Chapter 3: Overcoming A Phobia

10+ Advance Chapters on P@treon.com/Saintbarbido.

-0-

(Jon's P.O.V)

My initial excitement to see the Fortress of Solitude was undermined by the daunting task of copying a bird.

And by that I meant, to get there we would have to fly. Over land...and sea.

Now, Flight was perhaps the ability I wanted more than anything. On the other hand it was also scary just as it was thrilling. I think my phobia of heights had carried over to this life.

"Open your eyes Jon."

Dad told me with a chuckle, his voice clearly reaching my ears despite the gusts of winds passing by around us.

My fear of heights had led to me squeezing them shut the second we left the ground, hoping he wouldn't notice. Bless his heart, he had pretended not to for the last 5 minutes.

"N-no. I'm t-taking a nap."

I replied from his back, where I was lying with my hands around his neck.

As far as lies go...not the most believable. But I'll be the first to admit(to myself at least) that I was nervous. Scratch that, I was terrified of seeing how far up we were or how fast we were moving.

"You won't fall Jon."

He added in that perceptive way I'd come to associate with him.

"And even if something happened and you were swept away, I would still catch you."

He continued before I could come up with a counterargument.

'What if you had to save a plane and I was in the way? Or a supervillain attacked us and you had to fight him to save someone? Would you still protect me if that happened? Would you be able to protect yourself while worrying about me?'

Is what I wanted to ask. But I didn't. Or rather I couldn't bear to hear the answer.

It was selfish and self-centered of me to think I would still be his first priority in such cases. Even if I knew he would rather die than let me get hurt.

It made me feel like a weakness someone could exploit to get to him. And that fear of being a liability, trumped any phobia of heights I had.

'I can overcome this...no, I need to overcome it somehow...'

Wait...are we slowing down?

"You are afraid of heights aren't you?"

Dad softly asked, startling me.

"You always hide it. Even when we take you to the amusement park and your Mom asks you where you wanna go first, you end up picking the scariest or tallest rides to not ruin the day."

I could tell from his tone he was trying to be understanding.

But in my defense, we never had enough time to spend together. I couldn't let my fear get in the way of precious family time.

"But then, I notice how hard you hold on to me or your mom. And your eyes are always closed."

He revealed with a slight accusation.

That...I had no defense for that...

"Jon, it's okay to be afraid. I'm scared all the time. But don't let fear control you."

His soothing voice was filled with a calm assurance that pierced through my worries.

"Don't think too much. Fear is the invisible enemy lurking in the dark. And only when you confront it do you realize, it was just your doubt casting large shadows. You can do this, Son. Open your eyes and confront it."

I decided to trust him. This was a new life. The shadows of my last one had no power except what I gave them.

Steeling my nerves, I slowly peeled my eyes open, immediately gasping at the view spread out before me.

The sun was to our left, prominent in the sky. It was still noon, so the heat and solar light coming off it was incredible.

A laugh escaped me.

Now that I was not paralyzed with fear, I could feel my cells greedily soak in solar energy, replenishing the amount I had used up when Heat vision had awakened.

"I'm proud of you Jon, you confronted it."

Hearing him say that was everything.

Dad must have noticed I had spread out my hands, exposing my entire front to the sunlight as we suddenly started ascending, pushing through the clouds.

I tensed a little at the increased speed but thankfully kept my eyes open. Or I would have missed all of it.

"Wow..."

A gasp of wonder escaped me. From the height we were cresting at, the sky had changed to a beautiful starry night.

"Kryptonians absorb light from the sun."

Dad softly begun.

"And the sun is a star. Look at all these stars across the universe. Spread out over billions of light years. Our people may be gone, but as long as the stars burn bright, so to does their legacy continue. Death is never the end, my son. Not for us."

I nodded, entranced by his words and the magnitude of reality.

"Your mother...she tries, but she can never understand."

He sighed out in a whisper, chest deflating as we simply floated under the light of Sol.

Time lost meaning for a while. We chatted a little, but most of it was spent just enjoying the peace above the planet.

Here, nobody could disturb Dad. I think he enjoyed the break, the solace.

But as with all good things, it had to come to an end. We had a Fortress to see after all!

