Superman: The Ark of Krypton

By

Jason Richard

"Kal-El?" asked Brainiac. "The information the Colu probe has been broadcasting is...concerning."

Clark, lifting his head from the information on the screen in front of him, said. "What's wrong?"

"It is broadcasting partial information about Colu technology itself," said Brainiac. "Technology...related to the Colu systems in my own computer core. Nothing definitive mind you, just enough to...beg certain questions about Colu technology."

Clark lay back in his seat, thinking carefully.

"You seem nervous," said Clark. "That's not like you."

"It's just that," said Brainiac. "Your father Jor-El built me to assist him in scientific endeavors. That was my original purpose, and my subroutines are still hardwired to gather scientific data. I suppose that is the closest thing to a desire I possess. When I was alone on Earth I could monitor Earth communications, but they didn't have any scientific knowledge that was not already stored in my databanks.

"When you showed up, and we started protecting the Earth against various threats, that has been the closest I've gotten to achieving my purpose in a long time. Finding countermeasures against these threats has provided me with much data to process. I am...I suppose you would say content."

Clark figured he knew where this was going, "And this Colu probe presents an opportunity for scientific knowledge...knowledge about your own origins no less."

"Yes sir," said Brainiac. "Though I only have a single Colu cell as part of my operating core it runs sixty percent of all the core's functions. It is an important part of me. I find myself...incredibly curious as to what I could learn, not just about scientific knowledge in general, but about myself."

Clark took a deep breath and said, "I understand. I...went on kind of a similar journey when I was looking for this ark. But you have to realize, this signal has to be a trap. The Colu clearly want to assimilate you into their own systems."

"Yes," said Brainiac. "I have reasoned that this is so. I will not pursue this information. However...I am compelled to."

"We'll see what we can do," said Clark. "If we can get the probe out of the hands of Lex Luthor and give it to STAR Labs they might be able to make it safe for you to interact with."

"That would be appreciated," said Brainiac.

"It's the least we can do," said Clark. "I owe you a lot."

"Just fulfilling my function sir," said Brainiac. "What I was built for."

…

"Okay," said Lois Lane. "You're an intern at the Daily Planet. Just take notes about what they say and let me do the talking."

"Okay," said Kara.

They walked towards Lexcorp. There were a few smaller illegal projects that could be linked to the company, but Lois figured that if they were going to take down Lex Luthor, they'd need evidence that Luthor himself couldn't get away from, something the public wouldn't except. If they could prove that Luthor was as dangerous as any alien threat, which he was, then they wouldn't vote to pardon him so that he could help protect the Earth.

Kara wore a blouse, jeans, a red wig, and a pair of glasses. She didn't yet have the same type of device Brainiac made for Clark that would bend perception to hide her identity, but she'd get one eventually. Meanwhile, this disguise would have to do. The fake nametag on her blouse read, "Carrie Masters," which was temporary. She hadn't decided on an alter ego name yet.

"So which lead are we following?" asked Kara.

"Bioterrorism," said Lois.

A big one, and a logical one. There were rumors that Lexcorp was involved in selling deadly viruses to bioterrorists. Viral warfare wouldn't be much use against alien life forms whose biology was unknown, so the public wouldn't read it as helping with that. Plus the idea of dying to a horrendous sickness was a particularly nasty one.

If they could find it, it would be perfect.

…

Lois and Kara entered what was, to an outside observer, obviously a medical wing researching cures for various diseases. Both Lois and Kara looked at their surroundings in disgust.

"Hiding bioterrorism with medical research," said Kara. "Unbelievable."

"Believe it," said Lois. "Lexcorp is home to some of the scummiest people on the planet. I don't suppose...Krypton had criminal organizations this bad?"

"Yeah," said Kara, heaving a heavy sigh. "We did have criminals on Krypton just this bad. It's one of the few things about my planet I won't miss. I'm happy to help get rid of it here." she said, looking around in disgust again.

"Yeah," said Lois, the same disgust plastered over her face. "Ditto."

Then a Lexcorp representative entered saying, "Miss Lane, sorry to make you wait."

Both Lois and Kara turned and flashed the most brilliant, charming, and fake smiles they could muster.

"Not at all," said Lois. "Not at all. So, are you ready to begin?"

…

Lois did the actual Interview, but Kara only half paid attention. She heard enough to take down notes, but she was really using her Kryptonian senses to scan the room for anything suspicious. Her x-ray vision was blocked by lead linings everywhere, but that was to be expected.

What she focused on were the sounds.

She couldn't hear many machines going, but again, that was to be expected. The sound dampening fields Luthor used were no doubt all over the place. That, however, wasn't what Kara was listening to. She listened to the sounds the chemicals were making as machines mixed them together for Luthor's experiments.

Having studied chemistry at the Kryptonian academy she could tell chemical reactions apart, at least partially, by the sound. The way certain mixes fizzed as they released carbon gas, the way liquids sounded when they began boiling, and various other chemical reactions. Getting hotter, colder, hardening, softening, and more.

After a few minutes, Kara figured out what Lexcorp was working on.

…

"Radiation poisoning," said Kara. "A substance that can cause radiation poisoning when exposed to a certain light spectrum. He introduces the chemical into a food supply, then uses the device at a later date. The light spectrum is hard to detect, so a chemical in the bloodstream is blamed, but since the chemical waits until it is struck by the beam, that delayed reaction can make it difficult to determine where the chemical came from. Someone can kill a city without leaving much of a trace. It's hidden with chemicals that absorb radiation to remove them from the body, though this absorbs it in order to release worse radiation in the bloodstream."

Keeping their voices low as they walked down the street, Lois, with a look of disgust on her face, said, "Unbelievable. Okay, so we need the chemical manifest…"

"Swiped a picture," said Kara, holding up her phone.

"Good," said Lois. "And we need a blueprint of the device in question."

"That's harder," said Kara. "I figured out that the chemicals I heard could be used for that, but I didn't hear any evidence of that device aside from the creation of that chemical. I don't know where it is."

"Hmm," said Lois. "If it's like the chemicals, then it's probably disguised as something else. Something that produces light that an inspector won't think twice about. I'll look into that. Nice job Kara."

Kara beamed at that.