The Lost City by mobiusklein

[teot]

Title: The Lost City
Rating: R
Word Count: 9,561
Cover: Cover #2
Summary: Krypton was Lex's lifelong obsession. He didn't expect to crash land there and find another one.



The Lost City
by mobiusklein

As the life capsule plunged through the atmosphere, Lex Luthor looked at his control panel and hoped that the mysterious energy source on the surface of the planet was a sign of civilization. There were more energy sources on the planet’s moons but the moons were much farther away. I can’t land next to it but there’s a ocean within a hundred miles, he thought as he put in the coordinates.

Three Months Ago

“My name is Helen Bryce,” said the dark-haired woman as she sat in front of his desk in his corporate office. “I’ll be the medical officer on this expedition.”

“I’m Lex Luthor but you can call me Lex. You’re . . . representing Edgecorp’s interest in this joint venture?”

“That’s right. You really believe that there’s a planet Krypton?” Her cool manner and raised eyebrow radiated skepticism.

“Yes, I do. They left various artifacts and proofs of their presence on our planet in the ancient past.”

“I see. Perhaps we should talk about this in a more relaxed setting.”

“It would be nice if we did get to know each better,” he said.

“And now I know you to be a murderous soulless witch,” he muttered as he stabilized the life capsule. Trying to remember the last thing he was doing before he woke up to find the ship set for a collision course toward a sun, he thought, She must have put a sedative in my champagne. We were celebrating the surprise discovery of some other planet that was not only rich with minerals and metals but was also habitable. With me gone, Edgecorp can not only try to claim full possession of the planet but take over my company upon news of my ‘death.’ And who can prove anything if the evidence is light years away and destroyed by a nuclear furnace. As for the pilot, he must have been in on it too, he thought remembering how utterly trashed the cockpit had been.

He looked up the data on the planet below. Looks like she just altered course slightly so the ship still went to Krypton’s solar system, just not toward the planet. The atmosphere is breathable. Unlike the last one, it’s already inhabited. I won’t know until I get there whether that works in my favor or not. He quickly did an inventory of the few supplies the life capsule had. I have water for a few days, some emergency meal bars, a small tool kit and a multi-purpose scanner. A few hundred miles of unfamiliar, even hostile territory . . .

He was interrupted by the computer telling him that impact was imminent. He closed his eyes and felt the jolt as the capsule hit the water . . .

Earlier that day

“Still sulking about Na-La, Kal-El?” said a tall, lean woman dressed in a beaded tunic who was sewing a new coat for her son in their house while he ate the stew she had cooked.

“I am not sulking,” he said while pouting.

“You’re doing an admirable imitation of it.”

“She’s the chief’s daughter. Ever since her last birthday, many of the others have started to fight over her.”

“I know you went to see Assanda the seer this morning. What did she have to say about that?”

“She didn’t see Na-La in my future but told me that a sign would fall from the sky.”

“Hmm,” said his mother, rather unimpressed by Assanda’s vision. “Why don’t you at least go to the
ocean and see if you can’t catch some fish? At least you can do something useful while you pity yourself.”

Kal-El scowled but took his fishing gear and walked out of the house.

The seashore was far but the land was flat so it didn’t take long for him to get there. He was about to cast his line when he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head.

He awoke to find himself on a small boat, his hands tied in front of him surrounded by five ugly men dressed in grey shirts and black pants. “What do you want?” he said.

“We want to know where your tribe is . . . “ said a nasty looking one with a heavy accent, holding a big knife in front of his face. Kal-El looked over his shoulder to see a large ship in the distance.

Before Kal-El could respond, there was a sound from above that was louder than thunder and he looked up. The sailors tried to row away in vain but something large and white plunged into the water next to them, upsetting the boat and spilling the men into the water. Kal-El dived after the knife that the sailor had dropped and cut himself loose from his bonds. He swam towards what had fallen from the sky and watched as the sailors scrambled back into the boat and quickly rowed away. The few sailors who weren’t rowing made signs with their hands as if warding off evil. Evil or not, you saved me, he thought as he held on to the craft that was slowly but surely making its way to land.

Once the life capsule had beached itself on the shore, Lex punched in the command for the door to slide open. Lex slowly raised himself to a sitting position and saw a handsome man, dripping wet, with green eyes and long dark hair dressed in little more than a loincloth. He felt a little afraid at the way the man was staring at him with his lips parted. Of course, anybody would be stunned at my sudden appearance, he thought. Lex frowned and tried to remember the Kryptonian he had learned from his excavations in South America and Egypt. “Hello, I am Lex Luthor. What is your name?” he said, hoping the man understood.

The man gasped, “My name is Kal-El. Are you from one of the moons?”

“Moons?” Lex said. “No, I’m from a different place.” Is he talking about space travel or in terms of mythology? I don’t particularly care for being mistaken as a spirit or a demon, he thought.

“Different?”

“I’m from a place called . . .” said Lex, trying to remember the Kryptonian name for Earth. “It’s called Sol. I don’t even know if that means anything to you.”

“Sol? I have heard about it in stories.”

Stories . . . thought Lex. He felt terribly deflated. Am I going to end up like Robinson Crusoe?

Kal-El said, “You saved my life. I was about to be kidnaped by those men from that ship.” He pointed toward the large ship in the distance.

It reminded Lex of drawings he had seen in history books of the ships around the time of Christopher Columbus. The sight of such a ship further depressed Lex, confirming that the present level of technology of the current civilization was not as high as Earth’s. Yet there is supposed to be an energy source that’s indicative of high-level technology . . . “It was actually an accident. I . . .”

“Even so, I thank you.”

