Chapter 1: Recollection of Lost Memories
(Time: Beginning scene in Commencement)
YOU ARE ALMOST READY, ALICIA BAKER.
The voice boomed through the endless cloud cover. I opened my eyes, yet I couldn't remember what happened. Everything around me was covered in clouds, and I couldn't see anything through the misty depths that is infinity.
Slowly, I gain my voice and call out to the person. "Who are you?"
No answer. Only the clouds and mist are my company in this purgatory.
"Are you God?" I ask out, wondering if I'd get a reply or not.
The silence was overwhelming, but soon the clouds moved as the voice spoke up again.
MY RACE WAS GRANTED WITH MANY GIFTS, BUT WE WERE NOT GODS.
I look around, hoping to find the owner to the voice, but there was no one to find.
"You're Race?" I ask out, hoping to find out what that meant, and hopefully to find out who was talking to me.
WE CAME TO YOUR PLANET IN SEARCH OF FULFILLING A DESTINY THAT WOULD CHANGE THE FACE OF EARTH FOREVER. UNFORTUNATLY, SEVERAL OF MY COLLEGUES DID NOT BELIEVE IN MY PRECOGNITIONS, SO I LEFT THREE CRYSTALS FOR MY SON TO FIND AND COMBINE, SO THAT HE COULD FOLLOW HIS DESTINY, ONE THAT WOULD BE REMEMBERED FOREVER.
"Your son? Who are you? Where am I?" I ask and watch in amazement as the clouds in front of me slowly move to form a human face. The clouds are then replaced with black, mirror-like walls, and in all directions I see millions of stars. The face turns into a holographic representation, something that isn't humanely possible for several decades. The face that was once made of clouds now shows a real, human face, the face of a man with pure white hair. His outstanding blue eyes show facial features that resembles Clark Kent.
The hologram smiles gently, and looks at Alicia. Although as familiar as the smile is, it shows intelligence and courage, unlike Clark's youthful and forgiving smile.
I AM JOR-El, FATHER TO KAL-EL, AND YOU ARE IN MY CREATION, WHICH IS KNOWN AS THE 'PHANTOM ZONE.'
The sun shines through the small window and hits the face of a sleeping, somber young man. He grunts from the unwelcome rays of light and heat and he shifts to his other side, allowing his face to once again become swallowed in darkness. The face of this man shows that he has been crying during the night.
A loud tapping sound hits the bars in front of the sleeping man and it steadily gets louder and louder.
"Wake up, it's almost show time," says a young woman, dressed in a sheriff's outfit. Her long black hair is tied back in a ponytail, a gun is held in her left hip holster and a police baton is in her right hand. She taps it louder and louder, until the young man in the cell opens his eyes.
"I told you, it's almost-"
"I heard you. Almost show time." Says the young man, who slowly sits up from the uncomfortable table.
"That's right. And you better tell the jury what happened, and what you did. It could either help you, or hurt you."
"I know what it can do, and I really couldn't care what happens. I've already lost her, I have nothing else to lose," says the young man, as he stands up, straightening his back, and he walks up to the bars.
The sheriff takes the baton and gently taps it against one of the cell bars, in front of the young man.
"You were moaning in your sleep again. It was her, wasn't it? You're still thinking about her, aren't you?"
The young man stays silent, but his eyes give her the answer.
"You loved her, didn't you? If you really loved her, why didn't you just stop after she died? Why did you have to take an innocent life and-"
"He wasn't Innocent. He wasn't even human. He killed her, and in my anger, I killed him. That's all."
The sheriff laughs at the young man before her. Her laughter echoes through the empty jail cells.
"If you can't remember, I'll remind you that SHE wasn't human either. She was one of those 'meteor freaks.' "
The man's translucence gaze sent shivers through her spine. She suddenly went quiet and waited for his answer.
"She was more human than any of you in this whole damn town. She was more than human… which is something you will never experience." The man says as he walks back over to the bed and sits down.
The woman smiles again, but its more of a pity smile than anything.
"The parole meeting is in 3 hours. You better have your statements ready, or they'll eat you alive."
"I highly doubt that. I couldn't care less if they send me back to jail. I can fight my own here."
The guard walks back to the door, her back facing the man.
"Just be sure you have your speech ready-" She checks a set of records set in a holder next to the door, "Clark Kent." She says as she walks out the door, leaving Clark to dwell in his thoughts.
In the cold depths of space, all is quiet and infinite. A small, yellow star is seen from a distance, barely recognizable from the rest of the stars. A low, humming sound emanates form a spot where there are no stars, and a rhombus-shaped crystal floats through space, constantly turning. As it passes, a blonde girl is seen from inside the crystal, pounding against the sides. It looks as if she is screaming; pleading for help, but there is no sound other than the strange humming coming from the crystal.
Inside the crystal, Alicia is sitting on the floor, watching the holographic face with fiery interest.
ALICIA BAKER, I AM HERE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS. PLEASE, SPEAK.
She looks at the walls of the 'Phantom Zone' and then back at the hologram.
"What are you?"
The holographic representation smiles kindly. A series of symbols appear in front of Jor-El's face.
