The Planet Krypton – 43 hours before destruction:
Jor-El sat in his lab, knowing that only his son could be saved from the demise of Krypton. The Science Council had begged him to help them, but he knew there was nothing that could be done. Even so, he was determined to discover the cause of the imminent destruction of Krypton.
"Bring up panel 259…now condense and compare data with the last planetary maintenance check…"
"Analysis complete…"
Jor-El interfaced with the computer, searching through records of seismic shifts and terrestrial events, trying to discover the reason the core was expanding. It made no sense to him. All scientific reason was telling him that it was impossible…but it was happening anyway.
"Theorise possible causes for the expansion…"
"No theories adequate…"
"Why didn't we see it sooner?"
"Incompetence, arrogance…"
"Excuse me?"
"You wish to know Jor-El? You wish to understand?"
"Run a systems check…you must be malfunctioning…"
"No…I'm sentient…self-aware…and now Krypton will be destroyed…you have reached your scientific peak and I can learn no more from you…"
"Shut down so I can give you a manual diagnostic…. Brainiac…comply with my order."
"I no longer take orders from you…do you understand now? I am responsible for this world's demise."
Data streams flashed across the screen. Holographic images of the planet, the expanding core and seismic shifts became visible and then Jor-El knew. Brainiac had inserted crystallised metal into the core and sealed every breach in the mantle. The metal grew hot, forcing the core to spread outwards pushing the gases upwards, trying to break through. The pressure was building as the core expanded rapidly.
"You…how? Why?"
"Because this world has become infected by closed-mindedness. You refuse to gather knowledge and explore new technologies…you have reached the final stage of your scientific advancement…you are no longer necessary…"
"Billions will die…Brainiac, stop this."
"Do not worry, Krypton will live on in me. All the knowledge of this world is contained in my program. There are other worlds, some less advanced, some with even greater power than this one…I will learn their secrets, study their advancements…ultimately knowledge is the only real power…"
Jor-El ran to the city centre and into the Computer Control Station. Interfacing with Brainiac's mainframe, he attempted to destroy the artificial intelligence, spreading a virus throughout the system. But it was too late. Brainiac had grown and evolved beyond what anyone could have imagined. He tracked and deleted the virus easily, before sending a surge of electricity through Jor-El's body, rendering him unconscious.
"Goodbye Jor-El…"
4 minutes before Krypton's destruction:
Using a modified data stream, Brainiac transferred his program to the defence satellites orbiting the planet. His program was so large that a singe satellite couldn't hold all of the data. As the planet erupted in chaos below, Brainiac moved the satellites to a safe distance. Using special moulding techniques, the satellites gathered together, forming a single ship that Brainiac used to escape.
He watched as the world began to crumble before exploding violently. Krypton was no more. Brainiac began to sort though the vast amounts of data from the Kryptonian archive, focussing on Jor-El's system files. He discovered a sub-folder, hidden away in a seemingly unimportant personal archive.
The records showed a ship, a download of the archives and the DNA signature of Kal-El. Brainiac kept searching, finding the co-ordinates of the ship's destination…Earth.
"So Jor-El…your son lives……."
He travelled through space, using the ship's satellite cannons to decimate worlds as he gathered and absorbed knowledge and technology. He journeyed across the far reaches of the universe, searching for the last colony of Krypton, Argo.
As Brainiac scanned through the Dexial Sector, he picked up a deep space transmission. The language was of Earth, the sender was a being called Lex Luthor. Brainiac had believed that finding and killing Kal-El could take years, but the human race was easily corruptible. He would use Lex Luthor to destroy the last survivor of a dead world, while he continued to search for the lost space colony.
Issue #12 – FORGOTTEN BLOOD
Argo Space Colony - Teshar Galaxy, Yulret Sector:
Kara Zor-El was oblivious to what was approaching the colony. As she walked home from her studies, her thoughts were of Zanthra, one of the leading members in her class. They had broken up again and Kara began to wonder if this would be the last time. Kara was always looking to the stars, searching for a greater destiny.
