Chapter Two: Zod

Lois arrived at the Kent Farm early the next morning expecting breakfast but only found Martha looking at her with a bemused expression when she walked into the kitchen through the backdoor. The lady was already dressed in classic business suit sipping coffee at the kitchen counter was Lois breezed in expecting to be greeted by Clark and was mildly disappointed when she saw no sign of him.

“Hello Mrs. Kent,” Lois greeted in her usual cheerful manner.

“Good morning Lois,” Martha smiled, surmising that the reason Clark’s bed had not been slept in was the reason Lois was here bright and cheery. Unlike a few years ago when she had caught them both in the bathroom, Martha was more at ease with Clark’s sexual activities in recent times. The boy was 20 after all and what Martha deemed to be a consenting adult. Furthermore, he had shown respect enough to conduct his dalliances outside the home so Martha’s ability to deal was vastly improved.

And there was also the fact that the lady was delighted that Clark was finally over Lana and not pining for her in his loft like he had done since the young woman had taken up with Lex Luthor. It grieved her to see Clark so wounded but it also concerned her that Lana had chosen to bestow her affections on Lex. When even Lionel was afraid of his son’s ambition, there was good cause to be concerned. Unfortunately, Lana’s situation with Lex was out of everyone’s hands now and Martha was simply grateful that Clark had chosen to move on.

That he had opted to do so with Lois made her doubly pleased.

The girl was irascible, short tempered and downright abrasive at times but she was also strong, determined and capable of weathering quite a bit as was proved by how well she was handling her relationship with Clark and the secret they had spent years protecting. Furthermore, Martha didn’t think she had seen Clark so happy in a long time and the surest way to win a mother’s approval, at least as far as Martha was concerned, was to achieve that almost Olympian feat.

“Good night?” Martha asked coyly.

“Yeah,” Lois answered, going to grab a coffee. She had been in the Kent home long enough to know that Martha had a ‘help yourself’ policy to frequent visitors like her. “It was fun though I think we might have scared the guys with too romantic comedies in one night.”

“Well something must have left an impression if Clark’s still there,” the older woman smirked.

“Still where?” Lois looked at her blankly.

Martha lowered her cup. “At your apartment.”

Lois stiffened. “Mrs. Kent, Clark left my place before twelve last night. He was supposed to make me breakfast this morning before we left. Isn’t he here?”

“No,” Martha stood up, “his bed hasn’t been slept in and he isn’t in the loft.”

“Well I don’t know where he could be,” Lois said growing a bit alarmed. The Eagle Scout wasn’t one to stay out all night and worry his mom, at least without even calling and last that Lois knew, he was on his way home.

Even though Martha said he wasn’t in the loft, Lois felt compelled to look anyway and when she reached the top of the stairs that emptied into his favourite hideaway, she saw nothing out of the ordinary. Everything was as it should be but something made Lois uneasy. Reaching into the folds of her own suit, Lois drew out her cell.

“Chloe,” she spoke as soon as she heard her cousin’s voice on the other end of the line at the Daily Planet. “Have you heard from Clark today at all?”

“From Clark? Not since last night, why?”

“He didn’t come home last night,” Lois said tautly, “Mrs Kent says he didn’t sleep in his bed last night and since he wasn’t in mine…”

“Lois!” Chloe exclaimed, half shocked, half amused.

”Well if he was in neither of those places, where the hell is he?”

**********

“Let’s get this over and done already!” Kal grumbled with a decidedly bored expression on his face when he came to a stop on the crystal floor of the fortress, a blizzard of snow behind him and Fine. “I got places to be, Lois to do. You said if I do this I wouldn’t have to hide who I was and get everything I wanted.” Kal glared at the being who still wore the guise of Milton Fine.

The Brainiac construct was rather impressed by the remarkable change in personality that had come over Kal-El once he had injected a concentrated mix of red kryptonite particles in the boy’s blood stream. He had anticipated a more malleable personality, not this radical aberration that seemed to surface the boy’s baser instincts and increased Kal-El’s arrogance and confidence for that matter a thousand fold. Like an animal at the top of the food chain, the boy was recognising how insignificant the human on this world were to him.

It was most encouraging.

