Conquered, Chapter 4

Kal-El, Chloe AU
Rating: Adult. If you're under eighteen, please go elsewhere now.
Disclaimer: These characters belong to the CW and DC Comics, not to me.
Read the previous chapter here.
Read the story from the beginning here.

Chloe spent the rest of the afternoon-- if the term afternoon had any meaning in space-- pacing Kal-El's quarters. The doors wouldn't open for her, and she found no other way out, not even a-- what did they call it on Star Trek? A Jefferies Tube? There were small slots for ventilation in the walls, but they were much too small to crawl through. There was a window, but even if she could somehow manage to open it, that would clearly be a bad idea, since through it she could see endless, empty space dotted with stars.

Eventually, she tried prying at the two halves of the door, then throwing her weight against it, but it didn't budge. She tried again, and again, but to no avail. She was pretty sure the door was sneering at her.

By the time Kal-El returned, she was bored out of her mind.

"Hello, Chloe," he said politely as he walked into the room. She tried to zip past him, but he was ready for her, and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck.

He pulled her back into his quarters, very gently, and smiled at her as the door closed behind him.

"Even if you can somehow accomplish escape, it will do you no good, Chloe. We are light years away from any planet."

She seethed with frustration, glaring up at him. "I don't care," she growled. "I'm not staying on this ship."

"Of course you are," he said mildly, seeming unaffected by her anger. He walked to a large armchair and sank down in it with a sigh, looking oddly like any guy coming home after a nine to five day. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "So, what did you do to occupy the time while I was gone?"

"I did nothing," she snapped. "I was bored out of my mind."

His eyes opened, and he looked at her in puzzlement. "But I left you with..." His voice trailed off, and he looked abashed. "I did not think to teach you how to use the console. I am sorry, Chloe."

Once again, the incongruity of an evil alien overlord apologizing to her struck her. She tilted her head on one side and studied him. Kal-El seemed, oddly, like a decent guy.

"Why do you conquer planets?" she asked.

He blinked at the abruptness of the question. "It is my job," he said simply. "My duty. I do what General Zod commands."

"Have your people always been this way?"

"No," he answered, and she thought she saw a shadow of guilt in his eyes. "There was a time when we left other cultures in peace, when we traded with them and exchanged technology. But when General Zod came to power..."

"So why do you do what this General Zod guy tells you to do?"

"He has the backing of the Kryptonian Council. They are the duly elected leaders of the planet. If they command, I obey."

"Even if you know it's wrong?"

She could see his shoulders stiffen slightly. "It is not wrong. When we conquer a planet with a yellow sun, we obtain certain... benefits. Those planets were created for us. Therefore it is logical for us to take them."

She glared at him. "News flash, buddy. Earth was created for humans, not a bunch of aliens from a galaxy far, far away."

He sighed and closed his eyes again, looking a bit like a henpecked husband. "Chloe," he said, sounding weary, "I do not wish to argue. Shall we share dinner?"

"And then the bed? I notice there's only one of them."

"You will have to sleep in my bed, yes."

"Because there isn't another bed somewhere on the ship?"

His eyes slid away, and she knew she'd scored another point. "The Kridol is the flagship of the fleet," he said shortly. "So yes, there are many beds available for dignitaries. But you will not sleep elsewhere, Chloe. I forbid it. You are mine."

She glared at him. "Get this through your thick alien skull, Kal-El. I am not yours."

He rose to his feet, so that he loomed over her, and glared right back.

"We'll see about that," he said.

*****

Kal-El was tired. The conquering of Earth had been a successful operation, with no serious errors made, and yet in the aftermath of taking a planet, he always found himself exhausted. Perhaps it was the sense of responsibility he felt for a planet's population, the fear that some underling might make an error when armed with unaccustomed strength, and kill some of the natives. That fear rested heavily upon him, every time.

Or perhaps he suffered simply from the loss of the powers his people developed under the yellow sun. He sometimes wished he could remain on the planets he conquered, to let himself bask in the golden rays of the sun for days and soak up its energy, to enjoy the powers his body developed. To have fun with those powers.

But it was not to be so. He could not allow himself the luxury of fun, nor could he allow himself and his crew to remain on an occupied planet for long. Their duty lay elsewhere.

Nevertheless, the upshot was that he was but an ordinary man here on the Kridol, not a superman, and his body no longer sang with energy and pulsed with power. His body was simply tired.

He stepped toward Chloe, and she skittered back.

"You promised," she reminded him.

"I will not force you," he answered. "I had in mind only to... convince you."

"Nuh-uh." She shook her head firmly. "Hands off, buddy."

He sighed. This woman and her peculiar beliefs. She would not even let him burn off a trifle of the sexual energy that burned inside him. It was frustrating.

"Very well," he said with a shrug, trying to sound indifferent. He turned away from her and began to unfasten his jumpsuit. In the mirror, he saw her gaping at him.

"What exactly are you doing?"

He looked into the mirror and met her eyes there.

"Taking my clothes off," he answered.

More to come...