Disclaimer: Based on DC comics' characters and the mythology created in Smallville (i.e. property of the CW network), and created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster but the words are my own.

AU: Supergirl/SMV: National City is under siege from the Daxamite forces. And on the day of triumph an old Daxamite foe returns ushering a new age.

ZOD

Chapter 7

"Where were you?" Mon-El asked with curiosity. It was unlike his mother to miss something so important.

"I was in the Phantom Zone."

The Phantom Zone was a prison dimension. Only the worst of the worst were sent there.

"Is this where you found Zod?"

"Yes," Corin nodded. "Kal-El did not kill him. He sent him there hoping and believing he will never see him again. But there are ways out of there."

"Apparently,"

"Take them with us." Corin ordered.

"Where are you taking us?" Winn asked.

"All in good time, Mr. Schott."

Winn suddenly recognized the voice. "It was you. You spoke to us and Kara."

"Yes, I was."

"Why is Kara then going to the lake?"

"That's provided she can find the entrance. It is not self evident. If they have J'onn with them then that would be easier."

"How are we going to get there as the water is missing here?" Alex spoke.

"We will fix that soon. General Zod, it is time you bring us the flood."

Zod nodded and took flight. Corin nodded to one of the soldiers around. In a moment, their sub was lifted from the ground and entered into the battleship.

J'onn stirred. He opened his eyes and looked around. He was on a jet but there was no one around. He wondered where he was. He managed to stand up and feel his body. Nothing was missing and there were no wounds. How did he heal himself?

The battle he had with the Daxamite forces did not go well. He managed to get many of them but in the end he lost as their numbers were overwhelming. They inflicted many wounds on him and the only thing he succeeded in doing was escape but that did not matter much as he would not live another day, and yet here he was (wherever here was).

He walked to the rear end of the craft and ventured outside. The sight was stunning, and cold. It was very cold outside. His eyes sought the immediate surroundings – trees and icy ground.

'J'onn,' a faint voice reached him and he knew who rescued him. "M'Gann."

The jet was unlikely to be hers. 'Lena' he reasoned. He walked down a path that led him to the edge of a frozen lake. The lake was gigantic, almost as big as a sea. He knew now where they were – Lake Baikal – in the Russian Steppes.

What were these two doing here? He wondered. Then he noticed a shadow flew by but it was not M'Gann. He looked up and his heart leapt in his throat – Kara. Still what were they doing here? There was nothing here.

Kara landed nearby. J'onn flew up and reached them. "Hey guys," The three hugged him. "Ok, I am alright. What are we doing here?"

They started talking at once but as they were each talking he did not understand a thing. He asked them to slow down and explain calmly. As they finished, he got a better understanding of the situation.

"Repeat the instruction," He asked.

'Where the reverse streams rule the water, you will find the light of the creator. Follow it to the heart.'

J'onn paused for a moment. This described perfectly the way to an Yllyan settlement. But how was that possible? All Yllyans had been wiped out. Was it possible they came to Earth and were hiding here the whole time? Yllyans were not prompt to advertise their presence anywhere. So, it was possible.

"Come. Kara, take Lena with you." J'onn took flight. Of course, he should have remembered in their story the mention of an Yllyan battleship. Fully armored and battle ready, this was a rarity to see. It was a beautiful but deadly ship.

They flew over the lake and then stopped. "Kara, focus your heat vision here." J'onn asked and she obeyed. Her heat vision rays melted the immediate surroundings. Water was seen under. "And down that way," J'onn pointed.

Kara did though she was wondering what he was hoping to see. Her usual vision did not reveal anything. There was nothing in that lake other than lake life.

J'onn nodded satisfied. He noticed the reverse stream. His eyes followed it up but sadly vanished again under the frozen parts of the lake. There was only one thing to do – dive. "Hold your breath and follow me. Do not try to get ahead of me. You will feel a strong current. Maintain your speed behind me."

"Ah, I am sorry to interrupt but not all of us can hold their breath for longer periods of time." Lena noted.

"Don't worry, Lena. I got you." J'onn took her from Kara and dived in.

