DC Elseworlds 1. Chapter 1

ShatteredLegacy

A novel by

Steven W. Eden

Superman and all related characters are the copyrighted property of DC Comics

1

George Kent slowly lowered his newspaper and peered over it like Kilroy over a fence. "Hey! Take it easy on those pancakes, young man! You're not the only one here who likes breakfast, ya'know!"

The young man smiled at his father and blushed. "Sorry, Pa! I just can't control myself with Ma's cooking and if there is ONE thing I have super-speed for, it's her pancakes. Pass the syrup, brat!" The little girl handed her brother the sticky bottle of pancake topping and sighed as if resigned to be the "brat" the rest of her natural life.

"Can't you come up with a better name than that? I've got a LOT of names for you! Let's see, how about stupi..."

"All right, now!" interrupted the mother, "I think that will be quite enough. You two need to brush and hurry out to catch the school bus anyway. It's almost time for it to come down this way." Jimmy and Noel did their finest "Awww, Mom!" impressions and then scurried away to the bathroom to do as they were told. "What's new in the paper, Honey?"

"Just the usual stuff. Demonstrations for Martian independence taking place today at Collyer Colony."

"That scares me just a _little_ bit! I can sympathize with their cause, but some of those people can be pretty radical. Will that be a problem for your flight today?"

"No, shouldn't be. Ours is just a little shuttle flight to Hamilton. Those folks have more important targets than us to spread their message to. We'll make our run and be back bright and early tomorrow and then you and the kids and I will be on our way to Kansas and the family reunion. Hmmm...That is, unless we get swallowed up by the Earth.

"Look at this. More tremors on the Eastern Seaboard. Weird. For years, they've been expecting 'the big one' to drop California into the Pacific and now the OTHER coast starts to...Uh-oh! Look at the time. I'll be late for work if I don't get on out of here myself right NOW! Remember, you guys, our vacation starts this weekend!" shouted the father, then added in his most dramatic aside to his wife, "wouldn't want to make it into the PERMANENT kind, would we?"

With that and with kisses all around, the kids and their dad all filed out of the house and were off to their respective destinations, leaving Phyllis Kent to herself in peace and quiet. She poured herself another cup of coffee and sat down to read the newspaper and thought, "Ah, just your typical twenty-second century American family ..."

"Mr. Kent, the answer, please?"

Jimmy looked up at Mr. Weisinger as if just awaking from a dream, which, in fact, he was. And it was a doozy of a dream, too. Flying through the air as if he had wings and the people on the ground looking up, smiling at him, waving at him, and just being grateful that HE was there to handle any crisis that was too big for the rest of humanity…

"Mr. Kent…Are you with us?"

"Oh…uhm…yes, of course, the answer…I was just thinking about it…and …uh…yes…the answer is…er…is…Mr. Weisinger, I'm sorry. Would you please repeat the question?"

Weisinger's eyes were suddenly two daggers heading straight for Jimmy's heart. This wasn't the first time he'd been caught daydreaming in history class and it was likely that the repercussions would be considerable…

"Mr. Kent, what is it about us that you find so detestable that you refuse to be here even when you _are_ here? It is not my usual practice to single out an individual and embarrass him before his peers, but you seem to enjoy the infamous acclaim that it brings. This is…what…?…the fourth time this term that you obviously weren't listening to the lecture. And I would _so_ have thought that _this_ lecture, at any rate would have had the juice to hold your attention…at least for the required fifty-five minutes…?"

It seemed as if the entire world was staring at him, now. Only _this_ time, not smiling and waving in adoration, but with cynical sneers and pitied expressions usually reserved for outcasts and unfortunates. This seemed to last an eternity, although in reality was only three seconds until…"RIIIIIIIIIING!"

"Class dismissed…except you, Mr. Kent. Stay behind, please. I want to talk to you." Jimmy knew what was going to happen as classmates filed out the door, joining the massive herd of students in the hall, each heading for his or her next destination. As they passed, Jimmy pondered his situation and became increasingly worried. What form of punishment would be taken? They don't expel students for daydreaming, do they? This is _just_ what he didn't need! …another black mark on his already checkered educational history. What will Mom say? Worse, what will _Dad_ say? I gotta talk my way outta this, thought Jimmy, or I'm toast at home!

"Mr. Weisinger, I'm truly sorry. I didn't mean…"

"Oh, please! Mr. Kent, do you think you're the first student that failed to be attentive in class? I'm simply grateful that you weren't head down, snoring, and keeping the other sleepers awake! But _you_, Mr. Kent…Jimmy…! I would've thought the subject of our study would be especially interesting to you, considering your ancestry. Your great-great-great-grandfather was Earth's greatest friend and defender. I would think that you, of all my students, would not only find the subject fascinating, but would even add to the class with inside anecdotes or family legends to make the lectures less tedious. What seems to be your problem?"

Jimmy looked at the older man a moment, hesitated, then offered, "I don't know why, exactly, it is, Sir. I do know that since I could remember, I've been told how wonderful my ancestor was, how he saved the planet ten times over. It didn't matter…if it was an asteroid on a collision course with Earth or an evil predator bent on world conquest; he stopped 'em all. The stories seem to become more unbelievable with each retelling. I can believe how he fought crime and made the city of Metropolis safer. I can even believe how he helped in times of natural disasters - those incidents are well documented. I know that I should be proud of my heritage, but…honestly…I'm just…embarrassed by it all. Plus, it seemed like the whole time I was growing up that there was this big blue icon that I would never be able to live up to…no matter _how_ hard I tried. I know I'm not the best student in the world anyway, but when it comes to this…I can only…well…daydream about what it was like."

"I see. I suppose that _could_ be a very tough legacy to live up to, and you _do_ have my sympathy. However, I have a class to run. A class that you, no matter your feelings, are very much a part of. I need your attention, Jim, and you need to learn this material to pass. Even if you divorce yourself from your heritage, you _still_ are required to get through this class, and that means knowing something about this subject. You _can_ simply study the text at your disposal and get by with the minimum information necessary to pass. But isn't it a shame that you have all that priceless family lore handed down generation to generation and you choose to ignore it simply because you're _embarrassed_ by it…?

"I believe we will have to correct that somehow. You may, as punishment for your inattentiveness, take a zero for the week - I'm sure that will be a _very_ difficult hole to resurface from, academically speaking, but not impossible…"

OH, MAN! NO! That would just about wreck the whole term and what will my parents do to make it even worse…?

"…Or…" Jimmy's ears perked up like a pet puppy when its master unlocks the door and walks in…Maybe there is hope after all.

" You can bring me an extra credit paper - the subject of which will be your great-great-great grandfather and his exploits. Only…Mr. Kent…this paper will not contain any material from your text, the encyclopedia, et cetera. No. This paper will be mainly accounts from your relatives and others that have ancestors with first-hand knowledge of these. You may use newspaper archives as a guide and non-fiction books to authenticate, if necessary, but the bulk of this paper will be material you derive from actual conversation. _And _I want to be able to contact these people to verify the accounts."

"WHOA…! Not asking for too much _there_, are we, Mr. W? When must I have this in? I don't see how I could get this done any time soon.…"

"To be frank, Jimmy, neither do I. The zeroes will remain on your record until the paper has been given to me or until the end of the term. That should be enough time to complete the task. When I get the paper, you lose the zeroes, _and _receive whatever extra-credit grade I find appropriate. I think that is _more_ than generous in light of your personal history of misdemeanor behavior. Are we clear?" Weisinger began studying papers for his next class.

Jimmy blinked a couple of times, and swallowed hard. This paper thing will not be easy, but better to pump Mom and Dad for information than to BE pumped about his grades. "Yes, Sir. I guess so. Thank you for the chance to make it up, Sir. And oh yes, Mr. W…?" The teacher looked up at his student. "You left out a 'great' on my relationship to him. After all this IS the year 2167." And with a smile and a wave, Jimmy headed for the door.

"You see?" said Mr. Weisinger with a smile of his own, "You _did_ have something to contribute after all."

As Jimmy entered the hall and began the trek towards his next class, the bell rang once again.

_Rats!_ I'm going to be late and I forgot to ask Mr. W for a note, thought Jimmy, Now _that_ is just about the way my life _always_ seems to go! You'd think things would go better for a direct descendent of Superman.

And with that, Jimmy entered his next class.

Dust, dust, and more dust! It seemed to Phyllis Kent as if this job would _never_ end. It had been at least a year and a half since she had last cleaned the attic and it certainly showed. This was something she had been putting off for some time, but with George on a flight to Mars colony and Jim and Noel in school, this was finally the time to get started. When the kids get home, she thought, there would be two more soldiers to join the dust crusades.

Phyllis had pretty much started with the north wall and worked her way to the east. She recognized most of this stuff, but a few of George's things seemed a little…foreign to her. She thought he had shown all these relics to her before, but she couldn't recall what he had said about them. Of course, when George explained _anything_ to her, she often shut out the sound and just enjoyed being held by the big Teddy Bear, so it wouldn't be unusual for one or two items to escape her memories. She loved him _so_ much. She didn't even know his family was _those_ Kents when she said yes to him those years ago, but it didn't matter. She would have married him anyway. Family heritage was never an issue.

As Phyllis reminisced about their courtship days, she leaned upon an old roll top desk that, as far as she knew, had never been opened since they stored it up here. Jimmy's great-grandfather Bruce asked them to keep it just before he died. Even though Jimmy was only a month old when Bruce passed away, she could sense some sort of special connection between them.

"Jimmy will need the desk, Phyll, someday. He'll know when the time will be. Please, make sure it will be there for him when he needs it!" Phyllis remembered well his words and how she had promised the old man. But to this day, she still couldn't figure out why Bruce had asked _her_ and not George. After all, George _was_ his grandson, and while she adored Bruce, blood _was_ blood.

With a deep sigh, she began to busy herself once more in the Kent family antique parlor when the floor seemed to shift, throwing her not so gently against the roll top. _Is it my imagination,_ she wondered, _or did the house just move? _She pushed herself off the desk in order to get back to work. "Ka-CHUNK," came the sound from under the roll top.

