SSR Headquarters London, UK January 1944
Things at the SSR Headquarters in London were frantic to say the least. Captain Rodgers had radioed to inform them of the success in their mission to destroy the Nova 6 gas being manufactured in the Hydra castle in Belgium. No fatalities on the assault team and with how the castle pretty much collapsed into itself Dr. Maru and Baron von Strucker were pronounced as KIA. The German army was quick to move into the area, but the commandos and Taskforce Vanguard were able to escape successful back to France thanks to the Dutch Resistance. And to top it off, reconnaissance aircraft and eyewitness testimony from merchant ships and fishing barges informed them that the rocket sent from Castle Caldera to London blew up over the Atlantic meaning Superman was successful in stopping it and saved thousands of lives.
That was the end of the good news as the bad news was that the Howling Commandos and Taskforce Vanguard have not been able to get back in contact with Superman since their escape. Clark told them he would regroup once he took down the rocket, but they haven't been able to get in contact with him since they saw him leap into the air and hold onto the rocket for dear life. Either he wasn't answering, or the wrist walkie-talkie was destroyed. No reports for any of the imbedded intelligence agents, foreign resistance groups or even German communique that they found his body. With the fact that the rocket was seen blowing up over the Atlantic, the SSR requested the Royal Navy for search and rescue, and they did their best but with the German Navy still active they couldn't do much.
Peggy was in the SSR base going through files after files of intelligence reported from every single branch of the military in Europe on any possible sightings of Superman. They were sparse on details as they didn't want to cause a panic. If the Germans found out that the Superman was missing than it might embolden them for a counterattack. Not only that but they wanted to be careful what they said to the Russians because Clark could be injured or unconscious and if the Russians found out he was missing they might try to capture him. But that was in the least likely category as Clark was last seen over the Atlantic so how would be have gotten all the way over to the eastern front without them knowing?
Peggy noticed Colonel Phillips rushing to another meeting with his aid right beside him and his mood hadn't changed since he first learned Clark was missing so clearly he didn't get any new news. Howard was walking by having gotten a coffee and noticed Peggy's gaze towards the Colonel. He may not be a spy, but he knows a face of worry when he sees one, so he walked over in a genuine moment of sympathy.
"Peg…Kal's probably fine." Howard assured her. He sounded like his normal self to not give Peggy any kind of worry that he himself was concerned about Clark's disappearance. "He's probably just recovering and can't get in contact with us. Reports say the explosion was massive, so it likely broke my watch walkie-talkie. They're not exactly the most durable things out there."
Peggy kept a calm, stoic demeanor as she continued her work. "Thank you, Howard but I'm fine."
Howard knew her well enough to know when she was putting on a brave face and while this might get him a kick to the groin, he'd risk it. Howard tentatively touched Peggy on the shoulder in a genuine moment of sympathy. "Peggy…he'll be fine. And he'll be back soon."
Peggy took a deep breath and gave Howard a smile. Howard may be an insufferable playboy manchild, but he had his moments. Howard went back to his work while Peggy focused on her task. She looked at a map with a dozen pins scattered around and a giant question mark written on a piece of paper.
"Clark…where are you?"
?
[Distant rumbles, rustling of wind, & strange noises]
…
…
…
…
Pain…discomfort…unease…those were the words that pretty much encompassed how Clark was feeling.
His eyelids slowly opened themselves up as his blurry vision slowly began to focus. He wasn't quite sure where he was but from his vision he saw a large steep cavern wall. The odd part was that it seemed to be formed at an odd angle which is when he realized he was laying on the ground. A full body pain was all that seemed to consume him at first as Clark didn't know what hit him. His mind was still kind of fuzzy, but it began to clear bit by bit. The last thing he remembered was the V-2 rocket exploded. He jumped but was still caught in the explosion which hurt…but not like now. He felt when he was caught in the explosion, but this was different. He remembered his body being throttled around before a large flash of blue light…then darkness. He remembered nothing after that until he woke up just now.
Clark fought through his exhaustion and managed to push himself onto his back which was just as uncomfortable as lying on his front. The ground he was on seemed to be made of some very rough granite that wasn't flat so there were various pieces of jagged rock that stabbed him all around and they were rough enough that he could feel them through the carbon-polymer of his suit. But being on his back meant his face wasn't laying in it as that hurt. Other than the pain he was feeling, the fact that he was just lying on the ground, and it hurt was the more concerning factor. Now getting a better look at his surroundings he noticed some very peculiar things.
