Chapter 3: The End is at Hand
Just as Brainiac had calculated, the creature's vision was based on heat signature. He knew that it was one of many creatures that were bred on Apokolips for one reason only: utter destruction. It had little or no intelligence; it was only fueled by death and violence. Knowing this, he was able to coax it into a trap. It sought out anything living so it could cause death. Setting up an empty science lab with heat crystals, it was only logical that the monster thought there was life to be destroyed here. Of course, for all of its effort, it would not be completely disappointed. After all, he was curious about just what the creature was capable of. That was why he requested the service of a military soldier.
As requested, the soldier kept guard inside the lab, making sure Jor-El did not try to enter. He did not know that Jor-El was closely being watched by the council and was currently not an issue. The soldier had no idea what was coming his way.
Brainiac was able to detect the creature as it pounded its way through solid ice and crystal. It was nearing the lab. Krypton had been experiencing dozens of tremors the past few days, so the tremors caused by the violent pounding of the creature did not faze the soldier. A slight facial gesture showed that he was beginning to question whether the council was hiding something from him. When the quakes began, he had to convince the council that the tremors were a seasonal anomaly. He had to tell General Zod a whole different story: that the quakes were the result of the planet returning to its when in actuality it was nearing its destruction.
While the tremors did not invoke a drastic response, the shattering of the far wall did. Giant pieces of ice and crystal sprayed the entire lab, causing the soldier to flinch and look away to shield his eyes. Returning to his senses; his military training kicked into gear. He pulled out his white laser and pointed it towards the shadowy figure standing at the unnatural, newly-created lab entrance. Its heavy breathing, which would end in a blood-thirsty growl, could be heard throughout the deathly-silent lab.
"Show yourself intruder!"
Brave to the very end, Brainiac thought; though at second thought, it probably was not as much courage as it was naïveness. What was coming through that hole was death incarnate.
The monstrosity stepped out of the shadow towards the soldier. Brainiac was intrigued when he saw the creature almost completely covered. It wore green clothing; a color not really associated with Apokolips. It even wore a mask with red-lensed goggles. The only parts of the body not covered were its massive hands. Its thick and jagged bones pierced its gray, hide-like skin; and showed signs that the creature used them as deadly weapons. At a closer look, the bone pierced the skin just above each elbow. They came out so far; they looked more like spears than part of the creature's massive skeleton. Looking at the green cloth, Brainiac assumed there were many more piercings.
It was only after the creature stepped out of the shadows when the soldier began to realize that he was already dead. The beast was so tall; the soldier had only come up to its mid-chest region. It would take two or maybe three soldiers standing side-by-side just to match its massiveness. He fired his laser, hoping against all hope that a positive result would come out of it. The only effect that came from it was a hole burnt into the clothing and an angry roar from the beast.
He had no time to react as the monster charged with extraordinary speed. It swung at the soldier as if he was nothing more than an insect. Being machine, Brainiac knew the man was dead on impact. From just the impact, he assessed five bones were crushed, including his neck. The rest of the damage and broken bones came after the airborne lifeless body crashed into the wall, leaving a streak of red staining the white, crystal-ice wall.
The display of strength was unbelievable. After witnessing its ability, the time had come for Brainiac to make his move. Walking out of his hiding place in the corner, he made his way towards the creature.
It turned to face him, but was reluctant to do anything. It was clearly confused. Apparently it could also see movement.
As he continued his course towards it, it picked up an under-toning growl, which told him that its indecisiveness was coming to an end. It probably decided: alive or not, it was all relative.
That was when Brainiac stopped. The creature took a step towards him. That was when he made his move. He opened the top circle on his head; and a long, coiled, metal arm extended out towards the creature. Before it could come to its senses, the arm had successfully placed a round mechanical device on its forehead. When a tiny green light flashed from the device, the growling ceased.
"You are now under my control, beast. You will destroy what I want you to destroy and kill who I want you to kill."
