A sleek black helicopter glided over the icy, arctic tundra. It bobbed over the glacial cliffs until evening out over a vast field of ice. On the white horizon stood a jagged peak composed of massive crystalline spears. The spears ranged in size and crossed over one another to create the alien structure. The strange building looked as if it had been birthed right out of the ground and had grown erratically, like a cancer.
Lex Luthor scoffed, looking down through the window of the helicopter as it lowered towards the fortress. Below, a small construction crew was stationed just outside one of the thick crystal walls. Kicking up a cloud of powdered snow, the helicopter landed beside the site and Lex was first to step out onto the arctic ground. He wore a dark purple parka with neon green inlays and a LexCorp patch stitched to the shoulder. He made his way to the far end of the construction site, with a team of armed security guards following him. They made it to the crystalline wall of the megastructure where a perfectly circular hole had been carved into it. Lex entered the hole and walked down the glass-like tunnel. At the end of the tunnel was a group of workers operating a loud machine. It was a waterjet drill, slowly carving through the crystal, pushing the tunnel further and further into the structure.
The worker in charge turned to address Lex, holding his hard hat to his chest with respect. "Mr. Luthor," he began. "The process has been harder than expected. This stuff, it's tougher than diamond. Had some of the whitecoats down here earlier to take a look at some samples. They've never seen anything like it. They says the molecular structure has got more in common with organic life than your average mineral."
"And yet the drill of my design has managed to pierce it nonetheless," Lex said, removing his glove and placing his hand upon the smooth crystal surface. Beyond the wall, he could see the refracted light of the interior. "How much longer until we break through?"
"You came just in time, sir," the worker said, "your drill estimates we're only three more feet away from open air."
"Excellent…" Lex said, reaching into his parka and retrieving what appeared to be a grenade. "Now, get out of my way."
The workers quickly obliged upon seeing Lex's weapon. They abandoned the drill as it continued to hum along, thinning the wall until it began to crack and eventually shatter. Steam poured forth from the newly opened hole, filling the tunnel. Sirens sounded from the other side and red lights flashed.
INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! Robotic voices echoed as the sound of metallic footsteps could be heard closing in on their position. Lex held up his hand, stopping his bodyguards from moving in. He waited until the footsteps were just outside the hole before tossing his grenade into the mist. The bomb exploded, not with fire, but with electricity. It sent shock waves across the area that didn't affect Lex or his bodyguards, but it caused the robotic voices to fail.
When the steam settled, the ground beneath the hole was littered with a dozen humanoid metal robots with the House of El's crest across their chests. Each of them had fallen, sparks flying from their malfunctioning joints and oil spilling from their orifices. Lex wiped his hands with a smirk and stepped over the robots and into the fortress proper.
He entered a long crystal hallway, only to find two more robots charging at him from either direction.
INTRUDER ALERT! SURRENDER NOW!
"Or what?" Lex taunted, taking out another EMP device and tossing it at one of the robots. It went off, immediately shutting down the machine's mechanisms, though its body still careened forward with all its momentum. Lex slid out of the way, letting the disabled robot smash directly into the functioning one. The second robot shoved the body of the lifeless one off only to find itself staring down the barrel of Lex's high-tech sidearm.
"Ah, not so fast," Lex said, holding the gun to the robot's forehead. "This one has enough firepower to blow a hole clean through the hull of a destroyer. Trust me, it's already been tested in the South China Sea."
"I was not designed to fear termination," the Super-bot retorted.
"And that…" Lex paused, aiming his sidearm down and pulling the trigger. A fiery beam shot from the barrel, carving right through the mechanical gut of the robot. The Super-bot collapsed, its body now in two. "...is what makes you weak."
The rest of Lex's bodyguards caught up and protected his flanks while he kneeled beside the fallen robot. Lex rolled up his sleeve to access a touch-screen computer interface mounted to his forearm. He hooked a wire up to it and connected the other end to the back of the robot's skull. In a matter of seconds, he managed to hack into the AI's systems and download detailed schematics of the fortress onto his device.
"This way," Lex said, standing up and proceeding further down the crystal corridor. He followed the hacked map until the winding hallways emptied into a vast, high-ceilinged chamber. Lex lowered his computer and walked out onto a ledge overlooking a deep ravine. At the far side of the ravine, carved into the crystal wall, was a massive statue of two individuals. A robed man and woman, together holding up a giant globe, but it did not depict Earth. Lex stopped at the edge where a series of small crystals laid before him, arranged almost like a keyboard. Lex reached out and took one of the many crystals, and examined it, before putting it back in a different location. The keyboard glowed blue and a giant projection soon formed over the ravine. It was a hologram of a man in shimmering silver robes with the House of El's crest across his chest in black. He had pure white hair with an S-swirl and a darker, graying beard. His tired, wrinkled eyes looked down upon Lex, unconcerned. The glowing blue of the keyboard then shifted to red.
