Hey! I hope you liked the prologue. Now then, to really get going with the story, here is the first chapter! Enjoy!
The Future of Justice
Chapter 1- Visitor
The Arctic:
The icy wind was blowing harshly over the frozen landscape; like it was angry that something precious had been taken away. And it turned out, that something was taken. The mighty Fortress of Solitude once stood magnificently there, formed miles away from any human that might accidentally stumble upon it. It was all that remained of Krypton, a planet long destroyed; it contained all of that world's knowledge. That knowledge was left for the Last Son of Krypton, Kal-El…or Clark Kent to Earth.
But thanks to his most hated enemy Lex Luthor, who was in the past a close friend of Clark, the Fortress had crumbled away. Now, there was nothing near the North Pole but snow and ice. But the wind was not the only thing that was making noise; the ground shook and increased in tension. It sounded like something was trying to break its way out onto the surface, and it was buried very deep. The tremors kept getting more and more intense…until finally, a fist burst out from the ice.
A second later, another fist had broken through and made the hole larger for him to make it out. A few moments later, Clark Kent rose from the newly formed hole, out of breath and totally alone. He looked around and he could see nothing of his Fortress. Depressed, he reached down in the hole and slowly dragged out the body of Lex Luthor. Clark checked his pulse, and sighed with relief; he was still alive. One of the fallen crystals from the Fortress cave-in Lex caused had hit him hard on his bald head; a huge scar could be seen near his left temple.
As he looked down at his former friend, though Clark was relieved that Lex didn't die, he secretly wished Lex did. After all, this was all Lex's fault; he caused the Fortress to fall on them, and he nearly killed Clark. Clark despised what Lex had become, but he would never allow someone to die…not even an enemy. So being the person that he was, he picked up Lex and super sped to the Medical Center in Smallville. On the way, he thought of what happened to Kara, his missing cousin and the only other Kryptonian to survive Krypton's destruction.
'I don't know where you are Kara, but I promise, I will find you and bring you home.' He hoped that wherever Kara was, she was safe. How wrong he was…
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Phantom Zone:
Kara was doing her best to hide from all the phantoms and physical beings in the Phantom Zone: A barren, near lifeless plain in another dimension where time meant nothing…and home to the many criminals that were sentenced there by the Kryptonian Council. This place contained prisoners not just from Krypton, but prisoners from other worlds across the 28 known galaxies. Some of them keep their bodies when they were sentenced there, while others were stripped of their physical forms and were reduced to nightmarish phantoms; this fate awaited those who committed the most horrible crimes.
However, this time, there was an innocent prisoner in the Zone. Kara was sent there by Brainiac, who had a hand in destroying Krypton. Not long after she arrived, she saw a small shelter and decided to hide there. She did not know who built it, but was grateful it was there. Thankfully, none of the residents of the Phantom Zone spotted her, so she decided to stay there until she think of a way out. But then she remembered that there was no way out. Once one was sent to the Phantom Zone, there would be no escape. Kara felt very scared as she hid there, wondering if Clark knew where she was or when he will rescue her. She wondered if anyone would free her.
Just when she thought she was alone, she saw a flash of light outside the shelter. She held her breath and remained still; she thought a new prisoner was added to the Phantom Zone. She saw a shadow of a man, exactly where the light was, walking towards her. Kara panicked; she discovered that upon entering this forsaken place, that her powers were gone. If she was about to be attacked, she would not be able to defend herself. She backed herself as far as she could from the entrance and held up a hand sized rock in desperation. When she saw who came in, she was surprised.
The new comer appeared to be a young man; a human. He was a little taller than Kara and looked as old as her. The young man had short blond hair, light green eyes, and wore a dark green t-shirt beneath a dark purple jacket with black jeans; in short, Earth clothes. He was smiling at the sight of Kara, but it appeared to be a friendly smile. Kara thought he looked really cute. The stranger held out his hand, continuing to smile. "Do not worry Kara; I won't hurt you." He said softly. Kara was shocked by what he said, but shook his hand anyway. "Who are you, and how do you know my name?"
The young stranger looked away for a second; he seemed hesitant to answer. "I am…Brian. It's not just your name I know, Kara, but I know all about you and your cousin, Clark." Kara was shocked again. "You know my cousin?" she asked in surprise. Brian shook his head. "Not personally; but I hope we will meet soon." "How did you end up here in the Phantom Zone?" she asked immediately. "I came here using a special device I invented; I was not sent here against my will, but I came here intentionally…to find you and free you."
Kara was getting more and more confused by the second. "Free me? You mean there's a way out?" she asked excitedly. Brian nodded. "Yes; there is a gate close to our position. It is a back door for any member of the House of El that gets trapped here; that's how Clark escaped when he was banished here by Zod." Kara was again surprised of his knowledge of her cousin, but did not ask how he knew. "Listen, I promise to explain once we are on Earth and find Clark." "I don't get it, why can't we escape the same way you got here?" He hesitated again, thinking of a logical answer.
"I'm afraid my device is what you'd call a "one way ticket". It can only send me here; I can't get out the same way. Our only means of escape is through that gate, and only you can open it; you have El blood in you. Will you come with me?" he asked, holding out his hand. Kara still hesitated of whether or not to trust him. "I swear I will protect you until we escape." he assured her. Without any other options, and thinking this might be her only chance of escape, took Brain's hand and ran for the gate.
