Clark tried everything he could think to search: the Phantom Zone; Zod; Ursa, Krypton's prisons. Even his father's lists of achievements. He had known that he could not possibly possess the entire history of Krypton. He even knew, from his work, that the material he did have contained bias. Certain things were always embellished or omitted in histories. Some things considered noteworthy, and others ignored and left by the wayside. Nothing was ever perfect, and no one was free of bias.

Yet he hadn't cared. He'd so wanted to believe his records were good enough.

They were all he had.

But right now, at this critical juncture, they weren't good enough.

That left him only one option, and he reluctantly started up the hologram program that contained his father's voice and visage. That could converse and learn, debate and analyze, could even read his expressions, but frozen in space and time as it was, was eerie in what it lacked.

Clark would call it a soul, but that was something he kept to himself.

Not that he talked about the program of his father to anyone.

And there he was, regal in floor length Kryptonian robes, in color combos rarely seen on Earth, but the light from Rao was different, dimmer. It took more, to stand out, along with the glinting metallic accouterments, wrist braces and head band.

They actually made his outfit as Superman look rather bland in comparison.

"Greetings, Kal."

"Greetings, Father."

"You appear troubled. Shall I call your mother in as well?" Couldn't hurt. Well, it could hurt him, personally, to see the two of them standing together.

"...Yes, do that."

And there she was, monochromatic in opposition to her husband, but in a dress of blinding gold, with equally gold head piece and earrings, no doubt displaying the wealth Zod had alluded to them having, being from the upper class, something he had been aware of, but had not dug too deeply into. It was a strange schism, to know that his parents, even on a planet of such vast wealth, were considered to be above the rest, while here on Earth his hands and knees were often planted in the dirt, and his hands and face often streaked with grease, after rolling himself under the carriage of his father's trusty pick up truck.

He could not join those two lives together. The respect these two had so obviously received, versus his own – what to them he imagined would have been - perplexing efforts. His summer job pumping gas at the local station. Getting yelled at by Perry on a daily basis for lackluster reporting. Losing Lois because he was flying around in cape.

Because Zod had been right about a few things. He could have made a fortune, if he had been so inclined. And even Clark feared the relationship with Bruce was doomed, that he was only digging himself deeper and deeper, because he was too weak to stop, that he had resigned himself to holding on, as long as he was able, until it all fell apart again.

That if he didn't lose him over this, it would be something else.

He didn't want to think too much about the other things Zod had said about Bruce though. That though it was distorted, there was some truth to it. Bruce had always disliked his powers. He made no secret of it, when they first met.

He knew Bruce had several means of stopping him. Red light and kryptonite, stored deep underground. And on his person, the lead lined compartment on his utility belt.

Lois had never felt the need to arm herself against him, when or after they were together.

Bruce had even told him he wasn't one to settle down when they'd agreed to try this, and yet Clark pushed it time and time against, just as he had from the very first time he met Batman. Pushing and pushing for an ally. Then for a friendship.

Now for a lover, and to call Clark a love sick fool was not an inaccurate description. After all, that's what he did, sick in love, whispering his love to Bruce every time they made love, over and over until he was sure Bruce wished he would stop.

That their connection had always been tenuous at best, just as his connection to his parents, staring at these wavering holograms: his mother's long blonde locks and sparkling brown eyes; his father's shag of auburn and eyes of cutting green; both tall, yet neither with a muscular build, was tenuous.

Why he had enjoyed looking at the portrait of Bruce's parents. While he did not look exactly like either of them, it was easy, seeing the two of them, how they could have produced a son such as him. How the mixture and blend of their features had found their place in Bruce's physical form.

As for himself, he had no such luck. Unless there was something they hadn't told him. If one, or even neither of them were his biological parents.

That would be quite the shocker.

Nevertheless, he had other questions for them tonight.

Today.

It was all the same in the Arctic.

"Tell me what you know about the Phantom Zone."

"It is a pocket dimension I discovered, that I eventually developed technology to travel to. Krypton used it as a prison for our most violent criminals." His father answered.

So he did know.

"Why did you leave this out of the records?"

"I have sent with you the technology to release prisoners from it, but I did not want you to have access or knowledge of it, in your longing for other Kryptonians. I have set it to run automatically. It will release each prisoner when they have completed their sentence."

"What if I told you they've gotten out on their own?"

"That it would be extremely unlikely, yet nevertheless, there is a small possibility of that occurring. A large explosion, a nuclear warhead, or possibly a star going supernova, at just the right timing and position, could tear a rip, allowing escape. You suspect something like this has occurred?"

