-El, and me to dinner before we were so rudely interrupted.” Michel smiled warmly and nodded his head in an agreeable manner.

After a brief pause the young physics student added, “Please call me Kivi; it’s a name my mother liked best, and that appellation is less formal than Michel. Kivi is sort of a nickname for Jacob. Jacob was the grandson of the Abraham which Nigel referred to. I am of Hebrew descent, the last of my line. Most of my immediate family, unfortunately, perished in the world wide conflagration which ended a few years ago — It is estimated that fifty-five million people, worldwide, perished during that global struggle which preserved the dignity of freedom.

“I’m not sure why I’ve disclosed so much of my personal info to you, Kela, and your brother, except that maybe I want nothing to interfere with what may be developing between the three of us. Nigel and his ilk make me angry, for I, like you, cannot understand hatred between people.”

Kela glanced at her brother with a knowing look as they left the physics hall to locate an inexpensive eating place. Finding an inexpensive restaurant near the campus, Kivi and his new mates dined with relish. While the food wasn’t lobster or some caviar dish, it was tasty, and enjoyable, all the same.

As their banquet carried on through the evening, the conversation among the three became ever more lively, and soon many varied topics were traversing their dinner table.

Later that evening a small-time ensemble began providing music for their customers at the relatively small bistro.

Without saying a word, Kivi rose from the table and offered his arm to Kela as they both moved toward the dance area.

When they reached the center of the dance floor, Kivi clasped Kela to him and both of them effortlessly and with grace began moving with the music. As their bodies made contact, an electrical surge flowed through their bodies. Kivi, after the electric phenomenon subsided, pulled his dance partner closer to him. His gesture just felt like the natural thing to do. Throughout the musical rendition of the popular tune, Kivi and Kela danced cheek to cheek as their bodies pressed more tightly together. The electrical surge seemed to have initiated something special. An ever growing feeling linking Kela and Kivi kept pulsating through both Kivi and his dancing partner. As they continued to shuffle about the dance floor, the feeling born of that electrical sensation was transformed into a sweet sensation that was emotionally binding Kivi and Kela ever closer — a union of two emerging lovers, soulmates whose intimate adoration would transcend all time and space.

Kela knew full well by the end of her dance with Kivi that she was his soulmate, a relationship that would exist through all eternity and beyond that nearly infinite but finite expanse of time.

Returning home that evening, the titillation still coursing through both Kivi’s and Kela’s circulatory systems caused both of them to endure an edgy slumber that evening and a fidgety sensation throughout the waking moments of the following day.

While Kela controlled her passions to some degree, Kivi, to steady his hot-blooded state, purchased a container of wine and imbibed the alcoholic beverage to repress his ardent feelings directed toward Kela, the woman he now adored.

Realizing that Kivi was also battling to control his impassioned feelings and intense desire to embrace Kela, Kitara made her way to Kivi’s lodging. She awakened the young man, and Kela’s aunt waited until Kivi dressed and then escorted him to her stealthy home which was still orbiting the Earth.

While waiting for Kela to appear within the main room of the spacecraft, Kivi was mesmerized as he gazed at his home planet a hundred and twenty — four kilometers below the starship.

Suddenly, Kivi heard the patter of quickly moving feet. He turned in time to grasp Kela as she flew into his arms.

As they stood in a loving embrace, holding each other tightly, Kitara asked them to please be seated. When the two lovers quieted down, Jor-El’s sister told Kivi the entire tale about Kela, her brother Ari, and the planet Krypton as it related to the planet Earth.

As Kit told her tale, Kivi placed his arm about Kela shoulder. After a few minutes, Kivi declared, “I don’t care where Kela was born or came from. I love her; that’s all that matters. She is my soulmate, and that’s all that is important to me and probably will be the motivating factor between us for all time to come.”

After a pause, Kivi added, “As a scientist, Kitara, don’t you think that I haven’t speculated about life on planets scattered throughout the cosmos we inhabit? I well understand,” Kivi continued, “the entropy occurring in our universe, a naturally increasing thermodynamic function that tends to inhibit an orderly process such as the formation of life forms of all types that attempts to evolve on planets that can support our kind of life. The creation of bio-life in our universe constantly battles the destructive inclination brought about by the increasing entropy factors, which is a natural consequence of our processes in our cosmic domain.”

Although Kitara was surprised at Kivi’s thoughts, she said, “Young man, you must be aware that your and Kela’s life forces have somehow intertwined — from the energies emanating from your home world, Earth, and a planet my people call Krypton. When I discovered that your and Kela’s biological bonding had transpired, that news didn’t seem to be upset by that information’s psychological profile.

“I asked myself why, and after some thought, I received no logical response from my query. The only thing I could conclude was that your bonding process felt right.”

“I’m happy that your feelings and mine, Kit, are in agreement,” Kivi stated. “However, my concern is the differing marrying procedures between our two worlds. Kela and I would like our nuptials to be performed within a reasonable amount of time. If there are major obstacles blocking our nuptials, I would like to be informed what kind of laws exist and how they could be solved or thwarted to eliminate any difficulties operating against our marital desires.”

Kitara then replied, “On Krypton, the earliest nuptials that could transpire lawfully would be when a member of a soulmate pair reached his/her twenty-third year.”

Placing his head down, Kivi looked forlorn. Since he and Kela were of the same age, Kivi was not sure that his emotional situation could remain rational for an additional three years.

Pausing, Kitara remarked, after observing Kivi’s despair, “Since we’re not living on Krypton but on the planet Earth, I declare the Kryptonian marital time factor from this time forward is null and void. To be honest with you, Kivi,” Kitara remarked, “I have never observed such intense passion between a soulmate pair. You should know that there are other kinds of nuptials which can occur on my home planet. They are called birth-marriages. These unions are generally not fulfilling to the couple and were generally created to maintain political power by forming or strengthening alliances between two noble houses.”

After a pause, Kit presented Kela and Michel Kivi Miller with a glass filled with gravaka, a potent Kryptonian alcoholic beverage. This drink was used to initiate the wedding ceremony that would link two life partners — Kela and Kivi. Within the hour- Kitara and Ari-El acting as witnesses — Kela and Kivi were joined in wedlock by employing the traditional Kryptonian binding rituals.

After the traditional Kryptonian nuptials had been concluded, Kivi underwent a genome modification procedure. Then Kitara, Ari-El and the newlyweds, using a scout ship flew to Las Vegas. There, they located a synagogue and were married according to Hebraic traditions and ordinances established by the State of Nevada. Married in this manner their union would be officially registered by the State of Nevada and be recognized by all earthy governmental domains.

Having informed the university of their marriage, the married soulmate couple partook of a week long honeymoon. The lovers flew to a quiet location in the Micronesia archipelago, where a friend had provided the newlyweds with a bungalow for their honeymoon.

After returning to school, the young Nigel Luthor again tried to entice Kela on a social expedition into a romantic realm of his making.

As Nigel was engineering his romantic advances, Kivi moved to his soulmate’s side and remained there as Kela informed Nigel that she was a married woman. As Kela’s information finally registered on Nigel’s warped brain, Kivi and his beautiful wife saw the flash of psychopathic anger, which would become the hallmark of the Luthor family’s emotional behavior in later years.

As soon as Nigel Luthor was informed that Kela was a married woman, he dropped out of her life.

Somewhat later in the academic year, Kivi and Kela learned that Luthor had transferred to another university. His attempt at a conjugal relationship with Kela was at an end. But, his insane antagonism toward the Millers had been ignited. Nigel especially maintained his grudge against Kela and Kivi and from time to time attempted to harm Kivi and/or Kela, but to no of avail.

Some ten years after the Miller’s marriage, Kivi and Kela learned that Nigel, too, had married, and he and his wife had conceived a son, who was named Alexander or Lex by the parents.

A generation would pass before the house of El and the House of Luthor would again come into deadly conflict with the formation of a Utopian civilization depending on its outcome.

***

After receiving their academic degrees from Yale, Kivi, Kela, and Kela’s brother Ari-El headed west to California and matriculated at Cal.Tech. Three years latter, they emerged from their academic experiences with earned doctorates. With sound schooling in the sciences and engineering — physics, chemistry, and mathematics — the Millers began searching for professional positions — in an educational or an industrial capacity.

Nigel, who had been keeping tabs on Kivi and his spouse, used his immense economic power to prevent the Millers from acquiring any kind of meaningful scientific employment unless it was to labor for the growing Luthor organization — LexCorp named for his son.

Obviously, unless the Millers used their creative abilities to benefit Luthor’s various worldwide enterprises, they just wouldn’t work — rot-on-the-vine.

Unfortunately, for Luthor, his plan to undermine Kela and Kivi was flawed. The Millers, Ari, and Ari’s Aunt Kit, retired to a farm in Ulysses, Kansas, about thirty miles southwest of a hamlet called Smallville. There, the couple could raise their burgeoning family in safety and continue to study in areas which excited their scientific interests. They also constructed research facilities beneath the house Kitara initially built while Ari, Kela and her soulmate, Kivi, were still attending school in California.

The Miller Farmstead, which Kitara assembled, was put together to make sure that Ari, Kela, and her soulmate Kivi had the necessary implements for them to function reguardless of Nigel and his evil plans. Kit had constructed the house when she sensed that Nigel Luthor would continually block any attempt of the Miller family and its progeny to do meaningful work within the established scientific community.

Money was no option to Kitara and her family. They possessed more capital than most countries existing on Earth and certainly more money than Luthor. If he were aware of this situation, Nigel’s mental condition would have become more irrational.

The cavern carved from the granite substrate beneath the farm was large enough to create an ancient, but beautiful, Kryptonian seaside city. The subterranean domain, which Kitara and her kin constructed, consisted of a small town that contained ten Kryptonian styled homes, while the research facilities were erected about a mile from the subterranean hamlet’s center. It was the Miller farm and the hamlet under the farm that the Miller clan eventually came to call home.

Ulysses, Kansas was a sleepy little town, mainly a farming community, where most people passing through the area would stop and purchase gas and a few other commodities as they traveled across the state. Other than purchasing gas and other basic necessities, people didn’t know the name of the location where they had paused on their journey.

As Kitara and Ari-El became more acclimated to the planet’s surface, they spent more time living in the farm house soon to be known as the Miller homestead.

After Ari and Kitara both acquired teaching positions at the Smallville extension of Kansas State University, they spent more time with Kela, Kivi and their growing children. Their gathering often occurred within the fabricated underground Kryptonian grotto constructed beneath the farmstead.

Since the El clan operating from the Miller place didn’t work the relatively huge quantity of farm land themselves, they allowed the town folk in and around Ulysses to use the farm’s forty thousand acre tract without any financial obligation to the farmers of the region. The only non bonding agreement that the Miller family suggested, but not demanded, was a charity donation, based upon each farmer’s profits from working the Miller’s land. Some of these monies would be placed in a fund to be used by the town for its current educational needs and long-range social goals. The first objective would be the construction of an elementary school so that the town’s tots wouldn’t have to travel thirty-three miles twice a day to attend the county’s only primary school. The town’s second target was the construction of a secondary school. Using some suggestions from the Miller family, the town agreed that twenty percent of the charity contributions for their agricultural ventures would be set aside to hire and continue to provide for the town’s teachers. Hire the finest educators that were available and don’t skimp on their salary.

Because of the enlightened views of the Miller family, the social and education events in the town of Ulysses began to flourish. Soon, the hamlet and its surrounding township had its own elementary school, and the economics of the area improved markedly.

However, like the Garden of Eden, a serpent, this time in human form, had quietly moved into the Ulysses community and had gathered his evil forces to strike and destroy the creations propagated by the Miller clan.

Nigel Luthor had covertly purchased the four financial institutions in the Ulysses area, the banks and credit unions, which held the mortgages and other bonds that could be used to control and/or wreck the Ulysses community. After the banking institutions in and about Ulysses had been quietly gobbled up by the gigantic financial empire controlled by Nigel Luthor, all of the public and private deeds and charters owed by the Kansas community were quietly transferred to one of Luthor’s Metropolis centered financial institutions.

While the people of Ulysses worked and were beginning to enjoy the fruits of their labors by raising the income of their individual families and the Kansas community’s ability to improve its public ability to provide for the local population, the snake in the grass struck. The people of Ulysses, during their fall harvest, received letters from a Bank in Metropolis calling for the county and individual loans to be paid within a month or their real estate and other properties would be expropriated to meet outstanding loans in the Ulysses County of Kansas.

Luthor meant to smash the small Kansas community and punish its people for being in cahoots with Kivi and his household. However, Nigel Luthor’s humiliation in the Metropolis financial establishments was quite evident — within a week the Ulysses folk were free from all community and personal debt. Their outstanding loans were paid up and all the legal documents accounting for the community’s financial ties to the Banks of Metropolis controlled by Luthor were redeemed. Luthor obtained money but lost control of his enemies’ properties.

Kivi’s only request, as he spoke for his family, was that no questions should be asked about where the money was obtained that cleared Ulysses from its debt. The Miller family made a request that was honored with the appreciation that such an unselfish act deserves. From that time forward, nothing more was heard from the Ulysses town’s people and from whom or how the region was rescued from its financial destruction.

Some two weeks later, Nigel Luthor received a note from one of his financial divisions describing, in detail, what actually occurred in the Ulysses Kansas township. Staring at his clandestine note for nearly a half hour, his anger mounting by the minute, Nigel, his anger now white hot, finally exploded. Locking his office door, Nigel commenced to wreck his lavish work place with a fire axe. When Nigel finished his mentally unstable tantrum, the furniture that made up the better part of his office was reduced to nothing more than kindling.

As Nigel attempted to recuperate from his periodic bouts of destructive exasperation, he hired a psychiatrist and vanished into his Metropolis retreat for help. During the next year or so his unstable personality returned only to a modicum of his former pseudo-normalcy. When Luthor did return to the world of business, the ruthless top banana of Metropolis’ financial markets appeared emotionally stable.

As Nigel cautiously entered his newly redecorated office complex, he was guided by several attending physicians and psychologists to help maintain some stability in the super business magnate’s outward appearance.

While Nigel would never cease in his attempts to destroy or at least repress Micheal Kivi Miller and the members of his family, the people in Luthor’s employ never spoke of his ghastly fit of pique that nearly wrecked the house of Luthor. Unfortunately, it would take another fifty years before Nigel’s evil empire, then directed by Lex Luthor, did finally collapse.

Although Nigel did not directly interfere with the Millers of Ulysses, Kansas during the remainder of his lifetime, he did manage to keep Kivi’s family under constant surveillance for what purpose, only G-D knew.

While the Millers, an ever vigilant household, were aware of Nigel’s clandestine activity, they partially dropped their safeguard devices only once during this extended period. When Nigel’s network of spies penetrated the Miller clan’s internet network for a brief period, they learned that Ari was a teaching fellow at the four-year Kansas State University extension near Smallville. Regrettably, because Ari’s cover was unmasked, the family’s faux pas allowed Nigel to use his political contacts and vast funds to see to it that Ari was removed from his university position.

After the Ari episode, Kela and Kivi utilized unique electronic implements to shield the Ulysses township region and nullified complete surveillance devices and systems in the Ulysses area.

Aware that he would not be able to acquire another academic position, Ari applied for a position as advertised by the Daily Planet for a science department chairperson, which would predominantly deal with weather conditions.

When Ari arrived in Metropolis for his interview with Perry White, the Editor and Chief of the Planet, he was asked to be seated until Mr. While had the time to interview him. After Malcolm Nash, the associate editor, had delivered his communique, apparently to the Editor in Chief, he left the area. As Ari seated himself, he developed a wary feeling.

After some time had passed, Ari used his cell phone and telephoned his Kansas home and explained his uneasiness about his forthcoming interview. Kela, his sister, calmed him down and said to Ari, “Give it some time before making a move.”

After waiting for nearly three hours for his powwow with the Planet’s editor, Ari went to the Chief’s office and knocked on the door and stepped inside — Perry’s secretary had stepped out for a cup of coffee, which gave him his opening.

Looking at Perry with an unpleasant countenance, Ari, with a baleful eye, said, “I do not appreciate being stood up. Our meeting was for eight AM, nearly three hours ago. If that’s the way you run this newspaper and treat your employees, your news publication is no better than the Weehauken Gazette. You’ve wasted my valuable time, and I bid you adieu. I’ll return to the Midwest now where people are treated with some dignity. The Kansas Star wanted to see me about a science position. I should have interviewed with that news organization instead of traveling east and wasting my time in this frivolous venture. Your paper apparently prevaricates when advertising for a job. The Star may not possess the Planet’s credentials nor its physical facilities, but at least I’ll I get a fair shake when I apply for a position at that Kansas City daily.”

Ari Looked Perry up and down like a varmint that had slithered in from a swamp, then turned leaving Perry’s office and promptly exited the Planet building.

When Perry recovered from the shock of his dressing down, he called his secretary into his office and inquired whether a resume of Ari Elenger had been received by his office. She replied that no one by that name had applied for the science position. Since Ari did specify a type of position, the chief got a gut feeling that something was amiss.

Before Perry attempted to interrogate his secretary, the chief needed to question Malcolm Nash, one of the Planet’s youngest associate editors. Meanwhile, Perry asked Lori, one of his top investigative reporters, to look into Ari’s background. When he gave Lori her instructions, he also told Jimmy to search the Planet bullpen and attempt to locate anything on Ari Elenger and keep the search hush, hush.

Within two days, Lori reported to Perry that a parcel — a return certificate was requested — had been sent from a post office in Kansas to the chief’s office. The time on the parcel indicated that Ari had most likely applied for one of the Planet’s newly advertised positions. Although Lori’s evidence was more than just circumstantial, it still was not weighty enough to dismiss his long time secretary and one of his new associate editors.

A few days later, Jimmy entered Perry’s innersanctum with two documents in his hands — both records were identical and were Ari’s missing resumes. Within an hour Perry White was looking for a new secretary and Malcolm Nash was leaving the Planet building, sacked.

Within several days, four more journalists also resigned their positions. After a series of intensive investigations, it was discovered that all the reporters who suddenly departed the Planet’s employ were found to be connected with Nigel Luthor.

From Luthor’s obvious spy network, Perry learned a valuable lesson. Perry then swore that the Planet would never again become infiltrated by a potential criminal organization operating in Metropolis or from any location in the world. Because of Luthor’s clandestine operation at the Planet, other newspapers in Metropolis became more wary about the journalists in their employ and tightened their recruiting operations.

After the consequences caused by Luthor’s clandestine network at the Planet quieted down, Perry asked Lori to visit Ari and apologize for the employment behavior of the Daily Planet.

Lori nearly exploded. She said to Perry, “You mean you want me to shuffle-off to nowheresville to see a hack who probably could not cut it in the big city and apologize for something that was not my responsibility.”

“Lori,” Perry said, “let me tell you about Ari. He is a graduate of Yale University with an earned doctorate in chemical physics from Calf tech. Ari taught in the physics department at Kansas State University until Luthor politically had him ousted from the school. Somewhere along the way he managed to earn a master’s degree in journalism. He then applied to our newspaper for a job. That’s your so called hack from nowheresville, Ms. Lori D. Lewis,” Perry sarcastically responded to his top reporter. Perry, as he turned on his heel, said, “Now, my dear, go and do what you were told or dog shows will be your bailiwick for the next six months.”

The next day found the Lewis Gal winging her way towards Wichita Kansas. Arriving at one of Kansas’ international jet ports, Lori rented a car and headed toward the Miller’s home in the village of Ulysses.

Arriving at the Miller’s residence in the early evening, Lori Debra Lewis, the daughter of Isaac Newton Lewis, an army officer and inventor, and the issue of Dorothea Lewis nee Langmuir, currently an educator and research chemist, introduced herself.

Entering the vestibule, Lori was greeted by Kela who escorted her to the dining room where she was introduced to the family and helped to a seat by an ungainly looking individual referred to as AI-26.

Starring at the entity constantly referred to as AI-26, Lori, out of curiosity, asked, “What is an AI-26?”

Kela then told her guest that AI was an abbreviation for artificial intelligence, while the numeral value of the unit signified that the droid was the twenty-sixth mechanism of this type which had been created.

“These contrivances,” Kela added, “were designed and fabricated by Ari and myself after an older model that our parents had devised years ago. Not only are the AI’s intelligent mechanisms, but they are also kind and capable companions for my children.”

Just as Kela finished informing Lori about the AI units, Ari bounded into the dining room and asked in a whimsical way, “What’s for dinner, folks?”

“Well,” Kela said, “you finally left the lab, Ari. After seventy-two hours of fiddling around, you decided to rejoin the living.”

Smiling at Kela, he commented, “You and Kivi create life in multiples of two and three and study the forces within the cosmos. What’s left for me to do?” Then Ari picked up the newest members of the Miller household and kissed the twin girls on the cheek — they were now six months of age. Both infants giggled as they grabbed their uncle’s hair.

“I’ll work in the lab to occupy myself,” Ari answered his sister, “while you and Kivi procreate kids for me to play with. Now tell me what’s so important that I had to leave my lab?”

While Ari was busy tickling his nieces, Kela said, “Nigel has infiltrated the Kansas City Star. What are you planning to do?”

“Now, that’s a question that interests me,” Lori stated.

As the Planet’s ace reporter waited for Ari’s response, Kela’s brother’s face took on a rather serious appearance.

Placing his sister’s babies in the lap of AI-26, who took them to be changed, Ari commented, “Are you sure Luthor and his flunkies have inculcated themselves at the Kansas City Star?”

“Yep,” his sister replied. “He’s now the majority stock holder and on the board of that paper.”

“Well, well,” Ari responded sadly, “it looks as if my plans to work as a journalist will be blocked again.”

After a slight pause, Ari added, “No use searching for another paper. All the news establishments that I’ve examined appear to possess the Planet’s flaw. They’re susceptible to a Luthor style clandestine infiltration.”

“Are you sure, my brother?” Kivi asked Ari for clarification.

“I’m afraid so,” Ari added. “The statistical analysis of my current data supports my views.”

To emphasize his feelings, Ari shook his head and said, “I’ll stay here in Kansas and conduct some research for a while. There’s so much work to be done on my studies of the universe that I’ll probably be busy for the remainder of my life. If my work habits tend to bother you, Kela, or you, Kivi, there are other locations we both know that exist where I can continue my research activities away from this abode. As long as Earth’s society will put up with the Luthor’s of this world, they can go straight to the devil. We’ll protect this home and our friends living in and about the Miller farm area, but not the people that are brainwashed to do Nigel’s bidding. If we’re not troubled by Luthor or his sycophants,” Ari added, “then I’m free to locate my research activities in other places. Do you, Sis, or you, my brother-in-law, want me to leave? I can be off the premises by morning.”

“Don’t talk nonsense,” Kela replied. “This is your home.”

After the disagreement between Kela and her twin had been terminated, the two siblings sat down at the dinner table and an AI unit served Ari and Kela a hot meal.

Then an unrecognizable voice said, “Are your statistics and other patterns infallible?”

Ari looked up and smiled, saying, “My dear, only G-d can be infallible when statistics are considered. What is your name?”

“Lori Lewis of the Daily Planet,” was her reply. “I was asked by Perry White to come down here and apologize for my paper’s second-drawer treatment of you when you attempted to interview for the paper’s advertised science position. We have strong evidence that your negative interaction with the Planet was the result of foul play caused by a man called Malcolm Nash and several of his associates linked to Luthor’s stratagem to thwart the news media through the country.”

Ari smiled and said, “Ms. Lewis, what have you done to prevent Luthor’s plan from applying his newspaper infiltration scheme to small town news dailies? All that would be required to repeat Luthor’s espionage plan within would be to use what Nigel called the greed plan. Money supplied by Luthor, who has an abundant supply of that stuff, and locate enough news people who are economically in difficult straights, and acquire these desperate individuals to play his subterfuge game. Luthor’s greed card will eventually corrupt most of the news organizations, and the public will eventually be separated from honest news or as some people say manipulated new print.”

Ari added, “Already, I can’t obtain a position at the Kansas City Star because Luthor’s tentacles have infiltrated that once great news organization.”

Lori said, “Ari, the Planet people do not possess enough hard evidence to have Luthor indited just by using the data from your rigged interviewing situation. So, unfortunately, the Planet can’t act directly against Nigel’s organization.”

“So, the vile corruption of Nigel’s philosophy marches on,” Ari said. “Don’t misunderstand me, Ms. Lewis. I understand your situation,” Ari responded. “Just remember, my dear, justice takes flight when corrupt business men and their lawyers and their shrewdly tactful might serve injustice and destroy the common people’s righteous plights.”

“A poet who doesn’t know it,” the Planet reporter commented with a jocular lilt to her voice.

When he finished eating, Ari arose from the table and walked toward Lori to thank her and the Planet for considering his feelings; suddenly his exhausted body caused him to sit down. After a pause, Ari commented, “I think you and Kela will have to excuse me. Suddenly, I’ve become extremely tired and my body is telling me to rest and go to bed. So, I’ll see you both in the morning. Of course, if you’re still here, Ms. Lewis.”

As Ari was about to leave the dining room, he added, “I sense, something special about you, Lori — a distinctively good feeling, like a high quality perfume with a come hither sexy message.”

Ari then bowed and left the room to get some well needed rest.

Kela then gave her husband, Kivi, a look and viewed the Planet’s top reporter and hoped in her heart she could untangle Lori’s interest in the Miller family while still protecting her family’s crucial secret.

As Lori was attempting to understand Ari’s unusual behavior, Kitara entered the dining area. She overheard Lori say to Kivi, “What a peculiar brother-in-law you have.”

Kitara responded in kind to Lori’s comment. “What can you expect from a theoretical scientist who, like his sister, Kela, is a genius?”

Kitara’s somewhat droll statement took the edge off a rather tense atmosphere that was slowly developing in the Miller’s dining room. After Kitara’s somewhat humorous comments, chuckles could be heard as Lori and the Miller clan began to relax.

Kela telepathically thanked her aunt for her fortuitous arrival and asked Kit to meet with her later that evening in the den area.

As the Miller household and their guest from Metropolis bedded down for the night, Kit and Kela met in the home’s common great room.

After describing the subtle incident that had occurred during the dining hour, Kitara asked the proverbial question, “Can we presume that Lori and Ari may be related soulmates?”

“It’s a chance,” Kitara responded, “and, therefore, we should explore the possibility.”

During the ensuing several hours, both Kela and her aunt worked out a plan where Ari could be enticed to accept a research position at STAR Labs, a Metropolis based research facility directed by Kivi’s colleague and good friend Davi Stone.

By the ending of the following week, Kela and Kitara, with constant nagging, had persuaded Ari to accept a position at STAR Labs located in midtown Metropolis. While at the world renowned research institution, Ari would be able to add new knowledge to the Star Labs repository and subtly enhance those factors that would bring Earth’s diverse civilizations closer to their Kryptonian counterparts — a project the Miller clan had wanted to initiate for some time. With Ari in a central scientific position, the Miller family could begin a host of scientific undertakings intended to benefit Earth’s entire global community.

Furthermore, a STAR lab position would include part-time employment at the Planet’s science desk. Ari’s adjunct employee status would be one of STAR lab’s chores when such an opportunity presented itself.

Access to the Planet’s archives would also make Ari’s Metropolis research assignments somewhat more intriguing undertakings. His reporter’s role at the Planet’s science desk would allow him to occasionally visit with Lori Lewis. Conversations between the two would help Ari ascertain whether or not a pheromone connection existed between himself and the young journalist, Lori Lewis.

However, as fate would have it, Ari didn’t take the Star Labs/Planet position.

***

Going back several years before Lori and Myra enterd the Metropolis scene, a shift in the political authority on Krypton was quietly being modified.

Soulmates, Ez-Ra and Ma-Ra, again became the first family of the Northern Ra clan — they were also the genetic parents of two girls, Lo-Ra and Mi-Ra.

That same year the noble Trey of the Lo clan retired as the chief political administrator of Krypton’s parliamentary government. Trey, who during his thirty-year stewardship of the people’s house and the leader of the high council, faithfully served the First Lord (Selar) and the First Lady (Sela) of Krypton. His honest service benefited the entire Kryptonian community. Trey was a man in a million. He never considered his own personal gain during any of his actions on behave of the government and the people he represented. The Selar and Sela throughout Trey’s stewardship, as they would remain until Krypton’s cataclysmic demise, were Jor-El and his lovely soulmate Lara.

As Trey’s tenure passed into history, a clever and charming individual called Lord Poco became the chief executive of Krypton’s great council and the director of the governing assembly. However, unbeknownst to the people of Krypton Lord Poco was in reality an unprincipled knave. He used his charisma and witty mind to seduce many politicians to carry out his unsavory political urges. If Lord Poco could not entice a colleague to follow his lead or if an assembly member questioned his policies too often, the head of the great Council, always smiling, would find a way to insert a stiletto into the back of his political advisory.

Lord Poco allowed nothing to frustrate his great plan, a plan that would remove the hereditary inheritance of the El clan to elect the First Lord and Lady from among the clans of Krypton. When Poco’s plan had been set into operation, he would see to it that the El clan’s patrimony would be transferred to the Nor clan, his folk.

At present, Poco had just gained the highest political position in the governmental hierarchy, and his clandestine strategy was ready to begin bringing his game plan to fruition. Once his key operatives were in place, Lord Poco’s blueprint for change and conquest would begin to function.

First, to bring the Northern Ra Clan under his control, Lord Poco had to convince the Selar, Jor-El, to send Lord Ez-Ra as the envoy to the Tau Ceti star dominion to cultivate friendly relations between their two civilizations. After some discussion with the Selar, Lord Poco accomplished his goal and Jor-El sent Ez-Ra as ambassador to the Tau Ceti people.

Then, Lord Poco’s henchman, as ordered, placed an explosive device aboard Lord Ez-Ra’s ambassadorial spacecraft. The evidence provided by Lord Poco’s marauders would make it seem that the Kryptonian vessel came into contact with a cluster of asteroids and collided with one of the rapidly moving space rocks. Unknown to Lord Poco, however, the explosion only partially damaged Ez-Ra’s ambassadorial spaceship. After the explosion occurred, Ez-Ra’s vessel still managed to function.

With the skillful engineering and navigational abilities of Ez-Ra’s crew, his starship made a successful crash landing on an Earth like world within an unknown solar system on route to the Ceti star cluster. Although marooned, for the present, the envoy’s crew began to repair Krypton’s interstellar vessel.

As the crew worked tirelessly on the spaceship repairs, Ez-Ra managed to contact his soulmate telepathically and inform her of what had occurred and that he was in good health. Additional communication he feared might be intercepted, so for the present, contact between the soulmates remained mute. Before their communication was mutually severed for safety, Ma-Ra was told by her husband to get close to the Sela, Lara, and casually say to her, combined in some expression or other, the words “Andromeda seven.” He tod her that Lara will not seem to react, but she will make an effort to reach her later — promptly, and in a safe environment. The last telepathic thought between Lord Ez-Ra and his soulmate was the star coordinates providing the location of his marooned spacecraft.

Several weeks later, Ma-Ra, Lord Ez-Ra’s wife, made a visit to Jor-El and Lara’s home. Lord Poco was present at the gathering and tended to hover close to Lara and Ez-Ra’s life partner. Suddenly, Jor-El called Lord Poco away from the ladies to help him examine several documents from the assembly that immediately needed his attention.

As soon as Lord Poco left Ma-Ra and Lara’s presence, Ma-Ra, gazing at a far off cluster in the night sky, commented to her host, “Isn’t that star arrangement called Andromeda seven? It’s a beautiful arrangement of starry objects.”

“I believe you’re correct,” Lara replied smiling.

A few weeks later, Lara invited Ma-Ra and her two daughters to an outdoor luncheon at Zara’s private residence.

Zara, while very much loved by her parents, lived a quiet almost hermit like existence on the lavish El estates. Zara didn’t involve herself in grand balls nor super celebrations that were nearly an everyday occurrence because Zara’s soulmate, Ching, a minor noble of Krypton, was prohibited by custom from attending such affairs. Zara maintained this living style even after Ching was murdered.

Because Jor-El was aware of the absurd practices of Krypton’s nobility, he had attempted to dissuade Zara from marrying Lord Ching, but to no avail. Although Jor-El still loved his child, the Selar was somewhat peeved at his daughter for not listening to his advice. Communication between father and daughter after her wedding was therefore somewhat strained and remained so even after Ching was slain.

Because of her disobedience concerning her marriage to Lord Ching, after their nuptials, Jor-El held his son-in-law responsible for the isolation in Zara’s social life. Jor-El couldn’t have been more amiss in his view of the Zara-Ching marital relationship. Theirs was a love affair that would reach further than tomorrow and beyond eternity.

It was shortly after the Zara-Ching matrimonial union that Lara had initially met with Ma-Ra and her husband. Ching still lived. The Noble leaders of the Northern Ra clan were like Ching and Zara in many ways. They were not the party type, but more of the intellectual kind.

Socially, Ching and Zara interacted with a small, but select, group of friends who together enjoyed the finer things of life. However, because Zara disobeyed her father’s wishes and married Ching, Jor-El often publicly snubbed his son-in-law. Because of her father’s attitude toward her life partner, Zara rarely went to the palace and instead stayed in a reclusive state within her home on the El estates, especially after Ching was murdered.

So it was that Lara chose Zara’s residence as the setting for the luncheon. To inform those who would be interested for various reasons, Lara allowed information to be broadcast that she was preparing a small luncheon for her daughter and let this info circulate within the council chambers. She then allowed information to be known that the luncheon would also include Ma-Ra, the Sela of the Northern Ra clans. The reason for this meeting was to better aquaint the Northern Ra Sela with her daughter, Zara.

Since Lara was often involved in such social functions, especially when her daughter was involved, no-one thought much about the coming event. A few weeks later, a noon repast took place at Zara’s home.

After Ma-Ra, Lara, and Lara’s daughter, Zara, enjoyed a pleasurable outing, the three ladies proceeded to the rose garden adjacent to Zara’s home.

As they made themselves comfortable, Lara, placed a flame red figurine, which appeared like an Art Deco object, under the serving table where tea was now being poured. The oscillations emitted by the statuette could only be recognized by a very low hum generated by the covert electronic device. When the figurine was activated, it would block any snooper device within a relatively large area and mask any conversation transpiring within the household.

With the colored figurine functioning at full capacity the gals began discussing Ma-Ra’s plight. As the ladies’ conversation focused on Lord Poco’s treachery, several of Lara’s guards excused themselves and proceeded to an interstellar cruiser concealed below Zara’s abode and began to ready the spaceship to sail. As the ship was checked, other guards scrutinized Zara’s home to make sure that her dwelling was free from any additional snoopers.

As the El warriors moved about Zara’s home, these sentinels were very much aware that their mistress and her lady friends were discussing Lord Poco and his evil schemes. Leaving Lara and her lady friends, the Sela’s loyal guards rendezvoused with her other staunch warriors who had earlier secured the perimeter of Zara’s abode. Several minutes after Lara’s zealous warrior contingent had converged, and under sealed orders, the plan to rescue Lord Ez-Ra was set in motion.

As Lara’s recovery vessel began tearing through the immensity of space, her military clique of faithful followers were well aware that Lord Poco had just acquired two more political adversaries, people that had become part of Lara’s anti Poco alliance.

Within forty-eight hours, Lara’s troopers had retrieved Ez-Ra and his surviving crew members and returned them to a top secret base on the El estates.

After the rescue of Ma-Ra’s soulmate, the Northern Ra Clan leaders, Ez-Ra and his wife, started attending the anti-Poco meetings at Zara’s abode. These gatherings were aimed at finding methods of hampering the unprincipled political goals of Lord Poco. The long range goal of these meetings was to remove the underhanded Lord Poco from his ministerial post one way or another.

While Lara and her allies diligently worked to eradicate Poco’s ominous influences over the Kryptonian people and to obliterate his control over their freedoms, the despotic Lord Poco was still plotting and planning to achieve his corrupt aspirations.

Assuming that Ez-Ra was now dead and his wife Ma-Ra was pining for her soulmate at Zara’s dwelling, her temporary home, Lord Poco foolishly appointed Nag-Nor as the protector of the Northern Ra clans telling the council his decision was to avoid chaotic occurrences in the region.

After waiting a reasonable time, it was Poco’s intent to subtly ask Jor-El to sanction a marriage between Ma-Ra and Lord Nag-nor, his cousin, to preserve the stability within the Northern House of Ra. Once Lord Poco could persuade Jor-El that such a marital union would be beneficial for Krypton’s long term stability, the evil minister was positive that Jor-El would consent to the nuptials. With Lord Nag-nor and Ma-Ra’s nuptials complete, Poco’s dethroning scheme could become operational because the Norian Lord would now possess a strong ally — his cousin — in control of the powerful Northern Ra clan. Lord Poco would then be in a position politically to begin crippling Jor-El’s connections with the other Kryptonian houses, the actual source of his planet wide power.

Lord Poco was also planning to remove Lo-Ra and Mi-Ra, Ma-Ra’s daughters, from becoming potential leaders of the Northern Ra Clan. To accomplish his goal, Lord Poco planned for a mishap to occur that would thrust Ez-Ra and Ma-Ra’s royal children into a wormhole propelling them into the wilderness of space.

As the political maneuvering escalated within Jor-El’s court, Ma-Ra’s issue was innocuously presented with a new inter-stellar spacecraft so the Northern Ra royal successors of Ez-Ra and Ma-Ra could visit with relatives dispersed throughout Krypton’s planetary dominions.

On one such journey to visit a cousin, a wormhole suddenly appeared and swallowed the young girls and their interstellar spaceship sending it to G-d knows where within the wilderness of space.

***Through The Wormhole***

After the Northern Ra royal children had emerged from a wormhole, an unknown passageway through space, the vessel carrying Lo-Ra and Mi-Ra — children of Lord Ez-Ra and Ma-Ra — found themselves in a star system possessing a single solar furnace and nine planets. As the spacecraft’s electronic scanners viewed the new solar system, the girls discovered that the first four celestial bodies, as one counted from the system’s sun, all appeared to be small rocky orbs. The girls discovered that the third planet from the system’s star contained a large quantity of water. Since water was generally a powerful indicator of life forms, the spaceship began moving towards the third planet in the solar system.

A few hours after entering the unfamiliar planetary system the spaceship, carrying Ma-Ra’s children, was in orbit about the third planet from the sun, or Earth as it was called by its inhabitants as the girls soon discovered.

About a week after the Kryptonian spacecraft began orbiting Earth and analyzing the conditions on the planet, Lo-Ra and her sibling Mi-Ra decided to make landfall. To remain in orbit would have been more secure, but Lo-Ra, the older and more educated of the young girls, was aware that their spacecraft had already been electronically scanned. So, she was fairly certain that beings living on this planet’s surface were probably aware of their presence.

Because of the girls’ ability to perceive at a rapid pace, within a month or so, the young Kryptonians had mastered the languages associated with the major powers that existed on Earth.

On a night devoid of nearly all heavenly illumination, the Kryptonian spacecraft with its occupants noiselessly descended to the topmost position of a heavily wooded mountain area near the outskirts of Colorado Springs.

Because of the Kryptonian cruiser’s stealth devices, the ship, containing the Northern Ra girls, could not be detected unless the beings on Earth possessed special electronic equipment capable of determining the Kryptonian spacecraft.

Settling on the mountain top, the effects of Earth’s solar radiation began to cause changes in the girls’ physical development. As the Ra girls’ exposure to Earth’s sun increased, their unique Kryptonian abilities also rapidly developed.

One evening as Lo-Ra and her sister were soaring over their temporary mountain top home, Isaac Newton Lewis and his wife Dorothea were startled when they noticed two young girls levitating over the forest canopy.

Becoming somewhat anxious, Dorothea stepped back and tripped over some snow hidden debris and struck her head on a rock. Her husband, seeing his wife fall, immediately sprang through the snow and grasped her in his arms.

After carefully looking over his wife and finding her in relatively good health, he began looking about for the hovering children’s parents.

Suddenly, the flying Kryptonian children swooped down, picked up the Earthlings, and took them to their secret habitat which also accommodated their interstellar spacecraft.

Once in the intergalactic spacecraft, Lo-Ra told the Lewis couple about their life on Krypton, a planet Lo-Ra and her sister had recently computed to be a distance, as measured on an electronic scale, that was nearly halfway across the universe from Sol-three — their ship’s star library with its data charts were most useful with their ship’s computers to determine this information.

Afterwards the girls also described their wormhole anomaly in which they were plunged and which had whisked them to Earth and essentially marooned them within this Sol-three solar system, probably for the remainder of their life.

When the Kryptonian girls became silent, Dorothea informed them that her husband, Isaac Newton, was at present assigned to Fort Kit Carson, a military establishment, and was now excavating an area near Colorado Springs to locate a suitable track of land which could be used to construct an academy for the United States Air Force.

After completing these new Air Force Academy buildings, Colonel Lewis would retire and he and his wife would purchase an abode near the new academic institution. Once settled in, he and his wife would teach at the Air Force Academy — he would instruct in history and tactics while his wife Dorothea would teach chemistry and physics in the academy’s science division. As the beings from two different cultures talked, the Kryptonians discovered that the Lewis family was barren — Dorothea was infertile without the ability of conceiving offspring.

Lo-Ra and Mi-Ra became aware as they began to know the Lewis couple that they had a great love for kids. Therefore, it was decided that Lo-Ma and Mi-Ra would live with the Colonel and his lady as their kin folk — his deceased brother’s children. The Colorado Springs community had no problem accepting the Kryptonian girls as the adopted offspring of Isaac Newton’s deceased brother.

The spacecraft and other Kryptonian items were concealed within a grotto constructed by the girls and their new parents below the basement level of the Lewis’s new abode.

Over the years Lo-Ra and Mi-Ra, now called Lori and Myra, grew into beautiful young ladies. They excelled academically and by their mid twenties had earned advanced degrees in mathematics and the sciences. Lori also added a degree in journalism to her educational repertoire.

Both young women eventually made their way to Metropolis. While Myra obtained a research position at STAR Labs, Lori was hired by the Daily Planet as a city reporter, a job in which she excelled.

In Metropolis, Lori and Myra shared a small house. Below their dwelling the young women concealed a teleportation device, a Kryptonian mechanism which could transport Lori and Myra across the planetary surface instantaneously.

They also could fly from one location to another if the situation warranted that type of translocation. However, with the evolution of more sophisticated electronic surveillance devices, flying was becoming more perilous because of the military’s ability to locate objects hurtling through the atmosphere at great speeds. As more and more efficient electronic detectors increased in sophistication and were capable to detect various kinds of rapidly moving flying devices as they moved across the skies above the planet, Kryptonians moving at great neck speed were detected and considered hostile military hardware.

However, when special stealthy garments were developed by the Newtons and their girls with equipment furnished at Star Labs, the electronic detection units searching the heavens by the nations of the world could easily be negated when the Kryptonians took to the skies over their adoptive planet.

***The Metropolis Scene***

After Lori, at the Daily Planet, and Myra, at Star Labs, had begun developing their career lines within Earth’s society, super personalities began appearing throughout the world — Superwoman and Fantastic-Girl. These two super beings swooped from the skies of Metropolis to foil injustice and help strengthen the virtues of humankind and support the truths the world accepted and were self-evident throughout the globe.

As Superwoman and her sister battled the knaves of the planet, right wing organizations and large hooligan populations slowly joined forces to eradicate these gallant super ladies.

While the basic goals of belligerent associations were identical in design — destroy the Superwomen — the reasoning behind their hostile objectives were far from being equivalent. Most of their antagonistic aspirations were from right wing individuals or semi-crazed people who believed that the superwomen represented the initial representatives of an invasion force, which would allow aliens to subdue Earth and enslave its people.

The second tier of the anti super alliance was reacting against the super gals with the intent on destroying the superwomen and halt them from interfering with their enormous profit-making operations through their illicit enterprises functioning daily throughout the world.

Nearly a year later, the “Save the Planet Organization” — SPO — came into existence. This establishment developed a laser device that, when used in a dark environment, could drain the energy from an experimental subject. It was believed that if the laser beam with a high specific frequency could be found to immobilize strong animals such as tigers, it was possible that such an energy contrivance could also be made ultra strong and be able to crush the lady super beings.

