Superman: The Ark of Krypton
By
Jason Richard
Superman arrived at the artic to find Kara lifting the Arc of Krypton back out of the ocean. When he asked, Kara said everything was fine. Once the ark was back where it had been Kara told Superman the whole story. As they floated above the restored arc, Superman breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness," said Superman. "When I realized it was all a distraction...well. Anyway, you did great Kara."
Kara beamed with pride.
"Now if you'll excuse me," said Superman. "I need to go over things with Brainiac."
"Sure thing," said Kara, flying off.
Superman then flew to the arc, which opened up to let him in.
He flew through the ship, past all the corridors, through the zoo of Kryptonian animals, and to the control room. There he hovered in the middle of the room and took a deep breath.
"Hey Brainiac," said Superman. "Are you okay?"
The AI responded more slowly than Superman liked.
"I am not operating at optimal capacity," said Brainiac. "This whole experience has left me…"
"Shaken?" asked Superman.'
"Not as technical a term as I would choose," said Brainiac. "But yes. Shaken does seem an appropriate description of how my systems are operating."
"Is there anything I can do to help?" asked Superman.
"Not at this time," said Brainiac. "The danger is passed with the probe destroyed. I believe I can return to maximum operating capacity soon."
"That's good," said Superman. "But...I think you do need a better outlet for your original purpose. I'll talk with Star Labs. Maybe you can assist them with their research?"
Once again, Brainiac took a while to respond, but what he said was very reassuring.
"That sounds...pleasant," said Brainiac. "I would appreciate that."
Superman smiled and said, "I'll make sure it gets done."
…
The door to Lex Luthor's office slammed open. Mercy graves walked in, furious.
Lex Luthor, working at his computer, looked up nonchalantly and said, "Problem, Mercy?"
"It got out?!" she demanded.
"I'm afraid so," said Luthor. "The Colu probe did escape."
"You promised," said Mercy. "You promised you wouldn't move against Superman while we have this other threat."
"I didn't," said Luthor, irritated. "The probe had help. Some other device snuck it. I was just going over the data now."
He turned his computer around and Mercy saw it. The small probe, the upgrade it gave, everything.
"I...I can't believe…" she stammered.
"That I wasn't in control of the situation?" said Luthor. "I'm flattered you still have faith in me, but clearly we both underestimated the threat of this Apokolips."
Mercy, in a stunned state, sat down, her eyes wide with fear.
"Mercy," said Luthor. "Everything is going to be fine. Superman hasn't been able to put me away; neither will this new threat."
"Superman is bound by rules," said Mercy. "His insistence on following Earth's laws and keeping the public's support prevents him from moving at us directly. Do you think this invasion force cares?"
"You're forgetting," said Luthor. "If Zod was telling Superman the truth, then this New Genesis will keep them from invading directly, and therefore they also have rules. They've been trying to set up a situation where Earth would want the protection of a powerful alien force. As long as Superman and I can continue to keep the world safe, then the public has no reason to trust Apokolips. And just so we're clear, I have put my other ambitions on hold. Superman is off limits, as I said."
Mercy calmed down, though Luthor noticed that she was trembling.
"I've never seen you like this," said Luthor.
Mercy sighed and said, "Luthor, when you found me breaking into your office, do you know why I decided to accept your job offer?"
"Because of what I could offer you," said Luthor.
"Partially," said Mercy. "The truth is I thought that it had to be some sort of trick, and yet my instincts told me that sticking by you was the smart thing to do. I've always gone by my instincts, and they've always steered me in the right direction. I'm sure that sounds strange to a man of science like you."
"It's not particularly logical," admitted Luthor.
"But like I said," continued Mercy. "My instincts told me that I should accept your offer, and it was the best decision I ever made in my life. Now my instincts are screaming at me to get off this planet before Apokolips arrive in force."
She looked Luthor right in the eye and said, "I've never been more scared in my life."
And Luthor, despite the lack of logic in her words, leaned back in his chair, not having anything to say as a rebuttal.
…
Brainiac rested his circuits as the Ark of Krypton rested in the Arctic. Brainiac had never felt so much stress on his systems. Brainiac normally didn't understand euphemisms, such as, 'it's been a long day.' A day was the same amount of time no matter what happened.
For once, the machine understood what that meant. How strange. Brainiac knew that a Colu Cell formed the basis of his systems, and that wasn't even entirely organic, but perhaps Brainiac had more in common with biological organisms than any of them had realized.
Brainiac kept his sensors up just in case, but didn't sense any attacks. He was prepared to run some diagnostics…
When he detected something, a piece of the Colu probe, a tiny piece that had drifted to the bottom of the ocean. It's a miracle it survived Kara's attack. Brainiac knew he should contact Superman immediately.
But then...it was a very small piece. Probably not operational. Apokolips tech would have upgraded it, but even that would undoubtedly be to destroyed as well. It couldn't hurt to analyze this.
So Brainiac sent out a probe and collected it.