The spitting image of Jor-El stood before her and yet Kara refused to believe her eyes and ears. She reached out to touch him and her hand passed right through. Kara shouldn't have been surprised. What was she expecting? That her uncle returned from the grave to speak to her? It was just a damn hologram and the fact that it look like Jor only made her more infuriated. She turned to walk away but the hologram appeared in front of her again. "Kara wait," it protested but she walked right through, ignoring every word.
Kara wasn't sure how some AI got onto the ship but that was the only explanation for what was going on. There were no advanced AIs onboard the Black Zero when they took control and Zod never had one designed. He always preferred a flesh and blood operative controlling the systems then a computer program. A blast door closed in front of her, stopping her in tracks. Under any other circumstances this would be a problem but not this time. The AI's plan of flooding the ship with Earth's atmosphere allowed Kal to break free and momentarily stun the crew with the sudden and overwhelming enhance senses. But it did have a major flaw. It allowed the crew to have the same strength, speed, and powers as Kal. Assuming they had a helmet on to suppress their advanced senses.
Kara reached down and dug her fingers into the door, using her now godly strength to lift the door up and continue her search. "Kara you need to listen to me," another hologram spoke as she passed by it. She ignored the AI as she decided to try something different. Without her helmet, she was able to see the entire electromagnetic spectrum flash before her eyes. Perhaps with a little concentration, Kara could use alter her vision to find her cousin. Focusing, walls turned transparent as her eyes adapted to this new kind of vision. It was hard to stop from seeing through the entire ship but Kara quickly got the hang of it and managed to scan each level and room one by one. A single skeletal figure was ripping through a door in a parallel hallway. Clark was searching for Lois but he wasn't heading in the right direction towards her cell. He had the same enhanced senses as Kara, in fact his senses should be better after handling for so many years on Earth. Unless she wasn't there anymore, the AI releasing her was certainly a possibility.
"Please stop and just listen," pleaded the hologram.
"SHUT UP!" she screamed, finally deciding to address the construct. Kara refused to call it anything else. It may have taken the appearance of her uncle but the real man died. Seeing anything taking his face only poured salt on old wounds Kara never healed from.
"Zod is going to kill every living thing on Earth," it quickly blurted out.
That forced Kara to hear it out. "What are you talking about?" she demanded.
"This ship is running terraforming calculations as we speak. As soon as Zod gets his hands on the Codex he'll activate the World Engine," said the hologram.
"You're lying. If he really was going to, he would have told me. I'm his third in command," snapped Kara, not believing a word of it. Zod was capable of many things, some of them cruel and terrible but only if it was for the greater good of his people. But he also trusted Kara and wouldn't do something so rash without at least consulting her.
"Perhaps he doesn't trust you as well as you think," countered the AI.
"And what do you know of trust? You're a damn computer program!" shouted Kara. Fed up with this conversation, she adjusted her vision once more and found her cousin breaking through a wall into a large cargo bay.
Readying herself with her newfound strength Kara rushed through a wall, breaking through the metal framework and tackled her surprised cousin through a series of massive crates and machinery. "That's enough! You are coming back with me to the medical room if I have to drag your unconscious body," she warned him, holding him down. Kal's eyes glowed red and suddenly, twin beams of energy sent Kara flying into the ceiling. She bounced off and crash on top of a crate, smashing it into pieces. "Tough love it is then," Kara groaned as she got to her feet.
Kal rushed towards her with inhuman speed but Kara was prepared. She dropped and spun her leg around, knocking her cousin to the floor face first. She climbed on top of him and put him in a chokehold. Kal struggled to pull her off then leaped up, slamming Kara into the ceiling on his back. It hurt but she refused to let go. He leaped backwards, slamming her into the wall. It left a massive dent and caused Kara to finally loosen her grip. Kal forced her arms off his neck and hurled her through a small loading crane. The machine broke in half but Kara's body was unharmed. Kal rushed her again but Kara leapt over him and landed next to a large crate. No normal Kryptonian could lift something so large by hand but that was before they arrived on Earth. Kara picked it up effortlessly and tossed it at her cousin. The crate knocked Kal off his feet and crushed him into a nearby wall. He recovered and shoved the crate back at Kara who easily leapt over it.
