Shifting his weight, Pendar just barely managed to move them out of the way of one of Kandor's impressively tall structures. Lyla's arms were locked around his waist. She felt no shame at all at touching him right now. Pendar was screaming at her, but she heard none of it. She was thinking that she would be buried as Faye, not Lyla. She was going to die and people were going to be mourning someone else. After what she'd done, she supposed that was only fair. Except, she realised suddenly, the illusion would die along with her. It would be her body they found, not Faye's.

"We have to go down!" shouted Pendar, as if she could somehow make this happen. Certainly she could have created an illusion that made him believe they were moving gently towards safety, but unfortunately the present danger would have remained all-too real. The next moment, however, they got the result they wanted. They were heading towards the ground. They were, in fact, going to get there very quickly indeed.

As the front wheel tipped downwards, Lyla became dizzy and slid over the side. Pendar's hand snaked out to catch her arm, his other tightly gripping the handlebar. He was in serious danger of being dragged over with her.

"Just let me go!" she cried. "I'm not who you think I am! Save yourself!"

Grimacing, he tried to pull her back up, but it wasn't going to work. The motorcycle shook for a moment, almost causing him to drop her. She realised that, for just a moment, the anti-gravity device had kicked in again. Then they were falling again. The momentary stop had told Pendar what his course of action should be. Letting go of the handlebar, he spun round, seeping Lyla into his arms and leaping from the side. Lyla wasn't sure how high up they were, but it felt like they fell forever. She found herself drawn to his blue eyes; reflected deep in them was a girl that looked nothing like her.

Pendar hit the ground. His ankle snapped instantly at a vicious angle. Screaming, he dropped her heavily, knocking the wind out of her. She came to her senses just in time to see the burning wreckage of the motorcycle heading straight for her. Rolling to the right, her body was hurled like a doll as the cycle exploded, the flames scorching her back. She had to roll back and forth to put them out, wincing with pain. On the other side, she could see Pendar lying unmoving on his back. He just couldn't be dead…

"Well that's a shame," sneered a voice behind her. As she looked, she saw a tall figure that looked like a tiger, though it stood on two feet. It was also fully clothed, even if most of it's ragged clothing looked like it might dissolve in rain. "That motorcycle would have fetched a fair price, intact."

Beside him stood a short, fat creature with green skin and four eyes. A female with thick purple veins all over her face completed the group. She had a forked tail that smacked off the ground with anticipation. Lyla knew at once that these were dangerous folk. Preus and the C.P.C had driven their kind to the outskirts of the city. While she had little love for the C.P.C, they had certainly had their plus side. With the reduced patrols, it looked like the more unsavoury citizens were creeping back in.

The tiger's hand fell to it's side, a knife appearing there in a blur. Lyla snapped her head to the side as he threw it, gasping as it just nicked the side of her head. He was toying with her.

"Such lovely brown eyes," said the tiger, falling to all fours and grinning at her. She jumped with surprise. Only Lyla had brown eyes… Faye had blue. He could see through her illusion. Not many races were capable of that, but Kandor was home of so many species that inevitably there were a few that could.

"Her eyes are blue, sweetling," said the female, illustrating her point.

"I think I know what colour her eyes are," growled the tiger, giving her a look that silenced her instantly. He moved forwards, circling her, stalking her, eyes alert.

"Leave her alone."

Running into view was a male who looked to be just a little older than her. His clothes looked odd to her, if only because they were so… ordinary looking. A plain dark blue shirt and red jacket stood out on Kandor, since many species meant varied tastes. Most of them were frankly exotic. She watched as he knelt to check on Pendar.

"He's still alive, but he's hurt. We need to get him some help.," said the stranger.

"Uh… excuse me?" said the tiger, looking offended. "Who do you think you are? We're kind of in the middle of something here."

"My name is Clark, and you're all done here. That motorcycle's going to bring a lot of attention this way, so you'd better get out of here. Right now!"

Lyla watched as someone else ran to view. Her relief didn't last long. She'd been hoping for somebody to help, but it was just a whisper-thin female. Not likely to be much help. Still, that was better than the C.P.C. The handsome guy was right; people would have noticed this. Even if the C.P.C had little presence right now, they weren't totally gone. If they found her, they'd learn her true identity with ease.

"Don't worry. I'll make this quick," grinned the tiger, lunging at Clark. Lyla watched as Clark fell to one knee. What was he doing? He had to get out of the way!