"Oh, no…_now_ what have I done…?" said Phyllis as an eerie green glow bathed the room.

"Oh, no…_now_ what have I done…?" said Captain Ellsworth. "George! Get in here! I need your help a minute!"

As Lt. Commander George R. Kent ambled forward to the cockpit, Ellsworth double and triple checked his gauges, which were, at the moment, behaving in a very abnormal manner.

"What's the problem, Whit? Sounds like the Indians are surrounding the wagon train." Kent was a big man of 44 years, with black hair graying a bit at the temples, and in superb physical shape. He could have any number of women, except for the fact that _his_ baby blues were only for his wife, Phyllis. "Maybe we should circle 'em up?"

Normally Whitney enjoyed bantering quips about with his co-pilot, but this was not one of those times. "Fluctuation in the CO2 recovery gauge…maybe a leak!" Kent winced at the news and made a whistling sound as Ellsworth continued. "Yeah, diagnostics seem to locate it in the line at grid 37-A. It's probably not serious, George, but if it gets any worse, our passengers…_all of us…_ could have a hard time breathing before we reach Hamilton. Check it out, Will ya?"

Kent aye-ayed his best friend, and with an exaggerated version of his best salute, turned to head back to find the trouble spot.

"Oh, and George..."

"Yes, Captain Ellsworth, sir?"

"I don't have to remind you about the political angling going on at Collyer Colony. I'm sure this is _not_ sabotage, but even if it is, it _isn't_! If you get my drift."

"Aye, aye, sir. It'll be smiles all the way there and smiles all the way back. See ya later, Junior!" George patted the shoulder of Jack Larson, the ship's navigator and began to trek aft. He wanted nothing to stand in his way of getting to Hamilton Spaceport on Mars, because the sooner he got there, the sooner he could return home to Phyll and the kids and begin that long overdue vacation. He still couldn't believe that she didn't want to go to some exotic location on one of the nearby resort planets, and he had earned enough travel points in hours and commendations with the company that his entire family could fly free to anywhere Yellow Sun Space Lines docked. But not this time. Phyllis insisted on taking the family on an _earth-_bound vacation, to visit the old Kent farm in Kansas, no less. She had even gotten in touch with his sister and between the two of them, had set up the family reunion with all the other branches on the Kent family tree.

I wonder what Cousin Curt looks like these days, George wondered, It seemed like forever since _he_ had been there last, and he was eager to introduce the kids to their family roots and heritage…especially Jimmy. His son never seemed to want to understand the importance and the responsibility of his lineage.

But to get home, he had to get to Mars. And to get to Mars meant that right now he needed to find and repair that CO2 line. George nodded and smiled at the weary travelers of flight1951 as he made his way aft as Whitney chimed in to the passengers on the intercom, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain. I hope you are enjoying our flight from Earth DFW Interplanetary to Hamilton Lunar Spaceport. We are currently experiencing a difficulty with a minor systems control, but be assured it is nothing that will affect your trip and we should have the problem resolved in a matter of minutes. In the meantime, please enjoy the snacks being provided the flight attendant and thank you for flying Yellow Sun." George wished the spacecraft were a wide luxury liner instead of a small shuttle as he maneuvered around Doris, the stewardess handing out crackers or peanuts to hungry commuters. Finally, he reached the maintenance hatch and entered.

"Now, let's see…" he muttered softly to himself, "...I believe he said grid 37-A…" Kent studied the maze of conduit carefully, magnifying the images in his head.

At least microscopic vision is _one _ability passed down the ol' family tree, he thought. A-_ha_! There's the culprit! It's just a pin-sized hole but it could have made a _lot_ of people very sick before we would've landed. It doesn't look like sabotage. It's too small to be deliberate, and yet...

As George began to repair the breach, something was still bothering him about the grid. And then, suddenly he realized what it was…


	2. Chapter 2

ShatteredLegacy

A novel by

Steven W. Eden

Superman and all related characters are the copyrighted property of DC Comics

2

_I feel like I'm in a drainpipe in a sink_, thought Jimmy, as he slowly made his way through the school hallway, _and all the students are clogging it up! If I can just get to and get done with phys-ed, maybe I can head home and forget about this crappy day. Hey, wait a minute. There's Linda Kaye. Maybe I can salvage something today after all!_

"Hey, Linda Kaye! Wait up! Hey...Lind-AH!" A pretty teen with blue eyes and brown hair paused and glanced several directions through the mob of school kids as she thought she heard her name in the cacophony. Jim continued to slowly ease closer to the girl but just as he was about to make eye contact with her, a huge paw grasped his shoulder and spun him around. Unable to see beyond the wall of students, Linda shrugged and continued to her next class unaware of Jim's proximity.

"Kent, whatsamatter with ya? You know ya ain't supposed ta yell in the hallway." Jimmy cursed his luck as he realized that he was in the clutches of Moe Brawn, the biggest, nastiest, and dumbest jock at Neil Coates High School. "I oughtta turn you in to old man Shayne. Or maybe I'll just do him a favor and give you a few licks myself. Oh, heavens to Betsy! I forgot! I could break my little hand on your invulnerable hide, couldn't I?"

"Come on, Moe! Gimme a break, willya? I need to get to class and I just wanted to talk to my girl friend first. I just don't have the time to mess with you now!"

"Linda Kaye Reeves? Why, whatever could be the problem, _Mister Super-wimp_? She's right there! Why doncha just fly over to her. _Oooh_, I bet there must some kryptonite around here somewhere and you just ain't got the old super pizzazz to get up in the air? Ah! I think I can help you off the ground!" Moe, laughing like a hyena, punched Jimmy in the stomach, lifting him an inch in the air. Jimmy, gasping for breath, doubled over in pain. "Ah, ya wimp! I don't know what Linda Kaye sees in you. Ya better hurry, Stupor-man! Gym class is about to start and I hear we're playing murder-ball today. You _know_ you're my favorite target!" Like a flash, Moe was gone, but Jim could still somehow hear that awful laugh over the din of the hall. He just leaned against the wall as he tried to catch his breath and did his best to keep tears from streaming down his face. He was going to be late for another class, it seemed, and his luck was still holding at all bad. What was next...? The world coming to an end...?

"HI MOM! WHAT"S FOR DINNER!...I'M HO-OME..." Noel, all four foot five and eighty one pounds of her, was NOT exactly a shrinking violet when it came to communication, especially with her parents. As usual, her primary destination within the domicile was the kitchen for an after school snack and her favorite form of entertainment: talking to her mother about her day at school (the leading story of which almost always was about some boy she met or already knew).

"MAHH-UHM! Where are you!" demanded the sweet urchin as she investigated the contents of the refrigerator. Tuna salad seemed the best bet right now, but just where WAS her mother anyway? As she closed the door of the fridge, she began to shout again only to be startled by the sudden appearance of Phyllis Kent directly behind her. But something was wrong. Her mom was breathing heavily and perspiring like a long distance runner. Her eyes were wide with fear as she whispered heavily to her daughter, "Is Jimmy home?"

Noel had never seen her mom like this. Mom was usually the preverbial pillar of strength. If noone else had it together, you could always count on Mom to handle things. Except today she looked as if she had seen a ghost. "Mom? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Noel, where's your brother?" she hissed. "It's important. Something's happened...I'm not sure exactly _what_...but I know Jimmy needs to see...what that is in the attic!"

Now Noel was getting scared. A thoroughly shaken Mom was a sight she had NEVER encountered before and she wasn't at all sure of how to take it. But before she could say anything else, Jim entered the kitchen.

"Hi, Mom! What's happening, Brat? What's going...on?" Jim noticed his mother's expression and changed gears completely. "Mom, are you alright? Why are you two acting so frightened? Is Dad okay?"

"Jimmy! Thank the Lord! It's upstairs, Jim! It's upstairs...in the attic! I think I...I don't know _what_...exactly, but I _do_ know it's calling _ you _!" Phyllis was shaking as she spoke. Jimmy was worried now. He had never seen his Mom this frightened.

"Upstairs...? What? What's calling me? _Mom! Get ahold of yourself! What's going on!"_

Phyllis stood looking at her son and slowly composed herself as she began, "I was just cleaning the attic and I bumped into it and then...Jim, you were too young to remember Grandpa Bruce. But the old rolltop desk he said was yours? He said some day you would need it, but he never said it would actually..._call_ you! I don't understand it! It's been bumped and jostled so many times before! Why _now? _What's different now?"

Jim looked slowly back and forth at his Mom, his sister (who was now shaking and crying herself), and the stairs that led to the source of his mother's distress, the attic. As calmly as he could, he spoke to her. "Mom, I haven't a clue what you're talking about. Can you settle down a bit? Noel is shaking like a leaf, she's so scared. And I'm not feeling too heroic myself right now, but if something upstairs is linked to me somehow, you've gotta help me out a little here, okay? Now what is the deal with this desk?"

When Jimmy mentioned his sister, Phyllis suddenly realized how much she must have scared her daughter and instinctively she embraced her. "I'm sorry, honey. It's okay. Really, it is. I was just carried away a little, that's all...I'm not hurt...Noone is...It's just...even with all that..._stuff..._up there...nothing ever..." She seemed to have it together again now and reached for Jimmy to include him in the group hug. "Listen up, Jimmy. I don't understand it all, but up in the attic that desk is somehow..._calling you!_ Grandpa Bruce used to tell some strange stories about it that I took with a grain of salt, but now it looks like he was right. You'll have to go up there and see about it. There's no danger to anyone, I'm sure of that now that I've had time to think, but there must be a reason this is happening now and you have to go upstairs and find out what this is all about."

Brave is not something we ever know we will be until we must face an adversity that calls for it. Oh, we all want to _believe_ that we will be and we probably _need _to believe it. But the truth is that until the moment that you must act with bravery, you really _don't _know if you've got it or not. And that's when you find out that bravery is not acting with the _absence _of fear, but meeting your crisis positively _despite _that fear. Jimmy never thought of himself as heroic, no "Man of Steel" despite his lineage, but his mom was right about one thing, it _was_ calling him - he could sense that now - and he _had_ to go to it, no matter what.

"Stay here. I'll be back in a minute," he said as he slipped away from his mother's embrace and slowly - grimly - ascended to the attic.