"You are not my son," the hologram man said, his calm voice echoing across the crystal chamber.
"What gave it away?" Lex joked, turning away from the keyboard and towards a long set of steps that crossed the ravine.
"You are a human. Therefore you must be an ally or enemy of Kal-El," the hologram said, still staring forward despite Lex having moved positions. "If you are an enemy of my son, I have nothing but pity for you."
Lex laughed, looking over the edge of the staircase as he crossed, seeing a massive cauldron of molten lava bubbling below. His bodyguards followed, crossing the ravine more hesitantly than Lex who practically skipped across.
"You cannot possibly hope to defeat him…" the hologram continued. "It would be an exercise in futility."
Ignoring the father of Kal-El, Lex entered the other side of the ravine, which was divided into various rooms. All of which housed a range of human and Kryptonian objects of curiosity, alongside other miscellaneous alien artifacts. Further down were large aquariums and terrariums, housing living alien creatures of all shapes, sizes, and eccentricities.
"Imagine what he's hiding from us…" Lex said, admiring the rows upon rows of relics and rarities. "A cure for cancer? An end to world hunger? Limitless reusable energy?"
"Sir," one of Lex's bodyguards called out from further down. He pointed to the entrance to a room at the far end of the chamber. It was sealed shut, a mighty door of dark purple crystal with an S engraved onto it. Lex checked his map to confirm that it was indeed the location they'd been searching for. Lex walked up to the door and knocked on its hard surface. He hazarded a guess that the crystal was even harder than those that made up the fortress as a whole, luckily, he came prepared. He moved his hand along the smooth surface until coming to a small control panel beside the door. It looked like a traditional number pad, but its symbols did not resemble any that could be found on Earth.
Lex lifted his forearm device parallel with the panel and, using the stolen AI systems, he managed to find the string of alien code that pertained to the locked door. The lock proved difficult to crack, but after a few minutes, he arrived at the solution. With a smirk, he typed in the correct sequence on the panel, and soon enough, the thick purple doors slid open.
They entered the gloomy, violet-lit room. It was circular in shape and made of the same smooth crystal as the door, differing from the more jagged surfaces that made up the rest of the fortress. At the center of the room was a pedestal and sitting atop it was a strange, bulky camera-like device. It was a metallic red with a broad black lens and a tripod base. Across from the device, displayed on the wall, was a black and white projection. Figures appeared to move about on the display, but they were too full of static to make out.
Lex, a smug smile still glued to his face, walked up to the device and grasped its two protruding handles. He lifted it off its pedestal and presented it to his bodyguards. "Ladies and gentlemen," he began. "I present to you; the end of Superman as we know him."
Clark awoke in his Naltorian bed chambers, the warm orange light of the morning sun peeking through the curtains. Despite the situation, he slept rather soundly. It was the first night in nearly a month he didn't spend beside the villainous Queen Maxima. Jumping out of bed and right into his costume, Clark soon made his way to the door.
Outside, in the palace hall, he was immediately greeted by two of the royal handmaidens. They appeared to have been waiting for him. "Good morning Kal-El. Right this way, please…" They said in unison before leading him down the hall. Clark followed the girls down to the lower levels of the palace. Soon they reached a chamber at sea level, which acted as an open-air boathouse. Docks lined the water and past the high-arched ceiling of the palace, it opened up to the vast emerald ocean beyond. In the water sat dozens of elegant vessels, all shaped like ancient Greek triremes with pronounced avian flourishes. Naltorian shipbuilders and scientists bustled about the place, working on new ship designs.
Clark was brought over to a densely populated part of the docks. The crowd swiftly parted upon his arrival, revealing the boat they'd all been working on. It was smaller than the rest but shared a similar aesthetic. Its deck was replaced with what appeared to be a cockpit; a domed sheet of glass with enough room for two or three people inside. Despite the high-tech interior, the hull was still lined with oars and the back was fitted with a rudder.
The High Seer soon arrived next to Clark, taking his hand and admiring the vessel before them. "Is it not fantastic, Kal-El?"
"It's quite the boat, ma'am," Clark replied, not nearly as impressed.
"Why, Kal-El," the High Seer said with a chuckle. "This is no mere boat. This is a starship. Fitted with the very same technology you fell to us with."
"The light-speed drive? It's in that?" Clark asked.
"Yes, of course! How else are you supposed to get home?" the High Seer said.
Clark paused, hardly believing what he was hearing. "You mean, you've already invented interstellar travel?"
"I did not lie, Kal-El. Our Futurists were ready for your arrival, ready for you to fulfill the missing piece in their theorems and blueprints," the High Seer explained. "However, we may have skipped a few steps in the process. I regret to inform you that we have no fuel source besides the light-speed engine. Meaning to leave the atmosphere, you must only rely on the means by which we currently traverse the sea…" She pointed to the oars, as well as the sail being hoisted to the boat's mast.