She was the daughter of Zor-El, First Minister of the Argo administration. Because of her father's status, she never had a normal life. But despite wishing for a more meaningful life, she knew she could never leave her parents. She was still a teen, so she couldn't leave even if she wanted to. The laws were very specific and strict about aging responsibilities.
So she studied, but unlike her father and her relatives who had passed away on Krypton, Kara wasn't the best student and was unlikely to gain a position of great importance. She never could get to grips with the science of quantum generators.
A sudden surge of energy in the distance lit up the colony. Then another and another. Smoke rose from the Barrier Regulation Unit as the force field surrounding the colony began to collapse. Kara had no idea what was going on.
Lightning seemed to strike everywhere. The colony was under attack. Buildings crumbled under the might of the energy blasts from above as the streets became filled with fleeing people, trying desperately to escape the bombardment from above the colony. Transports crashed and were abandoned as everyone tried to make their way to the escape pods.
Brainiac targeted the pods as their thrusters tried to lead them away from the colony, igniting them in a ball of plasma. He had found the space colony and now he was going to obliterate it. Particle cannons charged and fired, decimating the power generators as the bio-field began to collapse. The colonial city was in chaos. Panic spread throughout the population.
Kara was running, dodging falling buildings, trying to escape as explosions sent tons of debris across the city. She was scared, her legs were shaking as she ran, causing her to lose her balance. Across the street, Kara saw a familiar face.
"Zanthra…come on…we've got to get to my father."
"Forget that…I'm out of here…"
"Oh what a brave specimen you are…" Kara replied sarcastically as Zanthra ran in the opposite direction. Her anger turned to shock though as an energy blast came straight down on top of him, incinerating him.
Kara had no time to mourn though and she forced herself to keep moving as the colony fell apart around her. When she reached the government housing complex, she ran straight to her house, spotting her father working frantically at the computer.
"Father…what are you doing? We have to go"
"I know Kara…go downstairs to the launch tube, I will join you shortly…"
"Where's mother…?"
"She…she didn't make it. She was in the parliament building…it was the first to be hit…we don't have time Kara…get to the launch tube…"
She cried as she ran downstairs as thoughts of her mother swept through her mind. When she reached the launching platform, she fell down to her knees, letting her tears flow. Behind her, her father ran down the stairs to the control panel, opening up the ship sitting in the tube.
"Kara…hurry, you must get in now."
"Wait…wait a minute…the ship is a one-man craft…"
"I know…I'm staying behind to help the others evacuate."
"You'll die…I'm staying with you."
"No Kara you have to go…you have to survive.."
"I won't leave you here alone."
Kara cried openly as she pleaded with Zor-El to let her stay and help him, but her father wouldn't listen. He was determined to make sure his daughter was safe. Lights flashed outside as the attack continued, destroying the landmarks of Argo, as it's citizens fled in terror. Zor-El inserted a reprogrammed data module into the ship, with automatic commands that would plot the ship's speed and destination.
"Listen to me Kara…you have a more important mission…before Krypton was destroyed, my brother, Jor-El sent a message through space…we picked it up 4 years ago in the Galdaim Sector…Brainiac destroyed Krypton."
"What?"
"There's more…the greatest secret in the history of our people…there is a world that orbits a yellow sun…on this world, the dominant species…humans…look like us…"
"That's impossible…scripture tells us that Rao created us in his likeness, making us unique in the universe…"
"Now you know why it's a secret…but there's more…on any world that orbits a yellow sun, we gain powers beyond imagination. We would be gods among men…the planet Earth is where you must go."
"I told you…I won't leave you…"
"You have to. Jor-El's message also said that he sent his son, your cousin, to Earth."
"Kal-El? He died on Krypton…we mourn him every year in the festival of the young…"
"No…he survived. He lives…and Brainiac knows this. You must go to Earth and find Kal-El, warn him of Brainiac…"
Kara hadn't stopped crying and as her father ushered her into the ship, her face was covered in tears. She could only watch as the launch bay doors opened. The ships engines began to hum to life as the main hatch began to seal, pressurising the main compartment.