Another tremor shook the planet, and this time the pressure had started to crack the foundations of the city. Time was just about up for this planet. He had to hurry to finish off loose ends and leave to avoid the shockwave that was to follow the explosion.
General Zod was ready to rip Brainiac apart limb-from-limb. With tremors growing in frequency and intensity, there was no doubt in General Zod's mind that Krypton was still out of orbit. Not only was it out of orbit, but he doubted Krypton had even a half day remaining. However, as he confronted the android, he was introduced to a promising new idea. Yes, Krypton was a lost cause, but with this beast that Brainiac captured, he can be the one to save his entire people from destruction. They will depend on him; and he would rule them, and rebuild a force strong enough to send Darkseid into hiding. There was only one piece to the puzzle that had to be taken care of, and based on the size of the last tremor; it had to be done quickly.
Jor-El did not have to turn to see who had entered his quarters. The strong tapping on the ground and strong presence that followed it was unmistakable. "Zod, I am afraid your timing is rather unfortunate."
General Zod entered his quarters and immediately noticed what would have looked like a large space meteorite. Upon closer inspection, Zod would find out that it was actually a small one-man space shuttle just big enough to hold a young child.
"I see you are defying the will of the council yet again, even after I put my life on the line." Zod's voice was surprisingly calm.
"I told the council that neither my wife or I would leave Krypton, and to that we are holding true. I made no promise for my son."
"You are a fool, Jor-El for thinking that you will be able to get away with this." Zod's flare began to show at last. "They probably already know what you are doing here and preparing for your banishment as we speak."
"Whatever the consequences my wife must pay, it will be worth it if saves the life of our son."
Another quake began to shake the foundations of the planet. The quake was so powerful, that Jor-El had to hold on to his station to stay on his feet. Zod had done the same thing. By the time the quake was over, there were new cracks on the floor and the ice-crystal walls. "This planet is going to explode at any moment. I do not fear what the council might do to me."
"That is exactly why I am here now."
Jor-El had thought he knew where this conversation was heading, but that last statement took it to a whole new, unexpected path. "What do you mean?"
"There is no more doubt that the council is leading us to our destruction. They are no longer fit to lead our people."
"Is this your hunger for power running rampant again?" Jor-El did not like the new course the conversation had taken.
"Listen to me Jor-El," Zod pleaded. "Come with me right now, and let us save our people. Let's lead them to another planet to escape the pending doom."
"You're forgetting about one thing, Zod: the council. Brainiac has them believing in false hope. They have become so lazy and dependant on Brainiac, that whatever Brainiac tells them, they do."
"Yes, Jor-El. The council has become irrelevant. Forget the council. They will not present a problem anymore."
The red flag went off for Jor-El. He knew his friend had always loved power and sought to gain more of it, but until just this moment, he had never crossed any legal or ethical stance. "Zod, what have you done?" All work that he was doing during the conversation came to an end. Zod had captured all of his attention.
"Let's just say the council is about to receive their rightful punishment for their crimes against the Kryptonian people."
Before Jor-El could answer, a gentle chime announced an incoming communication. General Zod stepped away from the center of the room as the holographic image of Dor-Ki appeared. "Jor-El, you have violated the will of the council, and openly defied our ruling. By doing so, you have committed treason to the highest degree."
"I have done no such thing," Jor-El replied, hoping for some sort of miracle that would buy him enough time.
"I don't want to hear it! You are to stay where you are. You are confined to your quarters until…"
Something sounding as a small explosion startled Dor-Ki. At first, Jor-El thought the last quake had caused an explosion in the council's chamber, but that was quickly eliminated when Dor-Ki's face showed sheer terror. "Dor-Ki?"
A deafening roar could be heard in the background as Dor-Ki backed out of Jor-El's view. For a few seconds, he could not tell if the transmission was cut off or not; but that was quickly resolved as a towering figure stepped into view. Its sight was set on Dor-Ki. He could hear all the members of the council scream in terror, but Dor-Ki's scream was the loudest as the colossal beast raised a fist. Thankfully, the connection was cut off, and the image of the monster disappeared.
