A meal with family.

Karen made her way down the hallways of the Fortress of Solitude, smiling to herself as she looked in each room to find her adult children busying away, learning about their former home, their culture. She spotted several passing by one hallway to the next, eager to explore the massive crystal fortress and find something new. The place was like a maze if you did not know where you were going. Fortunately for her, she did.

Looking into one room she found five of her sons and daughters watching a crystal display built into the wall explaining the history of her home city of Kandor, the tiny city perched nearby on a pedestal broadcasting the lesson for the five krypto-wolves to watch like an entertainment center. Folding her four arms under her chest, Karen leaned against the tall doorframe and could not help but smirk as she pictured the sight of her children acting like pet dogs watching a television show in the living room.

“Hey kids, enjoying the lesson?” She asked out loud, finally entering the room to find them turn their attention to her and smile back to her presence. The loks on their snouts seemed… Off, like they were waiting for something. But just as quickly as they darted their eyes, they smiled back at their mother and nodded.

“We learned about Brainiac, and how he shrank the city…” Answered her son Gru’el, a strange shake in his leg he stopped once he placed one of his clawed hands to his knee to stop it.

Yes, then there was… Zodd’s trial.” Tarm’el spoke, looking up to his mother. “The city in the jar showed us, showed us everything.”

Smiling and shaking her head, the krypto-wolfess left to keep walking. Had she stayed long enough, she would have noticed her children were still looking out the door for several seconds before turning their attention back to the display, a look of anxiety on their faces.

Passing by another room, she found her newborn children sleeping in makeshift quarters, surrounded by three of her grown up daughters watching over them. Curled up together like they would when they were living at the world tree, it brought a smile to Karen’s face. Staying at the door frame, the massive wolfess smiled down at them, but found it strange that her adult children seemed so quiet. Turning to look up to their mother, Sal’el and Juri’el smiled back a second later.

“Hello mother.”

“Hello sweety, watching over the new ones hmm?” Entering the chamber, she crouched down to her knees and gently caressed her newborn’s sleeping heads and sighed happily.

“Yes… We were told to.”

“Really? Who asked?”

Not answering, Juri’el turned back to watch over the younger siblings sleeping, the three krypto-wolves continued their watch but did not say another word. Confused but still not worried for their safety, Karen continued her way through the fortress to check on the rest of her children.

She made her way into the menagerie next, looking over each exhibit of exotic alien animal life scurrying about on the ground or flying from one tree to the next. Each exhibit was populated with life forms from worlds long gone. The occasional robot maintained each encloser or fed the animal life as she padded her way through. Looking down she spotted one of e robots cleaning a stain on the floor, confusing Karen when she looked down at the greasy sludge and noticed it had the same smell that had been permeating across the entire fortress. Crouching down to all sixes, she looked down at the robot that had largely ignored her until she came close.

“Please step aside as cleaning is in process.” Stated the robot in a calm mechanical voice.

“What is that? Did one of the creatures in the zoo get out?”

“Negative.” Answered the robot, draining the cloth in a bucket and wiping the excess out. “The biological matter was from our guest’s previous activities before your arrival.”

“Guests?”

Getting up to her feet, Karen shook her head in confusion, her spines rattling behind her in agitation as she started to wonder what was going on. Then she heard one of her children approaching behind her and smiled when she spotted Karin’el, her eldest daughter. Looking over her shoulder, she smiled to see her wearing a custom made Kryptonian robe tied with a sash around her waist. It pleased her to see her children wear a touch of civilization when her daughter hugged her in greeting.

“Welcome mother, we’ve been waiting for you.” She said, sharing a smile of her own from her blonde furred snout, but her eyes seemed… Unfocused, like she was not looking at her mother but behind her. Thinking nothing of it, Power Girl looked down at her daughter’s robes with approval. “The machines in the fortress fab-ri-cated these for us to wear if we wanted, I like the fabric.”

“It looks good on you too sweetheart, personally I’d have gone with something causal, the robes were meant for ceremony… Heh, the fortress of Solitude, should have figured I could have asked Clark to make clothes for us for our size.”

Seeing her daughter nod to the comment, it confused Karen that her daughter was not commenting that her mother was now 2 feet taller than the last time they met, with no hint of curiosity she had always known her daughter to have. “So… What brings you out here in the menagerie?”

“Carn’el brought something to eat from out in the ice, we’re meeting him in the dining chamber soon, he asked if you could join us.”

Tilting her head, Karen nodded and joined her daughter to head to the eating quarters, leading the robot behind them to finish its cleaning and head out of the menagerie.

*

Entering the banquette room of the fortress, Karen was pleased to find her entire family sitting or lounging around the table where the table showed prime cut and cooked meat on plates of all things. Impressed, she spotted Carn’el at the head of the table and sitting cross legged on the floor while everyone else surrounded the meal. Taking her own place at the table and sitting on the floor considering her massive size, Karen still found it strange that her entire family of children had their eyes set on the meat on the table then the sight of their mother back and bigger than ever. “So… is anyone interested in what your mother has been up to…?”

“Eat…”

The moment they heard Carn’el give the word, the entire horde of krypto-wolves dove onto the plates of meat and ravenously ate what they could get their claws on. If they were not acting like wolves before, they certainly did now. Looking down at her own plate, she found the slab of what appeared to be steak doused in cooking grease she did not recognise. Plucking the slab of the plate she began to bite into her meal, oblivious to the smirk her eldest son gave when she finally swallowed.

When she did, she felt a heat bloom in her stomach she did not recognise but shrugged it off and continued to eat. “Well, if anyone was curious, Aloe Vera invited me into UMBRA! And let me tell you, it was wonderful, I spent six months in there, living free and wild like a wolf… Hmm, it was wonderful…” Leaning over the table, Karen’s eyes fluttered as she remembered the experience.

“But you were only gone for a few days mother.” Piped in Karin’el, gnawing on her steak, and watching her mother lean back and fan herself, she darted her eyes back to Carn’el as did the others, watching him smirk as his plans unfolded before him.

“You look tired mother… Not hungry?”

“I’m… Feeling a little flushed…” She answered, biting into her meal again and feeling the warmth fill her again and caused a heat to bloom in her loins, her mind feeling woozy. Sitting up from her seat, Karen felt shaky on her feet and made her way out of the room. “I think… I think I’ll head to my quarters, get a little sleep, maybe coming from the Umbra gave me some vertigo.”

Watching his mother leave the room, Carn’el looked to the others and nodded. Then he and his brothers got up and followed him out, the lot of them looking like they were all in a trance.