Some where farther than any distance found on Earth, in a pocket of the Milky Way galaxy, is a planet not that much bigger than the third rock from our sun. The name given to it by its people is Krypton. The fourth planet from a red sun, Krypton had given birth to a race of men and women with incredible scientific ability. These people created things that will not be seen anywhere else in the universe for some time. For all of their brilliance however, only one of them saw the terrible plight that was about to destroy their planet. And now Krypton's most brilliant man was in a race against time to save his only child.
"I won't loose you too Kal" Jor-El said. Jor-El never thought he would ever be going against his people like this, but he had no choice. His son's life was at stake. In his arms, his 9 month old son some how slept as a cold wind whipped around. Jor-El's black hair rustled in the breeze as his long black and white robe pressed against him. Her pulled the red blanket that was around his sons tighter, hoping to shield his son from the weather.
Jor-El hurried along the busy streets of city, cars flying overhead and people walking past him. He felt like some aquatic creature fighting against a torrential current as he pushed his way though the crowds.
"Hey! Watch it!" Someone cried out.
"I'm sorry" Jor-El exclaimed as he continued past, not even looking back at the person he had bumped into. Suddenly Jor-El caught sight of his own reflection in the window of a shop. Something inside him stirred and he could not look away. A short beard of black stubbly hair covered his face and his hair was a mess; he was a shell of the man his wife had loved in her life. He sighed as the thought of her memory crossed his mind. In his panic, he has almost forgotten the pain of her loss.
"Oh Lara, how these last months have been a struggle without you" Jor-El thought as he looked up at the sky to see green lightning bolt flash across it. "The only thing that hurts me more now is that I will not live to see my son become the man I know he will grow to be". Jor-El ran as quickly as he could now, sprinting towards the military base that was not too far. "If only they had listened to me!" Jor-El's mind flashed back to mere hours ago.
"What do you mean the core is unstable?" the head of the Ruling Council had asked Jor-El after he had told them of what was going to happen.
"Impossible" another cried out.
"The core has become radioactive!" Jor-El cried frantically again. "That is the cause of the strange weather that has been plaguing our world these past weeks"
"The weather is the result of solar flares" another member proclaimed.
"No!" Jor-El exclaimed. "I believe the radiation from the flares that have been recorded recently have caused Krypton's core to…to…change!"
"Jor-El, this is impossible" the head of the council said firmly. "Jor-El, my friend, you must calm yourself. Since your wife's death, you have…lost your senses."
"Do not talk down to me Enn-Rir" Jor-El exclaimed angrily. "Why will you not listen to me!? Our planet will explode in a matter of hours!"
"Then why has no one else seen any evidence of this Jor-El?" A council member to Jor-El's right said.
"Because no one is looking for it" Jor-El answered.
"Enough" The head of the council said. "We will hear no more ramblings from a broken man".
"Fools" Jor-El thought to himself. "Thousands could have been saved if they had listened to me, maybe even millions." Jor-El stopped as his destination came into view; The Kryptonian Armed Forces Deep Space Port. Jor-El stood in an alley, his eyes locked on the lone guard standing before the gate. Jor-El looked at his son Kal, and then began walking towards the gate to the Space Port. The guard saw him approaching and walked to meet him half way.
"Excuse me sir, this is a government facility" the guard said. "Only authorized personnel are allowed past the-" Jor-El had struck the man before he could draw his gun and knocked him out cold. Jor-El bent down and grabbed the small energy pistol that was buckled on the guard's belt and charged it in case he would need to use it. Jor-El reached into the guard's station and pressed the button to open the gate. Jor-El watched as the large door began to slide to the left. Before he could enter the grounds though, a small vehicle landed only a few steps from his position. Jor-El looked back for a moment to see the man he hated most step out of it. It was Zod, his brother and military advisor to the Ruling Council. He had been present during Jor-El's desperate plea to the Ruling Council.
"Jor, stop where you are" Zod shouted. Jor-El froze where he was standing.
"Do not try and stop me Zod" Jor-El said. "I will not let you stop me from saving my son's life". Jor-El turned and aimed his gun at Zod. However, Zod was holding a small boy and a baby girl in his arms.
