Chapter Text
Prologue
Life in Krypton .
“ Don´t make my mistake Lena…”
She closed her eyes tightly.
'Disappearing won't be my life, it won't be'
Lena looked at her left wrist, where it hung the weight of her new chain, she felt her chest grasped and a tightened knot in her throat, however, her reflection in front of the mirror remained so firm and neutral that no one would suspect that she was collapsing inside. The engagement bracelet shone with a beautiful dark green tone that she had never seen, no pair repeated color or shape, taking it as a symbol of a new union that would never be matched or changed. However, for her, it was just a new tie, she only would go from one prison to another, and this one came with the loss of her only brother.
Lex had died just two months ago on the front lines of the war against Daxam, their neighboring planet. Wounded in space had been taken back to Kandor, where healers had tried to stop their internal bleeding in one of the regeneration chambers. After a final diagnosis they had decided there was no way to save him and Lena still felt her eyes burn of anger. So, was he just not worth it? Her brother had only been discarded, without anyone trying to save him and they had decided that they should not spend resources or time on him, just let him die, like he was just an animal. In her desperation to save him she took him to her lab in Strau and tried to use new medical technology, but it was too late, she could do nothing for him. Her mother on the other hand had accepted his fate as the healers, as she had accepted the death of her father and didn't have the strength to stay by his son's side in his final moments. On his deathbed, Lex smiled as he always did, and despite the pain, he took into his hands the face of his sister, who could not stop crying.
“Don't make my mistake Lena, don't follow orders all your life. Do what you want to do, love the person you fall in love with, don't do what they say. Don't let them extinguish you.”
Lena could not answer, Lex died a moment later and the only person she had truly loved was gone forever, leaving behind him a hole she did not believe could be filled, and with more doubts than those that already occupied her mind. She could not hate her race or her world, but she could hate the yoke with which they were subjected till death.
She could do nothing without the Council of Five allowing her, from her clothes to her profession and now her union. All had been elected by their leaders and she could not object unless she wanted to end up in the district without rank at best. At worst, she would be sent to the phantom zone, like every enemy and criminal, or in Fort Rozz like every kryptonian extremist. She could safely say that any of her unorthodox ideas (as Lex had once called them), would be worth one or two trials in the court of the ministry, and that was why she was in this situation; about to meet the person with whom she would share the rest of her days, whether she liked it not.
Love didn’t exist on Krypton; this was the phrase her friend Brainy had once said to her and Lena agreed completely. In the vast space for scientific and technological advancement, even in genetics, Krypton remained as an archaic race that believed the laws and religion of Rao were essential to maintain order and progress, in spite of any restrictions that may result in the cost of a kryptonian’s freedom. The most tragic thing was that, apparently, only Lena questioned herself about this deeply; Lex had also done it on his deathbed, but not like her, not since she had reasoning skills and her mother Lillian had been quick to teach her to remain quiet and lower her head, unless she wanted punishment or something worse. Lena now wondered if that union was what Lillian meant by worse.
She was still quite young for a commitment, with only 20 amzet(years) would be one of the youngest women to contract union, since the right age had always been 23 or 24 amzet and like all citizens of Krypton, Lena would join in a few months with the genetically appropriate man to carry offspring and, above all, the right candidate to make Krypton stronger in the war against Daxam that had already lasted five generations. It was a matter of procreative efficiency and it had nothing to do with attraction or falling in love, a taboo word to say between her race unless it was about your marriage and your partner. That night was finally the day she would meet him, only a few months away of the union and not even because it was a custom, but because of a need that her household dictated. It was very rare for the betrothed to meet each other before marriage in order not to form bonds of affection, but Lex had died and without any offspring on his part, his family and his guild could not wait for her to be in the required age, much less when they had lost the firstborn.
A matter of honor, had been told by her mother, and after learning the name of her fiancé Lena could not agree more. Val-Zod, son of the general and leader of the military guild Dru-Zod, who had kept his world safe and brought Krypton closer than ever to victory against Daxam. It almost made her wonder if her mother had pulled strings with the master of the genesis chambers, condemning her to a much more difficult union than she would have liked. It was well known that the most powerful houses of the guilds had the unique right to be able to procreate their children naturally and not in the genesis chamber, a law that had emerged a few years ago, thanks to the great scientist Jor-El. In fact, his only son, Kal-El, and his niece, Kara Zor-El, were born naturally and the young girl at her young age had made so many achievements in her areas that the council was reconsidering returning to natural childbirth in all families.
