Weeks went by before General Lane came back. He'd only seen the soldier that delivered his rations during that time and the man never said a word to him. He was locked in solitude and what was his crime? Being born?

General Lane grabbed him roughly by the arm. "You are going to open the ship for us."

"Me?" He'd only ever seen it once and the thought that he'd traveled across galaxies in it had freaked him out too much to get too close. He didn't know how to open it.

That didn't stop the general from pushing him forward when they got to the room where it was being studied. He reluctantly reached out to touch it and the metal rippled under his fingers.

"Aha!" General Lane cried as if he'd finally caught him in a lie. "Now we're getting somewhere."

A crystal of some sort shot out at him and a voice that seemed to surround him came from the ship.

"You, my son, are the last survivor of an ancient and intelligent race who inhabited the planet Krypton. As you probably know by now though you look like the people of Earth, you are not one of them. Their yellow sun gives you the energy that causes heightened senses and abilities. It is my hope to help you harness them through a series of tests and teach you about where you come from, Kal-El. This crystal will unleash your training."

"What's he talking about?" General Lane barked.

"I don't know."

He took the crystal from him. "At least we finally have a name. You didn't tell me about all your powers though I suspected it was something like that. I'd like us to start our own experiments and training, Kal-El."

sss

Experiment #1 consisted of seeing how long he could go without eating. They'd latched onto the part of the message that said he got his energy from the sun.

He didn't know whether or not that meant he also needed energy from food, but if he didn't, someone should have told his body because it sent hunger signals to him constantly. He dreamed of his mom's Sunday dinners. Mostly he just dreamed of her, wondering how she was coping with losing her husband and son on the same day. Life in Smallville, Kansas was now starting to seem like eons ago and as far from him now as the destroyed planet on which he was born.

How many months had it been now? He'd lost count though he was pretty sure he had turned sixteen awhile back.

His head dropped as he tried to think about anything besides his growling stomach and the weeks it had been since he'd eaten.

It was in that moment that his ears picked up on the sound of a girl. He x-rayed through the walls and saw she was near his own age and in civilian clothing. Obviously she didn't belong. Was she a captive too?

General Lane was coming down the other end of the hallway and he wanted to give her a shout of warning, but she wouldn't hear him through the padded walls.

"What are you doing here?" the general asked sharply in his typical fashion. "This area is restricted. You know that."

The girl didn't seem phased by it. She was beautiful and had a confidence about her that practically radiated off her. "I came to ask to borrow the keys. Besides, what am I going to see back here? Some guys in white coats tinkering around with their chemistry sets? Soldiers testing new weaponry? Nothing of interest to me. So how about it?"

"How about what?"

"The keys, Dad," she said with a sigh of frustration. "My team's having a party to celebrate the end of the season, and I want to go."

How had a man like the general produced such a pretty daughter? Truth be told, he hadn't been able to picture him with a family at all. General Lane still seemed puzzled as if he couldn't quite understand why he had a daughter either.

"You know lacrosse? The sport I play in the spring? Not that I'm surprised you don't remember since you missed every one of my games."

Sympathy flooded through him. It was obviously a sore point for her. He hadn't been able to play sports, but if he had, he was sure his parents would have come to every single one of his games.

"Alright. Here," he said, tossing her the keys perhaps a bit too quickly.

She saw that too, and it sparked a curiosity in her from the way she looked around. He had no doubt that the would be back.