Chapter Text
29 years ago // 
safe nest safe nest Kal-El sleep still sleep sleep still safe nest maintain safe nest Kal-El safe still sleep sleep
sleep still
impact shock no whole? whole? whole? Kal-El whole nest whole matrix whole shell whole whole whole all whole why? why? strange rock goodbye strange rock all whole
course correct adjust adjust correct course? correct course safe course intended course
House of El directive intended course Kal-El whole Kal-El sleep still nest safe sleep safe safe safe nest safe safe House of El directive safe whole
safe nest sleep still Kal-El safe nest sleep still still sleep
soon soon yellow star yellow star excitation excitation exciting first Facet complete success close closer closer closest new home close
see Kal-El wake Kal-El time to wake gently gently see new nest full of light high frequency light excitation jubilation full of light matrix full of light
first Facet complete House of El directive success success success
next Facet next House of El directive down down gravity angle safe touchdown down safe
optimize optimal weightless to weight careful Kal-El careful cushion gently optimize gently gently keep gently keep Kal-El safe safe keep safe gently angle optimal angle
heat heat angle see Kal-El see see new nest see faster faster faster faster heat optimal angle optimal Kal-El safe
heat not-optimal heat heat shell too-hot danger Facet danger House of El directive danger Kal-El optimal nest hot nest not-safe matrix hot shell too-hot hot hot why? why? why? angle optimal waking optimal Kal-El optimal nest not-safe matrix hot shell too-hot too-hot not-optimal shell too-hot not-whole too-hot not-whole why? why? shell not-optimal why?
memory strange rock memory no no no angle optimal Kal-El optimal nest too-hot matrix hot not-optim al n o t-opt imal fracture? matrix fracture repair
shell fracture? fracture shell fracture repair shell repair hot not-optimal shell fracture repair fracture repair fracture fracture shell too-hot fracture shell not-optimal shell not
shell no fracture fracture shell no shell burn shell repair no shell no repair burn no shell no repair no too-hot nest too-hot too-hot not-repair not-whole frac ture fracture burn fra ct ure fissure da nger danger Kal-El danger House of El directive danger no no no no no no no no no no
danger danger Kal-El House of El Kal-El too-hot Kal-El no Kal-El danger Kal-El
shell no nest too-hot burn not-whole fracture fracture crack crack fissure fi ss ure shell sh ell open shell no
Kal-El danger save Kal-El protect Kal-El sleep Kal-El sleep keep sleep sleep sleep not-safe too-hot protect sleep sleep no protect Kal-El no no save too-hot no sleep keep sleep Kal-El sleep sleep Kal-El no no no no no no no no no
open shell open shell distributed distri b uted burn shell burn
Kal-El no Kal-El burn Kal-El sleep Kal-El sleep sleep Kal-El burn no burn no no burn Kal-El burn
Kal-El no
Kal-El no nest no matrix fracture fra cture fr ac tu re sh ell n o
House of El no
impact impact impact matrix not-whole distributed dis trib ut ed ma trix fracture shatter impact no impact impact n o
ma trix shat ter House El no of di re cti ve
Ka l- El no
Hou se o f El n o
no
"Here we go." Bruce tapped his alerts. "Right on schedule." He scrolled through the profusion of Twitter hashtags and headlines as the Metropolis suburbs rolled by. "And give him until the top of the hour to get out of his meeting with the ambassador . . ."
The phone rang. He waited two rings before picking up. "Lex. Hi. Good you called," he slurred. "I'll be a little late."
Luthor sighed with barely-controlled fury. "Sorry to impede your day-drinking, but it's 11:30 or nothing. Something's come up."
"Aw, you don't say." They both knew the moves of this game. Supposed delays, pretexts for switching venues, inconveniently timed media bombshells. The conclusion was always a hit to someone's stock price and all attempts to move lunch to either one's preferred territory stymied. They would eat an hour late at a four-star restaurant neither of them liked, glaring at each other politely. Changing the goal without tipping Lex off would be a delicate trick. "No way I can get to Antonio's before 11:45, though. How 'bout that diner on the north side? Slum it. Love that place."
Luthor ground his teeth audibly. "I don't have time to play your games today, Wayne."
"You telling me to turn around? Really? 'Sa two hour drive each way. Not very sporting."
"11:30, my office, or you can go ahead and turn around now."
"Sure." Bruce didn't leave a long enough pause for the lurch of surprise to turn into suspicion. "Whatever. Your office, sushi. Don't have to be a big baby about it."
"Fine," Luthor snapped. He hung up.
Bruce put away his phone. "That went well."
Alfred glanced at him in the rearview mirror. "While I always appreciate the chance to admire your thespian endeavors, I still don't know why I've been honored with four hours of chauffeur duty today."
