At this time, Earth was in full-paranoid mode after the alien attacks. Kon took the situation in stride at a semi-military academy just outside Metropolis. He wore a cadet uniform, did minimal studying, and played war games most of the day. Kara and Brainiac 5 monitored Kon's video game progress.

"I have watched through his eyes, listened through his ears, and...," Kara said and then stopped herself. "My point is, he may be the One."

"That's what you said about his sister," Brainiac 5 doubted.

"She tested out for other reasons, nothing to do with her tactical abilities," Kara downplayed. The two watched as Kon defeated another human opponent on a surveillance camera.

For reasons that were practical at the time, Kon's real identity was unknown to his human classmates. This was to protect his privacy and keep order in the classroom. Kon, however, maximized his obscurity to lure humans into fighting him. "This is bullshit! You can't do that," a bully said to Kon.

"Well...I just did," Kon said obviously.

"I had you all the way to the belt," the bully said angrily.

"I know that wasn't supposed to sound sexual, but...," Kon mocked.

"You cheated," the bully accused.

"I don't need to cheat to kick your ass," Kon rolled his eyes.

"Play again," the bully demanded.

"Perhaps...tomorrow," Kon antagonized.

Kara and Brainiac 5 watched as a fight was about to break out. "He has a talent for strategy," Brainiac 5 allowed.

"His strategy is to get into as many fights as possible while claiming self-defense to avoid getting expelled," Kara countered.

"Which indicates his intelligence," Brainiac 5 said.

"He may be a genius but who is going to want to follow that little shit?" Kara said disdainfully.

Kon then walked off like a boss leaving his bully rival sulking.

As part of his grand strategy, Kon took off his cadet rank indicating he was expelled or leaving the school. He walked the halls until the bullies noticed this. "Washed out, huh?" the bully figured.

As soon as they entered a classroom away from sight, Kon beat the shit out of the bullies in quick succession. "Ganging up on me? I didn't even feel a thing," Kon smirked at the fallen bullies.

Kon was smart enough not to reveal his super-strength as an Insane/Kryptonian. Rather, he fought humans at slightly above their level even allowing himself to be injured. After the fight, he rose his power level to instantly heal from said injuries.

After the fight, Kara decided she needed to chew Kon out for his antics at the palace. She had Brainiac 5 at her side to provide reason and logic to the situation. "Why did you keep kicking him? Did you enjoy it?" Kara asked accusingly.

"Yeah," Kon said obviously.

"Kon, the Kryptonian way is to beat an opponent so hard they never want to ever fight you again. When Zod and his crew came to Earth, it was shock and awe, quick annihilation," Kara told him.

"And they lost," Kon pointed out. "I was being bullied. I defended myself."

"You provoke them to attack over and over again. When I was your age, I didn't fuck around. I killed men, women, and even children who were a threat to my family and those I cared about. I gave them no mercy," Kara said seriously.

"So, I'm supposed to just kill bullies on the spot?" Kon rolled his eyes.

"No, Kon. You either decide to kill them immediately or don't start the fight at all. It must be all or nothing," Kara said. "The Harvester nearly wiped us out with their probe. Your father went into the Delphic Expanse, not to toy with them, but to take them out...all of them. You're the heir to the Galactic Federation and my son. I need you to get your shit together. I have seen your reflexes and strategy when you play your games. You can read complex data faster than even me."

Kon gave Kara a look of wonder. "No bullshit?"

"No bullshit," Kara confirmed. "I'm graduating you to battle school. Look, Kon, your father and I won't be around forever. When we're gone whether that be tomorrow or a thousand years from now, you are the guardian of this planet. You must ensure that if anyone attacks Earth, they're gone forever."

"Sure," Kon agreed. "It's what I'm born for, right?"

"You will be under my direct supervision. You will have human classmates, the smartest humanity has to offer. You will not reveal your true identity to them or reveal your powers. I want to see what your mind is capable of," Kara ordered.

At the launch site, Kara brought Kon to his classmates. "Join the others," she ordered gruffly.

Kon sat down and was immediately antagonized by Bean, a fellow classmate. "You're late," he noted.

"Piss off," Kon shot back.

"I'm Bean. I'm from the streets," Bean said, changing his tune.

"Good, you can score me some crack then. I'm Nok," Kon said.

"I think I'm going to hurl," Bean said as the shuttle went up into space.

