The bright flash in the star system hid the catastrophic event that had just occurred. Krypton was no more; the last of the once great civilization resided in a small pod, hurtling through space in an attempt to escape the pull of death.Great care was taken in ensuring the pod would be able to withstand the forces of the planet's explosion – calculations, tests, failures and successes.But even the greatest of minds cannot predict randomness; the unstable elements within the passing comet interacted with the megatonion pressure wave rippling through the system ahead of the escaping pod.A wormhole; temporal anomaly; random space matter fissure (whatever you would like to call it) formed on the outskirt of the system, directly ahead of the projectile, swallowing it like a dark abyss.

The third planet from the star called Sol was inhabited by simple creatures – quadrupeds that relied on genetic coding to survive. They were mostly massive in size and sustained life through the eating of plants or other quadrupeds.Nothing on the planet resembled the organic life within the pod that was now hurtling through its atmosphere.The heat of re-entry did little to phase the ship as its programming continued its mission, guiding the craft to its predetermined location.What should have been Smallville, Kansas – a small, quaint but upstanding town in early 60's America – was nothing more than a dense savannah surrounded by marsh, swamp and rolling hills.

The Kryptonian craft leveled out and landed as directed; the onboard system registering its exact location and updating the information to the onboard artificial intelligence (A.I.). Kel-Ex, the name given to the A.I. sent as a guardian to the life onboard the craft, began to flicker with small lights, registering the magnitude of the change in events.While the location that the navigation system had taken them to was absolutely correct, the environment that Kel-Ex was expecting was not.Based on a quick analysis of the organic life, species of plants and dating of minerals in the vicinity, it was concluded with a near 100% certainty that the pod had somehow ended up 3000 years ahead of the specific point in time it should have been in.A review of the onboard diagnostic data provided insight as to why this had occurred – a temporal anomaly created when the shock wave from the explosion of Krypton interacted with a passing comet whose makeup was comprised of unstable elements.

Regardless of how or why, the situation could not be changed and Kel-Ex still had a mission to perform: to protect and guide Kal-El, the son of Jor-El and Lara-El, last of the house of El and last of the planet of Krypton. To aid in this mission, Kel-Ex had access to data files that contained all the knowledge of Krypton that Jor-El was able to gather and store as well as technologies that would help Kal-El continue the legacy that was once Krypton.It would not fail in its mission and it would not fail his master – and while Kel-Ex was just a machine, his programming was specifically altered by Jor-El and Lara-El to do what was necessary to ensure the survival of their only begotten son.

Tapping into his memory banks, Kel-Ex begins to document as programmed: Day 1 on Terra, also known as Earth, third planet from the star called Sol as noted in the Kryptonian Knowledge Databank (KKD). Kal-El is…

Kal-El stops the computer from proceeding. He doesn't want to give away more information than is necessary, something he has learned from past experiences. Knowledge is indeed power, and while spreading knowledge was ideal, sometimes people only needed to know the bare minimum. He looked at the faces of the Justice League as they registered in their minds what they had just heard. The heroes felt awkward and ignorant, not having known the extent of which resided within the moon orbiting their planet. Life from other systems was not new, but that one such as Kal-El was among them and outdated all of their civilizations was very shocking. The heroes were speechless, save for Batman who simply sat in one of the chairs in the room, engrossed at the data he was reviewing upon a device unfamiliar to them.

"We are all taught that the Kryptonians died with their planet and that their technology and knowledge died with them, and yet here you are…" said Hal Jordan, Green Lantern assigned to the sector that contained Earth. "The Guardians decided long ago, when they found out about me, to continue to pass that information along as truth. Kryptonians were renowned for their intelligence and amazing ability to harness solar radiation as a form of energy. They feared that there would be sinister forces at play that would conspire to attain me to use for their own purposes. It was easier to let the story continue as such. Besides, they didn't find out about me until about a thousand years ago when I began to do my own space exploration" replied the very calm Kal-El.

"How is it that we have not known about you, that you have been able to hide?" asked a curious Wonder Woman. Batman let out what almost sounded like a laugh as the other heroes turned around in confusion. "His powers are beyond anything you can imagine. He can move as fast as he needs to and never be seen if so desired. And his technology is beyond anything we have come up with, which allows him to live in stealth and in peace" stated a now serious Batman. Now talking directly to Kal-El, Batman states "Speaking of which, we need to figure out how to make interstellar communications faster. If you had gotten here any later we would have already met our demise. As it was, it took you hours to get here after I sent the message." "I agree and already have Kel-Ex working on some theories I came up with to make that happen. The real issue is distance and the fact that even light speed is not fast enough, especially given how far I am traveling these days" replied Kal-El. "Good. I need to get back to Gotham. Will you be by later with an update on the mission?" asked Batman. "Absolutely. Tell Alfred that I look forward to seeing him again" Kal-El casually responded. Batman shook his head in affirmation and then turned to the other heroes "I know everyone has a lot of questions but I suggest everyone get back to their respective places and assist in the cleanup. There is a lot that must be done in the coming days to repair the damage that has been done." The heroes all shook their heads in agreement although still filled with curiosity about Kal-El.

"Do you want some help with the cleanup?" asked Kal-El. "No. It's our mess to clean up – besides, you know how the Governments work – they are happy with what you give us and when you save us, but they still fear and disavow you. This is our mess…we ignored the warnings and this is the penance we pay" was the reply from a somber Batman. Kal-El nodded in response, fully aware of the mistrust and envy that humans are so easily prone to. Batman was one of the few he had friended throughout the years, having known the Wayne family from generations long past. Batman, known to him as Bruce Wayne, was the latest in a long line of previous Waynes that knew of his existence and shared in a mutual and beneficial relationship. The Heroes began to walk towards the way they came, headed back to a tattered and bruised home in need of much repair. Before leaving, Wonder Woman turns to Kal-El and states "I hope you realize that now that we know about you, we don't plan on letting you fade into obscurity. Given how powerful you are and what you possess, we need to make sure you aren't a threat to us, no matter what Batman may think or say." Kal-El grinned, "Duly Noted Princess." Wonder Woman held her chin up high and marched off while Kal-El continued to grin.

"Things are sure going to get interesting" he remarked to himself.