The two remaining members of the House of El stared at one another. The whole room was in shambles but finally had a moment of respite as Kara and Kal waited for the other to make the next move. "So that's why you need your helmets. You get it all and can't handle it," said Kal, understanding it all for the first time.
Kara had no intention of letting him exploit that weakness and decided it was time to put Lois to good use. "What exactly do you hope to accomplish with any of this? It won't take long for my crew to purge that AI and retake control of the ship. They will return the atmosphere to normal and you'll be as helpless as any human and you don't have any weapons on you. Furthermore you are also endangering Lois's life," she pointed out.
Kal's face froze with concern. "What are you saying?" That all but confirmed it. He actually had feelings for that human and Kara intended to exploit it to end all of this.
"Why do you think the General wanted her brought onboard in the first place? It was in case you pulled a stunt like this. Now if you don't come with me I can't guarantee her safety," replied Kara. Kal stood for a moment, pondering his decision. Once he was back in custody and the ship was restored, Kara would arrange to have Lois brought to him. At the very least, it might stop Kal from doing something this stupid again.
Then the last thing that Kara wanted appeared. That damned AI in Uncle Jor's image shimmered right in-between the two Kryptonians. "I'm sorry about this Kara but you give me no choice," it spoke. Kara didn't understand what it was talking about until a metallic loading arm dropped from the ceiling and grabbed her around the waist. The device was normally used to lift very heavy machinery such as shuttles which made it much more difficult to struggle against. "Kal go! Lois is three levels above you and being pursued," warned the hologram.
Nodding, Kal fired energy beams from his eyes and cut his way through the roof. Digging into the arm with her fingers, Kara slowly forced it open until finally ripping it in half. "Damn you! Zod will have him killed if he doesn't stop!" she screamed, throwing the pieces at the holographic construct.
"Then help him Kara. Is this the kind of soldier Zor-El wanted you to become?" the hologram replied.
"Don't you dare say his name!" snapped Kara. She rushed forward then suddenly remembered she was about to hit a hologram. It was distracting her the best way possible. Get her riled up and pissed at it while Kal escapes. A smart move, perhaps there was something of Jor-El in the AI after all.
"My son is not your enemy. I hope for this planet's sake you soon understand who your real enemy is," the AI added before disappearing. Not wasting any more time, Kara jumped up through the Kal made in pursuit.
Clark had melted his way through the three floors but now found himself having difficulty finding Lois. He tried to use his X-Ray vision but had difficult telling who was who. Kryptonian and Human skeletons looked exactly the same. Doors closed around, corralling him towards a specific direction. He didn't know if that was Jor-El's doing or the crew's. A hologram of his father appeared beside him, apparently indicating the former.
"Why didn't you tell me about her? Why didn't you tell me about this Codex they keep talking about?" Clark demanded.
"Kal we don't have much time so I'll make this brief. Your mother and I wanted you to live the humans so that when the day came, you could build a bridge between our two races. We wanted you to continue our people but not at the human's expense as Zod would," explained Jor.
"And Kara? Is she really family?" asked Clark.
"Yes. Born of the same bloodline as you and I. She was born to be a warrior Kal but something happened during her gestation process which mixed various genetic templates together," answered Jor.
Clark frowned, "And what does that mean?"
"It means she had the characteristics of all Kryptonian castes. Warrior, Scientist, Worker, Leader. Kara was proof that there was a better way than Krypton's caste system. It was because of her that I created you," answered Jor. A new klaxon went off and the lights dimmed for a moment. "They're restarting the main systems. I'll only be able to maintain control for another few minutes. Three soldiers are approaching you from the front hallway and Kara is coming up behind you. I've blocked their paths but it won't hold them. Head into the first room on your right."
