The Fortress had become rather crowded. At the centre was Clark, surrounded by three Brainiacs and General Zod. Outside this circle was Lenaria and a female Clark did not know, but given that she had emerged from The Phantom Zone, she was presumably trouble.
Zod had given Brainiac some kind of signal, but whatever they'd been planning didn't come to fruition; Clark watched with some surprise as Brainiac #1 fell very still. Attached to the back of his head was Kelex, which administered a shock that caused Brainiac to fall forwards lifelessly.
"Kal-El, look out!"
The unknown female's warning came too late, as Zod struck with a furious roar, spinning Clark on his feet. He staggered back, his cheek torn wide open, raising his hands instinctively to ward off the next attack. Zod's follow-through never connected, however, as the female suddenly sped in front of him and slammed her fist into Zod's chest. Zod's eyes bulged, but otherwise The General showed no sign of pain. As Clark tried to help, unsure how the female knew his name, a crystal slid smoothly into her hand.
Before she could do anything with it, Brainiac #2 had grabbed her wrist.
"No you don't," he snarled, twisting her arm at an awkward angle, causing her to gasp with pain. Clark tried to help, but Zod suddenly blasted him with an attack Clark had never seen before. From Zod's mouth came a powerful, icy cold blast that drove Clark backwards until he slammed against the side of The Fortress.
Keeping her head low, Lenaria sprinted for the exit, no doubt hoping to escape during the confusion. Brainiac #3 blurred in front of her, blocking her path. As Clark struggled to his feet, his heart tightened as he saw her blast Brainiac with twin beams from her hands. He wasn't worried about Brainiac, but the city he was holding was another matter. Lenaria had struck with no thought about it's safety. Launching a furious blast of heat vision at Zod, he ran towards the city as it fell from Brainiac's grasp. Brainiac fell in slow motion before suddenly speeding up to match Clark as he launched his own heat vision at Lenaria. Clark knew his own attack wouldn't be able to even scratch Zod, but he hoped to at least slow him down. Diving forwards, he turned his head from Zod as late as he dared before catching the city of London in his hands.
Zod, hovering slightly above the ground, caught him with a crescent kick that knocked him from his feet. Clark had to twist his body to protect the city, landing even harder than he should have. From the edge of his vision he could see Raya and Brainiac #2 still grappling with each other. The crystal had been knocked from her hand and lay next to the main console. Clark didn't know how it worked, but it might be his only chance against Zod now.
Parts of the Fortress suddenly began falling apart; crystals embedded in the walls flew out into the open, hovering in the air. They were scattered through The Fortress at random, and Clark had to dive out of the way as one almost impaled his foot. The crystals here were native to Krypton, and as such could potentially hurt anyone here regardless of their strength. Clark could guess what had happened; unless Zod had other powers he didn't know of, this was probably Lenaria's doing. Perhaps some kind of telekinesis?
Zod flew between three crystal shards that were aimed in his direction, blasting a forth aside with his heat vision. Brainiac #2 however, hadn't seen the move coming, and one of the crystals tore through his neck. An instant later he had disappeared. Lenaria, hair looking wild now, seemed surprised by her success.
(CLARK, YOU MUST OBEY ME.)
Clark winced as he felt her voice enter his head, trying to fight her mental assault. He knew though that he had no chance; even after being instructed to kill Lana, he had never been able to break Lenaria's control, not without help.
(DISTRACT ZOD WHILE I GET THE CRYSTAL. DO NOT LET HIM HURT ME – YOU WILL PROTECT ME AT ALL COSTS. AND STOP GAWPING AT ME, YOU FOOL! AS FAR AS YOU ARE CONCERNED I AM FULLY DRESSED!)
His resistance crumbled. Placing the city aside, he flew into the air after Zod, grabbing his shoulders and trying to throw him onto the console. Zod broke his grip with ease, grabbing his head and slamming it against the Fortress wall, grinding his face against the surface as he dragged him back to the ground. Clark's blood left a trail down the side.
Lenaria snaked towards the crystal, diving forwards and seizing it triumphantly. Before she could even lift it, Zod stood on her hand. Her gasp was cut off as he seized her throat.
"Y-you must understand," she said, struggling to speak. "It was never my intention to betray you, I only…"
Her pleading ended as Zod squeezed her windpipe tighter and tighter. At first she struggled frantically, but gradually her efforts became weaker as she succumbed.
(HELP ME, CLARK. PLEASE… Please… help me…)
888
Lex sat alone in the facility he was housing the alien equipment in. Normally he would have kept it somewhere in Metropolis, but since he no longer knew where the city was – no longer knew if it even existed anymore – he was using an old underground base in Smallville. If his business was really lost to him, he knew he had everything he needed to start over again right here. While not much of the equipment was operational, much could be learned from studying it. There was sophisticated weapons tech the military would be very interested in. And although he hadn't seen it in action, his team were convinced there was advanced medical technology as well. He could save lives and make a fortune into the bargain.
