A/N: I have changed some things in the previous chapters. You don't have to reread it since it was usually just a word or two in a chapter, but I advise you to read this A/N.
I wanted Shallot to be an adult when he arrived on Earth. Back then I didn't want to write about him growing up and gathering all the tech to create a gravity chamber because I thought it was boring.
He would have been around Raditz level, and he would only have grown significantly stronger after he finally build a gravity chamber, which in hindsight might have done well for an arc or two but now it wouldn't fit into some plot points that I already set in motion, oh well.
So, to avoid having a weak child protag, I used the Preserver as a major time skip, which I admit was just too long for it to feel anything but a nerf. The Preserver's main purpose was to deliver some tech to the mc and have the mc become a reasonable strong adult. (There are some more purposes for the mc's imprisonment, but since they aren't as apparent, I obviously won't reveal them)
It wasn't until recently when I had the 'revelation' to have the mc take over an older Saiyan who was 15 years old. With that nothing really changed in the previous events.
Just that the mc was only in captivity for a bit over 1 year and his power level is significantly lower, 5.300 when he escaped the Preserver. In turn, the gravity he trains under would be around 12G and not 30G.
In Conclusion:
His body was 15+ when he took over and arrived on planet Arva. He trained on that planet for 1 year and was imprisoned for 1+ year by the Preserver. When he arrived on earth, he was 17 and a few months shy of turning 18, and his pl was around 5.000-6.000 at arrival on earth. (He is obviously stronger by now)
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I quickly changed into my armor and flew up to intercept the increasing lifeforce that fell through the atmosphere like a meteor with no sign of stopping. As I got closer and closer, I realized that it was in fact a small spaceship even though from the distance it just looked like a big ball of fire.
There were some smaller meteors raining down around me, but I ignored it for the spaceship that didn't seem to have any intention of stopping. It could be like my attack ball, but I would rather not test that theory in case it lands on the ground like an egg on a rock.
I had anticipated its trajectory and appeared in its flight path just a moment after I had taken off. With a grunt, I received the spaceship with open arms while simultaneously flying backward in order to not have it explode on impact.
Stopping a spaceship with this kind of speed wasn't easy, but I managed to slow its descent with some effort. A few minutes later after it had slowed down to a stop, I was only a few dozen meters above the ground.
Fortunately, there weren't any people around to witness this little stunt. It was a quiet forest with just a waterfall nearby.
I carefully put down the spaceship and as soon as I did without my prompt the round glass door on the side opened up and someone stumbled outside the dirty golden spaceship.
There was some text engraved right next to the window, but I couldn't read it as it was an alien language. Either there was a universal language in the DC Universe, or the creator of a spaceship was dumb enough to write it in their local language. Well, maybe it was only to be interpreted by their people.
This little thread of thought was quickly interrupted by the more immediate problem in form of a teenage girl.
"Blond hair, baby blue eyes, and a teenager, maybe 16 or 17. Glowing green dust on the spaceship, which I would guess was Kryptonite. Oh, and the most obvious clue, the symbol of the house of El on her clothing."
Her radiant lifeforce was something I left unsaid as well as her beautiful appearance. I didn't know if it was just comics physics at work, but she was an otherworldly beauty. I used to loath that description, but I couldn't think of a better way to describe it. It was just fitting, especially since she was an alien...
[A/N: Supergirl (She obviously isn't wearing her suit)]
My words seemed to have attracted her attention. She took a step towards me and with a sudden burst of speed, she tackled me. If I was an ordinary man I would have been thrown onto my back, but I stood steadfast as she grasped my arms for support.
If her shocked eyes were anything to go by, she was surprised by her sudden burst of speed. Which made sense since she didn't have any super-strength before coming to earth and she should continue growing stronger with every second of exposed sunlight.
I willed the Kryptonite dust on the spaceship away and gathered it into a stone which I hollowed out with my telekinesis a few meters away.
The amount of Kryptonite didn't seem to be enough to be effective other than being annoying, but I wouldn't say no to it. It might come in handy, while I was still too weak.
She looked dazedly at the upheaved dirt she had kicked up when she had leaped into my arms. Honestly, I wouldn't mind going a round with her.