Lex smiled. At least the first Kryptonian he had met was friendly. Maybe the rest of his luck would be just as good. “I wonder if you could help me.”

“I can try.”

“I wonder if you know anything about what may lie . . . “ He took out his scanner and checked the sensors and was relieved to see that it still registered high level of energy towards the north-eastern direction. “In that direction,” he said pointing in the direction his scanner indicated.

“There’s an old city from the Age of Miracles called Kandor.”

And I need all the miracles I can find, he thought as he stood up and got out of the capsule. He filled his pack with his supplies and slipped the scanner in his pocket. “I thank you for telling me all this. I really should be going . . .”

“No, wait!”

“Is something wrong?”

Kal-El felt terribly embarrassed by his outburst. He knew that if had simply let him walk away, he would never see him again though why that bothered him, he couldn’t quite say. “It’s getting late and you don’t seem to have a lot of supplies. You should have dinner and spend the night before you go.”

“You don’t mind?”

Kal-El shook his head. “No, it's the least I can do. Also, I have to tell the tribe about what I saw as quickly as possible. If you were to come with me, you can say that you saw the ship too.” Pale, bald and thin, the man was not someone that members of his tribe would find attractive but he couldn’t stop looking at him, especially when he was smiling.

As they walked back to the village, Lex said, “What do your stories say about Sol?”

“They say it is a land with a golden sun, that everybody lives forever, never gets sick and can fly.”

Lex had heard of similar stories about how Kryptonians saw Earth from the Kawatche legends. “The only thing the story is right about is the golden sun . . . Kal-El?”

“Yes?”

Lex felt reluctant to ask this question but felt it necessary. “Your people don’t travel to the stars anymore, do they?”

Kal-El shook his head. “No.” Seeing the unhappy look on Lex’s face, he said, “Is something wrong?”

“I’m afraid I’m stranded here. My ship was about to plunge into the sun. I barely escaped in the capsule that I was in.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“You mentioned the Age of Miracles?”

“It was before the plague when everything was possible. Once the plague hit, bodies began piling up inside the city . . . People abandoned Kandor, hoping to escape the fever but it seemed to follow them to the countryside and the other cities. The people who lived on the moons were already calling for independence from Krypton. Once the plague spread, they decided to cut off all ties with us in order to keep their own people from being infected. When the plague finally burned itself out, the world was nearly depopulated and the civilization collapsed.”

“What about people on the moons?” Lex said, remembering the energy signatures he saw prior to crashing on the planet.

“As far as we know, the people on the moons are still alive but decided that they didn’t want to send people or equipment to Krypton to help rebuild. Nobody has ever come back here.”

“Looks like they’re not going to be much help in getting me home.”

“They don’t even help their own people. Why would they help you?” Kal-El said bitterly. Upon seeing Lex looking depressed, Kal-El felt like biting his tongue. “My bitterness is towards them, not you. Perhaps they will help you because you’re not of Krypton.” He reached over and gave Lex’s shoulder a squeeze.

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning on getting help from them in the first place.” Though, he thought, that does tend to narrow down my options.

Lex was nervously sitting next to Kal-El as they faced the chief of the tribe in a small house made of straw. “I have listened to Kal-El’s story. I thank you for saving a member of our tribe,” said the chief, who was dressed in a wool robe with the colors of royal blue, crimson and gold. He was almost as tall as Kal-El with dark hair streaked with grey.

“I really . . .” said Lex, a little embarrassed to be thanked for what was essentially an accident.

“The tribes south of us have told us rumors of men in great ships who destroy villages and steal women. I have decided that our people will move further inland and to higher ground until the coastal tribes have decided what to do about this common enemy. We owe you a debt for allowing Kal-El to warn of their arrival this far north. I hear that you are planning on going Kandor.”

“Yes, I am trying to find a way to contact my people so they can take me home.”

The chief frowned. “Nobody goes there. Everybody knows that it is the City of Death. Many are afraid that it is haunted by the ghosts of the millions who died there. Others feel that to enter the city is to be struck down dead by the gods. Do you still insist on going there?”

“I will take my chances. Because I am not from around here, perhaps I will be spared. In any case, the only life I’ll be risking is my own.”

The chief sighed. “I will lend you one of my horses.”

“You’re quite generous,” said Lex. “I apologize that I have nothing to give in return.”

“Chief, I was thinking that since Lex appears to be someone who understands the way of the ancients, I could accompany him. Perhaps we could find something in the lost city that can ward off the men who come from the sea.”

“Kal-El?” said Lex.

The chief sat in silent thought for a while before saying, “Ordinarily I would not permit it but these men represent a major threat. If it was just a matter of one ship . . . I would not worry so much but the stories I have heard is that there are several ships roaming the coast.” He turned to Lex and said, “Kal-El will accompany you to the city on the condition that you help him find a way to repel these invaders. Also, you will be more likely to reach Kandor with him riding with you.”

“I . . . agree to your terms,” said Lex. While he was not inclined to give the people of this planet any of Earth’s technology, he felt it easier to justify reintroducing them to their own. In any case, he had no idea whether or not they’d find anything that would help either of them.

“Good,” said the chief. He thought for a while then said, “That is all. As for where you’ll be sleeping . . .”

“I’ve decided that he should stay at my house,” said Kal-El.

Lex blinked in surprise.

“Your house?” said the chief.

“I have many things to talk to him about regarding preparing for the journey.”

“As you wish.”

“We’re nearly there,” said Kal-El as they walked up to a smaller hut that was toward the edge of the village. As he walked in, Kal-El said, “Mom?”

“Any fish?” she said while making little round patties of dough.

“No but I brought back a visitor. I invited him in for the night,” Kal-El said, “Lex, this is my mother Lara.”

