[Val Verde]

[March 23th, 2021]

————

The meteor shower was short lived. It had lasted less then an hour. Most of it was simple pebbles that scattered across the eastern quarter of the island.

All active personal were currently moving across the island. They scoured the land, and began shoving the kryptonite into lead lined boxes.

Residents were the first to report the glowing green rocks. The national radio was broadcasting instructions for people to call in.

This was for safety reasons as kryptonite was known to be radioactive. At least long term exposure was a known problem.

Which resulted in a stream of calls from concerned people. The glowing rocks were collected en mass.

I pinched the base of my nose as I stared at the mountain of paperwork, and reports before me.

“Johnny! She is awake!” Candice excited popped into the office, and I was up and out right away.

Screw paperwork.

I slipped on my formal jacket, and made my way over to the guest wing of the Long House.

There I needed to see to my two guests, and their doctors.

—

From the parking lot, instead of a giant rock of kryptonite, a space pod was found. A damaged space pod from its dramatic landing.

A young woman had ridden the pod. She was injured, and severely exhausted, and was immediately brought to the hospital.

After the first night, and she was deemed safe.

So I had her transferred to the guest room at the Long House, where I could keep a closer eye on her.

The two girls were waiting for me.

Candice stood by the door. Our guest's personal doctor was jotting down notes from the various medical instruments.

The red headed woman groaned as the sunlight filled her vision.

I, dressed in my formal attire as Supreme Leader, watched as the young woman stirred.

From what I knew, Ultraviolet radiation powered her. The well lit room would hastened her recovery. From whatever ordeals she had gone through.

Her skin was once a pale pastel yellow. Under two days of sunlight, she had regained a light golden tan. Much like baking, I thought absently.

Even her crimson red hair seemed to be faring better. Though it might be due to how her body was changing into darker shades.

An IV fed nutrients and water into her system. Human centered nutrients, but I knew that she could eat human food without issue. Our biology wasn't that different.

A pale, emerald green eye opened, and I found myself staring. She was unique as even her sclera was a soft green color.

Her eyes widened, and she sat up right. Or rather tried to.

She groaned as she slowly shifted.

“Hello.” I began with a smile and wave.

She stirred and finally sat up. It lasted for only a few moments before she flopped back down.

“Shere len kuire fraun ta?” Her voice was scratchy. Hoarse.

I blinked. Right. She was probably speaking Tamaranean. She wasn’t aware of English yet.

I smiled as I moved up to her bedside, and I cracked open a bottle of water. I handed it to her, and her arms trembled.

I then moved the rim to her lips, but she didn’t drink. The water slid over her closed mouth, and down her slender neck.

I nodded and withdrew the plastic bottle. I chugged a third of it.

When I tried a second time, she began to drink. Like a child, I held the bottle for her as she finished the lukewarm water.

As I was about to retract my hand, she grabbed it, and pressed her lips to the back of my hand.

Her chap lips pressed against my hand for half a minute before she let go.

“Hello. I am Koriand’r of Tamaran.” She introduced herself.

“Hello Koriander. I am Johnny Rico, Supreme Leader of Val Verde.” I smiled as I placed the empty bottle onto the table. “Would you like another bottle of water?”

The Tamaranean nodded, and I broke open a second bottle for her. Like the first time, I fed her, and she drank it all.

“This is my best friend, Candice Brown.” I pointed to the woman in the military dress.

Koriand’r smiled, but it seemed strained.

Right. She hated the military. Despite Tamaran’s proud warrior culture, it still fell to invasion.

“This is Doctor Apogee.” I pointed to the brown woman in a lab coat. She waved back.

“Well, friend Koriander.” I looked at the woman who was now staring at me. “For now rest. You are safe, and on a island many consider paradise.”

Okay. I lied a little. We had food issues last year, but this year was shaping up to the best year of my rule so far.

So long as you ignored AIM. AIM, and the heavy embargoes on the island.

Koriand’r smiled as her eyes fluttered close. Soon her breathing evened out, and I turned over to Doctor Apogee.

“Please take good care of our guest. All are welcome in Val Verde, and this guest from off world is no different.” I gave the doctor a look, and she nodded back.

Candice fell behind me as I exited, and closed the door.

I then took four steps to the door right next to it.

I knocked, and a faint ‘Come in!’ answered.

I opened the door, and Doctor Keen smiled as she was checking on a machine.

Unlike Koriand’r, this young woman was resilient to thing like needles. Though some had been able to be inserted at first. A day under our yellow sun activated her unique cellular biology.

Her very flesh began to crush the metal inserts.

The pieces were immediately extracted, and luckily no damage was done.

This young lady had come from a very different space pod. The designs showed that it belonging to another species. It had crash landed into the ocean without damage.

I stared at the young woman currently asleep. Blond hair, and a healthy figure.

She slept despite the empowering sunlight from our yellow star.

She was the reason that there was so much kryptonite on our island.

Her pod had sunk into the ocean. We had to dig her out, but the pod was still intact despite the hard crash landing.

It would be only a matter of time before she woke up.

Though Starfire was impressive as a future hero of Earth, this girl was no less magnificient.

Kara Zor-El. The Supergirl.

At least she would be one day.

I considered keeping her.

With Koriander, The Starfire, she would make a invaluable ally.

Yet Kara was headstrong, and she already had a mission.

Too bad her charge, Kal-El, was already a grown man.

I frowned as my email to the Justice League had yet to gain any reply.

I knew enough about Batman that he would have tagged my emails with some sort of alerts.

Val Verde needed so many things. Internet was one of them, and the news from the outside world was almost nonexistent.

My eyes drifted back to the gorgeous time bomb. Kara had a temper, which made sense as she was still a young woman.

I hoped that Koriand’r would be enough to stall Kara long enough for us to talk to her.

Which I needed to also address.

We didn’t speak Krtyponian. Though with a touch, Koriand’r could.

I smirked to myself at the thought of the two kissing.

Seeing the perverted grin on my face, Candice broke my thoughts with a punch to my shoulder.

I grimaced. Rubbing it, and excusing myself.

Candice smiled as I returned to my prison of finely built desk, that housed a mountain of paper.

—

I looked through another three reports, all saying the same thing. More food request. More military goods request.

I sighed. We didn’t have enough excess food right now.

I stared at the next report on the in pile. It was a good thing that I didn’t have heat vision.

I would have tried to set the stacks of paper on fire, and then the Long House would probably burn down due to it.

So I chose the other option. The option that was not paperwork.

I picked up the satellite phone, and it quickly boot up.

Within a minute, I was calling the only number on the contact list.

I waited only three rings.

“Hello, this is Lex Luther speaking.”

I grimaced at the charming, and friendly voice. Though I kept myself upbeat as this man had enough power to raze Val Verde to ashes overnight.

“Hello Mister Luther. I am Johnny Rico, Supreme Leader of Val Verde. I hope I am calling at a good time.”

“Please, call me Lex. Your timing is simply perfect, Supreme Leader. I was just settling down at my desk. I hope that you have time for a quick chat? I have some business that I know that will be very, very beneficial to you and Val Verde as a whole.”

“Please. Call me Johnny. I am all ears Lex.”

“Well Johnny, I am going to start with a quick story. It involves some new friends that come from a far away place. They need some good PR, and you need some serious amounts of food. This PR also comes with new equipment to quickly, and reliably grow more of it.”

“Well Lex, this sounds almost too good to be true. Please, let me know what it is you need.”

Across the ocean, and up a high tower, the man known as Lex Luthor smiled.

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Chapter Fifteen: March’s Starfire