UNLIKELY ALLIES
"Join us Jor-El. We will destroy the council and rule Krypton together," I said.
Were those treasonous words actually coming from me? I was a soldier and a General. I was a defender of our people and their institutions - and that included the Council. How had it come to this?
Damned civilians. Put an ugly truth in front of them and they refuse to look at it. They would ignore and debate and prevaricate right up until the moment Krypton died.
No. No, that wasn't fair. Both Jor-El and Non had seen what was coming. They were the ones who told me.
But after what the Council did to Non, I knew that we could wait no longer. They would never cooperate with Jor-El or I. Instead, the blind fools would simply crush anyone who disagreed with their precious edicts. That is what they did to Non - they destroyed him, but were too great of a pack of cowards to actually kill him. Instead, the Council did something far worse to him, and then told themselves that they were good people for not staining their hands with blood.
"Violence is not the answer and power hardly the goal," Jor-El replied coldly.
Jor-El's wife stood next to him, cradling their boy in her arms. And she was obviously frightened.
Frightened of me.
Of me?
I banished that moment of doubt.
"They need to answer for this. Non was your friend!" I hissed through clenched teeth. The barely controlled rage inside of me was spilling over. Of course, that was exactly the wrong way to convince Jor-El of anything, but I couldn't stop myself. My words were now really more for myself than for him.
Jor-El shook his head, "Whoever did this to Non will be held accountable, but right now the simple truth is that we cannot save all of Krypton without the Council's support."
I hesitated.
"Revenge will not help any of us," Jor-El finished calmly. Blast it, the man had a way about him. He would be incalculably helpful to our cause! If only he were a little less civilized...
"Revenge may be all we have left," I replied softly. And I believed those words as I spoke them. Krypton might die, but I would see that the cretins who had squandered the only chance to save our world - and had performed unspeakable crimes while doing so - perished first.
Then Jor-El's wife - Lara - suddenly spoke.
"General Zod," she said suddenly. "Please listen to my husband. Please."
As she spoke, she stroked the boy's head through the blanket that covered him. She probably didn't even realize what she was doing.
"For the sake of my son," she continued softly. "For the sake of all the children of Krypton. Please help us find a way to save them!"
I opened my mouth to roar back an angry reply at her impertinence. I am Zod! I am a soldier of Krypton! Of course I would save this woman and her boy and all the others! My plan would...
My plan would...
My plan...
Then I closed my mouth. Suddenly, I felt so tired and empty. I didn't have a plan. All I had was rage - nothing else.
Wordlessly, I looked towards Ursa, my most loyal subordinate. She would follow me to the end of the world. Which is what I had been asking her to do.
Shocked by Lara-El's words, I could now see in Ursa's eyes that which she would never say aloud to me. She nodded her head slightly. Non loomed behind her, his face expressionless as he awaited my orders. There was no point in asking that crippled and betrayed man for his counsel. He had none to give me.
Turning back to Jor-El, I took a deep breath and shoved my anger into a place where it would not interfere with operations.
"What should we do?" I asked.
"Whatever is required," Jor-El said evenly as his eyes met mine.
Yes, Jor-El definitely had a way about him. But Jor-El was only one man. Together, who knows what he and I might accomplish?
"Uncle Zod?"
The boy was nervous, but he wasn't really frightened. I've spent most of my life training soldiers and I knew that look. He was more worried about disappointing me than anything else. After all, there was no way such a paltry fall could injure him.
I knew that this was a time for gentleness.
"Take your time," I said quietly. "And when you are ready, jump."
The boy peered over the edge of the... "barn"? Yes. That is what Jonathan calls it. A good man, Jonathan. He and his wife have done so much for us. It was really a good thing that I didn't kill him when we first arrived on this world. After our ship crash-landed in one of Jonathan's fields, I considered doing just that. At the time, it seemed to me that it would be best to keep our existence a secret until we had a better understanding of this world. But for our first few days on Earth, Jor-El was never too far from Jonathan and Martha.
That was probably not an accident. Jor-El is a most perceptive man.
But eventually, the people of Smallville - and especially the Kents - were our best advocates when it became time to treat with the United States government. The small Pacific island that they ultimately granted us for our colony turned out to be more than sufficient for our needs. But like the other surviving Kryptonians, Smallville and the Kents will always occupy a special place in my heart. I love to visit this place.
There was a sudden burst of exuberant laughter. Out in the "North Forty" - as Jonathan called it - Ursa and Martha and Lara were chatting about something. They seemed to be sharing a confidence of some kind, and I resolutely refused to eavesdrop on them. For some reason incomprehensible to me, Lara was hugging Ursa while Martha had the palms of her hands on Ursa's stomach. They all seemed to be very excited about something.
I'll never understand women. Particularly, I'll never understand how one day, Ursa suddenly stopped being my best soldier and instead became so much more.
Yes, I'll never understand how that happened. But by the Old Gods of Krypton, I am eternally grateful.
Looking back at the boy, I raised my eyebrows inquiringly. That was enough. Setting his jaw firmly, he took a deep breath - and then he took another. Closing his eyes, he stepped off the edge of the barn...
In mid-fall a yelp of surprise came from Kal-El's mouth as he suddenly stopped descending - and began rising.
And then he flew. It was uneven and wobbly, but Kal-El flew.
It was Kal-El's first flight. He had wanted to try it from the same building from which his father and I had taken our first flights. He wanted to surprise his mother and father.
Kara was zooming about overhead (mental note: talk to her about appropriate attire while flying). She began cheering. Non was sitting in a nearby fruit tree. He roared happily. Down below us, Ursa, Jor-El, Jonathan, Lara, and Martha all began applauding.
The boy's eyes were sparkling as he fluttered in mid-air and waved wildly at everyone with both hands.
Raising my arms above my head, I roared out a cry of victory.