More testing on guinea-pigs and other experimental animals by one of Nigel Luthor’s scientists created a fabricated contrivance containing a special laser discharging unit to be produced which could reduce a human’s energy output to a deadly low ebb. Working with these special devices, Nigel’s scientific personnel produced a devastating energy weapon that could immobilize and destroy any living being by manipulating and then disrupting the organism’s cellular energy by the super laser mechanism.

At a secret council meeting, headed by Nigel Luthor, it was decided to utilize the SPO’s new weapon system upon the superwomen to eliminate their presence from the planet Earth. After Nigel had fabricated a single super laser device, Nigel believed that his energy project was ready to fulfill his objectives and would be successful in exterminating his foes. So, he foolishly had his scientific personnel and their staffs create a laser system to eliminate the super gals.

Unknown to Nigel, the research scientists at LexCorp and their supporting staff, fearing for their lives, destroyed all plans and techniques required to duplicate the killer laser’s destructive potential.

Without knowledge of the destruction of the laser’s plans, Nigel secretly murdered the technological employees of LexCorp. When the killing occurred, Nigel’s right hand man lost his only access to the production of more weapons. In his rash move, Nigel had inadvertently destroyed all the technological designs and human understanding that would enable them to create copies of the LexCorp laser contrivance. After Nigel’s slaughter of his energy weapon architects, Luthor was without plans to produce more of the new instruments of destruction.

Nigel’s faux pas was discovered several weeks later when an alarm was detected emanating from the warehouse belonging to a company which fabricated and stored the laser weapon. A few moments later, Lori plunged through the roof of the lab facility to apprehend the criminals who had gained entrance to one of Luthor’s science buildings. Almost as soon as she began searching for the culprits who had gained entrance to the laser building, Lori found herself thrust into a sea of total blackness. As she continued to scan the darkened building for signs of the felons, beams of red colored energy bursts struck her repeatedly. After the first few strikes on her torso, Superwoman was weakened and started falling toward the floor. With the lack of light, she could not recharge her energy reserves, which were being rapidly diminished causing Superwoman to be in danger of expiring.

As Superwoman’s sister watched the scene in horror, she felt a hand grasp her shoulder and say, “I’ll dive into the warehouse and grab your sister and punch a hole through the wall on the antipodal side of the storage structure. Be there when I emerge with your sister from the building. I will probably need your support when I break out of the building. I’ll explain this affair after our little operation has been concluded.”

Before she could say more to the unknown individual at her side, he had embarked on his life saving activity. Mi-Ra watched as the masked man flew into Nigel’s trap, lifted Lori and headed toward the opposite wall of the science facility.

Positioning herself at the designated wall location, she watched as the stranger began transporting her sister to safety and destroying the new weapon system with his laser eyes. As the unknown super being was transporting her sister and breaking through the wall, he was struck in the shoulder by a red beam. Turning his head, his laser eyes and freezing breath demolished the last remaining energy weapon.

As the grievously injured super being was himself falling toward the ground, he handed Lori to her younger sister and said, “Go. Our adversaries are nearly upon us.”

While Mi-Ra headed home carrying her sister, she saw the unknown man moving near to the ground, scarcely able to levitate. As Mi-Ra was making a turn at a street corner and streaking towards home, she observed another man and woman descend swiftly from the clouds and retrieve her sister’s injured rescuer, carrying him hastily in a westerly direction.

A few hours after Lori had been placed in bed, Mi-Ra heard a rap at her door. Scanning the door front with her x-ray eyes, she recognized the man’s profile and other physical characteristics that informed her that she was about to confront her sister’s deliverer.

Within a few minutes, the man was speaking with Mi-Ra in her living room. After informing Mi-Ra that the injuries from Nigel’s light beam weapon could be resolved by radiation sources produced by sunlamps, Ari began placing sunlamps in a circle about Lori. A short time after the sunlamp therapy Lo-Ra showed effects of healing. The sunlamp devices soon invigorated Lori’s bodily functions — a few hours of this solar healing method were all that was necessary, it appeared, to help strengthen Lo-Ra’s bodily functions. The lamp array about Lo-Ra’s body produced enough curative solar radiation rays to bring superwoman back to health. To all Kryptonians interacting within the Earth’s electric-magnetic field, the solar energy lamps would quickly rejuvenate any Kryptonian’s unique super power abilities. Ari added that he had mended quickly because of these particular solar lamp arrays his family had developed.

While Lori rested under the influence of the solar radiation lamps and regained her stamina, Ari and Mi-Ra, using stealthy garments, hastened toward Ulysses, Kansas. Once Ari and his guest arrived at the Miller’s residence and introductions were made, Kitara took Mi-Ra aside and explained the entire saga that led to the Miller clan’s formation. As Kit babbled, Kivi entered the discussion and strongly requested that Mi-Ra say nothing about the Miller family to anyone, even to her sister. They wanted as few individuals as was possible to know about the special family group now living at the Miller’s homestead in Kansas.

Mi-Ra , after some discussion, agreed with Kivi.

Within several weeks, the super sisters were again functioning throughout the highways and byways of Metropolis.

***Working In Metropolis***

When the events surrounding the attempted slaying of the superwomen settled down, Mi-Ra and Ari’s familiy persuaded him to accept a position at STAR Labs. While reluctantly accepting a research situation at the internationally famous laboratories, Ari found that this time the new position was also linked to a part time appointment as the Science Desk coordinator at the Metropolis Star, a rival Metropolis newspaper to the Planet.

As a research assistant within the STAR Lab’s research complex, Ari could again study and begin fabricating his meteorological device without being disturbed by any outside annoyances.

As his research program began providing him with sufficient data, Ari’s hypothesis concerning Earth’s erratic weather patterns and its unusual behavior was being borne out. As Ari’s studies progressed, his new instrumentation would soon be able to gather the kind of parameters needed to predict violent storms that periodically ravaged particular sections of the planet.

Although not quite finished, his meteorological device was functioning well enough to predict, with a more than ninety-five percent accuracy, information concerning atmospheric disturbances. While not fully complete, Ari’s weather apparatus was still producing reliable data, which delighted the people at Star Labs. Furthermore, Ari was scooping the Daily Planet with his reliable weather forecasts, which seemed to please the Star’s hierarchy to no end. Why? Ari never understood rivalry when people’s lives were at stake.

Within a year Ari finally had his meteorological brainchild up to a predictability factor on nearly ninety-nine point five percent, which was now acceptable to his remarkably creative mind.

As things progressed in Ari’s life, he and Mi-Ra would often see one another for lunch. At meal time he would often explain some of his more scholarly theoretical concepts, which defined his ideas of space-time. At these moments in life, Ari would explain to another living being, Mi-Ra in this case, how his ideas of time and space could be used to transverse the cosmos.

Occasionally, Dr. Klein — known as Bernie to his colleagues and friends — would join them for lunch. It was on one of these occasions that Ari mentioned to Bernie that Mi-Ra was his kin, making the young woman feel warm and fuzzy all over.

Over time, Bernie began to realize that Ari was a more gifted and sophisticated scientist than his credentials revealed.

On a hunch, Dr. Klein teamed Mi-Ra and Ari on several novel and difficult projects and found that their minds were completely in sync with one another, and they completed their project ahead of schedule and under budget.

Things were moving along swimmingly until his new weather apparatus signaled that the weather patterns near the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico were becoming alarmingly unstable.

After several hours of pondering the sea borne and atmospheric information from his new weather system, Ari was forced to deduce that large amounts of geothermal energy and Tsunami like sea floor conditions from several oceanic sources were combining and causing an ever increasing violent storm pattern with unmeasurable fury. Ari’s weather device indicated that the merging forces driving the developing storm were creating the largest turbulent storm in recorded history, churning its way into the Gulf region. And, if the horrendous storm maintained the trajectories suggested by Ari’s weather artifice, the destructive paths of the storm would jeopardize much of the USA’s gulf coast and shoreline and its Mexican neighbor.

When the various storm patterns had been analyzed, Ari rushed to the STAR Labs facilities and created a detailed weather description in which his device forecasted the immensity and destructive power of the impending storm. Ari also warned the maritime traffic in the storm’s vicinity of the great peril they were in. Ari then informed the crews on the oil rigs functioning in the Gulf to vacate their sea platforms and to abandon the area. The lives of the crews on the sea platforms were in terrible danger.

In his report to the weather service, Ari included a map where he expected the greatest menace to Mexican and USA coastal areas to strike. In his maritime article, Ari also pleaded with people within the threatened coastal regions to evacuate the warned territories as swiftly as was possible.

Unfortunately, Earth’s standard global weather forecasting system, at that time, was still in its rudimentary developmental stage and had not yet detected the ferocious intensity of the on rushing storm front.

While there were transmissions from the fishing fleets operating in the Gulf that a behemoth storm was rushing through the Gulf, these electronic reports were more often than not garbled because of the adverse atmospheric conditions and, therefore, disregarded at the expense of those still working in the Gulf region.

When Nigel Luthor became aware of Ari’s article concerning the current Gulf storm, his prejudices swayed his logic and he avoided reevaluating Ari’s data even with his own rather crude metrological equipment. Instead, Luthor had his short range communication center, based on LexCorp’s oil rigs, using the stations rather inefficient detection devices — five in all — to search the surrounding sea for verification of Ari’s information. From his company’s equipment, Nigel was informed that while the waters about the rigs were unusually choppy for that time of year, no indication of an intense storm had been detected. While Luthor was receiving the information he desired, the storm front was rushing into the Gulf at sixty knots, and at that speed an immensely powerful storm could be battering the rigs before the crew on the oil platforms were aware of the event.

Also, instead of Nigel continuing his rigs’ investigation using other atmospheric detection sources, Luthor contacted his political allies. Possessing enormous wealth, people tended to believe Nigel’s utterances that he often spread from his radio transmitters. People, unfortunately, and foolishly, believe individuals who have accumulated great wealth can be trusted because of the notion that those who become wealthy must be in the know and therefore their veracity is infallible and should hardly be questioned.

To give the devil his due, Luthor did contact the Weather Service for some sort of verification. Nigel was advised that while a storm warning had not as yet been posted, the skies east of the Floridian peninsula did look very suspicious in a weather sense — the Weather Service, while hopeful to disprove Ari’s storm alarm, was still worried that something menacing was brewing within the Gulf region. Luthor was informed that two weather aircraft had just been sent to confirm or disprove their growing apprehensions.

Forgetting about the potentially large storm surge that could accompany the storm that Ari had predicted and the possibility of the destruction in the wake of such a ferocious storm, the revenge factor made Luthor a captive, overiding his usually careful and logical mind.

As the Weather Service continued its investigation, Luthor, to avoid a panic and the loss of an immense amount of oil revenue, called his friend, John Dillard, the Secretary of Commerce, and discussed Ari’s data. Luthor pointed out that Ari’s Metropolis Star story emphasized only the negative aspects of the supposed gigantic storm. And, since weather information was not truly infallible, his story, Luthor stressed, could only be considered doubtful at best. Therefore, Nigel, with his charm, convinced the government officials to cancel the Weather Bureau’s investigation, sub sea searches and aircraft weather detection flights, and allowed Luthor’s electronic network to broadcast, using LNN as its main radio source, that Ari’s weather prognostications in the Gulf region were groundless and possibly fraudulent.

Nigel also convinced Secretary Dillard to prevent the Metropolis papers from publishing more of Ari’s weather material, which was in direct violation of the Constitution and eventually caused many individuals their jobs, including the Secretary of Commerce himself. The deaths that eventually occurred in the wake of the storm were a great embarrassment to the current administration and cost the President the next election.

Now, however, and before Ari could utter a word in his defense, he found that Star Labs had terminated his position, and the Metropolis Star to protect themselves also had him sacked. Ari’s dismissals were caused by Luthor’s political manipulations of the boards controlling these particular institutions.

Ari managed to say goodbye to Mi-Ra, even though the building administrators were anxious for him to expeditiously vacate the building — his presence was an embarrassment.

Because of Nigel’s slanderous onslaught against Ari, his enemy, LNN, with Luthor’s further accusations, stigmatized the scientific journalist as a pariah. Kela’s brother had nowhere to hang his hat. So, he quietly returned to his Metropolis abode, packed his things, and teleported to his home in Ulysses, Kansas before dawn of the following day.

Without sleeping, he unpacked his things and arranged his bedroom. Ari then meandered into his lab area located under his apartment and began refurbishing his old research facility.

Since returning to his Kansas home would most likely be for an indefinite period, Ari’s mind was already considering a host of new ideas. One particular space-time concept that particularly tickled his interest caused the space born Kryptonian to immediately begin working on this project by writing out his theoretical concepts.

As Ari began readying himself for his new research effort, the fury of the Gulf storm finally made its presence known. When the storm began to wail and wain some two days after Ari’s warning had been ignored and he had returned to the Miller Homestead, announcements were made that Luthor’s oil platforms and most ships operating in the Gulf had been destroyed — many thousands of people had perished. Most of the west coast of Florida was ravaged by the fury of the storm, leaving a mass of devastation in its wake and the coastlines along the southeastern United States had been decimated by nature’s gigantic storm, accompanied by the mythical pale horseman. The loss of life and the physical destruction of the region was too horrible to contemplate.

From rough estimates, it was feared and later verified, the monstrous storm, which rampaged through the Gulf, had caused more than two hundred thousand casualties — injured, maimed and killed — and those numbers concurred with the values Ari had predicted if evacuation from the threatened area were ignored.

Hearing the information arising from the storm as Ari puttered about his new basement laboratory, all that Lara and Jor-El’s first male child could do was lift his head heavenward and whisper, “I tried.”

After a pause, Ari murmured, “I wonder who the politicians will scapegoat for this calamity?”

Some thirty minutes after the devastating news had been broadcast from LNN, Kit, accompanied by Mi-Ra, entered Ari’s new lab facility. As Ari recognized his visitors, he discontinued what he was doing and embraced Mi-Ra, who he often called his Metropolis sister and hugged her. He also gave Kitara a hardy hug and kissed her on her cheek.

After greeting his aunt, Ari again pulled Mi-Ra into his grasp saying, “What can I do for you, my little sister? I hope you are aware that you’re welcome here at anytime.” Then placing his head upon Mi-Ra’s forehead, Ari hugged her again.

Then as Ari was explaining what he was doing, Mi-Ra got her nerve-up and commented, “I hope I’m getting an impression that you hanker for a stronger interaction between us, one that would lead to more than a brother sister connection.”

Ari nodded his head and replied that while he was happy with their current relationship, he was unhappy that the two of them were not soulmates, which inhibited a deeper emotional linkage between them.

“Our current relationship I feel is not a very satisfying one.”

Ari began to move equipment about his lab to avoid continuing the conversation along the lines Mi-Ra had initiated. Soon, Mi-Ra began to help him move his equipment.

Out of curiosity, Ari asked Mi-Ra, “Has anybody inquired about my well being in Metropolis?”

To Ari’s question Mi-Ra shook her head in a negative fashion.

Ari, with a Mono Lisa type facial expression asked whether any of his so-called Metropolis friends expressed any kind of consideration for him or his actions. “In truth, Sis,” answering his own interrogative, “why should the population of Metropolis think about me at all. The leaders of Metropolis probably believe that I’m an embarrassment, and the politicians who control the city will attempt to influence the people of my former home to refrain from thinking positively about my works and hope in time that the memory of my existence will fade into obscurity.”

The embarrassment of Luthor’s political meddling had caused untold hardship on the Gulf region of the country, causing a clamor for retribution against those responsible for the Gulf catastrophe. The memory of the Gulf event nor Luthor’s involvement would not disappear.

After discussing Luthor and observing Ari’s stockpile of electronics, Mi-Ra curiously asked, “What will you do with the stock of electronic equipment you’ve gathered?”

Pausing for a moment, Ari said, “I’m attempting to fabricate a time-space mechanism from a theoretical model that I’ve been developing and embellishing for some time.”

Looking at Mi-Ra, Ari added, “If I’m successful, my spatial teleportation unit will be incorporated with my temporal mathematical statement converter so that the coordinates of Krypton and Earth can be positioned simultaneously. Then, my sister,” Ari said, “we shall be able to surreptitiously return to the world of our birth.”

Mi-Ra said, “I hope you’re successful, Ari. I would like to see my mother again. I’m sure Lori also has a similar desire.”

In Metropolis, Mi-Ra usually walked from Star Labs to the Planet building to have her lunch with her sister Lori. Several days after returning to Metropolis, Mi-Ra again met with her older sibling. While they were enjoying a hardy meal, Perry White, the newly designated editor in chief of the Planet, joined them at their noon repast.

As they conversed, Mi-Ra asked, “What happened to Ari Miller, the Star Lab assistant and science department director at the Metropolis Star?” After a quiet pause, Mi-Ra added, “I knew him very well, and found him to be a person of high integrity.”

“In what capacity did you known him?” Lori inquired of her sister.

“We both worked at STAR Labs,” Mi-Ra replied. “He was a man who, if listened to, could have saved hundreds or maybe thousands upon thousands of people’s lives from either injury or death during the past gigantic Gulf storm.”

“You know, Lori, maybe there’s a great story in his dismissal from Star Labs and the Metropolis Star. Why don’t you look into the info surrounding that man,” Perry chimed in. “It may be important that Metropolis remembers what was done to an honest man by a slime-ball, who calls himself a philanthropist, and his sycophant politicians still attempting to slander a man who attempted to saved innumerable lives. I regret that we did not hire him when we had the chance.”

“I wouldn’t call Luthor a slime-ball. When I went out with him, Luthor didn’t seem so bad.”

With Lori’s comment, Mi-Ra almost yelled, “Nigel is a married man. What about the Biblical entity called fidelity, especially in a marriage?”

“He was not getting along well with his wife,” was Lori’s weak response to justify Luthor’s philandering.

Mi-Ra didn’t reply any further. Shaking her head, Mi-Ra rose from the table and left the room.

Before Perry also left, he said to Lori, “Nigel Luthor, my dear, is the personification of evil. He allowed his employees working in the Gulf, including a first cousin, to perish in order to seek revenge on a man who had done nothing but help people since he’d arrived in town. Now Nigel is going to prison for at least ten years, no parole, and the Secretary of Commerce has been forced to resign his cabinet post even though he was duped by that lummox Luthor into committing what some would call a treasonous act.

“Lori, note that our society, encouraged by the actions of our gallant political system, had ostracized Ari for his attempt to save many people’s lives and prevent the recent tragedy. Think of it, Lori. The politicians are protecting each other and attempting to destroy Ari’s competency as a scientist to coverup their faux pas, which was instigated by Luthor. Lori, you should be aware that even after the evidence gathered by the government’s commission to study the storm incident clearly showed that Ari’s information was correct, not one apology from the involved establishments for their vile treatment of Ari, a guiltless man, has ever been offered in any form. And, Lori, the organizations which are really responsible for the Gulf catastrophe by following Luthor’s lead haven’t been prosecuted, and the organizations which fired him haven’t offered to return his positions for exposing the truth nor compensate him for his financial losses.

“Lori, I don’t believe the vendors of this city will ever offer Ari a job or redress him for his losses. Such a move by our fair city would be an admission of collusion with Luthor and his cohorts and, therefore, an admission they should share, if only in a philosophical sense, the guilt that led to the reckless slaughter of many people.”

Perry then rose from the table and commented as he left the room, “The Daily Planet will publish articles every day about the Ari incident until those buzzards are driven into bankruptcy or by some other financial means be forced from our city. Ari’s story will not be killed by the politicians of this guilty city. The fight to keep what happened to Ari Miller has just begun. You know, I have a horrible notion that this town will pay a terrible price for what it has done to the character of an honest person.”

Since Lori did not agree with Perry or her sister, she wrote an article in which she supported Luthor’s corrupt beliefs and murderous attitude, which added support to the same views as Ari’s assailants. Even after her story was awarded a Kerth for political reasons, Perry never mentioned her article again, and the Planet, during Perry’s tenure as editor in chief, never accepted a call from the Kerth committee or attended another of their shindigs.

Because of the conduct of the Kerth board, its yearly gala essentially became an insular affair and its directors, during Perry’s lifetime as the Planet’s editor in chief, were never invited to another national or an international news event.

It was only after Perry had retired and passed from this world that it was discovered that the Kerth panel had been paid handsomely to present a Kerth to Lori for her anti Ari Miller story.

When Lori had returned home after her row with her sister, Mi-Ra was gone. The bond between the siblings had been torn asunder. Mi-Ra had packed her things and flown to the Miller homestead in Kansas. There, she was given an apartment for as long as she required its use.

Within a week, Ari accompanied Mi-Ra back to his Metropolis abode. After she settled in, he explained how to use the teleportation unit concealed within her new Metropolis home. When that was accomplished, Ari teleported back to Kansas telling Mi-Ra she was expected for supper that coming Friday evening and every Friday thereafter.

While Lori and Mi-Ra no longer lived together nor generally socialized within the same social group, they still functioned as a super team — Superwoman and Fantastic-Girl were still active throughout the world.

***

*** The Abandoned ones***

On a cold and dreary winters day, Ari was making his way to a science convention in the Fogy Bottom area of Washington D.C. This conference was about time-space phenomenon and was held at the Watergate building complex in the nation’s capital.

As Ari was passing near the freshman dormitories of George Washington University, he spied a woman in her mid-twenties with a young child clutching frantically to her body for warmth and what little additional comfort the young woman could provide for her babe. Now exhausted from crying profusely for a considerable time, the infant just whimpered. Looking at the pair, Ari knew that the sting of winter would soon cause the demise of the young child and the woman who cared for the infant.

As he looked on, Ari’s heart went out to the two who were in distress and hurriedly crossed the broad avenue, picked up the freezing youngster and his mother, covered them beneath his coat close to his breast and further wrapping his coat about the child’s body. Ari’s warm Kryptonian body soon revived the child who clasped his arms about Ari’s neck and laid his head upon the alien’s shoulders. Soon, The boy fell into a healing slumber.

Then bending over the woman, Ari, fearing that she had already passed from this world, picked her up, keeping her head and body close to his torso. Soon, Ari heard a frail almost inaudible voice refer to the baby as Seth as she gestured towards the toddler. Following the Hebraic traditions of her people, she told Ari about her baby’s spiritual appellation. Then holding tightly to Ari and taking a final sigh, Seth’s mother was gathered to her fathers. Gone to the creator of all things, Seth’s mother passed from this life to another plane of existence.

Finding a deserted alleyway, Ari donned his stealth jacket and flew to his home in western Kansas carrying the young boy and his now deceased protector — a loving mother.

While Ari waited for the clergyman, he fabricated a coffin devoid of iron nails and had the woman’s bedraggled raiment removed from her body and ritually washed according to her traditions. Then the body was covered with a shroud and sealed in the burial container, a coffin, which used only wooden pegs in its construction as she had asked.

Leaving Seth with his sister, Kela, he asked Kivi to contact the rabbi residing in a nearby town to help provide the necessary funeral rituals as Seth’s mother was laid to rest. After the funeral had been completed, Ari returned to Washington where he rejoined the science conference and could gauge the needs his colleagues would require to continue the theoretical work that would be needed to enhance learning in the space — time area.

Soon after Ari left for DC for the second time, a rabbi arrived. The Miller family in the presence of the rabbi donated a section of the farm as a Hebraic cemetery next to a Christian burial ground, and an entombment sanctuary area for the people of Islam. The entire burial site was about an acre square for each sanctified section.

After a grave was exhumed and prayers said, a coffin was again interred according to the laws of Moses.

The rabbi was amazed by those who came to help the little boy, Seth, with the burial and mourning procedures that followed the burial. The strangers who came to the ceremony moved the consecrated soil, which, as the rabbi observed, was nearly as hard as concrete. The rabbi, during the remainder of his lifetime, never mentioned what he observed at the funeral on that day.

The coffin was finally covered with earth, and ten men from the surrounding communities patiently waited in the bitter cold to complete the final earthly ceremony for Sara Rebecca, Seth’s natural mother. The prayers now being chanted were for a valiant woman who struggled to save her son’s life while hers was lost in the endeavor — Sara Rebecca, the daughter of Isaac and Judith, had now returned to the earth from which all life returns. These words would be engraved on the eternal monument that covered that section of earth and which would be erected in the spring of the coming year. Through the killing cold of winter a life was lost, and a life had been preserved by a man whom the world would not appreciate nor understand until long after this moment had passed.

To Rachel, Ari’s adopted and loving daughter, was now added a new brother, Seth, four years of age.

Rachel had joined Ari’s family several years before Seth’s mother was spirited to death’s realm. The brutish murder of Ari’s good friends Josh and Yael Stein had precipitated Rachel’s adoption. Rachel’s natural parents were dispatched by a band of butchering terrorists when, as State Department Consulate employees, they were working in Ghana to increase the quantity of clean water in a desolate region within that country. Rachel’s parents’ murders occurred when an untainted water system was being constructed to provide clean drinking water for a local village then underway. A sewage complex was also being erected to remove the refuse from the village’s water facility. This intricate sewage-water complex, when completed, would reduce the amount of defiled water that flowed near the village and reduce the number of corrupted cisterns endangering the lives of the children living near the village community.

After the Millers’ cemetery was consecrated, Rachel’s natural parents were disinterred from their Ghana burial site and re-interred in the Millers’ cemetery in a plot next to Seth’s mother.

Since no immediate family for either child existed, the Miller household was pleased that Ari assumed responsibility for both Rachel Dinah and Seth David. It also provided Ari his own family, which he sorely needed, and provided him with a meaning for his own existence and those of his adoptive children.

Like his adopted daughter, Rachel, Seth, too, underwent the genome transformation process, which produced yet another earthborn Kryptonian.

One evening, not long after Seth had joined Ari and Rachel’s household, Seth climbed onto Kitara’s lap and looking his great aunt straight in the face said impulsively, “Kit, I’m very glad you’re my aunt.” He then fell into a contented slumber on her shoulder.

Ari, looking in Kit’s eyes, saw tears of joy cascading down her face. Ari knew that somehow she, too, loved this little boy. As Seth’s head continued to doze on Kit’s body, her surge of love for him increased.

Ari was right when he had told Kit when Seth first joined their family, “My son may not be genetically connected to us, but our souls, yours and mine, Kit, are one with his.” Now Kitara, too, understood that all life forms, especially one of their own kind, are connected in some unknown manner, and all are responsible for the well being of each other.

This had been borne out when Rachel was about five years of age. She found a baby eagle with an injured wing struggling to survive on the Millers’ farm. Running quickly, Rachel picked up the impaired avian and scampered for her Aunt Kit. The bird, of course, clawed at Rachel’s face in an attempt to free itself. Of course, Rachel, like all Kryptonians, possessed impenetrable skin. So, fortunately, Rachel was unaware that she was under attack by a very frightened and ferocious bird.

A few minutes after locating her aunt, an argument ensued between Rachel and Kit about whether the bird should be left in the field. The little five-year old yelled that all life forms must be protected. A few minutes later Kitara and Rachel were on their way to an ecological organization called “Stars In The Forest,” where the eagle could be cared for until its injuries were ameliorated.

As Rachel leaned against Kit, she recalled what Ari and she had talked about concerning all life forms. Rachel, too, apparently felt the same way.

Later that evening Kit asked Ari where his kids had learned their philosophical ideas. He got out of his chair, took Kit by the hand and led his aunt into a small study chamber overflowing with philosophical and religious texts gathered from the world at large. Before he left her gazing at the books, he commented, “All the children in our family use the materials found within this special room.” Kitara was also informed that the materials in the room were not just for Seth and Rachel alone, but for all those living at the Miller homestead. He smiled at Kit and returned to his own theoretical studies of multi-universes.

A few days later, Rachel came running through the house yelling with a big grin on her face; the eagle will be okay. Then for the first time she levitated practically to the ceiling doing somersaults as she soared.

Over the next three years, Ari, with Mi-Ra’s help, worked diligently on his time-space device. Then early one morning it happened. The two scientists suddenly heard sounds and beheld sights starting to appear on the large monitor, which suspended on their laboratory wall.

Mi-Ra said to Ari after a few moments, “The noises and video images emanating from the monitor are very similar to Kryptonian scenes I’ll familiar with.”

The landscapes viewed on the monitor were not as yet quite clear enough to discern all the subject material. Then Ari asked Mi-Ra, “Please arouse Kit and ask her to come to our lab.”

As Mi-Ra hastened to find Ari’s aunt, Ari was striving to fine tune the video signals now being received by the electronics of the detectors-monitoring system.

Ari was still fiddling with his space-time equipment when Kit with Mi-Ra hurried into the Ari’s laboratory. After Kit greeted her nephew, she listened to the chatter coming from Ari’s new inter-spacial instruments. Within a few moments, Kitara confirmed that the language she perceived was definitely Kryptonian in origin.

After Kit had completed her investigation, her nephew and Mi-Ra studied Ari’s space-time device and could find nothing wrong; they all sat-down in frustration. While Kit and Ari discussed the situation, Mi-Ra, looking over the designs, computations and fabrication methods associated with Ari’s inter-spatial mechanism suddenly yelled, “Eureka! Guys, we haven’t considered the relativistic effects conjoined with the electromagnetic phenomena driving the time-space device we’ve created.”

At that point, totally exhausted, Kit returned to bed while Mi-Ra and Ari began to modify the mathematical relationships and mechanical components that controlled their time-space contrivance.

When Kit returned from Star Labs the following day, Ari and Mi-Ra had just completed the modification of their time-space device.

After supper, Ari again activated the modified time-space mechanism and this time the three Kryptonians saw and heard more clearly what was transpiring on the planet Krypton nearly halfway across the cosmos.

Continuing to scrutinize the time-space signals, Kitara commented, “The time period we’re receiving appears to be that of a timeline close to our own. Until we can control any unwanted variation in the time-space patterns emanating from Ari’s device and are confident in the ability of our equipment’s capability to control any variabilities in the cosmic frequencies from Ari’s equipment, I believe we should lock-in on the Kryptonian era we’ve discovered. In that way, we’ll have a bit of reliability associated with the data generated from our time-space equipment and know that the electromagnetic waves emanating through the time-space detection apparatus are relatively stable.” After some discussion, they agreed on Kitara’s diagnosis and agreed on how to use the time-space equipment electromagnetic waves through the immensity of space.

***A New Soulmate and Delay***

After the evening meal on their momentous day, Kitara commented, “Ari, something occurred at Star Labs during this past week that I’m certain to some degree will affect our lives.”

“What is it, Auntie?” Ari eagerly queried his kin. “Is it a good thing or…”

Smiling, Kit replied, “A very good thing,” Kitara announced. “I’m fairly certain that I’ve finally located my soulmate.”

Ari beamed and said to his aunt, “That’s great, Kitara. Please bring him around tomorrow or sometime this week.”

Then Ari quietly said something that bought tears to Kitara’s eyes — “I’ve been praying for a long time that you would find a soulmate, a forever partner, among this planet’s population and be filled with love, my Aunt Kitara.” With tears streaming down his face, Ari further remarked, “Now, Auntie, I can be content.”

Ari then said, “In the name of the seven dragons of zoo-loo, how did you manage to meet this guy?”

Ari, Mi-Ra, and the others present were informed that about a week ago two new scientists were employed by Star Labs. One was a chemical physicist who possessed an earned doctorate, while the other was schooled as a chemical engineer and possessed an experimentally procured doctorate in his field. These new hires were related — first cousins, Adam and Joshua Halle.

After a slight pause, Kit continued articulating, “Prior to receiving their intense science education, both cousins were in the military for four years — they were trained in special warfare and are now magnificent warriors in their own right.”

Ari smiled, and remarked, “So, they also have fine military training. That’s good. We need more well-trained fighting personnel within our ranks.”

“What do you mean by them?” Seth asked.

“I don’t believe we’d be able to separate these two warriors,” Ari answered his son.

Even Kitara nodded affirmatively to Ari’s comments as she also answered her great nephew.

“Now, as you were saying,” Ari asked Kit, “how did you and your potential soulmate get together?”

“Two days ago,” Kit said, “Bernie had a get together to introduce the new hires to the rest of the staff. As I entered the room, where the party was to be held, I felt an aura come hither message. To tell you the truth, I was completely startled as I sought the source of the aura and noticed that a specific individual was behaving in a somewhat fidgety manner and appeared to be searching for the source which was effecting his emotional sensibilities. This new science fellow I learned was called Adam Halle by his associates. Adam’s cousin, Josh, sensing something unique was occurring, began to talk quietly with Adam in an attempt to resolve the conditions that seemed to vex his kin.

“Their discussion ceased as I approached the cousins. I could feel my soulmate pheromone becoming stronger as we came within a few meters of one another. Finally, Bernie placed his arm about Josh and led him to a group of lab employees who quickly took Josh to the spiked punch bowl. Alone, I introduced myself to Adam and asked him to join me for a walk in the rose garden.

“Seeing me meander off with his cousin Adam, Josh smiled and nodded, which is an earth way of telling his cousin or friend that the girl he’s with is A-Okay.

“As we started our walk and how do you do’s, I added quietly that I’d like to talk with him about a strange sensation that apparently was affecting our senses. Adam, being quick witted, understood my message and nodded in an affirmative manner. Adam also indicated that his cousin, with his hand signals, had urged him to get acquainted with me. Josh felt that we had something going between us and by sign language between them indicated we should go on a date.”

To her kin, Kit then said, “I hadn’t been to one of those kinds of outings in G-D knows how long. So by taking Josh’s advice, I prepared a luncheon and invited Adam and his cousin Josh to my lab where the three of us all enjoyed a scrumptious meal together.”

While Kit was relating this narrative to her family, a strange thing suddenly occurred to Adam and Josh, who, it just so happened, were both, at that moment, about to leave Kit’s laboratory area. Suddenly, there was a flash of light that temporarily overpowered Adam’s and Josh’s senses, and the next thing they knew they found themselves within a rather large room of an unfamiliar house. Looking about they found themselves in the company of Kit and her family.

Although the cousins felt no ominous sensations, they were quite unperturbed considering the immensity of what had just happened to them. Almost immediately, Josh said to Adam, “We were involved in some form of teleportation.”

Adam replied, “Yep, Couz, we probably interacted with a mode of transportation that operates by some sort of electromagnetic wave properties acting on our molecular systems.”

Almost out of nowhere, Ari stated, “Your speculation about the transportation method you’ve just experienced was correct on most points.”

Ari then looked at his aunt and remarked, “Let me attempt to explain the entire reason for Adam and Josh’s recent transportation experience, which probably is a very unusual event for the young men.”

Kitara nodded her head in an affirmative manner as Ari prepared to play instructor to Adam and Josh.

Then, Ari proceeded to a communication device on the wall and summoned the entire Miller clan to a meeting to be preceded by a gormandized meal within the immense room. After the meal was finished, the second for the Halle cousins, Kit rose and said to her family, “Adam and I have some important items to discuss and one that will affect us all.” Kit and Adam, future life partners, left the table and made their way into the flower garden for probably the most important conversation of their lives.

While Adam and Kitara walked deeper within the garden, Ari introduced Joshua and led him to the den where he became acquainted with the remainder of the family. As the family milled about, Joshua was told an incredible tale involving the Miller clan and their current farmstead.

If all went well, Josh was informed, Kitara and his cousin Adam would be engaged to be married and the family would meet for a supper celebration of this auspicious event. Josh was taken aback from what he’d learned, but he patiently waited to see whether Kit and Adam were soulmates as Kit had predicted. If that turned out to be the case they would plan to wed within the near future and spend an eternity of lifetimes together throughout all the spatial time lines in their cosmos.

As Ari had predicted, Adam and his Aunt Kit were soulmates and their marriage would occur during the next full moon.

On the day following Adam and Kitara’s engagement, the genome modification process was performed on Adam and Joshua, now the newest members of the Miller household.

At sunset on the following day, Adam and Joshua were taken into the surreptitious subterranean environs of the farmhouse to select their own Kryptonian rapier and a Bowi blade, a weapon whose uses they would be required to master for the sake of the family they could now call their own.

Ari knew that within a year both Adam and Josh would need to be well versed with the use of their weapons. Their coming journey through the wilderness of space and their survival during this trek to their destination would require this knowledge. Lessons in the use of their rapiers and Bowi blades began in a week or so after their weapons were selected.

In the coming days, as the sun charged the unique potential of their bodies, the cousins were instructed how to utilize their rapiers and blades in a series of rather lengthy sessions.

Then, thereafter, the intensity of their daily practice sessions increased markedly, improving Adam’s and Josh’s abilities in hand to hand combat using the rapier and Bowi blade as their principle weapons. This belligerent activity, of course, occurred after Adam and Josh worked a full day at Star Labs.

During this period, Adam and Josh were also provided with stealth clothing to prevent them from being observed as they developed their flying skills and hovered near Earth’s surface. As Josh and Adam developed their new fighting skills and learned to control their super powers, activity in the Miller household also increased while Kitara and Adam’s nuptials rapidly approached.

One of the non military science projects, which was also in the works, was the construction of a new apartment complex being fabricated for the newlyweds. When all was prepared on the domestic front, the Miller homestead would welcome several new residents.

It was important at this time that the entire cadre of the scientifically talented natural Kryptonians and Terran-Kryptonian people with modified genomes be present as Ari’s space-time transporter was also being fabricated and rapidly coming on line.

Except for a relatively short honeymoon period enjoyed by the Halle couple, the remaining members of the Miller clan remained close to home as the transporter device could become active at almost any moment.

However, it wasn’t until eighteen months later that a time-space window opened across the universe and Ari, Kela, and Kit journeyed through a cosmic aperture into a canyon Kitara called the Valley of the Blue Moon — a remote region on the planet Krypton.

***And Back Again***

When the three Kryptonian trekkers returned to their home world, they were startled as they gazed at the terrain near their alighting on the planet’s surface. When the intergalactic travelers scanned a larger vicinity affixed to their landing area, the trekkers further observed a silhouette of the Andal mountains in the distance and viewed the beautiful mountainous topography. Furthermore, Kit, Ari, and Kela saw a wild herd of red colored kadals, animals similar to Earth’s mountain goats, as they slowly moved across the base of the nearby mountain range that rimmed the small valley where their campsite was located.

Kitara had chosen this relatively isolated section of her home world, where the daily climate was uncertain at best and consisted of a rather rugged topography. From this territory, Kit did not expect to scurry across the Kryptonian landscape when she and several members of her family began to embark upon their journey across the planet.

A few minutes after Kit, Ari, and Kela landed on their birth world, Kit’s husband Adam and their three infants joined her in the Valley of the Blue Moon. In a little while Josh, Seth, Rachel and the sisters Mi-Ra and Lo-Ra emerged at a campsite that had been constructed on the Kryptonian landscape in the Valley of the Blue Moon. Kit and Adam, with their young family, then settled within the camp to rest, a camp constructed by Ari and the sisters Mi-Ra and Lo-Ra. That evening Kivi and his youngsters joined his soulmate Kela and made ready to begin their journey with the rest of the group.

After the entire expedition had settled in for a well needed rest, Ari called for Mi-Ra. She and Ari had met and discussed their plans; Lori (Lo-Ra) also joined them during their discussion some time later.

Several days later, the Terran and Terran-Kryptonian explorers and their families began their journey to Saron City, the capital of Krypton.

The doorway between Krypton and Earth, produced by Ari’s time-space mechanism, kept pace with the dauntless band as they crossed the Kryptonian landscape. The portal opening linking the two planets was of course concealed from the Kryptonian population by the covert fabric Ari had developed while on Earth.

As the interstellar travelers from Sol-three moved toward the equator and the capital city of the planet, the weather began to moderate and conditions became more comfy-cozy.

Approximately three weeks into the Miller household’s journey across the central plain of Krypton, a military patrol intercepted them. Kitara explained to the security forces that they were a mixed clan of people from the mountainous region north of Saron city. After hearing Kit’s explanation, the leader of the Kryptonian military unit abruptly recognized the two missing Ra girls. He then demanded that the women be placed in his charge for protection. The military leader was obviously relishing the large reward promised for the return of these missing royal females.

Before the patrol commander was aware of what was occurring, he and his twenty-one troopers under his command were dead on the Kryptonian plain.

The remains of the lifeless troopers were then passed through the space-time portal to the Miller’s homestead on Earth. There, the corpses were transported to the energy chambers beneath the Miller’s abode and incinerated within the nuclear furnaces. To insure that such an incident did not occur again, Lori returned to the Miller home while Mi-Ra used a brown wig and added brown contact lenses in her eyes to obscure her more noticeable features and therefore conceal her countenance. Ma-Ra also altered her most significant features.

Several more days upon the trail and the earthly band stood before the gates of Saron City. After being questioned at the gates of the great city, it was assumed that the gypsy individuals who made up the wandering band of Kryptonians could be kin to Lara-El, the Sela of the world. In the past, other wanderers came to Saron to visit Lara-El or other relatives who had made it to high rank.

Soon after this fact was established by considering Kit’s genetic relationship with the Selar and Sela, the diverse group was whist before the hereditary Selar and his soulmate Lara of Krypton. As they stood before Lara and Jor-El, the personage sitting next to the El Lord and his lady sarcastically told the group to bow before their betters.

Ari said, “Sir, I’ll take your hand in friendship, but for me to bow before a living being I can’t do. It would be a sacrilege. What you asked is reserved to my deity.”

Ari then held out his hand and again smiled. Just before Lord Poco was about to order Ari’s and Adam’s arrests, Jor-El stood and took the strangers’ hands in greeting. “Welcoming of a friend is like looking into the face of G-D. It is an honor to grasp your hand with reverence.”

Lord Jor-El’s action forced Poco to desist from his usual arrogant attitude and nearly caused the pompous lord to split a gut. As Lord Poco attempted to subdue his obvious hatred of the barbarians and absorb his rebuke by the First Lord, Lady Lara’s joy at these events spilled onto her beautiful countenance, aware that the haughty and treacherous Lord Poco had received his long overdue comeuppance.

When a lull in the conversation occurred, Kit, who was very well disguised, handed Lady Lara a series of documents that displayed the Lo clan symbolic markers. Lara, seeing the Lo clan official seal on the records carried by the travelers from the Northern mountains, summoned experts from the document office to authenticate the identification markings on the papers she had been given by her concealed sister-in-law.

After some deliberation by the officiating department, Lara was informed that the embossed stamps were genuine. The mother of the young children was indeed Lara’s kin.

As the fearless group of strange wanderers stood before good and evil in the audience room — the El’s and Lord Poco — Lara said to Jor-El, “Since they’re kin, my lord, and have nowhere to stay, maybe we should provide them with a harborage and find useful employment for my relatives from beyond the northern mountains.”

Jor-El agree with his soulmate and issued a personal edict making it so. After Jor-El’s decree, the little group was led to Zara’s home some distance from the council chamber’s complex.

As the company of intrepid Earth folk was being escorted to Zara-El’s residence, Lord Poco grimly said to himself, “When I send the order to exterminate Zara’s children, I’ll inform my lieutenants to dispatch the children of that Kit woman and her husband, Adam. The demise of such rift-raft I’m sure will soon be disregarded.”

***The Time Has Come the Walrus Said***

When Zara was suddenly confronted with her mother’s rather arcane kin, their gypsy like behavior perturbed Ching’s widow. To say the least, she was appalled.

However, being a gracious and a dutiful child where her parents were concerned, she accepted her father’s official request without creating a scene and graciously provided her unbidden kin folk with living quarters within her abode.

One day, when Zara returned home later in the afternoon to inquire about the needs of her relatives, she surprisingly found her home spotlessly clean and observed that Kit and Adam’s bantlings were being conscientiously and lovingly cared for by their parents.

As she entered the vast library situated in an secluded section of her home, she surprised Josh, who had been studying the contents of several advanced technical texts. The young man rose as a respectful expression to Zara’s noble status and her position as head of a household.

Surprised to see one of her rather uneducated kin behaving in such a gentle and refined manner within a learning cubicle, Zara, out of curiosity, asked him what he discovered so interesting in her home’s learning center.

After a slight pause, Josh responded, “As our clique was on its way to Saron city, I observed several very powerful geothermal flare-ups in the Urdi mountains. I made some notes and I’m now attempting to ascertain the proper mathematical relationships, if any, that could quantify my data.”