As Jimmy entered the room, he was astounded by the emerald aura emanating from somwhere within the rolltop desk. To his surprise, however, he found his initial fear replaced by a sense of calm and belonging as if he had known for years that this moment was inevitable. Instinct seemed to draw him to the desk and he did not fight the urge. As he peered into the light, he could swear it was speaking to him. Speaking in a language that he had never heard before, yet somehow understood. Scenes, sounds, pictures, knowledge all were imparted to Jimmy with the speed of light. It should have been more than a human brain could handle all at once, but Jim remained rooted in front of the desk and continued to weather the assault to his senses until everything went black.

"Jimmy! Are you okay? Jimmy! Thank God, he's coming around. Noel, go downstairs and get him some water!" As his sister disappeared through the hide-a-stair portal, Jim looked around and slowly regained his faculties. the green light was no longer illuminating the room, and he was surprised to find himself crumpled on the floor, his head caressed in his mother's lap. She was going on about how she should never have sent him up here and parents were supposed to protect their kids from harm and what right did she have to tell him to put himself in danger anyway, and all the time she was saying this, tears were coming down her cheeks.

"Mom...I'm okay...I think...oooh, my head...What happened, anyway? Last thing I remember was getting up here and then coming over to the light from the desk. It felt like I was staring into the light for hours!"

"Son, you were only up here for a few seconds when we heard a thud and came up. The glow was gone and you were on the floor and out cold." Noel returned with a glass of water and a wet towel. "Thank God you're all right! Thank God! I never should have let you..."

"It's okay, Mom. Really. I think I actually understand it...maybe..."

Noel handed the towel to her mother. "Here, put this on his head, I think he may be delerious." Phyllis must have agreed as the wet towel found its way to Jimmy's forehead, but Jim took it off immediately and gingerly he found his way to his feet. He felt in control but then it was if he were on a tightrope with too much play in it and he had to fight the urge to fall down again.

"Wow! I _must_ have gotten a knock on the noggin! I thought the house was trying to toss me around just now!"

"No," his mom replied, "I felt it, too. I don't know what it was, but it happened before that green light started glowing, and again, just now, when you tried to stand up. It wasn't as bad this time, though. Are you okay, Son?"

Jimmy mumbled something to the effect that he was fine, but the mention of that spellbinding green glow made him remember. It was coming back to him now, the light, the incredible attraction to it, the way it spoke to him...but what did it say? He couldn't remember it all, just glimpses of so many things. He ambled to the now ordinary looking rolltop and opened it fully.

"I don't know exactly what happened, but I believe I need to find a switch or a button or...something...under this..." Jim's hand felt along under a shelf in the desk and suddenly a panel opened revealing a hidden compartment. In the compartment were a green crystal, a journal, and a large empty bottle with some sort of hose attached to it. "Answers?" he wondered, "or more questions?"


	3. Chapter 3

ShatteredLegacy

A novel by

Steven W. Eden

Superman and all related characters are the copyrighted property of DC Comics

3

"Y'okay, George? The gauges indicate the leak is fixed, but you look like you've more questions than answers."

George, with a very puzzled look on his face, slowly fitted himself into the co-pilot's seat. "Uhm...yeah, Whit...A-okay on that leak...it's just...I...uh..."

"Just...what? George, you're starting to get me worried. I've never seen you like this. Are you coming down with something? Is the flight in any kind of jeopardy? I can't believe it really _was _sabotage!"

"Wha...Oh! No!...No, Whit. The flight and myself are both just fine. We'll get to Hamilton - no problem. I just... uh... remembered... that Phyllis needed me to... take care of something... important... at home."

Ellsworth looked over at Larson, who returned his "what's up with this guy" look with one of his own and raised the bet with a shrug of his shoulders. "Well, it must be _very_ important to get you this flustered. What kind of jam are you in, anyway? Is it financial? You know, Gracie and I have a little saved up if you need a little help...?"

"Oh thanks, Whit," George interrupted. He couldn't help smiling a little at that thought. Yellow Sun paid him well to begin with, and his promotional work with the space lines (thanks to his ancestry) was very lucrative. Though his friend outranked him, he probably made almost twice what Ellsworth earned in a year."But no. Money is not a problem. I just...need to get back home as soon as I can. In fact, I don't think I'll stay for the layover tonight. Listen, do me a favor and radio the company for a new co-pilot for tomorrow's flight and I'm going to take the next shuttle back to Earth after we land. Can you do without me for awhile?"

Ellsworth looked a little hurt that his friend would not confide in him after all their years together, but he managed a smile and said, "Sure, okay. I think we can find our way back without you. You just get back and take care of whatever it is that is bothering you so much. Man, one second you seemed like you were on top of the world and the next, the world seems to be squarely on top of _you_. What made you think of this now, anyway...a little voice in your ear?"

"Yes, I guess you could say that, Whitt. I guess it was _exactly _that." And as the crew of flight1951 went about their business, a tiny man no bigger than a millimeter whispered, "Thank you!" from his vantage point in the hollow of George's ear.

"Aww! C'mon! Some piece of rock _spoke_ to you? Please excuse me while I snicker behind your back! _Hehehehe!"_

"_Noel! _You are not helping the situation!"

"Sorry, Mom!"

"It's okay, Mom, if she had brought this crazy story down from the basement, I would be giving her the same treatment. I'm still not sure I believe it myself. But how else can you explain it? How did I know exactly what to do to open that hidden compartment? _Something _told me what to do, but I don't know what...or who."

"Okay, I'll go get another washrag for his head, he's still bonkers!"

"Noel!"

"Sorry, Mom..."

Jimmy took another look at the crystal, which no longer was emitting such a strong a light as earlier. Rather, now it was a more subdued glow, pulsing rhythmically as if breathing. "It's still 'talking' to me now, but it isn't cramming information into me like before. It's more like it's...urging...me to go somewhere...to do something...I'm not sure what! But I think I'll know what it is when I get there."

"Does it tell you when to go to the bathroom?"

"No-ELL!"

"Sorry..."

"Jimmy, what about that book you found? ...and wasn't there a jar or something..."

"A big bottle, yes. I didn't really get much of a vibe about that..."

"A 'vibe'? You get a face full of green light and you're a psychic now?"

"Can it, squirt! But I think the book is a journal of some kind. Maybe it belonged to...Oh m'gosh! It...it...it _is_ ! This is..." Words obviously were failing Jimmy as he peeked inside the cover of the tome. "Aw, heck, Mom! _LOOK!"_ Phyllis took the journal and immediately saw what had Jimmy in such a state. The first page, in handwritten script, was the title: _Journal of Clark Kent. _On the lower part of the page, the words "Smallville, Kansas" were exed out and "Metropolis Daily Planet" added in.

"Whoa! Coo-oo-ool!"

"That the best ya can do now, brat? What happened to all the smart remarks, hmm?" Noel ignored her brother and reached out to turn the page but Jimmy held the book just beyond her reach.

Phyllis decided it was time to quell the coming riot before it was too late. "All right, that's enough! Noel, you need to settle down, and Jim, you stop taunting her with that book. I think we'd _all_ like to see what's written in it." With that the sibling wars came to a truce and the Kent family sat down together on the sofa, Mom in the middle with the journal in her lap, her son on one side and her daughter on the other. Silently, they began reading the ancient document...


	4. Chapter 4

ShatteredLegacy

A novel by

Steven W. Eden

Superman and all related characters are the copyrighted property of DC Comics

4

Journal of Clark Kent

January 8, 1995

Final semester of college has begun and with it, I begin this journal that Ma and Pa gave me for Christmas. Metropolis University is a long way from Smallville, Kansas, but it is closer to the city I hope to call my home some day. It has been a tough go to get through school, but the work should soon pay off. Prof. Lewis says my writing has improved much since I changed my major to journalism and he sees a great chance for me to succeed in the field. He says he has a friend at the Metropolis Daily Planet named Perry White who can probably get me an internship there. I hope he's been there lomg enough to have some pull. That would be really swell to work there.

"...'really _swell_'? Did people really talk like that back then?"

"Quiet, Noel. Let's read some more."

"Okay, Mom, sure. That'd be really...'swell'."

It was great being home for the holidays. I just wish things were going a little better for the farm. Last year's crop was not as good as expected and it has been harder to get through from season to season in recent years. I asked Pa if I should quit school and help full time on the farm. He would not hear of it. Said that I had a "great destiny" to fullfill and although he loved having me home, he knew I would not find it there. Sometimes I think they see more in me than there really is. I know I can do some things other folks can't, but can I really make a difference in the long run? After all, I'm still just one guy! And I sure don't know all the answers. Heck, I don't even know all the questions! Anyway, classes tomorrow bright and early - and I get assigned my beat with the college newspaper. Hope it's more interesting than last semester. Accounting may be a popular major, but the department leaves a little to be desired when it it comes to news material.

Jan. 9. 1995

Okay, so accounting doesn't seem so bad now! I was assigned my beat today - geology. I don't know if I can write about rocks and make them seem interesting or not. It occurs to me now, though, that the geology staff may be able to tell me something about the green crystal that Ma and Pa keep in the barn. I know it's supposed to be kept secret, but I can't help but wonder what it really is? And why do the meteor fragments in Smallville Museum make me feel so weak and sick? If I make some friends in the department later in the term, maybe I will take a chance, although Pa would never let me get the crystal past the barn door. Sometimes I think he's the one with x-ray eyes! Ha-ha! But it would be nice to get some information about it. Some nights when I'm home. I could swear it is calling to me to come and take it from it's hiding place. I guess it's just my imagination and my desire to know more about why I was found the way I was as a baby. But I have to admit, the urge to go to it is stronger each time I go back home. If it is my imagination, then maybe I need to just get it over with -- tell Pa I need to get it off my mind and take it out of the hiding place. I bet nothing would happen, then I could put it back where it belongs and be done with it. Then we'd all get a good night's sleep for a change.