Except when he should be feeling triumphant, he felt miserable. Cities were disappearing, Fine was playing games with him, Batman knew about the meteor freaks he kept in Level 33.1. Strange how Batman had disappeared like that back on the space station. No matter, he'd disappeared again, this time along with the rest of Gotham. He wasn't concerned in any case; if he had been, he would never have allowed him to just walk away. Batman had no proof, no credibility, no allies. All he had was a mask and a fancy belt.
More worryingly, he hadn't been able to get in touch with Lana. That troubled him. He'd even tried contacting Clark to see if there was any news, but hadn't been able to get hold of him or even Mrs Kent. Had they all been in Metropolis when it went missing?
Lana still had Kandor. He had not asked her why she needed it. He didn't need to. When the time was right, she would tell him, he knew. She would tell him everything he wanted to know, and she would do so willingly.
888
With Lenaria still holding onto control of Clark, seeing her hurt drove him into a rage. Leaping across the Fortress, he brought both hands together and clubbed Zod's arms repeatedly until he broke his grip. Lenaria fell to the ground, crawling out of the way as Clark launched strike after strike against Zod. Even going all out, Zod dodged most of the attacks and barely moved the few times he connected. With a look of irritation that the battle had somehow lasted this long, Zod grabbed Clark's fist and squeezed. From her vantage point, ducked down behind the main console, Lenaria popped her head from cover and launched a barrage of energy blasts at Zod. Some of them struck Clark as well, though he was more than prepared to sacrifice himself for her.
Caught in the battle as he was, he barely noticed Brainiac #2 viscously pounding Raya's face. Her blood dripped from the machine's hands. She couldn't even defend herself anymore. He would have helped her if he could, but right now protecting Lenaria was all that mattered.
It was Lenaria instead who emerged as Raya's saviour, as a thick tendril suddenly shot from her body, wrapping itself around Brainiac and pulling him back. Brainiac tried to burn it with his heat vision, but before he could finish the job his body was impaled on the console.
"On your knees!" spat Zod, forcing Clark down to first one and then both knees. To his surprise, Zod then wrapped his arms around him, almost in an embrace.
"Please don't kill her," he said.
"Goodbye, Kal-El."
With one quick wrench, Zod broke Clark's body in two. He howled, never having known pain like it before in his life, collapsing weakly to the ground. He tried to move, but couldn't. He had nothing left.
Raya slammed the crystal against Zod's back, holding it in place. At first he looked simply annoyed that someone had caught him off-guard, but moments later it turned to shock and pain. Clark managed to raise his head just enough to see Zod's spirit actually being drawn out of Preus' body. For just a second it looked like The General's will might be strong enough to hold on, but as he snarled defiance, his essence was forced inside the crystal. Something could be seen swirling inside for a second, and then the light of the crystal faded.
Eye swollen shut, lip busted wipe open, Raya fell to her knees beside him.
"Jor-El, if your memory is here, please, your son needs you now," she said, words barely comprehensible.
"Well, that's Zod fucked," said Lenaria, emerging from cover. "Thank you, Raya. None of this would have been possible without your gullibility."
"I never did trust you," said Raya, moving protectively in front of Clark. He couldn't see what happened, but the next thing he knew she was hurled across the Fortress like a toy. Lenaria stepped into his field of vision. The pain was unbearable, impossible to fight against.
"I could heal you, but in truth I think I prefer you this way, Clark. Much less threatening. You have been a constant nuisance, but remember this: you could never beat Lenaria on your own. Tell me, where is that necklace now? The one that somehow protected you from my power before?"
"It's with Harrison. He's living with his grandmother," said Clark. He had just condemned the boy to death, he knew but right now the only things that mattered were the pain and this beautiful Angel. This Goddess, in fact. He would tell her anything she wished to know.
"And what do you know of my base? Has it been discovered?"
"Lex Luthor found it. He took most of the technology for himself."
"Then I'll just have to take it back. I have need of it. Oh, yes, my plans definitely require it. You will live long enough to see them reach fruition. That said, your body can be repaired, even if it appears your father has forsaken you, and I can't have you running around plotting against me. Your mind, however, is a different story."
Clark didn't know what she meant. In truth, he could barely even comprehend anything she said, since his agony was all-consuming. Though as Lenaria fell silent, his pain disappeared. He left the Fortress, left her and Raya both, emerging somewhere he didn't recognise yet felt completely familiar.
(I HAVE LOCKED YOU DEEP WITHIN YOUR OWN MIND, KAL-EL. IN HERE, YOUR OWN MEMORIES WILL TURN AGAINST YOU. IT WILL NOT BE PLEASANT, BUT THEN, NEITHER WAS THE PHANTOM ZONE. ONCE I AM READY, I SHALL RELEASE YOU. ONLY ONCE YOUR MOST DISTANT HOPES HAVE BEEN LOST SHALL YOU BE FREE.)
A doorway appeared in front of him, and Clark looked at it hesitantly. Since there was nowhere else to go, he slowly pushed it open.
And screamed.