The other personages escorting Lady Zara chuckled when they heard Josh’s explanation and one of the snobbier types said, “Do you expect us to believe that a barbarian from the wilds of Krypton, such as you, could understand or utilize the mathematical expressions needed to make heads or tails out of that scribbling you’ve placed on your so called written parchment?” — Josh had been using English in the compilation of his data.

Josh then smiled and replied, “You’ve asked and I’ve simply responded to your query. Believe as you wish.” He then bowed and departed the enclosed space he was using and exited the chamber that housed the athenaeum.

That evening, Ari accompanied by Lo-Ra and Mi-Ra, three of the northern travelers, returned from a walking tour through the streets of Saron. Upon returning to the El estates, and after identifing themselves, Ari and his two companions entered Zara’s home. When the trio entered Zara’s living facilities, Ari said, “I’ll leave you both now — you are both safe.” Lo-Ra immediately left for her quarters.

Before Ari left the entrance area, Zara appeared and presented him with the notes Josh had been working on and had left behind when she and her party surprised him in her home’s library.

Ari, after looking at the writing, said, “The handwriting appears to be that of Josh Halle. From the information it appears that he was probing the geothermal outburst that we observed some weeks back.” Then Ari made a slight bowing gesture, accepted Josh’s missing material and started to leave the room. However, just as he was about to leave, Ari quietly placed a flame red figurine on a table situated near the rear of the chamber. It was out of the way of Zara and Mi-Ra and Ma-Ra who were both present at this time.

After Ari had departed, lady Zara reached for the figurine. Her intension was to remove it from its location and discard it. Before she could accomplish her actions, Mi-Ra took hold of Zara’s hands and shook her head in a negative gesture.

Soon after her cautionary gesture to Zara, Mi-Ra began to cough to camouflage her actions by asking Zara’s servant to fetch a container of water to sooth an apparently painful irritation within her throat.

When the servant left the room, Mi-Ra hurriedly informed Zara, “This room, as other sections of your house, are under intense surveillance. That red figurine that Ari placed on that table will nullify all the sub-rosa detection devices and be effective to within a hundred meter radius of the small red statue.”

Still not hearing the servant’s returning footsteps, Mi-Ra gave Zara a container filled with numerous red statuettes — anti-detection devices.

Then, Mi-Ra quickly said, “Place one or two of these small statues in each room throughout your living accommodations, Zara. These objects will restore privacy and add a quantity of vigilance to your lodgings we all will inhabit. Lord Poco, we believe, is very interested in any information he can gather from us by using his snoops.”

Before Zara’s domestic returned with the requested water, Mi-Ra gave Zara several additional red colored anti-surveillance devices shaped in a cubical configuration. These contrivances were to be used in the colorful floral garden adjacent to Zara’s home to insure that this area also was surveillance proofed.

When Zara’s servant finally did return, Mi-Ra feigned feeling better after consuming a small quantity of the water. After Mi-Ra’s fabricated coughing fit subsided, the servant again left the room. When it was safe to talk, the three women had a congenial conversation managed by Mi-Ra, who skillfully directed the discussion to revolve around the current plight of two crucial individuals, Lady Ma-Ra and Lord Ez-Ra, whom Lord Poco wished to eliminate in some manner. Both nobles rendered extensive influence over the Northern Ra clan and were loyal to Jor-El and Lara.

As the three women were about to separate and leave Lady Zara’s living quarters, Ma-Ra cautiously slipped Zara a note, out of view from the domestics caring for the house. This message stipulated, “Meet me in the rose garden central area shortly after tomorrow’s noon meal.”

Just after midday on the following day, the youngest daughter of Ma-Ra and Ez-Ra, Mi-Ra, again faced Zara.

When they met, Zara said, “I’m surprised you’re here. I was to meet with Ma-Ra.

“Look around,” Mi-Ra said. “My mother was detained by Lord Poco. That man is a scoundrel and has not seen Mom for some time. Lord Poco feels that she knows where my father is hiding and will try all his cunning to obtain his location. Don’t worry, she’ll tell him nothing.” Then smiling at Zara, she added, “I was told that Lara and you know of his clandestine hiding place.”

Zara just nodded positively.

“Keep him safe,” Mi-Ra then stated. “Your father and many others fear he is already dead. Let’s look for a quieter location within this garden area.”

After the two ladies discovered a relatively placid location for their discussion, Mi-Ra placed several additional anti-surveillance devices around their chosen meeting area.

After Mi-Ra felt comfortable, she looked Zara in the eye and said, “What I shall tell you must remain deep in your memory and not be revealed to anyone, not even to family members, until the proper time when it can be revealed.”

Taking a deep breath, she first told Zara that Ari was her older brother and then commenced to fill her in on the circumstances behind his conception, exile and birth. Then Mi-Ra added that Ari also had a twin sister, who married a man — her soulmate — from a world many billions of light-years from Krypton. Her name was Kela, and she and her husband were now screening and safeguarding this operation from a planet called Earth through a special space — time portal.

As Zara heard Lady Mi-Ra’s tales, she turned and gazed at her companion, then stood and began to pace to and fro.

Quieting down somewhat, Mi-Ra continued the history of the tiny town of Ulysses, Kansas, on planet Earth that now housed her kin and their progeny.

She learned that most of the individuals who had become part of the Miller family, Kivi, Adam, Josh, Seth, and Rachel were essentially earthborn Kryptonians. Some had their genes modified to recreate their Kryptonian form.

Then Zara was informed that the people from Earth were biologically comparable with those born on Krypton. Zara was then very emotionally perturbed when Mi-Ra informed Zara that she and Josh, an earthing whose genome had been modified, were soulmates.

“The Josh I spoke with yesterday?” Zara asked. “Are you sure?” Zara asked again.

“Yes,” Mi-Ra replied.

Mi-Ra caught Zara as she nearly collapsed.

After a pause in their conversation, Mi-Ra said to Zara, “When Josh made physical contact with you sometime during the past month, the strength of your soulmate interaction nearly knocked him off his feet. You, Zara, on the other hand, having been through a previous soulmate encounter felt a gentler bonding connection when you and Josh’s souls joined. Since your linkage was rather delicate and mild, your mental association with Josh, your new life partner, was perceived almost as a nonexistent feeling and you ignored the bonding sensation.”

So, Zara realized, that since the bonding processes were so different between her and Josh, she hardly felt the interaction, and therefore, ignored the soulmate signals that were so intensive to Josh during their bonding process. Zara now realized why she felt the gentleness of Josh in the library. She wasted a month of her life and more loneliness by her foolish actions.

“If you have a chance, Zara,” Mi-Ra said to her, “watch as Josh interacts with your children. You’ll notice that he treats them as if he and you had conceived them. Josh is so tender with your offspring one would never realize that he was not their biological father.” Mi-Ra then added, “I have never seen a male harmonize so lovingly with children that were not genetically his own as Josh behaves with your offspring, Zara. He truly functions as if he were their father. At present, I’m aware that Josh is having some difficulty with you and your so called friends in the manner in which he’s been treated. Your associates are the main cause of Josh’s behavior.

“You should also know that Josh and his first cousin Adam, Ari’s brother-in-law, are kind of bookish. Although Adam and Josh are warriors, both cousins generally prefer intellectual pursuits. For differing from the norm, they’ve generally been ostracized by many of their peers. So over time both young men have become rather reclusive and considered by foolish people as social pariahs, people who are not fun and should be avoided.

“When you first met Josh you should recall that he was not behaving as a usual middle-class Kryptonian you’ve come to know over a lifetime — before binding with Ching. So, you and your friends just sarcastically ignored him as a person when your paths occasionally crossed. Being considered social outcasts on Earth, Adam and Josh were currently avoided. Very little or no social interaction with females was the norm for them until Adam met his soulmate, your Aunt Kitara. Since Josh is now alone, he accepted your behavior towards him and his family as normal and didn’t pursue his feelings toward you, Zara, daughter of Lara-El, Sela of Krypton. For Josh, it would have been useless and embarrassing at the hands of your associates.

“You should also be aware, Zara, that after Josh and his cousin completed their education, both men earned advanced academic degrees in the healing arts and the physical sciences on their home world. Soon after they finished their advanced studies, the military on their homeland called-up their military units. Both Adam and Josh served with distinction with a contingent of special forces and were honored for their military exploits. They were great warriors and honored for their deeds.

“Kitara and Adam didn’t have much difficulty in forming their soulmate bond once their auras were initiated. The Miller family aided them once the bonding process began, and the emotional explosiveness of the nexus linking of their souls in a forever partnership pulled them together. The connection between them, I must tell you, was so strong that Kitara’s aura caused her to move in on her soulmate, Adam, and prompted their relationship to crystallized rather quickly.

“When the aura linkage occurred between you and Josh, the emotional reactions experienced by the male, in this situation, was a normal sensuous experience — Josh reacted as expected. However, Zara, since many of your soulmate quantities were already in place because of your previous marriage, the linkage phase in a new relationship only had to be modified by the female member in the pairing process as a new soulmate configuration was formed. Because of this condition, and a previous marriage situation for one of the soulmates in the new pair, the bond structure with its genetic recognition codes was extremely mild and difficult for the female to recognize. Since your feelings for Josh didn’t exist as far as you were concerned, Zara, you just avoided your new soulmate linkage and allowed your occasional compatriots to ostracize Josh, especially when he was attempting to study in your library. When was the last time any academic activity occurred in your house? When Ching was alive?

“Although your passion parameters, during the unification process between you and Josh, theoretically your future consort, sensually did have some emotional kick, any of your mutual interactions would be rather gentle and almost unrecognizable for your soulmate coupling to be easily recognizable.

“So, Zara, you should now understand why your potential soulmate appears to be unaware of any amorous feelings toward you especially after you and your friends pushed him aside. The only thing Josh has experienced from his episodes with your lady friends is pain, individual encounters in which rejection is the only feeling he experiences. Josh is also confused because he possesses weird sensations that stir his feelings producing conditions where he would like to deal with you romantically. Since you treat Josh as your friends do, like a subhuman at times, he buries his affections towards you and avoids your path whenever the opportunity occurs to evade any more emotional scars.

“From my view of things,” Mi-Ra added, “your soulmate seems to have misconstrued life’s meaning by his life partner. While your reconstituted genetic relationship with Josh appears to be A-Okay, I’m concerned that your new soulmate is clueless about the spiritual aspect of your current bonding state. Heck, you were unaware that life had somehow given you another chance to find happiness. You and I, Zara, must rectify this rather-confusing soulmate situation.”

After listening to Mi-Ra’s thoughts, Zara simply nodded her head in agreement.

As she stared at the chronometer on the den wall, Zara changed the subject by saying, “If we don’t hurry, your sister and I will be late for Jor-El and Lara’s social gathering to introduce lady Mi-Ra and Lady Lo-Ra to Krypton’s noble guests.”

Zara and Mi-Ra then hastened to retrieve Lo-Ra and hurried toward the council chamber where the gala was just getting underway.

While Zara, Lo-Ra, and Mi-Ra were rushing to Jor and Lara’s social shindig, the Miller clan quietly explored the extensive grounds of the El estates.

When the guys left Zara’s abode, only nine-year old Rachel remained in the house with Zara’s young children. About an hour after Zara’s home had been vacated by the adults for their various outings, Nag-Nor and about fifteen of his sycophants entered Zara’s abode and stealthily made they way toward the nursery, which housed Zara’s children.

As Nag-Nor and his faithful followers turned the final corner leading to the children’s chamber, they came face to face with Rachel, a young girl whose eyes blazed with a cold fury, a warrior provoked in the defense of her charges. As Nag-Nor and his men gazed upon the young girl, she uttered seven terse words, “Leave this house or suffer the consequences.”

Ignoring Rachel’s warning, Nag-Nor ordered several of his followers to seize Zara’s children. The new protector of the Northern Ra clan, Lord Poco’s kin, Nag-Nor, started laughing as he drew his rapier from its scabbard, and said, “Like their father, Zara and Ching’s children will perish by my hand.”

Then Nag-Nor’s second in command, Sar-Nor, said to his commander, “It looks like you also will have the pleasure of killing Ari’s daughter, Rachel.”

As Sar-Nor turned to help dispatch Nag-Nor’s prey, he was suddenly face to face with a young child clutching a rapier in her right hand and gripping a modified Bowi knife in her left ductus. Armed to the teeth, the Norian warrior attacked Rachel to end her life. That was the last thing that Sar-Nor attempted before his life ceased to exist. As the conflict in Zara’s house increased in its ferocity, Rachel first decapitated Nag-Nor as he moved in her direction. Then, with the fury of a tigress defending its cubs, Ari’s daughter began assailing the remaining troopers who were still attempting to murder Zara’s children.

As Rachel swiftly turned her body to face the on coming assassins, she was already between the Norian slayers of Zara’s youngsters and Kit’s children slumbering in an adjacent apartment.

As Nag-Nor and the remainder of his murderous sycophants rushed toward Rachel, the young ball of rage attacked the killers head on and immediately took down four more of Nag-Nor’s bloodthirsty gang. She had been taught by her father that when an action is forced upon you, numerical strength matters little in a hand to hand confrontation.

After Nag-Nor’s lieutenant Sar-Nor, Nag-Nor’s men continued their attack and stormed Rachel’s ever shifting position in the battle surrounding Zara’s kids. As the battle progressed, Nag-Nor’s troopers slowly lost fighting men to Rachel’s bobbing and weaving blades during each of their foolhardy assaults.

While Ari’s daughter held Nag-Nor and his murdering lowlifes at bay, Kela and Kivi, with several of their older children, entered Zara’s Kryptonian quarters through the time — space portal, collected the six sleeping children and quickly transported them to the Miller’s abode on old Terra-Firma.

Arriving on Earth, Kela quickly instructed her older children how to care for Zara’s and Kit’s youngsters. As Kivi and Kela completed their care of the babies, they both armed themselves with fighting implements and rapidly returned to Zara’s abode to assist Rachel, Ari’s daughter, in her fight for life.

Within seconds, Kivi and Kela were racing through Zara’s house toward the sound of the dueling conflict. As Kivi and his life partner turned a corner, they saw Nag-Nor make several rapier thrusts through Rachel’s back — she was run through — while being held by two of Nag-Nor’s scum. Just as Nag-Nor was about to cut Rachel’s throat, he became aware of two more armed individuals charging at him and his remaining horde with weapons at the ready.

Seeing Kivi and Kela bearing down upon him, Nag-Nor panicked and like all cowards of his kind, he fled. The four remaining followers of Nag-Nor dropped Rachel and attempted to draw their weapons. They died where they stood.

Kela and her soulmate then clutched Rachel and rushed her to the surgical facility that Zara’s home maintained. Since Krypton could be a war like world, every Kryptonian house had a dispensary of sorts. Zara’s home, because of Ching’s murder, had a complete hospital facility within the building.

When Ari, Seth and Josh arrived at Zara’s home shortly after the attempted murder of Zara’s infants, they found fifteen dead Norians, and Kivi and his soulmate operating on Rachel.

As the surgery proceeded, Ari and his companions were informed of what had occurred and the defense Rachel had put up against Nag-Nor and his sycophants — Kivi then handed a recording tape to Ari that illustrated all aspects of the events, including the battle scenes.

Leaving Kela and Kivi to continue patching up Rachel, Ari, followed by Seth and Josh, proceeded to the armament room.

After looking over various weaponry, the three Miller clan warriors armed themselves according to their needs — a major engagement was in the wind.

When their arming process had been completed, Ari turned to Josh and Seth saying, “My brothers, you haven’t completed your training in the use of Kryptonian’s weapons. Your lack of instructional time with these devices will place you in a great disadvantage.” After a pause, Ari added, “I wish you would refrain from entering the coming fray until you are both sufficiently skilled with Krypton’s battle gear.”

Smiling, Josh replied, “How can I allow you, Ari, my brother, and you Seth, also my kin, to face death when I am still capable of providing some assistance? No, my brethren,” Josh added, “I’m committed, as we all are, to avenging the heinous onslaught that occurred in this house and avenge the hurt to a young girl who may die while she stood for righteousness.”

Then Seth said, “Guys, let’s oppose the evil that Nag-Nor represents and fulfill our appointment with destiny.”

The Miller warriors then left Zara’s abode and rapidly moved toward the El council chamber.

About thirty minutes in advance of Ari and his kin, Nag-Nor acquired thirty additional fighting men from the palace and stationed them in the passageway leading to the Selar’s audience chamber. In addition, Nag-Nor, acquired fifty Norian troopers from Nag-Nor’s clan’s military barracks to accompany him into the council hall itself to secure his safety.

When Lord Poco observed Nag-Nor’s rather panicky and somewhat foolish military maneuvering, Poco placed himself and his entourage a significant distance from Nag-nor and his supporting troops to where Lord Poco believed the coming battle would be most predisposed to occur. By disassociating himself from Nag-Nor, Lord Poco hoped to protect his retinue, his support team, which was the main stay of his political intrigues and the followers he currently represented politically.

Within an hour Ari, Seth, and Josh entered the main building, which contained the El’s audience chamber. After a few moments there ensued a brief but intense battle in which he and his kin disposed of the armed guards within the passageway leading to Jor-El’s audience chamber. Upon standing at the entrance to the Hall of Audiences, Ari and his compatriots sought Nag-nor. After glimpsing Nag-Nor, the butcher, a few minutes into their search, the trio of Earth warriors advanced steadily and with lethal resolve towards the Norian’s location.

As Ari’s group approached the Norian’s military formation, Mi-Ra scurried toward Josh who handed her the surveillance tape. She then hurried back to Jor-El and his soulmate, Lara, and presented them with the active recording tape.

As Jor-El was scanning the surveillance documents, six of Nag-Nor’s troopers suddenly attacked Ari, Seth, and Josh simultaneously. Within a few seconds, the Miller clan’s antagonists were lifeless hulks scattered about the floor near the main council chamber.

As Ari was slashing his way toward Nag-Nor, it was announced, “The Norians who had been placed within the entrance tunnel leading to the El’s complex are all devoid of life. Ari and his two companions must have slain Nag-Nor’s warriors as they attempted to block Ari and his family from entering the First Lord’s audience domain.”

After conferring with Sor-El, the captain of the guards, about the altercation in the entrance way, Jor-El, said, “In my mind, their fight was justified.”

Then Jor added, “Leave them be. It appears that these folk from the North Country have an honorable score to settle with Nag-Nor.”

As Jor halted the El guards from interfering, Ari and his kin were already moving rapidly toward Nag-Nor and the remainder of his military followers.

Soon, flashing rapiers and stabbing Bowi blades cleaved the air as flesh met steel and Nag-Nor’s sycophants fell like ten pins.

As the Nag-Nor cohorts perished and Ari’s little band began to move ever closer to their quarry, Nag-Nor, the butcher of innocent children, called for his remaining troops to attack his antagonist.

Suddenly, more armed men appeared and attacked the location being defended by Josh Halle. Overwhelmed for the moment, the once medical scientist now behaving as a warrior still managed to dispatch seven of the new attackers who had launched another deadly assault upon his person.

As Josh continued to battle with Nag-Nor’s reinforcements, his rapier was shattered. To compensate for the loss of his rapier, Josh drew a tomahawk from his sleeve and with his Bowi blade, his bare bodkin, propelled himself toward the remainder of the enemy now arrayed before him.

With his slashing Bowi blade and the cleaving action of the tomahawk, Josh took down more of Nag-Nor’s supporters. Then, Josh’s mortal enemies struck twice from behind, leaving two bloody lacerations in Josh’s side. Going to his knees, Josh continued to fight, sending several more of Nag-Nor’s followers to death’s domain.

Seeing Josh go down, Zara jumped to her feet, snatched her father’s rapier, and leaped over the people blocking her path to the fighting ground and was off like a flash. In a few moments she was by Josh’s side, her rapier reaping havoc upon Nag-Nor’s cutthroats.

A minute or so later, Mi-Ra had reached Zara’s side as she, too, began dealing death as fast as her rapier could rend its victims.

In the midst of the fray between Zara, Mi-Ra, Josh and the Na-Nor reinforcements, two additional assassins advanced toward Zara on her blind side. Josh maneuvered himself between Zara and their enemy and grabbed the rapiers, snapping the blades of the enemies weapons into several parts. Then, using his Bowi knife he disemboweled the would be slayers of Zara, Jor-El’s daughter.

As Zara and Mi-Ra were finishing off the remainder of their assailants, Josh beheld Nag-Nor running from the fray attempting to escape. Picking up a rapier with his mutilated hands, Josh hurled it like a spear striking Nag-Nor in the throat and killing him instantly. The battle was over. The remnant of Nag-Nor’s troops seeing their lifeless leader’s body ran from the scene like cowardly lice.

After Josh had brought Nag-Nor down with his shattered rapier, the young man collapsed from loss of blood. Zara reached him first and clasped Josh to her breast. He opened his eyes and smiled saying barely above a whisper, “Zara, please pardon my impertinence; I believe that I love you.” Then he closed his eyes and lapsed into unconsciousness.

Zara screamed and then murmured, “My soul cannot tolerate loosing two loves in one lifetime.” Then she also lamented, “My children, where are my kids? “

Hearing Zara’s sorrowful cries, Kela quickly guided Zara to the surgeon’s gurney where Josh was being treated. As Kela helped Zara, she whispered to her, “Your kids are safe and Josh will survive. However, you’ll have to give your soulmate much attention and loving care.”

Hearing Kela’s quiet utterances, Zara’s face relaxed and blazed like an illuminating lighting element of a thousand watts, after which her tears ran like a stream. “It was like a river of joy,” she later told Mi-Ra regarding her great emotional outpouring.

As Kivi and his soulmate were completing their surgical procedures on Josh, Kela asked Zara if she wished to accompany Kivi and herself as they moved Josh to a location where he could recovery physically and emotionally.

Zara lit up like a chandelier at Kela’s suggestion and nodded a simple yes.

As Kivi was preparing to transport his patient, Zara was becoming better acquainted with her older sister, Kela.

Unknown to Kela and Zara, Lady Lara was scrutinizing her daughter, Zara, and the young healer, both of whom were near to her. Both women had ruby red hair and green eyes, as Lara herself possessed. The physiognomy of both Zara and the strange physician also had many other characteristics in common. Their resemblance, Lara noted, was uncanny, and some of their expressions and gestures were identical.

As Zara snd Kela, the young female physician, were now moving Josh carefully from the council hall, Lara had a strange feeling that she was scrutinizing not one but two of her issues. How could that be, she mused? The two prebirth offspring she and Jor-El had forwarded to Earth with her sister-in-law were now halfway across the cosmos, if they survived at all. Lara knew that she would have to investigate these new events within her life, quietly and secretively on her own.

Just as Kela was leaving the El council chamber, she gave Mi-Ra a quantity of medical supplies to patch up Ari and Seth who themselves had been injured during the battle with Nag-Nor and his henchmen.

As Mi-Ra was caring for Ari and his son, Adam entered the hall. He had just returned from the Urdi mountain site where he was studying the rather large geological shock waves which had emanated from that region.

Detecting Ari, he moved toward his kin and quietly began apprising him of what he’d discovered while studying his injuries.

Although Adam’s information about the Urdi mountain events was still somewhat ambiguous, additional study in the Urdi mountainous region was needed and this need was immediate.

Before Adam began looking for Kit, Seth told him that his soulmate had returned to the Miller farm to care for their children and to attend to other family matters. As things stood, Adam would see his soulmate in a matter of hours.

***And Back Again***

When Zara walked through the time — space window with Kivi and Kela, she found herself in a subterranean laboratory that had been built beneath the Miller abode on a planet she was told was called Earth. Following Kela and her spouse toward the living quarters of the house, she saw children of various ages. Some of the youngsters closely resembled the soulmate pair she was now accompanying.

Reaching the main floor of the Miller house, Zara saw her own children rollicking near three cribs containing Kitara and Adam’s infants. Frolicking with her kids were other young juveniles of various ages. From their facial features, these youngsters appeared to be more of Kivi and Kela’s offspring.

After enjoying a tasty meal and spending some time with Josh, Kit invited Zara to the house’s isolated patio. A few minutes later Kela joined them.

Kela said to her aunt, “Kit, please acquaint Zara with our tale of tales — our space odyssey.”

It was about an hour later when Kit completed her unbelievable narrative about her journey and the birth of Ari and Kela as she traveled through the wilderness of space from Krypton to Earth, a trek which started with two unborn children in life tubes — a journey that had traversed half of the cosmic realm. Kit’s first hand description of the events corroborated, elaborated, and clarified the tale that Mi-Ra had disclosed to her earlier in the garden.

Zara looked at her new sister and aunt and commented, “Your odyssey will never be believed here on this world or on Krypton. People of both planets will not comprehend the scope of what has been accomplished, especially the development of the time — space transporter.”

Shaking her head, Zara then murmured, “And to think, I have a brother. You know, I always felt safe when Ari was around. I guess blood will make itself known. Kela,” Zara asked, “why doesn’t Ari have a soulmate?”

Kitara then unhappily informed Zara, “He does have a soulmate in theory, but the bonding sequences between Ari and Lo-Ra have been flawed. So, all I can really say is that Lo-Ra, Mi-Ra’s sister, is theoretically Ari’s life partner.”

Taking a breath, Kitara added, “Although Ari-El and Lo-Ra are respectful to one another, their present association has progressed as far as I believe it will ever progress in this life.”

After some thought, Zara said, “Do you think mother should be made aware of what I’ve been told?” Zara then gazed at her sister and aunt for a sign. Both Kela and Kitara, after a few moments, nodded their agreement to Zara’s eager question.

Then Kela added, “I feel that either Kit or you, Zara, should do the honors. She knows you both well and may respond more positively to such news and accept all those who are associated with us in the Miller household. There is another matter of which Mother must become cognizant.” After a short pause, Kela remarked, “The super volcano that Adam is currently studying.”

“A super volcano,” a surprised Zara queried the others.

“On our way to Saron city,” Kela informed her younger sibling, “we uncovered, within the Urdi mountain range, a huge caldera covered over by untold centuries of debris. We found signs that this supposedly dormant volcano may becoming active again. If Adam’s research is valid, as we surmise, and the Urdi super volcano is becoming dynamic, Krypton as a life bearing planet may be nearing its end.”

Kela then remarked to Zara, “You should know, my sister, that Adam is Kit’s soulmate and Josh’s first cousin.”

Then Kit informed her kin, “Lara has to be alerted to the fact that a super volcano and the possible destruction of our home world are possible. Having such knowledge will enable Lara to act secretly and be independent of the grand council. If the grand council were to be advised of Krypton’s potential doom, I expect this political body, under the surreptitious domination of the Nor clan, would act to slow down or stop the El family from enacting a program aimed at safeguarding Krypton or rescuing as many of the planet’s population as is practicable before the extinction level event occurs.” (An extinction level planet event is generally known as an ELE.)

“Therefore, it’s essential for you to return to Krypton within a day or so, Zara. According to Adam, ‘Time is of the essence.’ Mi-Ra knows you’re coming and will meet you in the library within your Kryptonian home. Do you mind if we keep your kids on Earth where they’ll be safe and in the family’s loving hands?”

“I have no objection to keeping my children on Earth during this turbulent time,” Zara stated emphatically.

***Back Again***

Soon after Zara returned to Krypton, Mi-Ra rendezvoused with Lara’s widowed daughter.

After discussing pertinent Earth family issues and the forthcoming ELE event, Zara and Mi-Ra decided upon a course of action that they would initiate by first conferring with Lara regarding the super volcano located within the Urdi mountains. After their plan was agreed upon, the two women saw Zara’s older brother, Ari. He was the indispensable cog in their strategy. When Lara finally approached the council with the super volcano information, she would require protection and Ari was that essential factor.

After Zara and Mi-Ra were satisfied that all their strategic factors were well formulated and in place, an invitation was sent to the Sela, Lady Lara, inviting her to an informal luncheon at Zara’s Abode.

On the evening before Zara’s unceremoniously and casual luncheon, Ari, accompanied by his son Seth, made himself known at the guard position near the audience chamber of the El complex. Shortly after arriving at the El compound, Ari asked to visit with Lady Lara in her formal lodging. Asked to wait, Ari and Seth made themselves comfortable as they expected a reply to Ari’s request.

Unknown to Ari and Seth, Lord Poco intercepted the messenger as he was nearing Lady Lara’s living quarters. Inquiring as to the messenger’s official business, Lord Poco was informed that he was delivering a communique to the Sela from a man who identified himself as Ari. The courier had been previously informed that he was a gentleman from the far north of Krypton and kin to the Sela.

Pausing for a moment, Lord Poco, with a crocodilian smile, told the messenger, “Since I, too, am on my way to see Lady Lara, I’ll save you some bother and complete your task.”

Thanking Lord Poco for his kindness, the courier returned to his official location in the main hall.

Waiting until the messenger had disappeared among the maze of twisting passages, one of which proceeded toward the main chamber, Lord Poco moved away from the corridor which would have led to Lara and Jor-El’s palace living quarters.

After four hours of waiting in the great hall, a very annoyed Ari suddenly arose and again began perambulating toward the living sections of the El complex. Seth instinctively followed his father.

As Seth and his father walked toward Lara and Jor’s living accommodations, they again encountered the courier who was to deliver their original communique to the Sela.

As Ari and Seth met the messenger, the guard inquired for the second time, “What are you doing in these apartment areas? They are the quarters belonging to the Sela and Selar.”

Ari quickly replied, “Sir, since we didn’t receive a response to our query, I decided to locate Lady Lara and ask her directly for a personal audience.”

The courier then rejoined, “That’s strange? I met Lord Poco on my way to the Sela’s quarters some time ago after we talked. He stated that he would complete my chore since he was traveling in the direction of First Lord’s lodgings.”

Pausing for a moment, Ari then said to the courier, “Please communicate with the Sela’s apartments and find out whether Lord Poco is now present or whether he was in to see her within the past three to four hours?”

Since Ari’s request was reasonable and the events with Lord Poco were somewhat perplexing, the courier did what was requested.

Several minutes later, the courier told Ari and Seth that Lord Poco was not and never had been in Lara’s living quarters at any time that evening.

The Courier looked at Ari without comprehension and walked back towards the main level of the great hall allowing Ari and Seth to proceed on their quest.

Father and son then continued along the corridor leading to the Sela’s apartments and after reaching their destination quietly knocked at the entrance way leading to the Sela’s rooms.

A Lady in waiting opened the doorway and inquired who was calling.

Ari, smiling, responded, “I’m here to see the Sela.” The young lady turned and proceeded to seek her mistress and inform her of the strange visitors that were at her entrance way.

After a few minutes had elapsed, four would-be guards suddenly appeared and ordered Ari and Seth to leave. Ari and his son almost immediately recognized their military unit from their insignia emblazoned on the trooper’s uniform — Nor clan men-at-arms assigned to the El complex.

Before the Norian military unit could respond to their leader’s command, Ari and Seth had unsheathed their rapiers and dispatched the entire military contingent. This military unit was not assigned to the interior of the El complex.

As Ari was disposing of their opponents, Seth began hurrying through the Sela’s apartment. He found the Sela in the dining room. As Seth broke through the eating room’s doorways, he saw the woman who had answered the outer door of the living quarters now holding a dagger of sorts, and was about to plunge its poisonously treated blade into the Lara’s back.

Before the assassin could complete her murderous intent, Seth had hurled his Bowi blade, which now protruded from the murderess’s throat. After Seth had thrown his weapon with his previously injured arm, he grasped his upper limb in an attempt to stifle the blood now flowing from several reopened battle injures.

Seeing that the boy was attempting to stem his blood flow and stifle the anguish that accompanied the reopened wounds, Lara grabbed her medical kit and rushed to Seth’s side and began to tend his afflicted body. As she worked on his injuries, Seth murmured thanks to his grandma.

As Lara began to clean and bandage Seth’s wounds, he began passing out from weakness caused by his loss of blood. Then with a limp smile on his face, he finally situated his head on the Sela’s shoulder, closed his eyes and lost consciousness.

As Lara worked on Seth, Ari, who by then had entered the dining room, studied the murderess’s countenance.

He suddenly reached down and removed the Killer’s disguise, created by an actor’s makeup which had been skillfully utilized to misrepresent the killer’s appearance. As further camouflage material was removed from her face, the features of a Norian female were revealed. After covering the corpse with a bedspread, Ari began to pace to and fro deep in thought.

Watching her kin from the North Country stride about the room, Lara had a strange feeling that she should know this young man. That he had disrupted Jor’s governmental meeting was a given, but in doing so he had infused justice and protection for the common people with his high-spirited actions.

Ari said, “Lara, I think that I’ve worked out the reason for your attempted assassination. Someone, and I don’t know who, except possibly Lord Poco, would have such a design, which would cause a chaotic upheaval on this planet. By killing you, your daughter and her children, the result would leave a political vacuum in the El line of succession. If Zara were not forced to marry, the grand council could make her offspring be politically wed with someone she detested and cause an ill wind to blow across Krypton. In that situation, Zara would have to accede to the council’s will to produce heirs who would preserve the El line of succession. And, the individual she would be compelled to wed could claim the first lord status if Zara’s father, Jor-El, were to perish. If Jor-El did manage to survive, the elimination of his soulmate, you Lara, would allow the great council to force Jor-El to accept another Sela. If Jor-El, after his political marriage, were then to expire, the new Sela would gain control of the government. Zara and her new offspring would fall under her authority. Then, quietly the Selar and his new soulmate could be subtly removed from the first lord position and his Lady would gain control over the grand council. To ensure no further interference, I believe that Zara would eventually be removed from the scene. Her death would appear to be a suicidal event sopposedly caused by Zara’s great depression brought about by her anguish over her family loses. Who is the present clan leader of the Nor people?” Ari asked Lara.

“His name is Tar-Nor,” Lara replied.

Taking Lara by the shoulders, Ari said, “I have a strong feeling that Tar-Nor is the man to watch, and I do mean placed under constant surveillance from this moment forward.”

That evening and through the night, Seth slept in Lara’s bed, while the Sela herself nursed him with the help of her medical aid.

The next day, with Jor-El’s permission, Ari escorted Lady Lara, the Sela of Krypton, to a remote and highly forested locality on the El estate. This small site was the place where Zara’s luncheon conference, initiated by Mi-Ra, was to be held.

At their luncheon meeting, Zara and Mi-Ra informed Lara what their scientific expeditionary search had encountered. Lara learned that there was a huge ancient volcano located in the Urdi mountain range.

Ari indicated to Lara and the others that the volcanic source would erupt within about five years. The explosive violence of this physical phenomenon would be of such force that all life on Krypton would probably be extinguished.

While Zara and Mi-Ra were already aware of the super volcano, Lara was staggered by the impending news.

After Ari calmed Lara down, Lara was then also informed that the Norian command structure and the higher-ups among Nor’s allies and his political network were also cognizant of this vital information and had begun to evacuate their people from Krypton to a new home world, the sixth planet in the Cynig-Tau star system, about one hundred light years from their present solar system.

Since Tar-Nor’s plans to take over the Kryptonian people had been possibly foiled by Ari and his kin folk, the super volcano provided him with another alternative. With the super volcano looming on the horizon, the Norian goals had shifted from a planet conquest stratagem to a plan that would allow only the survival of the Norian people and some of their staunch allies. To accomplish this new game plan, all the political schemes at their disposal would be employed to maintain a political state that would maintain what the Norian leadership considered necessary to destroy all undesirable individuals inhabiting Krypton during the coming ELE. (An ELE is a planetary event in which most or all life forms cease to exit. When the eruption of a super volcano occurs, it will exterminate the population which remains on Krypton.)

Since Jor-El had not been apprised of the coming catastrophe, he would not fully comprehend the steadily increasing turmoil within Krypton’s existing government. The forces of Tar-Nor and his allies would strive to keep the existing state of affairs in a tumultuous state that would not allow Jor-El nor his loyal bureaucrats sufficient time to ascertain what were the basic causes within the government that had allowed the planet wide government to fail in its duties in time to save the people of Krypton from the coming catastrophe once the super volcano had been discovered.

Ari then told the women, “Jor-El must not learn of the super volcano yet. If that kind of news were to become common knowledge, the government of Krypton would move to confiscate all interstellar craft in an attempt to save the people of their world and would inadvertently cause the Norian clan to precipitate a civil uprising. Such a conflict would further shield the current clandestine emigration plans of the Norian chieftains. You, Lara, with the assistance of the El, Ra, and Lo families, can save what Tar-Nor calls Krypton’s undesirables. We of planet Earth will stealthily provide aid as the looming crisis draws near.”

Then Ari said, “In less than four years, the one hundred and fifty million people comprising the Lo, Ra, and El family clans will be moved to a series of new living sites now being assembled near the current governmental complex. When the time arrives, these people will be transported through the appropriate time-space portals to locations on the planet Earth. These locations are even now being planned and soon will be under construction.”

“Lara,” Mi-Ra said, “you must see to it that ten million families are soon settled within ten miles of the governmental central offices. From this locality, men from the El, Ra, and Lo clans can be covertly ferried to Earth in shifts to assist in the construction of the subterranean city sites — one under a region called Antarctic and another underneath an isolated portion of the Australian Outback. In these locations our work force will prepare new Kryptonian homes and other facilities that will be needed when the emigres from Krypton are rushed to safety just before the super volcano begins to erupt.”

Lara then said, “Within a week, representatives from the El, Ra, and Lo clans will begin arriving at sites near the governmental buildings while the clan leaders will meet at Zara’s home for the crucial summit gathering that will consider the survival of their people.”

Looking at her family and friends, Lara said, “Please be here. I will need you during the conference.”

As Lara arose from the banquet table a week and a half later, she invited the leaders of the El, Ra, and Lo clans to walk with her in the flower gardens which surrounded Zara’s abode. While she perambulated with her confederates and the chieftains of the clans, Lara explained the super volcano scenario and its repercussions. Then Lara laid out the survival plans she and her engineers — the Miller family — had put together.

After her discussions with the clan managers and other captains were concluded, Lara turned to Zara and Mi-Ra and commented, “The first of the El, Ra, and Lo people will be on the move within a week. Most of the initial emigres will be young couples, with a single child in their family unit. It is expected that the more established families, some having many offspring in their care, will follow the initial wave of migrating people moving toward their new clan city sites. Therefore, it will be necessary to provide provisions to accommodate all sizes of family units before the emergence of the new moon.”

Then Zara smiled and said to her mother, “Now, Mom, Mi-Ra and I feel that its time to meet the other members of your immediate family.”

***Exile of the Innocence***

After locating the space — time window concealed within Zara’s Kryptonian residence, Mi-Ra escorted Lara and her daughter Zara through the transportation portal leading to the Miller household on Planet Earth.

As Lara was taken into the main living accommodations within the Miller household, she was astonished to behold many people who possessed Kryptonian characteristics.

Looking around, Lara also saw Zara’s children, her grandchildren, among the mix of people. Near her kin were three other infants she had once beheld in the governmental audience chamber on Krypton. As Lara continued to gaze at the Miller’s residents, she happened to scrutinize a woman breast-feeding one of her sucklings. The actions of this mature woman awakened memories in Lara’s mind. Lara also observed an earthman doing all he could to aid the woman in the care of the woman’s infants. As Lara continued to scrutinize the scene, she realized that she was gazing at a man whose name was Adam and whom she had briefly encountered on Krypton during a time of conflict. From the man’s actions towards the red headed woman and her babies, it was clear that this male was the woman’s soulmate and the children’s father. His affectionate attitude toward his soulmate was exceptional to Lara, very gentle and kindly, unlike the actions one could associate with normal family activities within the Kryptonian society.

Lara also noticed that the woman she had been studying behaved very tenderly toward the man helping her. From the manifestation of their behavior, Lara was now quite sure of the couple’s soulmate relationship.

As Lara continued to observe the redheaded, green eyed young woman and her family, she saw Adam take two of the infants not being breast fed and begin to dispense milk to his children through a non toxic feeding system — bottles and artificial nipples. Definitely the children’s father, Lara though to herself, and smiled, but not a male of Kryptonian birth. Most Kryptonian males would not treat their soulmates nor children with such a loving display or feeling. On her home world, there was a strict division of family tasks. The sociology of Earth obviously had evolved along different social lines producing family units where both adults cared for their offspring. Lara realized, after studying Adam and his mate’s attitude towards one another and their progeny, that the people of this primitive planet could impart to the Kryptonian population things about family togetherness. Then, studying the woman’s ruby read hair, green eyes and the shape of her face further stimulated long ago reminiscences within Lara’s mind.

Aside from herself and Jor, only her sister-in-law, Kitara, possessed that natural type of hair coloring. No, wait, she thought, there was that female physician who treated Josh’s injuries. She too exhibited a ruby red hair coloration.

Was that female related to her sister-in-law, Kitara? Lara wondered, as she slowly began walking toward the nursing woman. As Lara approached the couple who was still very much involved in feeding and changing their young, she became cognizant that the hair growth covering most of the infants’ heads was also of a ruby red coloration.

When Lara came within Adam’s field of vision, Kitara’s husband smiled and asked, “What’s your name?”

“My name is Lara. Jor-El is my soulmate.”

“That’s a coincidence,” Adam commented. “That’s the appellation Kit and I bestowed on this honey.” Adam then picked up his daughter to show her off as he said, “She’s our first born and the only girl among Kitara’s issues — triplets.”

Hearing a portion of the conversation between Adam and the woman calling herself Lara, Kitara gasped and spun around to scrutinize the woman who had suddenly appeared in their midst. Closely observing the stranger, Kit recognized Lara at once and whispered her name and commented, “Lara, how the heck did you get to Earth?”

“Zara and Mi-Ra brought me here by teleportation,” Jor-El’s wife gleefully replied.

Adam, placing his two boys in their cribs, took his daughter Lara from her mother, sat down, and placed a bottle in the little girl’s mouth. Then, gazing at his soulmate he said, “Kit, it appears that you’ve encountered a member of your Kryptonian family once thought lost.” Smiling, Adam added, “You can now both cackle as long as you like and catch up on the years you’ve been separated.” Kitara then gave her husband a loving poke on his arm.

“I’ll do just that”, Kit said.

Kitara then smiled at Adam, as she led her sister-in-law by the hand and proceeded to an enclosed patio connected to the rear of the house. There, in the paved recreation area, Lara and Kit talked to each other without interference about events which had occurred on both planets over the intervening years.

During the next few hours, Kitara told Lara an incredible tale of love and survival during her journey to Earth. Kit also attempted to answer all the Sela’s questions about the maturation of Lara’s kids. Then Kitara asked Lara whether she wished to see her miracle children, Kela and Ari-El.

Lara’s response was immediate, “Oh, if I only could.”

Then, using a device similar to a walkie-talkie communication contrivance, Kit summoned Kela to the patio area.

While awaiting Kela’s arrival, Lara was informed by her sister-in-law about the events occurring within the Miller family — her soulmate and children were one of her proudest endeavors. From the Sela, Kit learned that Lara had an older sister, Aviva, who had never encountered a soulmate and over time tended to become a troublemaker. It was believed that if a soulmate for Aviva ever existed he was slain during one of the Norianic wars, which periodically ravaged Krypton.

Lara asked her sister-in-law if Aviva could be rescued and become part of Kit’s sanctuary — the Miller homestead.

“I’ll have to discuss your request concerning Aviva with the family,” Kit responded to Lara, “but I’m almost certain it will be permitted,” she declared.

At that moment Kela, carrying her two youngest children, fraternal twins, Levana and Leora, entered the patio area.

Prior to Kit and Lara’s talk, Kitara’s close friend Jerre Stein popped his head through the portal joining the patio to the remaining part of the house. He said, “Kit, the document we’ve drafted has been completed. The Martin house has been paid-off and sufficient monies have been placed in their bank account to provide them with resources for their family’s future. Furthermore, Kit, food stuffs that will last the family through the following year are currently being delivered to their farmstead.”

Jerre then smiled and winked as he disappeared from the scene.

Lara felt that the man they called Jerre seemed happy at what had been accomplished.

Hearing Lara’s thoughts in her head, Kitara said to her sister-in-law, Lara, “You’re right; he is very happy. He enjoys helping people.”