She appeared to be tough but not to the degree that I would be a smudge on the ground with a single slap, though I was pretty sure that would change in the following days with every bit of sunlight she absorbed. Maybe I should spar with her before she becomes too strong…
Well, I could fight her even if she was stronger, it was just more fun if the disparity wasn't too huge. Besides once she went to her cousin, she would probably go to the Kent's farm in order to control her powers or something. Meeting her then as a stranger would surely sound the alarm.
"You alright?" I finally asked after she had regained her bearings again. She looked surprised for a moment before she rapid fired some questions, I presumed. To me everything she said was gibberish. Good thing I had telepathy.
I linked our minds and started to translate our communication so we could understand each other. She didn't seem to notice the connection I built.
"Take a breath and calm down for now," I ordered after seeing her increasingly panicking. After I had 'talked' to her she was even more surprised than before. Probably because I had spoken a different language just a moment ago and she thought that we wouldn't be able to communicate.
"You can speak Kryptonian??" She asked in hope as her hands' squeeze increased to a rock-crushing grip. I was glad I wasn't human, otherwise, my attempt to help would have resulted in two broken arms.
"Not really. I linked our minds telepathically, so we could communicate." I answered while she watched my unmoving lips in surprise
She was quick in the uptake when she answered without speaking. "You mean like the Gil'Dishpan?"
"I guess? I hadn't seen much of the galaxy. You seem to be fine, but just to be sure you aren't hurt, are you?" I asked as I gave her a quick look-over.
Didn't want her to die on me and have Superman on my ass for failing her or something. Maybe he would think I was the one who injured her.
With that thought, I quickly scanned the surrounding areas, but I didn't feel him get closer. He seemed content with staying in the Arctic.
"No, but I… my parents they-" She choked up a bit and looked to the ground seemingly remembering something. She was already in my arms, and it was purely instinctively that I gave her an encouraging hug, which only made her bury herself into my chest as she started to bawl her eyes out.
Sometimes a hug would give the necessary push for emotions to burst through like a broken dam even with strangers on an alien planet. I tried to send reassuring emotions through the telepathic link.
Fortunately, I hadn't lost many people before I had died, but I couldn't imagine if I had received a call inside prison informing me of their death. The news of my brother being sent to the hospital had already broken me back then.
After a few moments, she calmed down enough. "I am sorry. It is all just too much. M-my father had believed that our planet Krypton was doomed, which was why he had built a ship to take me to planet Earth. They- they had told me that they would follow, but I was just about out when…"
She wiped her tears away, "… I saw them die, right before my eyes. And then there was that light, that awful, blistering light. Then, all I remember is darkness before I woke up here." She finished ruminating. She shook her head and gave me a smile that was trying to convey that she was fine while failing miserably at that.
"I am sorry to hear that."
Her lips thinned not wanting to continue talking about it. With a nod she quickly switched the topic, "So where exactly am I, Mister…"
"Shallot." She stretched her hand out and shook my hand as we introduced each other, "Hello, Shallot. I am Kara Zor-El."
"Hey, Kara. I am honored to tell you that you made it to your destination. This is earth. Oregon, USA, to be specific. There is someone in Metropolis who said that he was a Kryptonian of the house El. Maybe you know him?"
Her eyebrow jumped up and she covered her mouth in surprise. "This has to be Kal-El! Father told me that my cousin was sent here by his parents." Just after finishing, she sighed out in relief. She probably realized that Kal-El, her only living relative she had left, was alive and well.
"Wait. Did you just say, man?" She looked at me confused… Right, she was supposed to take care of him or something. She probably expected him to be a small baby.
"I think, your journey had taken longer than you had anticipated. Either way, I should probably bring you to him. He can tell you more about the powers you would be developing."
She grasped my hand into hers and looked at me with gratitude.
"Thank you so much. I wouldn't know what I would have done without you, but what do you mean with powers?"
Well, if it wasn't for me Superman would probably have found you in my stead. I wouldn't really be able to explain why I didn't bring her to him, but at least I could delay it. I could befriend her until then and in the future, I could approach her for a spar without being weird about it.
She suddenly realized something as she quickly took a step back while taking a peek at my face. Understandable, considering that we were practically holding each other.
