Chapter Sixteen: New Galaxy, New Rules!
Clark ran into the Gate Room and skidded to a halt at the entrance. In the middle of the room stood Lana, and behind her, an old man with short, combed back, greying hair. He was standing directly behind her, arm around her waist, knife to her throat.
"You!" The man shouted when he saw Clark. "Activate the Stargate, or the girl dies!"
Clark took a few more steps into the room, eyes searching the area.
"I don't have the codes..." He started, before there was a clank of activity, with a middle aged man striding into the room through one of the other entrances. He was walking quickly towards the old man, but he was dragging Sam across the room by her hair.
"I found her behind some storage equipment." The younger man said as he came to a halt. He bent down swiftly and picked Sam up by the neck, lifting her cleanly off the feet and into the air. "Should I kill her?" He asked casually.
The old man's eyes went from Clark over to Sam, looking her up and down before giving a small nod. "I don't see why not." He stated simply.
As the man began tightening his grip on Sam's neck, Clark stepped forward again.
"Brainiac; Release her!" Clark stated in a commanding tone.
The Brain Interactive Unit instantly did as he was ordered, thinking nothing of it, but as soon as Sam hit the ground, Zod's eyes widened and went back to Clark.
"Belay that order! Kill her!" He shouted.
Clark watched as the Brainiac went to pick Sam back up, so super-sped over to them and barrelled into it, sending both the Brainiac and Clark flying towards the Stargate. Hitting the ground with a loud thud, they both recovered and stood up quickly, separating.
They began circling each other, eyes locked onto each other's, until Clark felt his muscles begin to cramp up, and his blood begin to boil. He staggered, trying to remain upright from the pain, but couldn't help from collapsing onto the floor.
"Well, well, well...Who do we have here..." Zod's voice rang through the hall as he flung Lana across the room, who landed with a thud against the wall, before she stirred and began to sit up, only to watch the scene unfold.
Clark raised both hands to his chest, trying to sooth his nerves, and looked down long enough to see his veins glowing a dark green.
"You can't be the Son of Dax-Ur, or Zor-El...nor Raya's, as I destroyed that petty Family...Zer-Ok's maybe?" Zod continued as he walked up Brainiac, staring down at Clark's withering form.
His eyes then darted to Brainiac, and sharpened as he thought things through. "Or maybe...you're Jor-El's brat of an offspring? No other Family could command the Brainiac." He concluded, turning his gaze back to Clark.
Zod smiled as pulled out a long, thin piece of shattered green rock, and weighing it. He then turned his back to Clark, strolling around the room. "Brainiac..." He said lazily, thinking of a command, "Rough him up a little..."
The Computer instantly reacted to the command, walking forward and picking Clark's weak form by the scruff of his shirt. He then launched him across the room so he went flying through the wall and into an office space in the next room.
Being a way from the affects of the stone, Clark quickly rushed to his feet, before moving slowly back into the room. The Brainiac moved forward again, but this time, Clark was ready, grabbing it before it grabbed him. Taking the side of its head, he quickly slammed it down and into the ground, which cracked underneath the force.
Moving away from the form that was now rising again, Clark walked straight back into the area of radiation from the rock, and felt his muscles begin to cramp again. Not being able to move, otherwise facing the Brainiac again, he fell on his knees in pain.
"Kryptonite, as I've come to call it, is described as having formed through a process of nuclear fusion attendant to the explosion which destroyed the planet Krypton. Some accounts describe the fusion process as a result of the planet-destroying explosion, others as the cause of it..." Zod explained the phenomenon to Clark, as he made his way back over to the newly weakened man.
In Kryptonite's life time, I've come to find that the enhanced Ancient, or Kryptonian, depending on who you ask...physiology is vulnerable to kryptonite's particular radioactive "signature". While we have powers, our cells absorb electromagnetic radiation from stars, and the yellow sun. Kryptonite's radioactivity interferes with this semi-photosynthetic process, driving the energy out of the cells in a rather...painful...fashion." Zod continued, "As I'm sure you're well aware by now."
"He's got the ignorance factor down pat." The Brainiac noted, coming to stand next to Zod. "There must be none where he was raised."
Zod shook his head. "No. I'm pretty sure it's there. It would have followed his ship. He just hasn't come across any. If it reached the Pegasus from Rao, then it would have definitely reached the Milky Way. It's a shame Jor-El got away from Krypton when he did...But too late to intercept his 'little Ka-El'. He was devastated and weak, when he returned to Atlantis. From what little Data I've seen; he and the rest of them left soon after we were placed in the chambers."
The Brainiac remained silent, staring down at Clark. His face, which was so like any other, showed only a trace of emotion. Curiosity.
Lana continued to watch the scene before her with wide eyes. She noted that Clark had his head bowed in defeat, being in too much pain to do anything else. Her attention was drawn to Sam, who had managed to crawl, unnoticed, over to the main steps, and was now gradually making her way up them.
Several seconds later there was a loud rustling noise as 10+ armed personnel came running through each entry way, all getting into defensive positions and aiming their weapons.
"Hold you're fire!" John shouted, coming to the forefront with his own weapon in hand.
The Brainiac smiled at its opposition, but remained where it stood, while Zod only paid them a fleeting glance, before continuing to stare down the blood soaked Kal-El.
He glanced up as an emergency alarm went off, indicating that the Stargate was being dialled. He then turned his attention over to the control room, where Sam could be seen leaning on the console.
"Finally..." Zod stated, before turning to the Brainiac. "I'll meet you on the other side."
The Brainiac nodded, before running through the worm whole without a look back.
Zod smiled, before kicking Clark in the gut, who then curled up. He then circled him, kicking him in ribs. Clark rolled onto his stomach, trying to push himself up.
Zod then went behind him and grabbed Clark's hair, pulling him up onto his knee's, facing the crowd...and Lana.
"You're a fool, Kal-El, and you will lose...everything." Zod told him harshly, as he thrust his hazardously made Kryptonite Knife into Clark's Serratus anterior muscle in his back, before breaking it off. "New Galaxy, new rules!"
Clark screamed out loudly in pain, before Zod pushed his body back down to the floor, turned and ran through the Stargate before any of the guards could get a shot off.