“A visitor?” she said, raising her head. She gave Lex an appraising look. “Oh, you’re an odd looking one. Where are you from and what shall I call you?”

“Mom!” Her frankness had given him many moments of embarrassment though few rivaled this instance.

“I’m Lex Luthor from Sol.”

“Sol?” There was a note of skepticism in her voice.

“He fell from the sky . . . I saw him!” said Kal-El.

His mother thought for a second before going back to her dough. “Well, wherever you fell from, you still eat food right?”

“Of course,” said Lex.

“Kal-El, give him a bowl of stew. I’ll have some fried bread done in a little while.”

Kal-El threw Lex a rather sheepish look. Lex shrugged back.

As they ate around the fire while sitting on cushions, she said, “What do you plan to do?”

“I plan to leave tomorrow to go to Kandor.”

Lara frowned. “That place is said to be accursed.”

“Nevertheless, I have to go.”

“The chief said I am to go with him.” Kal-El briefly told her about what had happened at the seashore and the meeting with the chief.

She didn’t looked pleased. “So basically you saved my son’s life so he can now lose it on a fool’s quest?”

“Mom!”

“I . . . am perfectly willing to go without him if . . .” said Lex.

“I want to go with you,” said Kal-El, putting his hand on Lex’s arm to reassure him.

There was a moment of silence before the woman sighed. “I’m going to start packing.”

“Packing?”

“You’re going to need food and clothes, aren’t you?” she said as she got up from the table.

“Thanks, Mom.”

Lex was about to get up and say something but Kal-El pushed him down. “She’s not happy about this but she’ll be OK once I get back. I’ll talk to her.”

“OK.”

After hours of riding, they stopped and decided to take shelter in a cave as the sun began to set on the first day of their journey. The second the sleeping bags were put on the ground, Lex wobbled over to one and lay down on top of it. Kal-El chuckled as he quickly got a fire going.

“It’s not that funny,” moaned Lex.

“We didn’t ride that much and already you are whimpering,” laughed Kal-El.

“The last time I rode a horse was when I was a child and that was only for a few weeks a year,” he said, remembering the times that his mother had taken him to the ranch in Montana.

“You will get used to it.”

“So, you say.”

“You must be hungry,” said Kal-El as he handed him some of the bread and dried meat his mother had put in their packs.

“I’m ravenous,” said Lex as he took what Kal-El was offering and wolfed it down.

“Lex?”

“Yes, Kal-El?”

“What is Sol like? How did you learn how to speak Kryptonian?”

Lex smiled. “I’ll answer the second question first. When I was a child, I was told a story about a man who had heard about stories of a legendary city and went off in search of it and found it. His name was Heinrich Schliemann and the name of the city was Troy.”

Lex continued, “On my home world, there was a Native American tribe whose oral history was filled with stories about men from the stars. A cave near the city where I lived was found to contain writing and artifacts of the people of your planet. I traveled all over my world and found more and more proof of Krypton’s existence and even a star chart that showed the way here. Since there was quite a few holographic recordings that included Kryptonian speech, I spent years and a lot of money deciphering the language. I learned how to speak it because I wanted to be able to converse with one when we finally met. And my wish came true.”

“You speak very well,” said Kal-El, impressed. He may not be able to ride a horse but he knows how to do many other things.

“As for my home world,” said Lex. He paused to think a bit before saying, “The area around here reminds me a bit of the undeveloped area outside my city. A lot of the animals and plants look the same. I live in a city called Metropolis. I don’t know what your cities were like in the past but my city has a lot of tall buildings, a lot of people who live and work close together and there’s always something going on.”

“It’s hard to imagine.”

Lex smiled. “Well, it’s hard to describe, even to someone on Earth who’s always lived in a small town. The city is almost like an enormous living animal, a little wild and scary and something you have to see to really comprehend.”

“I wish I could see it.”

“If I can get in touch with my home world, maybe you’ll get your wish.”

“Really?”

“I don’t see why not. I just don’t understand how people could leave their city empty.”

“From what I heard, people would often get sick in the middle of the street and fall dead soon after. So many people died that they couldn’t even do individual graves anymore. Eventually, people left the city because there simply weren’t enough people who could deal with it anymore, the sickness and the death and fear. There was fire and looting and destructions . . . Most of the survivors were just children.”

“It just doesn’t sound like a natural plague to kill so many people, especially a civilization so technologically advanced . . .”

“A few of the elders thought it might be the judgment of Rao but there is a story about a general named Zod. He had heard about how on Sol, one becomes immortal, invulnerable and powerful because of the yellow sunlight. He was . . . trying to make people like that under the influence of red sunlight. Something went wrong.”

“That sounds like he might’ve been using a retrovirus to change people’s DNA and it got out into the general population before it was perfected though it's hard to tell,” said Lex. Seeing Kal-El’s puzzled look, Lex changed the subject. “I must tell you Kal-El. Even though I’m from Sol, I’m neither immortal nor powerful. And I sure am not invulnerable.”

Kal-El shrugged. “The stories say that the sun only seems to affect my people. I don’t know the reason why.”

“It’s a pity it doesn’t work in reverse,” said Lex mournfully, rubbing his aching tush..

“Yes, it truly is,” said Kal-El, trying to repress a smile and the urge to give him a playful smack on his behind. “The faster you go to sleep, the faster you’ll forget the pain.”

“Hmph,” said Lex before he slowly dozed off.

The next morning, Kal-El showed Lex a nearby running stream. Without preamble, Kal-El gave him what appeared to be a crushed flower bulb before he began stripping off his own clothes. “What are you doing?” said Lex.