"Really?" Kon shook his head in disgust.

The shuttle docked with the orbiting space station, Battle Station. The station was considerably smaller than the Elysium, being only a few hundred meters in length. It had a rotating ring, a large open translucent sphere, and the engines. The station was fairly primitive by design to give students a harsher environment to adapt to. As the cadets went to their living bay, Kara and Brainiac 5 stopped Kon.

"We're not related and you have no powers. Understood?" Kara said forcefully.

"Understood," Kon smirked.

"Dismissed," Kara ordered.

"He has a complicated response to authority. He wants to please his overbearing mother but resents the lack of recipient affection," Brainiac 5 noted.

"Oh, fuck you, Barney. I'm the best mother in the galaxy. You'll see," Kara scoffed.

Upon entering the living bay, Kon noticed several bunk beds for all of his classmates in one room. Next to these bunkbeds was a locker. All of the beds had already been taken since Kon was the last one to enter the bay. He noticed that everyone's uniform was in yellow. "So...I get the bed next to the emergency airlock? Better hope I'm not suicidal," Kon said to spook everyone and opened his locker.

"Your name," the locker demanded.

"Nok Lee," Kon said sarcastically.

The locker proceeded to open for him revealing a helmet, a pistol, clothes, and other equipment he would need for his training. Kon reached out to touch the pistol when he was interrupted. "Don't touch that shit," a fat voice from behind shouted at him.

"Attention on Deck!" one of the cadets shouted.

"I'm Sergeant Fap, an enlisted man, which means you don't call attention on deck for me, stupid. Also, don't be calling attention on deck for anyone other than the Captain or XO. Otherwise, hearing it all day is going to get really old really fast," he rebuked.

"Now, ask me a legitimate question, and I'll give you a direct answer. If I don't know the answer, expect a BS answer. If you need to cry, hand me a stress card," Sgt. Fap told them.

"Really?" one of them asked.

"Fuck no," Sgt. Fap clarified. "Is that understood?"

"Sir, Yes, Sir!" they all shouted.

"Knock that shit off. I'm not a Sir, I work for a living," Sgt. Fap corrected. "You will all work as a team. You will make this bunk room your home. You will keep your home clean. There are separate showers for both sexes. If you are found in an area not designated to your gender...,"

"What if my sex and gender are not the same?" one asked.

"Shut the fuck up," Sgt. Fap shot down. "As I was saying. If you are found in an area not designated to your sex, I will personally neuter you."

"How do you neuter a female?" one girl asked.

Sgt. Fap gave her the evil eye. "Class is in five. Be there."

"Sir, Yes, Sir!" they all shouted.

"Fucking hate these punks," Sgt. Fap grumbled as he left.

For their first class, a video of Kara was on a giant screen. "Welcome to battle school. A great responsibility rests upon the shoulders of all of you. When we were attacked, we were not ready. Millions of innocent drones were lost. That must never be allowed to happen again. A thousand years ago, terrorists attacked what is now Metropolis. They brought three skyscrapers down and significantly damaged the military headquarters of America," Kara began.

The students show archive footage of the War on Terror showing the destruction on 9/11 and the follow-up invasions where several Middle East nations got punked. The students cheered as they saw NATO forces easily defeating the terrorists militarily. "We will never forget what the enemy did on 9/11. We defeated them and we will defeat this enemy as well," Kara said to them all.

The next morning, Sgt. Fap brought the cadets to Kara, in person. The cadets were wearing their helmets, suits, and pistols. "You've been experiencing Earth's gravity while inside the station. In this room, there is zero gravity," Kara explained. "Nok, go first."

Kon nonchalantly floated into the large balloon-shaped room that was almost entirely a frame and windows. Inside this zero-gravity environment, he could see the Earth down below. Being an Insane Kryptonian he had no fear of this environment in the slightest. The other cadets apprehensively floated around as well after him.

Kara and Brainiac 5 watched as the cadets floated around. At some point, Kon took out his pistol and fired on floating triangles meant for the war game. "Let's shoot at each other," Kon said to Bean.

"Yeah, let's do it," Bean eagerly agreed.

The two shot each other in the knee and then their chests. With each shot, their limbs froze up inside their suit. "What the fuck?" Kara wondered dismayed at them both. "Alright, listen up. It's time to stop fapping around. Sgt Fap, explain the game."