"What about Lois? Is she there?" Clark asked losing his patience.
"Do as I say Kal or you'll never see her again," the hologram calmly answered.
Clark did as he was instructed but found an empty room with no way out other than the way he came. Outside in the hallway, he could rip metal being ripped apart. He didn't have much time. "Now what?"
"Strike that panel and break through," said Jor.
Kara appeared at the door and lunged at him. Clark punched through the wall and suddenly the whole room was being sucked through. He had just ripped a hole through the ship just as Kara was upon him. Her momentum knocked them both out into space. Clark spun wildly until he managed to regain control and used his flight ability to hover. His cousin wasn't so fortunate and was being dragged by Earth's gravity into the atmosphere. He was about to fly after her and save her when he noticed an escape pod launching off the Black Zero. Focusing his vision, he saw through a transparent glass covering that Lois was inside and she was panicking. The pod looked damaged and was building up speed into the atmosphere. Clark was torn, not wanting to abandon either Lois or Kara. Hoping that his cousin's enhanced strength and endurance could keep her alive, he shot towards Lois.
Kara screamed as fell through the sky. Flames covered her body as aerodynamic heating took effect. She tried to calm herself but her vision was spinning and her breathing was on the verge of hyperventilating. Her body and suit seemed to be able to withstand the heat from entering the atmosphere but her real concern was whether she could survive when she hit rock bottom. "C'mon fly….fly…Dammit how does Kal do that?" Kara groaned, trying to make herself defy gravity but having no success. She heard from the human reports they hacked into that Kal could fly and that was an ability Kara could really use right now.
She passed through a cloud layer, blinding her. When she emerged through it, she saw the ground rushing up closer and closer. Seeing no choice, Kara pulled her helmet off and exposed herself fully to Earth's atmosphere. The helmet filtered air through it slowly, allowing the user to slowly adapt. But Kara was more concerned about surviving then adapting. Within seconds, her senses exploded with sights and sounds but she also felt stronger. With the chaos assaulting her senses, she lost her grip on her helmet. Seconds away from impact, she closed her eyes.
And then nothing. She could feel herself in the air and not touching the ground but she wasn't moving either. Was her strength and durability now so powerful she didn't even feel pain from such a fall? Kara opened her eyes and realized she hadn't landed yet. She was floating several meters off the ground. Apparently she figured out how to fly. That quickly changed when Kara suddenly dropped expectantly to the ground. Getting to her feet and dusting herself off, she found herself in a meadow with tall grass. The sounds of small winged insects chirping, feathered flying animals, and even a gentle breeze all came blaring into her ears like bombs going off inside her head.
She couldn't find her helmet which forced Kara to do this the hard way. If she couldn't block her senses, then she needed to force herself to focus on whatever sights and sounds she wanted to her. Back in Kandor, the drill instructors taught you to focus during the chaos of battle by remembering key moments in your life that shaped you into the warrior you would become. For Kara, that moment was the day her father died.
Terrax smiled as he tossed Zor's lifeless body aside. Kara's tear stained eyes refused to turn away from her father's corpse, even as the members of the Council began screaming in terror. "Not now Kara," she whispered to herself, trying to keep her mind focused through her grief. Terrax approached the councilors, his blades extended and covered in blood. Her father's blood. Then her mind managed to focus using one simple emotion, rage. Kara screamed as she fired at the monster's back, causing him to stumble but Terrax remained on his feet. He turned to glare at her with his blood red eyes and his fang-like teeth. His dark skinned body was covered in scars that were still slowing healing, some that would have been fatal to any other Kryptonian. Bone protrusions were starting to grow out of his elbows and knees. He looked more monster then man.