So now Lena, not only have to join to a man that she didn´t know, she would have to have sex with Val-Zod, which caused her to shudder more from disgust than from desire. The Council of Five would decide how many children she would have, which would make her much more angry than grateful, because, if they were to force her to have, say, five children, it would at least have been a relief to have them in the gestation chamber and not naturally. Natural childbirth hurt quite a lot, or so Lady Alura said, one of the only two women to have given birth naturally.
She looked at her reflection in front of the mirror and she applied her make up again despite being already perfect. She smoothed the skirt of her dress and was very careful to check that no even one hair were found out of place or she would never end up of hearing her mother’s complaints. When she smiled, the reflection she found was unrecognizable to her. It were her green eyes, that tone that went from an emerald attempt to almost reaching blue, her pale skin, her lipstick and her black hair in a hairstyle that she herself could not have chosen and that silvery and navy-blue dress that despite saying it herself, it highlighted all the curves of her body in the right way, but even with all this together, she did not know to whom it belonged.
When she started to feel like a strange in her own body?
Since Lex’s death she had wondered who she was, what she like and what didn’t. The colors of her house, silver and navy blue, she hated them with as much fervor as the bracelet in her hand. She hated holding on her hair and the only part of her outfit that she had put on for her own will was her family’s coat of arms in a cloudy silver hue. The organic figure pattern seemed to fall into a curved cascade shape that ended in a turn to the right, and to her it had always seemed like a shock, too far away from what it represented. The flow to grow and the strength that she didn’t think it represented her parents or grandparents at all, let alone her. Instead, a shock of ideas represented it very well, or an explosion, because it was what she felt would happen when she could no longer bear what her life had become.
'… don´t follow orders all your life.'
"What choice do I have Lex?" she whispered to herself.
There wasn’t any. Either she lived there or she died in the unranked district or in the phantom zone, either way, her fate would be the same. She wasn’t a soldier; she wasn’t an explorer or a jury. She was in the thinkers' guild, in a house that had barely gotten out of misery because of her father and could not do that to her mother. In fact, she lied to herself: it wasn’t for her mother, it was because she was afraid, despite everything, she was alone and had lost her only ally.
She was caught between her fear, her impose duties and the burden she now had on her shoulders after Lex’s death. Right now, she was just a trade. The council wanted another military man and her family had to provide it, and yes, she was more condemned than ever, and on that dresser in front of that huge mirror, her life was taking a final turn that she couldn’t stop herself. Outside, her mother was waiting for her to join the event where she would meet Val-Zod, along with all the nobility of Krypton and guilds leaders. She tried to concentrate on the only thing that made her feel a bit lively, today she would have the opportunity to meet several important scientists and thinkers.
With one last glance at the stranger in the mirror she finally stepped out and prepared herself with an eloquent smile to face the longest night of her life. Careful not to step on her dress, she went out into the hallway and out entering the vestibule of that beautiful place, where the hot air of Argo struck her hard. Something she missed from her former childhood home were Strau’s colder, more uncontrollable climate, with the early rains and the mild climate that followed. Instead, Argo’s climate was hot and full of hurricanes and sandstorms by mid-year, in fact, that same year scientist Nah-Um had predicted that it would have the strongest Whirl-Hailstorm of the decade.
Her mother greeted her with a nervous gesture and carelessly grabbed her by the arm to pull her in the direction of the main hall. The entrance to the hall was marked by two staircases at both ends of the room, next to each exit, which revolved around the whole place and ended on the lower floor, where another hall received them before giving way to the huge doors and pillars of the place, adorned by famous kryptonians in each. Lena saw with fascination the art around the walls that adorned the place and the warm flash of the red sun Rao totally illuminated the place, with the red sunset on the horizon.
"What were you doing in the powder room, Lena? Val-Zod and his house will be here any minute, you can’t just disappear. "
'I wish I could', Lena thought.
"Remember the importance of this meeting, you have to leave a good impression."
“And the dress is not enough, mother? After all, it is the only thing he wants to know, a pronounced neckline, or is there another reason to make me wear this outrageous dress? I know very well that he sent it."