"Yes, Ma'am. You will train to compete as a team against other teams. You get one point for a hit on a limb, and two for a torso which will imbolize the opponent's suit completely. But if either team gets one of their cadets through the enemy gate, they win regardless of points already scored," Sgt. Fap explained.

"Just like Quidditch in Harry Potter," Kon mused.

Kara narrowed her eyes at Kon as he had easily seen through her game.

Kon practiced martial arts with the other cadets careful not to reveal his true strength. Occasionally, Kon would go a little too far requiring Sgt. Fap to intervene. Still, Kon easily adapted to the routine of early morning and meal times. He mostly sat by himself deep in thought.

In navigation class, Kon, Bean, and Alai were the only ones that passed. "How is this possible?" Brainiac 5 asked.

"They fucking cheated," Bernard accused.

"Your mother cheated," Bean shot back.

"Silence," Brainiac 5 said to them all. "We are preparing for war...again. Now, how do you slingshot your forces around this planet to the other side of this moon? It's basic rocket science. Nok, please explain."

"Actually, Alai has a better handle on this than I do," Kon lied.

"Very well, Alai, explain," Brainiac 5 ordered.

As Alai explained, Kon and Bernard talked shit to one another anonymously using the text function on their computer screen causing the class to laugh every so often. "I know every action that happens on your computers. Every action," Brainiac 5 warned them both.

Kon started becoming more popular with his false humility. It became obvious to the class he was the strongest and smartest person in the class but he never revealed it in class, instead giving other classmates the chance for glory. Unlike the other classmates, Kon was secure in his position and status. Even if he flunked out, he was still a prince and still one of the most powerful beings on the planet. However, he was also intelligent enough to realize he shouldn't be the class clown either.

In his room, Kon played a game where he was a mouse. He went up a pedestal and was told by some god-like creature to choose between two glasses of green liquid. Kon joyfully had the mouse go into one of the glasses where it was boiled alive. He did this several times with the same result enjoying the simulation. Kara and Brainiac 5 eyed Kon's game-playing from a situation room.

"Why did you allow him to download this game?" Kara asked shocked and appalled.

"How he plays the game shows his state of mind," Brainiac 5 said simply.

"That he's a sadistic psychopath?" Kara wondered.

"I don't necessarily think he's trying to lose every time," Brainiac 5 judged.

"You don't know him as well as I do," Kara rolled her eyes.

Kon then ordered the mouse into the god-like creature's eye, dug into his brain, and killed him. "What do you think that means?" Kara asked Brainiac 5.

"He's realized the truth. Follow the rules, and you lose. Choose violence and you win," Brainiac 5 replied.

Kon was messaged to go to the green team. Having no idea why, Kon went down the corridors of the station alone and found the green team playing baseball. How or why they got baseball equipment on the station was not clear or why they thought it would be wise to hit balls around extremely sensitive equipment. Kon nonchalantly caught a baseball that went right for his head.

"Nok Lee," he introduced himself and threw the ball back.

"You lost?" one of them asked.

"I'm here to report to a Bonzo," Kon replied.

"So, you're the replacement," a girl assumed. "I'm Petra and I have more balls than all of these guys."

"Fuck yeah, she does," one of them said.

Kon gave them all an odd look and then looked down as he saw an older boy who was significantly shorter than him. "I'm Bonzo. I ask for a replacement and this is what I get? A highly intelligent jock?"

"If I happen to overthrow you, it wasn't intentional," Kon said smartly.

"I intend to trade you ASAP. I have been undefeated for twenty-one battles and I'm on my way to commission in six years. You will not take MVP from me. You will stay in the back and do NOTHING," Bonzo ordered.

"Well, okay then," Kon agreed.

Kon went to his new locker and found his name tag already on the green uniform. "Bonzo can be an ass but he's just really overprotective of his career," Petra excused.

"Oh, the irony is delicious," Kon smiled as he thought of all the ways he would punk Bonzos' career as soon as he was established as crown prince.

"During free time, we can practice unsupervised in the bubble zone," Petra suggested.

"I'll practice anything you want in there," Kon said hungrily.

In the bubble, Petra showed off her mad skills with a pistol scoring easy hits on small drone targets. Kon replicated her success within a few tries with falcon vision, perfect muscle control over the trigger, and hand-eye coordination. "You're a natural," Petra realized.

"I'm just well-practiced with shooting targets with a pistol," Kon replied.