For one thing, the large steep cavern wall was one of two as Clark found himself at the bottom of a gorge and it was massive. Easily 100-feet high with narrow walls so he couldn't see more than the gorge around him. That led him to the second peculiar thing as the gorge was strange. For one thing, the color of the geology around him wasn't the typical brown, grey, silver, coal, and such but a hue of purple and there seemed to be streaks of a yellow-colored liquid running throughout like veins of gold or the veins of blood in a person. Clark felt the latter was a fitting description as he saw that the veins would occasionally pulse and glow. He saw a pool of that yellow-colored liquid pool up in the ground in various spots like water though he wasn't going to risk touching it. The third and final peculiarity he noticed was the sky looked strange. The clouds were a thick smog-like brown that were very dense as they seemed to bloat out the sky but there were small gaps where he could see rays of light come through only they weren't yellow but red. That jogged Clark's memory as he remembered when he first discovered Kelex and began learning about Krypton, one of the first things he learned was that his planet was in another part of the universe and orbited a red sun. According to Kelex, Kryptonians on their home world were no different than humans and it was only because of the energy of the yellow sun did they get their powers. If wherever he was had a red sun than he didn't have his powers which was likely the reason he was in pain. Though considering earth has a yellow sun…clearly something happened that transported him to someplace other than earth.
"Oh…great…" Clark muttered, managing the strength to get on his two feet. He wobbled a bit as his body was in pain, likely from whatever happened that landed him in the gorge which if he had to guess was likely a hard fall. He checked his body and found no bones broken and no excessive bleeding, just some scrapes, scuffs, cuts, and bruises. He saw his wrist watch walkie-talkie was busted, so he ripped it off since it was useless, but Kelex was fine, still in his disguised form as a watch. "Kelex, can you hear me?"
He saw the watch glow a bit before his watch turned into Kryptonian liquid-geo material and turned into a small Kryptonian hover drone. "I can. How are you doing Kal-El?"
"I've had better days. Are you all right?" Clark wondered.
"I did suffer a minor short-circuit and damage from the explosion but a quick hibernation cycle for self-repair and I am back at 100% operating capacity. I was several seconds from waking you, but you did so on your own."
"It's fine. I'm just glad you're all right." Clark cracked his back and moved around to ease up his stiff muscles. "Any idea where we are?"
"Calculating." Kelex scanned the area and tried to figure out their position. "I do not have a record for this planet or our current location."
"Great. So, we're someplace strange and I don't have my powers." Clark unholstered his Colt pistol, thankful he kept it on his person even with his powers and checked it to make sure it was working fine which it was. It was now his only means of defense. "All right. Let's figure out where we are."
Clark and Kelex traveled through the gorge in the hopes of eventually finding someplace that could give them an idea on where they were. The walls were too steep and too high to climb and despite the fact that they seemed to go on for miles Clark had no choice but to keep walking. Around three hours into the walk and Clark taking a few breaks as all the walking was tiring, the cavern walls of the gorge started to shrink in size, so they were nearing the end.
Clark walked out of the gorge to some kind of flat plain but still he had no idea where he was. If he was to describe it to someone it would be what many cultures would think of as hell. The thick smog-like clouds were all around and in the distance he could see a greater cluster of them and some serious lightning storms. Also in the distance were mountains and large active volcanoes but that was it. There was no sign of any kind of intelligent life and the planet seemed like a barren hellscape of a planet. That led to a big problem as it seems like he could explore this planet for days without encountering anything living and by that time he'd die of starvation.
"Great. Now what?"
"I am not picking up any kind of technological system on this planet. The smog-like clouds are causing some interference, but I have adjusted the range of my scanner through the openings, and I am emitting a distress signal as well as scanning for any kind of contact nearby to aid in our escape." Kelex reported. Clark looked up at the smog-like sky and saw that there was one area nearby where the smog seemed to be non-existent. That was mainly located to the east of their position near some mountains.
"Let's move over there. You might be able to get a better signal." Clark said so he made the long walk east to the nearby mountain. It seemed like that specific area was devoid of cloud coverage and if the smog clouds were providing interference than hopefully the clean spot would give Kelex the best signal and their best bet of escaping wherever they were.
An hour later…
[Grunts of exertion]
Clark reached up and grabbed onto a narrow ledge with his hands which he used to pull himself up onto a small alcove in the mountain. After a long and difficult climb which also led to him falling a few times, he managed to make it up. He climbed up over the ledge and rolled forward, laying on his back to catch his breath. Sweat poured down his face and caked his skin causing his suit to stick to his body which was uncomfortable but at least being at the elevation he was he was getting a nice breeze of air. Granted, the air had the faint smell of sulfur and coal which wasn't exactly pleasant. Thankfully his senses weren't super at the moment.
'What I wouldn't give for my powers right about now.' Clark thought to himself as he saw Kelex hover nearby and begin sending out a better signal. His new perch was compact but perfect to rest and now that they were in the area devoid of any kind of cloud coverage, Kelex's SOS signal would hopefully be better detected and get a longer range.