"No need to thank me. We should head out soon. I will tell you more about your powers on the way. We will have to take a car to avoid attracting too much attention."
I ignored her confused gaze, instead, I waved my hand and created a small hole in the ground before I placed the spaceship inside. I then covered it before I heard a high-pitched shriek behind me.
I turned around and saw the future Supergirl racing through the air before bursting through some trees while uncontrollably rotating around.
I quickly caught up to her and grasped her hand to stabilize her in the air and prevent her from flying away. I felt her try to pull me upwards. "Calm down."
She looked at me in panic. It was probably a scary experience to suddenly take off into the sky without knowing if one could survive a fall from that height.
She calmed down as she focused on me while trying to ignore that we were hovering at 20 meters in height. She refused to avert her eyes from me lest she saw the sharp drop she would be suffering.
"Focus on what is making you fly. It is a power coming from within you. Close your eyes and feel the elevating force counteracting the gravity that is pushing you down."
She closed her eyes and tried to follow my instruction as I continued to guide her. I could only use my experience of using ki or telekinesis as a point of reference, so giving generic advice without going too much into detail should be more helpful.
She scrunched her eyebrows into a frown as she tried to control her flight. Her ki didn't seem to change at all apart from increasing. She tried to force herself to the ground, however, instead her pull into the sky increased.
"Don't try to replicate the force that lifts you into the air, instead loosen up. Try to relax like you would relax your muscles. It is your power so it will follow your command with ease. You don't have to force it…"
Slowly but surely her pull upwards decreased and instead she hovered around. She hesitatingly opened one eye as she peeked around. She released a relieved sigh as she fully opened her sight to the forest below us.
Her face lit up as she enjoyed the view. I let her hand go and gave her some space to enjoy her first flight. Her eyes shone with excitement. Not a second later she lowered herself into the thicket of the forest before weaving between the trees.
I told her the direction to the city, and she quietly followed the direction as she enjoyed her flight thoroughly. It was a normal forest but the change in perspective by flying made everything seem a bit more special.
At one point I nodded at her and told her to land. "Be sure to not fly into the ground. Just float for a while before you slowly lower yourself." I landed below her as she followed my guide and landed without mishap. It wasn't the fastest way to land, but it was the easiest and safest.
The forest opened up in front of us and we were greeted by the sunlight. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she enjoyed the sunlight lighting up her face before she turned to me.
She was already showing signs of super strength, resilience, and flight. I wonder when her heat vision will show itself.
Didn't want her to burn down the forest, but it would be better than having her cut some people in half because she accidentally activated it. A few hundred meters away were some houses, so before we headed there, I had to make sure that she knew of it.
I thought about everything I knew about the heat vision as I looked at her as we stood next to each other just at the edge of the forest. Unfortunately, I didn't know much about how to trigger it. Maybe anger would do the trick?
"Why did we stop here?" She asked flustered as she averted her eyes for the city in the distance. Her face was still flushed red from the excitement of the flight.
"For your first flight that was not half bad. It will only get easier in the future." I started with some praise, which seemed to have delighted her.
"There is something else your cousin can do. It is called heat vision. Try to trigger it, if you know how it feels when activating, then you might anticipate it in the future. I think it might be triggered by anger, but I don't know anything specific."
"Heat Vision?" She stared at me confused for a few seconds. I gave her some time to give it a try or formulate a question, though I knew I wouldn't be able to answer anything too specific about it. I could somewhat replicate it with a ki attack, but it would definitely have another feel to it.
I waited for her for a few moments. It was good to distract her with how to control her powers than let her dwell in the tragedy she had to go through not long ago from her point of view.
Just as I was about to reassure her not to pressure herself too much, I quickly tilted my head as I dodged the laser beams coming out of her eyes. Her eyes widened in surprise as she was instantly brought out of her thoughts before she quickly clenched her eyes shut.
She covered her eyes with her hands and her hands lit up as if the laser would break out of it any second. I tried to calm her over the telepathic link and after a few breaths, the sudden red glow that shone through her hands slowly dimmed again.
It took a while before she overcame her fear and opened her eyes again. She sighed out in relief as she saw that I was unharmed, which couldn't be said about the trees had suffered the full brunt of her attack.