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Earth; Smallville Medical Center:
Clark was standing outside the emergency room, waiting to hear about Lex's condition. He waited an hour after he brought Lex in. Just then, one of the doctors came out. "How is Lex?" Clark asked. The doctor shook his head. "He'll live, but I'm afraid he's not speaking to anyone anytime soon." Clark was surprised. "What do you mean?" "Well, that is one nasty scar on his head. Whatever hit him had damaged part of his brain…the part that controls short-term memory. Right now, he is in a coma. We do not know when, or if, he will ever wake up. I'll tell you one thing though; if he does awaken, he might lose some recent memories."
Clark was stunned; the Fortress collapse did more damage than he thought. "It was a good thing you brought him here when you did; if not, Lex may not have lived at all. He is lucky to have a friend like you." The doctor then walked back into the emergency room. Clark felt disgusted from his last statement; he was no friend of Lex…not anymore. Still, one good thing came out of this; Lex was no longer a threat to anyone, and he might forget what he just found out about Clark. With no reason to stick around, Clark headed back to his house at the Kent farm.
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Kent Farm:
When he got back, Clark went up to the loft. He couldn't believe what happened recently: Lana left him, possibly for good; Kara was taken from him again and is in who knows where; and Chloe was arrested. Clark looked out the loft window and felt more alone than ever. He lost the first woman he ever loved once more, and he knew she wouldn't want him to hold back. Lana wanted him to be the man he was meant to be; that the world needed him a lot more than she did. Clark stood there for a while and pondered over what she said in her message.
For a long time, Clark only thought of what he wanted; what made him happy. But Lana's departing words made him really think. 'Maybe Lana's right.' He thought. 'Maybe I should do more than protect the people I love…but I still have something to take care of.' Clark had made up his mind; he will honor Lana by starting to be more than he has ever been. First things first, he would have to help Chloe; she was still held by the Department of Domestic Security and he knew she needed him now. There was nothing he could do about Kara; he did not where she was or how to find her.
It pained Clark that he may never see his cousin again, but now he must focus on the people that he can save…starting with Chloe. He was just about to leave the barn when he saw two people standing right outside. One of them he had never seen before, but he knew the other one very well. Clark smiled widely at the sight of his cousin, who was smiling back. "Kara?" Clark said breathlessly. Kara nodded as ran up to him and hugged him tightly. Clark hugged her back just as tight. Once he released her, Clark felt a lot better.
"Kara, I thought I'd never see you again! Are you okay?" Kara nodded again. "I'm fine, Clark. Glad to be back home. What about you?" Clark shook his head. "It has been a mess since I got back from Krypton. What happened to you there? Where were you?" Kara frowned a little. "When Brainiac found out I contacted you, he imprisoned me in the Phantom Zone. I didn't know what happened to you after that." Clark then understood what Brainiac said about Kara earlier: "I put her in a place where you will never see her again."
Clark couldn't believe his cousin was back, when he thought she was gone forever. "How did you escape?" Kara smiled as she turned to her new friend. "I had help." Clark looked to where she was and saw the young boy he saw a second ago. He looked about Kara's age, who was smiling back. "Clark, this is Brian." Kara said as Brian walked up to them. "He showed me the gate that you escaped through when Zod trapped you in the Phantom Zone. Once we made sure none of the phantoms were around, I opened the gate. We both went through and I led him here, where I knew I'd find you." Clark looked at Brian suspiciously.
"He's from the Phantom Zone?" he asked. Clark had every right to be weary; every time he encountered something from the Phantom Zone, he knew he would end up fighting for his life; Raya was the only exception. Kara shook her head. "Not exactly; he came into the Phantom Zone using some kind of device he invented shortly after I arrived there. Clark, he entered there to free me." Clark went from happy to being confused. "He wanted to free you? Why? And how did he know about the gate?" Kara shrugged.
"He says he knows everything about us; about you and me. Brian said he would explain more when we found you." Brian smiled. "It is an honor to meet you, Clark Kent. I do have some explaining to do, but I promise to tell you everything you need to know." Clark, though not sure of his intentions, felt grateful to him. "Thank you for brining my cousin back; she's the only family member from Krypton I have. She means so much to me." Brian nodded. "You're welcome." Kara then asked Clark everything that happened after he returned to Earth, but Clark shook his head.
"I'll tell you later, right now I have to help Chloe." Kara then looked concerned. "What happened to Chloe?" "Jimmy told me that Chloe was arrested by the DDS. I have to get her out." Kara was shocked. "Why was she arrested?" Clark shrugged. "Jimmy said Lex was behind it. I have to go." "Let me come with you." Kara said. Clark shook his head. "I can handle this; you and Brian stay here until I get back with Chloe."
He was about to speed away when Kara grabbed his arm; she was not the type of person to take "no" for an answer. "Clark, please; I want to help." Clark hesitated for a second, but Brian responded before he could. "Maybe Kara and I could both help, Clark." Clark and Kara both turned to Brian. "How can you help us?" Clark asked. Brian smiled widely. "Chloe is not the only one you know who knows how to use a computer…"
To be continued.