“To Jerre,” Kit added, “and to many people in our community, helping neighbors really matters. Helping individuals less fortunate than ourselves, for those of us in this section of Kansas, is the most important work a person can do.”

When Jerre left the patio area, Kitara looked toward Kela and her two kids and said to Lara, “I would like you to meet three additional members of your family.”

Smiling, Kit said, while pointing toward Lara, “This woman is not only my sister-in-law, Kela, but she is also your mother.”

Kela, stunned by Kit’s statement just gazed at Lara for a few moments. But, somehow Kela knew that her aunt’s comments were credible. The resemblance between herself, her children, and the woman that was being called Lara was uncanny. The physiognomy of Kela and her twins favored Lara’s features.

After Kela’s astonishment had abated somewhat, Kivi’s soulmate introduced her twins to their grandmother. Kela’s daughters, Levana and Leora, looked at the older woman and started to waddle toward her. When reaching their grandparent, the kids nudged Lara until she lifted them to her Lap. After cradling Kela’s babies for a lengthy period, the toddlers started to yawn. Lara then kissed the twins as Kela’s babies placed their heads on Lara’s soft shoulders and dozed off.

When Kela’s children were comfortably settled in their grandmother’s arms, there ensued a discussion between Lara and her daughter Kela the likes of which had never been heard on Krypton or for that matter within the confines of the Miller household.

As the mother-daughter conversation drew to an end near supper time, Kivi came looking for his wife, accompanied by his three eldest offspring — fraternal triplets — twin girls and a young man about eighteen years of age.

When Kivi enter the patio area, he found his Kela, Kitara, and an unfamiliar more elderly lady engaged in a congenial, but rather intense conversation with his soulmate.

“Excuse me, ladies,” Kivi remarked, “for interrupting your conversation. It’s nearly supper time, and I’ve been sent to remind you of that fact and ask that you please come to the table.”

As they entered the patio vicinity, Kela said to Davi, Hannah, and Adira, “Kids, say hello to your grandmother, Lara.” Then turning to Kivi, she added. “You now have a living-breathing mother-in-law.”

Although somewhat stunned, Kivi still kissed Lara on the forehead and said to the new woman in his house, “Welcome to Earth and your long lost family.” It took some additional time for Kela and Kivi’s eldest children to become comfortable with Lara, the new arrival to their family’s household.

As the Miller clan sat around the dining table, Lara was bombarded with all kinds of questions about herself and Krypton. After a week’s time had elapsed, Lara felt that she was welcome into Kela’s Family and was one with Kivi and Kela’s household.

While Lara was learning about her son-in-law, Kivi, and her grandchildren, Adam returned to his Kansas home and sought his wife. When he found his soulmate, Adam lovingly hugged Kitara and kissed her passionately. He didn’t like to be separated from his wife and children. Then Kit and Adam readied themselves for a week at the family’s retreat situated in a remote area of the Rocky Mountains. Before they departed on their mountain holiday, Adam presented Lara with a packet of information dealing with the current chaotic conditions on Krypton.

Just prior to leaving on their vacation, Kit, Kela and Lara had a chance to peruse the info within the Kryptonian package Adam had brought from Lara’s home planet. From the data wrapped in the packet, it was necessary for a general meeting of the Miller household to be called into session. At this conclave, Kivi asked his wife, Kela, to address the family gathering.

When Kela spoke with her kin, she informed them that what Ari and the others of their clan who had journeyed to Krypton feared most was now becoming a reality.

“Ari will be returning to our homestead quite soon,” Kela added. “Ari is hopeful that when Lara returns to Krypton within the near future, she will be able to move the El, Ra, and Lo clans hastily in their construction venture so that the emigrating clans can reach their emigration sites, near the various governmental structures, sooner than they had planned.”

Tar-Nor’s new settlement policy leading to Cynig-Tau six was unfortunately now well established. The Norian construction crews had already been erecting a number of sites on their new home planet. While Tar-Nor’s resettlement preparations were being assembled at an ever increasing rate, Tar-Nor’s campaign to delay any plan which would allow interstellar space cruisers from being constructed was in operation. No action assembly was allowed to manufacture spaceships to be fabricated, which could conserve most of Krypton’s population. Acceding to Tar-Nor’s orders, the Norian members of the great council and allies who were also segments of the august Kryptonian governmental body kept challenging the authenticity of a super volcano’s existence, even in the face of the mounting data that strongly supported the fact that such a force of nature truly existed within the Urdi mountains. Tar-Nor’s influence throughout the great council had such an effect that it crippled any attempt by the Kryptonians to search for a viable planet where the teeming population of Krypton could be resettled. The delaying tactics were also preventing the construction of the desperately needed space vessels that would allow Krypton’s teeming millions to relocate to a safe new planetary home world.

In her discourse, Kela told the family of these events and said, “So, it’s up to us and the El clan members on Krypton to construct living areas here on Earth for our doomed brethren. We have begun preparing two subterranean grottoes, one in Antarctica under the Queen Maud Mountains and the other in Australia beneath the Northern Territories for the Kryptonian people who survive the coming planetary catastrophe. We’ll erect two additional time — space transporters so that roustabouts from Krypton can journey to Earth and return to their home world in small groups around the clock. In this way, we can prevent activity from the new clan sites from becoming suspicious, especially to Norian spies who might become alerted by a sudden large variation of the population in the new living sites which the El, Ra, and Lo peoples have or are now establishing. By the end of the month, two huge grottoes must be devised at aforementioned sites so that work on the Earth refuge caverns and their living accommodations can commence.”

As plans for the building enterprises were being formulated, Lara approached her sister-in-law Kitara and informed her that she was pregnant. Lara told Kit that she and Jor had conceived twins and she now carried male and female fetuses. Lara then added, “I must return to Krypton and notify Jor-El. He’ll be ecstatic.” Then she said, “I’ll dwell in Zara’s abode during my gestation period. In that way I can easily visit my family here on Earth whenever it’s safe. I have a feeling that my daughter, Zara, will not need her Kryptonian house to any great extent in the foreseeable future. That fellow Josh, I strongly feel, will care for her and will soon become her husband and life partner.”

“You’re right on the button, Lara,” Zara said. Her gesture further indicated that she certainly agreed with Lara’s view of Zara’s situation.

After a brief pause, Lara added, “When Zara does periodically visit me on Krypton, her presence will make my pregnancy and isolation bearable.”

“Now, Sis,” Lara remarked, “I need a favor. Since I’m in a gravid condition,” Lara proclaimed to Kit, “I’ll need someone to travel with me to Krypton and bring my sister, Aviva, to either the Miller’s residence here on Earth or to me at Zara’s abode. At present she is a semi-prisoner in one of Lord Poco’s isolation units by order of Jor-El.”

Lara’s sister-in-law, Kit, after pacing to and fro for a while, summoned Jerre, Davi, and Adira. Then she called for Kela. When everybody she requested had arrived, Kit explained the circumstances surrounding Lara’s sister, Aviva, and her present confinement.

After everyone who had been summoned to Lara was present, and they were told of Aviva and of the Sela’s gravid state, Kela informed her mother that she could only speak for those who had volunteered for the rescue mission and were in Lara’s presence. She said, “I also must consult Kivi about your request, Mother. While I’m the mother of the children who have agreed to help, two of our three older kids, Kivi must be summoned. He is our children’s father. Kela then requested that her soulmate should meet with her in their apartment.

In their secluded conversation, Kela explained to her husband the potentially dangerous conditions that would surround Aviva’s liberation. After listening to his wife, he, too, agreed with Lara’s request. After a pause, he told his beloved wife that he was scared as hell.

So, Davi and Adira would be allowed to join Jerre Stein in an attempt to retrieve the Sela’s sibling from Krypton before the super volcano detonated.

Then Kela kissed her beloved spouse and they flew off to have dinner in a Jerusalem restaurant along the Cardo. As Lara watched Kivi and Kela soar into the heavens, Jor-El’s life partner said, “It appears that those two don’t bicker.”

“Oh, Kela and Kivi disagree, but the time of their disputes generally never exceeds one to three days. Kela said to me once, ‘We never really recall the motive of our disagreement and the dispute is quickly forgotten.’ When they travel about our community or this planet,” Kit added, “you’ll never see one without the other.”

Lara, smiling, said, “My daughter is a very fortunate woman. On Krypton, Kela’s opinion would not be considered of any consequence even if in a private family matter.”

While preparations were being molded to rescue Aviva, Ari, who was on Krypton, received a communique from Lo-Ra requesting that he come to a site amidst the Northern Ra clan. Upon receiving Lo-Ra’s rather terse note, Ari and his son, Seth, began their trek northward on the planet’s grand trunk road.

***Action On Krypton***

Upon reaching the camping site of the Northern Ra clan, Ari and Seth sought out Lo-Ra and her party. Inquiring about Lo-Ra’s location from others, Ari finally learned from a Northern Ra noble where Lo-Ra could be located.

Arriving at Lo-Ra’s residence, Ari and Seth were admitted by a programmed droid. Entering the main dwelling living chamber, the father and son pair came face to face with Lord Poco standing over a hysterical Lo-Ra, weeping in agony over an ashen carcass.

As Ari faced Lord Poco, Seth informed his father that there appeared to be a homicide, which had occurred in the corner of the room they were now occupying.

Lo-Ra, viewing the corpse for the second time, lamented, “The man you see is Ned-Ra, my husband. We’ve been married nearly a month. My parents arranged the nuptials.”

At that moment, Lord Poco plunged a sharp blade coated with a poisonous substance into Lo-Ra’s throat, killing her instantly.

Immediately after Lord Poco slew Lo-Ra, the Norian Lord watched the reactions of Ari-El, expecting something significant to occur.

A few agonizing moments later, Lord Poco’s complexion started to become a bit blotchy as he remarked to Lara’s son, “Why aren’t you expiring? — Lo-Ra was your life partner and her demise should have brought about your death when Lo-Ra perished.”

Ari gave Lord Poco a crocodilian smile as he replied, “She married her childhood sweetheart, Ned-Ra, and at that moment was no longer my soulmate and subject to our spiritual union, which could only occur through our consummation. In marrying Ned-Ra, Lo-Ra eradicated any soulmate linkages which had persisted between us.”

Lord Poco was stunned at Ari’s explanation.

Regaining his composure, Lord Poco lunged, drawing his rapier as he attempted to exterminate Ari by a more traditional Kryptonian method of action. However, Lord Poco’s blade never reached its target. Seth’s rapier intercepted Poco’s blade, and after a couple of slashing strokes, Seth’s opponent lay lifeless under the red sun of Krypton.

Seth then severed Lord Poco’s head from its torso and plunged Poco’s rapier through his decapitated head. Seth then placed the mutilated head of the evil Norian Lord in an upright position, anchored by Poco’s own rapier, and plunged it into the clay of his native world.

Ari then asked Seth to locate two shrouds.

Several minutes later Seth returned with the requested items.

Placing the remains of Ned-Ra and Lo-Ra within the shroud containers, Ari and Seth placed the covered cadavers into a land vehicle and journeyed toward Zara’s home. From there Ari and Seth returned to Earth through the time — space connection.

Meanwhile, as Ari and Seth traveled across the Kryptonian landscape, Ari’s son asked his father why Ari was taking Lo-Ra and her mate to Earth for burial.

Ari looked at his son and said, “No matter what you may believe, Lo-Ra hurt no one, except maybe me, by her actions. Remember, my son, in the end, her affectations did preserve my life. If you think of her illicit acts in that way, the ire you perceive will be purged from your soul. Continuing to hate will eventually poison your view of life. So, my son, I’m taking Lo-Ra and her husband home, where she will be buried among the only family she ever knew and possibly loved. Let her and Ned-Ra rest in peace for all our sakes.”

As Ari and Seth, with the remains of Lo-Ra and her supposed soulmate, headed for Earth and the Miller homestead, Jerre with two of Kela and Kivi’s children were traveling towards Aviva’s special village on the El river basin near Cape Hawke.

Nonchalantly entering the El river village area, Jerre and his companions, posing as weary travelers, rented several rooms at the local public house. From there, Jerre Stein and his family covertly located Aviva’s village residence.

On the next day, during the early morning hours, just as the sun was rising, Jerre, Davi and Adira stealthily made their way toward Aviva’s lodgings.

Entering Aviva’s home, Jerre and Davi stealthily make their way toward Lara’s sister’s sleeping quarters. Once they entered Aviva’s quarters, Davi firmly placed his hand over her mouth to muffle any screams she might emit if she became somewhat panicky. After Aviva awoke, Jerre said quietly,” Be calm, and my compatriot will remove his hand from your mouth. We’re not here to harm you, only to talk without being heard.”

After Jerre quietly uttered his few simple words, Aviva ceased struggling, and the fear in her eyes dissipated. Then Jerre said, “Davi will now release you, but again I caution you, Aviva, to please make no sound for all our sakes.”

Then Davi released Aviva. She made no sign to alert the military patrols that incessantly prowled the small village throughout the night. These night patrols were for two purposes. To keep the individuals within the village from leaving and for the villagers’ protection. Marauders in this region of Krypton were very prevalent and constantly on the move.

Adira then said to Aviva, “I’m your great niece.” Then she told her great aunt a remarkable tale of two planets. Aviva had been aware of the journey of Kitara with Lara’s unborn twins, and therefore knew at once that what she’d been disclosed was true. As Aviva packed her things, she was further informed about the happenings on Earth. During this time, Davi and Jerre watched the perimeter of Aviva’s house for signs of any unfriendly activity.

Aviva then inquired why the little band of Earth folk came to seek her out.

Jerre then informed Aviva about the super volcano that would explode shortly and doom any Kryptonians remaining on their planet. Aviva was shaken by that information. Then she was told that Lara requested that she be saved from Krypton’s catastrophic event. Lara was well aware that she would be abandoned when the coming cataclysm began to overwhelm the Kryptonian inhabitants and panic set in.

As Jerre was completeing his narrative, an El warrior, Ros-El by name, entered Aviva’s room with his weapon drawn yelling, “You are all under arrest.” Adira drew her rapier and attacked the El officier.

“Be careful, Adira,” Aviva cautioned, “Ros-El is a notorious swordsman.”

As Aviva gazed, she saw Davi also remove his own weapon from its scabbard to protect her and watched astounded as Adira attacled the El warrior.

After a few strokes from Adira’s rapier, Ros-El lay dead on the floor of Aviva’s sleeping chamber. Davi then picked up the dead man and carried him to the basement of the house, where he was quickly entombed beneath the floor planking.

Returning to the bedroom, Davi discovered that his uncle Ari and his father had just arrived at Aviva’s residence and had joined forces with the original rescue troupe.

Soon after Ari’s appearence, Davi reappeared in the bed chamber. Before Davi had time to speak, Ari said, “Folks, it’s time to leave. This hamlet is like a prison and guarded incessantly.”

As the Miller family rescue team with Lara’s sister scurried toward the exit of Aviva’s apartment, noise from the approaching gendarmes told them that the town’s security people were fast approaching this vicinity and Aviva’s rescuers needed to hurry to their transportation vehicle post haste.

Watching as her rescuers began disappearing in the darkness of the moonless night, Aviva knew that she had to make a rather quick decision.

Then, it hit her like a ton of bricks; the person the group called Jerre had been conversing with her telepathically. None of the other members of the Earth party had talked with her in a mental mode. That type of communication could only be accomplished by life partners.

Finally realizing the true meaning of what was to occur on her home planet, Aviva bolted after the members of the Miller group who came to liberate her from her isolated gated community. She caught up with Ari and his comrades just as they reached their land rover and were boarding the vehicle.

Soon, the Miller vehicle with its rescued passenger, Aviva, was speeding across Krypton’s landscape towards Zara’s home and the location of the time — space portal. As the Miller team traveled toward the El complex, Aviva began conversing with Jerre and discovered, as she expected, he was still a bachelor. Aviva just smiled with this discovery. However, Aviva was not aware that the soulmate biological mechanism functioned between Kryptonian and Earth people.

When Aviva and her rescuers left their rescue transport at Zara’s palace, Aviva stumbled on purpose so that Jerre had to seize her and therefore prevent her from striking the ground. Thus, her contact with the man from Earth was made to appear accidental by Lara’s cunning sister.

As Jerre clasped Aviva’s body to him, the soulmate bonding process between Aviva and Jerre Stein was suddenly activated. Aviva was aware of what had just occurred when she felt the bonding energy surge through each of them — the man from Earth and the lady from Krypton. This should have been the beginning of their life together, but…

***A Confusing Kryptonian Presence***

Racing through Zara’s house, The rescue team and Aviva soon reached the time — space portal and within a few moments arrived at the Miller homestead. Lara, seeing her sister, hugged her lovingly. Then Lara pulled Aviva into her private chamber followed by Kela and Kitara.

Seeing Aviva vanish with Lara and her other kin, Jerre descended into the bowels of the Miller household located on a level below his laboratory work area. Jerre’s living quarters were fashioned from nine rooms he constructed, which would give him the quiet he much enjoyed. Jerre’s quarters, lodged in his subterranean grotto, would allow him a measure of privacy where he would be allowed to contemplate the mysteries of the natural world.

Later that evening Aviva joined Jerre in his lodging. There, they were soon alone after her sister Lara had made the formal introductions between Jerre and Aviva and left the two soulmates alone to learn about one another.

About a week later, Jerre informed Ari that he was heading out into the world at large. Ari, somewhat shocked asked Jerre the proverbial question, “Why are you leaving our home?”

All that Jerre would say was, “I have important things to consider and obligations that need to be satisfied, which will make Earth a better place to call home.” Jerre then told his friend and spiritual brother that he’d keep his location device activated, so, if he were needed by the clan, he could easily be summoned back to his Kansas abode.

Ari then inquired if Aviva was going with him.

Jerre’s reply was a rather idiosyncratic “No.”

Then Ari’s friend from his youth, Jerre Stein, just wandered away from the table saying as he departed, “So-long, my brother.”

Turing to Rachel and Seth, he said, “Please take care of him, my kinder.”

By the following afternoon Jerre could no longer be located among the people that comprised the Miller household.

It was not until a few days after Jerre Stein’s exodus from the Miller farmstead that Ari recalled what Jerre had said when Aviva was brought into the conversation that had occurred between the two spiritual brothers.

After the noon meal had ended, Ari sought out his mother and Kitara.

When he put the question about Jerre and Aviva to them, Ari was told that Aviva was a member of a social society that emphasized gaiety and enjoyment of life over commitments to their soulmates and society. They should be avoided since the maintainence of this kind of woman was much too high.

This society of women believed that Soulmate obligations should be avoided, and matrimonial unions should not be considered when a low class individual was involved in a nuptial relationship. However, if a marriage with an aristocratic family could be arranged, such a union would provide a safe environment for a woman within her society and any children born to the couple. Because of her status, she could continue her Gaiety unctions without jeopardizing her marriage since monies would not be a problem. When Ari was informed that Aviva discovered that Jerre had no such high class affiliation, she immediately dissolved her relationship with the man from Earth. By her misguided actions, she dissolved a budding romance that might have developed between her and Jerre.

The hurt in Jerre’s heart led him to leave his Kansas home and begin his trek of Earth.

Ari was told by Kitara that the philandering Gaiety women’s association over time was eating at the very soul of the current Kryptonian community.

As Jerre walked out of the dining area, Ari recalled him saying, “Can you imagine if Kela, Kitara, and Zara joined such a association? It would be the death knell of The Miller community and all it represents.”

Jerre smiled before he disappeared saying he didn’t believe that such behavior could exist on Earth since conjugal unions were the basic structure not only of the Miller household but Earth people throughout their world.

When Ari confronted Aviva and asked her why she had continued a society that was not only a foolish association but was doomed to extinction, she said it was her duty to Kryptonian women. Aviva responded that when she arrived at her current safe haven, the Miller homestead, she realized two important particulars. Her heart told her that she at last had a soulmate, not a mate from an arranged union. Thinking about her new environment, Aviva also realized that none of her former suitors had ever attempted to locate her whereabouts after her incarceration and her whereabouts were altered. Aviva was outcast because she had joined a group who sought good times community and a high class loveless marital union. The Gaity community would only allow a marriage if the nuptials could provide security and family power. No low class soulmate weddings were permitted within her Gaiety organization.

“I’m surprised that you, Aviva, weren’t aware that the Kryptonian establishment on Earth was based upon true soulmate involvement and a democratic governmental structure where all members of the Miller household voted on every issue that arose. That would have included your Gaiety association.”

Thanking his mother and Kitara for their information, Ari retired to his room and thought about Aviva’s distorted views of her life that would pass with Krypton’s termination from its place in the space.

After pondering his lonely feeling after Jerre’s departure, Ari, a few days later, left for Metropolis to visit with a few colleagues at Star Labs. There, becoming interested in several research programs, Ari began helping his friends and colleagues with their research studies.

As Ari was unpacking his cloths, he spied a letter in one of his garment bags. It was from Jerre.

Opening the note, Ari read, “My dear brother, I want you to understand what truly happened to cause me to leave home. First, Aviva spurned me when she discovered that I was an Earthling, not a descendent of Krypton, and I didn’t possess any kind of royalty in my lineage. She considered me an inferior buffoon not much better than a cockroach in evolutionary terms. The concepts existing between a man and a woman, Aviva informed me, were derived from established codes produced from her Gaiety women’s association and determined the conduct between Kryptonians and the mediocre entities who were considered defilers of the flesh and were untouchable beings. Soon after she finished her rant, Aviva left my presence, expectorating in my face.”

Continuing, Jerre wrote, “When I read the articles published by her organization, I realized how distorted were the doctrines governing her association. The only principles that seemed to be necessary between a male and female were that such a union could be dissolved if no children were procreated within five years of a marital union. Aviva and I are soulmates not just male and female personages. Furthermore,” Jerre then wrote, “since I was a biological product of Earth, Aviva considered me unworthy of her love resulting in a marriage to her. Simply, I believe, after she learned of my genetic heritage, Aviva just wanted to dissolve our developing soulmate relationship. A relationship Aviva believed would be more desirable if she mated with an ape.”

Ending his brief note, Jerre sanctified his spiritual brother:

May the Lord bless you and guard you, May the Lord show you favor, and be gracious to you, May the Lord show you kindness, and grant you peace.

“Good-bye, my brother. I do not think it likely that we shall meet again on this side of the Well of Souls.

“With greatest of affection my brother,

Jerre Stein”

While Ari was settling into his new STAR Labs habitat, Aviva finally had begun searching for Jerre, realizing what she had done.

Finally, Aviva went to the medical clinic to converse with Seth, who was staying with his sister, Rachel, until her convalescence was complete and she was again whole and able to function.

From Seth, Aviva could only learn that Jerre had left the Miller homestead and had vanished. Seth surmised that Jerre was probably helping people somewhere on Earth — a location where Jerre’s skills were greatly needed.

From Seth, Aviva was informed that Jerre had departed from the Miller abode because her comments and actions had clearly demonstrated that he was a persona non grata in Aviva’s eyes and any kind of romance between Aviva and Jerrre was dead in the water.

Seth urged Aviva to consider how a soulmate situation could exist under such hostile conditions. He then commented, “I thought you and Jerre were soulmates and bound together for all eternity. My beliefs, I guess, were mistaken.”

After a pause, Seth then added, “I always accepted that soulmates possessed linkages which took preeminence above all argumentative issues between lovers.” Seth continued, “You certainly didn’t display such characteristics toward my uncle Jerre, did you Aviva? It became evident to me, Aviva,” Seth continued, “that only your own physical and emotional appetites mattered, and you cared little or nothing for Jerre’s deep feelings.”

Taking a breath, Seth commented, “Are you aware, Aviva, that I never noted a simple thank you for Jerre’s acts of kindness and caring which in their own way said ‘I love you’? My father, Ari-El, also felt that he, too, was being slighted and pushed aside by many people in the Miller sanctuary, people who misconstrued Ari’s intensions when he attempted to assist you, Aviva, my potential aunt, and her lover to overcome their domestic difficulties — my father’s desire was to resolve the difficulty. So, Auntie who might have been, after Jerre left the Miller homestead for a more hospitable place, my father also traveled to where his talents would be more appreciated. When you were on the emotional rampage, Aviva, and began raging against Ari for his supposed interference with your problems with Jerre, my father felt that he was no longer welcome here. After Jerre vanished, Ari felt even more a stranger at the Miller abode especially after more and more people began blaming him for your breakup with Jerre, your soulmate. Please excuse me,” Seth remarked, “as he turned away from Aviva and obtained a cool damp towel and began washing Rachel’s face and arms.” As Seth was administering to his sister, Aviva quietly left the medical facility.

When Aviva left Rachel’s hospital quarters, she sat down and began recalling the events that initiated the unsettling issues that manifested themselves soon after she reached the Miller Farm, especially those events between herself and Jerre Stein, her soulmate. Aviva knew what caused the bad blood. Eventually Aviva knew that Lara would come to know what she had caused as Seth’s tirade had indicated.

If she had not been in such a hurry to impress her female kin with the Gaiety organization and its basic credo to acquire a powerful and wealthy wedded partner, Aviva would have been able to develop a normal soulmate relationship between Jerre and herself.

Aviva also started to think about the relationships between Kitara and her soulmate Adam, Kela and her husband Kivi, and Zara and her forever partner Josh and realized that these women, all from aristocratic families had married men with no titles or powerful family lineages. The lack of those relationships didn’t seem to bother the happiness between the soulmates in her immediate family.

Not only did Aviva’s attempt to impress the Miller household fail, but her treatment of Jerre apparently estranged his feelings for her and thrust him from his home. It was obvious now that his self imposed exile was to avoid contact with her.

As Aviva considered the events which transpired since her arrival on Earth, it was obvious to her that Jerre and Ari’s disappearance transpired from her crafty, almost slanderous, statements about Ari, which also caused great emotional harm to Jerre who knew the truth of the entire affair.

With the disappearance of the key players in the Miller farmstead, Aviva probably lost the one thing which she’d been seeking most of her life, a loving and compassionate soulmate — life partner. Looking back Aviva might have been more thoughtful about Jerre’s needs, and in her haste to be considered intelligent and witty she cited demeaning stories about Ari’s feud with Lord Poco, presenting the events which occurred between Lo-Ra and her illicit husband’s demises with a slanderous bent by adding a sexual twist to the entire event.

What Aviva uttered concerning Ari probably added to her nephew’s great distaste for her and the unjust attitude of the Miller community about his actions. Not willing to live in a community that spurned his presence accelerated Ari’s desire to leave home soon after Jerre’s departure.

Placing her head in her hands, Aviva also came to realize that because of her big mouth she probably induced irreparable harm between her nephew and Mi-Ra — a soulmate union being forged until Aviva’s arrival. Now that intimate union between Ari and Mi-Ra appeared to be at an end. What had she done?

It was true to some extent that Ari was so appalled at what Aviva had wrought that the impetus to leave the Miller farm to find a more peaceful environment was probably galvanized by Jerre’s disappearance. Like Jerre, Ari sought a new locality in which to reside where he would not have to endure the disapproving stares and nasty comments from many of his once family members.

Before Ari had left his Kansas home, he was being shunned by all but his closest family members and friends. Most of his woes, Aviva now knew, were the result of Aviva’s twisted comments about the Lord Poco affair making it seem like Ari forced a combative issue out of pure jealousy.

Since Ari’s kin did not refute Aviva’s comments, as they were not present at the event, the family’s silence all but branded Ari-El a pariah. Aviva’s rather humourous and destructive tales about Ari and Lord Poco were taken in a more serious vein by the Miller community. If Ari denied the validity of Aviva’s tales, his rebuttal would not be believed.

People seem to have a fascination and accept evil views or stories about the improprieties associated with a particular individual whether such items are true or not. Even if the information were refuted in a court of law, there would always be people who would remember the slur and believe the original falsehoods that were verbally offensive against a particular individual. That’s why many religions consider slander to be the worst of sins that humankind can commit because once a person’s good name has been sullied, it can never be retrieved. Many creeds feel so strongly about slander that they feel that an individual who causes the ruination of an honest person by sullying his/her name can never be forgiven. Politicians, unfortunately, most often frequently fall into this sin category. Regrettably, those who are slanderous don’t seem to care about the damage they’ve caused. Integrity, it appears, is not high on many people’s lists. The slaughter of the fifty-five million people who perished during the second world war during the twentieth century was initiated by slanderous comments on a grand scale. Aviva began behaving in this disparaging manner when she first arrived on Earth.

The Earth poet and playwright, William Shakespeare, in his tale about Julius Caesar treated this human frailty and verbally destructive notion extremely well — the “Friends, Romans, Countrymen…” soliloquy expressed this human weakness in a most profound way.

As Aviva was now seriously contemplating the events of the past few days and her bother-in-law Jor-El’s treatment of her in the past, Kela sat down next to her aunt and was looking rather forlorn.

Seeing Kela’s downcast attitude, Aviva asked her niece what was troubling her? Looking deep into Aviva’s eyes, Kela informed her aunt that her children, Davi and Adira, were leaving the farm to travel east where they would seek a new place to settle. The recent falsehoods that had spread throughout the Miller homestead and had driven their uncle Ari to leave his home were creating chaos within their family. They wanted no part of the developing slander and the following lawlessness that it would wrought.

Ari’s plan to save many Kryptonians was now doomed to failure. With Ari’s absence, there would be no one to lead a life saving evacuation of Krypton.

Because of the potential loss of Davi and Adira, Kela’s soulmate, Kivi, has begun behaving in a perturbed manner. Kela said to her aunt, “I’ve heard my soulmate uttering invectives levelled at you that have alarmed me. Kivi, it seems, has been considering dispatching you, Aunt Aviva, and sending your cadaver back to Krypton.”

Kivi was blaming Aviva for the breakup of his family and the eventual demise of the Miller clan. He believed that Aviva had brought hatred and intolerance into their community using twisted false tales as her weapons. Kivi could not tolerate such behavior and because he could not kill without reason, he, too, was seriously contemplating moving from The Miller household.

When Kela confronted Kivi about his feelings, her husband, a usually kind and considerate individual, exploded in anger directed toward Aviva. Kivi then told his wife that her aunt eagerly embellished the tales she told about Ari, which she had heard from second or third class sources and had the gall to create other stories to support her comments. All Aviva’s stories were composed, Kivi said to his wife, to enhance her aunt’s stature within the community at the expense of her soulmate and nephew.

“Tell me, Auntie, Kela asked, “Did you create such fictions?”

Now weeping almost uncontrollably, Aviva croaked a feeble sounding affirmative to Kela inquiry.

Shaking her head, Kela articulated, “What have you done? Our community and its strong family structures have been severely undermined by your actions. Last night,” Kela told her aunt, “my children wanted to know when you were returning to Krypton. When I asked why they asked such a question, my kids responded that too soon would not be soon enough. ‘Mom,’ my daughter finally stated, ‘Aviva is a destroyer.’ Your chaotic actions upon Lara, their grandparent, were harmful to the babies she is now carrying. My children,” Kela said to her aunt Aviva, “want their grandmother, now in a gravid condition, to leave this increasingly stressful environment and return to the comfort and support of her soulmate, Jor-El.”

Because of Kela’s kids’ comments, Aviva asked her niece, “Do your kids wish to get rid of me?”

Kela smiled, but her facial expression never reached her eyes. “My children,” Kela added, “feel that you, Auntie, should bear the consequences that have been brought about by the disruption that is now occurring within our immediate family and the greater Miller community — an ever growing chaos within our clan. Aviva,” Kela said, “not only are you guilty of the current conditions at the farm, but I and others must also share in the current problems affecting the Miller community. Those of us who knew the truth should have stopped your destructive babbling, Aviva, before it became menacing and destructive to our society. Unfortunately, Auntie, we’ll now have to commence a family meeting to deal with the destructiveness of your tall tales and the possible demise of our immediate family.”

Kela then continued, “You should know by now that the loss of Ari’s presence in this household has been a severe blow to those residing throughout this Kansas town and the escape of the Lo, Ra, and El clans from their doomed home planet. Notwithstanding Zara’s intimate knowledge of your destructive views generated from your women’s association, she and Josh, her soulmate, thank heaven, have maintained their own family unity. Yet, Zara and her husband couldn’t prevent the mounting chaos and the fragmentation that was occurring throughout the Miller farm area — an effect brought about by your evil sordid stories.”

***

Aviva attempted to ease Kela and Zara’s assessment of her after the truthfulness concerninng Ari and Jerre quickly became a known quantity to the immediately family.

“Maybe,” Josh said, “just maybe, we can determine how to straighten out this strain upon our family and the Miller community as a whole.”

After the noonday meal on the following day, Zara and Josh adjourned to one of the household conference chambers and beckoned Kela and Aviva to join them. A very pregnant Lara was also summoned to the crucial family discussion.

Once the conference chamber was sealed, Aviva and her niece began a vigorous discussion, which on occasion bordered on a severe verbal conflict that nearly merged into a physical confrontation between Kela and her aunt. Kela then explained to her mother what influences had caused Ari’s departure from the Miller home — Aviva’s imaginary tall tales were the destructive catalyst to the Miller farmstead.

After cogitating for some minutes, Zara, Kela, Kitara, and a very reluctant Lara demanded that Aviva address the Miller community and explain what her fairy tales had done to Ari’s reputation and how other stories concerning Ari’s supposed activities on Krypton were also based upon misinformation combined with Aviva’s overactive imagination. The Miller homestead learned that Aviva’s babbling was responsible for the warped views that were even now causing behavioral upheavals in the household and affecting the stability of its Kryptonian descendents residing within the living complex at Ulysses, Kansas, planet Earth.

Kela and Zara noticed that their mother’s attitudes did not markedly change after she was informed that the Miller community would be advised of Aviva’s fraudulent and often hallucinatory behavior.

What disturbed Lara’s youngest issue was the fact that the evidence against Aviva did little to cause Lara to chasten her sister or alter her destructive behavioral patterns. Lara, unfortunately, also did little to stop or to curb her sister’s ruinous and bigoted actions against people whom she disliked.

Although Aviva had reluctantly told Kela about her women’s association with its rules and regulations, Zara wanted to know what was disclosed. When Kela’s younger sister, Josh’s soulmate, was informed of what Aviva revealed, Zara yelled, “You dumb warped woman. Your association that you described was long ago labeled the aristocratic women’s disease or the family destroyer malady. The ideas you espoused, Aviva, were created by women who were married at birth and found no love in their coerced connubiality. The Gaiety Organization, as you called it, was not established for women whose soulmate bonding was a normal consequence of two people’s love for each other and whose devotion would endure throughout their lifetime.”

Then turning to her mother, Zara inquired of her, “Why didn’t you strive to stop Aviva’s destructive behavior?” Lara just stared at her daughter and said nothing.

Josh then said, “When Lara returns to Krypton she’ll take her sister, the destroyer of people’s dignity, as part of her baggage.”

Josh then continued, “Lara, don’t worry, we’ll return to collect you and your family before the super volcano demolishes Krypton.”

Lara, quite perturbed, said, “Zara, are you going to allow Josh to order me about?”

Looking at her mother, Zara responded, “My soulmate happens to be correct in his conduct toward you in this situation. You’re better-off going home, Mom. People here may become unduly angry with what they’ll overhear in the coming days. Our community is becoming more infuriated each day over this incident especially since Ari was unjustly slandered — a just and a blameless man of the El clan who has been driven from his home by delusory, erroneous, and monstrous stories cited by a callous individual who apparently did not concern herself with what would become of Ari.”

After informing Lara that the immediate El family had found Aviva’s attitude abhorrent, Zara, supported by Kela, convened a mini conference of their own to discuss what should be done to remove Lara’s sister from her Earth habitat. Later in a trial by her Miller peers, Lara’s sister’s capricious behavior was again thoroughly examined. After the Miller trial committee had again confirmed the malicious nature exhibited by Aviva in her inquisition, their conclusions were presented to the elected council of the entire Miller Farmstead.

Lara, after the trial results were read, heard that her sister was then expelled from the Miller homestead and was informed that she would be returned to her home world. Lara was also severely criticized by the Miller community for not informing its people of Aviva’s sickness and unique skill at fabricating delusional tales, which could purloin the good name and character of an unsuspecting person. For such action, there could be no forgiveness on this side of heaven.

When the verdict of the Miller community had been rendered, Zara, after dinner on that particular day and in the quiet of the El family’s quarters, confronted Mi-Ra and privately commented that her contribution to Ari’s exile, while not initiating or contributing to her brother’s discomfiture and humiliation, was similar in many ways to her mother’s inaction and was brutal in its own way.

“You, Mi-Ra, ignored Ari’s plight during the entire period when false accusation was being hurled against him — you also did not provide comfort for a person in emotional turmoil. A man you call a friend — ha. I’m afraid, Mi-Ra, you’ve behaved like those individuals who made him feel unwanted, and you supported their unfriendly behavior that caused my brother to seek help and companionship from friends far from his Kansas home.

“As much as I’ve disagreed periodically with my husband,” Zara added, “I would never do anything that would forever disrupt our relationship. Even after a severe quarrel, we never ended a day angry with one another. Usually, within a day or so following our lover’s altercation we’ve both forgotten what initiated our disagreement. Generally, within several days or even overnight, Josh and I will not be able to recall what initiated our domestic squabble or provoked our family dispute. That, my friend, is what many people consider forever relationships between lovers. From my perspective,” Zara remarked to Mi-Ra, “you didn’t provide any kind of support for Ari when many false accusations were being hurled at your potential soulmate. Yes, I said soulmate. I believe your demeanor toward Ari-El during this period was to preserve your precious reputation, not to create a linkage between two lovers. To my way of thinking, Mi-Ra, you behaved in a despicable manner using a procedure that high born Kryptonian women employed to humiliate their birth spouses when over time they began to detest and wanted with increasing desire to sever their birth alliances established by their parents.

“Your Father, Mi-Ra, Lord Ez-Ra, wanted Lord Ned-Ra to be his heir and convinced your sister Lo-Ra to marry Ned-Ra. When this illicit union was consummated, the soulmate situation between Ari and Lo-Ra, although defective, was annulled.

“So if you want to blame Ari for your sister’s demise, you’re wrong. The culpability here belongs to your sire. He convinced Ned-Ra to wed the soulmate of another to satisfy his desire.”

Zara, staring directly at Mi-Ra, then asked, “Are you aware, Mi-Ra, of the attitude you exhibited while Ari was battling for his honor or maybe even for his very existence when he attempted to thwart Aviva’s fabricated tales which eventually turned ugly? Unfortunately, on our home world, Aviva’s type of behavior has been occurring for a long period and of late had become increasingly objectionable. That’s the basic reason why Jor-El, my father, placed her in that special village far from the general population centers on Krypton.

“Mi-Ra, I can excuse Lara, not because she is my mother, but because she could not accept the concept that her sister was involved in very destructive behavior that hurt many individuals. Lara could also not accept her husband’s condemnation of Aviva’s actions and her exile from the main Kryptonian cities. My father’s isolation edict caused my mother to seek help for her sister. That’s the reason Lara asked her Earth kin then on Krypton to rescue her sibling before our home world was annihilated by the growing caldera within a super volcano.

“The Miller clan should have been made aware,” Zara added, “of Aviva’s tales, which had already induced severe clashes between families of birth mated couples.

“After weaving several of her tales concerning infidelity caused by birth marriages, Aviva has corrupted the marital unions among several families in this community. Lara’s sister, in her cleverly managed stories, indicated that there was always unfaithfulness among the birth marriages and if they were not dissolved, a loveless existence would result. Desirous of being considered witty, Aviva implied, most cleverly, that Lo-Ra’s unfortunate death was the result of a birth marriage condition.

“Although birth marriages are a horrible mechanism to preserve the political power within the Kryptonian aristocratic houses, it was the only way to maintain and extend the authority over the Kryptonian masses. While the Miller clan agreed with Aviva concerning infant marriages, the methods she employed to rectify this terrible policy were ghastly and destructive. Slander was used in an attempt to destroy an innocent man by false accusations.

“She and those women on Krypton who agreed with her views had forgotten that the male party in a birth marriage was also potentially unhappy. Remember, a birth alliance was not of the male’s choosing either. Because of the Krypton’s noble women’s manner in attacking an unjust policy coupled with their tactics of lashing out at friend and foe alike, these women have caused most male Kryptonian nobles to seek feminine company in houses that are known as companionship havens. Many males from the aristocratic houses who were married at birth eventually found a lifelong consort in one of these havens and built their own separate dwellings where they could live happily with their illegitimate mates for the remainder of their lives. While there have been children born to these illegitimate couples, these progenies are not recognized by the male’s family to their eternal detriment of Krypton’s ruling houses. Because of these prevailing conditions, many of Krypton’s noble houses, containing the planet’s best minds, are vanishing from the planet’s noble lists. Instead of fixing the birth marriage problem, a conflict now occurring on Krypton will end up destroying many noble houses.”

While Zara was talking, Sarah interrupted her conversation to deliver a message addressed to Kela from her soulmate. After Sarah departed, Kela opened and read her husband’s message and gasped. She informed those present that Kivi, Davi and Adira had left the farm to look for Ari.

After another pause, Kela received a note from her daughter Hannah that notified her mother and the others present that she too had decided to accompany her father and siblings on the family’s quest.

The breakup of the central Kryptonian families, who had resided at the Miller homestead for a considerable time, seemed to be disintegrating at an unusually rapid pace.

The most prominent males in the Miller community had removed themselves from the Ulysses homestead leaving their families to fend for themselves. Leaving one’s soulmate behind when something important had to be accomplished had never occurred in the past. The structure of the Miller household, it seemed, had also been weakened in its wake of the Aviva controversy.

Zara arose from the table and was about to leave when Aviva suddenly arrived and sarcastically asked Josh how he felt about his soulmate, Zara. Smiling he replied, “Where she goes, I go. We are of one flesh, she and I, and I will care for her through all eternity.” Then Zara and her beloved life partner left the gathering.

Adam was also waiting for Kit as she too left the mini conference.

Kitara looked at her soulmate and asked, “Are you feeling well, Adam?”

Pausing for a moment, he replied, “Not good, my darling Kit.”

Like those still remaining in the Miller community, Kit and her soulmate had been arguing. Not over Aviva’s culpability but about her imposed exile — return to Krypton with Lara to help with the delivery of her new children.

Ever since Aviva had arrived, the Kryptonian family structure within the Miller community had subtly begun to deteriorate. Adam indicated, “For you and our children’s sake, I’ve not left like the others. They are much too young to be nurtured by just a single parent.”

Adam, gazing at his soulmate, said, “If You haven’t finished talking to Aviva as yet, I’ll wait.”

Placing his head upon Kit’s hands, Adam sadly said, “I’ll move into Jerre’s quarters with the children until you’ve come to a conclusion with Aviva. That will give you time to decide what you wish to do with respect to our relationship and our children’s future. If you decide for us, I’ll be overjoyed.”

As he left his wife to return to their young offspring, Adam whispered to himself, “Me thinks Josh is a very fortunate man.”

As Adam returned to his children, Kit murmured, “My G-d, what have I done? My ceaseless arguments in defense of Aviva’s behavior might have damaged my relationship with Adam beyond repair.”

Two days later, Adam wheeled his children about in a large carriage into the farm’s dining area and requested a droid to help him with breakfast. While he waited, Adam bottle fed his children.

As he diapered his brood, Kit came over and asked about his health and the well-being of their babies. “They’re fine, my dear” was his rather laconic response.

As Adam left the dining area a few minutes later, he ran into Seth. Smiling, Adam asked about his physical and mental state and about Rachel’s recovery.

Seth replied, “My sister should be up and about in several weeks, and then we’ll be off to find father and make a home with him.

Placing a hand on Seth’s shoulder, he gave him a squeeze and said, “Regards to Ari.” Then Adam returned to his very active youngsters. Within several months, he thought, they’ll walk and be off to school. Adam knew at that point that his nurturing tasks would increase five fold.

Two weeks later, Lara was back on her home world, where she informed her husband of her pregnancy and took up residence in Zara’s home to await the birth of Jor’s and her new family.

Lara and Kitara were took up residence within Zara’s abode in addition to Aviva. It was unfortunate that Kitara had decided to accompany Lara to Krypton and help her through her gravid period.