Clark smirked, "I'm sure I can make it work, ma'am." He then turned to the rest of the Naltorians gathered around. Holding up his hand, he spoke to them, "Thank you all! Thank you for giving me refuge, a much-needed place to rest. And thank you for aiding me so greatly in my journey. I will be sure the people of Earth hear of your unwavering selflessness."
"It is us who must thank you, Kal-El," the High Seer said, holding his hand firmly. "You have been everything we could have ever dreamed of and more. Your stories shall echo across the hearths of Naltorians for generations to come."
Clark nodded to the High Seer and Princess Bela beside her, before turning towards the vessel. Though before he could step off the dock, the High Seer grabbed his arm. She pulled him close and whispered into his ear, "I dreamed of you last night."
"Um," Clark began, unsure how to respond. "Th-thank you, your highness, I'm flattered."
"No," she spoke. "I received a premonition pertaining to your voyage home."
"Do I…" Clark paused. "...Do I make it?"
"Yes," she said. Clark sighed in relief. "But, before you do," she continued, "you must journey to the land of the formless. A place where forgotten shades wander, devoid of life and death, unbeholden to time and space. Do not leave the ring of light, lest you join their errant ranks."
Before Clark could respond, the excited Naltorian crowd filled in, pushing him towards the edge of the dock and onto the boat. He settled into the cockpit as the glass windshield lowered around him. In front of him were the controls of the light-speed engine and on either side of him were the ends of two oars. He grabbed hold of the oars, lifted them out of the water, leaned forward, dipped them back in, and pushed. A single super-row propelled him forward at an incredible speed. He blasted out of the palace boathouse and began skimming across the sea. With a few more thrusts of the oars, he skipped off a wave, caught the wind in his sails, and flew across the sky. Metal wings jutted out from the hull and Clark was able to steer the boat skyward. The mast and oars tore away in the thin air, allowing for the smooth rocket to pierce the edge of the atmosphere. Clark felt the planet's gravity beginning to pull him back towards the ocean below. Despite still being within the atmosphere, he initiated the light-speed drive. With a flip of a lever, the hull of the boat heated up and a glowing blue light passed through its seams.
The cockpit rattled while Clark held firm onto the steering yoke. He double checked the coordinates of his trajectory, they hadn't changed since he left Maxima's moon, they were still primed for Earth. Then, without warning, the vessel jolted forward into light speed. Stars and solar systems zipped past him in seconds, the light outside the cockpit warping around him. This time, the rocket he flew remained in one piece when it came to a stop. In the blink of an eye, the warping of light ceased and the window of the rocket was consumed by the blue-green marble of Earth.
Clark could barely contain the boyish grin across his face upon laying eyes on his home. He quickly unhitched the cockpit and flew out of his seat into the space just outside Earth's atmosphere. He opened his arms wide and took in the rejuvenating rays of the yellow sun he knew so well. After the brief moment of reprieve, Clark's face grew stern and he set his sights on the city of Metropolis below. He could already hear the sounds of screaming and destruction as he drew near. However, upon closing in on Earth's atmosphere, he felt a sudden sting rattle down his spine. He paused as his whole body began to feel like static. He tried to brush it off, flying forward towards the surface at a faster speed, but he felt as if he was being pulled backward. Clark roared, using all his might to push past the invisible force, but it was no use.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an inconceivable sight. A dimensionless, spinning rectangle was floating towards him. Its surface was completely flat and devoid of any color, in fact, it seemed to suck in any light that was around it. And before long, it got to Clark. It pulled him inside, flattening his body within its formless surface. Now within its confines, Clark could still see the outside world beyond, but he was trapped behind an unbreakable wall of glass.
"No! No!" He cried, though no sound left his lips. The shape continued to rotate as it careened out into space, its surface area growing smaller and smaller with each spin. Before long, it was reduced to nothing. The void soon consumed Clark's vision, while his body grew weightless. All senses disappeared as the laws of time and space removed themselves from his person.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself below a ray of light, while the space around him remained a gray, empty void. Clark stood on the perfectly flat surface and looked out onto the plains of shadow. In the distance, he saw figures moving, each aimlessly wandering across the fields of nothingness
One such figure appeared directly before him, just outside the pillar of light. He could just scarcely make out the figure's ghostly features as he began to further materialize. He had slicked black hair with white streaks on the sides, and a graying goatee. He wore a silver cape around his shoulders over a sleek black suit with a red Z-shaped crest across his chest. He looked down upon Clark with disgrace, though a subtle smirk had begun to creep across his lips.
"Welcome, Son of Jor-El," he began. "To your father's crowning achievement: the Phantom Zone. Your new home…"