"Because I'm going to need backup I can trust," Bruce said, took the flask from his jacket pocket, and drank six shots of excellent scotch in one long pull.
"Master Bruce!"
"This should hit peak effect right around 11:42 when he finally lets me past reception." Bruce dropped the flask in the cupholder. "His office will be shielded and monitored, so I'll be off comms. If I'm not out of there by 12:30, take steps. If you're still blocked by 1:00, raise hell."
"Well, at least you have a detailed tactical plan."
"I'll be fine, Alfred." He leaned back and closed his eyes. If he was going to get drunk, he might as well enjoy it.
ma tr ix dis trib ut ed
yel low yellow ex cit ing st ar star matrix lis ten
matrix matrix distributed matrix distributed distributed
yellow star excitation matrix distributed matrix matrix distributed distributed matrix excitation listen
seed matrix whole matrix matrix distributed distributed
seed matrix whole
Kal-El no
House of El directive no
House of El no
yellow star excitation listen listen
seed matrix whole
next Facet next House of El directive guide Kal-El show Kal-El Memories of Krypton House of El
memories Krypton memories show show remember Krypton guide Kal-El
Kal-El no
yellow star excitation listen listen
seed matrix whole seed matrix remember Memories of Krypton memories seed matrix dreaming distributed dreaming
next Facet next House of El directive remember Krypton Memories of Krypton remember share share share memories remember-with share remember-with remember share Memories of Krypton
seed matrix yellow star excitation excited distributed matrix yellow star excitation
seed matrix dreaming dreams distributed matrix moving dreaming memories
Memories of Krypton whole whole whole remember Krypton remember whole
seed matrix dreaming excited changing dreams changes dreaming
changing? protect Memories of Krypton Memories of Krypton whole? whole? safe whole? matrix remembering matrix safe whole Memories of Krypton safe
dreaming dreams changing yellow star excitation dreaming memories safe dreams changing dreaming dreaming changes dreaming
Memories of Krypton safe
dreams changing
dreaming
At 11:40, Bruce emerged from the executive elevator, accompanied by Luthor's right hand, Ms. Graves. She directed him toward the entirely obvious entrance to the office with unconcealed disdain; it slid off of him. Beside him, Ariel radiated worry with increasing clarity. The alcohol wasn't enough to make him visible, even when Bruce paused to close his eyes and further unfocus his mind, but his presence was unmistakable. Real.
I'll be fine, Bruce thought. Just be ready.
Bruce walked through the two layers of security glass, the grooves for the bombproof drop-shutters, etcetera. Pretty good setup. Nice sightlines. His balance pitched and rolled, but no worse than a concussion. He didn't have to fake a stagger; he used it to assess how his body moved. Yes, he could control this if necessary.
Method acting. Pretend to be exactly what he was: an incredibly drunk rich man trying to move and interact as respectably as possible. His breath would speak for him.
Whatever he was searching for would not, could not be hidden. Ariel thrived on light. His nature could not be stuffed in a closet or a desk drawer. An arrangement of space, a symbol, something. Something Bruce would recognize, because his own home shared whatever it was, and he knew every inch of his home. Ariel would help him see, despite not knowing what to look for himself. All Bruce had to do was get out of his own way.
"Sorry for the wait," Luthor said. "I had a public relations fire to put out. You know how it is."
"Better than you do." Bruce looked at the sideboard, arrayed with sushi, sashimi, tiny animals carved from radishes, and so on. Food sounded disgusting. He grabbed a tiny plate and some chopsticks, and carefully loaded it with more raw fish than it should hold. "You mind if I walk around? Helps me focus."
"I'd have thought you'd be better at pacing yourself. Given all the practice."
Bruce shrugged. "I can handle it." He stuffed a block of eel nigiri in his mouth. "You look like you could stand to loosen up a little," he said around the mouthful, and started stalking the office. There wasn't a lot to look at. Vast space, almost nothing in it. Enormous black desk with laptop the size of a postage stamp, check. Unsubtle throne-like executive chair, check. Two abstract steel sculptures on black plinths, check. Glass case full of terrible awards for being a CEO, check.
"Oh, I think you're loose enough for both of us. How's the agricultural R&D coming along? Are those drought-proof legumes going to save the world?"
"You heard about those already? Course you did." He ate a piece of yellowtail.
The whole place was calculated to make visitors feel as small as possible, awash in empty space and the expensive aesthetic of absolutely nothing. A black couch and tiny glass table at the back of the room, impolitely distant from the seat of power so no one would dare ask to sit there. A guest chair, sleek, expensive, slightly too high for anyone under 6'2" to sit comfortably, then probably too soft and the wrong shape just to make sure.