"I have come to help you" Zod told him.
Moments later the two brothers found themselves walking through the empty halls of the Space Port, their children all cradled and sleeping.
"Where is everyone?" Jor-El asked.
"The Ruling Council declared that everyone go back to their homes due to the increase in the violent weather over the last few hours" Zod told him. "Everyone was ordered indoors".
"I told you all" Jor-El remarked bitterly. He turned a cold eye to his brother. "Why are you here?" Jor-El grabbed Zod's arm and forced him to stop where they were.
"Because I believed you" Zod said, stuttering slightly on his words. He did not want to admit this to Jor-El.
"Then why did you not stand up for me in front of the council" Jor-El growled. "Does your hatred for our house go that deep!"
"Because, like the Council, I believed you were a fool," Zod told him. "That was till I went to your home and found your notes." Jor-El looked at his brother's black eyes for a moment before shaking his head and continuing on. "The stasis pods are here" Zod informed Jor-El as he pointed to a door not too far ahead.
Several hours later, Jor-El was finally finished attaching the warp engines to two stasis pods. The tools that Jor-El had used littered the floor around them.
"Do you believe they will be safe on this planet you found?" Zod asked as he looked down at his sleeping son and daughter in the chamber.
"I'm sure of it" Jor-El said confidently. "They will be more than fine".
"What do you mean?"
"Nevermind" Jor-El responded as he placed his son in the other stasis pod. Jor-El wrapped the large red blanket Kal had over Kal's entire body. The Symbol of the El House was painted in gold over his son's body. Jor-El reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a metal orb not much bigger than his fist. He placed it inside a compartment on the side of the pod chamber.
"Seems like me and you think alike" Zod said. Jor-El looked up and saw his brother holding an orb. Zod placed the orb in his children's compartment, and then shut the pod. He and Jor-El activated the pods almost simultaneously. A loud hiss filled the room as the machines put the children into a death-like slumber. Jor-El silently looked down at his son for a moment.
"You are sure that no vessel large enough to hold all of us will outrun the explosion?" Zod asked.
"I'm sure" Jor-El answered gravely. "The weight would keep us from achieving enough speed to jump to hyperspace in time". Zod ran his hand down the face of his children's pod.
"Kara is younger than your son Jor" Zod said. A silent pause fell over the room as Jor-El looked at his brother for the first time in long time and did not want to attack him. "I wish I could have seen what they become."
"I do to" Jor-El replied. Suddenly a violent tremor shook the ground.
"Has it begun?!" Zod exclaimed.
"It must have" Jor-El answered. "We must hurry!"
The brothers worked together to get the pods onto a cart, and moved as quickly as they could to the launch pad. As they exited the building, Zod looked up and saw the sky flash several times with green lightning in the span of a few seconds.
"Quickly Zod!" Jor-El yelled over the thunder. Another tremor ripped through the area as the brother set up the pods in the center of the launch pad. Jor-El knelt down and began to punch in coordinates into the computer built into the engine he had attached to the pod. Once they were set, he input a command and the engine began to ignite.
"Rao!" Zod exclaimed. "This damned computer is not working!" As Kal-El's ship began to lift off, Jor-El sprinted to the other pod. He put the coordinates in as quickly as he could and pulled his brother away as it ignited. Seconds later, the two brothers were watching as their children flew off towards the sky. The ground began to shake violently. Jor-El turned towards his brother and put his hand upon Zod's shoulder. The two locked eyes as the ground began to rip apart.
Kal's ship rocketed through Krypton's atmosphere. Below him, canyon sized cracks began to permeate through the crust of the planet. Not far behind it, the second ship was following in suit.
With a magnificent burst of light, Krypton exploded. The ships zoomed past the second moon as rubble began to fly past them. Suddenly the engine of Kal's ship began to glow. A moment later, a white portal opened, and the ship blasted off into hyperspace. The second ship's engine began to glow, but before the portal opened, a wave of radiation caught up and passed over the ship. The ship wavered slightly as it shot off into the unknown.