Gone Native: Compromises (ch. 12) (Patreon)

To be completely honest, Clark didn’t think that would actually work. He could admit that much to himself as Tarble crossed the border, entering south Rhelasia with his arms crossed, even as he eyed them warily. He was expecting deceit. Anticipating it. Perhaps even wanting it. Clark had learned what he could -- the Federation and the Trade Organization propaganda agreed on something, and it was that Saiyans thrived off of conflict.

But, as he offered Tarble a small nod, approving of his response to… deescalate, he didn’t see a young man looking for conflict. Clark didn’t see someone that was picking a fight.

Clark decided to discard everything that Hal and John had told the League about Tarble, regardless of how true it was. Instead, he looked at what Tarble had done since he came to Earth to get a glimpse of who the King of the Saiyans really was. What he found was a young man that was willing to sit down and speak with someone he could call an enemy as often as he was willing to fight with them. He wasn’t perfect. Not by a long shot.

He brazenly committed two murders on Earth without any semblance of remorse. That was something that had to be answered, more so when one of the men he killed was the  leader of a nation that Tarble had decided he didn’t recognize as legitimate. The UN and all the nations of Earth wouldn't take that lying down. They couldn't afford to. Even if the reason behind his actions was not because he found their system of government disagreeable, but for humane reasons.

Maybe his heart was in the right place, but his execution needed a lot of work.

“The prisoners will be held by my fleet until their trial,” Tarble declared. Part of Clark wanted to argue that he didn’t have that right to decide what would be done with human prisoners -- he held his tongue only because there wasn’t an argument that Tarble would recognize. In his point of view, he was imprisoning his own citizens rather than members of humanity.

Unsurprisingly, that decision wasn’t popular. “Your… prisoners should be held by the UN until their trial by their peers,” Diana argued. Clark let her speak -- the Amazon princess was better suited to this kind of conversation than he was. Though, he doubted that Tarble would agree to any further compromise on the subject. The unyielding look Tarble gave in response was all the proof that he needed.

“No,” he refused curtly. For a moment, it seemed that was all he would say. Then his lips thinned, his expression twisting ever so slightly as if he had eaten something sour, “They will be held by my fleet,  but I will allow you to inspect their cells. Human guards may be posted in addition to my own.” It wasn’t quite a compromise, more of an olive branch. Still, it was more than Clark expected.

Arthur, a fellow King and ruler of Atlantis, stepped forward. “That would be appreciated. I do agree that these men should see justice done. What we ask is that their trial be done by their peers to ensure a fair punishment befitting the crime.”

Tarble seemed to instinctively crush his first response to dismiss the idea entirely, “Their trial will be held after the summit to decide my ownership of Earth. Then they will either be tried by your laws or mine.”

Clark smiled lightly, “That sounds fair.” The UN wouldn’t like it. Support from the UN was seesawing between complete revocation of their charter to complete support. The people making the decisions hadn't changed, just their opinions as more information came to light. The UN had given the Justice League the charter in preparation for Tarble’s arrival. That fact never changed.

What did change was that the threat was here, on Earth, rather than being millions of miles away in space. They agreed to have the League as a preventative measure and now balked at leaving Earth in their hands. It was frustrating. It was also sadly expected. The problem was being compounded by the fact that Tarble didn’t arrive at the helm of an invasion force -- some questioned if they needed the League at all, others were angry that Tarble had acknowledged the League rather than the UN as the representatives of Earth …

And now, the UN was finally seeing that Tarble did have a fleet in the system and a willingness to destroy nations he found lacking. For all intents and purposes, it might as well be the invasion they had long been preparing for.

That scared them.

Diana glanced at him, and he felt like he might have stepped on her toes diplomatically. It was too late to take it back now however, as Tarble accepted the deal with a curt nod. Bruce stepped forward, boxing Tarble in, “It would be best if you returned with us to the Watchtower. Your continued presence on Earth will only inflame tensions before the summit.”