Lillian squeezed her grip on her arm and stopped, looking at both sides to check that no one had heard and brought her face closer to her daughter’s, with the fury so marked on her face that Lena knew it was time to put her comments away.
“I told you not to express those thoughts in public, unless you want to attract more attention than desired. Besides, the dress looks beautiful on you, it will attract his gaze instantly.”
“Thank you for the vote of confidence in my beauty, mother. The good thing is that I don’t even need to speak, as you wish, if he just keeps looking at my breasts.”
Lillian squeezed her wrist and Lena let out a moan of pain before taking her hand away. While she knew that her mother was not as affectionate as others, such behavior had increased since her brother’s death and the ensuing comments were not too maternal either.
“I wish Lex was here, he’d know how to behave.”
Lena forced herself to keep her lips closed and smile. She understood the message clearly: it should have been you and not him who died, you should have belonged to the military guild, not Lex, your brother would have been a genius. Her mother had expressed it on other occasions and in most cases, Lena agreed, because her brother would have been an incredible scientist. Her mother led her quickly through the pillars and finally entered the event where soft music flooded her ears. Several nobles and leaders walked around attended by droids, chatting calmly with members of their guilds and friends, each one wearing their traditional house garb with their coats of arms, proudly introducing the new members and talking about the new details of the war, the progress of each guild and the latest news happening around them.
Her mother greeted the house of Em and Lena took advantage to have a drink of what a droid offered her, taking the liquor in a single sip that would be well needed that night. She looked around looking for her fiancé and she cursed internally remembering that she did not even recognize his face. She returned to the current conversation, devoting a small bow to the Em.
“Good evening, it is an honor , house of Em” she expressed with respect, although she certainly wanted to comment on her opposition to her marriage with Lor-Em, the high eminence of the council.
“Lena, is nice to see you and welcome to Argo. I hope your new home is to your liking and we look forward to your union with Val-Zod. I know that moving from one continent to another can be quite tiring.”
Lor-Em was the leader of the Council of Five, the most important power position on Krypton which he had held for more than 60 years and would probably continue for at least another decade, thanks to advances in maintaining good health, cloning of organs, and physical condition of the body. Even at 134 years of age the man could not look even near to an old man's look, walking upright, with his body in good shape and with only his gray hair signs of his age. That type of aging was very common those days and, in fact, very few Kryptonians decided to continue with the natural order of their body. Most of them cloned the necessary parts to continue living in full form despite any vices they might have. His wife could even pass for a 40-year-old woman by the beautiful figure she still possessed. Lena knew that, if she wasn’t careful, that would be her fate, to live for decades tied to the arm of a powerful house for Krypton.
Suddenly her dress began to suffocate her, even if it had a cleavage from the neck to the collarbone. That conversation reminded her of how trapped she was and contained the desire to scream, break up and run away. She kept the neutral expression on her face and instead bit the fingernail of her thumb, one of the vulgarities that most bothered her mother and the only sign of rebellion she could exercise in that situation. She could not choose her partner, her children, or her mother, but she could bite her nails if she wanted to. She almost laughed at the irony.
“How nice to see you here Lor-Em, even with the war on our doorstep, we all appreciate the measures against Daxam and their attacks.”
The flattery of her mother did not go unnoticed by her.
“Thank you Lillian, I’m so sorry for the losing of Lex, he was a good young man, very promising."
Lena felt her body burn, but she kept quiet and firm in her place. She had almost forgotten what she had lost through that war and on behalf of those people. She strained her jaw and stopped smiling at that moment, trying not to break the glass in her hands.
“Well, my wife and I have to meet with the rest of the council. Enjoy your evening.”
The Em disappeared among other guests, walking away quietly, people let them pass by with a bow and for a moment Lena felt she could breathe again, at least until the arrival of her fiancé. Lillian took the glass from her hand and gave it to another droid while she took a new one, when Lena stretched her arm for another drink or two, Lillian pushed it aside sharply.
“Just one for now dear, remember, you need to have a perfect presentation for the house of Zod.”
“Oh, but we agreed the dress was enough mother.”
Lillian forced her to walk another stretch in the direction of another important house and she bit her thumb again, hoping it would calm her down enough to not have another drink, before her mother stopped in her tracks and stood up completely with a smile dancing on her lips, announcing that she had found her new favorites of that night.
“The house of El is coming to greet, please Lena, try not to open your mouth. Don’t embarrass our house.”