"Wait...when? Why?" Petra wondered.

The two of them went back to bunk bay only to get chewed out by Bonzo. "Where the fuck were you, two?" he demanded.

"Practicing in the bubble," Petra explained.

"You don't practice with my bitch. You don't practice at all," Bonzo told him off.

"How about we take this conversation to the showers," Kon suggested.

"Yes, let's do it," Bonzo said eagerly.

As soon as they entered the shower room, Bonzo attacked. He punched Kon to the gut only to find it rock-hard. Kon easily put his arm in a bar. "I could break your arm," Kon threatened and then let him go. Bonzo went for another attack. Kon kicked him back. Bonzo stumbled on the slick floor and broke his neck on a ridge right before a shower stall.

Kon scanned his body for life signs and found him still alive albeit barely breathing. Kon activated his watch alerting his mother that he was in distress.

Bonzo was taken to sickbay where he underwent surgery on his neck. He would have a full recovery in time. Kon watched the surgery progress with no emotion. "Is he going to die?" Kon asked Kara as she entered the room.

"No, he's going back to Earth until he gets better," Kara said.

"Send me back as well. This game bores me. I'm bored," Kon admitted. "I quit. What are you going to do now?"

"Do you know what these games are preparing you for? I'm going to hand you command over a fleet of warships and this fleet is going to destroy the enemy completely," Kara revealed.

"Father will do that for us," Kon rolled his eyes.

"If it was that easy, he would already be back. Your father doesn't appreciate overwhelming firepower like I do. I don't care about the thrill of battle. All I care about is killing the enemy and moving on. You're the same way. I can see it in your gameplay. Now, go back to your team and win the next game," Kara ordered.

"Okay," Kon agreed and went back.

In the next game, Kon was a pariah in the green team for supposedly critically wounding their captain even if he was an asshole. Kon remained in the back as the green team struggled to make any progress. Laser beams went off all around the bubble in a giant elaborate game of laser tag. Kon sighed, eyed the entrance hole on the other side of the bubble, and then pushed himself off. As he made his way to the other side, he was hit several times freezing up his suit. However, Kon could still fire his pistol and did so with great accuracy. He froze up the defenders and sailed right through the entrance hole, winning the game.

After the match, Kon and Petra practiced martial arts. Kon kept his level close to that of a human to avoid being found out. At night, Kon played video games where he was a mouse and his teammates were killed by a meteor shower. Kon investigated a ruined castle looking for Petra inside. However, instead, he found Mara waiting for him.

"The fuck?" Kon wondered.

Kon was summoned to Kara's office presumably to be chewed out again. "You're doing well, very well. Top test scores in your class, highest battle rating," Kara said matter-of-factly. "Do you think this impresses me?"

"No," Kon said flatly.

"You're an Insane Kryptonian. Of course, you're going to score better than these humans. The difference between us and them is the difference between humans and chimps," Kara said.

"Was your sister a chimp?" Kon asked smartly.

Kara glared at Kon with a look that could kill and then focused herself. "Let's see how well you do as a zoo keeper then. I'm giving you your own team, the orange team. You'll be given all the high-functioning autistic kids."

"I want Petra on my team," Kon demanded.

"She's already on the list," Kara said dismissively.

"Nice...wait, what?" Kon said stunned.

Sgt. Fap escorted Kon to his private quarters now that he was a cadet commander. "Do you think these retards and social rejects will follow me?" Kon wondered.

"Well, I sure as hell won't," Sgt. Fap said unsympathetically.

"You know who I am, right? How about a salute, sergeant," Kon said arrogantly.

"Not indoors I won't," Sgt. Fap told him off and then left.

The next morning, Kon went to see his new army. "Welcome to Dragon Army," Kon said to them and then gave a WTF look at his roster.

"What the fuck am I even doing here, Nok. You don't even like me," Bernard pointed out.

"I didn't select this army...and I still hate you," Kon clarified. "Now, can I be real with you for a moment?"

"Be real, Sir!" one of them shouted.

"I am actually Kon-El, the Insane Kryptonian Prince of Earth. I am stronger, faster, and smarter than all of you combined. I don't need any of you for victory. I could manage the drones all by myself. But the aliens attacked your planet and killed your people. So, humans are going to be front and center when we are victorious. We will win every game and test going forward as a class because of me so there's no pressure. But if you slack off and act retarded, I will trade you off this team and the glory will go to someone else," Kon revealed.