'Why do I have the feeling that this isn't going to be over quickly.'
And with nothing better to do than let Kelex sent out a signal and hope someone nearby picks it up, Clark just had to wait. And wait he did.
Approximately 30 hours later…
Over a day on this planet and Kelex hasn't received any kind of reply signal from his SOS. Over a day of Clark having to wait and live on the mystery planet which wasn't an enjoyable experience especially without his powers and no one even knowing where he was. And while he could breathe the planet's atmosphere it wasn't exactly a hospitable planet by any means. The sulfur smell was pungent and occasionally the wind would pick up intensity without warning forcing him to move further into the alcove for protection and shortly followed by the wind was a kind of acid rain. And lastly there were distant rumblings and earthquakes so Clark could add that to the list of things he didn't like about this place. Clearly this planets biosphere wasn't designed for allowing life to flourish.
[Rumble]
A deep rumble move through the ground jostling Clark awake. He was sitting in a small corner of the little alcove and had managed to get some rest only for that earthquake to wake him up. He glimpsed the small pebbles and rocks on the ground shake and jostle around in turn. He wasn't keeping count but that had to be the 10th shake he felt since he's been here.
[Rumble]
Kelex was still perched up outside the alcove sending his SOS signal, so Clark closed his eyes and leaned his head back to catch some more rest and take his mind of his growing hunger and thirst.
[Rumble]
He had already gone at least 24 hours since he last ate or drank anything. Normally this wouldn't be a problem if he was back on earth.
[Rumble]
Often times he could go for days without food, which came in handy when he and his team were on missions. Clark figured with the energy from Earth's yellow sun he wouldn't need to worry about eating like others would.
[Rumble]
But with the red sun basically robbing him of his powers and being human now, in a manner of speaking, it was something he needed to worry about. Clark did have Kelex try to find a nearby source of water but all he found were those similar puddles of the yellow liquid he saw in the gorge. The problem was that the liquid was sulfuric-based likely as a result of the distant volcanoes. If he drank that liquid it would likely kill him, and he had to fight the temptation as his thirst grew.
[Rumble]
He hoped Kelex's signal would be picked up soon before things really got desperate.
[Heavy rumble]
Clark opened his eyes as he felt the mountain shake rather violently. He may have only been on the planet for about a day, but he's never felt an earthquake that strong, not to mention their frequency was increasing. Clark got up and walked out of his little alcove and stood near the ledge where Kelex was still transmitting. "Kelex, can you find out what's going on? That didn't feel like a regular earthquake."
"One moment, please." Kelex performed his scan to try and determine what was going on.
[Heavy rumble]
Clark wobbled as another violent earthquake shake hit the mountain causing some debris to fall. He hugged the side and covered his head as large chunks of mountain came tumbling down near him. If things got really bad he was worried the entire mountain could come down. And to add onto matters the wind began to pick up with the force of a hurricane wind gale.
"Sir, if my calculations are correct I don't believe we are experiencing an earthquake. I'm detecting no nearby fault lines underneath the crust of this planet in our immediate vicinity."
[Heavy rumble]
Clark held on for dear life as another violent shake went through the area. He looked up and quickly moved to his left to avoid some rocks that came down. "Then what's causing the earthquakes?!"
"I'm currently tracing the shockwave patterns and their origins seem to be emanating from the west." Kelex pointed westward. It was the area Clark saw yesterday that had the greater cluster of smog-like clouds in the sky, lightning storms and the grouping of mountains and volcanoes. Yesterday he could see the area clear as day but now there seemed to be a large dense fog that obscured everything. He could see small clusters of red light likely emanating from the volcanoes and the flickers of yellow lightning sparked throughout. "The fog is obscuring my scans but that seems to be source of the shockwaves we are experiencing."
A lot of things were going through Clark's mind with the situation on this planet rapidly developing. 'If the earthquakes aren't earthquakes than what is going on?'
[Heavy rumble]
Clark stumbled around as another earthquake went off but much stronger than any of the ones before. Clark lost his footing and fell on his back when he saw a large crack run through the mountain causing a chunk to dislodge and fall down right where he was located. He rolled to the left and tumbled over the ledge just in time to avoid being squished but had a less than pleasant time falling down the side of the mountain. Kelex flew down and caught Clark, pulling him up into the air and placed him down on level ground.
"Thanks, Kelex." Clark dusted himself off.
"My pleasure, sir."
