Earth-7 - The Fortress of Solitude - Deep Beneath the Earth
Consciousness returned to Arthur slowly, his eyes fluttered open, and for a long moment, he simply stared at the ceiling above him, a vault of crystalline rock, he blinked, his mind struggling to piece together the fragments of memory that remained. The battle. The Gentry. The corrosion. Raven's face, frozen in desperation as he pushed her away. And then nothing. A void. A darkness that had swallowed him whole.
Arthur sat up slowly, his body aching, his muscles protesting with every movement. His hand moved to his chest, where the Gentry's touch had left its mark, a faint, lingering cold that seemed to seep into his bones. He looked around, his eyes adjusting to the light. The space around him was vast, its walls lined with crystalline structures. There were consoles, and of most striking of all, a collection of suits displayed along the far wall, each one bearing the familiar symbol of the House of El.
His eyes narrowed. He knew this place.
Or rather, he knew a version of it.
"Fortress of Solitude," he murmured, his voice hoarse, barely above a whisper. "But this is not the one I know.."
He rose to his feet, his legs unsteady beneath him. His enhanced vision swept across the chamber, piercing through the crystalline walls, cataloguing the layers of stone and earth that surrounded them. They were deep far deeper than any base he had ever known, buried beneath miles of rock and shielding. A sanctuary or a tomb. A last stand against the horrors that had consumed this world.
A voice cut through the silence, "I see that you finally woke up.."
Arthur turned, his body tensing. his eyes found the figure standing in the doorway, as tall as Arthur with blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore simple clothes, his face was weary, but there was a warmth in his eyes that seemed out of place given the circumstances.
"Can't say that you slept a lot, anyway," the man continued, a faint smile playing at the corner of his lips. "It was about two hours, really. Maybe two and a half.. I've lost track of time down here."
Arthur studied him, his mind still working through the haze of unconsciousness. "Who are you?"
Then his eyes widened as he remembered.
"Raven! .. where is.."
The figure raised a hand, cutting him off gently. "Relax. Raven is fine." He gestured with a finger toward the far side of the chamber. "There."
Arthur followed his gaze.
Raven stood in the shadows, her form silhouetted against the glow of the crystalline walls. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her expression a mixture of relief and lingering fear. The moment their eyes met, she moved, crossing the distance between them in seconds, her arms wrapping around him, her body pressing against his with a desperate intensity.
Arthur held her, his arms tightening around her. He could feel her trembling, could feel the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes. He pulled back just enough to look at her, his hand rising to cup her face, his thumb brushing away a tear that had escaped down her cheek.
"Raven..." His voice was soft, "I'm here. It's alright."
She kissed him.
It was not gentle or restrained. Arthur responded in kind, his hand tangling in her hair, his body pressing against hers. When they finally parted, Raven's voice was barely a whisper, cracked with emotion. "I thought I lost you. I thought they.."
"What? Die?" Arthur's lips curved into a tired smile. "I've faced worse, I survived worse."
Raven's hand struck his chest, not hard, but with enough force to make her point, her eyes. "Just don't pull that sacrifice mode ever again. Do you understand me? I can't..I won't..."
Arthur caught her hand, his fingers intertwining with hers. "I kind of had to do that, seeing that you followed me here." His voice carried a note of gentle reproach, but his eyes were soft. "How did you come here? Was this Lex and Owl's doing?"
Raven shook her head slowly, her gaze dropping. "No. I used my magic to track your temporal portal and made one on my own, not knowing where I'll end up.." She paused, her voice dropping to a near whisper. "George told me of your plan. He was worried, Arthur. We both were. So I decided to come and aid you." Her eyes met his, filled with regret. "It turns out I ended up in a fucked up world. And I put you in a worse situation." Her voice cracked again. "I'm so sorry. If I hadn't.."
Arthur's hand cupped her cheek, tilting her face up to meet his gaze. "It doesn't matter now. I don't think I had a chance at beating them anyway." He paused, his voice softening. "You didn't put me in a worse situation. You gave me a reason to keep fighting."
