Chapter Eleven: The General’s Daughter

After the gunshot and the removal of the red and green kryptonite from Clark Kent’s body, the onus of Lois and Chloe’s thoughts had been on his recovery. Kryptonian or not, a gunshot wound was a serious thing and though Chloe assured Lois that Clark claimed to be a fast healer, neither woman could rest easily until they saw his recovery for themselves. Restoring Clark Kent to his true personality had taken all their attention so it was forgivable that both were unaware what was taking place outside Smallville.

Chloe had fallen asleep on Jonathan Kent’s favorite armchair at some point in the evening, exhausted from the day’s events until she was rudely awakened by the ringing of her cell phone. Eyes snapping open to the electronic sound of Cyndi Lauper voice tearing shrill through her ears. Uttering a muffled curse because she didn’t want to wake up Lois or for that matter Clark who had to be exhausted after his ordeal, Chloe immediately fumbled for her handbag to retrieve the phone. Fortunately, she noted as she flipped it open to receive the call, neither of them were in the room.

“Hello?” Chloe offered a groggy greeting as she blinked herself awake and sat up straighter in the chair.

“Chloe, what’s happening? Is Clark alright?” Martha Kent’s frantic voice demanded.

With an inward groan, Chloe rebuked herself for not calling the woman before this. She and Lois had been so wrapped up in dealing with Clark and the aftermath of the gunshot that they had neglected to call Martha.

“Clark’s okay,” Chloe replied immediately, guilty compelling her to reveal that piece of information before anything else. “We managed to get the Red K out of Clark,” she explained. “He’s fine now Mrs. Kent.”

“Thank God!” Martha exclaimed with a near sob of gratitude deepening Chloe’s guilt for not calling sooner. “When we heard about those nuclear reactors being destroyed, I thought Clark might have had something to do with it.”

Chloe blinked. Nuclear reactors?

“Nuclear reactors?” she stuttered to catch up. “What nuclear reactors?”

“Haven’t you heard?” Martha declared. “It’s all over the news. At least three reactors have exploded in the last six hours. The last one was at Metropolis about an hour ago. The authorities haven’t been able to explain why there’s no fallout but they’re calling it a terrorist attack. Lionel and I were sure that Zod has something to do with this.”

He probably did, Chloe thought silently, not about to discount the coincidence. The last time the Kryptonian general had appeared on Earth, the planet suffered Dark Thursday. “Mrs. Kent I’ve got to go, I’ll get Clark to call you as soon as possible. Stay by your phone.”

“I should come home,” Martha started to say when Chloe cut her off remembering Lois’ warning about clearing the board for Clark when they returned him to his right mind.

“Mrs. Kent, you need stay where you are.” Chloe said quickly. “It’s safer that way. Zod might be gunning for people Clark cares about and you’d be top on his list.”

Martha Kent had been down this road before and as much as she disliked the idea of staying away, she knew the warning Chloe gave was all too real. “You should make yourself scarce to Chloe,” Martha reminded her, ever considerate of those who were important to her son.

“I’ve already been given my walking papers,” Chloe assured her. “As soon as I can, I’ll be heading out your way. See you soon, Mrs. Kent.”

“See you Chloe and please have Clark call. I just need to hear his voice.”

Understanding all too well, Chloe made her that promise and was determined to keep it.

*************

Chloe wasted no time seeking out Lois and Clark once she had ended the call with Martha. It didn’t surprise her to find the duo in the loft and surmised that considering what had transpired between the couple in the last 24 hours, that they had some talking to do. Chloe did so hope that Clark wouldn’t blame himself for what was completely beyond his control. Unfortunately, Kal’s intimacy with Lois had complicated matters and Chloe knew Clark all too well.

Brooding was definitely in the cards when this was all over.

“Hey you guys,” Chloe announced herself as she climbed up the stairs, “you up here?”

Of course they were but it was only polite to ask.

Chloe.

Clark Kent felt another wave of shame as he heard his best friend’s voice. Someone else to whom he had to apologize. Why did freeing his inhibitions have to turn him into such a complete bastard? Clark asked himself as he saw Chloe’s familiar face appear. Locked in Lois’ embrace as she tried her best to comfort him in light of what he had done, Clark pulled away as she saw Chloe.

“Hey Chloe,” Clark greeted, trying to make his voice sound as normal as possible, instead of the despair he felt.