"You good?" I asked as I saw her terrified look when she saw the trees that were felled by her heat vision. Luckily, they weren't ignited. Somehow.
"Me?! What about you?!" She asked me in disbelief. Obviously, I knew how Kryptonians weren't able to fully control themselves when they first got their power, so I had my guard up the entire time.
"I am fine. Even if I hadn't dodged, I wouldn't have died." I reassured her with a smile. "Nevertheless, I think we should refrain from bringing you into the city for now. Most humans of this earth wouldn't be able to dodge your heat vision."
She nodded discouraged but it wasn't like she couldn't understand the danger she posed to those around her. "Let's just go to my house, it is a bit outside of the city and the place is big enough for you to let off some steam. If you feel your heat vision activate just shoot it in the air or straight into the ground."
We were only going there to get my car and some food. She would probably need a lot of calories as well. I dimly remembered that Kryptonians ate a lot.
It didn't take long for us to arrive even though we were walking there. I had purposely chosen a residence outside the city. The land was cheaper, and it was more secluded, so less curious eyes.
It would also prevent some neighbors to call the police when I try to power up. That was the advantage of having a lot of land between your neighbors. On the way to my home, she was looking around in fascination at every and anything
After going inside, I quickly changed, got my keys, and packed my lunchboxes into a bag I had laying around before I handed it to Kara for her to put on the backseat of my car. I could have used my telekinesis but might as well give her something to do.
She was quite flustered as she was looking around in wonder when I handed her the food. She probably had never seen the household utensil I had. Even though they were the most modern types money could buy, I doubted that they would come anywhere close to what they had on Krypton.
I doubt anything on Earth would resemble what she had back on Krypton. Different cultures, the level of technological advancement, and all that jazz would without a doubt alienate any resemblance of man-made objects.
I showed her how to adjust the chair before I got into the driver's seat and took off to Metropolis.
It would take some time until we would arrive, but that was why I used this approach. If I had called the Daily Planet to deliver a message, Superman would arrive at my home after a few minutes at the earliest and a few hours at the latest.
That was too short for me to get my spar with her or to befriend her really. If I said I would bring her to her cousin, while teaching her about Earth and how to control her powers by sparring with her, she would not only be grateful but welcome it instead.
We sat in silence for a few minutes with her looking outside. "Thank you…" She quietly mumbled as I took us onto the highway. I looked over and saw her asleep with her head leaning against the window. Tears were rolling down her cheek.
…
I drove until late evening and only after it was time for me to refill the car, I stopped at a gas station. It was just when I put the pump inside and let it refuel that the teenage Kryptonian moved. The car coming to a stop seemed to have awakened her.
I had the door open and peeked inside as I saw her rub her eyes tiredly. Shortly, she looked around confused with rising panic. She only calmed down when she saw my familiar face. Although seeing me also solidified what she had experienced wasn't just a nightmare.
She looked downcast as she dwelled in thought, no doubt thinking of the day before. After all, it wasn't long since she had lost everything and was stranded on an alien planet.
"We will have to refuel the car. We can get into that building and get us some snacks. You probably want to refresh as well."
She wiped away the dried tears before she nodded quietly as I guided her to the restrooms. It was one of those that you had to pay to get inside and since it was early in the morning, it was on the cleaner side.
Well, I couldn't tell if it was the same on the women's side since I obviously didn't go inside there with her, geez.
As I was buying some snacks and paid for the gas, I felt a hesitant Kara telepathically ask me how she was able to flush the toilet. After telling her how to do that, even though she didn't ask I told her how to use the sink, and the dryer, she got out with a red face.
I kind of predicted that which was why I had kept our telepathic link connected.
We went on a short walk to stretch our legs before we searched for a place to have our late-evening dinner. There weren't any chairs available, so we opted on resting on the backseat of my car. I brought out the lunchboxes we had brought with us and dug into them.
Just as we were done, and I suggested that we kept moving, her voice sounded out awfully fragile.
"C-can we stay here for a moment?" She asked as she hugged my arm and started crying into my sleeve. Never would I have associated the future bold Supergirl to the frail girl that was currently breaking down.
I put my arm around her and pulled her closer as she started to bawl her eyes out again as we sat on the backseat of my car.
…
"Come on, again! Pivot on your lead leg!"