Lena was willing to anger her for the second time that night, at the risk of everyone hearing them, so instead she decided to concentrate on smoothing her dress and keeping her mouth away from her fingers, too curious to challenge her mother about not noticing her behavior. The house of El were the family of the most outstanding member of the thinker guild of all, even if several of the members were part of the military guild or the mediator guild. In addition, the scientist who she admired most, Jor-El, was among them and it had been a dream of hers to meet him in person for many years.
The steps headed for them and Lena took a breath, preparing herself to give a smile. She closed her eyes for a moment and wished to disappear and opened them to hear her mother greet with grace. As she opened her eyes she smiled and walked two steps towards those present, giving a gentle bow of respect. The two couples in front of her smiled and Lena watched each one with great curiosity. The men shared the respective blue eyes of their house, inherited to each El, the blond hair in one and the other showing the beginning of gray hair in their dark hair and the light skin a little tanned, with sharp faces and slender bodies. The younger man’s partner was a beautiful woman with brown hair and eyes of the same color, mysterious and questioning, wearing the dress of gala belonging to the guild of mediators, the other, even taller than his partner possessed a tanned skin, long wavy hair and black as her own, with black eyes. Her mother moved one step closer to them and greet them with a joy that Lena had not heard before:
“House of El, what an honor to meet at this event, we didn’t expect to have the opportunity to greet any of you.”
Lillian’s flattery seemed to have an immediate effect on Zor-El, the youngest, who smiled and held her hand to kiss it gently. A little more reserved Jor-El only watched him with a small smile. From the hands of the two scientists were their wives. Lady Alura In-Ze and the General Lara Lor-Van respectively, who promptly greeted Lillian, as if sharing a secret that Lena was unable to understand. She avoided rolling her eyes before the trivial conversation about war −did that even exist? −.
“Let me introduce you to my daughter, Lena Luth-Or and Val-Zod’s fiancée.”
Then that was what she had become, the bride of a Sagitari. Lena of the house of Zod. Unwilling to fight that night she accepted the introductions with a smile.
“It is an honor to meet the famous house of El” she mentioned, hoping that no one would notice the foreign accent of her voice. “I’ve been told that Seyg-El is quite a hero of the war against Brainiac and what to say about the rest, I must say I’m a fan of your work Sir Jor-El.”
Lena couldn’t help but smile sincerely at Jor-El, not only for the admiration she felt for him as a scientist but as one of the leaders of the thinkers' guild. He had been the only person who had managed to get the consent of the noble leaders to meet his fiancée and, as the only love story she knew on her planet, both had fallen in love and had one of the most celebrated and beneficial unions on the planet. Jor-El seemed to return her sincere smile, suddenly much more interested in that conversation, he took her hand, giving her a kiss on the knuckles that made Lena blush. Lara chuckled softly, approaching to kiss both of her cheeks and Lena reciprocated with a bit of awkwardness.
“We will certainly have to talk as soon as you start working in the guild about what is the project that you liked the most, it will certainly be good for the guild to have a new thinker around us.”
“Don’t be so proud, Jor, even though you will be at the guild headquarters, Lena will be working under me. It’s my new intern.” revealed with some amusing Zor-El.
“Don’t be pretentious my love” Lady Alura stepped in “for once that you are not flattered and your brother is, only shows that you have been too quiet this past year. By the way, congratulations on your new rank, Lena, it’s the first time in a long time that someone your age has ascended to the third rank in the science guild.” Lena bowed to them thanking.
“Thank you Lady Alura.”
“And I’m sure my daughter also admires his work, Sir Zor-El” spoke Lillian intervening as she looked towards Lena, signaling her with the eye to settle that matter, even though it was obvious that it was a personal joke among the El.
"Oh," Lena exclaimed suddenly in sorrow. “I also admire your work Sir Zor-El and yours Lady Alura, but Jor-El’s work has reached to me in a much more personal way.”
Zor-El let out a loud laugh that showed the dimples on his cheeks.
“We will certainly have a lot to talk about and my brother too and just Zor-El please, I don´t like Sir, It makes me feel old. By the way, your accent is Urrika, or am I mistaken?”
Lena smiled grievously, despite her efforts, her accent could not disappear, the same as her mother's, from whom she could already foresee a speech after this.
“From the city Strau more precisely.”