I AM A KRYPTONIAN, A BEING FROM THE PLANET KRYPTON, WHICH WAS THREE GALAXIES AWAY FROM YOURS. ON KRYPTON, WE WERE AN ADVANCED RACE, AND WE WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE ENLIGHTENMENT, OR SO WE THOUGHT. WE WERE, FOR THE MOST PART, A PEACEFUL RACE, WHO NEVER VENTURED OUTSIDE OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. WE ORBITED A RED GIANT STAR SYSTEM, AND ON KRYPTON WE WERE JUST LIKE YOU, IN PHYSICAL TERMS.
"What do you mean by Krypton 'was' three galaxies away?"
THOUSANDS OF EARTH YEARS AGO, KRYPTON UNDERWENT SEVERAL HORRIFIC FATES. ONE WAS BY A FORMER FRIEND OF MINE, NAMED ZOD. I CREATED A MECHANICAL BEING NAMED THE BRAIN INTER-ACTIVE COMPLEX, IN ORDER TO PROTECT KRYPTON FROM THE THREAT OF ZOD. WHAT I DIDN'T KNOW, WHAT THAT ZOD INTERUPTED THE CREATION OF THAT BEING, AND IT THEN ONLY SERVED HIM. FOLLOWING A GREAT WAR, BILLIONS OF KRYPTONIANS DIED AT THE HANDS OF ZOD. THE REMAINING OF US DISCOVERED THAT THE GREAT RED STAR WAS GOING TO SUPERNOVA. I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO HAD A PLAN TO SAVE OUR RACE, SO I SENT MY ONLY SON, THE LAST GREAT SON OF KRYPTON, TO A PLANET I HAVE VISITED BEFORE. A PLANET CALLED EARTH.
"You're only son? Is he still alive on Earth?"
OF COURSE. ON EARTH, YOUR SUN HAS MADE HIM INCREDIBLY STRONG; HE CAN SHOOT FIRE FROM HIS EYES, SEE THROUGH ANY OBJECT, AND CAN RUN AT SPEEDS THAT ARE TOO FAST FOR HUMANS TO SEE. HE ALSO HAS MANY MORE POWERS WHICH HE HAS NOT ACCESSED YET.
The only person Alicia has ever seen with super speed, heat vision and strength was Clark Kent. Back when they first met, in a Luthor-Corp elevator. Clark pushed a button, and the cable snapped, plummeting them faster and faster, until Clark destroyed the security camera, and slammed his fist through the metal door, stopping the elevator in its tracks. That was the day Alicia exposed her powers to someone who was like her.
"But that's impossible, Clark Kent can't be an alien…"
THE ONE YOU CALL 'CLARK KENT' IS INDEED KAL-EL, MY ONLY SON. HE IS THE LAST SON OF KRYPTON. PLEASE, CONTINUE WITH YOUR QUESTIONS. AND WE SHALL FIND OUT THE ANSWERS TOGETHER.
So many questions raced through Alicia's mind, but one stood out among the rest.
"How did I get here, in this 'Phantom Zone'?"
WHEN I FELT YOUR LIFE FORCE WAS DEPLETING SO MANY EARTH YEARS AGO, I DECIDED THAT SINCE KAL-EL LOVED YOU SO MUCH, I SHOULD PROTECT YOUR SOUL IN THIS, AN UNBREAKABLE PRISON. YOU ALSO WERE SENT HERE FOR CRIMES YOU TRIED TO COMMIT AGAINST HUMAN LIVES, INCLUDING MY SON. BUT NOW YOUR SENTENCE IS OVER, AND YOU SHALL BE SET FREE. UNFORTUNATELY, IF YOU LEAVE THIS PLACE YOUR SOUL WILL BE LOST IN SPACE FOR AN ETERNITY, NEVER TO SEE LIGHT AGAIN. I MUST STRESS TO YOU THAT MOST OF THE CRIMES YOU WERE COMMITED FOR WERE ONLYHURTING YOURSELF. YOU WERE DEEMED 'CURED' OFFICIALLY TWO EARTH MONTHS AGO, WHICH WAS WHEN YOU WOKE UP AND SAW MY HOLOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATION.
"So, then you're dead too, aren't you?"
The Holographic image of Jor-El's face nods in agreement.
I HAVE BEEN DEAD FOR MANY THOUSANDS OF EARTH YEARS. BUT THAT IS OF NO IMPORTANCE RIGHT NOW. YOU HAVE A MISSION AHEAD, ALICIA BAKER. YOU MUST SAVE MY SON FROM GOING TO THE DARK SIDE OF HIS SOUL FOR IF HE DOES THAT, NOTHING IN HIS PATH WILL STOP HIM.
"What's happened that has made him do this?" Alicia asks, and Jor-El's face looks down to the floor. The once content look on Jor-El has changed to one of great sadness.
ALL WILL BE TOLD IN TIME, ALICIA BAKER. BUT FIRST, WE MUST BEGIN YOUR TRAINING. YOU MUST AQUIRE ALL THE KNOWLEDGE FROM KRYPTON, ALL ITS SECRETS, ALL ITS TECHNOLOGIES. EVERYTHING THAT WAS EVER KRYPTON WILL BE INSIDE YOUR MIND, AND THEN ONCE YOU SUCCEED HERE, INSIDE THE MIND OF KAL-EL.