“Taking a bath. The plant I gave you is a soap plant. It helps you get clean.” Kal-El began vigorously rubbing his own bulb between his large hands, which surprisingly created a thick, clean smelling lather. He took the lather and began soaping his muscular arms, his shoulders and neck, his broad chest and the rest of his tanned body.

Lex felt a little guilty for watching Kal-El soap himself up with so little self-consciousness but couldn’t help but admire how beautiful he was. He thought to himself, It has been a long time since I was with Bruce. He watched as Kal-El jumped into the water and let the current of the river take the suds away.

“Lex, jump in!”

Lex took off his own clothes and soaped himself up, feeling embarrassed by Kal-El’s curious gaze and amused smile. After lathering up, he stepped into the river and rubbed himself clean.

“Lex?”

“Yes, Kal-El?” said Lex.

“What do the people on Sol look like?”

“They don’t look much different from Kryptonians, maybe a little shorter on average. Most people on Earth do have hair. I had hair once but there was a laboratory accident and it never grew back.” He had been trying to reactivate one of the artifacts he had found and there had been a burst of radiation whose lingering effects were baldness and a heightened white blood cell count.

“I’m . . .I’m sorry to hear that,” said Kal-El, his smile faltering.

“It’s no great loss, really. It was a hideous red color and an awful texture,” Lex said. Noticing that Kal-El was still chagrined, Lex waded up to him and said, “Anyway on my planet, you’d be considered quite the catch. If you were walking down the street on Sol, I’d probably have to wave a club to keep people from throwing themselves on top of you.”

Kal-El laughed and splashed some water at him.

“Why are we going in this direction?” said Lex as he realized that they were riding north instead of northeast.

“We’re making a small detour,” said Kal-El.

“Why?”

“There’s a small town that my tribe trades with. I thought we could spend the night in a room and buy some supplies . . .”

Lex frowned at what he saw on the horizon. “Is there supposed to be so much smoke?”

Kal-El frowned. “No, no there isn’t.”

They had the horses pick up the pace. Once they had gotten a lot closer, they saw that several buildings had been burned. He and Lex slowly made their way to one of the men shoveling dirt over the charred remnants of a house. “What happened?”

“The men from the sea came and attacked. We managed to drive them away but . . .” He waved his arm to show the extent of the damage. A few buildings were razed to the ground and a smell of destruction pervaded the air. Several people were carrying the wounded and the dead away.

“Do you need help?”

“No, we have everything under control. I’m just sorry that we’re not in the position to have visitors right now. It might be safer if you were to go inland to avoid them.”

“We understand,” said Lex.

As they rode away, Lex noticed Kal-El brooding and said, “You’re thinking about home, weren’t you?”

“I can’t help but worry about them.”

“I’m sure they’re fine,” said Lex. “Your chief knows about the danger and planned ahead. Even if you stayed home, you couldn’t really do anything. One man wouldn’t make much of a difference. I promise that once we reach the city, we’ll find something you can take back.”

“Lex?”

“Yes?”

“Is there anybody at home you’re worried about?”

“I . . . Actually . . . The only people who would really care about my absence are the people I work with.” said Lex.

“What about your family?”

“My parents are dead. I do have a half-brother but we don’t keep in touch and haven’t talked to each other for years. A few years ago, I was involved in a serious relationship but we decided that we were better off as friends. There’s been nobody since then,” said Lex, thinking of Bruce but deciding to spare Kal-El all the painful details.

“Oh. Your life sounds . . . lonely.”

“I’m a busy man. I don’t really have time to get lonely.”

The rest of the day was spent in silence.

“Kal-El?” said Lex after he had finished dictating into his scanner. During the past several days, Kal-El had shown him the flora and fauna of the countryside and explained their various uses and in some cases, the problems with using them. Quite a few of them had promising pharmaceutical prospects like the pleasant-smelling balm that Kal-El had rubbed on his head and neck to prevent Lex from getting sunburn and insect bites. His hands had been surprisingly soft and smooth, something Kal-El said was from using nut oils to keep his hands from cracking and drying. Occasionally, Kal-El would massage the stiffness from his shoulders and back, making him sigh in pleasure.

“Yes?”

Lex looked at Kal-El, who was roasting a bird he had shot with his bow and arrow. “After you go back to your village, what do you plan to do?”

“I’m going to help them chase off the pirates.”

“I mean after that.”

“I . . . Before I went on this trip, I thought that I would just live in my village and maybe marry the chief’s daughter if I could win her affection. But now . . . I don’t know. Ever since you told me about the city and Sol . . . I’ve been thinking about all the things out there I haven’t seen yet . . . that I want to see.”

Lex felt a little sad when he heard that. He had once been someone who could’ve had what most people would have seen as a perfectly satisfactory life on Earth but he had wanted to see for himself what else was out there, needed to follow his obsession to the ends of the world and beyond. It was a dream that had haunted him for years and was part of the reason that he and Bruce had broken up. “I know what you mean. It’s the same reason that I left Sol. I do have to tell you something.”

“What?”

“You make sacrifices. You can’t really have both the life of adventure and home at the same time. I don’t regret coming to Krypton, Kal-El, but you were right when you said that I sounded lonely. I have led a solitary life because that’s what it took to get here. Even if you come back home, traveling to places that nobody else has gone changes you . . . makes you feel apart from people. I want you to think about that before you decide what you plan to do in the future. ”

“I will but . ..”

“Yes?”

“Why can’t you take someone along with you on the journey?”

“It’s not like I didn’t try to have someone to share this with. Not everybody wants to lead a life of adventure.”

“You only need one to come with you.”

