Second Chances: Superman and Lois - Rough Draft

Chapter 23

Zor-El was amazed as his nephew brought him to the Fortress of Solitude up in the Arctic, since while he loved his daughter and looked forward to seeing the life she'd made for herself on Earth, first, he wanted to see a small remnant of his former home, since it had been so long since he'd seen any trace of Krypton and he wanted to see it before he returned to Earth, since he had no idea if Argo City had managed to survive after all this time, since at the time his research regarding the substance that he intended power the city, Harun-El, had been far from complete when he'd been forced to repurpose it to protect Argo City.

"It's breathtaking isn't it." Clark said, pulling his uncle out of his thoughts.

"Yes it is. Thank you for bringing me here." Zor-El said as he looked around.

"There's no way you could come to Earth and not come here. Though Kara is still mad that you didn't give her a fortress of her own." Clark said with a smile as Zor-El chuckled.

"She'd have to take that up with your father if he was still alive, since he's the one who created the Fortress and refused to share the plans with me, probably because he knew I would improve them and give my daughter something better than he was giving you." Zor-El said with a chuckle as he looked up at the statue Kal-El had erected of his father.

"It was more because I feared you'd pervert it, since you clearly showed no hesitation in performing morally questionable experiments. For example, the Medusa virus." a new voice said and the two turned to see a hologram of Jor-El standing there.

"Brother." Zor-El said, wishing that he was talking to his actual brother and not just a recording.

"Hello Zor-El. How are you even alive?" the Jor-El AI asked.

"I sent myself into the Phantom Zone in a last ditch effort to save my life, after repurposing my unfinished research to create a shield that hopefully protected Argo City from Krypton's destruction. Remember, we only sent our children away to Earth because we didn't know for sure if the shield would work." Zor-El said.

"Of course. But how did you escape?" Jor-El asked.

"Fort Rozz crashed on Earth around the same time Kara arrived as you know and one of the prisoners was Astra's former husband Non. He sent her into the Phantom Zone as payback for doing the same to him. However, Kara managed to find Zor-El in the Zone and we brought them home." Clark said and Jor-El actually smiled.

"That is good to hear. I am very happy to see you, my brother." Jor-El said.

"And I you. Though I would prefer the real you." Zor-El said, though he knew there was a good chance that this was the closest he'd ever get to seeing his brother again.

"That's enough." Clark said, deciding to shut down the AI, though he was curious.

"Do you know if there's any chance that my parents might still be alive on Argo?" Clark asked his uncle.

"Honestly Kal, I don't know. I don't remember much about that day, but it is possible." Zor-El said.

"I hope so." Clark said as Zor-El placed his hand on his nephew's shoulder.

"Kara told me about your Earth parents. I'm so sorry for your losses and I wish I could've met them, since our family owes them the same debt we owe the Danvers family for taking Kara in." Zor-El said as Clark remembered another person they still needed to find.

"That reminds me. Kelex." Clark said as the android hovered over to them.

"Greetings Master Kal. And Lord Zor-El, this is an unexpected development." the android said.

"Long story, but anyways, Kelex, have you had any luck locating Jeremiah Danvers?" Clark asked.

"Kara's foster father?" Zor-El asked.