Kitara had to make the journey alone with Lara because Jor, at any moment, might exile Aviva.

From time to time, Adam would bring his children to visit their mother. Lara noticed that each time Adam made such a trip his physical appearance was more ashen.

As time dragged on and Lara’s delivery date became closer, the visits from Adam and his kids become fewer and fewer.

One late summer’s day, in Lara’s seventh month, a message arrived for Kitara. It read, “Kit please return home.”

Adam had been admitted to the Miller’s infirmary and was now close to death. Aviva, after receiving the message, told the messenger that Kit was out in the field studying the super volcano for further data. Then, Aviva returned to the room housing Lara’s party and told the guests that nothing important had occurred upon earth. Hearing that all was well, the tension in Kitara eased. Later, Kit took a walk to observe the new villages now functioning near the new public buildings. Upon her return, Kit was happy to see the delight in Lara’s eyes arising from the celebration that her family had created in her honor.

Several days later another note was received from Earth addressed to Kitara. It informed her that her husband was near death and was not expected to survive the night. There was a postscript attached to the message asking where was Adam’s soulmate and where had she been during the past several days.

Turning to Lara, Kit said, “I’ve never received any information pertaining to Adam’s illness.”

Lara then faced Aviva and asked her, “Was there a message sent that you intercepted within the past few days?”

Aviva again nodded and said, “Yes. A few days ago a note arrived from Earth. It was in the midst of your party, and I didn’t wish to disturb your pleasure at your celebration so I ignored the communication. It couldn’t have been that important.”

Kitara turned and ran through the corridors of the house to the time space portal and teleported immediately to Earth.

As Kit’s tears flowed from her eyes as she rushed homeward, Lara had her guards take her sister to a secluded village, where she would be incarcerated and die when Krypton itself perished.

Jor was right about her. She was just a rotten apple.

When Kit finally reached the Miller residence, she saw Josh lift Adam to a bed and begin dressing him for placement in a death tube — a sarcophagus of sorts. He was then taken by the droids to a room within the medical facility.

Turning, Josh saw Kitara and after a moment of silence started to yell at her, “What took you so long to get here? When Adam went down, Seth and Rachel left the Miller’s home seeking their father, Ari. He’s been here and left with the infants.”

Kitara hearing Josh’s words realized that she should have known something was wrong. For nearly two weeks, Kit received no word from her now-deceased husband.

Then Kitara recalled that Adam had not been present at the Sabbath meal last week. He and the children were also not present during the last two Friday evening meals. When he and their children didn’t appear for the last two Sabbath festival dinners, Kitara should have realized that something was dreadfully amiss and she should have immediately inquired about her husband and their children post haste, but things became hectic and she became much too busy to inquire about the most precious items in her life.

When Kit finally inquired about her soulmate and their progeny, she was informed that immediately after Adam collapsed, her husband was rushed to the infirmary while Zara and Josh commandeered their children.

As Adam lapsed in an ever deepening coma, his body struggling to function and maintain any life signs, he was finally moved to a special medical ward. His children were placed in a child care facility near their ailing father. As Adam’s spirit attempted to maintain its earthly presence, his spirit started to connect with the essenses in the well of souls.

As Adam’s mortality was ebbing, Ari and Adira returned to the Miller homestead and acquired Adam and Kit’s kids from the farm as Adam’s coma signs approached its critical values. Then Ari and his niece did as Adam requested before he collapsed several days earlier. Ari and Adira took the children and disappeared into the night traveling to a location where the children could be safely looked after.

Upon hearing the medical droids moving rapidly, Kitara raced quickly toward the medical unit. When Kit reached Adam’s medical room, she desperately beheld his cousin Josh and Zara attending to his needs.

Seeing the death pallor covering Adam, Kitara started to scream at Josh and Zara until Adam’s cousin grabbed her arms and yelled, “Will you shut up and listen!”

When Kit quieted down, Josh informed Kit that they were just following the instructions her husband gave them before he became incoherent. “He lost consciousness when Ari and Adira arrived here and removed your children to a safe haven.”

Josh then sarcastically said, “Why don’t you return to Zara’s home on Krypton. There, I’m sure you’ll be more comfortable with women of your social and philosophical prognostication.”

Before Kitara left the medical unit, she asked Josh, “Why didn’t Zara quarrel with you over the sentence Lara’s sister received from the general population at the Farmstead when those people discovered that Aviva’s comments concerning Avi were slanderous and his supposed appalling behavior was nothing but fabricated stories?”

Zara put her hand on her husband’s arm and said, “I’ll tell her, Josh, based upon what little I know, my love. If you observe what occurs in aristocratic houses on Krypton,” Zara commented, “growing-up as a noble woman on my home planet and married at birth can be a horror. You watch a young woman complete her marital vows and then over time bear children. When their birth mate eventually becomes restless, the woman is eventually forsaken and left to nurture their children as a single parent. This behavior allowes the males of a noble house to frolic about and become party animals. Since the noble houses on Krypton needed offspring to maintain the noble blood lines so that the political authority of the aristocratic houses could be maintained, these lineages, and therefore, birth marriages, had to be tolerated.

“Over time, these queenly women took advantage of their estates, and they also began to party and not worry about anything but their own pleasure.

“Fortunately, many marriages among the aristocratic houses were soulmate oriented and the noble families in these cases functioned well, producing close loving families. It is these soulmate unions that have maintained the governmental structure of the planet.

“However, over the centuries, to offset the attitude caused by birth marriage unions, the women began to mimic their husbands by forming female organizations that advocated the separation from their spouses.

“Over the centuries, the men who attempted to maintain normal relationships, even in birth marriages, found that the women wished to maintain organizations of which Aviva is a prime representative. Eventually, this led to a defunct family morphology. Since the various women’s organizations would never work to create a decent family arrangement, the men in the now nonexistent families accepted the nurturing process for the sake of their families.

“These disaffected males then started to visit the so-called illicit companion houses where in time men began to establish relationships with spouseless women. Often the companionship between two such people, although one of the pair — a female — did not possess a royal lineage, turned out to be a loving life relationship. Since it was illegal to fashion such a union, the original birth marriage spouse was offen found dead and any children of the second, supposedly illicit, marriage became official members of the Lord’s household.

“Later in their lives, the Noble women who had played the pleasure game came to realize what they had surrendered when they discovered that companionship was a more important factor in a relationship than sexual issues or the pursuit of pure pleasure. They found that life was not just a well of infinite delights that spun the dreamers free from their obligations.

“Thank heaven true soulmate unions never followed the pleasure seekers’ line. My parents,” Zara remarked, “were never part of these double-dealing individuals. Why my mother did not speak up when Aviva introduced her twisted shenanigans at the Miller’s farmstead, I don’t understand. Someday, perhaps, I’ll discover Mom’s reasons for her silence.

“As for your thoughts now, Kit, the discovery about the importance of companionship became evident when Adam’s illness began to show and your spouse was already deep in the valley of the shadow and was starting to pass beyond our mortal realm. The basic causal factor that brought about Adam’s passing occurred when you decided to travel with Lara and Aviva, essentially abandoning him and his children. While you were living on Krypton and caring for Lara, a noble gesture to be sure, it became apparent to Josh, now a very capable physician, that Adam was moribund. Loosing his soulmate, in his cousin’s mind, was the biological instrument which had shattered Adam’s dreams and his desire to always live with a loving partner. Near the end of Adam’s existence, Josh attempted to call you and inform you of what was occurring to your soulmate. Kitara, you were then staying at Zara’s home on the El estates when Josh’s information arrived by droid messenger. Unfortunately, the message was intercepted by Aviva who deliberately never dispensed the news, using the excuse — Kit was out shopping.”

Looking around at everyone present Zara continued, “Actually, as the family is now aware, Kitara was in the den with Lara and her acquaintances when the call was received at Lara’s Kryptonian home. Aviva lied to Josh to avoid breaking up the party she’d prepared for her sister, who, because of her gravid condition, had become somewhat despondent due to the hormonal condition brought on by her pregnancy — Aviva had invited about fifty aristocratic woman to Lara’s social gathering.

“At six twenty-two pm two days later, Adam passed from this world.” As tears cascaded down Josh’s face, Zara began yelling and pounding the wall as she cried her heart out.

Jor-El’s daughter, Zara, then turned to her soulmate, Josh, and commented, “If Kit had arrived in time and contacted Adam, her emotional strength might have pulled him through. Since Kit didn’t arrive because of Aviva’s insensitively, Adam, I believe, gave up the ghost.”

After a period of silence, Josh said, “I’m afraid that Kitara was just doing her thing, after being debased by Aviva whose basic theme of life was pure enjoyment. Being exposed to Aviva was similar to a negative catalyst, which must have corrupted some of Kit’s well meaning values. When Kit’s character had changed somewhat, Adam attempted to perform a labor of love for two people, and in the end, the stress of his task brought him down. Adam,” Josh added “was a noble soul crushed by Aviva, an uncaring and selfish woman. His loving attitude for his wife wrecked his body when he was left caring for his children while Kitara cared for her sister-in-law, a noble woman who had plenty of physical help. Adam’s act of unselfishness increased his stress as time progressed and it eventually killed him.”

“Josh,” Zara commented, “aren’t you being rather harsh about Kit’s role in the Aviva affair?”

“I think not,” Josh replied to his soulmate as he walked off to seek his own kids. He was still infuriated at Kit’s actions and her disregard of his messages because Josh felt that he had lost a brother.

As Zara watched Josh walk away from her, she sensed that her child bearing days may be at an end. Zara had a feeling that her husband was fearful that a similar tragedy might occur within his family. Somehow she had to convince her husband that the Aviva affair was limited, and their family was not involved. And so it was that eventually,with Ari’s help, Josh’s fear vanished and more children were born to Zara and her soulmate.

***

About a week after Adam’s passing, Lara established communications with the medical facilities at the Miller abode. From her conversation with Zara, Lara discovered that Kit’s husband had been rushed to the homestead’s medical facilities after his state of health had been diagnosed extremely serious.

Then Lara finally asked Zara, “What had brought Adam down?”

“Stress, exhaustion and little or no nursing from his spouse,” Zara’s replied.

Lara further inquired, “What about Adam and Kit’s children?”

Zara, calming herself said, “You mean Kit’s children. Adam passed away five days ago.”

“Of course,” Lara said.

Then Zara enlightened her mother, further, by commenting, “Josh attempted to contact you or Kit when Adam slipped into a coma. It was on the sixteenth of the month, a few days before Adam joined his ancestors. Aviva told us that she’d see to it that Kit would receive Josh’s message when she returned from her shopping spree. A pleasurable outing while her soulmate was struggling for his life, which it could no longer could sustain. Just for clarification, Mom, Adam died at six twenty-two in the evening.”

Then Josh chimed into the discussion and asked, “Is there any other data you’ll require?” Josh ended on an angry note.

“Thanks for the info,” a shocked Lara then whispered. Zara then heard the beginnings of her mother’s nearly hysterical utterances.

Placing the communication device in its cradle, Lara walked slowly, with tears pouring from her eyes, into the rose garden adjacent to the house. When she reached Kit, the Sela told her daughter what she had learned from Josh and Zara. She was baffled that Kit had suddenly returned from Earth without telling her what had happened to Adam.

“Does it matter?” Kitara said. “Adam’s gone,” she shockingly replied as she ambulated away from her Kryptonian abode.

Aviva, as Lara had already informed her sister-in-law was no longer living in Zara’s house. She would live the remainder of her life exiled from normal Kryptonians and perish in the fiery explosion when the super volcano erupted.

Only Kit and Lara now would occupy Zara’s Kryptonian lodgings from this point in time. And, when Lara’s babies were born, Kitara would live alone on Krypton in Zara’s abode.

During their first meal together after learning of her soulmate’s passing, Lara apologized profusely for the tragedy which had befallen her sister-in-law. She felt that her actions had in some manner contributed to Adam’s loss.

Lara then added, “I should have thwarted my sister when she began to create her chaotic mess at the Miller’s homestead. What a muddle she dreamed up based upon a twisted and antiquated Kryptonian philosophy which from its inception was destined to cause much havoc.”

The relationships Lara saw at the Miller’s home were unlike anything that had been developed on Krypton. The sociology of Earth was as much ahead of Krypton’s technological base as Lara’s home world achievements were in advance of the Sol Three.

After they had dined, Jor-El arrived. He apologized for being late telling his wife that he was again attempting to have the grand council authorize the construction of a spacecraft which could transport their planet’s population to a safe harbor.

Jor was just now understanding that the Norian delegates and their allies were the blocking force within the assembly. As precious time was slipping away, the great council was continually being frustrated concerning the vital spacecraft construction issue. Because of the present political state, the spaceship construction question was bottled-up within the Kryptonian central council while the construction issue of the desperately needed interplanetary vessels was proceeding nowhere. Jor had just discovered that Tar-Nor had been steadily sending his own clan members to the Cynig-Tau star system, which was the Nor sanctuary to escape the super volcano.

After dinner, Kit accompanied Lara and Jor to the den area where the Selar was soon asleep within his soulmate’s arms.

Gazing at Kit as Jor dozed, Lara whispered, “Not all aristocratic Kryptonian women living on Earth were charmed by Aviva’s wild tales and believed her accusatory rhetoric about Ari.”

After a pause, Kit said, “Aviva and her strange beliefs must be extinguished.”

Nodding, Lara said, “Those warped women who believe as my sister will remain on Krypton when its end comes. When the women of Aviva’s ilk perish, their strange practices too will also vanish. As I’ve indicated often in the past we should allow natural forces to eradicate the concepts that produced Aviva’s scourge.” Lara then commented, “We’ll let nature cleanse our people. If Aviva’s type of women were allowed to continue, even in a new domain, their ethics and morals would still eventually destroy the people of Krypton and they would vanish from the universe no matter where my people reside. Many noblemen of this generation are already refusing to accept birth-marriages. This year alone, several leading Kryptonian families have genetically disappeared from aristocratic lists. It is expected that in the near future more distinguished families will pass from the book of upper class houses.

“When you view the new villages that spring up near the governmental complex, Kit, you’ll notice that none of the women who subscribe to Aviva’s marriage notions are bivouaced in the emigration camps. When the El, Ra, and Lo clans transmigrate, those women who subscribe to the marriage shattering principles to which Aviva subscribed will remain on Krypton and disappear when the super volcano erupts and consumes their bodies with burning lava.”

Shocked, Kit said, “That’s essentially a sentence of death to a sect of Kryptonians.”

Lara, uttered no sound, and just stared out the window. After a while, she murmured, “Is the death of good people like Adam not proof enough of these women’s loathsome and destructive practices? Am I not guilty of almost causing not only a death, but possibly the ruin of three couples I love dearly and the exiling of Jerre Stein whose only refuge and support were the people of the Miller house?”

When Lara stopped talking, she covered her sleeping husband with a blanket and with her babies kicking in her womb soon dozed off.

Kitara then walked into the garden and began thinking about Adam as rivulets of tears again started to cascade from her eyes.

While she was thinking of her family, Kit received a telepathic message. Jerre, her good friend, had perished, killed by terrorists, and was being returned to the farm for burial. Jerre’s death had occurred in Jerusalem, where he was helping the indigent people within that city attempt to survive. People who were generally too old and homeless to survive another day on their own.

“Kitara, my aunt,” Zara said, “before he died, Jerre discovered Kryptonians are biologically compatible with Earth folk. So your children and Kela’s issues born to you and your soulmates were no accident. Eventually, if the Kryptonians can locate soulmates on Sol Three, procreation between our two species is a definite possibility. Jerre was a man who in his own way has become a blessing to two cultures. If the people on Krypton can survive by emigrating from our home world, the blending of our peoples, I believe, will create a marvelous genetic combination.”

Kit was also informed that a terrorist using an explosive device killed Jerre who was administering help to his people in Jerusalem without considering any differences in the population within one of Earth’s most holy cities. Jerre’s death was instantaneous. There apparently was no pain.

Kitara sent a telepathic message to Zara which said, “I’ll be at Jerre’s funeral.”

When Lara was awakened from her nap, Kit told her about Jerre. Lara’s eyes then became fearful as she thought about Aviva’s condition and the life — death soulmate condition.

Realizing that Lara was pondering about her sister’s mortal situation, Kit said, “With Jerre’s demise, Aviva’s essence will almost immediately pass from this plane of existence and unite with her soulmate at the Well of Souls.”

Unknown to Lara and her earthly clan, Aviva had suffered a miscarriage and died as Jerre was killed. Lara was informed about Aviva’s expiration almost as soon as her sister’s death was confirmed. Aviva’s coffin was quickly constructed and her remains were prepared to be shipped in her sarcophagus to the Miller Homestead.

Later in the evening of that tragic day, Ari appeared at Zara’s home and collected Aviva’s mortal remains and her stone coffin.

Ari made sure that Aviva would be intered with her soulmate, Jerre Stein. Hopefully, the soulmate bonding between these two now lifeless individuals would be of the classic kind and form a loving soulmate linkage during their next life partner cycle.

After Ari placed Aviva in a body bag for transport, a very pregnant Lara looking at Ari asked, “Are you my exiled son and is Kela your twin sister?” Ari-El bowing his head was affirmative in his response.

“I knew it, I knew it,” Lara gleefully whispered to herself.

After a brief pause, Ari said, “I’ll send my son Seth and his sister Rachel to stay with you until my new siblings are born.”

Lara, looking puzzled asked, “How can Seth and Rachel be your children? You did not sire them and I was told that Lo-Ra was your soulmate who, by marring her lover, fragmented your soulmate bond. Then, I was also informed that Lo-Ra and her iniquitous husband had been murdered by Lord Poco.”

“All of what you’ve said, mother, is quite true in a Kryptonian sense. On Earth, Mother, another individual can become part of your family by legal means. Both Seth and Rachel are my beloved children by using the legal conventions sanctioned by the people of Sol Three.”

“I guess part of Kryptonian’s rituals must still be viable within your soul because you did survive after Lo-Ra broke her soulmate vows and was slain by Lord Poco,” Lara said.

Ari then explained the full ritual of adoption on Earth and the conditions that brought Seth and Rachel to him.

As Ari was about to return to old terra firma, Kitara entered Lara’s room.

Smiling, Kit asked straight away about her children.

“They’re fine,” Ari replied. I’m having them sent here with my kids in a few days. Seth and his sister will remain with their grandmother and help you and Lara until her delivery. After Lara’s babies reach about three months of age or slightly more, Jor-El will be able to protect his new family within the Selar and Sela’s living quarters located within the main government complex. You, Kit, with my kids, will stay with Lara until you specifically wish to return to the Miller’s residence and our home. The choice, of course, about what you do here on Krypton is in your hands, Kit.”

Turning to Lara, he said, “If you need additional help from your grandchildren, Seth and Rachel will remain with you, Mom, as long as you need them.”

“If I return to The Miller place,” Kit asked, “what will become of me?”

“At home, you will reside with me and my children, Aunt Kitara,” Ari simply responded. “Right now, though,” Ari said, “I’m returning to Earth to perform specific and sometimes unpleasant tasks. There are several social issues to be mulled over and a solution that must be worked out.

“First, I shall strive to mend the bonding breach between Kela and Kivi and make that pair whole again,” Ari informed his aunt. “I’ll ask Zara and Josh to give me a hand with the issues keeping Kivi and Kela at odds. I believe that their differences are inconsequential, and Zara, Josh, and I will have a high probability of success.”

Ari added, “However, my second task, is to attempt to establish a lasting soulmate relationship between Mi-Ra and myself. In that quest, there is a possibility of failure. You must realize that unless there is some way to connect my symbiotic soulmate characteristics, which should be linking our essences, any endeavor to establish a union between Mi-Ra and myself is doomed to languish.”

Turing toward the door, Ari said, “Wish me luck.”

As Ari passed through the portal leading to Earth, he murmured, “Come home soon, Kitara. The kids and I miss you. Remember, we are a close-knit family group.”

***Family Associations***

Four months after Ari returned to his Miller home, Lara gave birth to twins, A boy whose appellation was Kal-El and an infant girl who was dubbed Kara-El.

As Lara was resting from her birthing ordeal, Kit, Seth and Rachel tended to her needs — preparing Lara’s meals, tending to the physical cleanliness of their home, and caring for Jor and Lara’s infants. Kitara, before returning to Earth, had assisted her sister-in-law through her labor and was present at the birth of her newest issues.

Within a week after delivering her new issues, Lara was up and about, nursing her children and walking around her apartment complex with her soulmate Jor-El constantly in attendance. He was the proud papa of his new family and stayed with Lara and his new offspring constantly unless duty called him to service.

About a month after Lara’s twins made their appearence, she and her husband were strolling along a path within the rose garden adjacent to Zara’s home when they happened to come face to face with fifteen or more unwelcome Norian warriors.

The Leader of the group, Sor-Nor, said to his fellows, “It’s Jor-El, Lara, and their new brood.” Pausing for a moment he added, “Lads, don’t have to look any further. Our lambs are here and it appears ready for the slaughter.”

As Jor-El, a highly skilled warrior in his own right, placed Lara and their infants to his rear, he attacked the cutthroats and immediately brought down three Norian assassins. Although Jor’s flashing blade brought down more Norian cutthroats in the next few seconds, he was about to be overwhelmed by the assassins numerical superiority. Suddenly, two additional warriors joined Jor’s camp and all three could stop the Norian hatchet men, jackals of the worst sort, in their tracks. Jor noted that the additional help were two young figures who suddenly appeared by his side as he battled desperately for his own life and those of his wife and infants — a young teenage girl and her brother, just entering manhood, entered the fray, rapiers at the ready, and at Jor’s side decimated the remainder of the murderers.

Without waiting for any sign from Jor-El, the two youngsters with whirring blades added their warrior skills to Jor-El’s thrusting rapier and vanquished Nor’s Killers. So, within several minutes, all the Norian attackers were lifeless and their bodies covered with blood spewed over the ground.

After the battle had ceased, Lara, seeing blood oozing from Rachel’s neck, gave the twins to her husband, ripped her dress into strips and began binding the girl’s wound stemming the flow of blood from Seth’s sister’s lacerations. Thankful for Lara’s help, Rachel hugged her grandma and kissed her.

Seth, too, was injured when several Norian Killers lacerated the young man’s body as he defended his grandparents by running their blades into the young man’s back.

“How quaint,” Jor-El mentioned to his wife. “He referred to you as Grandma.”

Seth, now sitting on a bench, smiled at Rachel’s show of affection for Lara.

Then his eyes closed, and he rolled off the bench and lay still after he struck the ground.

Placing Rachel on the ground, Lara ran to her fallen grandson and screamed for a physician. Then she lifted the boy and carried him as fast as she could to her rooms. Placing him on her bed, she striped off his tunic revealing two rapier thrusts which had seriously penetrated the upper region of the posterior portion of Seth’s trunk area — the boy’s back near the shoulder area. Waiting for medical help, she stopped the flow of blood from Seth’s wounds by using pressure bandages she located in her rooms. Soon after Lara began her ministrations, several physicians arrived and began to attend to the boy’s medical needs. In the meantime, Rachel was carried to her grandma’s quarters and attended to by other medical people.

Several days later, Seth’s delirium began to decrease and he started to regain consciousness.

Although Rachel’s wounds allowed her some mobility, she rested on a cot placed next to her brother’s bed. When she felt capable, Ari’s daughter helped Lara with her new children.

A few days after Rachel had become semi-mobile, Seth’s injuries were on the mend, and the physicians informed Lara that the boy’s wounds were healing nicely. Within a week, Lara began to notice that much of Seth’s strength had returned.

As Seth began functioning, he convinced Rachel that she should return to Earth and help her father.

While Rachel was preparing to teleport home, Seth informed his sister that he would remain with Lara and help Zara and Josh take care of Lara and her new kids. Seth further told his sister that he would probably stay on Krypton until Josh, Zara, and he himself were capable of transporting his grandmother and her babies to Earth. Jor would travel with the El clan when the time arrived to emigrate.

Seth felt that his presence in Lara’s apartments would give the Sela a sense of security when Jor was tending to his people.

While Jor-El was dealing with the politics of the great assembly, Zara and Josh were guiding the Lo, Ra, and El clans by speeding up the transportation portals to the safe haven areas on Sol Three.

Later, after the annihilation of Krypton had occurred, Rachel discovered the reason her brother remained with his grandma and her infants prior to the planet’s catastrophe. Seth’s protection of Lara’s family and her new babies was his sworn obligation to his father.

Ari didn’t realize, at the time, that both Seth’s and Rachel’s adoptions were a blessing. They would become his staunch fighting allies as he began battling the iniquitous events that would trouble two worlds.

Seth and Rachel on their own also became forces for good, and when they combined their innate goodness with their unique abilities, they could stifle much of the evil that threatened Earth and enable many Kryptonians to survive the eruption of the super volcano in the Urdi Mountain Range.

In studying her son while living on Earth, Lara realized that not only was he brilliant, but unusually kind and compassionate. Unique attitudes that were seldom found in one individual and almost never in Kryptonian males — Jor-El, Ari’s biological father, once had all these traits in abundance. Of late, the political pressure surrounding his Selar position had diminished his ability to feel for people, a sentiment that Jor once possessed in abundance. One difference Lara noticed between father and son: Ari, she became aware, sought no praise for his accomplishments. He interfered in people’s lives only when they tended to be in jeopardy.

While saying nothing to her soulmate and the others, Lara was proud of Ari and Kela, the first of her children, who journeyed to Sol — three with Kitara, their aunt. Furthermore, her sister-in-law deserved much praise because of the great nurturing task she performed as she raised Kela and her brother, Ari. In their turn Kela and Ari had propagated Kit’s teachings — compassion, understanding, sympathy, kindness… All the fine human values a parent would wish their children would aspire to.

While Seth was healing, she received some marvelous news that Kit had dispatched from her Earth home. Ari had managed to ameliorate the discord that had occurred between Kela and Kivi over Aviva’s chaotic, deceitful, and evasive schemes. Zara and Josh were overjoyed at Kit’s news. Now the surviving El family members could again be conjoined.

Because of Aviva’s warped idiosyncrasies, Adam would never again be present at a family festivity — Kitara and her children, although mourning the loss of Adam, husband and father, was present at the celebration reuniting Kela and her wonderful life partner Kivi.

As a road has rough spots, life too has its distressing moments.

After his sister and her soulmate were made whole again, Ari sought out Mi-Ra. Hoping that his meeting with Mi-Ra would go well, in reality, Ari was not hopeful of success.

Finding Mi-Ra watering and cultivating plants in the den area, Ari placed his hand upon her shoulder. Sensing it was Ari, Mi-Ra immediately turned and slapped his face. The blow was severe, and she drew blood with a gardening tool she held.

Stepping back and somewhat surprised by Mi-Ra’s action, Ari inquired, “What prompted such a response?”

“I hold you directly responsible for my sister’s demise. After what I’ve heard from various people, our potential union has been terminated. For my peace of mind, it would be better that we go out seperate ways.”

As Ari started to respond to Mi-Ra’s charges, she began to ambulate away from him.

That evening Mi-Ra returned to the planet near the red sun and asked Lara whether she could remain with her for a time — Lara consented to Mi-Ra’s request, but, of course, was very curious about her reasons.

Within a short time after settling in, Mi-Ra discovered that Seth was also a guest in Lara’s Kryptonian abode, recuperating from wounds he received from Nor’s cutthroats during a ferocious battle.

When Seth eventually conversed with Mi-Ra over one of Lara’s meals, he commented, “I’m surprised you’re here. I would have expected that you and my father would now be planning some sort of future together.”

“That’s not going to occur,” Mi-Ra replied in a coarse and angry response.

After listening to Mi-Ra’s reply and sensing her mood, Seth, gazed at his grandmother and smiled. Then he rose and retired to his quarters.

Mi-Ra also expected a response from the Sela, but like Seth, none was forthcoming. A few moments after her grandson had departed, Lara too retired from the dining area and went to her rooms leaving Mi-Ra to brood alone.

Several minutes later, Mi-Ra left the El complex and ambulated toward a new village now sheltering the Northern Ra Clan. Her parents having ben reinstalled as the clan leaders after the death and dishonor of Lord Poco were surprised, but glad to see their daughter. The Northern Ra clan people, according to plan, had moved closer to the El, Ra, and Lo villages and settled in their own enclave.

During Mi-Ra’s visit to her parents, she was informed of the circumstances that brought about her sister’s death and the battle which ensued between Ari and Lord Poco following Lo-Ra’s murder by the chief Norian counselor.

As they talked well into the night, Mi-Ra’s father became somewhat tipsy and apprised his younger daughter that the man her sister had married was a Ra noble from their clan and one that he approved.

Like her sister, Mi-Ra was also unattached, and her father was eager to provide his younger daughter with a consort who would make her happy and provide them with grandchildren to extend their family line and provide a foundation for future leaders of the Northern Ra clan.

While Mi-Ra’s father wished her to marry, Ma-Ra was not anxious to thrust another potential mate upon her youngest daughter.

Ez-Ra hadn’t learned his lesson. The first such forced mating had ended in tragedy — the death of Lo-Ra and her husband.

Promising to visit again, Mi-Ra slowly meandered back to Lara’s lodgings.

During Mi-Ra’s walk toward Lara’s living quarters, she began contemplating how to make atonement to Ari for her physical and verbal assault on his person. This had to be accomplished to clear the air about the ethical behavior of her sister. It was Lo-Ra who betrayed Ari when she married Ned-Ra. It certainly was not the way she had heard the tale from Aviva.

Mi-Ra hoped that Ari would be forgiving and understanding. If so, then perhaps she and Ari could forge a new and perhaps a loving relationship between the two of them.

As dawn approached on Mi-Ra’s homeward trek toward Lara’s abode in the El complex, she was still shaking about the events she’d discovered about her sister, Lo-Ra, and Ari-El. When Mi-Ra began entering the gates which secured the El grounds, the vast estates near the governmental buildings began to oscillate and deep grumbling sounds could be discerned coming from the Urdi mountain range.

The continuous massive eruptions one could expect when the super volcano moved towards its destructive end had begun. Its menacing explosive threshold was now being established. The death knell of the great planet Krypton was now tuning up.

By sun up, the people of the El, Ra, and Lo clans had already begun exiting their home planet in droves through the large space — time portals that connected them with the enclaves that had been constructed beneath Antarctica and the Australian outback on a planet they knew as Earth.

It would be several days, or maybe even a week before the forces beneath the Urdi mountain caldera had produced sufficient lava for the super volcano to erupt and devastate the planet — all life on Krypton, when this event occurred, would cease to exist shorty after the super volcanic discharge.

Soon after the death throws of Krypton had started, one of Jor-El’s trusted troopers hastened to the Selar and Sela’s living quarters in the government complex, seized the infant Kal-El, placed him into an interstellar ship and launched it through one of the space — time portals linking Krypton with Earth.

As Seth watched Kal-El being sent to his safe haven, he asked, “Where is the transport for Kara, Kal-El’s twin?”

The trooper looked around and said, “I was not informed that such a conveyance existed.”

Seth ran toward the crib, clutched Kara, and told the trooper, Zan-El, to follow him as he started to hurry for Zara’s abode and the space — time portal that was hidden in her house. As they ran, Zan-El, Jor-El’s emissary, stumbled and fell. Seth turned and lifted a bruised Zan-El from the ground and continued to hasten to the interspatial escape exit. As Seth was helping Zan-El to his feet, a horrific sound was heard in the distance as the Urdi mountains exploded, marking the beginning of the end of the planet Krypton.

Entering Zara’s house, he found Lara seated in the den area, which was situated on the way to the space — time portal. “Grandmother,” Seth said, quickly taking her by the hand, “it’s time to leave.” In the frenzy that was occurring on the planet, Seth quickly introduced Zan-El to Lara who aided her in their escape from the catastrophe that was destroying Krypton.”

The Sela then told her grandson that a man called Tor-El told her to remain within Zara’s abode and wait for her rescuers to lead her to safety.

Seeing Kara, Lara asked, “Where is Kal-El.?” Seth said immediately, “Your son Kal-El was sent via a star ship through one of the space — time entrance ways to safety by Zan-El as ordered by Jor-El. Since there was no transport for Kara, I took her with me.”

Then Seth, carrying the infant Kara, led his grandmother and his new acquaintance quickly to the rear of Zara’s dwelling where a small space — time portal was hidden. Once through the portal, Seth sealed the entry way from Lara’s home planet for the last time.

A few minutes later, the four escapees were in the midst of a village, which had been constructed beneath the Miller Homestead.

When Seth was recognized, he and the other Kryptonian survivors with him were surrounded by members of the Miller clan and the people rejoiced.

Seth, pointing to Lara said, “This lady is my grandmother. Please treat her accordingly.” Seth then indicated, “The other Kryptonian with me is called Zan-El,” as he pointed at the trooper, and said, “This man is a good friend and helped me save my family. Please take care of him.”

As Seth explained the situation, one could see by the expression on Lara’s countenance the pride she had for the Earth born Kryptonian, the son of her Ari-El.

A few moments later, the population beneath the Miller Homestead, now called Helios, learned that most of the people associated with the El, Ra, and Lo clans, which also included the Northern Ra people, had escaped the dying world of Krypton — apparently very few people of the La, Ra, and El clans did not emigrate to Earth as their home world perished. Within a few days, the people who transmigrated to Earth were informed that the entire Nor clan and their allies had also managed to transport themselves to a star system called Cynig-Tau about a hundred light years from their now defunct Kryptonian home world, which in years to come would simply become a vague memory in minds of the Earth and Cynig-Tau inhabitants.

As Lara, Zan-El, and Seth were receiving refreshments provided by Kela and her household, Jor-El entered the room and seeing Lara immediately and lovingly embraced his wife.

A few minutes later, a pompous ass called Tor-El burst into Kivi and Kela’s abode without announcing himself.

Kivi rose quickly and said, “Whoever you are, the next time you wish to enter this abode, please announce yourself and ask for permission.”

“Or what?” Tor-El sneered.

Hearing To-El’s pontificating language, Kivi started moving rapidly toward Tor-El, who blanched and backed away from Kivi. Tor-El then appeared somewhat nervous as Kela’s soulmate said, “If you ever act in that manner again, I’ll toss you the hell out of my house and have you incarcerated. Understand? Or better yet, I’ll disembowel you before throwing you into the street.”

“Arrest us? Threaten us? That’s not possible. We are the government!”

“Since Krypton has been abolished, the Kryptonian government no longer exists. You will operate under the auspices of the Miller clan, which functions by a democratic system — all people here are considered equals and will be treated impartially.”

“Stop this bickering,” Jor-El said, “Tor-El, we will operate under the rules established by the Helios community, the one which is providing us with a safe haven.”

Then Jor-El turned to Zan-El and inquired about his baby son Kal-El.

Zan-El told Jor-El that he had sent the baby, as instructed, on a star ship through a designated space — time gate. The orders had been sent by Lord Tor-El.

Tor-El said very quickly, “I conveyed no such orders to this lowly trooper.”

“Really?” Lara said. “I suppose that you didn’t tell me to stay in Zara’s home until help arrived. None came. Only by my grandson, Seth, carrying Kara and accompanied by Zan-El. They were surprised to see me in Zara’s discarded home.”

Angry, Jor-El approached Zan-El and drew his sword and was about to slay the confused trooper.

Seth immediately placed himself between Jor and the Zan-El, a new found friend. He then pleaded with Jor-El to spare the young trooper’s life. Seth emphasized that he was just carrying out your supposed orders sent by someone acting as through he was your surrogate, such as Tor-El.

Hearing Seth’s words, Jor-El quieted and rethought his intent to dispatch Zan-El for the loss of his son -in this case life and justice won the day.

There was a texture in Zan-El’s pleading voice which indicated to Seth that the young Kryptonian trooper’s utterances were very credible. It appeared that his new friend was the scapegoat for a setup.

Smiling at Seth, Jor-El went to join his wife. Seth turned and starred at Tor-El, a look that made the Kryptonian nobleman aware that what the ex-councilman attempted to do to Zan-El would not go unavenged.

Then placing his arm around Zan-El, he led the young man into his home and cooked them both a hearty meal.

As Jor-El set his head on Lara’s shoulder, she placed her arms about his neck. Lara knew her soulmate was hurt by the apparent loss of their youngest son. Jor-El sighed and realized he and Lara had lost a second son over the many years of their marriage. She felt her husband’s distress and the longing coursing through his being.

Lara’s pain was equally sharp, but somehow she knew that Zan-El and Seth would seek her missing baby in some way and locate him. She didn’t know why she felt that way, but her belief that Kal-El would be found and be in good heath was strong in every fiber of her being.

As she lay in bed that evening, her mind focused on her grandson Seth. The boy had deliberately placed himself in harm’s way — at death’s doorway to be more exact. He gained nothing by his action, but the life of Zan-El. To a Kryptonian, that was the greatest type of heroism that could ever be achieved. To place your life in jeopardy for an individual when there was nothing to be gained by your actions. Jor-El was almost out of control and was being goaded on by Tor-El to kill the trooper. She loathed Tor-El, and she noticed that he seemed disappointed that Zan-El wasn’t dispatched outright. Considering what Seth had accomplished on Krypton, and his action again today, Lara was honored to have Seth call her grandmother. Ari with Kela’s help had inculcated within his son and daughter an essence of nobility of the highest level.

*** A New Super Society***

As the three major Kryptonian clans — El, Ra, and Lo — settled into their new habitats, a subterranean university center was constructed several miles from the center of Helios. As the university buildings were erected, several smaller hamlets close to the university were also erected to provide housing for the faculty and their families. Also living in the academic towns were researchers responsible for developing new practicable products and providing support for the teaching faculty and their facilities. These villages also became the center of theoretical research programs, which were being established at the university.

Industrial and manufacturing centers were established and assembled within the Australian and Antarctica enclaves. The three areas comprising the new Kryptonian settlements were all connected by teleportation systems. This transit network would allow the emigres from Krypton to move from one enclave to another with relative ease — contact with family members in this manner made any separation much easier to bear.

The governmental departments needed to run the new Kryptonian agencies were few. Elected members ran the governmental directorship for a period of five years and then were required to stand for reelection — positions for the technocrats who ran the equipment required to operate the governmental system were not an elected body. While the elected ministers would propose laws they believed were needed to operate the affairs of the Kryptonian clans, these laws had to be put to a vote using a yeah or nay system by the entire population inhabiting the three new concealed subterranean communities. The vote was conducted by electronic linkages which also combined police and surveillance agencies.

Within a year, the hidden Kryptonian communities on Sol Three were functioning well and producing materials that would enhance the emigre’s towns and humankind’s civilization.

***The Miracle of HG Wells***

As the celebration of the new Kryptonian republic was in progress, Kitara was putting her three small children to bed. It was not a festive time for her — Adam was gone. Still, she allowed the gaiety of her family and from the streets of Helios to permeate her own home and bring joy to her kids.

To help diminish her loss, Ari spent a portion of each day with Kit’s children and every evening with his aunt when Kit’s children had been tucked in for the night. Rachel, Ari-El’s first born also periodically spent considerable time comforting her aunt.

While the festival of the Kryptonian people celebrated its rebirth and salvation, Ari understood that he was witnessing the new beginning of the Kryptonian community. This celebration would continue through the next several weeks, as was the custom of their people.

As Ari and Kit listened to the noise of the people, happiness wafting in from the street, Kit wished that she and her children with Adam could join in the fanfare of the celebrants.

One evening, during the celebration period, flashes of light began to appear in Kit’s great room. After a few moments the shimmering lights began to coalesce and a structure resembling an ancient horse drawn sleigh appeared in their midst of the room. When the sporadic illumination ceased completely, Ari and his aunt observed a man sitting within the sleigh like contraption, which was positioned in the great room.

Sitting within the sleigh, and surrounded by a host of electronic instruments, Ari could see a man dressed in clothes which were right out of the fashion magazines showing men’s apparel dating from the end of the nineteenth or beginning of the twentieth century, earth time.

After the man and his ancient toboggan like device became fully visible, the driver of the ancient conveyance left the sleigh pulling a life cylinder with him. As Ari went to meet the stranger, he noticed enclosed in the life tube was a man who seemed to be awaking from a deep sleep. Looking closer, Ari recognized the encapsulated individual. Recovering from his startled condition, Ari yelled, “Kit, I need you post haste.” A few seconds after heeding Ari’s call, his aunt had moved quickly across the room to Ari’s side. When she recognized the man in the cylinder, Kit grasped her nephew so her traumatized body wouldn’t collapse. The man lying before her was her deceased husband, Adam. After gaining control of his own emotions, Ari helped Kitara to sit down beside her soulmate, Adam, even now awakening within his cylindrical life enclosure.

After regaining his composure, Ari, holding tight to Kit, finally asked the man now emerging from the sleigh, “Who the heck are you, sir?”

Smiling, the man simply said, “I’m known as H.G. Wells,” the individual from the sleigh replied.

Ari look even more stunned when he head the man’s name.

“If I’m correct, sir,” Ari commented, “H.G. Wells passed away in nineteen forty-six,” Earth time.

“Sometimes,” the sleigh rider remarked smiling, “my friend, that information can be considered correct and at other times your remark is not valid. To be candid, sir,” H.G. Wells said, “I am a time traveler. My main function is to protect the time stream — to prevent it from being altered through mishap or by direct intervention.”

After pausing for several moments, H.G. Wells commented, “Eventually, the emigres from Krypton and the people of Earth will form a unique society which will be called Utopia. The name I’ve just uttered should inform you what kind of community will develop between Kryptonians and Earth people, eventually. At present, I can’t tell you more, with the exception that your offspring, Ari, and many of their descendents and others who are yet to be born will contribute greatly to the Utopian society with the creation of a harmonious worldwide community of two cultures. The Utopia of which I speak will protect and help to sustain all forms of life throughout our island universe.”

Wells continued, “Unfortunately, there are individuals and civilizations, within our cosmos that will attempt to devastate Utopia for their own personal gains. So,” Wells added, “when Utopia eventually becomes a real entity, a time stream patrol, which will be known as the guardians, a group of which I happen to be a member, will be established as Utopia matures. Its function will be to protect the Utopian people from other bellicose civilizations that desire to terminate the utopian culture, which as you now should be aware will be established by a culture created by the Kryptonian-Earth people currently living on this planet.

“A major change in the time stream could disrupt or even destroy Utopia and the evolution of our universe. Therefore, the time stream must be preserved at any cost once Utopia had been established. The guardians are our battle line warriors that will maintain the time patrol by constantly travelling along the space — time lines.

“Adam’s premature death, a transforming effect in the time field, was an item that could cause a major modification in the space — time continuum. Aviva’s disruption of the tranquil existence within the Miller homestead would have altered the time stream significantly, if it were not corrected.

“Aviva’s distorted views of Kryptonian philosophy associated with birth marriages, if allowed to evolve, would have eventually corrupted the Kryptonian matrimonial views causing major disruptions in the time stream dismantling a future Utopia.

“While I could reverse Aviva’s philosophical views and correct most of the time stream dysfunctions caused by her ambitions, Adam would never have met Kit, which caused major alterations associated with the movement in the space — time continuum. This action would behave like a premature death of our cosmos. Children from Adam and Kitara’s line would later never have been conceived causing a devastating disruption in the time line. The offspring procreated by Adam and his soulmate Kit is critical to Utopia’s creation. Since certain offspring in the Miller house would not have existed, Utopia would have vanished. So, my friends, I was instructed to save Adam from his premature demise by placing him in a healing vessel just prior to his body’s demise and moving him to the future, to a time that would be most needed to the development of our Utopian society. This future of which we speak is only slightly in advance of his actual death — a few months in actuality.”

After they transferred Adam to a bed, Kit immediately began to care for her life partner with more tender and loving care than she had provided her husband before their altercation causing his demise within the recent past.

This episode between Kitara and Adam, her soulmate, with the time stream guardian, H.G.Wells, would produce a much stronger soulmate bond between the couple than existed in the past. Their confrontation would help others to recognize the value of the soulmate philosophy which would govern marital relationships. Soon after Adam and Kitara’s event, birth-marriages would be eliminated from the Kryptonian roster of laws — their illegality would go into effect almost immediately.