The water was as expected freezing hell cold. J'onn created a bubble around him to protect Lena. He swam fast following the direction of the reversed stream. Lena was not sure what he was following as there was nothing but darkness around them. She hoped it was some kind of instinct. She also hoped that bubble will last as long as needed as she would definitively drown if it disappears.

Back on the Yllyan battleship, Winn, Mon-El and Alex were in a large room that could easily rival the Ritz. It was not so much a ship but a flying palace. There were so many Yllyans onboard. There were also a lot of Kryptonians. For Mon-El that was nearly incomprehensible. Yllyans did not like his kind but they were not very fond of the Kryptonians either. To have both on the same ship was a miracle in itself.

"What do you think they will do to us?" Winn wondered.

"I don't know. To you and Alex nothing, but it is not the same with me."

"Oh, relax, if they wanted to kill you they would have done so already."

"They still can."

Alex was not part of their conversation. She still pondered on Corin's word – mongrel. It was not a nice word but he did not use it as such. He seemed visibly impressed. She analyzed his actions that led to the conclusion. He studied her blood. That meant he analyzed her DNA. There were many possibilities but only one she could think of, that explained her uncanny knowledge of all things Yllyan.

She was on some level Yllyan. And if she followed the logic of that it would appear that they passed knowledge via their DNA – genetic encoding. But why did it trigger now and not before? Perhaps, the arrival of the Yllyans could have triggered her latent DNA. But how, she had no idea. She was not exposed to any rays or any other stimuli that could explain this. She needed to ask Corin to find out.

The ship itself was very impressive but it was made for one thing – destruction. She figured their hosts did not attack the Daxamite and Slavers forces because they had only one ship and there was no logic in losing it. It may have well been their home for some time and no one is eager to lose his home in one valiant but doomed act.

Still, she did not believe it would be that easy to take it out. The ship had regenerative armor making very difficult to penetrate or cause any form of damage. Although, it stood to reason that the enemy has fought them in the past and knew how to defeat them as by Mon-El's words, the entire civilization was wiped out.

When she asked about it, Mon-El shook head. They did not enter into combat with their battleships. They had attacked the Yllyans when they were celebrating and least expecting an attack. Their battle equipment had been subsequently destroyed as the passwords for unlocking their technology were way too complicated and neither side of the victors wanted to spend time and resources to do so despite the great value of them.

So that explained it. They have never fought with the Yllyan ships in open combat. So it was possible they did not know how. And their hosts did not to spoil the surprise either, apparently.

Corin entered the room. He was still in his majestic attire but his look was much friendlier than when they met.

"Hello. I am glad to see you are somewhat refreshed." He looked at Mon-El and smiled. "You have nothing to fear from us, young Mon-El. True under different circumstances, I would have killed you without a second thought but times change."

"How so?" Winn asked.

"From what I was able to learn, he has set his sights on my cousin, although I do have to point out that will not last."

His cousin…Mon-El suddenly realized who was standing before him. He slapped himself mentally. 'How did I miss that?' he had locked his eyes onto the crest. It contained both Yllyan lineage but also Kryptonian. He was the son of Princess Sarah of Eerie who married a Kryptonian. The royal court of Eerie had not been very thrilled of that.

"You are Cor-El." He said.

Winn and especially Alex looked at Mon-El stunned.

"Yes, I am that too."

Suddenly Alex remembered what he said when they met. He was in the Phantom Zone. But why was he there?

"How did you get in that awful place?" She had to know.

Corin sat down and gestured them to do the same. It was obvious that was a painful memory, and a sad one.

"It is not always a good thing to be the son of a brilliant scientist and a princess of a race that gives a supercomputer a bad name." He began. "The expectations people have for you came be overwhelming. And much was expected of me but I was what you could call the black sheep in the family."

"That is an understatement." Zod had come in and joined the conversation. His demeanor was also different than what people know of him.

"Oh, please, I was not a bad student."

"I did not say that. But you are insubordinate and frivolous. You were always late and there was always a parent that chased you from the room of their daughters."

"That is what humans call being a teenager."

"Humans – yes, Kryptonians – no,"

"Of course, they are narrow minded morons."

"Strict, you mean. You are taught to be independent – yes, but also responsible. And it is called discipline."