“It’s really hard to find the right one,” said Lex crossly. “I’d rather not debate the issue with you.” Talking about the emotional cost of his quest was bringing back old memories and feelings he tried very hard to compartmentalize away. He had been disappointed so many times.

Kal-El stared at him without saying anything before he took the bird off the spit and said, “You like the drumstick, right?”

“Yeah.”

“There must have once been an apple orchard here,” said Lex as he reached into his bag filled with the apples he had picked earlier that morning. Sitting on a blanket spread over the grass under the shade of one of the trees, he handed one to Kal-El who was lying down next to him. As it was a warm day, the only thing Kal-El was wearing was the loincloth similar to the one he had been wearing when they had first met. Lex occasionally allowed himself to enjoy the sight of Kal-El’s tanned muscular thighs, carefully trying to appear casual about his gaze. There were rows of apple trees as far as the eye could see. They had gone wild; the apples were not perfect looking but he found them to be juicy and sweet. Their horses were busy eating the apples they could reach from where they were tethered.

Kal-El took a bite from his apple and smiled. “I should tell everybody about this place. The chief loves apples,” he said after swallowing.

“Maybe they should all move here.”

Kal-El rolled his eyes. “You can’t live on apples. How about we camp here?”

“Sure,” said Lex. “How long do you think until we reach Kandor?”

“Hopefully, just a few more days. It looks like you’ve gotten used to riding.”

“It took a while but I finally got the hang of it.”

“Lex?”

“Yes?”

“Never mind.”

“Go on, tell me what’s on your mind. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

Kal-El smiled. “Yes, yes we are.” Then his smile faded. “I . . . was wondering . . . Once you make contact with your people . . . if you were ever going to visit Krypton again.”

“It’s my greatest desire.”

“Why?” said Kal-El. “I remember that day you came . . . You looked so disappointed . . . I know that this . . .” He sat up and motioned to the fields of apple trees around them. “I know that this is not what you expected or wanted to find. I know that riding horses to an ancient city and eating apples is not what you imagined. I . . . wish that I could have welcomed you to the city of your dreams.”

Lex looked down. “The truth is . . .”

Kal-El steeled himself to hear how sorely disappointed Lex was, how all this time he was putting on a brave face, that the faster he could get away from this primitive . . .

“Riding to Kandor with you has made me the happiest I’ve been in a long time . . .”

“Lex . . .” Kal-El gasped in a mixture of surprise and relief.

“It’s true that when I opened my capsule door and looked around that the first thing that popped in my head was that it was unlikely that I could ever return home. But remember I told you about that man who searched for a lost city and found it? Just being here proves that what I’ve been dreaming of for years was real. And now I’m riding toward Kandor, a city named in various artifacts on Earth. I don’t have any regrets about searching for Krypton or coming here . . . And I couldn’t have asked for a better person to travel there with . . . Actually, you’re the one who should be disappointed.” Lex said this, thinking about the fact that it was Kal-El who had been hunting and gathering their food during their journey. He had once offered Kal-El a bite of his emergency meal bars only to have him screw up his face in disgust after taking a bite.

“Why should I be disappointed?”

“If I had arrived in my ship, I might have been able to help your tribe with its problem. Instead . . . I’m depending on you so much just to survive here. You must think I’m a terrible . . .” Get a hold of yourself, Lex. You’re letting your emotions run away with you, Lex thought. I’ve fallen for someone that I know I shouldn’t even . . . His thoughts were interrupted when he was grabbed by the shoulders and roughly kissed. It was a kiss that made him so dizzy that he closed his eyes and clung to the man kissing him.

“Kal-El?” Lex said as he stopped to catch his breath and found himself looking at Kal-El’s dilated green eyes.

“I may not know how to fly to the stars but I know that this is what I want,” Kal-El said, lightly brushing his hand against the tenting in Lex’s pants which made Lex shiver slightly and part his lips in a small ‘o.’ “And I can tell that you want this too.”

Kal-El gently pushed him down on the blanket and kissed him again, his lips and breath smelling of the apple he had just eaten, slowly rubbing himself against Lex. Lex was a little embarrassed that his attraction and desire was so obvious and growing more so by each passing moment but couldn’t help but thrust his hips up and grind back. Kal-El continued to kiss him while unbuttoning Lex’s shirt and reaching down to feel his chest.

“I want you . . .” whispered Kal-El in his ear before he opened Lex’s pants and slowly pulled out Lex’s cock. He slipped off his loincloth and began rubbing his cock against Lex’s, using his generously large hand to encircle, pet and stroke them together. With his other hand, he reached into his pack and found the oil he used for his hands and slicked both of their cocks with it to make it easier to slide against each other. He laid on top of Lex and they ground against each other, kissing and caressing each other frantically. Lex licked and sucked Kal-El’s neck while Kal-El reached down between them to rub the heads of their cocks with his hand and massage both their balls until they both came.

Lex took Kal-El’s hand stained with come and slowly licked his palm clean with his pink tongue making lazy circles before he worked on his fingers, slowly and meticulously sucking them, one by one. Kal-El groaned as he began to get hard again. They kissed again, the tips of their tongues swirling against each other. “By Rao, Lex . . . you bewitch me . . .” Kal-El sighed, invoking the name of Krypton’s sun god.

“I’m not finished with you yet,” Lex whispered in his ear. Lex crouched between Kal-El’s legs, licking stripes along his thighs several times before he kissed the head of Kal-El’s cock, causing Kal-El to gasp. Lex kissed it again, lightly flicking the tip of his tongue on the foreskin, put slow moist kisses along the length of his shaft before accepting its length into his mouth and began to suck him, his lips and tongue massaging Kal-El’s flesh. Kal-El couldn’t help but jerk his hips up into Lex’s welcoming mouth. The sight of Lex so devotedly accepting him fucking his mouth made him come for the second time. He was hit by a wave of pleasure so intense that he felt utterly weak and lost before it.