Jan.17

Met a girl today. Her name is Lori Lemaris. We have two classes together, but I wish we had more. She is so very different and yet I feel very comfortable around her. I''d like to get to know her better and I did ask her if she would like to go to dinner sometime. She turned me down, but politely. Said she had to study. I think she might have thought my interest in her was based on pity for her situation. She is wheelchair bound, but that has nothing to do with anything except that her wheelchair was the cause of our initial meeting.

While I was strolling across the campus grounds, I happened to look up towards a rather steep hill. Just then, this wheelchair with Lori inside came barreling over the hill. She evidently had lost her brakes and the wheels were spinning too fast to touch with her hands. I had to do something, but with so many people in sight, I had to be careful what I could try. A thought came to me to use heat vision to melt the tires on the wheels to slow it down, but stupid me! I melted them too quickly and the chair stopped suddenly, throwing Lori into the air. Fortunately, she came straight at me and I was able to catch her, but I managed to look pretty clumsy doing it - really not too hard to act out for me. Anyway, we started talking as I placed her back in her wheelchair and we found out about our common classes. Then she noticed the melted tires. I couldn't think of an explanation that would protect my secret, but she let me off the hook. Said something about how the wheels must have spun so fast that the friction caused the heat. I just nodded and said "I suppose so," and that was the end of that.

I just wish she were a little more interested in me. I love to listen to Lori talk with that accent that I can't quite place. I asked her where she hailed from and I thought she said Atlanta, but she definitely doesn't sound southern. She sure is a wiz in ancient history class, though. She seems to know more about ancient civilizations than the prof does. In fact, she had him asking her questions by the end of class. She is double majoring in oceanography and geology and that's where we met again - in my geology class. Yep, I changed an elective to take it - I guess rocks were more interesting to me than I thought they would be. Besides, it's a little easier to cover my beat if I understand what it is all about. Anyway, the instructor of our lab paired us up as partners. I hope to see more of her as school progresses if she'll let me.

Feb. 4

Things have certainly taken a positive turn with Lori. She finally agreed to go out with me. Went to a movie at the campus cinema. It was supposed to be a "one-dater" between friends, but we had so much fun together that we've made it a pretty regular thing. My only problem with our relationship is that she insists that she must be back home by 8 o'clock each night, no exceptions, and she says she can have no visitors in her place. I told her the dorms no longer had such tight restrictions, so maybe we could stay out longer? To my surprise, she told me she didn't live in the dorm, but in a trailer about 5 miles from campus. She had promised her folks to abide by the tough restrictions and "a promise is a promise." I guess she just an old fashioned girl, but I certainly admire her integrity. Being from a small town and all, my classmates sometimes laugh at me for my values. It's refreshing to know someone who feels the same as I do about these things. I think I'd like her to meet Ma and Pa. I have a feeling they'd see eye to eye on a lot of subjects.

Speaking of my parents, I got a letter from them yesterday. Pa finally did something I thought he'd never do. He sold part of the farm. Now that was a shocker! He says it was just getting to be too much for him and Ma to take care of and with the last crop being so bad and all, he decided it was time to cut back. I telephoned the two of them as soon as I read that and reminded them that I could come home and do all the work in less time than any 20 hands could, but Pa was adamant about me staying in school and reminded again about my "destiny," and "what's done is done." I told him I couldn't see him just sitting around with nothing to do, then he said, "Well, son, I guess you're right about that. But I only sold part of the farm, so there will still be plenty to take care of here, and Allen Jeffers' family is retiring and moving to Florida. I think I just might buy the general store from him." It will be hard for me to imagine my dad as a shopkeeper after all these years working the farm, but I guess variety is the spice of life. I think I should head back home during spring break and just what's what! Hey, maybe Lori would like to go with me!


	5. Chapter 5

ShatteredLegacy

A novel by

Steven W. Eden

Superman and all related characters are the copyrighted property of DC Comics

5

"Cool. Super - gramps actually had hormones like the rest of us. I always thought of him as this stoic, somber, icon that kind of looked down at the world and showed up to fix things whenever normal people screwed up." Jim looked up from the diary to his mother with an amused expression on his face. "I never would've guessed he could get a crush for anyone...Well, except for great-great-great-great-great-grandma, of course."

"Actually, I believe your great-great-grea..." Phyllis stopped short and smiled back at her son. "You know, I think I like 'Super - gramps', too! I've seen many references to women he'd been enamored with through his lifetime: Movie stars, royalty, extra-terrestrials, even some of his adversaries. Why, I believe there was once a rumored romance with Wonder Woman, but I doubt if that ever really took place."

"Who?" queried a puzzled Noel as Jimmy perked up at the mention of "term paper." Recalling his transgression in history class earlier in the day, he realized the opportunity to erase the black mark in his educational career was laying before him in the lap of his parent.

_Whoa, _he thought, _how weird is this? I need a source for my extra-credit paper and it just...pops up from out of nowhere! I must be living right or something._

Phyllis answered her daughter, "Wonder Woman, dear. She was a super heroine of that era, too. Like Green Lantern, The Flash, The Atom, Aquaman..."

"Jeepers, it sounds like a lot of 'em. Weren't there _any_ normal people back then?" asked Noel.

"A few!" her Mom replied with a smile, "Your great grandpa's closest friend in the 'super-hero' circle was a 'normal' human: Bruce Wayne - Batman."

Jimmy jumped into the conversation, "Hey, I've read about Wayne! He was this really rich dude that practically rebuilt Gotham City back in the late twentieth, early twenty-first century, wasn't he? They found out after he died that he'd been doing the vigilante bit as Batman. Hey, you want to talk about someone that knew some _babes_...!" A cold glare from his mom's eyes reminded Jim where he was and who was there and with a shrug and a sigh, he discontinued his historical anecdote.

Noel only seemed more confused. "Sheesh! If they weren't super-powered, they were super-paranoid! It sounds like everyone back then walked around in their underwear!"

Phyllis thought of an old fashioned video clip she once saw of Madonna and laughed, "If you don't count some of the entertainers of that era, it wasn't too widespread, Sweetie, but the situation was a little different back then. Today, things are so much better now than they once were. There were crime, war, famine, pollution, and poverty. These things are pretty much extinct in our society now, but even the super-heroes had their hands full helping out then."

"Sounds pretty barbaric to me, not to mention time-consuming! They must not have had much time to relax or enjoy the simple pleasures of life...like say..holovision after a long, hard day of school...?"

Phyllis caught the hidden meaning in her daughter's veiled observation. "Okay, I guess we can stop for now. We're certainly _not_ getting any work done in the attic, that's for sure. Go ahead and watch your show. I need to see about dinner, anyway."

As his mother arose from the padded sofa, she handed off the journal to Jimmy. Noel punched the remote and the animated holographic images of "Murphy Mouse" surged to life in the center of the room. Phyllis shook her head and asked her daughter, "Haven't you outgrown cartoons, yet?"

"You'd think so, wouldn't you? Actually, I see them as a low level satire of today's high pressured society and our struggle to cope with the problems we face every day to exist in said society!"

Phyllis stopped in her tracks, impressed! "Really! and _that_ is why you like them?" she asked incredulously.

"Nope, they just make me laugh," said Noel with a giggle, turning her attention back to "Murphy", but the animated rodent's misadventures were now replaced with a news cut-in.

"We interrupt your regularly scheduled program to bring you this special bulletin. Three earthquakes struck almost simultaneously just minutes ago in France, Italy, and here in the United States." Phyllis stopped her trek to the kitchen and returned to the sofa. All eyes in the Kent living room were locked on to the images of ruin and destruction replayed on the news report. The quakes had hit three cities - Paris, Rome, and Metropolis. Panic had painted its colors on every survivor's face in the video. Phyllis was visibly shaken by the scenes of disaster, and feeling now very vulnerable, she longed for her husband's strong protective arms around her and she wondered how soon he could return home.

"...the after-shocks of the Metropolis quake were felt as far away as Texas. Disaster teams are being formed in every part of the globe to aid victims in all three cities. In Paris, the Eiffel Tower shook violently, but did _not _collapse, despite the worst tremor ever felt in Europe. In Rome, thousands of tourists were injured as many of the ancient ruins could not handle the stress..."

Captain Ellsworth clicked off the radio having heard all he could stand. The crew of Yellow Sun flight 1951 looked at each other in silent agony from the newscast just played out in the cockpit. George broke the silence. "He said the tremors were felt in Texas, too! ...Phyllis and the kids...I've got to get back there, Whit! They could be in danger!" He was in near hysterics, waving his hands wildly as he ranted on.

"George, get a grip, man!" Ellsworth had never seen his friend like this before. "It probably wasn't more than a mild shock by the time it got to Fort Worth. Besides, we're almost to Hamilton. You said you were going home from there, anyway. Remember?"

"Yes, but with this news there won't be any flights back home available. Everyone will be heading to Earth to check on _their_ families."

"So just relax tonight and go back with us tomorrow as part of the crew like you were going to do originally. Look, we've all got family on Earth and we're _all_ worried. Hell! My _sister_ lives in Metropolis! But we are en route to Mars and I can't do anything about her until we get to Hamilton. _Jack_ here can't do anything until we get to Hamilton. _You _can't do anything until we get to Hamilton, so you might as well do your job right now and worry about getting back _LATER! _"

Whitney had been stern with his comments, but softened up a bit now as he could see Kent was still beside himself. "Look, George, if it'll make you feel any better, we'll try to get a radio-phone hookup a little later and you can talk to them then, but right now I need my co-pilot and I need him clear headed...Okay?"

George knew Ellsworth was right. There was no way to get back home until the shuttle landed. And Whit certainly couldn't turn around and head back, not with the small amount of fuel left in the reserves. But he also knew something else...

There would be more quakes to come.


	6. Chapter 6

ShatteredLegacy

A novel by

Steven W. Eden

Superman and all related characters are the copyrighted property of DC Comics

6

Phyllis stared at the televised horror, unable to turn away. The tragedy that had befallen Metropolis, Rome, and Paris was displayed before her in life-size, color 3-D images on every channel on the air. She became witness to devastation as she had never known to exist before, her senses shocked at the real-life carnage the victims had been subjected to. Where once there stood mighty monuments to man's architectural skills, she now saw rubble and ruined buildings in every possible state of disrepair. Every so often the corpses of the once robust population could be seen. The news crews tried not to show this side effect of the tremors, but there were just too many bodies to avoid. The anchor of the news bulletin said that "luckily" most of Metropolis was not as damaged as the shots being telecast now, but that the loss of life here and in the other two cities was bound to be in the hundreds of thousands.