Tarble didn’t so much as blink, “Am I under arrest?” He questioned, steel in his voice. It was a tone Clark was very familiar with. It made it clear that there was a correct answer to that question and answering wrong would have consequences. Clark was all too aware of the fleet above -- he had seen images from the Watchtower. There were three of them in total, bringing the number of ships in orbit around the planet into the hundreds.

Clark knew that he could easily tear them apart with his bare hands. He could destroy the fleet in only a handful of minutes -- between his heat vision and his own body, the fleets would be nothing before him. However, that wasn’t why he feared them.

For all of his power, Clark understood that he was a single man. If he fought the foreign ships, he would win every single time. If he fought three, then he would win. Even if he fought a thousand, Clark was confident that he could destroy them. The only thing that changed was the amount of time that it took. Victory was certain.

But that time was what he feared. Earth couldn't withstand the might of Tarble's empire even if the Justice League could. The smallest window of opportunity would leave Earth devastated. Clark feared that window, because he understood that Tarble was a general first and foremost. What he could do with even a few seconds and the might of his empire -- countless fleets and armies in the trillions, would be horrifying.

They had precautions. Still, he'd rather not use them. He’d rather not fight at all if it was an option.

“No,” Bruce answered curtly. “It would reassure the people of Earth.” He offered as an explanation. Clark saw what he was trying to do. Earth would see it as the Justice League containing a threat, mitigating risk.

"I'm sure it would," Tarble returned. "But I will not allow myself to be put under what amounts to house arrest in my own empire. Nor will I allow myself to be taken as a captive by what could be seen as a foreign power." That was unfortunate, but Clark did see where he was coming from. It would be like asking Arthur to submit to the US government. Something that had happened before in the early days of his career as Aquaman.

Worryingly, that situation had been resolved by Atlantis displaying its military might and reminding the world that seventy percent of the world was covered in water.

"What I will allow is the Justice League to assign me a guard while I continue to explore Earth and settle things here in what was North Rhelasia. Similar to what the Teen Titans did, but outside of Raven, you might actually  stand a chance of stopping me if I, for some reason, abandon all sense of reason and decide to blow up the planet. Or whatever else you think I will do in your worst-case scenario," Tarble offered. It was far less than what they wanted and even less than what the UN wanted, but it was also, once more, more than what Clark expected.

Diana offered a curt nod, "That would be an acceptable compromise," she decided, speaking for the League. She had the authority to -- she was one of the co-presidents of the League, along with himself.

"Good. Would it help if you oversaw the aid that will be given?" Tarble questioned, making Diana open her mouth to respond, but it was Batman that responded.

"The aid should be given through the UN," he voiced, leveling a hard look at Tarble. "The people of North Rhelasia will have no love for you for their liberation."

Tarble met that look head-on, not cowed in the slightest. Which is a great deal more than most could say. "I don't need their gratitude. Going through the UN will not only take too long, but it would be met with just as much hostility. I understand that North Rhelasia has a holiday where they make UN and American training dummies to practice their fighting skills on to ward off evil." There was an accusation in his tone that made Clark wince, because knowing Bruce, that accusation was right on the mark.

Bruce was attempting to prevent Tarble from developing a foothold on Earth. He was attempting to avoid Tarble gaining a support base in North Rhelasia, as well as the rest of the world. Most people would find this terrifying. But there would be a vocal minority that would celebrate this. They would demand to know why it wasn't done sooner.

That vocal minority would spread. In all likelihood, it would become pleas for help that had been denied to them by the UN or the Justice League, regardless of how valid the reasons.

The longer they talked, the better Clark was getting at seeing what kind of man Tarble was. He was sure that what he had seen wasn't all of him, not by a long shot, but after a handful of interactions Clark was beginning to see the innate charisma worthy of a man capable of holding an interplanetary empire together by himself. He could see why Batman wanted to nip this in the bud before it had a chance to take off.

"We can coordinate your aid efforts. If North Rhelasia has been destroyed, then its civilian population will be considered refugees," Clark voiced, earning a sharp look from Arthur and Batman. It didn't help the greater good or the argument against Tarble, but Clark… for all of his strength, he was a weak man. He didn't have it in him to treat millions of people as a bargaining chip in an argument.