Lex crawled back up so he could face Kal-El. As they wrapped their arms around each other, Kal-El said sleepily, “Lex?”

“Yes?” said Lex. His face mirrored Kal-El’s in contentment and tiredness.

“We’re more than friends, aren’t we?”

“Much more. Much, much more,” said Lex as he touched his forehead to Kal-El’s and closed his eyes.

“This is the city?” said Lex as he saw Kandor in the distance.

“Yes,” said Kal-El.

“It’s beautiful,” said Lex. It was obviously a ruin, damaged and neglected but there was still much of it that hinted of its long ago grandeur. The architecture spoke of a different aesthetic from Earth. Instead of tall rectangular boxes that reached into the sky, there were curves, arches, spires and pyramids that dotted the landscape with liberal use of color. He sighed at what it had become.

“Do you think you’ll know what to do once you’re in the city?”

“There was a lot of Kryptonian technology left behind on Earth. Part of the reason that I was able to come here was because over the years, I reverse-engineered what was left behind and created a warp drive based on the principles of the original. I think that I should be able to figure things out as long as there’s enough of it in good condition.” He said this despite the fact he felt less confidence than his words implied.

“Lex?”

“Yes, Kal-El.”

“If . . . if you can’t reach your people or they don’t come for you . . . I want you to know that you can live with me . . . if you want to . . .” Kal-El felt rather ashamed that he half-hoped that Lex’s mission would fail. Ever since that day in the apple orchard, Kal-El had started to teach Lex many of the skills a man of his tribe would need to know like how to use a bow and arrow and how to cook wild game during the day. And during the night, Lex would tell him stories about not only his own world but what his people had once been and show him the many ways a man’s body could experience pleasure. Every morning, he would wake up and find himself wrapped around him. He did not want this to end and all Kandor promised was change.

“Kal-El, I . . . thank you,” Lex said, his eyes shining with gratitude.

Kal-El smiled back but said nothing.

Walking through the city was a spooky affair. There was a stillness that wrapped the city like a fog. “Is this what a city is?” said Kal-El as they rode through the streets that were filled only with dust and debris. Windows had been shattered and there were still remnants of vehicles that had been abandoned. It was obvious that the city had been desolate for ages and that he and Kal-El were the first people in a long time to look upon the buildings that had once held so many. Occasionally, they would see birds fly overhead or see the descendants of abandoned pets roam the streets but the animals were skittish of the now unfamiliar intruders. As for the bodies that Kal-El had told him about, they had long ago been lost to exposure to the elements and the corroding effects of time.

“No, this isn’t what a city is. This is just a shell of what a city should be,” said Lex as the sound of their horses’ hooves echoed. “My scanner tells me that we’re close to a place where there’s still some power. He stopped at a computer terminal and plugged his scanner into it. The terminal blinked a few times before turning on. “Ah, good,” said Lex.

“What’s good?”

“The basic technology is still intact with this terminal. It just needed to be switched on.” Lex punched in a command.

A holographic representation of the city as it had once been appeared before them. Lex pressed a few more buttons and most of the buildings in the representation disappeared, leaving a small tower and a large field.

“What’s that?”

“It’s the transmission tower for the spaceport. I think that’s our best bet.”

“Why?”

“Because it was made to communicate with ships that were not only in orbit but were coming in from deep space. Also it’ll be easier for the ship to land if there’s already a clear place for them to do so.”

“How can this still work?”

“The technology I found on my planet still worked even after millennia . . . the technology here has been idle for less time than that. The scanner I’m using is a hybrid of our two planets’ technology,” said Lex, happy as a coffee addict upon finding a fresh pot of Kona. “There’s still an energy field that encompasses part of the city but has gone dormant. I don’t think it’ll take too much work to power the transmitter.” Lex punched in another command. “Oh, no wonder . . .”

“No wonder what?”

“When I was in the life capsule, looking for an energy source, this was the only thing on the continent that was lighting up. Now I know why . . . Kandor’s spaceport was part of a military base. The military base had a backup energy system that was built to withstand any disaster or attack. I’d say that you should be able to find all the weapons you need for your tribe there. The reason this terminal works is because it’s on the southernmost circuit of the military power grid.”

They rode north toward the military base, leaving the rest of the city behind them. They saw the airstrip and the communication tower. There was also barracks and several other buildings, many of which were extremely damaged. Upon closer inspection, there were bullet holes and obviously fire damage. There were even walls that appeared to have been breached by explosives. It was obvious that it had been chaotic there.

“How about we look for what you need first?” said Lex.

“Where do we look?” said Kal-El. “It’s so big.” And it was. The base itself was nearly the size of the rest of the city.

“How about the barracks?”

They looked into living quarters but only found some furniture and scattered personal possessions: holographic pictures of children and families, charms and fragments of uniforms, a sight that made both of them melancholy. “I’m going to make the assumption that they didn’t let the soldiers keep weapons in their rooms,” said Lex. “I copied the data in the map into my scanner. It says there’s a building labeled weapons storage a few blocks away.”

They rode the horses toward the building. Climbing through a large hole in one of the walls, Lex turned on the lights by turning a knob. Kal-El follows him reluctantly. The walls were charred and there were signs that fighting had been going on inside the building. While most of the spaces where ammunition and weapons were supposed to be were empty, there were still a few that could be found. Lex walked over, picked up a long tubular weapon and briefly scanned it. “This is a laser cannon.”

“A laser cannon?”

“Before you take news of this back to your people, I think I should show you something.”