[Distant thunderous roar and screeching]
Another earthquake went off and now Clark realized that it wasn't one considering the fact he heard something roar. He had seen King Kong once in the movies when he was younger and the roar of it scared him as it did most kids. But this roar made that one look like a kitten meowing. Clark looked to the fog and saw it was actually moving closer to him. Then to his astonishment the flickers of lightning within the smog seemed to illuminate the silhouette of something. He had no idea what exactly it illuminated but it was massive, easily as tall as the buildings he's seen in New York. One thing he was certain of was that the silhouette definitely wasn't of a human, but he couldn't tell much other than it was huge, and monster had wings or at least what looked like wings.
"Sir, I'm picking up an incoming dimensional energy signature." Kelex warned him.
[Thunder clap]
Clark looked up and saw a beam of light part the dense clouds of the planet and he was its target. It moved too fast for him to react but when it did he could have sworn he saw a flash of colors from the rainbow. Clark and Kelex were engulfed in the light which soon disappeared, leaving behind a burn in the ground in the styling of ancient Norse ruins.
Clark had no idea what was going on but seemed to be traveling through a column of light. It was blinding to say the least as the light seemed to shift through various colors of the rainbow. It was dazzling as well as disorientating. During the travel Clark could see gaps in the column of light which is where he could see clusters of stars and the celestial bodies of the cosmos. Things that any astronomer would dream of seeing he had a front row view but again he had no idea what was going on or where he was going.
He just hoped it would be someplace better than where just was.
?
The source of Clark's mystery extraction was in a place that many would consider floating in the cosmos. A golden observatory floating in space that was connected to a crystalline bridge emitting the same kind of rainbow light that whisked Clark away to safety. The front of the observatory had a large conical point facing space and was the conduit for the light from the rainbow bridge to pass through. Said observatory was alive as beneath it was a large chamber were lightning flickered around. It was the engine, so to speak for the observatory and with the rainbow light from the bridge as the fuel the lightning was the engine oil that kept it running smoothly.
The location of the observatory lent to the fact that it was sparsely populated. Its sole inhabitant was also its gatekeeper and guardian. Wearing golden armor and a matching horned helmet, the guardian stood behind a mighty great sword that was inserted into a pedestal like the key to a door. The man was dark-skinned with a beard and had golden irises as he seemed to stare out into space like he could see everything.
The man was alone. A watchful guardian keeping an eye on space. "Kal-El is on his way home." The man announced.
"Good. That's good." The clatter of boots on the floor were heard as someone joined the guardian at his pedestal but their face and general appearance remained hidden by a large cloak. "The moment my spell detected his absence on Earth I grew concerned. I'm just grateful he had his drone with him. Tracking him down would have been much harder without it."
"There is much I can't see or hear. I, who can sense the flapping of a butterfly's wings across the cosmos or can hear a cricket chirp in Niflheim. Yet to have glimpsed the future as you have is something else entirely." The guardian remarked. "Though it does make me wonder why you have yet to introduce yourself to him."
"All things come in time, my friend. My moment to glimpse the future could be seen as a curse as many have suggested. Too much information for one person to know could impact what could happen but one thing for certain is Kal-El's importance in that future. His impact will be tremendous but for it truly to matter…his journey through fate must not be interfered with. His path is his own to walk and if what I've seen is any indication…he will be fine on his own." The mystery person said with a great deal of confidence in what would happen. "That being said, some outside help when things go awry isn't unwarranted. But we will meet when it is time."
"Fair enough, my friend. How goes your mission here?"
"My time here in Asgard has been most enlightening. Your people's friendly hospitality has also been appreciative. However, the time for me to depart is almost upon us as I must continue my journey." The figure revealed.
"Where will you go next?" The guardian curiously asked.
"I'm not sure exactly." The figure admitted with a thoughtful look. "However, I'm sure the path will reveal itself to me as it did when it led me here." He smiled "Life is unpredictable that way wouldn't you agree?"
The guardian returned the smile with a small one of his own. "Indeed, it is."
"Still, it is a shame the humans have created such death with this war." The figure sighed while shaking his head. "And all mostly because a madman found the Tesseract."
The guardian glanced at him. "Were you expecting the All Father to lend Asgard's aid in mortal affairs?"
"Considering the Red Skull killed the village of Odin's worshippers and stole it I would've thought he'd be vexed." The figure pointed out what he saw as the madman's disrespectful actions to the powerful god. "But then again since there's already one with the strength comparable to a god fighting against him I suppose he feels it's already being handled. After all you only get involved when the earth is threatened by outside forces do you not? As you did against the Dark Elves and Frost Giants."
"There are some things that the humans must do on their own. We can't always do things for them."
"For how else could they learn from their mistakes." The figure finished the familiar quote.
"I will inform you should something happen to Kal-El." The guardian replied.
The figure gave him an appreciative nod and walked away, his cloak bellowing in the breeze while the guardian never averted his gaze from space.
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