video;

[notdreaming]

[ Kara spends some time familiarizing herself with her surroundings before trying to send a message. It's all very strange, very alien, but no more so than Earth is. Once she feels collected enough to do so she turns her attention to the console. It isn’t quite like anything she’s ever used before, but the technology is close enough to what she’s used to on Krypton that after a bit of fiddling around she manages to get the video feed on and recording. She takes a deep breath and addresses the network. ]

I’m told that people are brought here from all over the place. If that’s true, and you can all understand me… [ She doesn’t really get how that works, but she sincerely hopes that it does. Otherwise, she’s on her own. Again. ]

I need to know. How many of you know the planet Krypton? And what do you know about it?

[ She almost adds a ‘please’, because if nobody here has answers for her then she won’t know anything until she returns home. If she returns home. But instead she clenches her jaw and turns off the feed. ]

Comments

video

[backwordscompatible]

Krypton? You mean...like Superman's Krypton?

video

[notdreaming]

[ Superman. That's what the man claiming the be Kal calls himself. Her expressions turns stony, distrustful. ]

If he is who he claims to be, then yes.

video

[backwordscompatible]

[Something about the way she phrased that...]

Wait...is Superman here?

[Video]

[tactile_telekinesis]

[Kon looks pleasantly surprised at seeing his cousin here again. But, it's a real kicker t hear she doesn't recognise or remember this place just by the things she says.]

I know about Krypton, I know a few things I guess. Fro what I've found out and been told anyway.

Kara, right?

[Video]

[notdreaming]

[ At first she seems eager. Somebody has answers. But her eyes narrow the moment he says her name. ]

How do you know that?

[Video]

[tactile_telekinesis]

[Oh boy uhm...okay he shouldn't have asked. He rubs the back of his neck and offers an awkward smile.]

Oh uh, there was...Someone back home. She looked like you and, yeah. [It's not really a lie, right? Kara just isn't...there yet. And it's better to say that than 'oh there was a girl here before who looked exactly like you and was also from Krypton.']

[Video]

[plains_hunter]

[...Oh crap, another good guy in town.]

Man, you guys are just all over the place, aren't you?

[Video]

[notdreaming]

You guys?

[ She has no clue who he's talking about, except that maybe... if she's here, between life and death, here's no reason others couldn't have escaped from Krypton. Maybe even her mother and father. There's hope in her eyes. ]

Are there other Kryptonians here?

Re: [Video]

[plains_hunter]

I suppose. Perhaps a few too many.

video; 95% batfamily encryption

[demon_brat]

Alien.

[... and yes, Robin - and he is Robin, because reasons - has looked in on the rest of the conversations.]

What's this you're saying about Superman?

video; 95% batfamily encryption

[notdreaming]

Yes, I'm from a different planet than you are. I had assumed as much. [ She doesn't get it. Does he hate aliens or something? ]

I'm not saying anything about Superman. I just want to know about my home.

video; 95% batfamily encryption

[demon_brat]

[What.

That. Is not the Kara he knows. Quite aside from her not being the Kara he talked with here, she did not react this way when he first met her. And that means something is very, very wrong.]

Yes. We are. [The words are clipped, precise, and lacking a good deal of his usual unpleasantness.]

I was referring to the statement regarding the question whether he is who he claims to be. And yes, I do know about Krypton, although I have not focused sufficiently to claim superior knowledge to somebody who calls it home.

[All right, there is a slight, very slight, sneer at the last word. But he's really more or less completely at an ironic stage with the concept.]

video; anonymous location

[andaway]

[Kal goes through a lot of emotions in just a couple of seconds. Hope, because his cousin is back. Confusion because no... no, this isn't her. Not really. Something is off, even though he can't pinpoint what. Anger because is someone impersonating her?

Finally, resignation. He's met plenty of people from different universes. He guesses his own race wouldn't be immune to that.]

I can tell you all I know about Krypton if you will meet me face-to-face.

video;

[notdreaming]

[ She watches him warily. She had been on her way to find him and ask for his help before she wound up here, but what could he possibly have to tell her about Krypton that he hadn't already?

