Superman: The Ark of Krypton
Chapter 28
By
Jason Richard
As he stood atop a nearby building wearing everyday clothes Clark took a deep breath, holding onto a lead lined box he had brought with him. He watched with his X-Ray vision as one of Lexcorp's scientists carried the green crystal to a disposal chute. Now that Lex Luthor didn't want it, Clark saw no reason not to take it for himself. He'd just have to rush in, get it in the lead lined box before the radiation could hurt him seriously, and get out.
He took a deep breath, and waited.
He could see the scientist's destination. Turns out Lexcorp had it's own garbage facilities, filled with conveyor belts and machines that separated the materials into what could be recycled and what would just go in the incinerator. It wasn't really manned all that much, so it was on that conveyor belt that he'd have his best chance. He waited, and waited, and finally the crystal was thrown into a chute that led to the garbage system, where there were, fortunately, no cameras.
Any moment now. He could see a clear path where no one would see him. Any moment now…
He rushed in as fast as he could, avoiding cameras and people, and made it into the trash room with the crystal…
Immediately falling face first to the floor in pain. For a second he forgot why he was there, and only wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. Then he remembered. Answers. He was here to get answers. The pod...the ship...where he came from...why he had been sent to Earth...all of it. With that in mind, he had to ask himself.
Was it worth dying for? Part of him thought perhaps the answer was no, but then he remembered that many people were after the same thing he was after. He had no idea what this ship was capable of, but it was from the same place he was, so it could probably do a lot.
Even if the ship provided no answers, he had to reach it before anyone else did to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.
He forced himself to stand, pulling himself up off the floor inch by inch. He tried to fly, but that seemed to make the pain greater, so he abandoned that idea. He grabbed the lead lined box he had dropped and stumbled towards the conveyor belt. Supporting himself on the edge, he grabbed the crystal as it passed by, and cried out as it burned his hand...but somehow he managed to wrestle against the pain and work it into the box.
Once he closed the box and the lead blocked the radiation, he immediately felt better. He took deep breaths as he stood up properly...then realized it was time to leave, as he heard footsteps. By the time anyone entered that room, however, Clark was already gone.
...
Clark stood next to Ma and Pa kent in the hidden basement under the barn, watching the sleek, yet lifeless pod before them. In his hand Clark carried the lead lined box filled with that green crystal he needed to power it. In that moment of silence, the weight of what was about to happen really sunk into them.
"This is it, isn't it?" Asked Pa Kent. "We're really about to find out how you came to us, aren't we? I mean, wow..."
"Clark," said Ma Kent, putting her hand on Clark's shoulder. "I want you to know that no matter what we find out you're still our son, and we'll never stop loving you."
Clark put his hand on his mother's affectionately and smiled. His father then stepped up.
"Alright," said Pa Kent. "That stuff hurts you more than it hurts me, so leave this part to me."
"Thanks," said Clark, giving him the box and standing back as far as possible. Pa Kent then stepped forward and opened the box. He then put the glowing green crystal into the pod and watched as the hatch closed around it.
For a moment nothing happened, then the pod hummed to life, moving upwards them hovering in the middle of the room. Clark waited eagerly for something to happen, then the pod projected light onto the walls as it had before, spelling out a message.
Power, 25% . Pod operational. Enough power to return to mothership.
Son of Krypton, please follow. Answers await at the Ark of Krypton.
Clark didn't have to guess who the son of Krypton was. The next moment the pod began to fly out of the barn. Clark, knowing he'd have to act fast, gave his Ma and Pa sad look.
Pa Kent sighed and said, "Never simple is it? Go on son. We'll be here when you get back."
"Just be careful dear," said Ma Kent.
Clark nodded, then sped out of the room, quickly changing into superman before flying after the pod, watching as the world sped past him. Soon, he thought. Very soon he'd have the answers he was looking for.
Meanwhile other people caught the signal the pod was using to track it's destination. Both Lexcorp and Star Labs immediately dropped everything to send teams out. The U.S. Military sent out platoons to the signal's origin. Even Lois Lane was contacted by a whistleblower at Lexcorp, letting her know something was up.
All these forces now had the same destination as Superman. All of them hoped to claim, in one way or another, the mysterious alien ship for themselves, and now it had a name.
The Ark of Krypton.
...
Noticed a typo at the last minute, it's been changed.
Jason.