"Blah blah, blah, that is what it is called. No freedom of thought, just the rigid view of an old and decadent race."

"I imagine the Master of Lights on Eerie thought the same as us."

"Yeah, he had the same issues as you did."

Alex and her friends followed the exchange of these two with interest. It was a side neither expected of them. She was seldom reminded of the saying that everyone is human. It is the normal behavior you have when not in battle or work mode.

Kara has never spoken of another cousin and Alex wondered why. Sometimes she got the feeling that the history of the house of El had darker chapters that either Kara or Clark ever admitted.

Zod and Corin stood side by side like old friends. It was obvious that Corin respected him much though so far they have witnessed the opposite. Also it appeared that Zod was obeying Corin and not the other way around. Was it possible he saw him as the ruler of both planets? Alex believed there is more to the story.

"So how did you end up there?"

"There was an accident in his lab." Zod replied instead. "We all hurried there but it was too late. There was nothing left of anything in it. We only found a part of his tunic – burnt. We feared the worst and for a long time that is what we believed."

"Lab?" Winn looked at him.

"He was fascinated with the minerals of our planet. He did crazy experiments in there and one of them blew up in his face."

"I know you like to think that." Corin said.

"That is what happened – your recklessness."

"And I keep telling you, it is not."

"Then what?"

"It is not something I want to talk about."

Alex saw the pain in his eyes. It was something deeper, something that cut him to his very soul. It was a very personal pain. She could only think of one thing – family. But who in the house of El would want him dead, and why?

Corin somehow had guessed her trail of thoughts and said. "It is not what you are thinking, Alex Danvers."

The others did not follow their trail of thought. Alex then shifted direction to his other side – the Yllyans. But the question still remained – why?

Apparently Zod had the same illumination. "Who?"

Corin sighed deeply. "Aunt Velisha,"

"That bitch?" Zod was positively furious. How dares that stupid wrench attack his favorite student? "How do you know it is her?"

"I didn't at first. But when the lab was lost, and my failsafe took me to the Phantom Zone, I learnt a lot of unpleasant little things, chief among which was that she was responsible for trying to blow me up. The other one was the fall of Eerie."

"No, that was my mother." Mon-El disagreed.

"Your mother had a part in it yes but the mastermind was Aunt Velisha. How else do you think your mother could have obtained the security codes necessary to access the defense grid?"

"She bribed the right people."

"Despite what you think you know about your mother's persuasion skills, young prince, Yllyans are very difficult to crack. No, my auntie wanted the throne for herself and so she engineered the fall. She provided your mother's allies with everything they needed to completely surprise the Yllyans.

No outsider could gain such access. It has to be an insider. There is no other way."

"How did she plan to escape the onslaught?" Zod asked.

"She was not on Eerie when it happened. She was on Earth."

"WHAT?"

"She married a human and she moved to Earth." Corin replied calmly. "She has a daughter. Her name is Jordana. When I met her, she was ecstatic to tell her but I did not let her. I did not want her to know that I survived her little plot."

"How sure are you it is her?"

"Well, I did not want it to be true. Even when I heard it I did not believe it. How would your own family try to do such a monstrous thing? I mean my mother was never interested in the throne and her other sister was not sure of it despite of my grandfather's objections. So technically, she would have ended up being the ruler. But apparently she wanted to be certain. So, the rest is history.

When I came to Earth, I wanted to confront her but there were other things going for me. So, when, I got the chance I started pocking around. I was hoping not to find anything that would support that crazy story. Sadly, my wish did not come true. I found everything that linked her to the fall. She even had recorded a speech to commemorate her success.

I was disgusted to say the least. Then, circumstances forced certain issues and she discovered that I was alive. She was not pleased to say the least. She attempted to kill me again but she only succeeded in sending me in the Phantom Zone believing she would never have to deal with me again.

And this is where I ran into Zod and his little bitterness of having lost to Kal-El. He had his crazy aspirations about ruling the Earth and being his general asshole self..."

"Hey," Zod protested.

"What? It is true. You have always been an asshole and you will always be one."

"I have changed."