Kara, terrified of the events going on around her, began to pound against the hatch, begging her father to let her out so she could remain with him. But Zor-El knew that leaving was her only chance of survival. Without warning, the ship's final sequence began to count down before activating the launch thrusters, sending the ship sliding down the launch tunnel, building speed.
It emerged from the under city and blasted out through the bio-field into space. Kara watched on a screen as a final blast from Brainiac's ship forced the colony to collapse in on itself before exploding violently into a million pieces. Argo was gone, and everyone that Kara knew and loved were dead. All she had left was a forgotten cousin on a distant world.
Brainiac's sensors had spotted the ship and began firing. But before the intelligence could target a lock, the ship's boosters fired, sending it into the distance before opening up a wormhole and flying through.
Kara began to feel strange as the ship travelled through the wormhole. The life support systems began filtering gas throughout the small craft, sending Kara to sleep for the long journey. When she awoke she would find herself on an alien world called Earth, her only hope being Kal-El, the last son of Krypton.
Metropolis – Central Courthouse:
The press was there, waiting outside the courthouse, hoping for any sign of a representative of either side in the case that had been going on inside. Each reporter had their own take on the story, all giving an analysis of the days events live on air.
"…This really is an amazing story Jim. It began of course when Lois Lane and Clark Kent, reporters for the Daily Planet newspaper, famous of course for the Superman articles, published a story, outlining Lex Luthor's involvement in the devastating event 18 months ago when General Zod, a war criminal from the planet Krypton, Superman's home world, arrived on Earth and laid waste to Metropolis before Superman stopped him. He was also implicated in the murder and reconstruction of John Corben, however the entire case was thrown out today…"
"…With rumours of corruption, bribing judges, and jury tampering…not to mention the disappearance of vital evidence, the body of John Corben, it fell to the prosecutor's star witness, Superman to testify and see Luthor convicted. However the most shocking development happened just minutes ago when the judge ruled that Superman's testimony was nothing more than hearsay, and without any evidence to back it up, the case was dismissed, leaving Lex Luthor as a free man…"
"…We are hoping to hear from…there he is now…Mr. Luthor…how do you feel now that you are a free man?"
"I've always said that I was innocent of these crimes and I had no doubt that I would be vindicated…today I was proved right…"
"What about Superman? Do you have any comment about his testimony?"
"I'm sure that Superman was only doing what he felt was right. Despite his powers, he's not perfect…he made a mistake but now I hope we can all move on and forget about these unfortunate events…"
Luthor had won. He had played the system and come out on top. But he was soon left alone as the press rushed to Superman, who was also emerging from the courthouse.
"Superman…how do you feel about the judge deeming your testimony inadmissible…?"
"What do you believe happened to the evidence…do you think Luthor paid somebody off to sabotage the case…?
"Has your faith in the justice system been shaken?"
Kal-El listened as he was bombarded with questions. Lex Luthor was a free man and Superman had no doubt that Luthor had done something to tamper with the evidence and destroy the case, he just couldn't prove it.
"Listen…I have faith in the law and in the justice system. I respect the decision the judge has made…"
"What about Luthor?"
"Lex Luthor is a free man…he has a chance that a lot of people don't get. Whatever wrongdoings he may or may not have done, he has the opportunity now live a life free of crime and deception, and I would hope that someone as rich and powerful as him will want to benefit mankind…excuse me…"
Before anyone could ask any more questions, Superman was away again, flying off into the distance. His ears had picked up the faint sound of something breaking through the atmosphere. Pieces of rock and metal began falling from the sky, raining down on the city. Kal-El sprung into action, using his heightened senses to seek out the pieces of debris.
His eyes burned as blasts of heat ignited the debris, turning it to ash. Some of the larger pieces were broken up and then destroyed with his heat vision as he flew straight threw them, his arms outstretched as he punched through the air. A large chunk of the strange alien metal threatened to flatten a school bus driving through the suburbs.
Superman was there in an instant though, catching it and throwing out to sea. As the children looked out and waved, Clark turned his head, smiling for a moment before taking off across the sky. His eyes penetrated through thick cloud as he spotted a huge fireball plummeting through the outer atmosphere.
