Sergeant Preus paced his office as the scientists told him, in a very long-winded and round-about way, that they had no idea how these outsiders had arrived in the city. He slammed his fist against his desk to silence them. If there had been any real Kryptonian scientists left on Kandor, he was certain they would have been able to tell him something. Instead he was left only with useless alien filth. Why had no-one from Krypton arrived to rescue them? The question had haunted his dreams for years.

It had taken him a great deal of time to establish any kind of order after the devil had cut them off from the rest of the planet. With few pure Kryptonians in the city at the time, he'd actually been forced to compromise his ideals and work with the impure in order to ensure the city's survival. Those who had refused to work with him had been killed or forced to the outermost edges of the city. Everything he did was to ensure the safety and well-being of his people, and prepare them for the day they rejoined Krypton.

There had been order. And now four outsiders had impossibly made their way into the city. Panic was quickly spreading, and the Citizens Patrol Corps had been forced to deal with several out of control situations.

"There are questions that need be answered, Sergeant," said one of the scientists. As if he didn't already know that! The ugly purple-skinned creature trembled under his gaze. "Two of them are wearing anti-gravity devices. Two of them are not. They both arrived at different times. Perhaps they are from two different races?"

"There are more than enough races on Kandor as it is," growled Preus. "This is getting us nowhere. I'm heading to the cells to begin the interrogation. In the mean time, find out where they came in!"

888

"Once we're out of prison, we need to split up into two teams. There are several key elements that are going to have to come together to ensure our escape. Clark and I will handle two of those, Chloe and Lenaria the other," said Lionel.

"Not a chance," said Clark. "Chloe isn't going anywhere with her."

"You don't have to worry, Clark," said Lenaria. "It's in my own interests to co-operate."

"Not that I want to give her any ideas," said Chloe. "But once the armour stops shielding her powers, what's to stop her from reading your mind and working on this herself?"

Lionel smiled.

"Oh, I don't think she's going to try that. For one thing, Jor-El almost certainly set some trap in case The Empireth considered trying to absorb his vessel's memories. Secondly, all she'll see is that we need Clark and myself if this to work."

"But not me?" asked Chloe glumly.

"There has to be another way," said Clark firmly. "I'm not letting anything happen to Chloe."

"If you have your own idea, I'll listen, Clark. Otherwise…" said Lionel.

"It's okay, Clark. We all want to get out of here, right?" said Chloe. "So what exactly is your plan?"

"Lenaria, you know Kandor fairly well, correct?" asked Lionel.

"I used to," said Lenaria. Clark noticed she had pulled herself together somewhat since they'd begun discussing escape. "It may have changed since I was last here."

"We'll have to hope it hasn't changed too much. You and Chloe are going to have to head for the Space Centre and steal a shuttle. Since Kandor wasn't part of Kypton when space travel was abandoned, we should still be able to get one."

"And go where?" asked Clark. "All we can do is get to the edge of the bottle."

"That's what you and I are going to look at," said Lionel. He waved for silence as footsteps could be heard approaching. "Let me do most of the talking."

"Outsiders," said the figure. Clark almost gasped as he saw him. He was wearing the same armour as he was. Lenaria cringed when she saw him; he could see she was trying to hide her face. "Who are you and how did you get here?"

"Preus… that armour… so, you've been promoted?" asked Lionel, looking at the floor.

"Do I know you?"

"I am a vessel, chosen by Jor-El. These are my servants, Chloe and Le… Leandra," said Lionel. He'd remembered just in time not to use Lenaria's name. "And this is Jor-El's son, Kal-El. He has come to save your people."

Preus blinked. Clark could see some conflicting emotions in his eyes.

"If that's true, then…the prophecy…"

"I don't know about any prophecy," said Clark, getting to his feet. "But I am Jor-El's son."

"Prove it to me," said Preus, eyes narrow. Clark hesitated. He had no power here, but Preus had to know that. Instead, he unbuttoned his shirt, revealing the armour Fine had stolen for him.

"He gave me this," said Clark.

Preus turned his head away. Clark was surprised to see he was crying.

"So Krypton survives! I had nightmares of it being destroyed. I was so afraid. But you're here! We're rescued!"

"Not just yet," said Lionel. "Jor-El gave his son a… mission to carry out here. He said you were to provide him with aid. Release us immediately."

Preus didn't even hesitate, unlocking the door and escorting them along the corridor.

"I'm glad to meet you, Kal-El," said Preus. "Although I must say I am… surprised that you brought these aliens with you. Jor-El always was too trusting of other species."

"You're a Kryptonian?" asked Clark, not sure he cared for Preus' 'aliens' remark.

"Same as you. You understand, of course, these three will have to be executed?"

Clark watched as Lenaria and Chloe froze. Only Lionel seemed unsurprised.

"Quite, Sergeant. However, until Kal-El's mission is complete…"

"I understand," said Preus. "What other aid can I offer you, son of Jor-El?"

"No need for anything else right now, Sergeant," said Lionel.

888

Outside the prison cell, it finally hit Clark that he'd actually come home. This place, isolated from the rest of the universe, was all that remained of Krypton. And now he was seeing it with his own eyes, walking on it with his own feet. And it was… incredible…The architecture of the buildings was unlike anything seen on Earth. And there were colours here…

"Colours like I've never seen," said Chloe, looking around in awe. "Clark, this is your home! And it's… it's wonderful…"

Chloe gasped as a motorcycle flew overhead.

