Superman: The Ark of Krypton
Chapter 102
by
Jason Richard
Was Superman really Kal-El? The girl had asked. Superman gave the only answer he could.
"Yes," said Superman. "So I've been told. I understand your name is Kara?"
"Kara Zor-El," said Kara, looking at Superman with a mixture of curiosity and confusion.
"You look just like him," said Kara. "Um...My uncle Jor-El that is."
"I figured that's what you meant," said Superman. He didn't really know what to say to this girl, but she had things to say to him apparently.
"So," she continued, speaking slowly and carefully. "The AI told me what happened. My pod got stuck in the space between the Phantom Zone and our dimension. I was in stasis for a while until someone tried to open the Phantom Zone and I slipped all the way in. Fortunately, I was able to make some dimensional shifters and close it...well...you were there for that part."
"Right," said Superman, feeling uncomfortable. There was something off about the way she was talking.
"Anyway," said, still slowly and cautiously. "I was put in a pod first, sent away as soon as possible. My parents said they were staying behind to look for others and…"
She choked for a second, trembling from whatever she was thinking.
"It all seems like it happened yesterday," said Kara, hugging herself as if from the cold. "The AI told me but...well...is it true? If anyone else had gotten stuck in the phantom zone I would have seen them when I finally got there. But it can't...I mean. Did no one else really make it? Is everyone really gone?"
Superman sighed. He should have known this would be what she wanted to talk about first. In truth, Kara knew on an intellectual level that what she feared had come to pass, but part of her wouldn't accept it until she heard it from this man...Kal-El. Superman, sadly, had to dash the last piece of hope she had.
"I saw some of Brainiac's footage," said Superman. "Krypton is gone, and so are it's people."
She looked down, and tears came to her eyes quickly.
"I knew it was true," she said, her entire body trembling from sadness. "I just...I just wished…"
And she began sobbing in earnest, burying her face in her hands. Superman walked over and hesitantly put his hand on her shoulder. She immediately leaned forward, wrapping her arms around him as she kept crying, and Superman put his arms around her compassionately. For a few moments, they stayed that way as Kara let all her emotions out.
After a few minutes, she pulled away, wiped the tears from her face and said, "I'm sorry, I just…"
"Don't apologize," said Superman. "I have no memory of Krypton myself, so I can't imagine what you must be feeling. If you want we can talk later…"
"No," said Kara, taking a deep breath. "The AI told me about Zod. I'll tell you just...just give me a moment."
After a few minutes of Kara taking deep breaths, she sat back down at the console and pressed a few buttons. Within moments images came up on the console of the man Superman had fought earlier."
"I thought he looked familiar," said Superman. "He was a general right?"
"Yes," said Kara. "Considered by many to be a hero. He and the men under his command were instrumental in fighting off enemy invasions. The Maltusins, the Daxamites, the Coluans...Krypton had its enemies, and he fended all of them off. However, when he learned that Uncle Jor-El had discovered the source of Kryptonians ancient power he became of obsessed with getting it. He made speeches to the public about it. Watch this."
She pressed another button which showed Zod making a speech to a large crowd of Kryptonians. One one side of him was a woman whose scowl could have been surgically made permanent she was so intense while on Zod's other side stood a large, heavily muscled man at least six feet tall.
"Fellow citizens of Krypton," said Zod. "We are beset with enemies. We are at peace now, but the many nations across the stars who would seek to take us, study us, and gain our power for their own. I say we find it first!"
Onscreen Kryptonians cheered and Zod continued.
"With this power, none will be able to challenge us!" said Zod, his voice booming. "Never again shall a child of Krypton die at war, never again will we have to bury our sons and daughters because another race meant us harm, and never again shall we feel pain and fear at the hands of our enemies! Once this power is ours again we shall be safe for all eternity!"
That got the biggest cheer yet as Kara paused the video feed.
"Later on," said. "The Kryptonian council opted against using that power, given the history of bloodshed our ancestors were known for. Many feared that such absolute power would corrupt us again, but Zod was furious with that line of thinking. He led an army to try and take over Krypton but was stopped. He and his men were banished to the Phantom Zone, where they live to this day."
"And now someone is helping them escape," said Superman. "Do you know who that is?"
"Not yet," said Kara. "I did manage to catch a signal from them while they were talking to Zod, but JLAI 13 hasn't finished decrypting it."
"We've been calling him Brainiac," said Superman.
"So he said," said Kara. "Seems kind of childish honestly."
"Well," said Superman. "Maybe, but the name just kind of stuck."
"Alright," said. "But I'm not calling him that." then she added, under her breath, probably not realizing Superman could hear her. "I'm doing away with childish things."
Somehow, Superman found that comment more ominous than anything else she had said.
"Well," said Kara. "Whoever Zod is working with I'm sure they can't be good news if they think they can control an army of people with powers like yours. It almost doesn't matter who they are. Zod will work with whoever can get him and his men out of the Phantom Zone."
"Alright," said Superman. "Thanks for telling me. I'm going to go over more footage of Zod, get to know who I'm up against. This planet is my home and I need to protect it."
"And I'll see if I can help JLAI 13 decrypt that transmission," said Kara. "Figure out who our other enemy is."
Superman nodded. "Thank you."
"No problem," said Kara. "Really I'm going to need home a new myself." She added Dryly. "I guess it might as well be this one."
As she turned back to the console to begin working Superman wondered about her. She seemed to be putting on a brave face, but he wondered what was going on behind that. Even so, he couldn't think about it for long.
They both had work to do.