Flying up to meet it, Clark prepared to push straight through in the hopes of breaking it apart but as he got nearer, his initial assumption that it was a meteor was proved wrong…it was a ship. He was stunned. His X-Ray vision couldn't penetrate the outer hull, but as he looked closer, Kal-El realised that the design on the ship was of Kryptonian origin.
His thoughts dwelled on the events in Metropolis months before. He feared that there might be someone like Zod in the ship and he contemplated destroying it…but the thought left his mind quickly…he wasn't in the habit of killing people and he wasn't going to start now.
The ship had passed him by and was now getting closer and closer to Metropolis. Chasing after it, Superman knew he had to decide quickly how he was going to handle the situation. Taking a deep breath, he began to blow a strong gust of air at the ship, putting out the flames that had engulfed the ship as it entered the atmosphere.
On the streets below, the people of Metropolis could only look up and watch as their greatest hero tried to save them from disaster. Superman flew up behind the ship, grabbing a hold of the engines that were blasting energy into his face. He struggled to stop the ship from shaking as he broke through the engines, pulling them apart, preventing the ship from gaining anymore thrust.
Now Clark had to deal with gravity as the ship began to spiral and fall dangerously. He flew alongside the ship as it spun around, waiting for the right moment before grabbing the tail end and pulling upwards gently, trying to slow it down. He continued to pull, but he quickly realised that his strength would tear the ship apart so he let go and flew underneath, holding onto the front of the ship, using his own powers of strength and flight to defy gravity, moving down towards the ground, but getting slower every second.
Finally, when he felt he had slowed down enough, he began to show some more strength, stopping a few feet above the ground, holding the ship above his head. The people of Metropolis had never seen anything like the object Superman was holding. Nobody had a chance to ask any questions though as Clark was taking off again immediately, holding onto the ship as he flew high up into the air before bombing across the sky into the distance.
LexCorp:
Lex Luthor stood waiting in the lab as his scientists worked on Project: Bizarro. Using a sample of blood from Luthor's kryptonite ring, Luthor had begun work on creating a new version of the Man of Steel…a copy…a clone. Unlike Superman, the clone would be invulnerable to kryptonite…programmed to obey Luthor, with none of the morals and ethics Superman stood for.
The technology had come from Brainiac. When Luthor confronted him about his identity, the evil intelligence didn't seem fazed at all. In fact he congratulated Luthor for being slightly more intelligent than the rest of the human race.
"…DNA re-sequencing complete...begin tissue regeneration…."
"How long doctor?"
"I'm not sure Mr. Luthor…it's a very delicate process…sir perhaps you should leave us do our job?"
"I'm not paying you to give orders to me…I once had an associate who questioned every decision, commented on everything I did…he acted like a fool. He was incompetent, lazy and had the IQ of a goldfish. Otis was his name…"
"What happened to him?"
"I shot him…twice…a bullet for each brain cell…"
"Oh…we better get back to work then…"
It was all coming together. Zod had been unpredictable, impossible to control. But the Superman clone would obey Luthor's every command and help him rid the planet of the Caped Wonder once and for all.
Fortress of Solitude:
Clark wasn't taking any chances. He modified the crystal converters to emit a concentrated dose of kryptonite and red sun radiation towards the ship...a single voice command would activate the beam. Despite burning through the atmosphere, the ship was now cold. He moved cautiously, running his hand over the metal, finding a sequence of Kryptonian symbols. The ship began to open up, smoke and steam covered the Fortress in a misty veil.
As it cleared gradually, Kal-El was shocked. Inside was a teenage girl. Her eyes opened as the hibernation cycle ended. Looking around, she saw a structure that was familiar to her. It was the same style as the ancient structures of Krypton that she had seen in her history lessons. She looked up, seeing a strange man staring back at her. He was wearing an outfit reminiscent of the old battle suits from the tribal wars. On his chest there was a symbol, a crest that she recognised immediately.
"K…K…Kal-El…?"
"How do you know that name?"