As the tiger fell towards him, Clark pulled a small rectangular device with a metal end split into two parts, ramming it into the creature's chest. Lyla winced as an electric current passed through the tiger's body, jolting it violently. It fell back whimpering, looking at Clark with hatred in it's eyes.

"Clark, look out!" warned the girl who'd just appeared. The bloated green skinned alien had lunged at him. Clark sidestepped the initial attack, trying to use his taser again, but the creature caught his hand. Clark struggled for a moment, unable to gain the advantage, before kicking his opponent's chest. The creature's grip broke, and Clark jabbed it in the shoulder, administering an electroshock that forced it to fall back howling.

"Clark!"

The female had chosen a different approach, wrapping her tail around the frail girl and squeezing tightly. Clark's eyes narrowed as he stared the creature down. The girl, Clark's lover she supposed, tried to struggle, but couldn't break free.

"That's enough from you!" hissed the thick-veined female. "I notice this one is wearing an anti-gravity device. Throw away your weapon or I break it."

Lyla knew Clark was beaten. If his companion lost her anti-gravity device, she would no longer be protected from Kandor's heavy gravity. The conditions were so severe that such devices weren't uncommon. Kryptonians could handle it, but many races could not. Reluctantly, Clark threw his weapon aside. The two he had taken down slowly got back to their feet.

"Payback time," said the tiger.

888

From the corner of the cave they were sheltering in, Lenaria lay in the foetal position, hugging her knees to herself and shivering. The wounds the phantoms had inflicted on her were not life-threatening, but they stung all the same. She could have healed herself, but did not dare reveal her power. Their rescuer could not know what she was capable of. Not until it was too late, anyway. Lenaria cowered every time Raya so much as looked at her. She looked like she wanted her dead.

The phantoms had fallen on her, and Lenaria had feared she was done. They had torn at her flesh, trying to mutilate her body, while she struggled uselessly. Fortunately at that point Raya had appeared, using some kind of crystal as a weapon against the phantoms. Lenaria's respite had however been brief, as Raya had then acted as though to use the weapon against her. Before she could, she had seen Zod… or rather, seen Preus. Recognition had appeared in her eyes, and she had brought them here, albeit warily. She had not dropped her guard once.

Zod occasionally eyed her with disgust while he talked with Raya.

"I always figured you would end up here one day. How did it happen?" asked Raya.

Fear ran up Lenaria's spine as she half-expected the fool General to start saying 'Zod this' and 'Zod that'. Fortunately he seemed to have at least some sense. If she realised she was really talking to Zod, they were both dead. Or if she learned of her. Raya hadn't recognised her, but she might well know her name.

"The C.P.C grew discontent with some of my… measures," said Zod. "The sentence said my body was to remain intact."

She noticed Zod eye the crystal somewhat warily, though he recovered himself in an instant. Again his body language and speech might have suggested he was ruler of this place, and exactly where he wanted to be.

"And it will remain so, as long as you both behave yourselves," said Raya coldly. "So, Kandor is still out there. I wonder if Kal… no, never mind. Who is the female?"

"That is my concubine," said Zod. "Her devotion to me is such that she followed me here. It would appear that she now regrets such a decision."

His concubine!? By all means a lie was necessary, but surely he could have come up with something other than that! She tuned out from the conversation, turning inwards, plotting her next move. She and Zod needed one another for now, but once back on Earth she would have to deal with him quickly. She had failed to defeat Zod physically and mentally, and would never dare challenge him openly again. But if she had that crystal…

There was much to consider though, much that she worried over. If she slipped, Raya would use it on her. And even if she got it, it might not work for her. Kryptonian technology often worked only for Kryptonian's. Her telepathic cells might be able to fool it, but…

No buts! It would work! It had to! It was her only chance.

888

Brainiac had little idea what to expect at Clark's Fortress of Solitude despite having been there before. Any number of traps might be waiting for him. It concerned him little. If he failed, another would take his place, and another, until one of them succeeded. The ships's resources were currently stretched capturing cities across the globe, but it could still make copies if need be.

He could not use Clark's key to simply teleport himself to the Fortress, but finding the structure was not difficult. Not for him, anyway. Inside, all was quiet. Jor-El's AI did not awaken, his vessel, Lionel Luthor, was not there. The only thing he saw was a robot next to the bottle city of Kandor, performing routine checks on it's status. Kryptonian design, and certainly sophisticated, though nothing compared to himself. It did not even register his presence. He knew any attempt to take the city or harm it was suicide, but he intended neither of those. Not now, at any rate. The time would come when he would reclaim his property, but not now.

For the moment, all he wanted to do was get inside. He had business in the city.