“Have patience Kal-El, your primitive mating rituals can wait,” Fine remarked going towards the console. By the looks of it, it had been repaired since Zod’s last resurrection and the sentient program made a note not to destroy this time around. Despite its links to Jor-El, the fortress was still best repository of information left of Krypton and Zod would need access to the technologies of that dead world if he were to rule this very live one.

“Easy for you to say, you're not the one who hasn’t been laid in a year and since I’m the only one who can do this, I say move your ass and do this thing already. I got better things to do with my time.” Kal grumbled brushing the snow from the shoulder of the leather jacket he had liberated on the way here, as he joined Fine at the control panel. He did not like being in the Fortress. Every time he came into contact with anything remotely to do with Jor-El or Krypton, it usually ended badly.

“Clark…” a voice suddenly spoke up, reacting to all the noises around him.

Kal lifted a brow at the Construct and walked around the control panel to see Oliver Queen lying against the icy floor. Still clad in his Green Arrow leathers, the human was shuddering but was not quite dead, even thought here was thin layer of ice against his skin. Listening closely, Oliver’s heart was still beating strongly. “This is who you picked?” Kal broke into a grin and started laughing. “Good choice.”

“He’s your friend, you liked him.” The Construct pointed out indifferently as he stood by the crystal matrix and let his fingers melt into thick rivulets of black oil that seeped onto a flat bit of surface near the protruding crystal shards. Instead of flowing like liquid, the oil held its form and began to harden, taking on a shape not unlike one of the shards in the matrix.

“He’s alright,” Kal shrugged, recalling a little of the camaraderie he felt for Oliver even if it was a fleeting sensation. “Bit self-righteous ass though. Actually,” he sniggered. “The irony is kind of sweet.”

“Clark,” Oliver tried to sit up, speaking through chattering teeth. “What’s going on? Where are we?” Green eyes darted around the strange structure in a mixture of puzzlement and worry.

“You’re at my place Oliver,” Kal said zooming next to Oliver and dropping to his haunches to look at the man. “Man, you look like hell.”

“It’s below freezing,” Oliver spat, sensing he was in danger because the eyes he was looking into belonged to a stranger. “What the hell’s going on?”

“I’m about to give you what you want Oliver,” Kal grinned. “You said I had powers you could only dream of right? Well Ollie, this is your lucky day,” he slapped Oliver on the back laughing. “After this, we’re going to change the world, not necessarily the way you wanted but it’s gonna be a hell of a ride.”

“Kal-El,” the Brainiac construct beckoned. “It’s time.”

Oliver knew he had to get up. Clark’s manner was not only unnerving, it was seriously starting to frighten him. However, as fast as he tried to move, he couldn’t compete with the Smallville farm boy was standing next to the collection of glowing white crystals in a blink of an eye. If it was just Clark standing there, Oliver would not have been as concerned because as peculiar as his behaviour was, Oliver still saw Clark. His friend.

However, from the day he had met Clark Kent, the secret of his origins and his powers had been an anchor around they boy’s neck that tainted his relationship with almost every person in his life. Clark held onto that secret because his very existence depended on it and to see him now, revealing all to a stranger than Oliver did not recognise, reeked of catastrophe.

“Oliver you’re about to take centre stage,” Kal grinned and nodded at the Construct. “Do it.”

The cold that he should have been feeling had vanished as Oliver Queen’s heart rate began to pound. Whether by design or sheer anxiety at what was taking place, he did not know. What he did know was that he stood on the edge of darkness and his friend, was pushing him over. As the stranger picked up the black crystal shard that had finally reached completion, he placed the thing Clark’s outstretched palm.

Oliver wasn’t certain what was about to happen but he knew that he played a part in it he neither understood nor by the sounds of it would like. Gaining strength by the second, Oliver abandoned the idea of reaching Clark because he didn’t know if it was at all possible and he far too vulnerable like this. A strategic withdrawal was necessary until he had more facts. However, no sooner than the thought had crossed his mind, Clark’s companion raced across the uneven crystal floor and grabbed Oliver before he even had a chance to blink.

“Come along Mr. Queen,” the man spoke and lifted Oliver like he was weightless, hauling him to what looked uncomfortably like a sacrificial altar in white.