“Clark,” Chloe smiled and hugged him warmly because the look on his face, showed him clearly needing absolution. She doubted a hug would be the remedy to all his guilt but it was the best she could manage right now. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Chloe,” he started to apologize, not knowing what else to say because he remembered Kal’s cruel words to her.

“Clark, its okay,” Chloe stopped him just as Lois had and Clark wondered what he had done to deserve such unswerving affection from both of them. “I’ve been through the Red K dance, I know what its like…”

He begged to differ but took her words in the spirit it was intended.

“I just hope you know what you mean to me,” Clark said staring into her hazel eyes, so much like Lois but not different as well. “I’d never hurt you,” he lifted his eyes to Lois, “either of you.”

“Smallville, it’s cool.” Lois assured him with an affection wink. “Now come on boys and girls,” she said in an effort to move past this subject for now. As much as she wanted to comfort Clark and let him have time to deal with this, she remembered what Joe had said at the fortress and knew they were on the clock. “We’ve got bigger problems to deal with than Kal.”

“Oh my God!” Chloe’s eyes widened remembering the news that had been imparted to her. “Clark, your mother rang a short time ago. She told me that its been all over the news that at least three nuclear reactors have gone critical in the last few hours, including the one outside Metropolis.”

“What?” Lois exclaimed with understandable horror. “Why aren’t we glowing in the dark like the Toxic Avenger?”

“Clark, remember when that Zoner named Bern came after you?” Chloe spoke up, having considered the question before turning up here.

“Yeah,” Clark retorted. How could he forget? Bern had killed Raya. “I remember and I think I know what you’re getting at.”

“Well if someone could fill me in, that would be just peachy,” Lois quipped. “Remember, my secret decoder ring is still in the mail?” She gave them both impatient stares.

With a small laugh, Clark squeezed her hand because she could always make him smile. Perhaps that’s why he enjoyed being with her so. Lois had a way of making things feel not so bad. In that way, she reminded him of Martha. “Sorry Lois,” he gave her a conciliatory look. “Bern was a Zoner. A criminal from the ….”

”Phantom Zone,” Lois concluded. “Joe already filled me on the Phantom Zone and all the really cracked space eggs that got tossed into that little basket. So he was one of those guys who got out?”

“Joe?” Clark glanced at Chloe who merely shrugged and gave him the familiar expression of resignation the he had coined a ‘Lois moment’. It was a look he and Chloe shared a lot.

“Your holographic dad or whatever his name is,” Lois retorted and nudged him to continue.

Only Lois would come up with something like that and once again, Clark found a little smile despite his mood and the urgency of the situation. “Right,” he decided to continue instead. “Bern escaped the Zone the last time I ran into Zod. He had to fill up on power by hitting nuclear power stations.”

“Yeah,” Chloe added, “worked his way all the way to Clark.”

“Nice,” Lois shrugged. “So we’re assuming that this it’s Zod hitting all those stations this time?”

“It’s too much of a coincidence,” Chloe met Clark’s gaze.

“It is,” Clark declared, having guessed why Zod might need the power. “Zod went to Lex’s mansion to get the hard drive of the black ship, the one that Fine came in. That’s what he used to cause Dark Thursday.”

“Clark, he was going to use that thing to reshape Earth in Krypton’s image,” Chloe declared, remembering what Lana had told her about that whole business. “But didn’t you destroy it?”

“I did and what was left, Bern drained of all its power.” Clark answered. “But Lex didn’t get rid of it. He kept what was left, probably to analyze it for Luthor Corp labs. Zod wanted it back and I’m guessing that he’s used the power in the nuclear stations to fix it. If he doesn’t, Fine will. Either way, to get it working again, they need power.”

“Which would explain why none of the explosions have caused nuclear fallout,” Chloe concluded. “There’s been a lot of damage but no radiation, at least according to your mom.”

“Well thank goodness for small favors,” Lois snorted. “Look if he’s powered up this thing from three reactors, then we got to find him before he decides to try again.”

“We aren’t doing anything,” Clark stated firmly. “I am. Lois, Chloe, you both need to get out of town. Head as far away from here as you can. Meet up with my mom and just stay away, I’m going to deal with Zod and I don’t want any of you hurt.”

”Clark,” Lois protested. “You can’t do this by yourself. You can’t go up against Fine and Zod on your own.”