"Training starts now," Kon ordered.

"Yes, Your Highness!" they all shouted.

Kon pressed his team hard in the laser tag bubble arena. Kara watched Kon's progress oblivious that Kon made his identity known to his army. She decided to throw a curve ball at him by forcing him to play a game early in the morning without notice. Kon jumped up and went to his army. "Get the fuck up, we're playing now!" he shouted at them.

"Oh, shit," one of them said as he twisted his ankle getting out of bed. "I think I twisted my ankle."

"Weak as fuck. Put a boot on it. You won't need your foot in zero gravity," Kon ordered.

The orange team assembled in their suits. "I have an idea," Kon told his army. By his direction, two people went out into the arena hip-to-hip, chest-to-chest while facing opposite to each other. The green team ambushed the pair immediately out of sight. The pair was immediately shot multiple times but this didn't stop the pair from shooting the entire ambushing team disabling them.

Kon then formed his team into a solid block. They launched off toward the other side and were immediately shot at by the red team defending. Kon steered the formation toward the other entrance by directing pairs to pull off changing the mass and direction of the formation. Despite getting hit multiple times, it didn't stop their momentum. A partial formation then entered the other entrance without too much difficulty.

After the victory, Kara summoned Kon to her office. "You made that super-easy, barely an inconvenience," Kara remarked.

"The fact that one can be shot multiple times without stopping their momentum or being disqualified from the game is a serious design flaw," Kon said.

"True but all teams had the same rules to play with. Since you've done so well in the laser-tag arena, it makes sense that you should command entire fleets," Kara reasoned.

"Does it?" Kon questioned.

"I'm satisfied with your studying and team-building skills. That was the one weakness I was concerned about, Kon," Kara said.

"If that was my weakness, what is my strength?" Kon wondered.

"You're a video game master, Kon. Your father may be good at operating a tight crew on a stealth ship. You, my son, have the talent to command entire fleets into battle. You have the temperament to make decisions that will kill scores of the enemy," Kara said.

Kara took Kon to the 3rd and 7th Imperial fleets. The 3rd fleet was composed of 9 Thanatos fleet carriers, 8 Prometheus light carriers, 6 Ares battleships, 14 Hades cruisers, and 58 Athena destroyers. The 7th fleet was composed of 8 Prometheus carriers, 6 Ares battleships, 9 Hades cruisers, 51 Athena destroyers, 280 amphibious landing and support ships, and 110 auxiliaries.

The Thanatos fleet carriers were 19km long, triangular in shape as with the other capital ships, and held 600 fighters. The Thanatos fleet carrier was so massive in size that it was equivalent to Manhattan Island. The Prometheus light carriers were 1.5km long and held 20 fighters. The Ares battleships were designed for planetary bombardment. They were 1.5km meters in length. In contrast to the Hades cruiser which had its guns mainly on the top, the Ares battleship featured powerful guns mostly on the bottom with no significant docking bay.

Kara took command of the fleet carrier, USS Lex, upon arrival. In the briefing room, Brainiac 5 informed Kon of what he was up against showing hologram images of Harvester ships. "Attack fighters are highly maneuverable and fight in swarms to overwhelm the enemy. They're significantly weaker in one-on-one dogfights. Harvester carriers are saucer-shaped, 15 kilometers in diameter, and possess a plasma beam weapon that is capable of destroying an entire city in one shot," Brainiac 5 said.

"Do the Harvester carriers have weapons aside from this main one?" Kon asked.

"Yes, there are plasma shooters along the entire outer rim of the saucer but the vast majority of its surface area is undefended," Brainiac 5 said.

"Seems like a serious design flaw," Kon considered.

"It would be but the sheer size and armor of the carriers makes it formidable to nearly all galactic navies. The carriers and attack fighters are heavily shielded by the mothership," Brainiac 5 said and then showed the Harvester mother-ship.

"Holy God," Kon said as he saw the size of it.

"A Harvester mothership is roughly a quarter the size of Earth's moon and is the source of all subordinate ship's shields. This reduces the inefficiency of each individual ship needing a powerful shield generator. A mothership is known to carry at least thirty-six carrier ships," Brainiac 5 said.

"Destroy the mothership and the shields to all the other ships will go down," Kon theorized.

"Precisely but no easy task," Brainiac 5 said.