They needed help so he would help them. Sometimes it really was as simple as that.

Tarble took that as permission and ran with it, a hand going back up to his ear, "Commence operation." He once again ordered, before hundreds of drop pods began to fall from the sky. "Relay this message to all North Rhelasian territory -- decease all military operations. Conflict will not be tolerated,  internally or externally. The aid given to you comes without cost, but it does have the expectation that it will be freely shared with those that need it."

Clark's ears picked up the message being played in Rehalsian through the dropship dropped to the Earth far gentler than Clark expected. One landed nearby, popping open to reveal a military team. They were various aliens, some more humanoid than others, but they all wore similar armor. The North Rhelasian's opened fire on the aliens, but Clark saw action wasn't needed. The bullets all bounced off of their armor.

The commander looked to Tarble, who nodded. "Don't retaliate. They'll run out of bullets before your shields break," Tarble stated, more for their benefit. The aliens nodded in response, stowing their weapons away before they marched to the handful of injured Rhelasians. Clark walked forward, ignoring the former border of North Rhelasia, and flew towards the wounded humans, and gently took a nutrient bar from the aliens.

North Rhelasia was no friend of the Justice League, but a nation didn't always speak for its people. There was mistrust and even anger aplenty, but not in all of them. And that was enough to allow Clark to approach.

Doing this would cause problems, Clark knew, but the League would weather that storm when it came. Right now, all that mattered was that the people that needed help got it.

…

"Are you okay?" Clark asked Kara not long after the aid mission was in full swing. Diana was dealing with the UN, coordinating with them even as they lambasted the League for the concessions they had made. Kara crossed her arms, floating over the city of Peyonyang with a frown on her face. Their presence was meant to ensure that the aid made it to those that needed it and to prevent violence.

"I'm fine," Kara dismissed with a shrug, sounding like the only thing injured was her pride. "I'm just thinking."

Clark flew beside his cousin, looking down at the city as aliens and some North Rhelasian soldiers were coordinating aid efforts -- food, water, and even medical equipment in addition to medicine. There were tanks filled with a green liquid that people could enter,  and within minutes, they would step out healed of whatever physical ailment they had. The worse the injury, the longer the stay, but so far it had a one-hundred percent success rate.

"Care to share?" Clark asked, smiling lightly as he waved back at a young boy who had spotted them in the sky and greeted with a smile and excited waving. No matter where you go, some things stayed the same.

"You always said that it wasn't up to us to induce change in humanity. That's why we never shared what's in the Fortress of Solitude," she began. Clark nodded slowly, seeing where this was going. "But that change is coming to Earth no matter what."

It wasn't an easy decision by any means. When he first discovered the fortress in his late teens, his first thought was to share everything with humanity -- the technology, the history… an AI modeled after his father implored him not to. He showed him the disastrous route that other races had been placed on when they gained access to advanced technology too quickly. His father's AI had compared it to a child burning their hand on a kitchen stove  top -- yes, they learned their lesson, but the experience was hurt them.

Except the technology Clark could offer was far more dangerous than a kitchen stove. Humanity would have far more to worry about than a burnt hand if they made a careless mistake with antimatter. Complete annihilation of the planet and everyone on it was just one item on a very long list of potential disasters.

Clark hadn't believed it. He brushed off the advice, and he brought some tech back to Smallville, his hometown. A simple thing to make his parents' lives easier on the farm. Instead, it ended in disaster and with his secret nearly exposed. Lex Luthor had gotten his hands on the device for a brief time before Clark got it back and returned it. To this day, he still saw knock-offs produced by Lex Corp.

"We hide it because humanity isn't ready for it. It would have turned humanity into a rogue empire or destroyed the planet," Clark said, still standing by the decision. When a race jumped several thousand years in terms of technology, terrible things always happened. A race needed to evolve with their technology -- to learn to respect it and value it, but never more so than their lives. So far, humanity hadn't learned that lesson. And perhaps the Saiyan race was another example of that warning -- by their own admission, they went from the stone age to the space age. "Change is good, but too much change all at once will end in disaster."