Terrax roared in fury, rushing towards her. Anyone else would run in terror but Kara's rage outweighed her fear. She charged forward, rolling underneath a swipe of Terrax's blades. Still on her back, Kara fired a blast into Terrax's right arm blade, severing it. The monster turned and kicked the rifle right out of her hand. Kara rolled away as he slashed at her with his remaining blade. This time he actually managed to knick her chest plate armor. A quick inspection revealed the blade didn't penetrate through but just barely. Kara got to her feet and leaped back to avoid another slash. She made a dash for Terrax's severed blade, picking it up as she fled her monstrous pursuer. She spun around and flung the blade like a spear. Kara had aimed for his head but her aim was a little off. The blade went right through Terrax's neck. It slowed him down and blood dripped out of his mouth and neck. And yet unbelievably, he was still standing. Kara tried to avoid another slash but this time, the blade hit its target. Kara dropped to the ground, a bloody gash on her chest. Terrax grabbed her by the neck with his blade free hand and slammed her into a nearby wall. Gasping for air and struggling feebly to pry the monster's fingers off her neck. Starting to black out and seeing the other blade aimed at her head, Kara desperately shot her arm out into a palm thrust and struck the blade lodged in Terrax's neck. The blade sunk deeper in and for the first time, Terrax gasped. Blood now cascaded out of his mouth, drenching his entire chest. He dropped Kara and stumbled back. She gasped for air, coughing as Terrax dropped to his knees.
Then the most unbelievable thing happened right before Kara's eyes. Terrax grabbed the blade and pulled it right out. He roared in pain, blood gurgling inside his mouth. Kara would have run except she was in too much disbelief. Nothing could survive such wounds and still be alive. She glanced around and as soon as she saw her rifle lying close by, her mind focused. Gone was the fear and the horror, replaced by sheer rage. Kara scrambled over the weapon and unloaded round after round into Terrax. A scream filled the room as still the brute remained on his knees. When he finally dropped to the ground a bloody scorched mess, it was only then that Kara realized that the one screaming was her.
Kara opened her eyes and looked at her hands. No longer were they oscillating between flesh and bone but just perfectly normal. The sounds began to die down as well, enough to not be completely painful although they were still incredibly loud. Tapping on her wrist, Kara tried to activate her com to the Black Zero. To her surprise, nothing happened. A light should have gone off to indicate she was transmitting but instead there was nothing. Her communicator must have been damaged during her fight with Kal-El. Another reason to kick his ass the next time she saw him. Right now she needed to find some way to communicated with her ship and the only way to do that was to find a city or town. Kara just hoped that her presence could go unnoticed by the humans. She had godlike powers but it was best not to take chances.
At NORTHCOM headquarters, Lieutenant General Swanwick had just finished being debriefed on the engagement at Smallville, Kansas. It wasn't bad enough that these aliens had advanced technology but also superhuman physical abilities. The one called Kal-El or Superman as some of the analysts were beginning to call him could hear through a soundproof cell, ripped steel handcuffs like toilet paper, and could even fly. The reports of his engagement with several of Zod's followers didn't make the general feel any better. The one called Commander Faora took a direct hit from a Maverick missile and while she was rendered unconscious, she was relatively unharmed. Another one of the aliens threw a train car like a javelin and Superman not only survived the impact but walked away unscathed. With such power, Swanwick didn't want to think of the possibilities of how much damage they could cause if they were in a major city.
Captain Farris, the General's aide, entered his office. "Sir we have another confirmed alien landing," she spoke with an urgent sense. Swanwick rose from his chair and followed her into the Main Operations Center where dozens of analysts shifted through countless data collected from hundreds of satellites and other sources. The "Wall" as they call it was a series of large monitors at the front of the room which displayed real-time visuals from all over the planet. And right now the Wall has all of its monitors showing the same thing. A young female humanoid dressed in the same uniforms as the aliens that were previously encountered. It never ceased to unnerve Swanwick how human they all looked.