“CLARK!” Oliver shouted, realising that whatever Clark was, his friend was too and if such was the case, Oliver wasn’t going anywhere. “WHAT”S HAPPENED TO YOU?”

“Relax Ollie,” Kal called out as he held the dark crystal poised over the slot on the crystal matrix panel. “When we’re finished, you’ll never have to worry about anything. You can finally get over the fact that it was me Lois dumped you for.” Kal smirked, unable to let that tasty morsel pass when Oliver was still himself to appreciate it. “All it took was one kiss Ollie, just one kiss. You mustn’t have been getting the job done but then Lois is like that isn’t she? More than you can handle. When I’m done here, I’m gonna show her what’s she missing.”

Jesus Christ, Oliver’s frantic mind thought as he was slammed against the altar. He’s insane.

“Clark!” Oliver tried one last time to reach his friend, “don’t do this!”

Whatever this was.

The grip of the stranger who held him down was powerful and Oliver felt like he was held down by a tonne of bricks. He had never felt so helpless in his life.

”See you on the flipside Oliver,” Kal called out. “Trust me, it's gonna be fun!”

With that, he slammed the black shard into its slot and ignited the matrix panel with angry red glow. A burst of blood red energy escaped the panel, column like in its width, streaking into the sky like a new born comet. The fortress glowed with red and the last thing that Oliver saw before he was bathed in crimson, was the exploding brilliance of what looked like a diamond floating in space.

Kal stepped back and watched everything that was Oliver Queen vanish with the arrival of Zod.

**********

“Well I’m done,” Kal announced to the Construct who was standing over the form though not necessarily the spirit of Oliver Queen. Slipping on a pair of aviator style Ray-Bans over his face, Kal stepped off the platform where the matrix stood and added. “Tell Zod to stay out of Metropolis and Smallville and we’ll get along just fine, if not we’re going to have a problem.”

“Tell me yourself,” Zod stood up wearing Oliver Queen’s face. The General ran his hands over his face and observed his hands before pausing to look at his reflection in a shiny piece of crystal. Definitely an improvement on the last version.

“This is an interesting turn of events, Kal-El.” The General turned to Jor-El’s son, poised to attack the upstart who had banished him to the Phantom Zone, again.

“The name is Kal,” Kal warned, his jaw clenching with just a hint of menace. “Are we going to have a problem here Zod? You might be a little more grateful since I’m the one who kind of let you out.”

Zod glanced at the Construct, clearly taken by surprise at that revelation . “Is this true?”

“Yes General,” the Construct nodded. “I could not have released you without the boy’s help.”

“Hey screw you,” Kal retorted offended. “I’m not a boy.”

“Indeed,” Zod studied the young man with bemusement. He was ready to tear Jor-El’s brat apart but Zod was never one to waste resources and there was something in his manner that made the General pause. “And how is it that you came to free me, Kal?”

“Your guy here said that if I free you, I get what I want.” Kal admitted readily, watching Zod carefully behind his dark shades. Kal had memory enough of the past to know how dangerous Zod was but fortunately, these days so was he.

“Interesting,” Zod’s eyes shifted to the Construct and back to Kal again. “What is it do you want?”

“To not have to hide anymore,” Kal declared firmly. “I’m sick of hiding what I am. I’m sick of pretending to be like everyone else when clearly I’m not. I’m a hell of a lot better than they’ll ever be and its about time they knew it. I want to take what’s mine and teach anyone who stands in my way, why it’s a bad idea to mess with me.”

Zod laughed out loud aware that he would require some converse with the Brainiac Construct on how this miracle of personality had come about but for the moment, the opportunity to put a yoke around the son of Jor-El was too good to pass. It was almost poetic in its beauty.

“I’m going to take this planet Kal, I’m going to own everything and everyone on it. You can join me and be the Kryptonian that you are, not the weakling human you’ve been pretending to be and in return for your loyalty, you’ll have everything that you’ve ever desired. Stand in my way again and the Zone will seem like a paradise in comparison to what I will do to you.”

Kal stared at Zod and then laughed with similar amusement. “I’d like to see you try,” the younger man said cockily as he swept his gaze over the fortress. “However, it does sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me. You see I don’t care if you want to rule world Zod, I really don’t. I just want my piece of it. You give me that and I’ll swear allegiance to any damn thing you want.”

PART THREE