"It must have. I just spoke with General Zod. Who was also omitted from the records."

"What did he speak to you of?" No explanation this time. Getting straight to the point.

"He said he has released all of the prisoners on his own. Is that something you would be able to verify?"

"Of course, Kal. While I am checking on that, what else did he tell you?"

"He wants to build an empire. A new Kryptonian empire. That he wants Earth to be apart of, and for me to rule in his stead."

"Is that all?"

"That is actually a rather generous offer, on his part." His mother added, to Clark's shock.

"Perhaps his time in the Phantom Zone did him good, after all." His father hypothesized, yet Kal did not at all appreciate this strange show of humor.

"What… what are you even talking about?!"

"Calm yourself, Kal, and listen to what we have to say. As you have no doubt ascertained, Zod is an immensely dangerous individual. Why he was sentenced to the Phantom Zone in the first place. If you can at all avoid it, do not set yourself against him. Krypton was much more powerful, even in its dying days, than Earth. He was apprehended because we could. He attempted to take over a highly advanced planet on his own, and that was without superpowers. As things are, I see no way for Earth to stop him. And to make matters worse, I can confirm there are no prisoners in the Phantom Zone."

"...How many prisoners were in the Phantom Zone?"

"Hundreds. It was a rare punishment, but to be exact, 323 prisoners. And though you and your Justice League have done amazing things, you and they cannot fight 323 Kryptonians. Also consider, that contact between civilizations is inevitable. Something Krypton actually tried to prevent; isolationist beliefs were widespread in her final years. But when this inevitable contact happens, all are changed by it. There is blending, merging, but you can look at Earth's history to see that one will inevitably conquer. But all is not lost. Perhaps it can be like that for Earth. Things will inevitably change, but she can keep some of her customs, languages."

"Your father and I already had to reckon with this, Kal, when we decided to send to you to Earth in the first place."

"We know you think of yourself as human, Kal. It is both admirable and foolish of you. We know you don't see this even as a real possibility, but you have the potential to rule it all."

"Our own planet was doomed, but in our attempt to save you, there was a very real possibility we were dooming Earth as well. If you had chosen differently. Your father and I were both scientists, yet when it came to my child, I did not care about the numbers. I risked billions of humans to save you. I'll even confess, this was not a great concern of mine. I was more preoccupied with the thought that you would not survive the trip. That if you were to die, I wanted you to be in my arms, with your people, in our last collective moment, not far from home, alone in a capsule."

"But Kal, you are not, and you never have been human." His father repeated for emphasis, emphasis Kal had no interest in hearing. Yet he had to. These two programs were his only hope.

"You can't… what are you suggesting…"

"Understand Kal, we are not objective in this matter. You may want to save Earth, but what we have always wanted is to save you. And with that objective, we cannot recommend waging a war against one of the greatest military minds Krypton ever produced."

Was… was that it? Was that the end?

"Does that mean you won't assist me?"

"Assist you in what, Kal?" His father asked.

"In returning them to the Phantom Zone."

"…No, we will assist you. For that was something else we knew, when we sent you away." His mother responded.

"That for better or worse, you would be raised on Earth. And as you are only too aware of, we are mere holograms. Yes, I hid certain information from you, but the purpose of these programs was for you to be able to see us, speak with us. Not to control your actions." His father continued.

"However much we may disagree with them." His mother repeated for emphasis, and then Kal repeated for emphasis.

"So there is a way?"

"Yes, my son. There is a way."

"Be forewarned though, the likelihood of your survival is slim, but if this is truly your wish, we will help you achieve it."

Their reluctance made more sense. He couldn't say the danger of it came as a total surprise. But there was a way.

There was a way.

He could breath again.

"...Thank you."

"Is there something else, Kal?" His father prompted, when Kal failed to follow that with anything more, and he sighed. If he was going to ask this, now was the time.

"There is. Before we begin: do you regret not following Zod? If you could go back, would you have joined with him? To rule Krypton?"

"...Yes, I would have, Kal. Because if I had, I could have raised you. We could have been a family. And you would not be standing alone in a dwelling I created in haste, talking to two hologram programs I created in haste, that are about to propose to you a suicidal plan to save your adopted planet, that I know you are going to enact. The only positive I can find in this is if you do perish, we will finally be reunited." His father answered, and Kal swore he detected soul in those words.

Truth in those words, and the same in his mother's words.

"May Rao preserve you regardless."