"We detected an object originating from the alien ship that crashed in western Iowa. At first we thought it was debris until a Predator sweep revealed this," explained Staff Sergeant Sekowsky from his terminal.
"Where did she crash? I want to see the wreck," ordered Swanwick.
"Sir she didn't have a shuttle," Sekowsky spoke as he took replayed footage from earlier where a satellite tracked a fast moving object and zoomed in. The alien somehow slowly landed onto the ground and then simply walked away.
"Are you telling me she not only survived falling through our atmosphere but she doesn't even have so much as a scratch on her? What the hell can kill these things?" Swanwick asked out loud.
Farris answered a nearby phone. "General, the White House on the line," she reported before handing him the phone. Looks like they weren't the only ones who found out about the alien. The Joint Chiefs and the National Security Council had been butting heads ever since the alien ship first showed up and the most heated issue was whether nuclear weapons should be used to fight them, even if they are on American soil.
"Mr. President," Swanwick answered.
"General. I've been debriefed on the engagement at Smallville and that we still have a single alien in Iowa," spoke the President of the United States.
"Yes sir. I've looking at the drone footage of it now," Swanwick replied.
"I'll make this brief General. So far we have yet to find a single effective weapon against them. I would like to know that my only remaining option isn't a nuclear strike," continued the President.
"I have the top minds in the country going over our previous engagements with the aliens and they believe they may have some means of fighting back without resorting to that," explained Swanwick.
"Please explain General," the President requested.
Swanwick continued, "During the last engagement, the Commanding Officer Colonel Nathan Hardy reported that the aliens, with the exception of the one Kal-El, were all wearing helmets while on Earth. When one of the aliens had her helmet damaged, she was in pain. We think their senses are so enhanced in our atmosphere that it literally overwhelms them. Dr. Emil Hamilton of DARPA theorized that the reason this one was rendered unconscious from a Maverick missile wasn't because of the explosion itself but rather the intense light and sound it produced."
"So instead of throwing grenades you're saying we should use flash bangs?"
"Precisely Mr. President. I have multiple Special Forces units on standby with multiple AH-6 Little Bird Helicopters all retrofitted to use LDARs. That's short for Long Range Acoustic Device. They are designed to emit high power sound waves in a focused beam so it can only be heard at full volume at targeted areas up to two miles away." LDARs have been used as an offensive weapon like blasting an enemy compound to disorient the enemy to dispersing crowds during riots. And with the alien's enhanced senses, Swanwick didn't want to think how painful it would be for one of them to experience it.
"I'm familiar with the technology," interrupted the President.
"This alien in Iowa doesn't have a helmet which we believe makes her vulnerable. Three F-15s with enough JDAMs to level an entire town are being fueled as we speak along with an AC-130W Stinger to provide fire support. The F-15s will first engage the target and incapacitate it. If that doesn't work, Delta Force will move in and utilize their LDARs with Stinger support to stun the target long enough for give the F-15s a perfect shot. Once the alien is down, a Delta team will move in via V-22 and secure the target for transport to a nearby nuclear bunker that's being retrofitted with various sonic and light based defensive measures that will hopefully contain it."
"Will that be enough?" asked the President.
"I'm afraid I cannot guarantee that Mr. President," answered Swanwick.
"And what about Delta Force team? What happens if the alien regains conscious during transport?" the President questioned.
"The men are aware of the risks and the V-22 is one of our fastest capable transports," Swanwick told him with a sense of hesitation. He wasn't comfortable with this plan but it was only the one they had without resorting to nuclear weapons.
"I'm not comfortable with this General but I'm giving you the green light."
(After three chapters with no real action, I wanted to have a fight scene in this one. Didn't want Kara and Clark to have a brutal one thought but rather more like a bar room brawl. Unlike the first fight with Doomsday where I wanted it bloody and brutal. Yes I said first fight because you know that won't be the last with him. Hope you liked and please review.)