An anger rose in Jor-El, a feeling that he was unaccustomed to feeling. In general, he was a low-temperament kind of man. Very little got under his skin. Getting angry seldom accomplished anything. "You have finally done it, Zod. You have finally crossed the line."
"You and I both know that they have jeopardized the lives of every Kryptonian. At this point, it is impossible to save every last person on this planet, and the blood of those people are on their hands." Zod replied. "Now join me, Jor-El. Let's save our people from destruction."
It would be a lie to say that the proposal did not appeal to him. Here was an opportunity to save his people from extinction; but to do it along side with Zod, who had just murdered the council? "I'm afraid you do not know me as well as you have thought. I love Krypton and everything about it. I will abide by my promise to the council despite their demise."
Zod's nostrils flared, and his veins pulsed. "You fool!"
"Jor-El?" Lara entered the quarters, holding Kal-El in her arms. Unaware of the situation, she went to respectfully walk past Zod to talk to Jor-El; when Zod's right hand shot up. Taking everyone by surprise, he clamped Lara's throat with enough force to just barley give her enough air to breath.
His low-temperament had quickly disappeared with such an action towards his wife. Despite her situation, Lara was able to keep hold of their baby; but was probably unintentionally squeezing the baby too hard, as Kal-El was bawling franticly. "Seeing that I already have blood on my hand; perhaps I should take the life of your wife and son, since they are the ones causing you to turn your back on me."
"Zod, have you gone mad? Has your lust for power no end?"
"For too long, I have sought to rid this planet of the council; so I may form a military government ruled by me. Too long have I allowed you to unknowingly stop me each and every time. You have no idea how many times you research interfered with my conquest."
"You are wrong," Jor-El replied. "I know exactly how many times you have tried to take power. All those interferences by me were very intentional."
Zod's breathing picked up. A mixture of shock and anger became evident when his face turned red. "You knew? Your purposely opposed me?"
"It was for the sake of our past friendship have I spared you the humiliation and banishment into the phantom zone. I now fear that it was an error of judgment on my part."
Zod's rage went through the roof. Lara grimaced as the very little air she was being allowed had been cut off. The ground once again began to shake. It was the miracle that Jor-El had been looking for. Zod had lost his footing; and as he did, lost his grip on Lara's throat. Jor-El had just enough footing to take advantage of the situation and lunged toward Zod. Lara stumbled backwards, luckily out of the way as Jor-El pushed Zod to the ground.
Zod hit the ground at just the right spot for this to work. Fighting against the quake, Jor-El stepped forward and grabbed his wife by the wrist. He pulled back towards the space shuttle and reached and reached for a button next to the ship. Before Zod could return to his senses, a clear-crystal wall cut the room in the half; separating them from Zod.
As the quake ceased, Zod jumped to his feet and promptly went to pounding on the new wall. "Jor-El!" The scream was that of a mad man. "Jor-El!"
"I'm sorry, my friend; this has to be. At least you will be saved from death." Jor-El said grabbing a red crystal from his station and sliding it into the only red slot amongst the many at that station.
The room dimmed as Zod's half of the room began to fill with blue lightning streaks. Zod's fists became flat as he slapped on the wall separating him from Jor-El. His pounding of anger had become slapping of desperation. "Jor-El, please; do not do this. I am sorry. We can still work together. We can save our people!"
Jor-El's low-temperament returned. No response from him came. It was hard enough to watch this as it was. Zod knew his silence was the answer to his desperate pleas. As a black hole began to appear in the room with Zod, Jor-El watched him change back to the man who he really was. "Mark my words, Jor-El! You can send me to the Phantom zone now, but not even that will be able to keep me! I will be back, Jor-El," Zod spat. "You may save your son from destruction; but when I return, I will seek him out and I will force him to kneel before me as you should have."
Jor-El remained silent as the black hole, which was actually a portal, gained full strength. Zod resisted the vacuum of the portal for a few seconds before the strength of the opening became too much and was sucked into the gateway to the phantom zone.