Phyllis wept as the shot of the once proud Daily Planet Building, a structure of formerly gigantic proportions, revealed its fate: now leveled to the ground, a mass of broken bricks, torn girders, and dreams torn asunder. The familiar landmark globe, toppled and demolished, now lay in scattered pieces. In Paris, the Eiffel Tower still stood, but no longer completely erect. Its structure, badly weakened and shaken by the quake, creaked and moaned as if it were crying from pain. In Rome, the quake hit a mostly residential neighborhood. The area was littered with wrecked homes and shops and bodies seemingly everywhere.

But Phyllis was also heartened as incredible stories and pictures of courage and compassion began to be told and shown. A young woman saving her mother's life with CPR, a baby sheltered by a man from the building they were in as it crumbled around them, stranger helping stranger at the risk of further injury or perhaps the possibility of death. It gave her strength to see compassion for fellow man so well demonstrated.

For Jimmy and Noel, however, the death and destruction quickly became too much to take and both found other things to distract them from the pestilence. Noel decided to visit her next door neighbor, Sherry Carr, while Jimmy went back to the journal they had been reading before the quakes hit.

Sherry and Noel had been best friends since second grade, enjoying dolls and dress-up, listening together to the latest tunes, and now (unknown to their mothers), trying on make-up and always, always, always talking about boys. Having had her favorite cartoons scrubbed away by the disasters, she sought escape from the horrors of the day and trudged over to her friend's house.

Sherry's mom had tears in her eyes and a telephone in her hand as she answered the door. Noel flustered a bit at this unexpected development. "Uh...Hi, Mrs. Carr," She stuttered, "Is Sherry home?"

"Noel...hi..." Mrs. Carr gasped between sobs, "She's in her room, but she shouldn't..." Sherry's mom stopped short and surveyed her daughter's best friend for a minute and then said, "On second thought, Sweetie, maybe it _would_ be a good idea for you two to play together for awhile. It might take Sherry's mind off..."

_Off what? _thought Noel. _I wonder what's going on here. _Mrs. Carr let her in and she went to Sherry's room. Noel knew this house almost as well as her own and she found her way immediately, but Sherry had been crying, too. This was exactly what she did _not_ need - another downer! "Why are you crying? Are you okay?" _I wonder if she and her mom had a fight or something. _

"It's my dad," replied her best buddy, "He was in Metropolis on business when the earthquake hit, and mom hasn't heard from him that he's safe or not. She's been trying his personal phone and the phone number to the office he's at, but no one is answering. She says she thinks he's right in the middle of it all, but he hasn't called us and Mom's scared and I'm scared, too!"

Noel was dismayed. She had hoped to escape from the dark cloud of despair generated by the news of the quakes. Instead she had found yet more grief. But she couldn't leave her friend in such shape, now, not with such a burden as this. "Well, maybe he just can't get a phone call through right now. I heard on TV that a lot of people can't communicate with others because of communi... communi...because of damage to the phones and stuff. Your dad is probably okay and he'll let you guys know as soon as he can."

Sherry didn't seem too convinced, but it was a straw she could grasp for the moment, so she grabbed it with both hands and held on as tightly as possible. "Yeah...that's got to be it! I'll bet the phone company can't get anyone's message through right now...or...or...maybe he's too busy helping some of the other people that are hurt or...trapped...or...something..." Sherry sniffled a bit and took a brave stance. Looking straight at Noel, she added, "My Daddy's brave! If anybody there needs it, I know he'd help!"

Noel hugged her best friend and replied, "I know he would, too! Just like I'll always be there to help my friend!"

"Thanks, Noe," Sherry said as she pulled back and looked at her buddy with gratitude and appreciation, then suddenly added, "So what's your cute big brother doing right now, anyway?"

What Jimmy was doing was escaping the horrors of the day in his own way. The journal he had found intrigued him and he was anxious to continue reading it. His enthusiasm, by the way, came as a surprise to him as well. Just this morning, he disliked even admitting his relationship to his ancestor, and now he couldn't get enough information about him. _Sheesh! _he thought, _I guess it's amazing what a green-glowing, talking crystal will do for you!_

With the book in hand, Jimmy picked up where his mother had left off...


	7. Chapter 7

ShatteredLegacy

A novel by

Steven W. Eden

Superman and all related characters are the copyrighted property of DC Comics

7

Feb. 11

No matter how much I pleaded with Lori, she insisted that she could not go to Smallville with me. I am very disappointed ! I so wanted her to meet my folks - I think Lori may be the one ! But she said she had too much studying to do. I told her a little break would do us both a world of good, but it was to no avail. I hope maybe at Spring break I can get her to go, and maybe that would be a good time to pop the question...?

Despite my disappointment, it was great to see Ma and Pa again. Ma made my favorite dish for dinner tonight (which is also, coincidentally, Pa's favorite dish, too!). We both ate ourselves silly and Ma seemed very self-satisfied that we did! Tomorrow I will see just what is left of the farm, and do some of the chores for Pa. Of course, I could do all of the chores in a matter of minutes, but Pa hates for me to do that! He says he needs the work to keep in shape, plus it keeps him "focused". I'm looking forward to getting out in the corn field again and smelling the good air. Metropolis is a wonderful city and I hope to live there some day, but I'll always enjoy the quiet and clean atmosphere of home.

Looks like Pa was serious about buying the general store in town. He already turned around the money he made on the sale of part of the farm and bought it from Allen Jeffers. He's pretty sure he can make it work out. I hope so! It seems like an awfully big investment.

Ma says Lana Lang is in town for awhile, too. I think Ma's hoping Lana and I will hook up while we're here and maybe get some kind of romance thing going. I do love Lana, but like a sister, and I think she sees me as the brother she never had, too ! Something tells me I should tell everyone about Lori as soon as possible so there's no misunderstanding. I would hate for anyone that I care for to get hurt in some way like that.

But it would be great to see Lana again. I think I'll look up Pete Ross, too. Maybe a good night out with all three of us down at the Talon would be fun. But that will have to wait until tomorrow. I think a good night's sleep is in order right now...

3:24 am

I thought I wasn't supposed to sweat! But I awoke from a sound sleep with a cold one ! - and all I could think about was the crystal in the barn, I felt it speaking to me once again and this time, I could no longer resist the urge to go to it. I've gone through much of my life learning that there wasn't much on earth that I have to fear, but this definitely had my hair standing on end ! I was not in total control of my myself ! I went to the barn to get the crystal and I **_had no choice ! _**

****It was so very surreal - as if I were dreaming, yet I was not! After awakening, I tried to go back to sleep, but the voices grew louder in my head. they were beckoning me - no ! - summoning me to the hiding place in the barn where rested the strange green crystal that my parents kept ever since the crash that brought me to them years ago. Finally giving in, I decided it was no longer an option to fight the urge. Fear is an emotion that I am not too familiar with - oh, not fear that the girl you ask to the dance will turn you down or fear that you might have angered your parents - but actual fear that bodily harm or that your life is in danger. The closest I've ever come to that kind of doubt was the first time I was exposed to one of the green rocks. But this was different from anything else. I was walking into the unknown with little control over my own actions and mind. Although of a single - minded purpose, I did my best to temper the obsession with caution. Arising from my bed, I ignored the robe by the door as I exited my bedroom and eased my way quietly, carefully down the stairs, into the kitchen, and out the back door. Once outside, I found myself picking up the pace until I was almost at a full gallop.

The barn, of course, was deserted at this hour with the exception of Daisy, our "milk" cow. At this point in Daisy's life, however, she is more of a very big pet. Pa always said sentimentality for the livestock had no place on a farm, but when it became obvious that Daisy was milked out and it was time to "put her out to pasture", Pa was the one who couldn't part with her and found a new excuse to keep her daily. I could tell now that she was glad to see a familiar face when I came in. Evidently, whatever was drawing me here had her on edge, too.

Even with the lights turned on, the barn seemed to ooze with an eerie strangeness I have never encountered before. I made my way through the dreary agricultural accoutrements to the thresher. It was resting upon the trap door to the pit which housed the remains of the means of my arrival to this world. Pa was always careful to keep something very heavy on this spot so as to discourage any discovery of the pit's existence - accidental or otherwise.

I dispatched the thresher with speed and ease and there was the door to the cause of my obsession. I paused only for a moment, but many questions wormed through my mind - Am I really being manipulated by some force or am I simply obsessed with putting an end to a childhood ghost story ? What would happen when I hold the crystal in my hands ? Will it augment the strange powers I possess or destroy them - or perhaps destroy me ? And finally, is this really the right thing to do or am I simply going mad ?

Of course, it didn't matter if it was right or wrong, I was compelled to get the crystal now and nothing would sway me from whatever fate would result from that act. Resolving within myself that all my trepidations were moot, I steeled myself for the worst and opened the heavily armored door.

Within the hideaway niche lay the vessel that bore me from wherever I came from - still intact and seemingly fit for flight if necessary. Next to it, the baby blankets that protected me during the flight cushioned the strange green crystal which apparently was the source of my madness. With nothing to hold it prisoner, the emerald light which emanated from within the extra-terrestrial jewel painted a lustrous sheen to everything in the barn transforming it into something at the same time both beautiful... and frightening. Daisy was now more agitated than ever and lowed her displeasure for the intrusion to her peace of mind, but I could not let that delay me any longer. Unhesitatingly, I reached in and scooped up the crystal.

For a moment nothing - absolutely nothing happened ! I began to think that these "voices" were figments of my imagination - a childhood fancy borne from my curiosity about my origin. I chuckled at the thought of this and how it molded itself into such an obsession. I began to put it back into the hidden chamber, but then something compelled me to stare into the crystal and a world that no longer existed came to life within me ! A city long destroyed towered over me once again and though I had no previous memory of ever having been there, I could feel its kinship to me !A dead language I had never heard before echoed in my brain and somehow - somehow I understood all its intricacies. Within myself, pieces of long forgotten memories - now awakened - began to make sense as the missing patches filled in the gaps as if a mason were filling the cracks in a broken sidewalk. I watched ! I listened ! I learned !