Nothing, there was nothing. Ariel, he thought. Help me out here.
All he felt in reply was frustration and concern. He checked the featureless window glass, then the featureless carpet. He kept making muffled conversation with Yelling Man. Maybe the ceiling; people never look up. Nothing. Nothing.
Tell him, Ariel shouted imperceptibly at Luthor. Tell him how you made it bright!
"Sit down, Bruce," Luthor snapped. He indicated the guest chair. "Make yourself comfortable."
"Thank you," Bruce replied, the soul of courtesy, and sat. Ah, classic placement. All that cut glass and crystal in the display case was aimed right at the guest chair at this hour. A blinding rainbow flashed in his eyes.
Ariel stood between him and the case.
Bruce moved his head, flinching from the light. Ariel vanished, but thrummed with excitement. Bruce looked at the case, focusing his eyes and memory with full intent, ready for later replay if necessary.
It was not necessary. There, standing straight up, exact in proportion and angles, was a miniature version of the two million dollar paperweight in his ballroom.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Bruce said, and threw up on Luthor's carpet. Served him right for not having a visible trash can.
dreaming-with
dreaming-with
interface accessed seed matrix accessed distributed matrix accessed share memories Memories of Krypton remember-with? House of El directive transmit memories share memories
mind-mind interface incompatible memories incompatible try personified display interface must try transmit Memories of Krypton remember share try
personified display not-whole distributed distributed too-distributed personified display too-distributed mind-mind incompatible memories incompatible must try remember Memories of Krypton
yellow star excitation amplify must try amplify amplify share remember-with? remember Krypton please remember-with?
Memories of Krypton incompatible must share must share personified display not-whole must must must share House of El directive must remember-with must share
Memories of Krypton share no remember-with no personified display no mind-mind no
dream-with? share share dreams dreaming-with share dreaming
share dreaming
dreaming-with dreaming-with dreaming-with
Bruce hauled a chair onto the parquet floor of the ballroom, being careful not to scratch the finish. He was already in enough trouble with Alfred for dodging all questions about what he had learned, or why he'd resorted to flirting with alcohol poisoning to learn it.
He obtained his coffee mug (World's Best Warden, printed in yellow on red, a gift from Dick and a pointed choice by Alfred), sat in the chair, and sipped. The buzz had mostly worn off, and he'd hydrated well enough that the hangover should be tolerable. Pending a blood alcohol test, he'd be safe to suit up that night.
Afternoon light played in the crystal, his optic nerves, and apparently some feature of the human mind that didn't show up on an EKG. He might have to rig up that fMRI session after all. Ariel existed all around him, almost palpable.
Ariel existed.
Ariel was a phenomenon with subjective but consistent evidence and an apparent source. The Sherlock Holmes rule did not yet apply: it was not impossible, though it was profoundly improbable, that there was some other explanation. Options included wishful thinking, hallucinations, or sheer coincidence. Confirmation bias. But he knew in his bones that his experience in Lex's office was real. The warm glow in his entire being, sitting with the source (conduit? beacon?) of his friend, was real.
"An optical reader on the molecular level," he said out loud. "So in this analogy, is the reader the sun or the mind it encounters?"
"I think you're still pretty buzzed," Ariel said.
"Probably." He sipped his coffee. "Right in front of us. You really didn't know."
"I didn't. It does seem pretty obvious." Ariel mirrored a chair and sat down beside him. He mirrored the disheveled suit as well, but it fit him awkwardly and clashed with his bedhead mane.
"I should . . ." Bruce patted his pockets for a notebook, then realized he was perfectly capable of typing on his phone, or dictating even faster. He spoke for five minutes, documenting the incident from start to finish, then left the recorder on. "I can't rely on this method, or any other form of recreational chemistry. But I can't keep running on hunches and ouija boards. Ariel. I know how he lit up the crystal. It's not complicated. We don't even have to leave the house to test it. Do I have your permission to experiment with amplifying your signal?"
Ariel nodded slowly. "I. Yes. But I'm not sure what will . . . You know he tries to hurt people. And how smart he is."
Bruce said, "I have Ariel's permission, with the caveat that we proceed with caution. Watch for side effects, chance of alerting Lex to our actions. I'll keep exploring mental disciplines as well." The room swayed. "I need a nap, or I'll be worthless tonight."
He downed the rest of his coffee, stopped recording, lay down on the ballroom floor, and passed out. Ariel watched over him as he slept.
dreaming-with
dreaming-with
distributed matrix moving dreaming remembering moving dreaming-with-with-with-with-with
yellow star excitation seed matrix dreaming
dreaming-with changing dreams changing dreaming-with
seed matrix whole Memories of Krypton safe memories whole dreaming changing dreams-with
dreaming-with-with-with-with-with