“Now, my friend,” H.G. Wells said to Ari, “it’s time for me to return to the time stream.”

Ari nodded, but declared, “I’ll provide a room for you. If you ever decide to return to this point within the time steam, you’ll know that there will always be a place for you.” Just as Wells was entering his time transport, Ari commented, “Please come back from time to time; we could have such interesting discussions.”

“That’s a good idea,” Wells replied, just as the time traveler was being engulfed in a fog which appeared like a gaseous vapor and began to fade from Ari and Kit’s reality into the midst of the time current. The last vocal sounds Ari discerned was, “You can count on seeing me from time to time, my friend.”

After Wells had said his farewells and continued his wanderings throughout eternity, Ari proceeded to the family mausoleum and noted with joy that the sepulcher containing Adam’s body was now vacant.

Seeing the empty crypt, Ari just smiled and murmured, “We’re back on track, Kit; thank the creator of our cosmos.”

“Kitara placed her arms about Ari’s neck and began to cry in her immense joy.”

As news of Adam’s revival became known, you could feel a great wave of happiness spread throughout the Miller enclave.

By the end of that year, Kitara gave birth to an additional set of triplets. It appeared that the only distinguishing physical differences which existed between these infants was in their eye color — varying shades of green, blue, and purple stared back at you when you gazed at Kit and Adam’s new offspring.

***An Unexpected Soulmate***

Kit’s new issues were developing into extremely active children, and people would often comment to Adam and Kit about their aggressive nature, causing the relatively shy parents to smile and remain somewhat speechless.

When Ari noted that Kit and Adam were enduring an ever increasing nurturing struggle with their baby girls, he started to include himself in helping the couple raise Kitara and Adam’s bambinos. Kitara and Adam were eternally grateful for Ari’s help and often told him so. He was very appreciative.

Some four months after Adam and Kit’s latest brood had entered the world, Ari began to feel an unusual pain beginning to course through his body. The intensity produced by his vexing malady was slow, but inexpiably increasing over time.

As Ari’s condition worsened throughout the coming months, Adam finally forced him to see a medical practitioner — a healer to assist Ari with his ailment.

After thoroughly examining Ari and taking samples of his blood, the physician asked the young man whether he had initiated a soulmate union. The hormones in Ari’s blood system specified that such a condition had occurred. The healer said very succinctly to his patient that if his bodily deteriorating functions were not corrected, he would eventually perish from what the physician called a hormonal soulmate disorder. The pain level, he was informed by his healer, would invariably increase until it reached an agony threshold which would become intolerable to his body and cause his life forces to begin shutting down and initiate a journey with the pale horse leading to the next plane of existence — Ari would die.”

After Ari thanked the healer, he continued his usual routines waiting for the inevitable.

After nearly a year with his suffering constantly on the increase, Ari’s body finally passed into a coma like condition caused by the grievously painful situation now wracking his body.

At a scientific meeting earlier that year, the healer who had been treating Ari met by chance a colleague who was doctoring a young woman displaying symptoms very similar to those exhibited by Seth and Rachel’s father, Ari-El.

After comparing the hormonal sequences of Ari and this other individual, the two physicians brought Ari and the ailing woman together. The woman turned out to be none other than Mi-Ra.

When Mi-Ra was brought into Ari’s hospital chamber, she gasped upon seeing him in his death-like state and grasped his hand and held it for some minutes. As Mi-Ra maintained her handclasp upon Ari’s appendage, his comatose state began to abate, and after some little time Ari became conscious, and like Mi-Ra, now found himself free from a pain like state.

As soon as Ari became awake, Mi-Ra disengaged her hand from Ari’s arm. The pain, which had been racking both their bodies, had apparently disappeared. The medical conclusion, which both physicians agreed upon, was that bodily contact somehow relieved the ever increasing pain malady in both patients.

The two healers, after examining their patients, also discovered that there had been a radical change in their hormone levels that was somehow linked to their soulmate bonding condition.

During the following month, both Mi-Ra and Ari learned from their healers that they were soulmates and probably had briefly come into contact with one another sometime in the past. This contact had somehow initiated their soulmate uniting energy condition. Since there was apparently no continuation in their soulmate process, their hormone systems became disorganized. It was the hormone instability that brought on their pain issues.

What appeared very disconcerting to the medical community was that Ari and Mi-Ra were supposedly not soulmates at all. The healers asked the philosopher-priests to behave as consultants in this strange case. They were delighted when the spiritual people agreed to help with the malady between Ari and Mi-Ra.

With the close consultation between the healers and their spiritual counterparts fully operable, both groups struggled with the subliminal concepts to unravel what they were observing. The experimentalists and the philosophers soon became aware that during a specific period of separation, their experimental subjects began to suffer mounting pain again — Ari and Mi-Ra had been parted for nearly a month while the philosophers-priests and healers were still contemplating their unusual pain syndrome.

The spiritual advisers and healers who were at that point studying the soulmate conditions assembled in a special conference and after much deliberation had the two Kryptonians make physical contact as before. On the day following the spiritual-science experimental meeting, the escalating pain in both subjects vanished almost immediately when the suggestion that each subject touch each other again by clasping their bodies in a hug.

It was then proposed that Ari and Mi-Ra see one another during a month’s time and physically contact one another by clasping their hands or contacting each other with other parts of their bodies for several minutes to correct their hormonal imbalances. This touching technique appeared to correct whatever soulmate arrangement was out of kilter and therefore not functioning properly because due to their isolation Ari’s and Mi-Ra’s life partner features were no longer in phase.

Both Ari and Mi-Ra agreed with the concepts proposed by the physicians and soulmate-priests. There seemed little else that could done for Ari and Mi-Ra for the moment. Ari and Mi-Ra therefore followed the suggested medical regimen to regulate their erratic life forces which occurred from time to time.

While Air and Mi-Ra followed their medical program, Seth and Rachel with the help of Zan-El were vigorously searching for the baby Kal-El. When time allowed, Ari joined his children and Zan-El in the search.

After somewhat over a year of searching for Kal-El, Seth came to his father with news of Kal-El’s whereabouts. Although it was a notable piece of intelligence, it came close to Ari’s medical rendezvous with Mi-Ra. They needed to provide each other with their monthly mandatory joining therapy.

Hearing the Kal-El news, Ari hastened to find Mi-Ra before he and Seth set out on their quest. Fortunately, early in the afternoon Ari located Mi-Ra at a party hosted by his parents.

As Ari entered a hall filled with revelers, he initially strove to locate Lara and Jor-El and excuse himself for coming to their affair uninvited indicating that it was a medical emergency involving Mi-Ra and himself. Being in contact with the healers Ari and Mi-Ra understood the medical implications which compelled them to see one another. Jor-El and Lara were also aware of the necessity for Ari and Mi-Ra to see each other on a monthly basis. As an eminent scientist, he was using his scientific skill to aid the medical-philosophical establishment to comprehend the strange malady affecting these two young people.

After he paid his respects to Lara and Jor, he began searching the ballroom for Mi-Ra.

Eventually, locating her with an assemblage of Northern Ra nobles, he made a beeline to her proximity. When he attempted to enter the circle of young Ra bucks who had surrounded the lovely personage of Mi-Ra, a drunken voice with an insulting tone in his voice said, “Begone, scum of the earth.” Ignoring the intoxicated fellow’s offensive dithering, Ari beckoned Mi-Ra to accompany him to an isolated location adjacent to the ballroom.

The inebriated Ra aristocrat persisted to verbally annoy Ari, his words reaching an abusive level. He then drew his rapier from its scabbard. Ari immediately disarmed the foolish Ra noble and placed the Kryptonian’s weapon back into its sheath and said politely, “Cool-off.” After settling the young Ra noble, awash in booze, within a chair, with some difficulty, he and Mi-Ra started to move off.

As Ari was accomplishing his undertaking, four additional friends of the drunken man approached Ari from the rear, unsheathed their bodkins and were about to stab Ari. Ari’s back at that moment was unguarded and extremely vulnerable.

Seth, sitting with Jor-El’s family and talking with Kara, saw the senseless atrocity which was about to occur, unsheathed his rapier, extracted his Bowi blade from its rawhide case and moving like a streak of lightening hurtled himself across the ballroom.

As Seth reached his father’s position, Ari had already been impaled once in the back by a foolish knife wielding Ra noble. Because Ari had heard the sound of Seth’s approach, the knife thrust was off its mark and he was only slightly injured. However, there was blood from the cutting edge of the assassin’s blade covering his torso.

Turning, the cowardly male Ra was met by Seth’s rapier thrust, which lacerated the young Ra noble’s left shoulder. While Seth was attending to the remainder of his father’s drunken attackers, Mi-Ra moved rapidly to Ari’s side and commenced to clean his wound.

When the Ra warrior, who had behaved as though he were an assassin, lay in a heap upon the floor, Seth warned the remaining three Ra clansmen that if any of them so much as blinked an eyelash they would all instantly meet their forefathers. From the look in Seth’s eyes, the pixilated aristocratic Ra males backed off. They were well aware that Seth’s comments were not an idle boast, but a warning of the approaching pale horseman — a serious utterance in any case.

After Mi-Ra had cleansed Ari’s injury, he turned to the four Ra punks and cuffed them each across the mouth. Blood was drawn with each blow.

“Since I was the one who was assaulted from behind, the act of cowards, I choose the forested lot on the Miller estate to settle our grievances. I leave the choice of time to you.” With his eyes blazing, Ari then said, “I suggest that you place all your affairs in order. For on the time appointed you shall all die and avenge the insult to my reputation and my family’s honor.”

From the look on the faces of the four young men from the Northern Ra clan, one could tell that these foolish nobles had overstepped their rapscallion disposition, which for them, had rapidly developed stupidly into a deadly confrontation.

As Ari and Seth were on the verge of withdrawing from the Ra table, Ari heard his name being called. Ari turned and faced an elderly gentleman named Ed-Ra who called out, “I beg of you, sir, to reconsider this duel.” After a pause, Ed-Ra further remarked, “What these young hellions have done is not really forgivable. Never-the-less, I beg you to forgive them. I’m sure they were taught a valuable lesson during their foolish escapade. A lesson, I hope to G-D, will stand them in good stead for the remainder of their lives. Again I ask you to please forgive these foolish young men and allow them to live out their lives.”

Looking into the elderly man’s eyes, Ari knew that his plea came from the heart.

Ari took the Ra noble by the hand and shaking his head slowly said, “This issue is at an end. We will do as you asked.”

The elderly Ra, with tears in his eyes, then nodded and gave Ari a lusty hug and returned to his table.

As Ed-Ra sat again at the table, another slightly drunk and foolish young man said, “So, you let the El off the hook, Uncle. My friends would have made wormmeat out of him very quickly.”

Ed-Ra looked his nephew straight in the eye and replied to the boy’s laughable statement, “That individual you’ve just terribly scorned is a fighting man of the highest caliber. He would have made mincemeat out of your friends within seconds. That man is also an understanding person. Only such a cavalier would have accepted my apology and request.”

As Ari walked toward the hall’s exit, he heard the Ra noble say, “You rapscallions are no longer boys. As men all your foolish stunts have now ended forever. Is that clear? If I hear that you’re the cause of any new pranks, you’ll have to deal with me, and G-d help you.” Then looking at the retreating Ari and Seth now leaving the hall, he commented, “I never hoped to meet such an understanding fellow and his son. I’m sure,” Ed-Ra murmured, “they, in G-D’s good time, will both be a blessing to our people.”

Meanwhile, Mi-Ra, who was gathering her things from the Ra table and readying herself to join Ari and Seth, was surprised to hear such praise from Ed-Ra. It was not the custom of the Northern Ra nobles to extol the actions of others.

As Mi-Ra was about to leave the table, she also overheard one of the Ra youngsters, who had instigated the trouble with Ari comment, “It’s too bad that Lord Poco couldn’t eliminate Ari-El when he disposed of Lo-Ra on Krypton.”

Another of the cowed Ra youths then chimed in, “How was Lord Poco to know that Lo-Ra had violated her soulmate obligations by marrying another?”

“By doing that,” another continued, “Lo-Ra severed the bond she shared with this Ari. And, when Lo-Ra consummated her union with Ned-Ra, her new life partner, any soulmate linkage with Ari instantly vanished. The officials discovered during the postmortem examination that Lo-Ra was already carrying Ned-Ra’s child. So when Poco murdered Lo-Ra, he accomplished nothing — there was no effect on the ‘El.’ If they were true soulmates then Poco’s murder of Lo-Ra would have caused Ari to have perished almost instantaneously.”

“Are you aware what Ari did after the Norian plot had been foiled?”

A reply could be heard from all the people at the table requesting information. “The idiot transported Lo-Ra’s and Nedd-Ra’s bodies to Earth and had both of them entombed in the El mausoleum. If it were my choice,” one of the Ra party celebrants remarked, “I would’ve spit on them both and allowed the crows to consume their flesh. Ari-El is a weird sort of dolt. His act was that of an idiot.”

Ed-Ra then asked of the others at his table, “Is this how all of you would act at the death of a fellow creature?”

After some discussion, those sitting around his table said, “Yes. By breaking the soulmate codes, the culprits deserve such scorn.”

“What about mercy?” Ed-Ra then asked.

“There should be no mercy given” was the general sentiment echoed by most of the people seated about the Ra table.

Turning his back on his brethren, Ed-Ra walked toward the hall exit and murmured as he left the building, “Disgusting.”

All the loud boisterous and nauseating comments being articulated by the unsobered Northern Ra nobles were unknowingly being vocally advertised to Mi-Ra and all those present at Lara and Jor’s survival celebration.

Following Ed-Ra from the hall, Mi-Ra rapidly sought the whereabouts of Ari-El.

Finding Ari walking with Seth, after searching the vicinity around Jor’s abode for some minutes, she hurried to catch up with them and place herself between Seth and Ari.

Then, to Ari’s surprise, he felt Mi-Ra take his hand.

Sensing that Mi-Ra wanted to be alone with his father, Seth increased his ambulating pace and was soon some distance ahead of the soulmate pair.

As soon as Seth was out of ear shot, Mi-Ra didn’t mince words and said, “Ari, please forgive me. I did you a great wrong.”

“There is nothing to forgive,” Ari replied somewhat surprised himself by her words.

“Yes, there is, Ari. I should have stood by you when you were falsely accused of improprieties and were slandered by Aviva. I should not have been so accusatory and I should have been more understanding when the life and death saga of my sister and her unlawful husband was called into question.”

After a slight pause in their conversation, Mi-Ra added, “You know, Ari, I use to be so sure about everything. Now I’m sure of nothing.”

“I believe we both behaved poorly,” Ari replied to his reemerging soulmate.

“And now, Ari, what do we do?” Mi-Ra hesitatingly inquired.

Ari replied somewhat awkwardly, “Well, Mi-Ra, I have no choice; the creator of the universe has placed you in my path. The prime mover of creation has established in us a new soulmate pair. So now, I, no we, have no choice but to comply with our creator’s wishes — the bonding of our souls and of our genetic materials through a union of our spiritual beings is called for. Hopefully, a host of children will follow.”

Smiling, Mi-Ra cuffed Ari at the mention of many kids.

“So my love, if we stay close and marry soon, our genome difficulties will melt away as our souls bind our eternal essences.”

“And, just how many kids do you expect us to procreate?”

Smiling, he replied, “Oh, about twenty or so.”

After immediately hearing his response, she slugged him again in the arm, and then smiled saying, “it takes two to tango and those numbers you mentioned, my love, will be modified as we determine how many children we can nurture successfully.”

“Sounds logical,” Ari replied.

Mi-Ra then slipped her arm into his and placed her head on his shoulder in the usual manner of lovers.

A few minutes later, Seth, with a twinkle in his eye, rejoined the fated pair — his father and soon to be new mother.

As Seth beheld Mi-Ra’s hand clasped with Ari’s in the presence of Lara nad Jor-El, the young man murmured to himself, “I hope that when the time comes to confront Jor-El about my own soulmate issues he will be an understanding parent about my feeling for Kara.”

“Seth,” Lara remarked, “I’ve already sensed that you and my youngest daughter are forever partners.”

Smiling, Seth added, “So, that’s why you’ve never interfered with our social activities over the years — Kara’s and mine. Grandma, you’re a wonderful and understanding lady.”

“Yes, she is,” Ari serenely replied.

After some moments of silence, Ari asked his son, “How far is the Kent farm from our present location?”

Scratching his head, Seth said, “The Kent homestead is just east of Smallville, which I’d say is about twelve to fourteen kilometers from our home.”

“What’s so important about the Kent farm?” Mi-Ra asked her husband to be.

“It’s the place where Kal-El, my younger brother, is currently living as the son of Martha and Jonathan Kent, the current proprietors of that farmstead. They were not capable of conceiving children through their own biological means, so, the coming of Kal-El into their family was a blessing for them. “My young brother,” Ari added, “rejuvenated the Kents’ aspirations to face life with all its joys and its rigors.

“There is a small square just ahead where the three of us will rendezvous with Lara, Kal-El’s biological mother, Rachel, my daughter, and Kara, Kal-El’s twin sister. They’ll meet us here soon, Mi-Ra.”

Within an hour or so, after which all the parties mentioned had assembled, an intense discussion about Kal-El — Kent ensued, after which they boarded a small Kryptonian-Earth cruiser, covered with stealth material, and began their journey to the Kent farm.

Arriving at the Kent farm several miles east of Smallville, Kansas, a family of Kryptonians waited in their cloaked Terra-Kryptonian craft within the shadows of the trees as darkness was beginning to envelop the Kents’ dwelling.

When the blackness of night finally engulfed the Kryptonian-Earth vessel, Lara and her family disembarked and after reaching the farmhouse knocked on its door. Jonathan answered the farm in the traditional earth manner. After identifying themselves as travelers, the Terra-Kryptonians were led into a beautifully furnished sitting room within the Kent abode — all the furnishings were crafted by Jonathan himself. Martha soon joined them. She had an artistic bent and was just finishing one of her projects, which she held in her hands.

Looking at her guests, Martha said, “One of the reasons Jonathan and I allowed you to enter our home unchallenged, being strangers and all, was based on your facial features. Your characteristics are very similar to our son’s physical traits. We felt that you just might be related to our boy. We named him Clark. So we took a chance that he would continue to remain in our household.” There was a worried look in Martha’s eyes.

Ari smiled and said, “Mrs. Kent, your instincts and your logic does you and your husband credit.”

“Mrs. Kent,” Lara then added, “we here are related to Kal-El, the boy whom you’ve named Clark Jerome Kent.”

Over the next several minutes, both the Kents and Terra-Kryptonians bonded and became intimate parts of each others’ families. During this meeting, introductions were made all around between the various individuals.

After the introductions were concluded, discussions about Kal-El commenced. At the end of the discussion period, it was decided by the Terra-Kryptonians to allow Kal-El to remain with Martha and Jonathan Kent. Lara would become Aunt Lara to offset questions when she visited or queries by other Smallville residents who happened to be present when she arrived. The others in the Kent residence that evening would become the boy’s Kin who hailed from a nearby Kansas hamlet.

While Kal-El and his Earth parents would visit the Miller homestead, which they would do often, only Clark’s immediate Kryptonian family would visit Kal-El’s Smallville community on normal visits and on festive occasions. They all loved Martha’s cooking.

Ari, using his scientific resourcefulness, developed a serum which increased Martha and Jonathan’s life span to one hundred and twenty years and would maintain them in prime physical condition during the remainder of their life span.

During the few months after the Kents and Millers merged, those who were aware of the Kal-El secret constructed a special labyrinth beneath the Kent farm.

A section of this secret grotto was utilized to bring Clark’s education level to that of his siblings — who, Like Clark, were all tam plus prime scholars on the Kryptonian intelligent scale — a higher than the normal genius level and common for an El clansman.

Like Ari, Kal-El excelled in mathematics and the physical sciences — genetic gifts from his natural procreators.

As Clark’s education was being brought up to snuff, Kara would often visit the Kent farm to help her twin develop and control his super powers that he was rapidly acquiring. No one seemed to notice that Seth always accompanied Kara on her junkets to the Kent farm and other interesting places.

At the Kent farm and the other places the two visited, Kara and her soulmate, Seth, felt liberated. Free from the wandering eyes that Kara and Seth sometimes felt were watching them as they moved about the Miller place.

At the Kent farm and the clandestine grotto, which was erected under the main Kent house, Kara and Seth especially felt free from onlookers and the prying eyes of Jor-El’s toadies, who at times would be purposely nearby.

In the Kents’ secret subterranean chambers, Kal-El, also known as Clark Kent, mastered the use of his super abilities and became astute and adroit with the weapons warehoused within the Kryptonian military depository.

Furthermore, the Kryptonian advanced information files dealing with the biological and physical sciences and the Kryptonian sociological customs, which at times could still be a bit on the savage side, were stored and studied intensely.

As the Kryptonian people on Sol Three observed the social habits of their Earth cousins, the coarser habits of the inhabitants from the red star system began to become more refined and stable. This is not to say that Earth’s baser qualities didn’t exist, but they were still on a more superior sociological level than the people from Krypton at this period in the history of both peoples.

After Kal-El mastered the knowledge in the Kryptonian libraries, various members of Clark’s close Kryptonian kin were constantly teleporting between the Miller homestead and the Kent farm to visit and to assist the Kents’ adoptive boy to achieve Kryptonian social graces, military abilities, and personal fighting skills. Unfortunately, the use of the rapier and other hand held weaponry were necessary items to have in one’s repertory. Ones that CK would occasionally need to use as he mingled with his people.

Soon after Kal-El’s discovery by the Miller community, every Friday, the entire matriarchal clan led by Lara, met with Clark and his earthly parents, Jonathan and Martha, in a special room within the secret sanctuary in a grotto beneath the Kent farm. Here was served the most tantalizing dinners prepared as only Martha Kent could make a mouth watering meal.

Three years after Clark completed his secondary and university education, he and his sister Kara matriculated at Yale University. A small house was purchased within walking distance of the school’s main campus allowing the twins to interact with the school’s student body or maintain an isolated existence from classmates, as they desired at any specific time.

Although the basic education provided by the university had already been mastered by Clark and Kara in their Kryptonian educational facilities, there were Earth disciplines worth studying — most were in the literature and nonscientific areas of the university’s vast curriculum.

Staying on as graduate students, Clark and Kara earned doctoral degrees in physics. With their authentic Earth credentials, both siblings could now engage in legitimate scientific research programs and interact with this planet’s scientific organizations — for Kara and Clark STAR lab was their research institute of choice and was located in the heart of Metropolis, one of Earth’s largest cities. With their Kryptonian science backgrounds, the two El’s could now add to Earth’s knowledge base without attracting too much attention.

With their unusually high intellectual abilities, the brother — sister couple used their keen scientific aptitudes to solve many problems that were confronting Earth’s scientific community. Soon, their accomplishments brought them notoriety and many universities and industrial organizations began using the STAR Labs as an advanced think-tank to help solve some of Sol Three’s baffling problems, problems which were plaguing Earth’s academic and industrial scientific organizations. With Clark and Kara working at STAR Labs, the institute prospered, and many physical and biological problems were being unraveled and diseases began to be eliminated from the biosphere. In the long run, their work saved many lives among the Earth’s population from an almost certain and often painful death.

When STAR lab’s warrants and stocks doubled and doubled again in less than a year, Lex Luthor began purchasing a significant quantity of their stock — about fifteen percent of STAR lab’s outstanding securities — which unfortunately allowed him to become a board member of this preeminent scientific institution.

The economic successes attracted all types of investors. As mentioned, one such character was the unsavory Lex Luthor — the Devil’s disciple.

During the period Luthor became economically interested in Star Labs, Clark met Lois Lane and over time they became passionately interested in one another. As their dates became intimate, the conduct of the gossip in the Planet’s bull pen went through the roof. The Planet newsroom was taking bets as to the time and date of their elopement.

CK, or Clark as he was also called, began escorting Lois to local clubs where they dined and danced the night away. Of course, their socializing had its limits controlled by their busy work a day agendas.

Perry White, who felt as if he were Lois’s surrogate father, was delighted with his star reporter’s choice of dating partner. Clark was a classic gentleman. He stood when women entered a room, and especially when Lois came into his midst; he helped her with her bulky apparel — coats sweaters, etc. From Lois’s and Clark’s actions, Perry could see that slowly but surely they were becoming a couple headed toward that forever relationship that every dating couple yearns for when they wed.

Unfortunately, a snake entered Perry’s garden of Eden — most people knew him as Lex Luthor, the butcher. It seemed that Lex had developed a lustful craving for things or people from time to time. For the moment, he lusted for a certain reporter with a passion that bordered on the psychotic or should it be said, that he sexually hankered after the Planet’s star reporter with a fanaticism akin to Hitler’s desire to exterminate certain groups of people. It was said by many individuals that Luthor would have an individual killed to obtain what he desired. Here, that certain someone he desired was Lois Lane and Luthor’s pigeon was Clark Kent.

So, when Lois invited Clark as her escort to Luthor’s White Orchid Ball, Lex, when he perceived Lois’s escort, felt an immense surge of anger soar through his body. For reasons unknown to normal individuals, Luthor developed an immediate hatred for Kent. In his unstable financier’s mind he couldn’t fathom how a penniless country bumpkin could interest Lois Lane. Unknown to Clark, therefore, he became Luthor’s quarry for that evening, or so Lex believed.

Waltzing the night away at Luthor’s ball in the Lexor hotel’s magnificent ballroom, Lois and Clark found themselves privy to Lex’s plans for the restoration of the Earth’s space program, now on the brink of financial collapse.

Throughout the evening, Lex occasionally danced with Lois by essentially forcing his way between the reporter and her escort, Clark Kent. As the evening unfolded, Lex irked Clark by constantly interfering with the couple’s social activities. Luthor’s increasingly brutish manners also came to the fore and were more and more focused upon Clark. The courtesy one would expect from a host or anybody when asking to dance with one’s escort was spuriously cast aside by Lex as the night advanced. Luthor’s mounting anger caused him to abandon any etiquette he professed to possess. Lex Luthor continually muscled his way in on Lois and Clark Kent, and he grabbed Lois for a specific dance as he saw fit, eventually provoking Clark to push Luthor into a ballroom barricade causing him some injury. Although Luthor deserved what he received, the devil’s disciple raged at Clark’s actions, and he began behaving more and more like a swine each time he attempted to butt into Kent and his young lady’s social activities. Luthor firmly believed that his wealth provided him with a certain status in the Metropolis community that allowed him to conform to any manner he desired — even to behave as an obnoxious cur.

Because of Luthor’s obnoxious actions, Asabi became aware that the guests attending the white orchid ball were also noticing Luthor’s obstreperous conduct and signaled his master to desist his current activities. Realizing that his perverse attitude was being regarded in an unfavorable manner by Metropolis’ socially elite and his actions were beginning to hinder his social position, Lex stopped his erratic and somewhat psychotic behavior toward Clark Kent and his escort and called for his head henchman, Nigel St. John. When St. John joined Lex, the two killers of the innocent quickly adjourned to Luthor’s private balcony.

On his personal balcony, Lex gave Nigel instructions, after which the ex-British agent, a wanted man, considered a pariah by the British intelligence service, left the room with several bully boys.

When the White Orchid Ball had ended, Clark walked Lois toward her home. Part way to Lois’s abode, the two soulmates stopped and enjoyed an early breakfast. After breakfast, they continued toward Lois’s abode conversing about many topics of interest to both lovers.

As the couple approached Lois’s apartment, both reporters were suddenly accosted by several masked hoodlums. Without saying a word, the attackers produced various types of firearms and let loose a hail of bullets at the couple — what Lex desires and can’t obtain he destroys.

Reacting immediately, Clark grabbled Lois and placed her between himself and a wall of a building. As the bullets began striking the wall, Clark was already protecting Lois with his body and the aura it produced.

As quickly as Luthor’s assassins had raked the area with their automatic weapons, the shooters ceased their destructive activity and jumped into a car, which had arrived to collect the reprobates. Within seconds they were gone, hurtling away from the scene of the supposed murder of Lois and Clark.

Seeing Clark’s bullet shredded clothing, Lois became very apprehensive and almost hysterical about the health of her soulmate partner.

Sensing Lois’s anxiety, Clark caressed her head and quietly said, “Don’t be frightened, my love. I’m fine.”

Then, pulling Lois to him, the two reporters moved rapidly down the street until they came to a dark alleyway where the lovers rapidly entered and disappeared into the dark narrow passageway created by several tall buildings. Telling Lois to grab tightly to him about his neck and place her face into his shoulder, the two sweethearts rocketed skyward.

Fifteen minutes later Lois and Clark touched down on the Kent farmstead and descended into the grotto beneath the main house.

Seeing Lois was somewhat panicky after their skyward journey, he carried her cautiously into the subterranean enclave. There, Martha and Jonathan made every effort to calm her down.

As Martha slowly made Lois imbibe some of her homemade brew of mulberry wine to help steady her nerves, the Miller clan began arriving, telepathically called by Kal-El. Within thirty minutes, almost the entire Miller household was beneath the Kent farmstead.

Once the Miller El clique settled down, Ari approached Lois and said, “Hi, I’m Clark’s older brother. The rest of these people are his kin folk. We know him as Kal-El, but Clark is also a fine appellation. Taking Kela by the hand he added, “This lovely woman is my twin sister and that beautiful young girl over there, Ari continued, is Kal-El or Clark’s twin, Kara. You, my dear Lois, I’m happy to say, is Kal-El’s soulmate.”

An explanation of soulmate then followed at some length. Ari then said to Lois, “I am aware that you and Kal-El have not discussed marriage at any length, but certain events have occurred very recently that has forced that issue — the Luthor effect. My family, unfortunately, will now have to deal with him.”

“Are you going to execute him?” Lois asked with a look of concern upon her face.

Ari smiled and replied, “No, my Earth sister. It is generally not our custom to deal with criminals, and believe me, Lex Luthor is a criminal of the worst degree. I think, Lois, that you and my baby brother have been placed in a position where he would rather talk to you seriously, at length, about both of your futures including any romantic connection that probably exists between each of you.”

A few minutes after Ari had made his suggestion to Lois, she and Clark went for a walk along the trails that crisscrossed the subterranean grotto beneath the Kent farm.

Taking one another by the hand Lois and Clark walked and talked for hours as they wandered through the Kent grotto.

When Lois and Clark returned to the grotto beneath the farm, Lois smiled and said, ‘Who’s going to prepare our wedding?”

Martha ran to Lois and said, “I’ll make a wedding for you and my boy that they’ll talk about for a thousand years. Then she hugged Lois and started to cry — tears of joy poured from her eyes.”

Taking a deep breath, Ari walked up to Lois and kissed her on both cheeks, and said, “To my future sister-in-law, welcome to the family. Kal has a real winner in you, Lois.”

After a pause, Ari said to Lois, “I would like to modify your genome posthaste. Luthor is still gunning for you and I would like to attend your wedding, not your funeral. After this procedure is performed,” Ari added, “you will acquire Clark’s super capabilities and the length of you life span will be increased to about one thousand Earth years. Also, by this modification procedure, you both will expire at the same instant your soulmate passes on. The part of the Kryptonian death mechanism is to prevent the anguish which would certainly follow the loss of a beloved spouse. There is one variation in the soulmate fatality system. If a soulmate pair has young children at the time of a fatal mishap to one of the life partners, the surviving soulmate must survive to ensure that their youngsters will survive to reach their adult station in life and hopefully find a soulmate and procreate offspring.”

Holding Lois tight, she looked into Clark’s eyes and said, “A-okay, partner.”

Then taking a deep breath, Lois said, “Why not go for the modification treatment right now?”

Within fifteen minutes, a genome transformation device was delivered to the Kent Grotto and the genetic modification was performed on Lois Lane. When the process had been completed, a new Terra-Kryptonian had been created in the person of earthling journalist, Lois Lane, soon to be the bride of Clark Kent- Kal-El of Krypton.

“When you’ve mastered your new capabilities, Lois,” Ari said, “Clark and you will have to talk about the possibility of forming a superhero duo.”

“If I may interject,” Seth chimed in after a moment. “Might I suggest that the duo calls themselves Superman and Ultrawoman.”

“I like those names,” Lois said to Seth, her new nephew.

“So be it,” Clark replied.

“Lois, if you agree, your marriage will be planned and executed by Martha Kent, my wife Mi-Ra, and Kal’s sister Kara. They would consider helping in any capacity a great honor.”

“That’s A-Okay by me,” replied Lois, tears starting to run down her cheeks.

“Lois,” Ari said, “can you please call Perry and ask for a week off? You’ll need that time to learn how to control your super abilities so ordinary folk will not be injured when you and Clark begin to use your powers in tandem.”

When Perry heard that Lois and Clark were engaged to be married and was asked to give the bride away, he was overjoyed and accepted immediately.

Lois in her exuberance invited Perry, Jack, and Jimmy to her engagement party, which was set for that coming weekend at her Metropolis apartment.

Lois then looked around and smiled at those who willingly had volunteered to help prepare the banquet and other events following Lois’s nuptials to Clark Kent — Kal-El.

Although Lois wasn’t quite sure how things between Clark and herself came together so rapidly, she was aware that Luthor by his disgusting behavior and his murderous attempt upon the soulmate pair had somehow catalyzed the amorous passions between the two lovers, Lois and Clark.

Over the following few months, Lois and Kara met at the Kent grotto several times each week. There Lois mastered her super powers and prepared for her forthcoming nuptials. Furthermore, Kara also taught her how to utilize the hand to hand combat weapons common to most Kryptonians. After that, Kara and Lois would practice for nearly a year until Lois Lane Kent was a master practitioner of the rapier and the Bowi blade.

Within a month of Luthor’s murderous assault on the fated couple, Lois and Clark formally announced their engagement in the Metropolis newspapers — the Planet printed the most glowing engagement notice and placed it on its front page. Lois’s and Clark’s Planet friends and colleagues were elated over their forthcoming marriage.

Upon reading the engagement announcement in the Planet, Luthor went berserk and trashed nearly all the items in his elegantly furnished office.

When Nigel entered Lex’s demolished office complex, the devil’s number one boy said, “That Midwestern giblet has bested me in wooing the Lane woman. Kill that Kansas country bumpkin, Nigel.”

We already tried that once and somehow failed. I’ll have to procure special weapons from some acquaintances in the military intelligence.

“Good,” Lex responded.

Pacing about the room, Luthor then remarked to his number one hit man, Nigel St. John, “Lois Lane is mine and mine alone. No-one but Lex Luthor will ever enjoy her affections and devotions. I want her disposed of also. Try assassinating Kent again, Nigel. Make his passing a painful event.”

Then glaring angrily at his lieutenant with a maniacal look, Lex’s mood changed and he told Nigel to allow Clark Kent to observe the demise of Lois Lane before he is allowed his freedom, however brief. “Allowing Kent to see Lois perish will provide unspeakable anguish to his psyche, which I will enjoy immensely, and that wil erase my hurt and despair. Remember to film the entire affair so that their deaths can bring me a great deal of pleasure.” Then, Luthor said to Nigel, “After Lane’s funeral, allow Kent to join his beloved — a month or so after Lois’s fatality. That time span should be sufficient for Kent to lament his loss. Their deaths,” Luthor remarked, “will be a rather joyful event in my life and will totally abrogate the pain of my rejection. Nobody says ‘no’ to Lex Luthor.”

Although Lois and Clark maintained separate apartments when in Metropolis, they fabricated a single residence within the grotto beneath the Kent farm. Here, they could just enjoy being an engaged couple and lovers. Also from this hidden location, the soulmates could travel the world and behold the marvelous sights as they journeyed to distinctive, but relatively exotic, places for every meal of the day — breakfast, lunch, and supper.

Returning to work each morning, they would first teleport to their Metropolis’ abodes where they would then proceed to the Daily Planet.

While they were having breakfast at an Inns Brook Tavern, a small town in Austria, they were apprised via the CNN broadcast TV channel that a gas explosion had occurred in Lois Lane’s Metropolis apartment. There were many corpses discovered by the police department throughout the other apartments within the building.

Hurrying to Metropolis, Lois and Clark landed in an alleyway about a block from the explosion locality, which by now was the scene of a massive police investigation.

As the two lovers slowly ambulated toward Lois’s residence, Henderson spied them and scooted to greet Clark and his fiancee, Lois Lane. When Henderson beheld the two journalists, a greatly relieved detective learned that the reporters were just then returning from breakfast after having pulled an all nigher on an upcoming expose.

As they walked closer to Lois’s abode, Clark saw Lex Luthor with his enhanced vision surveying Lois’s damaged apartment with a look of glee on his countenance. Clark pointed out his observation to Lois as they resumed walking closer to Lois’s former lodgings.

Since they were still too distant from the psychopath’s location, Lex couldn’t recognize either Lane or Kent as the soulmates approached the partially razed building complex.

However, the look on Lex’s face reminded the soulmate pair of a jungle predator just after a stalk and the slaying of its prey.

As Clark and Lois finally came within Luthor’s view, the psychotic’s facial expression was transformed from an amusing posture to one of controlled fury while he mockingly mouthed, “I’m happy to see that Lois avoided any injuries at the hands of the pale horseman.” No mention was made of Clark’s well being.

With his crocodilian smile, Lex casually asked Lois where she had been loitering the previous evening. “At Clark’s place,” Lois replied with mirth. “We returned from our shopping spree rather late,” she added with a chuckle she knew would annoy Lex, “and decided to hole-up at Clark’s abode.”

Henderson who was watching Lex’s reactions throughout Luthor’s verbal exchange with Lois and Clark, said to the Planet reporters as Lex was leaving the scene, “It’s my gut feeling that Luthor has you both marked for death.”

Lois and Clark both nodded agreeing wholeheartedly with the inspector’s comments.

Although Luthor wasn’t aware that the lovers couldn’t be injured by ordinary physical means because of their unique super abilities, events were unfolding which would cause a metamorphosis in Luthor’s vengeance strategies.

Intergang, a rival criminal organization, which functioned on a global scale, had begun infiltrating Metropolis’ underworld establishments run by Luthor and was battling Luthor’s criminal syndicate at sub-rosa level. Since intergang’s soldiers were rapidly increasing in number and many of Luthor’s thugs were being liquidated at an ever increasing rate, Luthor’s criminal operational plans had to be altered.

Allowing Intergang to move in on Lex’s illegal business enterprises eventually caused a melee that unfortunately brought about the tragic end to many innocent people. These misfortunate events usually occurred while illicit business practices were occurring in and around Metropolis. To protect themselves and their loved ones, honest businessmen began fleeing the city.

While the departure of the legal business community from Metropolis increased, the city’s tax revenue began to dry up. At the lack of operating revenues, the monies needed for the city’s social services rapidly disappeared. Unfortunately, that was always the first utility to disappear from the functioning structure within the city.

When it became obvious to Lois and Clark that the authorities, mainly the police and the National Guard, were losing control of the city’s civil conditions, Superman and Ultrawoman made their appearance upon Metropolis’ chaotic scene.

Clark and his soulmate wanted to wait until they were married before introducing their superhero creations to the general public. However, time and tide waits for no man nor woman. Because of the mounting civil crises, Superman and Ultrawoman were desperately needed now.

It was several days after Luthor and the Church forces had commenced a major battle for the political control of Metropolis that two colorfully clad entities swooped from the heavens and began seizing and immobilizing the truculent combatants.

Unfortunately, neither of the Church family members nor Luthor and his sycophants were apprehended during the superhero sweeps.

While the two gangster groups rapidly disintegrated and vanished to their underground sewer hideouts because of the superhero activities, the leaders of the opposing criminal organizations were weakened but still in control of their own territories.

The iniquitous gangster brigades ensnared by Superman and his mate, Ultrawoman, were collected by Ari and the El Clan residing at the Miller homestead and transported to the Sirius star system in Canios major, eight point six light years from Sol Three.

The dominant life forms on the sixth planet from the sun in the Sirius star system, an Earth like celestial body, were predatory animals that were prehistoric in nature when compared to Earth’s ancient reptilian forms.

Fortresses were constructed on Sirius six and the lawless captives were deposited within protective walls of the various citadels. Weapons and food were provided for the fortress inmates, which would furnish the necessary survival items for the remainder of the gangsters’ lives. The weapons provided to the Earth’s criminal element were essential for survival against the ferocious dinosaur like creatures.

From time to time, the reptilian species, which roamed the exile’s planet, would assault each of the various strongholds — especially as the reptiles’ natural food supply on the planet decreased to the near starvation level. If the reptiles managed to break through the defensive barriers, the carnage would be hideous.

Video data of the exiled mobsters were provided to Luthor and the Churches illustrating the fate of their captured soldiers. They were also informed that a similar fate awaited them if Lex or the Church family were apprehended in some form of criminal activity.

The superhero team, after quelling the criminal upwelling and providing the video to Lex and his opponents, provided them with a simple message, “Go straight or else.”

***Soulmates Unite***

Soon after the appearance of Superman and Ultrawoman, the super couple in their normal guise of Lois and Clark, Daily Planet journalists, published their Superman and Ultrawoman stories that exposed the cock-and-bull stories about the gang clashes spread by Luthor and the Church organization.

After the tumultuous events, which were plaguing Metropolis, began to settle down, the superheroes soared into the stratosphere and rocketed to Las Vegas where Lois and Clark were wed. Meanwhile, CK alternated time between his Star Lab duties and his reporting activities for the Daily Planet.

On their return to Metropolis, Lois and Clark made a stop at the Kent farm where the Miller members of the El Clan witnessed a special Kryptonian ceremony that legally unified the soulmate pair according to Krypton’s ancient customs.

During Lois and Clark’s nuptials at their Las Vegas stop over and at the Kent farm, a special backup super team was activated to protect Metropolis and the surrounding countryside.

The substitute superhero pair also provided excellent cover for Superman and Ultrawoman when unsavory journalistic organizations attempted to link the identities of the super couple to the Metropolis’ Daily Planet, specificly to prominent individuals such as Lane and Kent. These particular news bureaus were rags and produced scandalous publications commonly called yellow journalistic periodicals. Such discusting newspapers were generally under the control of Intergang or Luthor’s criminal empire and were also used to smear decent people, or the so-called do-gooders within the city.

The backup superhero pair also proved to be extremely useful from time to time when the criminals attempted to use sheer force to overrun sections of the city. Three years after their marriage, Lois and Clark conceived triplets — two girls and a boy — the substitute superhero team had a relatively long run over the Metropolis area. The alternate super-team quashed the notion, once and for all, of the supposed connection between Superman, Ultrawoman, and the Kent family.

After Lois recovered from her delivery, the original super pair was soon back in action as Metropolis’ champions of justice and the rights of the humble folk. Martha and Jonathan baby-sat during many of Lois and Clark’s superhero long and potentially destructive escapades — the babies were also transported between Metropolis and the Kent farm by Ari’s teleportation device if there were a sudden surge of criminal activity between Intergang and Luthor’s criminal combatants. Otherwise, the elder Kents would arrive like any normal baby sitting grandparents and would care for the Lane-Kent triplets at their Metropolis abode.

About ten years after the Metropolis gang activity had commenced, the waring parties made a faux pas that exposed Luthor and the Churches to both the Terran and the Kryptonian justice systems. With the evidence obtained by Lois and Clark, Luthor and his criminal counterparts, the Churches, were apprehended by Metropolis’ superheroes with the assistance of the Miller El family group.

After the court trials, lasting several months, were held beneath the Miller homestead, with federal Judges also participating, Luthor and the Churches and their waring minions were found guilty, and according to Kryptonian justice, it was required that they be marooned deep in space. After many months of bickering among Earth legal systems, the verdict coincided with that of Krypton’s decision. The Sirius star system was the same marooning location as the first group of criminals rounded up by Metropolis’ superheroes.

With the dissolution of the last of the large criminal gangs, Earth’s communities began to create a happier and more productive planet.

*** The Danger From Cynig-Tau***

Although democratic institutions were becoming part of the communities that made up the three enclaves housing the Kryptonian people, there was a certain faction of Northern Ra nobles who desired to reestablish the old Kryptonian social order. The old establishment, in which a Selar or Sela headed the Kryptonian community, would create a class of nobles with sufficient power to control the now flourishing Kryptonian societies that had been established on Earth. From that position, Sol Three could be subdued and a huge slave population could be put to work doing whatever the nobles demanded.