With a battle cry, Kara lunged at me and followed a combination I had taught her. I caught her punches and kicks with my arms and my abs.
In the beginning, she had been hesitant to attack me, but she got more comfortable when she noticed that it was a perfect opportunity for her to vent.
I also taught her how to adjust her strength to some degree. For some reason, she couldn't sense her ki, even though with her amount it should have been easier than for any human.
Despite the difficulties, by now she was able to restrain herself to a manageable degree. However, it would take a while until she could handle normal humans without breaking them apart with a punch.
I had drilled some kickboxing combinations into her and some other moves from other disciplines. My style was more free-flowing by now, but any basics could be quickly picked up by anyone. She wasn't the best, but she could hold herself in a fight even if she wasn't a Kryptonian.
The fact that she was incredibly smart and seemingly natural in fighting was without a doubt helping her get stronger and master her powers. Though she would need Superman's help to learn the weird quirks of the Kryptonian's physique that I obviously didn't know about.
She slumped to the ground exhausted by the daily training session I had put her through. We had been driving for 3 days by now. It was a long drive from one coast to the other. I also liked to sleep sometimes.
Today, I had suggested to her to fly the rest since she was able to reasonably control herself, but she had refused. She didn't want to rush it and instead wanted to enjoy the rest of our little trip.
I brought her a towel and carried her to the table on which was some fast-food we bought on the road. Expectedly, she was quite willful, not unlike any other teenager. After every training session, I had to carry her to the table, or she would just stay on the ground, appearing almost lethargic.
"So tomorrow we will arrive?" She asked somewhat sorrowful as she nibbled on her burger and blankly stared at the table.
"Not excited to finally see your cousin again?" I asked as I brought another chicken wing to my mouth.
"No-yes… I don't know. It's just that he seems to be doing fine. He is Superman. Hero of Metropolis, of the world really. He already has built a life here. I don't want to burst into his life and ruin it."
I stopped eating and flicked her forehead with a finger which made her glare at me. "I am sure he would love to know a relative was still out there. Besides, I think you would both do well to have each other in your life. Someone who could understand him and someone who could understand you."
I had to say Kara grew on me on our short trip. Before her, I didn't quite realize it, but I still found it hard to see normal humans as my equals, which was ironic since I used to be a normal human not more than 3 years ago.
It's not like I find their existence worthless or didn't like some of them, but it was just different to interact with someone like Kara.
Someone as strong as Kara, I could recognize. Her lifeforce was so prevalent that it was hard for me to ignore it as I did with 99 percent of humans on this planet.
"Thank you." She said, looking at me with a bright smile on her face, completely overshadowing her downcast expression a moment ago.
"But..." She continued, "...you seem to understand me perfectly as well." Her mind seemed to wander as her eyes wandered down to my lips, not unlike before when she figured out that I was communicating with her telepathically.
She quickly averted her eyes, and a faint blush complemented her cheeks. She blushed more often recently and previously I had thought it was because of her training or embarrassment, but there were only so many signs that I could ignore before figuring out that she might blush because of me.
I didn't know if every Kryptonian was as beautiful as she was, but it was definitely on another level on this planet. Some of the celebrities here had that comic look as well. They completely put most celebrities and models of my past world to shame.
It sometimes surprised me how good some of them looked, but even weirder was that I knew I wouldn't lose to anyone appearance-wise either.
In the past, I wasn't bad looking either, but I had a more intimidating look to me, which had helped me keep some of the other prisoners at arm's length but other than making women afraid to walk in front of me at night, I didn't have many positive experiences with the opposite sex.
To have a girl my age group blush when she looked at me when I changed or when we made prolonged eye contact was an experience, to say the least.
After training, she continued to learn English at an almost unbelievable pace. With her pace, it would take her only a week until she was fluent in the language. A Kryptonian's brain was truly enviable.
Of course, I could do the same as a Saiyan, but anything other than fighting or something that indirectly affected my combat abilities was difficult to learn. It just didn't stick as well.
We put down the seats, so we could lay down to sleep. I had suggested continuing driving for a few hours to a motel, but she said that she liked the atmosphere when sleeping in the car more.
It didn't really matter too much for me since I could sleep pretty much anywhere…