The Chronicles of The Trinity on Earth-10: Part One - Superman

Chapter Seventeen: Month Three, Part One

1978 Reeve Ave. | Metropolis, New York
Monday, November 26, 2018 | 03:56 EDT

DAY ONE

Lois and I get urgently called to the Fortress, so we strip out of our pajamas, change into our uniforms and briefly wake Bridgette up.

She yawns and rubs her eyes, then blinks twice before looking at us both in uniform, saying, "Emergency?"

"'Fraid so, beautiful girl," says Lois. "You can get yourself up, dressed, and fed in a few hours, and to school on your own?"

"Well, at this point," responds Bridgette, "I'm not getting back to sleep anytime soon, anyway. I might as well start getting myself ready, now. I'll be gone, probably by six to get to a McDonald's for breakfast before I head to school."

"Alright," I say. "Have fun, eat well, be on time."

"Will do, Dad," replies Bridgette. "And you guys, whatever your emergency is, please don't die."

"Not a problem," Lois and I say together.

Fortress of Solitude | Arctic Circle, North Pole
Monday, November 26, 2018 | 04:05 EDT

When we get to the Fortress, we key in to find that Kara, Connor, and Karen are already inside.

"Guys," chuckles Kon-El, "we have got to stop meeting like this."

"Nice to see you too," says Lois.

"Seriously," he continues, "we should really consider getting together and maybe having dinner. Make it a family affair."

"We will, Kon," I say, "but we should probably see what this emergency is, first."

"Of course," he says.

At that moment, Jor-El's hologram materializes in front of us, and says, "My children, I have some urgent news. I was conducting a random mapping of the Phantom Zone, and I have detected three Kryptonian bio-signs."

"Other survivors?!" gasps Kara, who is just as shocked as the rest of us. "Are they criminals, Uncle Jor? I remember that you used to use the Phantom Zone as a kind of interdimensional prison for Kryptonian criminals who were the absolute worst of the worst. And the phantoms who already lived there were worse than the criminals."

"The analysis indicates three members of House El," responds my father.

"Who?" I ask.

"My younger brother, Zor-El, his wife, Allura In-Ze, and Lara Lor-Van. It appears that I did not survive Krypton's destruction."

"Well, what're we standing around here, for? We've got to go in and get them!" exclaims Kon.

But then, I look at Kara, and I can see that she's flashing back to her time in the Zone. She's panicking. She's definitely panicking. And now she's hyperventilating. I need to contain this. And quickly.

"Kara? Honey, what's wrong?" asks Lois.

"Oh, my god," panics Connor, "it was what I said! I completely forgot that Kara spent over twenty-seven years on lockdown in stasis, alone in the Zone!"

"But if she was in stasis and completely protected," asks Lois, "what's going on?"

"Connor never said that she was completely protected," Karen explains. "Even though her body was secured, and the phantoms had no way of getting to her physically, they still had unchallenged access to and could still attack her mind. Every day, 24/7, they would torment her, and because she was in stasis, she was completely trapped alone--with the phantoms in her mind--for twenty-seven years."