And now...**_I know _**!


	8. Chapter 8

ShatteredLegacy

A novel by

Steven W. Eden

Superman and all related characters are the copyrighted property of DC Comics

8

Flight 1951 was in final orbiting stage around Mars in preparation for atmospheric entry and touchdown at Hamilton Interplanetary Spaceport. As Capt. Ellsworth wrapped up the final checklist, George Kent volunteered, "Whit, I think I'll go back to that breech I repaired earlier and check it again. If I didn't seal it well enough and we have a rough landing, it could burst and cause an explosion back there, maybe hurt someone in coach."

Ellsworth faked the iciest tone he could muster. "Why, _Lieutenant Commander _Kent! One would think you had no confidence in my ability to set this bird lightly on the ground! Are you campaigning to push me aside and land it yourself ? Or are you simply deigning to arouse my frightful wrath by stirring up my righteous indignation ?"

George played along. He knew that Ellsworth was just trying to get him relaxed since their earlier incident. With a big smile he retorted, "Oh _NO_, sir! Not I ! There is _not_ a mutinous bone in my body ! But as we are a democratic society here, perhaps we _should _call for a vote. Whattaya think, Junior, should we toss him out on his ear?"

"I abstain !" giggled Larson, "As a lowly navigator, I need to maintain good relations with whichever regime is in control of this government. Besides, I think you're both puppets of your Yellow Sun masters. _Power to the people _!"

"Well, it would appear that we have a stalemate in our struggle for power," said George. "That's one vote for me, one vote for you and one abstention."

Whitney deadpanned, "Nope, wrong again, insurrection - breath! I'm Captain so I get one more vote than the two of you combined. That makes _three_ votes for me to your one. I win!"

"Ouch! I guess the people have spoken and you get to drive."

"Yep!"

"And I suppose the breach..."

"_Get back there_, George!"

Kent left the laughing crewmen and went back towards the maintenance hatch once again. Doris was just wrapping up her landing speech to the passengers as he entered the cabin. "...and in the event of a water landing, your seat can function as a floatation device. Of course, there is practically no water to land in on the surface of Mars, so I'd say chances are pretty slim you'll get to try that. Please go to your seats when the light goes on and fasten your seatbelts. Please remain in that fashion until the spacecraft comes to a complete stop." George grinned as he passed her and once again entered the maintenance hatch.

Once inside, he gave the recent repair the most cursory of glances. Then in a hushed voice, he said to his tiny stowaway, "Okay, I think you need to tell me more about this. It seems to have already begun! I need to get back to my wife and kids!"

The little micro-man still located in George's ear well sighed as he replied to his larger host, "It would appear that the reaction has begun sooner than expected. We can still save your planet, Mr. Kent, but if we are to do so, returning to Earth will not be possible just yet."

"Hi, Jimmy. Whatcha reading ?" Jim lowered the journal of Clark Kent to be greeted by the visage of little Sherry Carr, who took his glance as permission to climb up on the couch uncomfortably close to him.

"Uh ... Hi there ... Sherry ... It's just a ... little ... thing about my ... mmm ... family history. How've you been doing ? And ... uhm ... Where's Noel, anyway ? I'll tell her you're here ! I know she'd be furious if she missed you. I'll just..."

"Oh, she knows I'm here already."

"Oh?" You'd have thought Jimmy had just entered puberty the way his voice cracked.

"She just had to go to the bathroom, so I thought I'd come talk to you for awhile."

"Oh?"

"And thank you for asking. I'm doing okay for now, but I'll feel better when my daddy calls and we know he's all right. My, but that book looks _old _!Look at all that dust !" Sherry ran her finger along the spine of the tome and came up with an impressive glob of dirt.

"It _is _old and ..._hey_ ! _Stop that _!" Sherry rid herself of her new dust bunnies by playfully wiping them on Jim's shirt shoulder. "That's a new shirt I'm wearing ... Huh ? What did you say about Mr. Carr ? Is he missing ?"

"Yes, and my mommy and I are really worried about him. He's in Metropolis on business and the earthquake hit and he still hasn't called us to say that he's okay. I was feeling so scared until Noel came over and said he probably just can't get a call out right now because of all the problems they must be having there. She made me feel better, but I still feel a little scared."

"Uh-hu-u-uh..."

"But sitting here next to you makes me feel _so_ much better. You just make me feel like there's nothing to worry about !"

"_Whoa_ ! Noel ! Hey, No-_el_ ! Your best friend is here ! You might want to come play dolls or something ... _NOW_ !"

"Oh, we don't play with dolls anymore, Jimmy," Sherry confided.

"You ... don't ...?"

"No, we used to when we were children," Sherry hugged Jim's left arm with both of hers. "But we're mature women, now. We have ... other interests..."

At that, Jimmy jumped what must have seemed like ten feet from the sofa.


	9. Chapter 9

ShatteredLegacy

A novel by

Steven W. Eden

Superman and all related characters are the copyrighted property of DC Comics

9

Downtown Metropolis looked like a war zone. Or, at least, thought Chester Carr, it looked like the pictures of such things he'd seen in history books. Dr. Carr had been lucky. Very lucky. He had been running late today to give a lecture on modern geologic survey techniques at the Metropolis Earth Science Museum when he remembered he had promised to buy something special for his daughter, Sherry. As he was about to ascend the beautiful white marbled steps to the building, he spied a vendor across the street selling souvenirs from an ancient looking pushcart.

For a moment, he hesitated. After all, he was already late and the folks that he was to speak to were the top men and women in the field of geology. They were not accustomed to waiting on anyone, much less a low paid university teacher from Texas with small time credentials and big time ideas. But then, he reasoned, It's _my_ lecture, for crying out loud, and they can't start without me anyway! Besides, Sherry is far more important to me than those stuff shirts, and the old guy with the cart will likely be gone when I'll be ready to leave. They've waited this long without me, they can just sit tight for another few minutes.

Chester crossed the busy street towards the old guy and approached the cart as the vendor was finishing a sale. A young lady was buying a large plush Superman doll for her young daughter, a darling little thing about the age of four. He couldn't help noticing that the doll was almost as big as she was. She had long red hair in ringlets and was dressed in a cute little jumper. She appeared to have been crying earlier and her mother was cooing to her as they left the makeshift mobile sales center, "See, Margot ? Mommy found you a new doll. This one is so pretty! Look at the pretty clothes it's wearing..." Chester couldn't help thinking how much this tiny tot reminded him of Sherry when she was that age and how much he loved her.

"Hey, take a look, buddy!" said the old man, obviously sizing Chester up correctly as an out of towner. He was wearing a baseball cap bearing the logo of the Metropolis baseball team and a matching red warm up jacket. "Lookin' for a keepsake of the Big Apricot? I got whatever you need right here! I got dolls, cards, statues, toys, pins, anything you can think of to remind you of your visit to Big Em! Ya want books? I got 'em right here! Ya want..."

"S'all right, I know what I want," the geology teacher interrupted. "I want _that _right there." Chester, a tall lanky man of 41 years of age, put his index finger on a beautiful oversized snow globe. Inside the crystal ball was a miniature skyline of Metropolis, complete with the Daily Planet building with its trademark sign. Above the tiny rooftops "flew" a red caped figure patrolling this mini-municipality. When the globe was shook, the little Superman circled the circumference of the orb and the grains of "snow" cascaded over everything inside.

"Great choice, pal!" said the pitchman. "It just so happens that I have that particular item on special today. Just nineteen ninety nine!"

"I'll give you ten," said Chester.

"I can see you're a shrewd bargainer, buddy! Tell ya what? I'll sacrifice it for seventeen eighty five!"

"Twelve!"

"Sixteen twenty five!"

"Fifteen dollars and that's all I can go." And Chester gave him a stoic "I don't care" face that put an end to the makeshift auction.

The old man looked at his customer for a moment as if this were the most important decision he would made today and then picked up the globe and gave it to Chester. "I'm making absolutely _nothin'_ off of this sale, but it's the last one I got and you look like you got someone back home that really needs it. Sold! Fifteen bucks! Now, go on. Beat it! Give someone else a chance to break me, will ya?" At first Chester thought he had insulted the man, but as he began to leave, he saw the old timer wink at him with the barest of grins. It made him smile. Unfortunately, that smile would not last much longer.

Chester opened his briefcase and put his newly acquired treasure into a section that seemed almost as if made just for snow globes. Down the block, he spied the little four year old, who appeared to be checking her new doll for defects, while her mother was busy window shopping at a clothes outlet. Closing the briefcase and fastening it securely, he began to re-cross the street to the museum steps. Halfway between the crosswalk, however, he felt a strange rumbling beneath his feet, and he realized immediately that keeping his feet would be totally out of the question.

Before he knew it, he was spread eagled on the pavement trying to hold on as if he were clinging to a rodeo bronco with no bridle. All around him, others were tossing and turning in similar fashion, many with less success than he. And everywhere there was dust and glass and stone. His body ached with the impact of each missile that found him. His briefcase with all his notes and, more importantly, Sherry's toy had gotten away from him now. Stretching as much as he could, he managed to get a hand on the top of the valise as the ground continued to heave. Eight feet away from him, the earth opened up and swallowed four unlucky pedestrians whole, as though they were today's blue plate special. Three women and a man disappeared into the fissure as if Hell itself were summoning them directly to its halls.

Automobiles were thankfully scarce in the twenty second century as they gave way to more modern means of mass transport such as monotube trains and hovercraft. But there were still a few on the Metropolis roads and the drivers were in a panic as they had almost no control with the ground twisting and writhing beneath their wheels. One sedan was thrown twenty feet in the air towards Chester, who thought it was going to fall directly upon him. His eyes locked onto the vehicle, which seemed to hang suspended in mid air for minutes, as he pondered all the decisions of his life and mentally traced the paths which led him to be here now. Only it wasn't minutes. It was more like three seconds, and when man's monument to pollution crashed down, it miraculously missed Chester by mere inches, rolling on its side and crashing into the museum steps which now led up to nothing but rubble.