Kara fell silent for a brief moment, gathering her thoughts. "The world has already changed," Kara voiced her opinion. "We're taking advantage of it, but Tarble forced this change. And he's going to keep forcing it." It wasn't easy to identify the emotion in her voice. It sounded like… anticipation.

Clark let out a small sigh, not surprised. Unlike him, Kara had memories of Krypton. He only had stories and relics of their people -- there were times when Kryptonians felt as alien to him as humans did. For her, though -- Krypton's loss was an open wound. She missed the people, the culture, and the technology… when she first arrived, Kara was frustrated with humanity. Angry, even.

Time helped. A few years and she acclimated to humanity. But, even if she never voiced it out loud, Clark knew that those same frustrations still simmered under the surface.

"Too much change at once could be disastrous," Clark cautioned her again.

Kara glanced at him, "Maybe, but we don't really know what that change is going to look like either." She said, making her own point. She crossed her arms, "I think if Tarble is going to take a tour of Earth, then it's only fair that we take a tour of his empire. He came down hard here because he saw people being mistreated. I want to see if he's just putting on a show… and I think that humanity should see what Tarble can bring to the table."

Clark raised an eyebrow at that, meeting Kara's unflinching look. At that moment, he knew that she would go no matter what he said. He spared a glance, tapping into his X-Ray vision to see Tarble a couple hundred miles away as he led the peacekeeping efforts.

North Rhelasia was in its death throes. A large fraction of the military was standing down and had begun helping distribute the food and medicine. Yet, there were some military bases that were attempting to seize back control. When the chain of command broke, people turned to local leaders. Negotiations were happening, but so far, there had been three missile launches that Tarble had stopped.

“That sounds more than fair,” Clark voiced his thoughts,  though he had a nagging worry. It sounded a lot like Kara almost wanted Earth to join Tarble’s empire. He doubted that -- his guess was that she wanted what Tarble’s empire could do for humanity. It also sounded like a great opportunity to see just who their neighbors were. Because, even if Tarble did back down after Earth refused his claim, it meant that Earth would be surrounded on all sides by his Empire. “I’ll talk to the rest of the League about it-”​

“I’ll go get the okay from Tarble,” Kara decided herself, before she flew off, ending the conversation . Clark watched her go for a moment, wondering what was going through her head. He didn’t have long to think about it since he heard someone trying to get his attention down below in the city. It was a sea of noise down there, but the words were in English and in a familiar voice.

“We need to talk, Superman,” Bruce said. Based on the heartbeats that he could hear,  Diana was done getting yelled at. Victor, J'onn, and Arthur were busy maintaining a presence throughout the North Rhelasian territory. UN soldiers were being shipped in to help oversee the transition and take up a defensive posture against China, given that North Rhelasia had been a protectorate. It was too soon to tell if North Rhelasia would officially be dissolved, but… Tarble didn’t seem to be willing to accept anything less.

The rest of the League was maintaining a presence abroad -- Black Canary was in the Watchtower, while Green Arrow, Shazam, Flash, and Zatanna were spread across America.

Clark descended from the sky, but he still kept an ear out for trouble. He landed lightly on a rooftop, joining Bruce and Diana. Bruce didn't waste any time, "This situation isn't ideal."

Diana looked at Clark, "Why did you so easily agree to allow Tarble's troops to land?"

"This could be the start of an invasion. Civilians could be in danger," Bruce pointed out, sounding angry, but more than that, confused.

Clark shook his head, "Tarble won't attack civilians." He stated. He was confident enough that he took the risk. "We decided to reexamine our intel on Tarble, and so I did. The greatest threat that he has over Earth is that if it comes to conflict, human casualties will be immense. But I don't believe that Tarble is willing to  target civilians."