“Leave her alone Zor, she has a beautiful accent” expressed Jor-El and Lena smiled grateful.
“What accent Uncle Jor?”
If the beautiful dress had not caught her attention, it would certainly have been the look and beauty that accompanied her. Lena had heard the rumors, as in every court of guilds, the news of the last offspring of the houses were present and Kara Zor-El was no exception. But not even the rumors could have prepared her for this encounter; Kara walked with such elegant manner that she seemed to slip on the ground, with golden hair falling in waves on her shoulders, adorned only with the hairpin of diamond on its right side and matching her earrings. Her lips in a rosy shade adorned by a dazzling smile with pink cheekbones made her skin lit to shine and her dress, so worthy of her, it fell in waves and seemed to float on the ground. United only with a hoop, he was able to see her slim and marked abs, with a generous neckline to the front, but with her collarbone and shoulders covered by the cape that complemented her attire. The symbol of El also of a white adorned the right part of her cape and being open of the forearms joined to the layers of the dress, giving a final touch to the marked elegance. Between all that and the melodious sound of her voice, she was the most beautiful being she’d ever been lucky enough to see.
Lena drew eyes to her, and as if it were an enchantment and the rest of them remained silent while she felt her own heartbeat in her ears. She didn't even notice the man on her right, who kept their arms tied together, looking at Kara with a smile. As she looked at their hands, the bright red engagement bracelets in a scarlet hue shone before the light of the room. 'Oh, her fiancé’, she remembered. Kell-Ur seemed as enchanted as the rest by his fiancée, not even noticing the glance of those present upon Kara.
“Dear, how nice of you to join the ceremony. Your father wondered if you had decided to stay with your sister.”
Alura walked toward her daughter and kissed her cheeks gently and Kara let out a soft laugh, before looking in another direction. Lena looked at her with a feeling of heaviness in her body, with her mind suddenly numb and finally without a word in her lips, something more than strange in her. Any attempt to speak was avoided when she noticed the bright blue eyes of the young woman upon her, suddenly feeling her body warm in a surge of excitement that forced her to stand, despite the slight tremor in her knees.
“Kara, this is Lillian and Lena Luth-Or.”
Kara smiled.
“It’s a pleasure.”
Lena could do nothing but look at her, and she felt her ears red knowing that if she didn’t do something else her mother would notice her reaction, even the house of El could easily notice it, but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t understand what was going on, even though she was a scientist, she couldn’t understand the reaction in her body to a longing for a stranger, or her lack of words to express it. An attraction she had never experienced, mixed with the longing for something unknown to her. Falling in love, she remembered what her mother told her to feel towards Val, her fiancé. Feeling the dry throat finally forced herself to speak, with a thread of voice:
“The pleasure is mine Lady Kara Zor-El, I see the rumors about you were true.”
Kara let out a small laugh and Kell kissed her cheek, making her hunched over. Lena’s next heartbeat was one of envy towards the gesture.
“I hope nothing bad, I have a tendency to piss off juries.”
Despite the general laughter, Lena could not take her eyes off her. Not from her eyes, not from her smile.
“Bad would be impossible.”
Lillian placed her hand on her shoulder and Lena wondered when she had placed herself next to her.
“Congratulations on your engagement Lady Kara, my daughter has in fact just got engaged too, the ceremony is expected for the next solstice.”
The above-mentioned woman did not avoid raising her eyebrows and looked at her fiancé with a smile that Lena wished she could keep in her memory.
“Do you see Kell? It seems Rao’s solstice is a busy time for unions” spoke Kara looking at him with a amusing smile on her face.
“It’s a shame I’ll be on an exploration mission at that time Kara, the council has ruled that we return earlier this year.”
Lena was jealous of noticing how much Kara loved her fiancé and how happy she was with her life, as the rumors said, she was born to be a judge of the mediator guild and not for nothing her mother had told her that she was the perfect daughter. She could easily notice how it was an honor for her to be part of her house and be committed, just with that little exchange. She wanted to ask about the weirdness of Kara and Kell’s engagement case, and she didn’t know if it would be because of their status, but it was very rare for engaged couples to meet and she could tell, from the way they spoke, that Kara and Kell had the trust that could only be had with someone they knew.