“What?”

“Come here,” said Lex as he walked out of the building with the weapon. He pointed it at one of the barracks. “See that?”

“Yeah.”

Lex pressed the button. The barracks instantaneously exploded into a cloud of splinters.

“Oh!” gasped Kal-El as he saw what the weapon could do. “Isn’t there something else that we can use?”

“I did see a few other things in there.”

They looked through what else was left. Unfortunately, most of the weapons that remained and still worked were almost just as powerful. One weapon that look like a rifle delivered a charge that completely shredded a wall to pieces. Another completely disintegrated an abandoned vehicle Lex pointed it at.

“Your people don’t fool around when they want to destroy something,” said Lex, impressed despite himself.

“How can I take any of those back?” said Kal-El, trying to imagine what would happen if he took them back.

Lex put down the weapon. “You go back empty-handed and the pirates continue to attack the villages up and down the coast. But if you go back with an arsenal, you drive away the pirates but what happens after the pirates are driven off . . . It may be that the tribes will start fighting over who owns the weapons.”

“I can’t make that kind of decision,” said Kal-El.

“How about we go to the transmission tower for now? It’s obvious that you need time to think about it. I may know more about the weapons than you do but you know more about your people.”

“Yes, let’s go,” he said, still looking troubled.

Once they had reached the tower, they hitched their horses to a nearby pole before walking into the building. Once they ascended the stairs and entered the control room, Lex sighed as he saw the overturned chairs and a thick layer of dust but was relieved that unlike the rest of the base, the panels were basically intact. After a few hours of getting the transmitter to warm up and programming in a short sequence , Lex flipped the switch. Several lights turned on and there was a very low hum. Lex smiled and raised an eyebrow when he saw Kal-El frowning. “What were you expecting?”

“I guess I thought I’d see it shoot light into the sky.”

“That’s not how it works, but it is sending out a very strong signal. Hopefully, it’ll reach Earth or any ship that happens to anywhere between here and Earth before we run out of power. I programmed a simple loop indicating who I am and where I am. At the very least, the people on Earth will know that Helen’s story is a lie.”

“What do we do now?”

“All we can do is wait. I’ve turned the screen on just in case we get a message.”

“Do you want to sleep here just in case they call?”

“Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“I’m sure. Lex, what I said about you living with me if there’s no answer . . . I meant it.”

Lex took his hands. “And if they do call, I meant what I said about showing you what a real city looks like . . . if you want. I really want you to come.”

“How long shall we wait?”

“I’ll give them two days. If they don’t come by then, I’ll write a letter explaining where I am before we go back to your village. Kal-El . . .”

“Yes?”

“What we have . . . our relationship . . . What would your tribe say?”

“What do you mean?”

“I suppose I’m asking if they would approve of you being with someone like me? Of two men . . .”

“It is not common and my mother will probably be disappointed but if you are worried that we will be driven off from the tribe . . . That is not their way. We will make everybody understand,” said Kal-El as he wrapped his arms around Lex. Lex put his head on his shoulder and closed his eyes.

They were awakened by a loud high-pitched sound. Lex got up from the sleeping bag they had put on the floor of the control room and looked out the window to see a ship landing on the airstrip. A man walked out of the ship, carrying what appeared to be a weapon.

“Is that your people?” said Kal-El, hurriedly getting up and dressing.

Lex shook his head as he also dressed. “No, it isn’t. I don’t recognize the ship and I’m sure that my people would try to contact me first. From the Kryptonian insignia on the ship, I’m guessing that they must be people from one of your moons. They must have gotten my distress signal and came to investigate.”

“But why would they come here?”

“I don’t know. From what you told me, I can’t imagine it’s anything good. Kal-El, go out the back way and get out of here.”

“I can’t leave you here.”

“We’re outnumbered and they’re armed,” said Lex. “It’s my message that made them come here. The only person they expect and want is me.”

“But they might kill you . . .”

“You have a tribe and a mother waiting for you. You promised you’d return to help them. I want you to go and keep that promise. Go.” Lex took Kal-El’s face in his hands and gave him a kiss. “Please.”

Kal-El left reluctantly. After Lex saw that Kal-El had left the tower, he locked the door and waited. While he knew that he was the one these people wanted, he wanted to distract them from searching for anybody else and stall them to give Kal-El time to get away as far as he could. He rubbed his face and sat down on a nearby chair.

A few minutes later, the door was forced open and several men in colorful robes walked in, bearing arms. “Are you Lex Luthor?” said the leader.

“I am. Who are you?”

A dark-haired bearded man wearing what appeared to be a black hearing aid in his left ear, stepped forward and said, “I am Za-Wel. We have received your transmission.”

“Are you here to rescue me?” said Lex sarcastically.

Za-Wel said, “Hardly. We are here to remove you before you adversely affect the people of this planet any more than you already have and to investigate why you are here.”

“If you listened to my message, you should know that I’m just trying to go home. I was stranded here by accident."

“I leave it to my superiors to make that determination.”

“You’re not taking him!”

The men turned to see Kal-El holding a laser cannon.

“Do you know what you’re holding?” yelled Za-Wel, obviously recognizing the weapon or at least its destructive capacity. The rest of his crew looked properly terrified.

“I thought I told you to leave . . .” said Lex, both aghast and touched at what Kal-El had done.

“I know. I just had to pick up a few things before I could come back for you,” said Kal-El. He turned to the men from the moon. “Now if you try to follow us, we’ll shoot down the ship.”

Lex slowly made his way over to Kal-El. “I can’t believe you came back. You should have left . . .”