"I'll go a little faster now, hold on."

He warned as we dipped back down towards the earth.

The atmosphere screamed around us and sparing a look back, a funnel of air seemed to trail behind us.

As the speed increased, there was a sudden pop of pressure which I realized was a sonic boom.

We had broken the sound barrier!

Somehow I wasn't turned to paste. It wasn't even mildly uncomfortable. Dad seemed to have this...invisible field of energy that extended out to my body, protecting me from air friction and the G forces as we pierced through the cloud cover and started flying closer to the ground.

"Look down."

He directed my attention below us.

A wide stretch of Savanna grassland spread neatly out. With a herd of Zebras that scattered away from our passing.

"We're in Africa!!?"

I almost yelled, spotting a brown shadow pouncing on a gazelle.

"Is that a lion?"

Dad couldn't stop laughing at my reaction to every new thing we came across.

Cresting a mountain, running my hand through the surface of a lake in South Africa...- all this was turning out to be less about the destination and more about the journey.

Dad's speed shot up when he reached the Indian Ocean. This is where I realized he had been sandbagging for my sake.

Everything to my sides turned into a blur at how fast we were moving. The surface of the ocean below us parted from the force, forming ripples and tides.

"There's a storm up ahead. Don't worry, we'll go through it."

Dad informed me.

'Normal people would avoid it but you wanna go through it? Okay Superman.'

I thought, securing myself on his back just before we plunged through the dark clouds.

Blasting apart a massive waterspout over the ocean, I was surprised when in no time we were on the other side. With clear skies around.

Looking back, I gaped. He had unravelled a storm by merely flying through it.

The way I looked at him changed. Just how powerful was my Dad, really?

-0-

A few minutes later, a white shore appeared to our front.

Antarctica.

We moved above the desolate landscape without stopping, heading deeper in.

The air was notably cold and the sun was by now already past the horizon, inspite of the global positioning. I remembered in geography class that it set early and rose late on the South and North poles.

My ruminations were interrupted by a mountain peak quickly growing bigger to our front.

Dad slowed down and descended to an ice covered plain before the mountain peak which I now noticed had a massive door at the base.

"This is it. We're here."

He told me as I jumped off his back and landed on the icy ground.

My mouth hung open as I took in the sight before me.

The "mountain peak" was actually a structure created by large beams of ice laid on top of each other in a form resembling a pyramid.

The Fortress of solitude.

"So cooool."

"Close your jaw before it falls off."

Dad said with a chuckle.

I snapped my mouth shut, slightly embarrassed but hid it by running past him.

"Come on, Dad! I wanna see the inside!"

We approached the structure and I couldn't help but marvel even more, at the golden door with the El family symbol on it's face.

Up close, the entrance was even taller and bigger than it had appeared from a distance.

A keyhole above my head caught my attention, and I turned towards my dad with a questioning look.

Only to see him flying down with a large golden key as long as a bus.

"Sorry, I had to run and get the key from its hiding place."

he said, almost apologetically.

"How much does that thing weigh?"

I asked, curiosity piqued.

"50,000 tons,"

Dad replied nonchalantly.

My eyes widened in shock- something that was becoming a routine- as he inserted the giant key into the keyhole and turned it.

With a rumble, the door started to swing open, and warm air rushed out. Despite being made of crystals that resembled ice, the inside wasn't cold at all.

"Welcome, son, to our legacy."

He said as we stepped through.

The interior was magnificent, with intricate crystal structures and mysterious hallways branching inwards.

Dad started to tell me about our Kryptonian heritage as we moved through the main hall.

"Kryptonians were not only blessed by Rao to hold powers under a yellow sun; they were also more advanced than the rest of the universe- capable of creating wonderful things like this Citadel. A place that holds all of Kryptons records."

I was only capable of responding with 'oohs' and 'aahs.'

"But that advancement lead to them turning into isolationists. Maybe even racists. Perhaps, but most likely, that mindset is what caused their downfall and eventually Krypton's death."

He stopped, turning around with a serious expression,

"Jon, no matter what happens, never isolate yourself from others. For all the power in the universe, a lonely existence is not worth it. Understand?"

"Yes Dad."