Under Kara and Brainiac 5's supervision, Kon was reunited with his orange team: Petra, Bean, Bernard, Alai, and Dink. "Each of your teammates will control a battle group. You will give them orders and they will give orders to their ships and fighters. Do not worry about human casualties. All personnel in the fleets are drones. These battles are real. If you lose, Earth will be defenseless," Brainiac 5 said to Kon.

"No pressure," Kon smirked.

"The USS America is an Ares battleship specially designed to absorb my power and focus it into a single beam capable of destroying swaths of fighters, ships, and planets. I'll be there," Kara said to Kon.

"Why not do it yourself?" Kon asked.

"We have to assume the Harvesters have Kryptonite weapons. When I'm deep in the belly of a ship, I will not be exposed," Kara explained and then left the bridge.

The Imperial fleets moved toward the Delphic Expanse from a different approach than the USS Nemo. Three Harvester carrier ships were present in the rings of an ice giant. "They look like they're harvesting water," Kon noted.

"Should we use our main weapon?" Petra asked.

"We can take them out without it. Best to not reveal our advantage just yet," Kon figured.

"They see us. They're swarming," Bernard reported.

"Launch fighters, put cruisers and destroyers into position," Kon ordered.

The carriers launched hundreds of Apollo and Artemis fighters toward the Harvester carriers. Without a mothership, the Harvester ships were unshielded and began to take the brunt of the massive assault from above. At the same time, cruisers and destroyers went underneath the rings and fired from below. The Harvester ships were hit hard from above and below at the same time. They began to buckle and tear apart. Kon had won decisively.

After the first battle, the Imperial fleet began to spread out to find the Harvester's home planet. In the process, several Prometheus carriers and their escort ships were ambushed by a swarm of Harvester fighters. The Harvester attackers relentlessly pounded the carriers with green laser fire until they were all torn apart and destroyed. The 7th fleet was now completely destroyed. The Kon frowned as he faced his first defeat.

"We cannot absorb these sorts of losses," Kara shouted at Kon. "This isn't a game where you reboot and start over."

"You saying I shouldn't take risks?" Kon asked defensively.

"No one is saying you can't take risks. Just don't try to control everything," Brainiac 5 said calmly. "Delegate more to your teams."

"My teams are burnt out only human. I should micro-manage everything myself," Kon said.

"We've lost half the fucking fleet. That can't happen again. You, understand?" Kara raged.

"Yes," Kon sighed.

"There's no time to train anyone else. It's you or we're fucked," Kara told him.

"I think he understands," Brainiac 5 said gently.

In his room, Kon had a chat with Petra remotely on his tablet. "What if we could negotiate a peace with them?" he asked thoughtfully.

"They don't have vocal cords," Petra reminded him.

"There are other ways to communicate," Kon said as he made the peace symbol with his hand.

"We shouldn't be talking bullshit at 1 am," Petra advised.

"What if they could think to one another? What if we could think to them?" Kon asked.

"It's too late for that. Go to sleep," Petra said and signed off.

"We're going to get fucking crushed," Kon realized.

The 3rd Imperial fleet finally found the Harvester homeworld. Before the battle, Kara had a chat with Kon. "You may have lost the 7th fleet, but shit happens, alright," Kara assured him.

"I have a plan," Kon said confidently.

"You intend to use me to nuke the Harvester planet committing mass genocide? Not going to happen," Kara told him.

"Wait...what?" Kon thought he misheard.

"There are hundreds of billions of sentient beings on that planet," Kara told him.

"This is war, a war they brought to us," Kon argued.

"There's also something called a disproportionate response. I mean, imagine if a civilization attacks one of your distant territories and wrecks an obsolete fleet. Do you kill millions of their soldiers and then destroy their cities in response." Kara asked. "Wait...that actually did happen," she said, confusing herself.

"Father would annihilate them all without hesitation," Kon pointed out.

"But I don't want you to be just like him. In you, there's me. You share my genes and you must share deep down my essence," Kara said seriously.

"There's no way to win but planetary genocide. I kill the queen, I kill all the ships in orbit," Kon insisted.

"You will find a way to win and if you don't, it's just drones. We will rebuild again. If necessary, we'll have your father destroy them. But you, my son, must stay pure. Prove to me you have a conscience, values, empathy, and a moral core. Swear to me you will not even attempt genocide to win," Kara ordered.