“Wait a minute, we’re receiving a message,” said Za-Wel, touching the device in his left ear. “There’s a ship appearing in orbit. No, several ships from Sol are now orbiting Krypton!”

The screen winked on. “Hello, this is Gabe Sullivan of the Lexcorp vessel Atreides.”

“Gabe?”

“Hi, boss, glad to see you alive. We’re going down to pick you up as we speak. We sent a message to the ship in orbit I see you have some friends with you.”

Meanwhile, Za-Wel touched the communicator in his ear, seemed to listen and said, “Due to the changed circumstances and the fact that you will be soon leaving this planet, we will allow the ship to land.”

“I don’t think you’re in the position to decide what’s going to happen or not,” said Lex. “My men are going down to pick up me whether you approve or not.” Lex turned to the screen and said in English, “How did you get here? What happened to Helen and the company?”

“Once Helen told us some cock and bull story about you dying on board and gallantly giving her all your love, I got Chloe and Lois to dig up enough dirt to get her temporarily held on suspicion of corporate sabotage. As temporary CEO, I told Edgecorp that you were not officially dead until a full intensive search was done. We looked at the various planets you were investigating and targeted the ones that were habitable without artificial support and the most likely for you to have reached. I called in a few favors from Wayne Enterprises and got together a decent search party for you. I was a bit apprehensive that we wouldn’t find you even if we did find the right planet considering it takes ages to find some guy lost in the woods. But we got a good strong signal and here you are.” Gabe looked very pleased with himself.

Kal-El turned to Lex and said quietly, “I don’t know what he’s saying but I guess this means you’re leaving.”

“Kal-El . . .”

“Take me with you.”

“I’m sorry,” said Za-Wel rather snippily. “But we can’t allow that.”

“Your people were the ones who decided to have nothing to do with us, refused to help us rebuild. You don’t have the right to tell anybody on Krypton what to do. You are not my chief or my mother or the gods. You can go home and do whatever you want but don’t pretend that you can or should decide what anybody on this planet can or can’t do,” said Kal-El.

Lex said, “If you don’t want to communicate or trade with us, that’s fine but it’s really up to the people on this planet to decide whether or not they want us here or not.”

Za-Wel pressed his lips tightly into a thin line.

There was a loud boom which rocked the building and shook the windows. Lex and Kal-El ran to the windows and looked outside to see the Atreides land next to the Kryptonian ship. Gabe stepped out with several armed guards and waved when he saw them looking out the window.

Lex turned to the men and said, “I’m going to walk outside to meet my men. If you try to stop me, you should know that this could turn into a messy interplanetary incident. What do you plan to do?”

Za-Wel turned to his men and said, “Step aside and let them leave.”

As Kal-El and Lex walked out of the building, Gabe said, “Lex, you look great for a dead guy.”

“You’re not looking too bad yourself. There are no words to express how glad we are to see you,” said Lex as he and Gabe shook hands.

“My name is Gabe Sullivan. What is your name?” said Gabe as he held out his hand to Kal-El, who slowly took it and gave it a pleasant shake.

“His name is Kal-El, a very good friend of mine,” said Lex, deciding to put off explaining the exact nature of their relationship until things were more settled. “We have a lot to do,” he said to Gabe before turning back to Kal-El and saying in Kryptonian, “And we have a lot to talk about.”

Epilogue

“Lex!” said Kal-El as they looked at Metropolis from the balcony of Lex’s penthouse apartment, holding hands. His long hair was tied back in a ponytail and he was dressed in the best suit Armani could offer with a warm woolen coat on top. “It’s beautiful.” The view was not only magnificent but it was winter and the entire city looked cleaner with a dusting of snow.

Lex turned to smile at him. “I’m glad you like Metropolis. You’re not feeling too homesick, are you?”

“Maybe a little but we’re going back after the holidays, right?” said Kal-El in Lex’s native tongue. Learning English had turned out to be something that had come easily to Kal-El.

“Yes, Kal-El. Is Sol everything you expected?” Lex said.

“It’s even more than I expected. Ever since I came here, I feel full of energy . . . like there’s nothing I can’t do.”

“I feel the same way,” said Lex.

After Lex had come back to Earth, Helen Bryce quickly accepted a plea bargain that would put her in prison for thirty years to life. The pilot who had been her co-conspirator was given an equally heavy sentence. To avoid a massive lawsuit, Edgecorp quietly gave up their rights to the planet Lex had found before he had landed on Krypton and swallowed their share of the expenses, an amount that was well into the hundreds of millions. Things were going well for Lexcorp.

As for Krypton itself, Lex had decided to let Gabe Sullivan take care of matters on Earth while he further developed business on Krypton and other planets in the area. After a while, the people on the moons had decided that rather than watch Krypton be developed by ‘outsiders’ and ‘aliens,’ they would offer their help if only to counter Earth’s influence. While many people continued to lead the lives that they were currently leading like most of the members of Kal-El’s tribe, there was a small, slow stream of others who flowed toward the cities that were being restored. The next time the pirates came, they were given a choice of making peace with the coastal tribes or face the wrath of their new trade partners.

Kal-El wrapped his arms around him and pulled him in for a kiss. “I love you,” he whispered in Kryptonian.

“Kal-El?”

“What?”

“I don’t know how they do this on your planet but on Earth . . . there’s a ring in a box involved,” said Lex, pulling out a small box out of his pocket, “And the words, ‘Will you do the honor of marrying me?’”

Kal-El hugged him and lifted him off his feet. “Yes, yes!” Then he gasped, “Lex, look!”

And it didn’t surprise him when Lex looked down and saw they were floating a few feet off the floor . . . After everything that had happened; it felt like anything was possible.

END

Please remember to leave feedback and vote when the poll is up!