She couldn’t ask anything because just then, her mother caught her attention looking in the direction of the entrance where the house of Zod appeared. When Lena noticed Val-Zod to the other side of the place she low her gaze, trying to let the tightness in her chest let her keep the smile and retain her from losing control or trying to run away.
“It seems that the fiancé of my daughter has arrived, excuse us, we must go to receive him” Lillian spoke, so cheerful that anyone could have said it was her fiancé.
“We understand and we hope to be able to speak later” said Lara cheerfully.
“Otherwise we will see you in the science building Lena. It was nice to finally meet you and congratulations on your new rank.”
Not even Jor-El’s words calmed the storm in her heart. Lena attended and said goodbye with a bow to the house of El, distrustful that her voice would not be broken. Not even the strange effect that Kara’s smile had on her calmed her down and avoided at all costs having to come any closer to her than she should while devoting one last bow to her. Without being able to postpone much more the encounter she walked behind her mother, feeling each step as a mark of a sentenced woman. She felt her feet heavy, her body tense, and the beginning of a headache on one side of her forehead. Arriving in front of them she bowed slowly and smiled in the direction of the young man on the side of Dru-Zod. The young man with kind features and calm expression was a strange image for her, who had imagined a much older man and a serious expression like the famous general Zod.
“Your daughter is as beautiful as they say Lillian” spoke Zod, with a deep and authoritarian voice.
“Thank you General Zod, it is an honor to know that soon our families will be united.”
“I hope her mind is also as they say. Someone so young in third rank in the thinker guild is quite a surprise.”
The man took her hand and kissed her knuckles before addressing Lena and doing the same. Afterwards, Val bowed to Lillian before looking at Lena, so captivated, that she could feel the attraction she was exerting on him without even having done anything, as had happened to her with Kara Zor-El. That made her feel a lot more trapped, as there was no reason to feel chained to him when seemed so affable and smiling, she even felt much more defeated when the young man politely kissed her cheek and took her hand, As delicately as if I thought Lena could break. She couldn’t even get mad when Val-Zod’s brown look went to her cleavage, or when he ran an arm around her waist.
“Lena, it’s really an honor to meet you, I couldn’t wait to find out who my future wife was.”
'Don’t make my mistake Lena…'
"The honor is mine, Val.”
What other choice did she have? She passed a hand under her eye, preventing a tear from coming down her cheek. This was her new life, she had to forget wanting anything else.
Kara watched Lena walk away, unable to look away from her. Her heart was still beating in her ears in a thunderous way and she felt somewhat dizzy after that strange encounter. She had never experienced such a thing and could not even decipher what had happened. Seeing that beautiful navy-blue dress that almost contrasted with her white skin, the beautiful silvery folds of her dress on her shoulders and that waist that brought out her curves in such an incredible way that they looked like a second skin and, above all, the beautiful green eyes that seemed to glow seemed to hypnotize whoever looked at her. Kara had to restrain herself from looking at Lena´s cleavage even though her gaze seemed to be drawn to that place and she had used all her charm so that no one would notice the effect of just seeing the girl in front of her. She has never seen such a beautiful kryptonian or any other race that could compare to her. Next to her, Kell chuckled as he looked at the same spot as herself, trying to figure out what Kara was thinking exactly, but her best friend had no idea.
“I never thought that Luth-Or’s daughter was so beautiful”, his Uncle Jor-El spoke.
“Truthfully, Val-Zod is very lucky, many wish they had that blessing, a woman of the guild of thinkers and only on the other continent have I seen that hue of eyes.”
Her family laughed at her mother’s comment, but Kara could only cross her arms and swallow heavy, looking back at the young woman. The uncovered back as white as one of the moons made her feel that the heat of the place had suddenly risen.
Yeah, Val-Zod was lucky. But she knew that it was not only physical appeal, because the young woman would soon work with her father in the defense projects of their world and she had heard her name by her uncle, when she had managed to raise her rank in her guild at only 15 azmet. That kind of feature was not achieved easily in the scientific guild, when it was difficult to measure against the best minds in the world. She had a fleeting curiosity about meeting her that crossed her mind until the moment Kell passed his arm around her waist, returning her to the family conversation.
At a distance the young woman with green eyes had turned to see her again, bumping with her back and then with an empty expression turned her attention to her companions, thinking she should follow the example of the young judge and just smile, nothing more.
Krypton was a world of progress, laws and technology, but it was not a world where you got to follow illusions of any kind.