Kon held up his hand. "I swear," he said.

"Alright, win or lose, let's take it to them," Kara said brightly.

Kon approached his team in the simulator bridge that would allow him to control the entire 3rd fleet. "Stay calm, shoot straight, this is where the fun begins," Kon said to his team.

The Imperial fleet moved closer to the Harvester homeworld. An asteroid field was present between the fleet and the planet giving them some cover. In orbit around the planet were several motherships and hundreds of carrier ships. With the motherships, each of the carrier ships and their attack fighters would be shielded. The Imperial fleet, as massive as it was, was outgunned 1-to-20 just on carrier ships alone.

"Fuck me," Kon said as he looked at what he was up against.

"Kon, what are we doing?" Petra asked.

"Deploy fighters for a defensive screen. Protect your carriers," Kon ordered. "Let's piss them off a little. Send one squadron to attack the lead carrier ship."

The Imperial fighters went through the asteroid field and fired on the lead carrier ship. They were quickly overwhelmed by Harvester attack fighters and destroyed. No damage was made to to Harvester carrier ship. Tens of thousands of Harvester attack fighters swarmed through the asteroid field to the Imperial fleet.

"Order the America to fire into the center of the cloud," Kon ordered Petra.

The USS America battleship, using Kara's own power, fired an intense heat vision beam that hit the cloud of Harvester attack fighters. The beam hit the cloud and created a chain reaction that destroyed all of the swarming fighters. Not even their shields could mount a defense against Kara's power. However, the strength of the attack also annihilated the asteroid field removing any defense or cover to the Imperial fleet.

"We are so fucked," Bean realized.

"Not...yet," Kon considered. "All fighters deploy to the USS Lex. I want layer upon layer. I don't want anything getting through." Immediately, Imperial fighters surrounded the USS Lex fleet carrier.

"That leaves our other ships defenseless including the USS America," Dink pointed out.

"Yeah, I don't give a fuck," Kon said dismissively.

The Harvester attack fighters swarmed the Imperial fleet with tens of thousands of fighters. The USS Lex shield of fighters was hit a bit but then the Harvesters went after the other defenseless ships. The rest of the Imperial fleet was getting hit with an overwhelming level of green laser hits and was quickly being destroyed.

"I'm losing my carriers," Bean said wide-eyed as several Thantos and Prometheus carriers exploded all around them.

"Our battleships including the America are out," Alai reported.

"I don't give a shit," Kon said unconcernedly.

"The America was our only hope," Petra said confused.

"I hope he knows what the fuck he's doing," Bernard shook his head dismayed.

"I want a clean view of sight. All fighters move clockwise," Kon ordered.

The Harvesters pounded on the fighter shield around the USS Lex relentlessly. The fleet carriers' shield generators, two large balloon-shaped objects on the top of the bridge, were hit continuously and then exploded. "Give me a clear view of sight," Kon demanded impatiently.

Fighters raced toward the front of the USS Lex allowing the stern to be exposed. Harvester attack fighters blasted away at the engines and docking bay of the USS Lex making only the top section functional. With the swarm of fighters in the way, the USS Lex's anti-aircraft guns could not fire. "Well...I've assessed the situation and I'm going to leave now," Kon said and walked off.

"Wait...what the fuck?" Petra wondered.

Kon exited the simulator bridge with the doors closing behind him.

At this point, the entire Imperial fleet was destroyed except for the USS Lex which was critically damaged and falling into the planet's gravity well. A thin layer of fighters continued to rotate around the carrier to open a path forward. Kon opened a port and was now on the surface of the USS Lex not far from the bridge tower. As he was half-Kryptonian, he could handle the vacuum of space nearly indefinitely. Kon powered up to Super Insane and placed his wrists together with his fingers outstretched.

"Galick Gun...AH!" Kon shouted as he fired an intense beam at the planet, itself. The beam cut through the atmosphere and hit the surface creating an explosion that rapidly traveled across the surface of the planet. As the explosion rapidly traveled, Harvester cities below the surface quickly evaporated in sparks of light. The planet soon became roasted as the crust was stripped off. The atmosphere was completely blown off leaving a molten rock. On the surface, lava freely flowed and volcanos erupted.

The Harvester swarm ended with all of their ships dead in space. The critically damaged USS Lex was now safe.