The once proud building of lore and science was now in a heap, covering everyone who had been inside with stone, slag, and twisted steel.

His ears had ceased to function for the duration of the quake, or so he thought. The cacophony of people screaming, streets ripping apart, buildings tumbling, and debris landing upon him had melded in such a way that seemed to cancel out all sound and replaced it with a dull hum in his brain. But now, it was broken by the faraway echoes of the little four year old crying mournfully in the distance.

Chester found he could get to his feet now. The initial tremor had run its course. Lifting his briefcase and ascertaining the location of the sobbing child, he managed to stagger over to her down the block, where her mother had been window shopping before the earthquake struck.

When he got to her, he found her clinging to her mother's leg and bawling with as much fear as God gave humanity. The building they were near had fared better than the museum, but the window was completely blown out. Momma was not moving. She was cut all over her face and body from the glass and glaze and blood was everywhere. Not hesitating, Chester felt for a pulse and checked for signs of breathing. There was a pulse! It was weak, but it was there. She was breathing, too, thank the Lord! A low moan... that's a good sign. She's going to make it! Chester stroked the little girl's red tresses and told her not to worry, that everything would be all right. Her mother was hurt but she would be okay.

"What's your name, baby? Are _you_ hurt?" stammered Chester.

"My... name's... Kirsten," she managed between sobs, "I'm... okay... I... just... want... my... mommy... to be... all right!" He looked her over and amazingly there was hardly a scratch on her at all. It must have been a miracle she wasn't as injured as her mother.

He took his personal phone from his pocket and tried to call emergency on it, but nothing would issue forth but static. "I guess we'll just have to wait for help like everybody else, Kirsten. How is it you didn't get hurt, anyway? That glass and everything probably should have cut you like it did your mommy."

"It was... my doll!"

"Your doll?"

"Yes! Mommy was looking in the window and I had my doll up in the air over me. I was playing like he could fly! Then when it got loud and everything came down, I had him in front of me and he saved me! He loves me!"

Chester had forgotten about the plush doll. He looked around and found it at the little redhead's feet and picked it up. On the doll's back, sharp bits of glass and rock protruded where they had obviously impacted. Its "costume" was in tatters and the cape was all but gone. But on the other side, the side that had been facing Kirsten, the plush toy was clean as the day it was manufactured. Chester exhaled with a slow whistle as he put it together.

"Ooooohhhh..." The mother was coming around. "What happened? Why does it hurt so much...?" She suddenly remembered she had her child with her before the quake. Looking about and spotting her girl, she took the baby in her arms and said, "Kirsten! Oh, Honey, I was so scared! I thought you were going to be killed! But... you're not even hurt! Thank God! You're not hurt at all, are you! Oh, Sweetie, I'm so glad you're all right! But I'd like to know how you did it!" The lady then noticed Chester and asked him, "Sir, was it you? Did you save my little girl?"

Chester just looked the woman for a minute and sighed heavily. "No Ma'am," he said. "You won't believe it, but it looks like the one who saved your daughter..." He paused as he picked up the doll and showed it to the girl's mother, "was Superman!"

Momma looked at the doll, then her daughter, then Chester, then the doll again.

"Superman...?"


	10. Chapter 10

10

"...I guess it was just a miracle that she wasn't even hurt, just a miracle! And the paramedics tell me her mom is going to be just fine, too. Isn't that fantastic? My heart goes out to them both, especially the little girl. She reminds me a lot of my own daughter back home in Texas. That reminds me. I haven't been able to call my family since the quake hit. They need to know I'm all right."

"If they're watching GBS News, then they know it now, Mr. Carr! Brad, back to you!" The TV reporter paused a few seconds and then thanked Chester for the live interview. She immediately went further into the devastated area presumably to search for more "stories within the story" for the global audience to ingest. He had told her off camera about the death, destruction, and his own near brush with death, but the only thing she was interested in was the story of the little girl and her mother and how Chester had comforted them until the paramedics came. The reporter, in turn, told Chester about the other quakes in Europe and how they all happened at nearly the same time.

As a geologist, this intrigued and puzzled him greatly. What must be going on, he wondered, to have cause such a catastrophe as this ? Three cities at once? What were the chances? He would have to get his reference books and study them when he could get back to his hotel, later. "Hotel?" he muttered aloud. "I don't even know if the hotel still exists now or not! I just hope it's still there!" He knew that his wife and daughter would be worried about him. He just hoped that they saw the TV interview.

Phyllis made the call as soon as she saw Chester on the news but the line was busy. Her neighbor, who usually was very concerned as to how he was attired, was in this case more disheveled than she had ever remembered seeing him. But that was not nearly as important as making sure that Candice Carr knew her husband was still alive.

"Jim!" she ordered, "I'll try the number again, but please get ready to go over there and tell her that Chester is...Oh, good! Never mind. It's ringing! I'll tell her myself... Candice! It's Phyll. I know you've been waiting to hear from Chester ever since this thing happened... Oh, you _were_ watching? That's great. You know he's all right then... No, I don't know what the transportation situation is in Metropolis right now. George is still on a flight and he hasn't called, yet... Yes, I will. I'll let you know as soon as I hear. Try to get some rest now, Candice. I'm glad you don't have to worry any more! Bye!"

As Phyllis hung up the phone, she couldn't help feeling a little envious of her friend. Although Chester was in a decidedly tattered shape, Candice had the peace of mind knowing that he was alive and would probably be hearing from him soon. She wished that George would call and give her that same feeling. Although he was nowhere near any of the earthquake zones, she still had a feeling of dread, as if he were in some sort of danger. _Just call, _she thought. _Just check in!_

"Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the rest of the crew and myself, I would like to thank you for flying with Yellow Sun Space Lines today. We hope you had a pleasant flight and that you will remember us for all your interplanetary flight needs in the future. We remind you that Yellow Sun does connect to all the planets of this solar system as well as our special sleeper flight to Alpha Centauri Five. The temperature on the outside surface of Mars is a chilly twenty-five degrees below zero Fahrenheit, while inside Hamilton Spaceport and the Mars colony biosphere it is the remarkably warm temperature of seventy-two. Of course, the weather inside the sphere is computer controlled and I am pleased to report that current conditions are sunny and mild. The time is nine fifty-one eastern Martian time. Remember to check in at Mars Customs and, again, we'd like to thank you for flying with Yellow Sun Space Lines."

Captain Whitney Ellsworth clicked off the intercom system and looked around the cockpit area at his crew. All the humor that he had exhibited earlier had left his face completely. Now with the utmost seriousness he addressed his colleagues, "Gentlemen, I'm sure that, like me, you are anxious to get in touch with your families and find out just how bad this triple earthquake actually was and how much impact it had on them... On... us. So I suggest that we execute our stand down checklist procedure as quickly as possible so that we may get the Hell out of here with the greatest dispatch possible."

George, like the rest of the astronauts in the cabin, grimly went about his final procedures. It seemed the mood did a complete one-eighty in the few minutes since they set down. Whitt had done a magnificent job keeping them all loose and relaxed with his bad jokes and peppy attitude ever since they had heard the bulletins. But now the job of keeping the passengers safe during the flight was over and all pretense was no longer necessary. All each member wanted to do was to call home.

True to his word, Whitt did attempt to make radio-phone call for George to speak to his family, but he could not get through. Too much interference from all the other interstellar com-links from Mars to Earth made it impossible to connect the call. Hamilton Control was the only party that could be raised and they were only interested in getting the ship safely down.

Quietly and efficiently, the men secured their stations and finally began to make their way to the terminal area. George needed to speak to Phyllis just for the strength she would give him with her soothing reassurances that all was well. He thought it was a little funny that he was descended from the mightiest man ever to walk the Earth and it turned out that _she_ was the strong one of his familyHe would soon hear those words and gain that special strength, for here was the customs check-in table for the flight crew. As he waited in line, his eye caught the sight of a group of demonstrators reminding everyone in earshot that Collyer Colony deserved separation from Earth governmental policy. Nothing radical there, George thought. Just signs and discussion. Doris was ahead of him and was having trouble getting her bag unzipped for the inspector. She, like everyone else he could see, was a little more distracted than usual. She was single, but she had a fiance and they were planning to wed next week. This was to be her last flight until they were married and back from their honeymoon.

"Y'okay, Doris?" said the co-pilot to the lovely flight attendant.

"Yeah, George, I will be once I hear from Duke. He's probably all right, but he's in Rome right now. I'd just like to hear his voice and know that he's not hurt! If this stupid zipper would just cooperate...!" George reached over and gave the tab a mighty tug and the bag opened, spilling its contents all over the table and floor. "Thanks," said Doris, "I guess it's open _now_. All right, Inspector Henderson, do what you've gotta do and get me outta here!"

Henderson complied and soon both Doris and George were heading for the phones.


	11. Chapter 11

11

"George! Oh, thank God! I've been going crazy here waiting to hear from you. You have no idea what all has been going on here." Phyllis let out a breath that felt like she'd been holding since last night.

George, similarly relieved, offered, "I have _some_ idea, Hon. We heard about the earthquakes en route. I tried to call from the shuttle, but there was too much interference...probably from this spaceport. Are you and the kids okay? Anybody we know in any of the cities?"

"So far as I know, only Chester Carr. He was in Metropolis when it hit there, but Candice has heard from him and he's all right. In fact, he's something of a hero. He even made the news. We're fine, too... but... there's more than just the quakes. We've had something happen here that is a little hard to explain... You remember the roll top desk Bruce told us to save for Jimmy?"

"Yes, but that's just a family heirloom, isn't it? Look, if it's been damaged, we can always get it fixed or refinished. I mean, it's not like we have it prominently displayed or anything up there in the attic..."

"No, darling, nothing like that. I think it was something... Kryptonian that happened! I don't know any other way to put it!"

Sensing George's confusion, Phyllis related the strange story of the green aura and the discovery of the three items Jimmy found inside the desk. When she told her husband about the green crystal, he at once began to sound almost agitated with concern.

"Great Scott! If that's what I think it is, then it's definitely something that should be handled with great care! Are you sure Jimmy is okay?"