"Some things can never change." Corin said but he was smiling. He actually liked that quality in Zod. "Anyway, I found him and from there tried to drill some reason into him. That took some time."

Zod did not say anything. Given the chance, he would have gladly killed anyone that opposed him but he had a soft spot for Corin. Also he raised many valid points. Rebuilding the Kryptonian society will take more than a few aggressive moves. Also while on Earth, they were like gods they were not invincible. And there were other races that were just as powerful as they were besides there was another way. There is always another way.

Zod had come to respect Corin's vision. While in the zone, they were able to find many abandoned Kryptonians. They were filled with rage against the council but they all came to see the wisdom in Corin's view of the universe.

"We were able to recover many Kryptonians from the zone though at first they had Zod's issues and that also took some time to correct. Just as we are about to leave the Zone…"

"Leave – how?" Alex asked.

"The Zone has many ways in and out. And I happen to know all of them. Hell, I built some of them."

"What?"

"Jor-El built some of the others. Kara's mother had her own ways and the entire original others." Zod added.

"Anyway, as we were set to leave," Corin continued. "One of Zod's lackeys came to inform of some battle taking place in the Negative plane."

"Yes, that was rather intriguing." Zod said. "We went to check it out and to our surprise we found an Yllyan battleship."

"It was quite the sight, the mighty beast against the rubble of phantoms and other prisoners."

"How did it end up there?"

"The Phantom Zone is not a simple place. There is land but there is also space. I guessed they hit the wrong coordinates when jumping and ended up there."

"And he was right. As I am sure, Ms. Danvers now knows the unique way in which they travel." Zod added.

"How?" Both Winn and Mon- El asked.

"You do remember that I said there is a reason why their settlements are in water, yes?"

The two nodded and Alex continued. "Well, that is because unlike other races that travel with jump drives in space, the Yllyans use water warp drive. They jump from one water source to another. They can easily move from one planet's ocean to our planet's lake, ocean, sea or river."

That explained why the ship dived in the water and then vanished despite the barrier and also why they ended up beached on the dried river's bed. Apparently some joker had stopped the water for this river.

"So, Velisha did not give up all the secrets of her people?" Winn reasoned.

"Of course not, that would have been stupid." Zod said. "When you intend to rule, you never reveal all of your secret weapons."

"So, we helped the battleship survive. Reconciliation however and without any surprise took a lot of time but hopefully in the Zone times moves in a different fashion than the rest of the cosmos. It was a good thing both sides did not try to kill each right there on the spot."

"There were tensions but we managed them." Zod recalled. "And finally, we had a battleship and two armies."

"And after a few other adventures for which we do not have the time to talk about, here we are, and here you are."

"Tell me about me." Alex asked.

"That would also take some time. Another time, I will tell you about it." Corin stood up. It was a sign that this conversation is tabled for now. "Do you want to see how it happens?"

Winn and Mon-El nodded. Alex said. "I already know."

"Seeing it in a closed submergible vehicle is one thing, Ms. Danvers, with your own eyes it is something else entirely. " Zod said.

They reached the bridge that was a spacious room with seemingly no instruments. For an engineer such space would be considered a waste. But there was a reason for it. They all noticed that the ship is under water already. Whatever Zod did, filled the empty river bed.

"Course, milord?"

"Set it for Baikal. Our friends should already be there." Corin ordered.

The emptiness of the bridge filled with a sub aquatic map unlike any anyone could imagine. It showed the universe in a completely different light. The veins of water looked like millions if not billions, trillions of paths. How does one navigate through that crazy maze?

For Alex the answer was simple. Each lake, pond, river, sea or ocean had its own signature that the incredibly sensitive jump drive could attune to and then open the jump portal (although it is not exactly a portal. It was more like riding a wave of water particles but jump portal sounds simpler).

Their course was not a straight line but a series of assisted jumps that happen in rapid sequence from one vein to another until the destination is reached. To the untrained eye, it looks like a single jump as it happens very quickly. But for Alex it was a delightful sight. It was as though time slowed down for her and she could see each vein they used to reach the final point.

To be continued…

And don't forget to review. It only takes a couple of minutes. Thank you!

Lordheaven