Since this reactionary group did not possess the sufficient political authority or material power to overthrow the new Kryptonian constitutional government of the people, for the people, and by the people, this reactionary clique decided to pursue another clandestine tact.

After ten years of surreptitious interstellar research, a new type spaceship wormhole drive was fabricated from designs developed years ago by Jor-El during a time when he was attempting to preserve the people of his home planet. By using the original coordinates from old Krypton as a reference position, the new interstellar spacecraft, using modern wormhole technology, left Earth with a delegation of reactionary nobles through interstellar space to Cynig-Tau. The interstellar cruiser, which transported the Earth based delegation, made its way to the Norian world in an effort to negotiate a military treaty with their ancient foes, now eight billion light years from Sol Three.

Reaching Cynig-Tau, the reactionary political faction from Sol Three immediately approached Torig-Nor, the current leader of the Norian home world soon after landing. Within a few weeks, interstellar war ships were under construction, each containing a modernized wormhole propulsion drive unit.

As the Norian preparations for the conquest of Earth continued, Ari received information warning him that certain Kryptonian nobles had made contact with Torig-Nor and that the Nor Clan on Cynig-Tau was preparing to attack the people of Earth with the intent of annihilating the indigenous population of the planet and subduing the Kryptonians surreptitiously living on Sol Three.

With his information, Ari made an appointment to see the elected officials of his people — their governing term was of a seven year duration.

After Ari presented his dire news with supporting documentation, the People’s Council then debated whether or not to construct a defensive armada to counter Torig-Nor’s lust for conquest.

The arguments for and against a military option were discussed for months — time for defensive action was waning at much too fast a rate.

Finally, Ari was called before the Council and told that the government had voted to maintain its present nonviolent policy and the current Kryptonian administration would therefore not build military equipment, defensive or otherwise.

Before Lara’s eldest son left the council chamber, he declared, “While I accept the decision of this tribunal, I feel that your judgement is in grave error and will jeopardize the current free institutions established by our current Kryptonian society. Our new governmental system has been working well and has recently been modified on our new planet, Earth, to provide further freedoms under a democratic form of government.

“I want you to remember these words: ‘Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.’ When the people of this planet are put upon by aggressors and their Kryptonian neighbors do nothing to prevent their massacre, I’m sure my words will course through your minds as the freedoms you cherish are taken from you when we are attacked after the Earth people have been decimated by a dementedly led Norian military horde.”

When Ari left the government’s political complex, he hastily sent a message to the Kents and other closely related family groups, mostly composed of the Miller contingent of the El clan, calling them to an emergency meeting.

A week after Ari saw the Council, a gathering took place at the Miller abode — Ulysses, Kansas.

At this powwow, it was decided by all the El clans to construct their own interstellar battle fleet and conceal their fighting ships within the large hidden cavernous strongholds that had been constructed on Mars — the fourth planet from the sun in the Sol star system.

Ari’s designed ships would be fabricated from depleted uranium casings. The ideal construction material, of course, would have been stabilized neutonium. But, the government controlled the production facilities for this special neutronium product and refused to manufacture any quantity of this material for military use. It appeared from the new Krypton-Earth government’s actions that the Kryptonian council’s stand was peace at any price, even including the probable annihilation of the indigenous Earth population.

Unfortunately, stabilized neurronium, so desperately needed, would require more time for Ari and his confederates to fabricate than was currently available before the Norians advanced on Sol Three and launched their campaign of annihilation upon its population.

So, spent uranium had to be used as their substance of choice in the fabrication of the needed armaments by which Earth’s hidden inhabitants intended to face the Norian forces of destruction in conflict to save themselves, their families, and the people of Sol Three.

Fortunately for Ari’s growing armed forces, the spent uranium was ten times more durable than the metallic titanium being used by the Norians to assemble their interstellar war craft.

The main encumbrance to Ari’s military enterprise was man power, which was desperately needed in their construction venture.

Only one hundred twenty-five battle cruisers could be expected to be completed before the Norian armada appeared within the Sol solar system. The invading fleet was expected to be composed of nearly one thousand interstellar spaceships bent on conquering Earth and annihilating its indigenous people.

To create fighting conditions more favorable to the Earth based Kryptonians on Sol Three, a battle zone would have to be chosen that would favor their fighting location.

As they searched the void near Earth, the Deneb star cluster looked most ideal for an ambush. So, after much deliberation, the region Ari and his cohorts chose for their battle ground were near Deneb. Here, Ari could maneuver his war craft into a spatial position where they could attack the Norian interstellar spaceships and get in the strong first strike.

As they now planned their moves, Ari and other members of his family searched furiously for a weapon system that would expeditiously curtail the various destructive implements of their Norian antagonist.

Within a month, the research unit working at the Miller’s homestead laboratory had created several new weapon systems. The first of these destructive devices was a high powered laser projector that could rend most forms of matter and reduce it to atomic debris. The second weapon array was called a disrupter. It was designed to produce a rift in space connecting their universe to a null continuum. Once generated, any enemy war cruiser within the juxtaposition of the rift would be drawn into the null abyss and would cease to exist.

Several months into their spaceship building program, Adam and his soulmate Kitara returned to Krypton to investigate the remains of the ultra volcano which had decimated Kit’s home world.

Adam and Kit established a base camp near the huge caldera, where the large volcanic cone had collapsed and nearly split Krypton in two.

As they began studying the cooled lava blocks scattered about the Urdi mountain range, the two researchers, Kit and Adam, slowly began to feel more debilitated as each day passed. While their investigation proceeded among the lava lumps, their data confirmed what Adam and Kit had believed. It was the solidified molten rock which was the source of their enfeeblement. Investigating further, Kit discovered that an unknown radiant energy was emanating from the lava samples and this energy source was the basic cause of their ever increasing weakness.

When Kit and her soulmate realized that their weakened state had become critical and that the radiation from the lava residue was silently destroying their bodies, they sent an urgent telepathic cry to Ari, now dwelling at the Miller homestead with his wife Mi-Ra.

The message from Adam and Kit to Ari graphically described the debilitating effects of the lava in detail. Kitara then informed her nephew that lead should alleviate their bodily problems by obstructing whatever kind of radiation the lava was propagating.

After a slight pause, Kit mentally yelled, “Now get your carcasses to our campsite and remove Adam and me from this devil’s den.”

Within an hour, Ari, his wife Mi-Ra, and Adam’s older children had arrived at Kitara and Adam’s research site on the shattered Krypton. The first thing the relief team performed was to place large amounts of powdered lead throughout the camp area to protect their family members from the lava radiation. Then sensitive measuring equipment was positioned in and around Kit and Adam’s experimental area, and the unknown volcanic radiation was measured.

When Ari and his soulmate had covered Kit and Adam’s camp site with the pulverized elemental lead, all symptoms which Adam and his soulmate were experiencing vanished within a short time frame.

Allowing Adam and Kitara to rest after their exhausting ordeal, Ari and his soulmate covered their bodies with impregnated lead garments and then thoroughly examined the lava radiation propagated during the world shattering super eruption.

After several hours of study, Mi-Ra and her soulmate concluded that the solidified lava formed in the super caldera had the potential to incapacitate or even kill people born on Krypton by its peculiar radiation and could also affect genetically altered humans in the same manner. Individuals who had been genetically manipulated and were now part of the greater Kryptonian-Earth family could be slain by Krypton’s radioactive lava flow.

Later that day, Ari explained to Adam, Kitara, and his wife Mi-Ra that what they had inadvertently discovered was a new and unusual radioactive source which Ari believed could help thwart the Norian invaders from Cynig-Tau.

Back on Earth, Ari explained to his friends and cohorts, “Spent Uranium missiles could be hurled into the heart of the Cynig-Tau battle fleet as it attemptes to exploit its numerical superiority. By exploding lava packed missals at precise locations as the enemy armadas come on, the radiation from the lava could be dispersed throughout the void within the battle area producing a kryptonite field that would cause pain and confusion in the Cynig-Tau military.” Kryptonite is what Mi-Ra had dubbed the radiation produced from the kryptonian lava material.

“If one hundred such missiles were used,” Ari concluded in their military conference, “eighty to ninety of these lava carrying projectiles would penetrate the main section of the attacking Norian interstellar space fleet; each uranium missile would be able to endure ten hits before being disabled or destroyed so a high percentage of the lava weapons should reach their assigned target domains.”

By using kryptonite powder within the spent uranium projectiles, Ari reckoned that such a weapon would bring about chaos within the Norian fleet, disrupting its maneuvering efficiency.

When the Norian battle fleet was in some disarray, caused by the kryptonite radiation field, one hundred additional uranium self-propelled rocket systems, each containing disrupters would be hurled toward the heart of the enemy armada. When these destructive systems arrived at their destination, the disrupters would be released from their missile pods within the targeted regions and the disrupters would begin to function. The impact of these terrible weapon systems would result in a large rift in the space — time continuum and ensnare the Norian spacecraft drawing them into a null continuum where the war enemy vessels commanded by Torig-Nor would cease to exist.

Kitara, after a slight pause, hugged Ari saying, “You did it. You’ve developed an array of weapons which will provide Earth and all its inhabitants a way to survive the coming Norian assault and allow its people to live and choose a future civilization of its own design.”

“I wouldn’t be that optimistic,” Ari replied.

“I would,” Mi-Ra reiterated Kit’s sentiment. “You, my love, are a brilliant tactician — the science of maneuvering combat forces is your bailiwick — and I have every confidence that you will succeed in the impending military engagement.”

“Are you that sure of me,” Ari asked, “or am I not just hearing my wife talking, a true wife, the love of my life?”

Mi-Ra kissed her husband and held him tightly for a few moments before Ari again addressed his kin.

As the four Kryptonians listened, Ari outlined his battle stratagems, which he believed would allow Earth’s small defensive fleet to decimate the Norian invasion force and send these would be conquerors to Gehenna.

In an almost comical tone, Ari remarked, “The remnants of the planet Krypton will play an integral part in preserving the spirit of liberty now so meaningful to its displaced people living covertly on Sol Three.”

Continuing, Ari intimated that it might be a good idea and even wise to enlist the assistance of some of Earth’s indigenous population in the coming cosmic struggle. “With both cultures fighting for the survival of the other, a nexus could be forged between our peoples during the coming struggle. A bond between our peoples could be forged because of our common adversary and the beginning of a unified planet struggling for the continued existence of Earth’s two cultures.”

Ari then told his kin that on the morrow he would again approach the grand council and request the production of stabilized neutronium material to be initiated, and if needed, be ready to use to fabricate weapons to fend off any impending Norian invasion of Earth.

Lara’s eldest son then said, “I now have in my possession significant new information that unambiguously verifies my initial intelligence information that an attack upon Earth by military forces commanded by Torig-Nor is imminent. And, that the stabilized neutronium material Ari had requested is now more desperately needed to defend the Kryptonians and humans alike living on Earth.”

After he told his family members of his intended plan, a plan he again intended to bring before the council, Ari’s face took on a rather gloomy facade.

After walking to and fro for a bit, Ari remarked that he still expected his military posture to be rebuffed by the council because of the present political climate ardently supported by Jor-El and his followers. “While the council still favors peace, which is a truly noble concept, the men and women headed by Jor-El’s junta would accede to peace at any cost and endure almost any kind of deprivation not to fight, which a truly free people would consider to be an abomination.”

In any event, the military building program initiated by the El portion of the Miller household was now moving at full throttle. Although the hulls of their battle cruisers had to be constructed of an inferior material, spent uranium, it was hoped that their advanced weaponry would help them carry the day.

“Thank heaven,” Mi-Ra thought, “that Ari’s advanced implements of destruction would be part of the armament in each of Earth’s interstellar war craft.”

Tabling the issue concerning the utilization of Earth people in the coming battle until Ari spoke with the council one last time, the mini conference between the Miller El’s was adjourned.

As Ari suspected, his audience with the political governing body and the Kryptonian grand council was in vain. While not outright rejecting Ari’s proposals, the government headed by Jor-El indicated that more time would be needed to study his recently acquired information with respect to Ari’s military proposals. Mi-Ra’s soulmate was aware as Jor-El spoke that the current mind set of the Kryptonian governing council wanted to sustain the current peaceful climate within their midst by any means at their disposal, even capitulation.

The Council’s delay was an additional bonus to Torig-Nor and his cronies. When the Norian spies informed their leader and his sycophants of the council’s decision, Torig-Nor and his sycophants were jubilant. Furthermore, as evidenced by the Miller’s clandestine stealthy telemetry systems orbiting the Norian home world, armament production on Cynig-Tau’s Norian planet was already in high gear. From this and other intelligence gathering sources, Ari and his kin were well aware that the time of an attack upon Earth was rapidly approaching.

When Ari considered the new info his family had gathered from their stealthy espionage devices traveling through the Cynig-Tau star system with the spineless decisions drafted by the Earth-Kryptonian governing council about increasing the defensive potential of their Earth home, he straight away called upon Dr. Bernard Klein of Star Labs, a colleague, and a man he trusted, implicitly.

Arriving at the STAR science complex just before noon on the day following his last conference with the current Kryptonian government who opposed violence at almost any cost, Ari and Klein walked to Speidel’s Deli where they lunched and talked seriously about the future of the planet.

Obtaining a corner booth, Ari activated his audio-video screening resource and then began to inform Bernie about his origins, the Miller family et al, and the exodus from Krypton.

After Ari and STAR lab’s chief scientist completed their midday repast, they exited the deli and made their way to Festival Park, which was adjacent to Metropolis’ Symphony Hall. There, Bernie was introduced to Mi-Ra and learned that she was Ari’s soulmate, which the STAR lab scientist concluded correctly meant one’s spouse, and who was a scientist and physician in her own right. Bernie was also informed that soulmate could also be considered as one’s life or forever partner.

Finding a relatively quiet spot within the park, Ari, Mi-Ra, and Bernie got down to cases. While they conversed, Ari made Bernie aware of the critical need for warriors, mercenaries, soldiers of fortune, or just plain good fighters with the proper psyche from among Earth’s indigenous population — gender was of no consequence.

As Ari and Mi-Ra continued to converse with Bernie, all the necessary requirements that would be needed by the Earth volunteers were discussed in depth. This would be a new kind of warfare for Earth’s fighting men and women, even for the experienced soldiers in the coming intergalactic fray. He told Bernie it would be a space battle between interstellar star ships occurring many light-years from Earth.

Within a week of Bernie’s discussion with his Kryptonian colleagues, advertisements for adventurous or military experienced people began appearing in the appropriate publications. Soon thereafter, a steady trickle of people began to appear at the addresses listed in the specific trade magazines.

Each likely candidate underwent various and rather strenuous psychological and physical testing situations.

Those individuals who demonstrated they were mentally capable of rapidly acquiring new fighting skills under stressful conditions and were physically in condition were teleported to a secluded and well guarded location high in the Rocky Mountains.

At the mountain retreat, the Terran warriors were provided with a sound blocking device surgically implanted within each recruit so that discussions among them could not be detected. In addition, each Earth warrior was also injected with a special biological serum which would prevent discussion of their mission with individuals outside their brigade unit. Among their own specific group and with their Kryptonian counterparts, communication among them about the coming military campaign was unrestricted.

After their initial orientation, electronic and biological preparedness, each Earth volunteer was requested to make their way to the main conference hall within their clandestine citadel.

Once the warrior population within the fortress had settled down in the principal conference hall, the Earth combatants were informed about the coming military operation and their role in the coming engagement.

As they listened, the Terran servicemen were also informed of the remuneration each participant was to receive for their assistance in the coming military operation — the monies they would receive would be a life long stipend. If they perished in the coming hostilities, their blood relations — wife, children and grandchildren — would continue to receive their compensation. Free education at all levels would be provided for them and their immediate families. Monies for homes would also be dispensed no questions asked. Or, if they wished they and their immediate families could live within the subterranean Kryptonian cities with other Earth folk who elected this option. The living space provided among their Kryptonian neighbors would be theirs for all time.

Ari then commented, “What we offer is really very little for the assistance you’ll render to the people of Earth and your Kryptonian brethren in the coming conflict. We,” Ari added, “are all comrades-in-arms for all times. Many generations will pass, my friends, until the people of your world will learn about what you did during this critical juncture when our two peoples saved the Earth and began to become one community. But, they will be informed and you will be lauded by your families and the Earth community as a whole.”

Summing up, Ari said to the Earth volunteers, “Enjoy yourselves and rest, for at sunrise on the morrow, you will begin an intensive training program, one, it is hoped, will produce first-class space cruiser warriors who will be capable of directing a battle cruiser into a fray that will successfully oppose the Norian invading armada and crush their ships destroying the peril to both our peoples. During your down time,” Ari added, “which will occur periodically during your training cycle, the fledgling Earth troopers and their families will be permitted to travel in Kryptonian craft to view their home world and gaze upon its wonders — there are many. Or, if you wish to visit with other family members for an extended holiday, that will also be permitted.”

Understanding the justification for putting their lives on the line in the coming military encounter and knowing that their loved ones would be cared for if they perished caused a rapid development of an exceptional spree de corps within the Earth’s warrior contingent and between Sol Three and their Kryptonian counterparts.

As the Earth men and women-at-arms completed their training, they were assigned to the ranks of the Earth based Kryptonian troopers patrolling the Milky Way galaxy while others on their team became part of the clandestine crews sailing the interstellar stealth clad spacecraft on reconnaissance missions through the Cynig-Tau star system.

About seven months after the training of Earth’s new fighting units had been accomplished, word came from a clandestine interstellar spacecraft that the Norian invasion fleet had sailed — probable destination, Earth.

When that information was received, the Earth’s secretive defense forces — unknown to Jor-El and his council — also began their journey toward a region of space near the Deneb star cluster. Once in that vicinity of this spatial void, the Kryptonian-Earth defense forces would be positioned to bushwhack the bellicose Norian flotilla as it emerged from its wormholes — a short cut through the cosmos. Once the Norian military had appeared near the Deneb cluster, all hell would break loose.

Attacking the Norian fleet as it materialized from hyperspace would tend to even the odds somewhat between the defensive Kryptonian-Earth battle fleet and the opposing Norian armada.

It is a well-known military maxim that if a battle is forced upon you, the numbers of fighting men or the quantity of military hardware count for little in the struggle.

Ari and his military cohorts had already mapped out their fighting strategy. If all went well, during their first clash with the Norian fleet, Ari expected that forty percent of the enemy ships would be eradicated or disabled. The Kryptonian-Earth fleet would then withdraw to a region of near empty space some distance from the Deneb star system and form a spherical defensive array — a sphere produces the largest geometric volume while exposing the smallest surface area to assault. For the Norians to attack the Kryptonian-Terran battle cluster in this new geometric array, in militarily terms, would be a very costly venture.

Ari and his friends then reasoned that after their initial assault upon the enemy’s fleet formation, the Norian battle array would be in disorder and the enemy’s second and final attack upon the Kryptonian-Earth defensive forces would not be coordinated, and therefore, be susceptible to the kryptonite lava missiles followed by the disrupter projectiles. It was Ari’s intent in the Kryptonian-Earth second assault on the Norian fleet to force many of their opponent’s fighting ships into the null continuum where they would instantly cease to exist.

Finally, when the enemy vessels had been reduced to a manageable numerical size, the Kryptonian-Earth battle group would alter its fighting game plan and flank the remains of the Norian battle fleet attacking their enemies with high powered Laser cannons, which each Kryptonian-Earth battle cruiser possessed for close-in fighting. They would then slog it out ship to ship.

Now that the sub-rosa Kryptonian-Terran monitoring stations alerting Earth about all military activity on the Norian home world, had, at last, apprised Ari’s forces that the Norian battle fleet had sailed, the Kryptomian-Terran military units, Earth’s defense forces, soared from their clandestine bases on Mars for the Deneb star system area, where they would ambush the enemy’s interstellar flotilla as it emerged from their wormhole transport tubes.

As each element of the Earth-Kryptonian battle fleet positioned itself at their designated defensive positions, Ari sent a message to his comrades in arms.

He just told the warriors under his leadership that any commander who gave a fight talk probably needed one his/herself. So, he just commented, “Let’s smear the would be conquerers and sent them to hell.”

After a pause, Ari said in a more serious vain, “We have a grave duty to confront, halt and impair the Norian armada, a fleet of ships which have come to conquer and kill without remorse. We have prepared ourselves, two great societies, for a war that not one has wanted least of all me, your commander. Many of us have attempted by various means to avert this conflict and to our sorrow failed to accomplish peace with honor. Now we must fight to the death for the right to live in peace and harmony with our neighbors.

“As we all are aware by now, when a person with ruthless ambitions threatens one’s very existence and eventually other planets in the universe, it becomes the solemn obligation of all free peoples to affirm that not only our threatened world, the Earth, but all planets in the void harbouring life belong not to one individual, but to all souls who cherish liberty, which is a deed guaranteed by the Lord of creation.

“Strong is our faith and mighty our resolve that the tyrant of the Cynig-Tau star system will no longer conquer ours or any other star systems — his destructive ventures will be halted now. To this end, we have made ready to meet Tornig-Nor’s hostile armada, which has been sent against us by the tyrant of Cynig-Tau, and it is for us to drive him and his troopers from our universe.

“I’ve pledged to you first-class fighting ships, which have been delivered by our factories to defend our world. Interstellar vessels that will be used by us, the star sailors of freedom, to defend the soil of Earth and the space surrounding our planet.”

Then Ari standing erect gazed into the void and bowed his head as he prayed to the Creator Of The Universe.

Five weeks later the two opposing battle fleets clashed. The slugging match between the interstellar fleets of Sol Three and the Norian armada unfolded almost as Ari had anticipated. At the end of the day, none of the Norian war craft existed. A thousand enemy star ships of Norian design and their crews had been annihilated by being pulled into null space or blasted by laser cannon fire.

After the battle off Deneb was brought to a successful culmination, a conference between Ari and his kin was convened aboard the command cruiser of the Kryptonian-Earth interstellar fleet. The main topic of this conference on that day was centered on the Norian home planet in the Cynig-Tau star system.

Earth warriors were also invited to attend this colloquium, as was their right.

After several rather long days of deliberation, at times very exasperating, the conference adjourned to be continued after a hiatus of about a week — a cooling off period was needed for the group to become more rational. During this interim, smaller groups of warriors continued to deliberate the Norian question and prepared to report back to the main conference session when it re-adjourned.

During the respite in the political confabulation Ari stayed with his injured soulmate, Mi-Ra, who was severely wounded during the hand to hand battling between the Terran-Kryptonians and the would be Norian subjugators and destroyers.

When the conference finally reconvened, Ari used Seth as his surrogate to present his ideas to the members of the deliberation panel.

Four days after the conference reconvened, the involved parties reached a decision concerning the Norian peoples. It was a clear-cut resolution that favored exiling the Cynig-Tau star system and moving the Norian home world to the edge of the universe.

The Cynig-Tau solar system was first shifted twelve billion light-years across the universe close to its edge. Then, the Cynig-Tau solar system was transferred beyond the cosmic rim to a specific location. At the position of their exile, within the wilderness of space, the Cynig-Tau star system was sealed electronically from contact with all life forms within the void. The Norian people were then informed that they must learn to live in peace and harmony with their cosmic neighbors. Or, when freed from their planetary imprisonment, they would in all probability be annihilated during some horrific planetary war of their own making. All these concepts were carefully explained to the people of Cynig-Tau before Ari and his brothers-in-arms retired to pick up the threads of their lives.

As the exile plan was being carried out, Ari was spending his last moments with his life partner. While Kela, Kara and Seth looked on, Ari, with his soulmate in his grasp, said to her, “Mi-Ra, to have walked through even part of life with you has been such a gracious thing.” After Ari’s romantic comment she and Ari just stared at one another with tears flowing from their eyes.

Two weeks after the exile plan had been carried out, Mi-Ra passed away. Ari’s entire family was present at the El mausoleum internment.

A little while after the Norian solar system had been shifted to its marooned location and Mi-Ra’s essence returned to the Well of souls, Ari journeyed to Earth and began preparing for his challenge to the legality of the current Terra-Kryptonian Grand Council, using the Norian conflict as the most damaging evidence against the current governing body. In his political assault on the council, Ari would demand that they resign from their present positions and allow new elections to fulfill the seats vacated by the resignation of the present council members.

Jor-El and the other council members were made to realize that because of their philosophy of government they failed to recognize the danger to Earth and to the clandestine Kryptonians living within the planet interior. What made the evidence even more damaging was that the council members steadfastly maintained their attitudes disregarding all evidence presented to them about the Norian threat. By continually disregarding the Norian evidence, Jor-El and his associates flagrantly failed in their obligation to protect all the inhabitants of Earth — both surface dwellers and the surreptitious Kryptonian emigres.

Within a month, elections occurred and several weeks later a new governing body was confirmed by a magistrate and the delegates took their seats on the Grand governing Council of the Kryptonian people.

One of their first acts of the new council members was to create a military sub-position within the government whose task was to create and maintain a strong defensive and offensive fighting force to protect all the Kryptonian and Earth communities on Sol Three.

***Love and Emigration***

Soon after the political upheaval within the governing council of the Krypton emigres, Ari’s son Seth arrived at Jor-El and Lara’s abode and asked to see Kara. Jor-El became furious saying, “What makes you believe that my daughter would wish to see the likes of you, an Earthling scum who, if tested, mentally would not rank with the lowest Kryptonian waste collector?”

As Jor-El became more abusive, his ire rose sharply and now yelling at the young man, he asked a second time, “What in hell do you want of my child?”

“I wish her to be present when I ask you for her hand in marriage,” Seth calmly replied knowing that he was about to be ousted from Jor-El’s home.

Jor-El was so startled by the young man’s statement that he struck Seth across the face and yelled, “Know this, you genetic monstrosity, that if you ever come to this house again or attempt to see Kara anywhere else, I’ll kill you.”

Not saying another word, Seth turned and was about to leave the home of Lara and Jor-El. Suddenly, Seth felt himself lifted and hurled into the street. As Jor concluded his sudden physical attack on Seth, he screamed, “That’s where riffraff such as you belong.”

While Jor-El continued to spout his noxious venom, Lara entered Kara’s room and told her daughter that a lad by the name of Seth came to the house and was waiting to see her. Kara and her mother were unaware of Jor-El’s rage being directed at Seth.

Hearing her soulmate’s name, Kara leaped from her bed, dressed quickly and flew towards her home’s great room where her parents generally greeted callers.

As Kara was descending the stairs, she first heard and viewed the sordid verbal and physical abuse that was being hurled at her beloved by her sire.

As she beheld Seth being cast into the street, Kara ran to her room, packed a bag, and in a flash was descending the stairs and heading for the exit of her home getting ready to move towards her soulmate’s side when she saw Jor-El blocking her way to Seth.

“Where are you going?” Jor-El demanded to know.

“I’m leaving this house forever,” Kara replied. “By your animal like actions, father, you have made it impossible for me to remain in this place.”

Jor-El, became angrier and demanded that Kara relinquish her suitcase and return to her room. Then he said, “The suitcase you’re carrying and its contents belong to me,” he succinctly stated in a fine rage.

Throwing the bag at her father, Lara’s daughter bolted from Jor-El’s house. Kara never looked back as her parents watched her disappear.

Ari, when he was informed of what had occurred from a weeping Lara, was first shocked and then became more and more furious at Jor-El’s actions toward his son. After Lara had told her eldest child the essence of Jor-El’s treatment of Seth, she knew that Kara would never return to her abode and that she and Jor had lost a daughter.

That evening Ari announced himself at the home of Jor-El and Lara. As Lara opened the door, she said, “Welcome, son.”

“Thank-you, Mother,” he replied and asked, “Where is Jor-El?”

She told him that Jor was in the den area sulking.

After Ari entered the den area; he quietly seated himself upon one of the chairs scattered about the room.

“Sitting without permission is not respectful, young man,” Jor-El remarked sarcastically to Ari.

Ari smiled and remarked, “You are fortunate that I don’t end your despicable life on the spot. You’ve acted in a most sordid manner toward a member of my family, my son Seth. I wish to know what occurred that caused you to act like a jungle creature.”

Ari’s relatively calm comments caused Jor-El to become ill at ease. He recognized from Ari’s cold eyes that he was a stone’s throw of having his life cleaved from him. Facing his political opponent and potential dueling adversary, Jor asked, “Why do you speak with me in such a gross manner?”

Pausing for a moment Ari replied, “I’m here as a surrogate for my son, Seth. When he attempted to ask Kara, his soulmate, for her hand in marriage, you violated our laws by turning him away in a gross way. It was his legal right to ask.”

Again, Ari said, “I see you do not respect the law nor the people whom it’s supposed to protect. He came to discuss such an arrangement for marriage, not to be assaulted. You went into a rage and abused him verbally and injured him, knowing in this situation he could not physically defend himself. You are a coward, Jor-El.

“As Seth is my son, I am obligated to defend his honor in such a case as this situation suggests. Knowing that if he kills you, Seth forfeits his right to wed Kara, therefore, he left that task to me if I cared to fulfill this undesirable condition. It now is my responsibility and honor to gratify Seth’s request. So coward Jor-El, at what time and what date do you wish to meet me upon the field of honor?

“You may not know or care to know that the humans of this world are humanoids, like us, the people of Krypton, who are now secretly borrowing living space from their world until the hundred and eight livable planets my family group discovered have matured and are ready for colonization. This star cluster of which I speak is twenty thousand light-years from our present cosmic location. As you have been told, this selected group of planets has been seeded with the appropriate life forms which will eventually alter the selected worlds and make them habitable for both human and Kryptonian life forms. These biological processes will take approximately ten thousand years to complete. Until then, we need to live on this planet.

“Now, returning to my son Seth,” Ari said, “and your daughter Kara, my youngest sister, and their future.”

Jor-El, said, “How can they wed? You said you and Kara are siblings. That is biologically unacceptable to the Kryptonian society. Individuals with identical genome cannot wed; that is the law.”

“If their mothers were the same there would be no disagreement. Since Seth was adopted, the genome of both parties to this soulmate union is not identical. A marriage between Kara and Seth is legal according to both human and Kryptonian cultural law.

“I’ve come to let you know that a wedding will be celebrated two weeks from this date. The desire of the couple to be wed has been recorded. Because of your grievous actions, and after a long debate, the result was not to invite you to Seth and Kara’s nuptials. My mother, Lara, will receive a formal invitation to our children’s marital union. What she decides to do with the invitation is up to her.”

Stunned by Ari’s statements, Jor-El asked for clarification, “Are you my son?”

“Yes, I’m your first born, Ari-El. You also have a daughter, Kela-El, who is my twin. It is because of these family realities,” Ari reiterated, “that you are alive today. However, after I leave,” Ari added, “I wish never to look upon your face again. Unless, of course, you choose to cross rapiers with me on a field of honor. That is your choice.”

When Ari concluded his comments, Jor-El said, “Kara can’t form a wedded union with Seth; she is his aunt.”

Ari smiled and replied, “By Kryptonian law any couple can be united in wedlock if each individual does not possess more than fifty percent of the same genetic material in common. Since Seth’s genome does not come from our blood line, that issue is no longer a problem.”

As Ari was about to leave Jor-El’s presence, he said, “I’ll be giving Mother this packet. In it she’ll find a document, which you’ll undoubtedly read later, that describes a planet in the new star cluster I’ve told you about. Since you do not care for the political and sociological systems that are developing on Earth, you, and as many other people who wish to accompany you and dwell under your own form of government, may leave Earth for one planet in the new star cluster. Your existence, of course, and that of your descendants will naturally be a subterranean one until the biological transformation within the star cluster we’ve talked about has been fulfilled.”

Pausing for a moment, Ari added, “I don’t know when your political ambition became preeminent in your life, but, my Father, you are the man who once dreamt of a better future for his people. You even sacrificed two children for that dream — Kela and I with my aunt were hurled though the wilderness of space into a different history for that vision.”

After a pause, Ari commented, “By your actions, Jor-El, you’ve showed me a man who once held all life dear can develop a craving for power at some point in his life. You allowed power to overshadow most everything else you once held dear.” Ari then said, “Your willingness to allow the inhabitants of Earth to be exterminated by Torig-Nor’s military forces just to maintain a semblance of political power tells it all, doesn’t it, Father?

“So, this document I’m holding will be given to Mother simply because that trusting relationship I believed we shared no longer exists. Maybe it never did?

“If you heed the suggestions presented in the packet I’m about to present to Mother, you’ll emigrate to one of the new star systems in the cluster we’ve discussed. You’ll journey by teleportation. The teleportation linkage between our hidden Earth enclaves and your new home will always be open. If you wish to send any children that leave with you or are born into your group to school on Earth that will not present a problem to our community. We are all the one people. Visiting family members or those wishing to have a night out on the town will also be certified without any governmental interference.

“I’m afraid, Father, that if you remain on Earth, there is a high probability of civil unrest, which might result in a terrible conflict. A civil war among our people may result. The cause of this explosive situation, I fear, would be precipitated by your lust for political authority within the current Kryptonian governmental structure.”

After speaking his peace, Ari turned and headed toward the door of Jor’s home for probably the last time in his life.

On the way out of Jor’s abode, Ari presented Lara with the packet he had mentioned to Jor-El. Kissing his mother on her cheek, Ari said, “Good-bye,” and departed Lara’s home.

If Jor-El complies with my recommendations, Ari thought, after Kara’s and Seth’s nuptials, I’ll probably become a semi-reclusive scientist again, at least for a time, help the newlyweds through their first gravid period, and raise my own kids Mi-Ra and I procreated. Maybe even write a history of the Norian war. Then, continue my studies with extra-dimensional spaces.

It was about seven months later that Ari and his kids were living with Kara and Seth helping construct their first abode.

The three offspring Ari had sired with his beloved Mi-Ra — two males and a female called Tira, Davi, and Karmi were awaiting the birth of Seth and Kara’s babies with great anticipation. Although Ari’s kids were still rather young, they could help Kara nurture her first brood during their rambunctious period. They were still rather rambunctious themselves.

It was several months after the wedding of Seth and Kara, Jor-El followed Ari’s advice and emigrated to a planet within the star cluster of which Ari had spoken — about two million individuals loyal to Jor-El’s social and political views accompanied him into his semi-self imposed exile. The new star cluster was by then called the Utopian cluster — each planet in the cluster would be designated K-x symbol, where K-x signified K-1, K-2…K-108, etc.

Meanwhile, as Ari waited the birth of his grandchildren he thought about his future.

During Kara’s gravid state, Seth and Kara decided that they would stay with Avi and his kids until their own had been weaned. Then they would expand their new home, and Ari and his children would live with them as an expanded family.

When he was told what his sister and her soulmate Seth planned to do, Ari went to his lab and wept in silence. He was more grateful to his sister and Seth than he could ever say. To keep and care for one’s parent and to provide them with love was a mitzvah of the highest magnitude.

***A New Life***

After Mi-Ra passed away, Ari, as he quietly informed people, did become somewhat of a recluse pouring time and energy into his research. Using his amazing scientific capabilities, Ari fabricated devices which would benefit all the people living on Earth. First, Ari with his brothers fabricated several interstellar spaceships constructed of stabilized neutronium and was propelled by new drive engines, which could transport the Terran-Kryptonian people across the cosmos nearly instantaneously if they so desired.

Soon after Ari completed the new interstellar spacecraft, Perry White, at the request of Lois and Clark, summoned Ari to the Daily Planet building situated in the downtown area of Metropolis.

Ari conversed with Perry about a relatively unique assignment, the reasons for holocaust kinds of events, which occurred within Earth’s indigenous population during what is called the modern world. Perry told Ari that the worst of these holocaust conditions probably began with the first world war era and extended into the twenty-first century, Earth time. Perry White asked Ari to take a position as an editor at the Zomania branch of the Metropolis Daily Planet. This new satellite news service of the of Metropolis Daily would be the logical starting point for the massive editorials this kind of investigation would produce.

To Perry’s delight and surprise, Ari accepted Perry’s offer without much deliberation.

So, about a week later, Ari with his three children, were on their way to the capital of Zomania. Furthermore, a few days after Ari’s departure, Kara and Seth with their newborns quietly flew to a place on the coast of the Black Sea a few miles from Grossburg Zomania’s modern day capital.

While Grossburg was often referred to as one of Europe’s modern urban centers, it housed people who tended to make a mockery of courtesy and deliberately shunned individuals from neighboring countries as well as other parts of their own country. To Zomania’s shame, its populous provided less aid to people in neighboring countries who were in great need of basic food stuffs. Such an attitude was repulsive to many tourists within the Atlantic community. Fortunately, for Zomania’s people, other regions of their country did not exhibit the snobbish and other caustic and sleazy characteristics found in Zomania’s capital city.

When Ari’s train was stopped at the border of Zomania, a patrol officer boarded the train and demanded to see his passport in a rather crude manner. After seeing his credentials, the Zomania official attempted to extort a hundred cronan from the traveler. Ari, of course, refused to go along with the official’s attempt at a shake down. He then grabbed the foolish Zomanian official and rendered him unconscious.

When Ari and his young family arrived within the city limits of Grossburg, within several hours, he was seriously considering leaving this glamorous looking pest hole and trying to reason with himself as to why he had gotten himself into such a dubious situation.

After taking out the Zomanian crooked official, Ari left the train and located a quiet spot near the train depot and flew to Metropolis.

Seeking out Perry’ office, Ari told the editor in chief what occurred and promptly resigned.

He than Left Metropolis post haste and returned to Kansas.

Soon after a speechless Perry White received Ari’s resignation, the Planet’s chief immediately contacted Lois Lane Kent. That evening Lois contacted her brother-law in Kansas and obtained the full details concerning Ari and his train episode to Zomania. Naturally, she told her husband about all she had learned from Seth.

The next morning Clark told Perry what Lois had learned. CK, after he told Perry what Lois found out, informed his boss that he couldn’t deal with unprincipled government officials who were illegally appropriating money from travelers trekking through their country.

After obtaining the info about Ari’s altercation, he attempted to contact government officials in Zomania without success. Then Perry left a message and telephone number requesting a return call at the Daily Planet from a spokesperson in the Zomanian administration.

There was no reply to Perry’s oversea’s call on that day.

Attempted communication with the Zomania officialdom was greeted in the same ill-mannered way on the following day.

Perry then contacted the state department and asked that they inform the Zomania foreign office that the Daily Planet was withdrawing their facilities from Grossburg and moving their facilities to a nearby country.

Suddenly things began to happen. Faced with the loss of the world’s most prestigious newspaper from his country, with the story that would follow, the president of Zomania returned Perry’s call.

After listening to the president of Zomania’s apologies, Perry decided to give the country of Zomania a second chance to deal with the Daily Planet on an honest footing. He had his doubts that sincere dealings with Zomania would ever be a successful venture.

Several days later, Ari again was traveling toward Zomania’s capital city and the Daily Planet’s main European branch of its newspaper. Shaking his head, Ari again was contemplating his coming task and whether, after so long a time interval, would looking into the holocaust events be worth his efforts. Well, he promised Perry to look into the slaughtering events that had occurred in this region during the second world war. And a promise is a promise.

Perry believed that the study of Zomania and its environs would be very fruitful in Ari’s investigation because of certain information that the UN had gattered about Zomania’s possible role in the mass slaughter of people which had ravaged this region.

So, Ari would give the holocaust project another shot as acting editor in chief at the Grossburg Planet offices.

At the border between Zarbeck and Zomania, a lovely young lady boarded Ari’s train. After checking the woman’s credentials, the train officials attempted to illegally appropriate several hundred cronan from the woman who had just boarded the train at the Zomania frontier.

Before the official thieves could act, Ari had launched them from the train. When landed, the Zomanian officials bounced a long way when they hit the ground.

When the train made its final stop at Grossburg, Ari and the unknown young woman said a friendly farewell to one another and walked off in different directions.

Before Ari made his appearance at the Grossburg news complex, he visited colleagues and their families at the CERN scientific complex. There, he picked up some biological information that his friends had gathered on the holocaust subject.

After several days at the CERN facilities, Ari joined Seth, Kara, and his infant grandchildren at their rented chateau near Grossburg. His other kids would join Seth and Kara on the morrow and would arrive by teleportation early in the morning.

At the morning meal with his family, Seth and Kara showed off their young family. After Ari and Mi-Ra’s kids arrived, he left them with Seth and Kara’s family so their children could get to know one another. Then, Jor’s first born set off for the Planet office facilities near the Grossburg governmental agencies.

Entering the newspaper offices, Ari requested an audience with Alan Jacobs, the Editor in Chief of the Grossburg arm of the Daily Planet. The secretary, Marie Brode, who considered herself sort of a guardian of her chiefs inter sanctum, said to Ari that he would have to wait — Mr. Jacobs was currently on the phone expediting a long distance phone call to the Planet’s Singapore wire service office.

To be courteous, Ari took a seat in the waiting area and began studying the genetic characteristics which seemed to be associated with the human historical holocaust patterns.

Perry over the years had discovered the specific behavioral criterion when activated caused humans to destroy one another in small or massive amounts. For example, notice that late in the nineteenth century the Turks began to obliterate the Armenians by referring to them as the unwanted people. Their methods of destruction were not only gruesome, the records showed continually that Turkish warriors would wager whether a pregnant woman was carrying a male or female fetus and then using a sword slash to open a female abdomen to obtain the sex of the unborn child. The winner of the bet received a victor bounty.

After the world at large started to condemn the Turks for their brutal actions, Turkey, after more than a century, still has denied their holocaust atrocities and has stated that the decimation of the Armenian population was a fraud and that it never occurred. The same kind of denials have been stated about the plethora of evidence presented about the holocaust atrocities which occurred during the Second World War; they never transpired. During this world war, it is a known fact that fifty-five million people perished during the global confrontation.

Earlier times have shown that the warring methods, such as the battle procedures of the Roman legions, were to lay waste villages, and the inhabitants of villages not surrendering to slavery were known to be annihilated to the last man, woman, and child.

Spain during its inquisition period would burn Christians of non Catholic persuasions on the town squares while the descendants of Abraham were consumed by the flame on different street corners of the same square. These religious murders were most probably enacted for political reasons or to gain an individual’s wealth to build Spain’s growing armada.

Greed or plain theft seemed to exude from Perry’s notes and be the main forces driving this human horror.

For example, during the Second World War, when a country was captured, the wealth of individuals and of the country itself was seized by the Nazis with most of this wealth being confiscated by the Swiss after the Nazis lost the war — most monies, valuables, and precious objects were never returned to the survivors or to families who managed to survive Hitler’s Holocaust. Individuals also were guilty of garnering the possessions of their Jewish neighbors when they were arrested by the Gestapo.

In Perry’s notes, Ari found a very interesting tale of a specific kind of theft. A young boy who managed to survive Dachau was returning to a town in Poland. His life was saved when childhood friends boarded the train and kept him from returning to his birthplace and claiming his property, which was now occupied by another family. He was told by his friends that those who had appropriated his property would have killed him to keep what was not theirs in their possession. The current population of the boy’s home town would have supported the current owners of the house in question, taken illegally from the surviving youth. There would bring no protest. He would have been dispatched to the next world. There were other towns and famous cities which also behaved in such a malicious manner. Yet, there were magnificent people and countries who didn’t behave in such heinous behavior. For example, the King of Denmark managed to preserve most of his country’s Judaic population. In a single night, placing his own life in jeopardy, this sovereign undertook to save the Herbraic people of his country from deportation to Auschwitz by sending them across a lake to Switzerland — his undertaking was a blessing and will be remembered forever.

From his reading of Perry’s notes, Ari became aware that the Planet’s Chief Editor was attempting to connect Earth’s predatory behavior to the Holocaust problem when not controlled.

Ari now understood why Perry wanted him to study the various holocaust dilemmas. It would be a tough nut to crack and necessary for Ari to understand if he were to help the human race improve its behavior and its own sociological malady.

Perry had also chosen Ari for the holocaust problem because he was a very well-trained scientist and could handle all the complex related factors dealing with the possible biology that could be involved.