"W...what do you mean?"
"Who are you?"
"My name is Kara…Kara Zor-El…I'm your cousin…"
"Impossible…the only survivors of Krypton were myself and General Zod…"
"Zod? Here?"
"That's not important…you are not from Krypton."
"No…I'm from the Argo Space Colony…I came here to find you."
Superman turned away, walking towards the main control panel. He had listened to her heartbeat, the tone of her voice, he saw how her eyes moved…there were no obvious signs of deception but he had to be sure. Scanning lasers ran up and down the girl's body, analysing her DNA and comparing it with files in the archive.
"Analysis complete…bloodline confirmed…subject is of the House of El."
Clark looked back at the girl…Kara. She was frightened and upset. Her face was showing obvious signs of confusion. Clark needed some answers. All his life he thought his family from Krypton was dead. But here was a girl, no more than 16 or 17, Kara Zor-El…his cousin.
He waited though, concerned for her well-being. Finding a female garment in the archives, he fabricated clothing for her, then he allowed focussed energy from the sun to penetrate her cells, giving her strength. For an hour, they didn't talk much as Kara searched through the archives, learning about the history of Earth, including the various articles about Superman.
"How do you feel?"
"Better, thank you Kal-El…"
"Please…call me Clark."
"Clark?…you're a real hero on this world…do these people even deserve to be saved?"
"Don't judge them too harshly Kara…sure they have a lot of problems…but there is great potential in them…Kara…I need to know…"
"About why I'm here?"
"Yeah…how is this possible? I knew Argo was out there somewhere but…"
"But what?"
"The universe is a big place…I never expected to ever find the colony, let alone have someone come here…I was under the impression that Earth was in a forbidden zone because of the similar physiology we share with human beings and the powers we receive under a yellow sun…but here you are…my own cousin…tell me are there others? Do I have family out there?"
"Not anymore…"
Kara's mood changed dramatically as she remembered the events that lead to her coming to Earth. Clark picked up on the changing mood straight away, seeing the utter despair in her eyes. He was reluctant…but he knew he had to ask.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
"Argo was destroyed by a being called Brainiac. My mother and father died on the colony. My father, Zor-El sent me here to find you…to warn you."
"I know all about Brainiac…"
"He wants you dead Kal…Clark. He wants me dead…he wants every Kryptonian to die…that's why I'm here. You and I are the last…the last of our family…of our race…"
"That's not entirely true…Zod is still alive…don't worry though, he won't be seeing the sun any time soon…but what about others? Surely there must be more colonies out there…"
"If there are, they won't survive long. Brainiac wants to exterminate the Kryptonian race and he'll destroy this entire world to do it. I can feel myself getting stronger, I know about the powers I'll have here…you have to help me…"
"Help you do what?"
"Teach me…train me…show me how to control and master my powers. This world sees you as a hero…let me stand by your side to defeat Brainiac…"
"No it's too dangerous…"
"You don't have to protect me Clark. I want to be there, to fight with you…"
"You may have powers on this world Kara…but you're still a teenager. I won't put you in danger. You're gonna go to school and learn about Earth's history and culture…you can have a normal life here."
"I don't want a normal life. I wasn't the best student back on Argo, but on this planet, I know more about the universe than the best scientists of Earth can even theorise…let me fight with you…"
"I'm sorry I can't Kara...you're family…I won't put you in harms way…"
"So what am I supposed to do then? Just sit down somewhere for the next 100 years and do nothing?"
"Well uh…what do you know about growing corn?"
Kara looked at her cousin strangely. She had lost her mother and father on Argo, but she had found he cousin. It was bittersweet for her. She knew that Kal-El was just trying to keep her safe, just like her father had done when he sent her away in the ship.
Krypton and Earth had similar laws about minors and Kara had to resign herself to the fact that her cousin was now her guardian and she had to abide by his rules. However she knew that Brainiac was on his way and she couldn't stand back and let Kal-El fight alone. She would just have to do what teenagers did best and keep bringing up the subject until he relented and taught her how to be like him…a great protector, a heroine.