Maybe he just wants to talk. She doesn't trust it, but it's not like she can't hold her own against him. ]

Alright. Where?

video; anonymous location

[andaway]

[He gives it a little though, but considering Kara has just gotten here and Kal has gotten a few months to get to know the place the answer is pretty obvious in a way.]

We should meet in the suite you were assigned. It's not really something to talk about in public.

video

[agentdork]

[ Hello pretty blonde lady. ]

...Can't say I know that planet. Is that the official name or does it go by something else?

video

[notdreaming]

[ She shakes her head. ]

Krypton is the only name it has - had. [ Well that hurt to say. Let's stick with present tense then. ] That's just what it's called.

video;

[zerotoawesome]

Whoa... Suddenly living on a turtle seems a whole lot nicer than I first thought.

video;

[notdreaming]

[ She is not entirely sure what that means. Or, for that matter, what he is. It sort of sounds like it's meant to be a compliment? Maybe one of those human phrases Siobhan was telling her about. ]

What's a turtle?

→ audio; anonymous location; encrypted 90%

[controlledvariable]

[wow Steph has literally zero idea to deal with this situation. She reads all the other responses, which makes it clear this isn't her Kara. She could be from before they met but - there are little differences, especially in how she talks about Superman. Clark.

It's weird.

The problem she's faced with now is how to talk to this Kara. It'd feel like lying to pretend to have no idea who she is, but at the same time she knows it'd be a bad idea to talk to her as Steph, when Stephanie-Brown-normal-girl isn't supposed to know about superheroes.

This sucks, basically, but she decides to make her way to a console cafe for the sake of anonymity, and adds an encryption to the message for both their sakes. She'd prefer to send a text, but from the way Kara's talking about understanding people and the languages of Earth, she has a feeling English might be beyond her grasp; they'll have to rely on the auto-translate feature of Keeliai, and unfortunately that doesn't work in text.

So: one audio call, with Steph using her Batgirl voice, which means her Gotham accent is replaced by "generic American", and her tone is a little more controlled]

Supergirl?

[Short and to the point; she wants to at least know if this Kara is a superhero]

→ audio; encrypted 90%

[notdreaming]

[ Supergirl. That's what they call her on the TV. And Kal-el is calling himself Superman. It's all sort of a mystery to her. So she has no clue who would be calling her that, or why. She frowns at the console. ]

My name is Kara. Who is this?

video - 30% encryption

[wherethestoryis]

[Lois happens to be at her Earth Sector suite when she sees this. It's functionally 'work' by now, as they've worked to make it into something available to be headquarters for the newspaper. And maybe that 'work' mode has affected how she looks at anything on the network while there: she stays quiet a little, doing her research, waiting to make sure she had an idea of what questions to even ask to get answers.

As such, she debates going 'home' to Water Sector to field this one. It's just so messed up and complicated, and-- Watching those other answers does not fill her with confidence, either. And Clark's current track record with blonde teenage girls ain't so good.

Still, never let it be said that Lois Lane backs down from a challenge.

The mild encryption is only to indicate this should be private. Some super-things she doesn't trust on the network.]

The communication barrier's down for a while, at least, though I wish we could usefully teach you a language or half dozen to take back.

I'm guessing we haven't met, going by what you said to Zatanna [Pause.] I'm Lois--Lois Lane.

[And if by some miracle that means something to this Kara...]

video - 30% encryption

[notdreaming]

I would like to learn more English, but this is much easier. [ She's learned 'hello'. That's literally it.

She's a little confused by that introduction, and a touch mistrustful, but after everything everyone else has told her she's starting to get an idea of what she's dealing with here. ]

I'm Kara Zor-el. Do you... know me? [ Alternate universes, people who look similar, some sort of mind control, she isn't sure yet. But she can at least identify a pattern. ]

[Video]

[wallcrawler]

Sorry, but I haven't heard of any planet by that name.

[He's heard of a noble gas by that name, buuut has his doubts that would contribute to this conversation in any meaningful way...]

[Video]

[notdreaming]

[ She looks a bit disappointed, but not too much. Not knowing about it is a little better than knowing for certain that everyone she loves is dead. ]

That's alright. It's very far away from Earth, I think. I haven't met many people there who know it.