After five hours of concentrating on Perry’s notes, the secretary finally commented that the Editor in Chief of the paper was gone for the day and should return within the next day. If Ari still wished to see Mr. Jacobs and to circumvent the time element, he should arrive at the Planet early the next day.

Early in the morning on the next day, Ari sat down in the waiting room and was prepared to wait for an audience with Allen Jacobs. As he tarried, a young lady came into the chief’s office area and loitered for a while. After a while, the secretary asked her whom she wished to see. When the young woman told the secretary that she wished to speak to Mr. Jacobs, the secretary told her to please wait and she’d determine whether there was sufficient time for an audience with the chief.

About an hour or so later a middle aged man also entered the waiting room, saw the secretary, and he too heard Marie’s one liner in which he was asked to wait.

Forty-five minutes later, the secretary came into the waiting room and told the middle aged chevalier by the name of Claude that Mr. Jacobs would now see him. Hearing Marie’s comments to the middle age male, Ari challenged the secretary’s choice about her selection of those she deemed eligible to see the news Chief.

In a gruff manner, Marie said, “I decide who gets to see the chief,” she sarcastically stated to Ari, her nose somewhat poked in the air as if she didn’t care if he decided to leave and never return. “I make the accommodations in this office, not you, my buck,” she added sarcastically to demonstrate her power, an authority that was totally misplaced.

Stepping out of Allen’s office, Ari, using a cell phone, called Perry and told him he was on the way home.

“What happened?” a rather-bewildered Perry White asked.

Ari replied, “The staff Allen assembled in this backwater country, Zomania, is strictly for the birds. I’m coming home. It’s back to the lab for me. There, people treat one another with respect. I’ll see you when, Chief. Please don’t call me again, Perry; it’s a waste of my time and your energy.”

As Marie called Claude by name, he moved into Allen’s office. Claude, who was Marie’s choice from the start, said to Marie, “What a doltish fool he was to stay so long. That man should have known that his intonation and language skills are not in the proper mode for a job in Zomania.”

As Ari was leaving, he said to Marie, “Tell Allen, your boss, I believe, that you both have behaved like a bunch of cabbage heads.” He then turned and with a mocking bow left the building.

“Well,” Ari said to the young woman who had followed him from the Zomania’s Planet building to the street, “I understand, after experiencing the prejudicial foolishness in the Planet why many people avoid this country. Behaving as they do will cause them to lose much of their operating capital.”

Pausing for a moment, Ari murmured, “If Marie were an intelligent woman, she would begin packing her bags and inform those in the secretarial pool to do so, also. Her behavior will get back to Perry who will not tolerate such treatment of visitors who wish to see his newspaper’s officials.”

Ari then called Perry in Metropolis and started to fill Perry in on the chaotic events which he had endured in the Planet’s Zomania newsroom. Perry had to cut Ari off and ask him to call back in an hour. Something dreadful had occurred in Metropolis.

As Ari departed from the Planet building and scooted toward the Zomania jet port, he received a bunch of crude cackling calls on his cell phone as Claude delivered a series of obnoxious messages. The Kryptonian smiled at Claude’s childish behavior and ambulated somewhat more quickly toward the air terminal.

“I guess Claude was not the gentleman I thought,” Ari murmured to himself.

Entering the jet port, Ari meandered toward the ticket counter. As he got into line, he noticed the young lady who had also been sitting in the waiting area at the Zomania’s arm of the Daily Planet getting into his counter line just behind him.

Turning fully around, he asked, “Heading for the States?”

The Young Woman nodded as she smiled.

When Ari reached the ticket counter, the young woman watched as Ari purchased two tickets for a fight home.

Ari then turned and took the young woman by the arm and proceeded to the waiting area and waited patiently for his international flight to begin loading.

His companion asked, “Why did you procure two carte d’entree to the states?”

“One’s for you and the other for moi. You are going that way, aren’t you?”

She again nodded smiling and shook her head giving Ari an affirmative signal. Then, the young woman told Ari that her name was Louise.

With Louise at his side, Ari, then stepped outside the jet terminal for a moment and again called the chief and this time gave him a full accounting of the events which had occurred at the Zomania Planet — Ari gave him a blow by blow description of what had occurred during his supposed interview with Perry’s old friend of many years, Allen Jacobs.

Louise, looking at Ari said, “You weren’t at the newspaper for an interview?”

“No,” Ari replied, “but I learned more by my attempted route to see Allen Jacobs.”

Then Ari and Louise walked back into the air terminal.

After hearing what had transpired at the Planet subsidiarity in Zomania, Perry contacted Allen Jacobs and had a brusque talk with his old friend and associate of many years.

***

While Ari was winging his way back toward the States with Louise, the secretaries in the working pool were being sacked and the dolt Claude was given his walking papers.

Arriving at the Kansas City international jet terminal, Ari retrieved his and Louise’s baggage. Ari purchased Louise’s proper attire for Louise en route — at a stop over in London. He also made sure she had a first-class air ticket back to the principality of Zomania and sufficient funds to tour the States, if she so desired. Ari told her that the money and other items were compliments of the Planet to make amends for her ill treatment at the Planet’s subsidiary in Zomania.

After Ari collected their baggage at the Kansas City jet port he and Louise moved toward a Miller’s homestead vehicle, which was parked in a special area. Arriving at the car, Ari and Louise boarded the vehicle. Then off to the Miller farms and home.

Arriving at the Miller homestead, some three hours later, a celebration in honor of Ari’s return started up and was soon in full swing.

As the the party went into full swing, Seth, Kara and the children returned from Europe. After Louise was introduced to the Miller clan, Louise felt as if she were a member of the Miller household.

While Louise didn’t fully comprehend the situation, she came with Ari because of a strong attraction she felt for him. That attraction was mutual, although Louise didn’t realize it at the time.

As Louise was enjoying herself, Ari received another phone call from Perry. He was told that Claude and the secretaries were suing the Zomania branch of the Planet for their old jobs and reparations for psychological damages.

The lawyers representing the Planet’s branch of its news agency had to appear in court within two days or forfeit their case. According to the time differential, more than twenty-four hours had already passed.

“When we contacted the State Department, the Planet was told that Zomania’s legal system very rarely listened to foreign countries.”

Perry White was then informed that since the Planet newspaper was linked within Zomania, the court case would be heard in that country.

Seeking Louise, he asked her sit as he talked to Perry. After resolving how Ari would handle the coming legal situation, their communications were severed and he again turned to face Louise.

Looking Louise directly in the eye, Ari said, “I’m about to tell you things that you must never reveal. I don’t know much about you, so I must know if you are a trustworthy individual. Do you have the courage to face a crisis and stand your ground?”

Pausing for a moment, and then looking into Ari’s eyes she said, “Yes.”

Ari then picked up Louise and soared into the clouds.

Returning to Earth a few minutes later, Louise still shuttering, continued to hold tightly onto Ari.

An hour or so later, Louise had calmed down and was ready to fly with Ari to the city of Grossburg in the Duchy of Zomania. They would be in time for the legal proceedings.

As Louise and Ari were about to enter the court facility, the Kryptonian said to the young woman at his side, “You are about to witness a legal attempted miscarriage of justice this day.”

Sitting with Louise Weil, the young lady’s full name, they sat close enough to Claude to hear him say to a friend who had accompanied him that foreigners who managed to obtain work with the Planet in Zomania or the Zarbeck divisions of the paper were treated with contempt as they were throughout most of the newspapers in Zomania’s capital city.

As Louise listened she felt that is was a disgrace that such a cultural city that had much to give to the world had developed such a disgusting attitude. Other areas of Zomania, thank G-d, had not developed such foolish mannerisms toward other people. With the monetary exchange constantly shifting between the US and Europe, an attitude expressed by the Zomanians would, in time, cause an economic downturn in the economies creating difficulties in the new world and the old.

With the world becoming an ever more dangerous place, a looming military withdrawal from Europe by America would force the Europeans to spend big bucks for defense, which the US would or could no longer provide.

After Claude and the troublesome witch of Grossburg, Marie Borde, were dismissed from the Zomania branch of the Planet newspaper chain, the courts had been forced to contest the paper’s actions. While the court action was heating up, Ari, Louise, and the Editor in Chief the Daily Planet had a pleasant luncheon, courtesy of the Planet.

When lunch ended, Louise, who Ari began to call Lou, was safely placed on a train that would take her to her home in the Principality of Zarbeck. Allen obtained a car and went to his abode; he was exhausted. Ari, sighting a park bench sat down and telephoned Perry in Metropolis and filled him in on the day’s activities.

After Ari and Perry discussed the events of the day and said goodbye to one another, Ari lifted himself into the stratosphere and flew to Kansas, promising to discuss the current Zomanian incident in more detail with Perry face to face.

Several days later, Ari told his baby brother, Kal-El, to tell Perry that they had to talk pronto about the unfolding Zomania affair.

Five hours later, Perry was being chewed out by Ari, who did not appreciate being insulted and used by a Zomanian witch and an unsavory journalist who mocked almost every one’s thoughts. He believed they shouldn’t be near the newspaper business throughout the European community or anywhere in world for that matter.

Then taking a walk about Metropolis with Perry, Ari said to the chief, “If I return to Zomania, expect newspaper ink to be running from the blood vessels of every uncooperative Planet employee. I control the majority of Planet stock. To get cooperation, if it’s needed to run the paper properly, I’ll do all that is required to get our newspaper back on track.”

A few hours later, Ari said to Perry, “You better warn Allen that I’m coming back after I’ve sharpened my scalping blade for what must be done. Tell your friend there will be no corruption, no bribery occurring among the ranks of Planet reporters, no more Claude or Marie type cases will exist or will pull our business out of Zomania and the rest of Europe. I’ll also use my influence to get the remaining global newspapers to remove their establishments from Europe. If the Planet stays in Zomania, its branch in Grossburg will be a division unto itself. No cross directorites.”

Perry agreed with Ari’s rather harsh conditions. But, unfortunately, they were needed.

“Okay then, the holocaust study that both Allen and you want can now proceed, Perry.”

The following morning Ari entered the Zomania offices of the Daily Planet and was about to walk into Allen’s innersanctum when the secretarial witch attempted to block his way. Placing Marie into a chair, Ari said, “You, who once believed that you ran this office, were sacked yesterday. Why are you here? You have one hour to vacate these premises, or you’ll be arrested.”

Seeing Claude, Ali informed him using the same tactics and giving the same ultimatum.

Returning, Allen Jacob saw what Ari had just dealt with. Ari then reminded his friend, Chief of the Zomania Planet offices, “You are aware that I’m one of the owners of this newspaper. If Marie and Claude are not off Planet property in one hour, call the police and exercise the law and have them arrested. Your new hires replacing Claude and Marie will arrive from the States tomorrow.”

Pulling Ari aside, Allen informed him that the two new employees had already been chosen by the unionized politicos and were waiting in the foyer. The courts would not interfere.

“I don’t care who or where they are, or why they are here. Get them out of this building or I’ll shut down the Zomania Planet operation, and we’ll move our newspaper operation and its personnel to Zarbeck. I’m sure that the Principality of Zarbeck, which is independent of Zomania, will be most happy to welcome us. And Allen, don’t let any politicos try to brow beat you. I have the necessary electronics to ascertain what’s occurring in any country throughout the world without physically being there, if I so choose.”

The next morning while Ari was setting-up a desk where Marie once had her headquarters, Ari spied four political type characters approaching his working domain.

“Mr. Ari Elinger, we would like a word with you.”

“Speak,” Ari said, as if were talking to a pack of dogs.

Smiling, as his political antagonists spoke nonsensical noises, Ari said to himself, “Stupid, too.” After a pause, Ari decided to continue communicating with the politicos using logic. He opened the coming fray by simply saying, “What can I do for you?”

After another pause in the conversation, the bureaucrats, using rather brusque language, demanded that a journalist called Claude and a secretary known as Marie Bardo be reinstated to their former status.

“Tell me, gentlemen, who possesses or controls this paper?”

The reply to Ari’s question was correct. “You do, sir,” the four clods responded.

“For that reply, you may all have a cigar,” Ari said.

Ari murmured to himself, “At least these jokers have done some homework.”

Then Ari slowly stood up, grabbed the four idiots by their lapels and tossed them into the street giving orders to the paper’s staff that if they see those so called men invading the Planet again, they should have them arrested or better still have them beaten to a pulp.

Ari informed Allen Jacobs later in the day what had occurred with the gentlemen sent from the bureaucratic division of the government. Ari was confident that the paper, because of his refusal to accede to their demands, would be charged with an altercation and that legal papers would be drawn up by a few bully boys working in conjunction with other corrupt politicos. This ploy, he was sure, would be done to disrupt the printing of the Planet, but would allow the printing of other foreign journalistic information.

What the Zomamia duchy failed to comprehend was the fact that the Planet controlled all of the materials that the foreign newspapers needed to publish their material.

By the time the Zomanians realized what material they needed for the Duchy to engineer a smear campaign against the Planet, Allen would have shipped most of the printing essentials to Zarbeck for security reasons.

By conversing with the various constabulary offices, Allen also knew that the people working within the Planet building were not in a protected zone. So, Allen sent the Planet employees home for precautionary measures.

After the vital press materials were secretly sent to Zarbeck, Allen Jacobs, after openly contacting several nearby countries to provide misinformation to the Zomania government, entered discussions with those nations for the leasing of public lands needed to construct news facilities for the Planet and other reputable papers.

While Allen was completing his end of their deception plan, Ari was making his way to Zarbeck to purchase sufficient property to reestablished the European branch of the Daily Planet. During the negotiations, proper permits were also obtained for the physical plant and the newspaper’s employees. The Planet’s personnel were already traveling by train from Zomania to their new quarters in the Principality of Zarbeck.

In the midst of that night, which at moving time contained a moonless sky, Ari’s brethren from Kansas moved all the Planet’s equipment from Zomania to Zarbeck and reestablished the European division of the newspaper. The Planet’s printing facilities were also being modernized as they were becoming operational within the Zarbeck Principality. Semi automated and automated printing methods were incorporated into the presses to increase the printing speed.

An enclave, consisting of stores and other facilities, were being prepared in the dead of night for the Planet’s employees and new homes were also being fabricated according to the occupants’ tastes.

As the Planet’s new European operation was being erected in Zarbeck, the Zomania Police and the Grossburg fire brigade were inspecting a conflagration which had been reported by an unknown source within the newspaper district. When the officials arrived on the scene, all they found was a burning Daily Planet printing section that was supposed to be secured by the police and fire fighting units in the vicinity. Soon, the foolish Zomania officials were watching flames from the Planet’s printing building begin to consume other structures belonging to the other foreign dailies.

When the vicinity of the fire was eventually searched, materials belonging to several prominent politically appointed police officials were discovered on site. This information allowed the authorities to take the proper action and nearly crippled the bureaucratic strangle hold on the foreign newspapers operating within Grossburg under the auspices and protection of the police.

As the investigation went forward, the Duchy authorities discovered that the Russian Mafia, which was strongly entrenched in many political organizations and found operating many supposedly legal companies throughout Zomania’s capital city, was responsible for the Planet’s present debacle.

While Zomania was now eliminating government controlled Mafia connections and prosecuting the culprits of the current fires, the European branch of the Planet was happily operating in the Principality of Zarbeck.

When the Zarbeck subsidiary of the Planet was up and running again, Ari asked some of his colleagues to help him locate Louise Weil, who had made her home somewhere within the city, where the new Planet establishment had just started to function, but to his dismay the search was to no avail.

About a month after the Zarbeck division of the Daily Planet began operating, Louise Weil on her own volition appeared at the new newspaper’s offices.

When Ari was again face to face with the young lady he’d met in the Duchy of Zomania, he understood what his Kryptonian biology was informing his body. This time it was an Earth female.

Lou, as she wished to be called, was an extremely intelligent and a beautifully proportioned woman. When they shook hands, after she accepted a position at the paper, that tingling sensation of a bonding reaction came on strong and clear to his mind. As Ari thought about the present bonding condition, he now recalled that he had felt something as they had soared across the Atlantic to Zomania from Kansas.

From his current contact response to Lou, obviously he had discovered another soulmate.

While Louise didn’t quite understand the feelings rocketing through her body after making physical contact with Ari, she was aware that her emotional sentiments were not a bad thing and that the man standing before her had the same kind of longing in his soul as she.

After Lou and Ari had spoken for some time, Allen took her on a tour of the newspaper showing the young lady how the paper’s operation functioned from beginning to end.

After her session with Ari, She and Allen then walked through the main building within the Planet complex. As they perambulated, Louise asked Allen, “Aren’t you the chief of the European subsidiary of the Planet?”

“Yes,” Allen replied, “and I’ll get back to my normal job just as soon as Ari and you join us in a partnership. You should know, Ms. Weil, that Ari’s a part owner of the Daily Planet. However, he generally doesn’t interfere with the paper’s operations wherever the facilities are located. However, Perry White asked Ari to join him and myself on a project we’ve been working on for some time. You should be aware that we’re getting older, and I guess that Perry and I don’t want our enterprise to disappear when we pass on. Maybe with Ari and you, Lou, on line, our project can be completed with your help.

“After we relocated to Zarbeck, Ari sought you out so, if possible, you two could work together. He feels that there is a bond of sorts between you. Perry is hoping that you two will assist us in our venture.”

“What’s your project all about?” Lou finally asked Allen.

After a pause in which Allen Jacobs stared into the distance for several moments, the Zarbeck newspaper chief said, “You know one of reasons I was selected by Perry for this job was based on the fact, like you, I was born in Europe and I’m very familiar with the highways and byways that traverse this continent.”

Then looking at Louise, Allen said, “I’m the last of my line. My family ends with me. Not many years ago, there were more than a hundred people within my immediate family and in a period of two years, I was the solitary survivor. When I escaped from Auschwitz, I joined a partisan band led by a man called uncle Moshe and with him I hunted and fought against the murdering monsters sent from hell — the NAZI murderers.

“When World War II ended, I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing about my family’s killers. So, I began hunting for the murderers of my family. There were ample people from a plethora of communities throughout Europe for that kind of task.

“Furthermore, Lou, I also learned after much cogitation that our world is not a waiting room for eternity. Eternity is here among us. I slowly began to understand how difficult, how dangerous, and how pathetic it is at times to be a human being. So, Lou, I began to think of what caused the many wars and holocausts that have occurred down through the ages. When I spoke with Perry about my notions, he stared at me for a long time and I somehow knew that he and I would create a project whose main objectives would be to seek answers to the many questions surrounding holocaust murders. Our lifelong quest had been borne at that moment. Now, with you and Ari in our search, Allen continued, “Our combined journalistic quest may provide the information which will begin to lead us toward answers to my questions. At present, it’s Perry’s and my project. Hopefully, over the years, it will become yours and Ari’s venture, too, and you two will become part of our journalistic trek. A journey that may save many future souls from senseless butchery. And after us, we hope that others will join our little group. The question that I asked long ago was much too important to be allowed to vanish. Future lives are at stake.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Allen chuckled. “You’re saying to yourself, ‘I’m young; why include me in such an undertaking? Consider these thoughts Perry retrieved from a burned out ghetto he visited shortly after the last global war ended:

And the old shall dream dreams and the youth shall see visions.

And our hopes shall rise to the sky. We must live for today; we must build for tomorrow. Give us time, give us strength, give us life.

Childhood was for fantasies for nursery rhymes and toys. The world was much too busy to understand small girls and boys. As we grew up I came to learn that life was not a game, that heroes just were people that we called another name.

Now I’m grown and the years have passed. I’ve come to understand there are choices to be made and my life is at my command which says I cannot have a future ‘till I embrace the past. I promise to pursue and the challenge time is going fast.

And Today’s the day I take my stand The future’s mine to hold.

Commitments that I make today are dreams from days of old. I have to make the way for generations that come and go I’ll have to teach them what I’ve learned so they will come to know

That the old shall dream dreams and the youth shall see visions

And our hopes will rise to the sky. We must live for today; we must build for tomorrow. Give us time, give us strength, give us life.

“The words that Perry stumbled upon refer to Ari and you, Lou. I don’t comprehend all their meaning. However, I sense that Ari would embrace the meaning of Perry’s found words all too well. I don’t know why Ari would comprehend the meanings of Perry’s profound thoughts, but I perceive there is a great sadness in Ari. I sense a deep gloom in his being from some horrible event or great battle which occurred in his past. An event I suspect that was not of this world, but an occurrence in the wildernesses of space where he experienced a terrible loss which wrenched his soul nearly from his body.

“Now my beauteous and sensitive Lou, let us return to my innersanctum and talk with Ari — the lion, a force for justice.”

After returning to the offices Allen would share with Louise and Ari, Lou was not surprised that she found a hot meal waiting for the three of them.

As they enjoyed their noon repast, Ari said to Louise, “You and I with Perry and Allen will work on our special venture, if you agree, as the pertinent information becomes available to us. If we become stymied at times, you and I, Lou, will tackle other assignments I’m hopeful that will benefit humankind. You don’t mind if the paper uses Lou as your Byline appellation?”

Louise smiled and said, “Not at all. My family often refers to me by that forename.”

“Good,” Ari replied. “Now I can feel more at ease when we’re together. There’s another item that you should know, Lou. My three children will occasionally need to roam about our office area, since my wife is deceased. They’ll need to see me as part of their nurturing period to learn their academic fundamentals. Maybe you can help me with these chores from time to time. When we’re exceptionally busy, part of my immediate family will fill in for me or us with the children.”

“You have deal, Ari; I happen to adore children.”

“Good,” he said. “We have an agreement.”

“Another thing I want to say to you,” Ari said, his voice somewhat grimmer.

“I think you’ll agree at this point that our beginnings indicate that we get along well and that’s good. But, as partners tend to get closet and a close friendship develops, they are inclined to stick their noses into dangerous situations without letting the other person know. Please be careful and try not to go it alone. If I lose another person that I’ve become closely attached too, I believe, Lou, I’ll go down for the count.”

“I promise,” she said with a radiant smile with her eyes twinkling.

“That’s fine, Lou. You see, death is but a horizon of life, and we are not privileged to discern beyond the limit of that vista. So, we must be cautious how we spend our lives.”

“Well, well, a philosopher, journalist and a scientist.”

“Yep, that’s me,” Ari said. “How did you know those things about me?” Ari then asked Lou.

“Looked you up in Who’s, Who,” Lou replied. ‘The rest Allen provided.’

Suddenly, Ari leaned his head to one side and said, “Excuse me for a few moments,” and rapidly left their offices.

A few minutes later, and as good as his word, he returned.

Lou noticed that there was a soft sonic boon followed by a swishing sound in the interval that Ari was gone. Lou would have to ask him about that strange noise, but there were others present who may not have all the facts about Ari.

Louise was already cognizant of his flying ability and was sure that he was not Superman nor the mate of UltraWoman. However, she did wonder about his other unique abilities. She was determined to find out about these capabilities sooner than later. She was becoming very curious about Ari.

That evening Louise did ask Ari about the flying sounds that she heard earlier that the day.

As Lou listened, Ari filled her in about his youth and the abilities he possessed, which she learned were the same as Superman and his mate, UltraWoman.

Ari’s comic response was, “Maybe some day you’ll also be in a flying position and will further find out my family’s unique abilities.” Lou didn’t quite comprehend Ari’s humor, so she let the subject drop for the moment. She felt that the pieces would come together in time.

Several days later, Ari asked Lou to have dinner with him. Seeing that Louise was hesitant, Ari in a stuttering tone said, “That’s all right. I just wanted to start learning the good restaurants in this city.” Then Ari said cordially, “Good evening, Lou.” And he exited the building, entered a dark alley from which he flew to Kansas to see his kids and break bread with his family.

As Ari was enjoying the company of the Miller clan again, Princess Louise of the House of Nassau — well-bred — was given a lavish twenty-fifth birthday ball where many young men from the finest European houses had been invited to view this beautiful and very marriageable young lady. Included among the guests were suitable and wealthy bachelors without titles, but were heirs or already possessed some of the largest worldly fortunes then in existence.

The following day, Louise Weil was back at her journalistic position at the Zarbeck Planet’s newspaper branch.

Ari did not return to Zarbeck for some days after his rather idiosyncratic behavior, according to Lou’s perspective.

While Ari was away with his children, four unsavory individuals, Pepe Falcone, Sir Lance Westcott, James Whittaker, and Lian Lothar, the nephew of the missing or deceased Lex Luthor, met for dinner at a swank super club in Zomania. They planned this get together soon after the Duchy of Zarbeck’s gala given in honor of Princes Louise Weilburg.

From the people invited, Pepe intimated, “I’d say that Duke Henri is husband hunting for his kin, Louise. He probably needs funds to run the Duchy and is auctioning the princess to the highest bidder to acquire the necessary cash to modernize the Principality of Zarbeck.”

“Since the end of the Second World War most of the surviving aristocratic counties or European houses have been looking for men or women with lots of available money. While Henri would prefer a decent chap for his kin to a matrimony for cash transaction, the most important commodity to the family at present is still to obtain mucho dinero — as much capital as is feasible. Fidelity doesn’t seem to count for relationships these days,” Jamie Whittaker added to their conversation.

“If they did happen to find a guy who believes in family virtues so much the better,” Lance Westcott replied to James’ statement, “but I’m afraid in today’s climate that’s almost out of the question.”

“By the way, Pepe, is that private airfield of yours still in operation and not scrutinized to any great extent by the Liechtenstein authorities?”

“Yeah,” Pepe replied to Lian Lothar.

“Good,” Lex Luthor’s nephew replied with a broad smile.

“Why do you want to use it?”

Lian replied, smiling, but still curious. “I want to bring some specialized merchandise into the continent,” Lian Lothar replied. “Contraband, some people would call this material,” Luthor’s nephew further commented, “which we could move about unnoticed. The profits would be huge.”

When the deal among the three friends was consummated over a bottle of superb wine, Lian wanted to know what was Pepe’s fee. “Nada,” was Pepe’s reply, “I don’t take money from bosom friends.”

“Gentlemen,” Lance Westcott, declared to his dining buddies, “I believe we have here the beginnings of an interesting relationship that will be very profitable for one and all.”

***

Westcott then added, “Let’s adjourn to a private room when we’ve concluded our adventures in good eating. There, my friends, we can talk without being overheard.”

About an hour later, four sleazy entrepreneurs entered a special soundproofed room and began discussing the formation of a partnership which would bring contraband products into the continent and quietly move them from country to country.

Before the four businessmen adjourned their meeting for the evening, it was decided that Lian Lothar would start to woo Princess Louise Weilburg within the week. Once word got around, Lian would be able to move about most of Europe acting as Louise’s chaperone. In the presence of the princess, Lian could help his friends by allowing them to accompany him on his chaperoned dates, at times, and therefore be able to transport prohibited materials with relative ease.

Although Lian made his intensions clear, Princess Louise of Zarbeck was still reluctant to see Lian Lothar often — she was dragging her feet as the saying goes. Because of the woman’s stubbornness the clandestine operation by the four greedy mercenaries proceeded slowly. Since money was the driving force, Lian always pushed the wooing schedule.

One particular day, Lian made an error in judgement. He inadvertently came by the Planet offices to invite her to lunch. As he entered Lou’s office, she was surprised and could just barely introduce Lian to her partners, Ari and Allen Jacobs. She became somewhat flustered.

During Lou’s introductions, Ari just stared at Lian Lothar.

After a few moments, Lian aked, “Do I know you, sir?”

“No, you don’t,” Ari responded, “but I know who you are.” Ari then smiled at Lothar, a facial expression which didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Using some pretext or other, Lian excused himself and left Lou and quickly exited the building. Ari then asked Lou, “Where did you meet that guy?”

“At a party on the day you asked me to lunch, and because of that affair, thrown in my honor, I had to refuse your lunch offer.” She then added, “You never gave me a chance to explain my plight.”

Ari then said, “I’m sorry. It’s my faux pas.”

She smiled at Ari and commented, “The gentleman is forgiven.”

“Now, Lou, let’s get down to cases. “Will you go out with me this Friday for a nice Italian meal?”

“You’re now firmly fixed on my Friday agenda, Mr. Ari Elinger,” Lou then responded with a bright smile.

“Now tell me. What’s Lian to you, and why is he in your company?” Ari asked. After a pause Ari added, “I know that I may appear obtuse, but that guy doesn’t get involved with anything unless there is a profit in it for him and his associates.”

“To my sorrow,” Lou said, “my family is attempting to auction me to the highest bidder. The object is my hand in marriage. I’m sorry to say he’s one of the individuals in the running according to my relatives.”

Ari said to Lou, “I’m aware that Lian Lothar is an exceedingly undesirable man to associate with your family — you know, I never met them.” Then Ari added, “By undesirable, Lou, I mean the demeanor of the big boss criminal type. I guess it runs in his family. Lex Luthor was his uncle.”

When Lou heard the name of Lex Luthor, she gasped.

Hearing Lou gasp, Ari said, “Please allow me to escort you to your home when we finish here.” Ari was worried.

At the workday’s end, Ari again stated, “Please wait for me, Lou, please. I must quickly check some editorials which must go to press by tomorrow morning.”

As Ari hurried off to check the editorials, he said to Lou again, “Please wait. I’m worried about your safety since Lothar’s identity and family tree were exposed to you.”

As time dragged on with his editorial check, Allen told Ari he’d check on Lou. Before Ari was aware what had occurred, Lou and Allen had exited the Planet building. Because of Lou’s nagging, they headed to the main boulevard leading to the principality’s luxuriant home area — Lou was in a hurry for some reason that Allen did not comprehend.

As Lou and Allen walked toward the main thoroughfare, a car moving at very high speed came rushing down the street, and as the car approached their location, the vehicle’s occupants started discharging automatic weapons as they closed in on the two reporters.

Allen managed to push Lou out of the way before he went down as a hail of bullets, which were obviously intended for Lou, the young princess, raked the area.

Hearing the burst of gunfire, Ari dropped the phone and was on the scene in mere nano seconds. Grabbing the gunmen’s vehicle he crushed it against the wall that lined the avenue leading to the principal boulevard in the area.

Ari then rushed to Lou and Allen’s side. Seeing that Allen was seriously hurt, the Kryptonian attempted to stem the flow of blood gushing from the body of his long time friend and associate. As Ari worked to save Allen, the elder man’s bullet riddled body was sinking into the abyss rapidly. As Ari worked on his friend, Lou joined him in his efforts. With tears rushing from his eyes, Ari desperately tried to preserve his friend’s life — Ari knew his attempt was in vain, but he had to try. That evening Lois and Clark, their kids and Ari’s children gathered in the room of the dying man now in a hospital facility.

Tira said, “Papa, Uncle Allen looks like Mama just before she went away.” Then Ari’s daughter began to cry almost hysterically.

Ari then took Tira in his arms and rocked her as her tears continued to flow from her drawn face.

As Lou looked on, she noticed that Lois had clutched both of Ari’s boys and tried to calm their behavior — still the youngsters wept terribly and continued to sob.

As Ari, his kids, and Kal-El and his younger brother’s family were saying farewell to a dear friend, Lothar was meeting with Falcone, Westcott, and Whittaker to bring to fruition a diabolical scheme he had locked in mind for some time.

While Allen Jacobs, the last of his family to pass through this world was being mourned, the four sons of evil were procuring weapon grade uranium.

Lian’s four comrades had agreed when their alliance was initially formed that all would help Lothar when a particular occasion occurred. That time had arrived.

Revenge now was Lothar’s basic motive.

Lian and his playboy allies, by pooling their monetary resources, acquired metallic uranium from the Russian Mafia that could be fabricated into several atomic explosive devices. Each of their final nuclear products was a relatively undersized and crude bomb which, thank G-d, did not possess the proper mass nor size required to produce a Hiroshima type mechanism, but could cause considerable destructive power when detonated in a proper location. Considerable death and destruction could be expected within a several block radius of the bomb’s detonation. Several of these makeshift atomic contrivances could cause havoc in Metropolis. If Lian’s group was successful, Lex would have his retribution upon the city that betrayed him. The crudeness of the bombs would be their cover. Terrorists would be blamed for this nuclear attack.

While Allen’s body was being transferred to his final resting place in the cemetery at the Miller’s homestead in Ulysses, Kansas, Lothar and his partners sailed on his sea going yacht, headed for the west coast of Canada. There, they would travel to Detroit on Canadian roads and cross into the United States at that point. Then, onto their primary target, Metropolis, New Troy.

As Allen Jacobs was being laid to rest, Lou was astounded to see young children guided by some adults streaking across the uppermost position in the Miller burial grotto as a sign of respect to their gallant comrade.

When Allen’s remains were at last gathered to his fathers and the service concluded, Ari said to Lou, “What you have observed this day is a dangerous secret, a secret as critical as when you learned of my special abilities. You must never reveal what you’ve seen this day. If revealed, the Miller family will have to leave Earth.”

“You have my word,” Lou responded to her soulmate and life partner. “Your secret is safe with me.”

He then placed his hand on her shoulder, kissed her on her lips, and added, “Your pledge is adequate for me and those of my family.”

After the funeral, Ari and Perry chaired a meeting with all the El family in attendance. Tira told her father that she would watch over Lou when she was transported from the Miller Place to Zarbeck. Within a few days, other Kryptonian emigres would also make their way to Zarbeck to help with the Planet activities in that locality.

Reaching Perry’s office, Ari met Lois and Clark and other family members who would be key players on the Zarbeck scene.

After Ari made himself comfortable, he was informed that Lian Lothar and his friends were now traveling by water towards Metropolis. Perry in his gut felt that some sort of diabolical revenge motive was behind Lian’s return to the States. Ari, his family, and friends, the Miller clan and their all inclusive Kryptonian brethren were even now searching for Lothar and the other knaves who accompanied him.

Several weeks after Lian and his compatriots entered Metropolis by clandestine means, six comparatively small atomic explosions occurred at various locations throughout the city. Before the atomic blasts had occurred, Lian and his friends were already on the their way to their European havens.

Soon after the nuclear detonations occurred, a contingent of Kryptonian warriors was on the scene rapidly isolating the deadly radioactive debris. After the deadly material was isolated and collected, the radioactive residue and any excess uranium were neutralized and removed from the city.

When the radioactive material was no longer a threat to the city, it was rapidly removed by the Kryptonian troopers as they departed Metropolis.

After the unrest within Metropolis escalated soon after the nuclear bombs were detonated, the authorities were grateful, but unaware, that it was the clandestine Kryptonians who were responsible for detoxifying the radioactivity within the City and helping to bring normalcy to the community.

As the people of Metropolis were continuing their clean up chores, Ari carried Lou back to her European home and began hunting for Lian and his sycophants.

Six days later after the hunt began, the evil foursome was located trying to escape Europe from Pepe’s airstrip in Liechtenstein.

When found, Ari and his people moved in on Lothar and his friends and surrounded these playboy terrorists.

As Ari’s brethren were sealing the area and apprehending those responsible for nuking Metropolis, Lois arrived in Zarbeck with the genome modification equipment. The forthcoming modification of Lou’s genetic codes, like her own, would provide the Zarbeck princess with her own Kryptonian superpowers. Lois, at Ari’s request, would teach Lou how to use her unique powers so normal Earth people would not be injured by her enhanced abilities.

Now Ari and Lou could confront Lothar and his confederates face to face without the possibility of causing Louise any injury from the deranged nephew of Lex Luthor or his supportive slime bucket partners.

When Ari and Lou at last entered the only building on Pepe’s airfield, Lian loaded and prepared to use his semiautomatic shooter. His associates were armed with other various kinds of powerful weapons at the ready.

Eventually, entering Pepe’s air terminal, Ari came face to face with Lian Lothar and his accomplices. Smiling, Ari said, “You’re all under arrest in the name of the Kryptonian republic.”

Sneering, Lothar commented, “We, my friends and I, are now going to leave this place and escape to a country that will provide us with sanctuary for the remainder of our lives.” Lian, after laughing hysterically, discharged his automatic weapon and emptied his revolver into Ari’s body with no fatal consequences. Lian Lothar then blanched and attempted to seize Lou who, in turn, grabbed his weapons and crushed them.

After the apprehension of the devil’s own and his cohorts by the police, the villains were escorted to the local court facilities, booked and confined in a special holding cell of Kryptonian design.

The following day there was a trial of Lian’s terrorists, the spawn of Satan. After sentencing, Lothar and his associates were found guilty and sentenced to be marooned on a prison ship circumventing the stars within the Pleiades astronomical cluster — according to Greek mythology, the seven daughters of Atlas.

Thus ended, for all time to come, the House of Luthor and its evil ways.

***Freedom of Zarbeck***

The next evening Lou and her soulmate, Ari, entered the main house belonging to the Principality of Zarbeck accompanied by other members of Ari’s immediate family — Kela and Kivi, Adam and Kitara, and Zara and Josh. After introductions were made, Prince Henri was confronted by a very determined Ari, the son of Lara and Jor-El.

The prince of the realm glared at the exquisite diamond engagement ring on Lou’s left hand. He yelled at his cousin and went to remove the ring from her hand. Prince Henri found that he couldn’t perform what he wished to accomplish. Then, Lou warned her cousin that the next time he attempted such a stunt, he would bleed and unfortunately experience terrible pain.

Prince Henri yelled again, “I’ll cut you off without a cent.”

Lou smiled, and replied, “You don’t have a cent to use for that purpose, as you are perfectly aware. The Zarbeck financial house is all but nonexistent.”

Then Lou stated, “Before I allow you to use the monies my fiance presented to me as a wedding gift, you’ll have to sign a document he has drawn up allowing me to relinquish these financial assists to you, my dear Duke, and the family to clear the financial obligations of our house and be used for the benefit of Zarbeck’s people. One of the primary conditions of this document allows any member of our family to choose the person he or she desires to wed. The second condition is based on monetary conservatism. A minister must be appointed who will control the monetary affairs of the principality, although he/she will not be allowed to control the Weilburg family individual resources. You may, dear Henri, have made a mess of those affairs. My beloved Ari and I are quite aware that Zarbeck’s current financial dilemma is not your fault, my dear cousin. You’re an honest person, Cousin, but unfortunately you just don’t possess the talents for the business ventures that are needed to keep our country solvent.”

“Never,” Duke Henri sternly declared to Louise.

Then, Lou told her cousin, “I’ll purchase our family estates when the principality declares bankruptcy sometime in the next month or so. The time that our country is not capable of paying its debts is not far off. If you force me to proceed in the manner in which I’ve indicated, my dear cousin, your family will be expelled from the principality’s estates never to return after Ari and I have acquired this land.”

“How do I know that you and Ari have sufficient funds for what you’ve attested?”

Ari walked to the large central table in the middle of the room and placed a massive quantity of jewels on the quartz center piece.

When the court jeweler finished his assessment of the diamonds and other valuable jewels, the value he quoted was seven hundred and forty-six million euros (over a billion dollars, US).

After the Jeweler’s announcement, Prince Henri took on a rather pale hue and had no choice but to acquiesce to all the demands Louise had placed before the family’s main spokesperson. “The money,” Lou then stated, “is a gift to our family so that it will survive with dignity.”

“Well, I guess we can look forward to a wedding,” Prince Henri said.

“That won’t be necessary,” Lou told her family. Ari and I have been married for about six months. Our nuptials took place in the state of Kansas, U.S.A. We can now celebrate our marriage and the birth of our coming children.” Smiling at Ari, Lou said, “Yes, my dear Henri, we’re pregnant. Three children are expected.”

Then Lou requested several acres of land on the principality’s estates to build a home. “Please make it an isolated track of land.” While there was no argument with Lou’s modest request, Prince Henri indicated that they were entitled to land way above the amount they had requested for a house, which Ari graciously declined.

“We want a home, not a mausoleum to live in,” Ari added.

Later that year triplets were born to Ari and Louise just in time to celebrate the completion of their new abode.

Below the basement level of Ari’s Zarbeck home, the Miller clan again secretly constructed a grotto with a circumference of about one hundred meters. In this hidden enclosure, Ari built a lab. A teleportation device was also installed within the hidden enclosure that connected the secret grotto to the other Kryptonian communities, which were spread over the planet. Also, a device which could fabricate stabilized neutronium and several interstellar spacecraft, made of the stabilized neutronium, were berthed within Zarbeck’s clandestine cave structure. The size of the subterranean grotto gave Mi-Ra’s issue and Lou’s own children, now one family, ample room to fly about and strengthen their super abilities and most importantly learn to control their unique capabilities.

After their moderate home was completed, Lou had her cousin Charlotte and her husband Henri for dinner. While Ari took Henri on a tour of the grounds, Lou and Charlotte had a heart to heart talk. As the women conversed, Lou’s kin spotted the diamond engagement band she was wearing. “Oh,” Charlotte remarked, “what a beautiful ring. Henri could never afford to purchase one for me. He was an honest administrator and used all the principality’s funds he could acquire to keep the government afloat. Still, he made poor investment decisions continually, which nearly caused a monetary catastrophe in our little country. I’m happy that Ari could pull us out of debt and still provide you with that beautiful jewelry piece. After that comment Charlotte said no more about Louise’s diamond ring.

Several days later, Charlotte, to her astonishment, discovered a small box on her night table. When opened, she saw a diamond engagement ring, which when appraised by her husband was found to be valued at nearly a million Euros.

Although Charlotte sought some statement, no note or name was ever found in the ring box. Charlotte did discover a single phrase within the box which contained her diamond. The comment said, “A sacrifice for the good of all should be treasured — enjoy.”

Although a word was never written nor uttered, within her heart, Charlotte knew who provided the exquisite diamond circlet and Charlotte fully understood the selflessness, trust, and deep friendship that went with the gift — her cousins were truly very remarkable people — one of a kind.

At the third birthday of Louise and Ari’s triplets, the parents made a birthday party and invited the entire community of Zarbeck to help celebrate a day dedicated to life. Food and entertainment were provided for all who attended the gala event.

After the lawn party concluded, there was a more formal dinner the following evening for the public officials and their families. Ari graciously allowed Henri to preside.

As the orchestra provided music, Henri, as he watched Ari and Louise dance, somehow knew that his cousins would dance in one another’s arms for all eternity and beyond.

THE END, June, 2006

If you have comments pertaining to this story, please contact me privately at phmogul@mindspring.com.

Addendum

(1) Jor-El: Sire of Ari-El and Kela-El- fraternal twins; Soulmate of Lara

(2) Tor-El: Jor-El’s sire

(3) Lara: Jor-El’s soulmate

(4) Kitara: Jor-El’s sister

(5) Sol Three: Earth

(6) Droid: Intelligent mechanical mechanism

(7) Michel Kivi Miller: Generally called Kivi

(8) Nigel Luthor: Lex Luthor’s sire

(9) Lori: Lori Lewis was the top investigative reporter at the time.

(10) AI — 26: Artificial Intelligent Device known as an Android

(11) STAR Labs: World famous Scientific Research institute

(12) Selar: Ruler, male; Sela: Ruler, female

(13) Ez-Ra and Ma-Ra: Soulmates and rulers of the Northern Ra clans.

(14) Lo-Ra and Mi-Ra: Daughters of Ez-Ra and Ma-Ra — Older and youngest in succession.

(15) Lord Poco: Member of Nor clan. A corrupt official and leader of the Kryptonian government assembly.

(16) Zara: Widowed youngest daughter of Jor-El and Lara. Husband was called Ching.

(17) Seth: Ari’s adopted son — Earth born.

(18) Adam and Josh: Cousins — Earth born. Adam and Kitara were soulmates — three children. Josh was Zara’s second husband/soulmate.

(19) Kivi and Kela: soulmates.

(20) Lara (senior)- Soulmate of Jor-El/ Lara (younger): oldest child (female) of Adam and Kitara.

(21) Kela and Kivi: soulmates. Three children: Davi, Hannah, and Adira — one male and two females.

(22) Ari and Mi-Ra: Soulmates. Three children: Tira, Davi, and Karmi. One female and two males.

(23) Zara and Josh: Soulmates.

(24) Kara: Lara and Jor-El’s youngest daughter; soulmate to Seth — children.

(25) Trey: Retiring leader of Kryptonian assembly — honest politician.

Page 288

Table of Contents

There and Back Again

Prologue

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11