The figure cleared his throat gently, "Sorry to interrupt your moment, but that's right. You don't. Have a chance, I mean."
Arthur and Raven turned to face him, their hands still intertwined.
The figure stepped forward, his expression serious. "I've been fighting them solo for a long time now. Two years, to be exact. I've exhausted all of my resources, and I still can't defeat them." He paused, his eyes scanning Arthur and Raven, there was something in his eyes, wistfulness, perhaps, or longing passing across his entire face. "Your Earth must be very nice. The way you look at each other, the way you fight for each other..." He shook his head slowly. "I almost envy you."
Arthur's eyes narrowed. "Thank but... You have yet to introduce yourself, who are you?"
Raven looked at Arthur, "You will not believe it.."
The figure smiled, he reached toward a console and pressed a button. Along the far wall, a set of suits descended from hidden compartments, their forms gleaming in the dim light. Each one bore the symbol of the House of El, the S that had come to represent hope across a thousand worlds.
Arthur's eyes widened. His gaze swept across the suits, then returned to the figure before him. He said in realization.
"So, they are yours... You..."
The figure nodded, his voice calm, measured. "Yes. I'm a Kryptonian." He paused, his eyes meeting Arthur's. "My name is Korin Zor-El. The son of Kara Zor-El."
Arthur stared at him.
"You are..." Arthur paused, his mind racing through the implications. "Kara's son?"
Korin's laugh was soft, almost wistful. "I see how this may confuse you. Raven explained everything to me while you were asleep." His eyes met Arthur's. "You see, I never got to see my father.. But my mother and Kal-El trained me. They raised me. They taught me everything I know." His voice hardened. "They died protecting me from the Gentry." He paused, his jaw tightening. "I've been fighting them all alone for the past two years. Every day. Every night. Watching them roam the world after destroying everything I ever loved."
Arthur was silent for a long moment, his mind turning over the implications. Then he spoke, his voice carrying warmth that surprised even himself. "You do look like her.."
Korin's expression flickered, surprise, then something that might have been pain, followed by humor. "It seems the Kara of your world is a man?"
Arthur blinked, caught off guard. "No, I.."
Korin's laugh was sudden, "I'm just joking. I know what you mean."
Raven laughed too, "He even has the same sense of humor. The same ability to deflect with a joke when things get too heavy."
Arthur's smile was small, but genuine. He studied Korin, this impossible being from a world that had been erased, "It can't be another Arthur's son, can it?" He paused. "There is only one of me in the entire multiverse."
Korin's brow furrowed. "I don't know, really. Like I mentioned, I don't know anything about my own father." He paused. "Although I have to say, I'm enjoying this. I didn't get to talk to people in a while now." His voice softened. "And both of you seem to know my mother... well, at least another version of her out there in the vast multiverse."
His expression shifted, becoming more serious. "Also, what did you mean by there is only one of you out there?"
Raven spoke before Arthur could answer. "Arthur is... well, a higher lifeform. He is human, but also not exactly human. Much like myself." She paused, her eyes meeting Korin's. "He can exist across the multiverse, and there can only be one version of him in all those worlds. He is unique. Singular. A fixed point in the chaos of existence, there are very few beings out there like this."
Korin's eyes widened, "I see... No wonder the Gentry couldn't corrode you easily."
"What do you mean?" Raven asked.
Arthur's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, tell me about what they used on me. I couldn't exactly escape it.."
Korin's expression shifted, becoming distant, haunted. His eyes seemed to look past them, into a memory that had been burned into his soul.
"Right... Where do I start?"
He walked toward the console, his fingers moving across its surface, he clearly had done this a thousand times. He pulled up holographic displays that showed images of the Gentry, their twisted forms, their cold, hungry eyes. The images shifted, showing the destruction they had wrought.
"Those five bastards," he said, his voice filled with hatred,"they use a power called the Anti-Death Equation. It is dark, mysterious, and very, very powerful."
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