"He has made a habit of drawing a line between civilians and rebels," Diana said, seconding Clark's evaluation. They both looked to Bruce, who had a counterpoint ready, as he always did.

"A thin line," Bruce argued. "One that's ill-defined, other than being against him. We reexamined what we knew, but that doesn't change that Tarble has a well-documented history of exterminating his enemies." That was true. Past actions did matter. Context mattered too. "You agreed to have him give aid based nothing but pure faith."

Bruce wasn't exactly wrong there, but it wasn't pure faith that guided his decision. "We've spoken to the Titans, and I've spoken to Tarble. I'm not diminishing his past actions, and I do believe that he should answer for them, but there's good in him." Clark believed that wholeheartedly. There were questions about just much good and how it presented itself, but there was good in Tarble. Of that, Clark had no doubt.

"And this isn't you trying to view the big picture at his urging?" Bruce questioned, delivering a verbal jab.

"No. I'm just looking at his past and his present actions. Tarble lived in a world of extremes during the war, and now he's free of it, but he hasn't acclimatized," Clark spoke as he crossed his arms over his chest. He had given a great deal of thought about their two brief conversations. One thing stood out the most to him.

The example that he gave -- a race of people, an entire species, forced to draw straws to see who lived and died. At the whim of a tyrant that enjoyed their suffering. It was horrible. And heart-wrenching that Tarble had seen something like that at such a young age. But, regardless of how horrible it was, Tarble had witnessed it. That action became the defining point of what a tyrant was in Tarble's eyes.

To Tarble, anything short of that was acceptable. In his own eyes, as long as he wasn't genociding an entire species to amuse himself, he didn't meet the qualifications of a tyrant.

"He's here to change. To learn how to be a better ruler," Clark continued. "He doesn't want redemption, but I think he's still seeking it out. I think we should help him find it."

"I'm not against the idea, but there is too much to lose. Earth and the future of humanity is at stake," Diana pointed out. "The deadline for the summit is coming up. And this will inflame both sides of the argument."

Bruce nodded, "The League's objectivity is already being questioned. If people believe that we're willing to support Tarble, to be unrestrained by the charter…" Bruce trailed off, his lips pressing into a thin line. Their hands were bound by politics. If it got any worse, then Clark knew Bruce would simply leave the League to follow his own personal morals.

"We aren't supporting anyone. We're working with Tarble to extract compromises," Clark clarified. The Justice League was formed to protect Earth. That was their mission. It was just that that mission only got more and more complicated with each passing day. "Something he has been more open to. Kara wanted to explore Tarble's empire to see what's hiding behind the curtain. I think we should send the Titans with her."

"The UN will fight that. They're counting on heroes to be the front line when the invasion comes." Diana said with a shake of her head -- the irony wasn't lost on Clark either. But, that was the hand they were dealt when they picked this life , and it was the hand they chose to accept.

Bruce nodded, "We'll frame it as a gathering of evidence for the case. Tarble will likely use North Rhelasia to support his case that humanity is better off under his rule. If Kara explores the empire and finds that conditions are worse, then it kills his argument dead in the water." To that, Diana nodded. It was true, and it was framed in a way that a politician could swallow.

Clark glanced up at the fleet of ships that were in the sky -- the others had doubts, but Clark was confident that the worst-case scenario was a dud that would never come to pass.  The UN was prepared for an invasion if Tarble's claim was rejected, but it would likely only come if it was unlawfully rejected. That was the line that separated rebels from civilians.

A whole-scale invasion wasn't in the cards. Tarble wouldn't slaughter humans indiscriminately. The fact that that card wasn't on the table spoke well of Tarble because that's what they had expected him to lead with.

"We can talk to him," Clark one again voiced his thoughts aloud, earning the attention of Diana and Bruce. "We can reason with him. It won't be easy, and there will be compromises, but…

"Conflict is only inevitable if we treat it like it is."

…

This chapter kicked my ass. The words fought me every step of the way, so I’m not entirely happy with it. Let me know what you think because I’m hoping its a case of me being overcritical of my work.