“Lois,” Chloe stepped in. “You said it yourself, Clark needs a level playing field.”

“Oh I just knew you were going to throw that in my face,” Lois grumbled, giving Chloe a dirty glare. “How can you stop them both?” She turned back to Clark, frightened for him and frustrated because there was nothing she could do to help.

“I’ve got my father’s crystal,” Clark said firmly, hiding his own anxiousness at facing Zod again. He had barely managed to survive the last time. He didn’t want Lois to his doubt at whether he could defeat the general again. “It sent him back to the Zone once, it will do it again.”

“Does he know about this crystal?” Lois inquired, trying to piece together everything she was hearing without asking twenty questions.

“Yeah,” Clark answered reluctantly. “He knows about it.”

“Clark you can’t pull the same trick twice. From everything I’ve heard, this guy is a general with delusions of grandeur, a bad case of megalomania and some crazy ideas about planetary redecorating. If you’re going to use that that thing on him, you better have some kind of plan or else he’s gonna see you coming for miles.” Lois pointed.

“Thanks Lois,” Clark gave her a look. “I wasn’t quite nervous enough already.”

“Well snap out of it farm boy!” She said swatting him on the arm. “The world needs saving and you’re the only one who can do it. Fortunately, all is not lost.”

“It isn’t?” Both Chloe and Clark said in unison.

“You’ve got me,” Lois smirked. “And I do have a plan.”

***********

Zod returned to the Luthor Mansion and found it devoid of life.

There was no sign of Luthor or his female. No sign of Kal-El either. Kal-El had no interest in the rekindling of Krypton on his beloved Earth and Zod had no patience to explain to him that there would be no stopping the chain reaction he was about to put into effect. The hard drive of the alien ship now fully restored awaited use and it was only Zod’s sense of irony that compelled him to return to this place to begin the rebirth of Earth in the image of Krypton.

Wearing the face of Oliver Queen, Zod made his way through the debris covered path he had created when he first came to the mansion. The destruction remained untouched, with bodies still lying amongst the rubble as he walked through the corridor. He wondered where Kal-El was and wondered if he had taken Luthor’s female for himself. Zod recalled he had feelings for the girl from their last encounter. No matter, Kal-El would come to him soon enough when he set the process for Earth’s metamorphosis into motion.

Arriving at the parlor where he had left Lex Luthor and Lana Lang, Zod walked to the wooden desk now covered in a film of dust. Lowering himself into the leather chair, the Kryptonian general lifted the lid of Luthor’s computer laptop and waited patiently when the screen came to life a second later. Once the primitive data unit was functional, he reached into his jacket and retrieved the hexagonal hard drive once again. Entering the activation sequence against the touch sensitive pads on the device, Zod allowed himself a smug smile when he saw its symbols illuminate with amber light.

“Shall we try again,” he said to himself as he placed the device above the laptop’s hard drive and with a wave of his hand set it on its course. It began to spin as before but this time, its effect could be seen as Kryptonian symbols filled the computer screen in rapid, seemingly out of control sequences.

The hard drive began to spin faster, sending Kryptonian programming into the world’s communications network, overriding every firewall, security program and encryption barrier in existence. Zod did not have to see the panic being caused by these primitives as they tried to understand who had taken control of their computers, computers which controlled orbital defensive satellites above the planet surface. The Kryptonian programming would reach the swarm of hardware currently above the Earth, modifying its purpose for something grander than its original designers had intended.

Sitting back in the leather chair, he relaxed for a moment, watching the symbols flashing across the screen with even greater speed and waiting for all the satellites revolving around the Earth, realigned to direct their aim towards the planetary crust. Tectonic plates would begin to shift, shuddered out of billions of years of formation and on a sub atomic level, the geological structure of the Earth began its sudden change.

Across the planet, the air filled with a sharp whine.

Loud and penetrating, there was not a human alive who did not react to the screeching noise that came from above. Those who lived through Dark Thursday would also recognize the sound almost immediately. They would remember that the sound had been only the precursor to an even more terrifying symptom of Earth’s coming demise.

Earthquakes.

As the ground began to rumble and the world wide panic spread, Zod remained where he was in his leather seat. He need do nothing but exult in the chaos, armed with the knowledge that in a matter of hours, the Earth would tear itself apart taking on a new shape and the human race, save for a select few, would be little more than a footnote in the history of New Krypton.

PART TWELVE