Chapter 4: The End of Krypton

Brainiac had seen the whole thing from his shuttle, which was now heading off to a safe distance. Zod was a fool! He should have seen it coming. He had allowed his relationship with Jor-El to cloud his judgment; and as a result, he was now stuck in the phantom zone. That presented him with a problem. He had to make sure that every last Kryptonian perished. Yes, the planet was a matter of moments away from its demise, but he had to make sure that Jor-El did not finish that space craft for his child. There was just one way he could guarantee such was the case, and that assurance was already on its way to the rouge scientist.

Lara was shaken by the events that had transpired, but Jor-El did not have the luxury of time to contemplate what he had just done. The shuttle was now complete and was he was now preparing it for launch. He was now putting in crystals that he hoped that his son would, one day use, to study the history of Krypton.

Lara was cradling Kal-El in her arms, still crying over the ordeal that had taken place. "Why must we send him to Earth? It is a primitive planet. Their yellow sun will make him stand out from them."

"He will need that advantage to survive. The people of Earth will need that advantage as well." Jor-El knew that if he sent his son to Earth, Darkseid would eventually track him to earth. Once Darkseid learned of Earth and its ample natural resources, he would take his fleet of war ships there.

He could feel her fear of losing her son. What mother would not be feeling the same under similar circumstances? "We will always be with him. After we are gone, Kal-El will be able to communicate to our images as if we were there with him. In some small way, we will be a part of his upbringing. What is important is that we will be there when he needs us the most."

Lara nodded in agreement. The ground once again shook violently. Jor-El had to catch his wife on quick reflexes. The white-crystal walls and ground cracked as the quake continued to pick up strength. This time, the quake was not ending. Jor-El ushered Lara to the shuttle where she gently placed her child in the shuttle. Jor-El covered the baby with a glittering, gray blanket to keep the baby warm. "This shuttle will keep him in suspended animation. He should remain the same age until he is awakened on planet Earth. Someone will find him and adopt him into their family. There, he will grow up until the appropriate time." He nearly had to shout to his wife over the roaring of the quake.

The crystal door across the room shattered, but it was not from the quake. The doorway crumbled at the height of the monstrous creature as it stormed into the room. Jor-El had just shut the hatch of the shuttle in time before the beast had entered. Its green clothing had fresh red stains on them.

Jor-El stepped in front of his wife, in what he knew would be a futile attempt, to protect his wife. He had to find a way to launch the shuttle, but he knew any sudden moves would result in his immediate death. He could not defend his wife and launch the shuttle, and his heart was torn in half. The one thing he certainly could not do was stand there and wait for death to come.

As the beast stared at them through its red lenses, he noticed the device planted on the head of the beast. There was no mistaking that the creature originated from Apokolips, but there was also no doubt who was currently controlling it. "Brainiac. Just as I suspected."

From a safe distance, Brainiac watched as fissures developed on the planet's surface. The end of Krypton had at last come. An eruption of snow and ice exploded from a newly formed vent on the surface.

The quake had intensified considerably instantly. Neither Jor-El or his wife was able to stay on their feet. The creature stumbled, but kept its footing. A crystal pillar collapsed towards the beast at the sudden intensification of the quake. With one swing of an arm, the pillar shattered into countless number of pieces.

Jor-El desperately took this only chance to crawl to the shuttle to launch it. Lara's scream told him that he was not going to make it. He looked to the creature to see it had turned its attention towards him. It took one step towards him, but its step had landed on a crack, which immediately gave under its weight. The ground crumbled beneath the creature as the crack was actually a forming fissure. The echoes of the beast howling could be heard; as it fell, to its demise, down to the planet's core.

Thankful for the miracle, he quickly pulled himself up to his feet and placed a hand on the shuttle's hull. It came to life as it let out a high-pitch hum. The shuttle started rising upward to towards the glass ceiling over their heads.

Jor-El reached down and helped Lara to her feet. His job was done. All he could do was hope the shuttle had enough to time to escape the explosion. Holding Lara in his arms, he and his wife watched the shuttle rise until it shattered through the ceiling.

With the Shuttle now flying towards space; Jor-El turned Lara around, so he could stare into her eyes one last time. The fissure began to swell and commenced feeding on everything in the room.

The planet crumbled before his eyes. Fire from the planet's heart rose from the fissures. It was an impressive sight. Brainiac had been built for this very purpose; and now at long last, his reason for being was now at an end. All there was left was to enjoy the benefit of his labor.

The view was better than he had anticipated. Krypton's demise was happening faster than he calculated. In the distant background, the bright red sun continued to shower its intense radiation upon the doomed ice planet which was only a quarter of its size. After days of soaking the poison from the sun, it could take it no longer. Krypton exploded into billions of blue-burning space debris. From this distance, as he calculated, he was safe from the shockwave. All he felt was a little turbulence.

His attention was pulled towards a meteorite racing past his shuttle at super speed. The shockwave only helped push it faster from where Krypton had just been. His computerized brain had enough time to analyze that the meteorite was made of materials not originally found on Krypton. There was only one thing that it could have been. "Jor-el," Brainiac said out loud. His mission had failed.