"The people here can fly," said Clark.

"Things can be made to fly," said Lionel. "Thanks to the gravity and red sun, people are grounded. "

Clark shook his head. Amazing. Milton Fine had committed a terrible crime, trapping these people. Yet ironically he had preserved the memory of Krypton.

"If we're quite through being amazed," said Lenaria. "Why didn't you order Preus to simply acquire a ship for us?"

"Don't remember Preus, do you?" asked Lionel. "He's completely xenophobic. It must have driven him mad, being forced to co-exist with other races. He'll never allow any of us to leave here, only Kal-El. If we'd asked him to give us a shuttle, we would have likely been executed on the spot. And don't think you can give him orders, Clark. He outranks you."

"You told him Krypton was still out there," said Clark.

"No, I merely allowed him to believe that. If I'd told him the truth, I dread to think of the consequences. We've no time to waste. Clark, you come with me. Lenaria and Chloe, you have your mission."

Clark pulled Chloe to one side first.

"Chloe, are you sure about this?"

"We don't have much choice, do we? Although I have to ask… doesn't part of you want to stay here? Doesn't it feel like you belong?"

"So far, I've seen the prisons and met a xenophobe. I'm not too enamoured with the place just yet. Besides… I kind of asked Lana to marry me."

"And what did she say?" asked Chloe, not looking surprised.

"She needs time to think about it."

"Well, you're certainly giving her plenty of space," smiled Chloe. "Seriously, getting sent to another planet once was misfortune. Twice is looking like carelessness."

"I'll see you soon, okay?"

After Lionel had left them all with further instructions, Clark watched as Chloe and Lenaria hurried off. Once she had spent a little time away from the armour, Lenaria's powers would be restored. Clark hoped he was doing the right thing.

888

Lionel was quiet as he escorted Clark through the streets, allowing him to take in the sights for himself. Clark marvelled at how the people seemed to be going about their daily lives as if nothing about their predicament were strange. He also saw a number of robots of advanced design who appeared to assist their owners with menial tasks. The species here were as diverse as they had been on Warworld; unlike that place, however, everyone seemed to get along with one another. He didn't understand what Preus had against them; they looked like good people.

"Ah, here we are," said Lionel. Clark couldn't hide his surprise. They'd stopped outside The Museum of Kryptonian history. "Let's go inside and take a look, shall we?"

"Lionel, how is this going to help us?"

Shaking his head, Lionel took him inside. Lionel elaborated on several exhibits, telling him of Jax-Ur, the first criminal to be imprisoned in the Phantom Zone after destroying one of Krypton's moons. He also learned Krypton had advanced cloning technology; this led him to something about The Eradictor, though on this subject Lionel would not tell him anything.

Fascinating though it was, Clark still didn't see the point.

"Trust me," said Lionel. Clark couldn't hide his frustration. Chloe could be in big trouble; why was Lionel wasting time like this? "The zoo next, I think."

Ignoring Clark's protests, Lionel took him to the zoo, which Clark was willing to bet was more than he'd ever done with Lex. The species were impressive, no question (and included a type of mole which Lionel told him could eat through metal) but got them no closer to freedom.

"Enough!" snapped Clark finally. "You're going to tell me what's going on right now!"

"Do you feel it, Clark?"

"Feel what?"

"Do you feel a connection to this place? Do you feel anything at all?"

"I… I guess so," said Clark, confused. "I want to help these people, if I can. I want to restore the city to what it was. I wish Lana could see it. If she could, maybe we could both understand who I'm supposed to be. Who I am."

"I think that's good enough then," said Lionel, looking at him carefully. "Clark, the reason I took you on this tour was to show you your heritage. Only once you had accepted it could I begin the next phase of my plan. The sun you see in the sky? Completely artificial. The Kandorian's created it to survive. But one of them also created artificial yellow sunlight that could restore your abilities long enough to help us."

"I don't understand," said Clark. "Even with my gifts, we still can't get out of here."

"Oh, but we can. You noticed the bottle we're trapped in has a lid? If we could push the lid off…"

"We could escape outside. Except even with a shuttle, I can't get to it."

"You won't be on the shuttle, Clark. There is one gift you have never mastered. Hopefully, with Jor-El's knowledge, I will teach it to you. You're going to have to learn how to fly."

888

Scrolling through the computer files, Preus wasn't sure what he was looking for. He thought there was something… familiar about one of the prisoners. He tried searching for the name 'Leandra' but nothing came up. Acting on instinct, he scrolled through photos of criminals known to be at large. He saw nothing useful. Trying again, he searched for criminals awaiting trial. The files here ended the day Kandor had been taken by the devil. And as he searched, he found what he was looking for.

The Empireth. Lenaria. On trial for kidnapping Kryptonians. His blood boiled. She'd been in the cell with'Kal-El'. But he saw through the deception now. This was all an Empireth trick. He'd had all Empireth on Kandor massacred after the city was taken. Their kind was the worst of all, infecting minds and stealing abilities. They were poison. And now one was here, in his city.

He didn't know who was aiding her, but he knew now Kal-El was a fake. They must all be destroyed. He would alert the rest of the C.P.C to their presence and ensure they were all eliminated. The city would be kept safe. It was his duty.