Thanks to everyone for reading! Please comment on any characters and universes you’d like to see in the future below the chapters. I can’t guarantee they’ll make it in, but I want to have some fun and fit in the audience's favourites if I can!

 

Now, on to the chapter!

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"You've done a lot of work while we've been gone..."

 

Dan stood at the entrance to a massive, underground chamber. It ran through the center of the mountain, down into the depths of the world.

 

"I left one thousand drones to begin construction," Utron nodded. "Their priority was the creation of a large-scale drone production facility."

 

Dan followed the A.I. down the endless staircase, wound around the massive silo. It would take ages to reach the bottom.

 

"Just carry me down, we don't have all day..."

 

In Ultron's arms, the trip took less than a minute. The A.I. placed him down at the base of a vast machine.

 

"This is the drone fabricator," Ultron waved at the thorny skyscraper. "It can create one thousand drones per day, more if we can generate enough power."

 

"Who told you to build an army?"

 

Dan rubbed his temples. The mad A.I. was already out of hand. He needed to curb his crazed desire to spread and grow.

 

"It's not an army," Ultron shook his head. "Every drone produced so far are constructors and farming units."

 

"Still... that's a lot of drones, Ultron."

 

"With this number of units, we can barely maintain the city your wife has designed," Ultron smirked. "The population isn't sufficient to do it without mechanical assistance."

 

"Whatever," Dan waved away the worry of an A.I. uprising and held up a luminous crystal. "Where do we plant this thing?"

 

The fortress crystal could grow anywhere, but if placed well, it would have access to the world's core. Geothermal power, enough to fuel almost any need.

 

"Here," Ultron strode to the center of the silo. "Below us is a vast, stable caldera. It should be a direct path into the center of this world."

 

Dan nodded. He placed the crystal into the flattened earth. Nothing happened.

 

"Do we need to water it, or..."

 

The sound of shattered glass, countless windows ruined at once, echoed in Dan's ears. A terrible symphony, reckless and wild. An inverted waterfall, formed of crystalline shards, rose from the ground. It swayed and pulsed, each shift an expansion that threatened to swallow them whole.

 

"Let's retreat for now," Ultron scooped Dan over his shoulder and sped up, toward the surface. "It seems to be functioning."

 

Dan's eyes widened as a wave of glass surged into sight. It gained on them, a sea of edges and points, filled with purpose.

 

"Go faster!"

 

Ultron answered his call with a burst of speed, enough to carry them beyond the mountain.

 

"Where are May and the others?"

 

"Don't worry, my drones evacuated everyone to the plains below."

 

They hovered in the air, outside the crystals' reach. It was intent on smothering the mountain. A discordant ocean of broken mirrors spewed from the mountaintop, a strange parody of a volcano.

 

The flow continued until no rock remained, only a light blue crystal, white under the sun. It contracted and heaved, a reorder of structure that defied logic.

 

System, you said it would take the shape of May's city...

 

"It will, within the limits of its capabilities," His system chirped. "The shape will be there, but you'll need to move in the plants yourself."

 

The structure below settled, a crystal mountain, layered with open spaces for agriculture. It was larger than he'd imagined, big enough to house a million souls, maybe more.

 

"Let's head down and take a look," Dan patted Ultron's shoulder. "Bring the others to meet us and we'll find our new rooms."

 

---

 

"This place is HUGE!"

 

Anakin gaped up at their new home. He was bundled in a thick, woolen coat, to guard against the cold air. His whole life was spent in the desert heat, this planet's snowy landscape chilled him to the bones.

 

"It is big," May walked up to the fortress gate, anticipation on her face. "I wonder if it got everything right?"

 

"There's only one way to find out!"

 

Dan stepped up to the door and placed a hand on the smooth crystal. A blue glow spread from his touch, up the door and across the mountain, until they were bathed in soft light.

 

"Welcome, Son of Krypton," An emotionless voice intoned. "You have been acknowledged as this city's Master, please choose a name for the logs."

 

"You mean I could have been the city master, if I just touched it first?" May stamped her foot. "That's not fare!"

 

"It's our city," Dan pulled her into a hug. "Why don't you pick the name?"

 

"Really?" May beamed up at him. "How about... Hearthstead?"

 

"Home and hearth in one name," Dan squeezed her shoulders tight with his arm. "I love it!"

 

"Is this really our new home?"

 

Anakin couldn't quite believe it. He'd gone from a desert waste, to a crystal city overnight.

 

"For as long as you and your mother wish it to be," Dan patted the boy's head. "Now let's go inside and find our rooms, we can..."

 

"DAMNED MACHINES!"

 

An enraged bellow heralded an explosive force. An old man, dressed in blue robes, was ejected from the fortress at lightning speed. He crashed behind the group, entombed in the stony soil.

 

"Merlyn?" Dan rushed over, confusion on his face. "What happened?"

 

"I'll tell you what happened," Merlyn pried himself free of the ground's embrace. "You left me behind, then planted a magic fortress on my head as compensation!"

 

Dan ducked, a millimeter away from a swift smack. Merlyn withdrew his staff, a scowl on his face.

 

"You have to warn someone, before you go filling the world with glass!"

 

"Sorry about that... and sorry we didn't bring you along," Dan's sheepish smile did nothing to soothe the rumpled wizard. "I got caught up in the excitement of my first quest..."

 

"And I suppose this monstrosity was your reward?"

 

Merlyn glared at the fortress, eyes disdainful.

 

"It's a technologically advanced city, with the production facilities we need to accomplish almost anything."

 

"Bah!" Merlyn spat. "It's a rude creation, it forcibly evicted me because I'm not a kryptonian."

 

"It should be fine now," Dan suppressed his smile. "I've taken control, so anyone that comes with me should be ok."

 

In answer to his words the crystal doorway opened, a slow crawl that exposed the polished interior. Snow white walls supported by elegant archways, high ceilinged hallways attached to a vast internal courtyard.

 

"Welcome, Master," A polished, if emotionless voice sprang from the air. "My name is Jor-El, the A.I. intelligence responsible for this fortress.. how may I serve you?"

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Thanks again! This fanfiction is also available for free on my Patreon, alongside some of my other work, so please visit! Updates for this series will be at around three a week, eventually. For the next bit enjoy three chapter parts a day! It will slow down around 24ish chapter parts into the normal schedule.