I gave a firm nod, taking his words to heart.

After all, even if I managed to get everything I could ever want in life, without someone to share in the joy, would it mean anything?

Silence fell between us.

Rounding a corner, we encountered a sleek silver robot that immediately floated towards us, greeting,

"Welcome back, Kal-El. Is this your son?"

I looked at Dad in confusion. How did the robot know we were related?

"I registered your DNA into the Fortress's database when you were born,"

He informed me offhandedly before introducing the robot,

"This is Kelex, the Fortress's... housekeeper?"

Kelex's blue optics blinked, replying in the driest mechanized voice,

"A very underwhelming word to explain my objectives, Master Kal-El."

"And what objectives are those?"

I asked curiously, cutting in.

"To serve the House of El to the best of my programming ability," Kelex responded, adding,

"That also includes you, Master Jon-El. Summon me and I shall attend to you."

With that said, Kelex floated away, leaving us standing in the middle of the hall.

"Jon-El?"

I raised an eyebrow at Dad.

"Your Kryptonian name. Just as you have an Earth name, I preferred if you had one from Krypton. Do you hate it?"

he asked, scratching his head nervously.

Jon-el. Mmh.

The name did roll off the tongue well.

"No, I love it."

I replied, making him smile and pat my forehead.

To hide my embarrassment, I turned my focus to the Fortress.

"So where do we start with the tour? Maybe your trophy room, or the alien weapons vault? I heard you have a prison in here too. Is it true? At least a dinosaur! Batman has one, according to the superhero forums. Ooh, oh, how about the ship that brought you to Earth?"

Dad raised a hand to silence me, tapping his ear. A serious look crossed his face as he replied,

"No, I'm not too busy, Batman."

My heart sank.

There was a pause, and he looked at me apologetically before responding, "I'll be there in a few minutes."

Despite my disappointment, I kept a smile on my face when he turned my way,

"I'm sorry, Jon. A Kaiju appeared on the shores of Japan, and the League needs me there."

"I understand, Dad. Go and save the world, Superma."

The words came out easy, but left a bitter taste in my mouth.

He looked relieved and kissed me on the forehead.

"I'll be back in a few minutes. Don't touch anything, and if you need something, call for Kelex."

I nodded, looking on as he turned around and flew out of the Fortress.

The second Dad was gone, my face fell.

I understood why— he was Superman, after all— but the time I got to spend with him had always been limited. I thought today would be different. Special.

"Nothing I can do about that."

I sighed, turning my gaze to the crystal pedestal in the middle of the hall.

It had to be the Control hub for the whole Fortress.

Dad had mentioned the Fortress being a repository of all Kryptonian records. All that juicy knowledge was ripe for the taking. I was, after all, the son of Kal-El, the greatest Kryptonian in history. If anyone had a right to it, that'd be me.

My stomach growled, interrupting my thoughts.

'But first,'I thought, 'my human side needs sustenance.'

Taking a deep breath, I yelled out, "Kelex! Can you make me a sandwich? Like Ma makes them? Thanks!"

My voice echoed out through the entire Citadel, it'd be a surprise if the Robot hadn't heard me.

I nodded, satisfied, and approached the crystal pedestal. Almost as tall as I was, and even wider, it was made up of a large central crystal pillar, surrounded by smaller outcrops.

There was an empty slot in the middle of the main pillar, resembling a diamond-shaped keyhole.

A flash of realization hit me, and I reached for the necklace around my neck. Hanging from it, was a crystal pendant the size of a flash drive or looking at the empty slot...a key.

The base of the crystal pendant was shaped like a diamond with an El symbol. I had always had this necklace as far back as I could remember.

Slowly, following instinct, I removed the necklace and inserted the pendant into the slot.

It stopped midway.

With a slight press, the key sank in fully, making the whole crystal pedestal start glowing with a white light.

The light bled outwards, pouring into the floor and the crystal walls around the room.

I turned around, awe coloring my face. The Fortress gleamed even more beautifully now, and a sensation of belonging gripped me.

The light touched me, filling my cells with solar energy. I couldn't help but close my eyes and breathe in.

"You look just like him."

a voice suddenly said from behind, startling me.