Kon went back to the bridge simulator room only to be confronted by Kara and Brainiac 5. His team gave a stunned look not anticipating Kon's strategy. "Absolutely brilliant. Thank God...for me. I fucking won. I'm the boss," Kon crowed.

"What do you mean you won?" Kara asked shocked and appalled as she saw the images of the molten planet.

"It was either us or them. There was no other way," Kon insisted. "With this victory, I have won all future battles. I destroyed them. I murdered those mother-fuckers."

Kon's team gave him odd looks as they were now dismayed by the amount of carnage they were witnessing. Kara took Kon aside away from his team. "You lied to me!" Kara scolded.

"What? If I told you the truth, you would have blocked me," Kon said defensively.

"You just committed genocide on an entire species," Kara reminded him.

"It was either us or them," Kon said completely unrepentant.

"No, they were waiting. What were they waiting for? Do you even know?" Kara asked.

"Oh, who gives a fuck?" Kon said dismissively.

"What about your morals, your values, your sense of honor? What about them?" Kara asked.

"I abandoned them so I could win!" Kon said wide-eyed.

"They didn't need to all die," Kara argued.

"What are you suggesting? We call for a dialogue? They can't even speak. Fuck'em," Kon shot back. "Makes no difference anyway."

"I will bear the shame of this genocide for the rest of my life. The House of El will bear this shame forever," Kara said passionately.

"I will be remembered as a hero, a super-fucking-hero!" Kon shouted insanely.

"You will be remembered as a killer!" Kara shouted down. "You even sure we killed every one of them?"

"We'll find them and we'll kill them, too," Kon said forcefully. "I won! That's all that matters!"

Kara was so angry with Kon that her eyes glowed red for a moment. She finally calmed down and turned away from him. "End simulation," she ordered.

The USS Lex simulator bridge suddenly disappeared, Kon's team disappeared, and the molten Harvester planet also disappeared. Kon was woken up as lenses were taken off his eyes. He looked around befuddled and found himself in a laboratory in Metropolis. His brain quickly realized what had happened. His victory was gone.

"Well...shit," he muttered. "My team?"

"They don't exist," Brainiac 5 replied.

Kon rolled his eyes unaffected by this news. "What a waste of time."

"Not for me it wasn't," Kara said as she advanced on him.

Kon simply gave her a bored expression on his face. "You tricked me. Made me think all of that was real? That's a violation," he accused.

"It was a test that you failed," Kara said angrily.

"Failed who? My father wouldn't have failed me and that's all that matters," Kon said and walked off.

Kara was left shaken and stirred. "Supervise him. I need some time to think," she said to Brainiac 5.

"Of course," Brainiac 5 agreed.

Kara went to the Fortress of Solitude to reflect on what she had witnessed. A hologram of Alex appeared before her just listening to her rant. "He's so rotten to the core. At least, I felt a little bad when I killed fools. But I would never do something like this. There's no limit to his depravity. I've created a monster," Kara said mournfully.

"I warned you against Mon-El and having children with him," Alex reminded her.

"It can't be just his father's side. It might not even be his father's side at all. Mon enjoys the thrill of battle, toying with the enemy, savoring victory. He even gives mercy to his opponents so he can fight them again. All Kon wants to do is run up the score. He feels nothing, no remorse, no guilt, no grief," Kara said freaked out.

"He is still young," Alex allowed.

"Holy shit," Kara gasped. "What if the evil inside him is from me? What if I'm the fucked up one? Could this be a reflection on me?"

"Mother?" a feminine voice called out.

Kara quickly ended the Alex hologram program and saw Mara approaching her. "What are you doing here?" Kara asked confused.

"Barney said you needed a reminder but he didn't elaborate as to what," Mara said.

Kara simply eyed Mara seeing so much in her. "Tell him that his message has been received."

Author's Notes: So, it may have tipped off the reader that something was amiss by the enormous size of the Imperial fleet and the ease upon which they found the Harvester planet that this chapter wasn't really reality. It should also be noted that this is a prequel to AOS Seasons 5-6 so it's necessary to have Kon be in the current state that he is in for his character growth later in the series to be appreciated. One may also ponder whether Kara's "test" on Kon was ethical or necessary to determine the mental fitness of a royal/son. Readers may also come away with the notion that Kon's way is the only way to defeat the Harvesters. In case it wasn't obvious, the Harvesters are the ID4 aliens. This raises the stakes of whether Mon-El will deal with the situation differently.