"Yes, he's fine. In fact, he seems better than usual. Ever since this thing happened, he's been reading that old journal and showing absolutely no ill effects whatsoever. Why are you so worried? Do you think you know what it is?"

"I... I'm not sure, hon. There was a story handed down in the family about something that sounded a lot like what you described. I always thought it was _just_ a story, but now... Listen, darling, if I'm right, it is definitely not something to be trifled with! I'm sure Jim will be all right, but tell him to handle that thing with the utmost respect! What's he doing right now, anyway?"

"He's still reading that journal. It really surprises me, too! For the last ten years he didn't even want to hear the name Superman, and suddenly he can't seem to get enough of him! Noel is back in her room. I think she got tired of the news coverage and put in a video... cartoons or something. We all just ate a little while ago and we should all be ready for bed soon. Now at least I'll be able to sleep a little more peacefully since you've called. When will you be home?"

George winced at the question. This was the main reason he made the call home and now the words were choking him as he forced them out. "I... won't be home right away, darling. Something's come up out here that I have to take care of and I'm not sure how long it will take."

It seemed like all the strength in Phyllis' body was suddenly sucked right out of her at the revelation. She had been reassured by her husband's phone call, but now she was more concerned than ever. "No, no, no. You can't mean that! You can't! We... I need you now. Please come home, George, please!"

"Phyll, you know that's just what I _want_ to do, but believe me when I say that if I don't handle this situation, it will not only affect our family, but trillions of people. Look, just know that I love you and the kids and I _will_ be coming back as soon as I can, okay?"

George's tone was one that Phyllis had heard only at rare times before. A tone that indicated that the decision was made and all efforts to reverse or even to discuss it would be futile. If George says this is that important, it was! She backed off, hesitantly, adding only, "Come home safe when it's over, George Kent. I love you!"

"I love you, too, darling." George slumped a bit as he hung up the phone. "I love you, too."

Doris was in the next phone booth but she was not speaking at all. Rather, she was just staring off into the distance and holding the phone oddly as if she had no idea what she should do with it. Her face was devoid of any emotion - no elation, no sorrow, nothing. Whatever her conversation revealed, it had stunned her so completely that she was practically catatonic. She remained frozen as one of the demonstrators walked over to her and spoke.

"Hey, lady, my name's Chuck. Can I give you a pamphlet about our cause? We think the colonies here on Mars - in particular Collyer Colony - should be recognized as an independent entity and allowed to... uh... Hey! Lady! You all right? Hey! You listening to me?"

By this time George had finished his palaver with Phyllis and began to notice what was going on with his shipmate. He didn't know what had transpired, but he could see it was not good. And the protester guy wasn't exactly helping the situation, either. George stepped over to Doris and intervened. He politely suggested to Chuck that looking up the name of a good dentist would be a good idea as he would surely need one if he didn't leave the lady alone immediately! This proved to be very persuasive as George was a good three quarters of a foot taller than the protester, and appeared to be about twice as powerful. Chuck mumbled something unintelligible and backed slowly away and rejoined his comrades, possibly to discuss the merits of good dental hygiene.

George took Doris by her shoulders and attempted to bring her out of her frozen state. "Doris, what's wrong? Look at me! Tell me what's happened!" he said firmly but gently. Slowly, she looked up at him and began to realize where she was and whispered two words.

"Duke's dead."

Ellsworth and Larson had just cleared customs and noticed their young protege was in distress. As they approached, Doris began to explain in a quiet controlled voice what she had learned in her phone conversation. "Duke and his secretary, Mavis were in Rome to meet a client of his. He works..._worked_ as a talent agent, you know. And he had heard of an act he was going to sign and represent, but the quake hit Rome while they were negotiating. She's a singer - only about nineteen or so - and evidently packed with talent. One thing about Duke, he really knew how to spot them. The building started to come down around them and they tried to get down the stairs to get out. They almost made it...almost..."

"Take it easy, Doris, you don't have to tell us a thing. Just relax. You'll be okay..."

"No, I want to tell you - I need to tell you - just what Mavis told me. As they neared the door, an aftershock hit and it all caved in. They all would have been killed, but Duke shoved Mavis and the girl out the door ahead of him. The building collapsed on top of him. Mavis said he was a... hero... He was a hero!"

Doris forced a weak but proud smile as she repeated, "Duke died a hero!...a hero...Damn it, Duke! Why'd you have to be a damned hero?" and then she crumpled to the floor and sobbed uncontrollably. Her colleagues surrounded her, helped their comrade to her feet, led her to a nearby chair, and gave her the comfort that she so desperately needed.

Jimmy rubbed his eyelids lightly as he settled in for bed. He had tried to call Linda Kaye earlier, but the line had been busy every time. He could only guess the reason. No doubt it had something to do with the earthquakes. It could be they had loved ones or friends in one of the cities. Maybe they had business dealings affected. Linda's dad was heavily invested in the stock market. Her mom was very involved in church work. She might have been comforting someone else affected by the tragedy. Perhaps making calls to many of her friends this evening. Whatever the reason, it was obvious that he would not be making connections with his favorite teen queen tonight.

_Maybe that's all the better_, he thought. _I'm just glad this day is over and things seem to be normalizing now. My stomach still hurts from Moe's sucker punch, not to mention getting knocked silly by that weird-oh green light thingie. At least Mom heard from Dad and she's feeling better now. Mr. Carr is okay and the earthquakes will probably just be another item for another kid's history class someday. As far as I'm concerned, they're all over now! I just want to read myself to sleep and start over tomorrow._

With that thought, Jimmy picked up the journal to do just that, but as he opened the book, he thought he felt another rumbling in the earth, and his intuition was that this was _not_ the end of the tremors.


	12. Chapter 12

12

March 3

It's been about a week since I returned from Smallville. The incident in the barn seems like a dream now, but I know it was real. I continue to retain the knowledge that was revealed to me by the crystal and it just feels right! I have learned my ancestry and my birth parents' names - Jor-El and Lara. I am from a planet that apparently no longer exists called Krypton. My father deduced its imminent doom and built a vessel that sent me here to safety. My parents and everything else on Krypton perished in a great explosion.

_Hmmm_, thought Jim, _I wonder what Jor-El was investigating that tipped him off about the planet exploding?_

Krypton was a larger, denser planet than Earth. That, with my denser atomic structure, and strange effects on me by the radiation of the yellow sun of this solar system has given me virtually unlimited strength and special powers far beyond those of ordinary Earth men and women. These powers have revealed themselves to me at various moments during my teen-age years, sometimes not so conveniently. But thanks to the infinite patience of my adoptive parents, I have managed to harness them. And thanks to their vast wisdom and guidance, I know now how I must use them!

_Yeah, okay! This is stuff everyone on Earth knows about by now. I wonder if there's anything more I can use to satisfy Mr. Weisinger and get my grades up?_

March 5

The visit home was wonderful and I was happy to see Ma and Pa and my friends once more, but that being said, it's great to see Lori again. Every time we are together it is almost like she knows what I am thinking - How's that for compatibility ! Her oceanography class is sponsoring a fieldtrip to the Metropolis Ark this afternoon and she invited me along. I can't wait to be with her. In fact, I can't see myself going through life without her ! I am going to ask her to marry me - tonight !

8:05 P.M.

I didn't get to pop the question ! Things were just a little too crazy to ask her, no thanks to some trouble on our field trip. The Ark is a floating aquarium moored near the dam in Metropolis Bay that houses some pretty unusual sea life. While we were looking at some of the exhibits, a boiler blew up and tore a hole through the hull of the boat. If Pete were here, he'd say it was a "hull" of an explosion ! Ha ! The blast nearly tore the Ark in half and quite a few students went into the bay - including Lori ! Several species of ocean life, both dangerous and rare were also emptied into the water. I managed to use my abilities to help get the other students to safety, but I could not find Lori right away.

Then, as I dove further below, I saw her underwater surrounded by several lamprey eels. She should have been frantic for air by this time, or at the very least, afraid of the eels, but she was very calm as if she were right at home, hosting a party for a few of her more slithery friends. I could swear she looked like she was talking to the lampreys...and they understood her ! As I approached this "tea party", the group swam away instead of attacking her. Moments later, Lori and I surfaced and when I asked her how she avoided being hurt by her "friends" , she said that they must seen me and were frightened away.

After seeing to Lori's and the other students' safety, I secretly rounded up the escaped sea life and saw to it that they were back in captivity and posed no danger to others. By the time I was done, it was almost 7:30 and Lori was back in her trailer. I tried to visit with her, but although she seemed to be happy to see me, she would not let me in.

We agreed to have an early dinner tomorrow night. I hope to ask her to be my wife then !

March 6

Bad news ! Lori says that her parents need her and she must return to her home country tomorrow. I begged her to let me come with her... as her husband. But almost before I got the words out, she turned me down saying. "Our two worlds are too different. It would never work out." But how different could her world possibly be ? I can't help but think back to the incident at the Ark and more questions about her behavior and that of the lampreys pop up. I think I may know the answer, but the only thing that makes sense is just too fantastic to believe. There's only one thing to do. I must go to her trailer tonight and talk to her despite her curfew.

March 7 1:18A.M,

Lori did not answer her door when I reached her trailer. I was worried that she might be hurt and I used my X-ray vision to look inside. I didn't find her, but I did see something unusual - a very large water tank - big enough for a person to submerge completely - filled with salt water. I was certain of the truth now and understood why Lori would not - could not - marry me.

I began to return to my dorm, when I picked up sounds of rushing water with my super-hearing. Apparently, the explosion yesterday did more damage than just to the Ark. The dam had weakened and had just collapsed ! Many houses were already flooded and people needed help ! I decided that this was as good a time as any to wear the costume Ma made for me and to reveal my existence as Superman ! In a split-second, I was in uniform and on my way to the scene.

Who did I find there but Lori, sans wheelchair, in the water doing all she could do to help people get to safety. I now knew before I reached her what her secret was and why this scenario made perfect sense. She no longer wore the long dress or blanket over her lower body and one look at her confirmed my suspicions. Lori Lemaris was a mermaid ! It explained her comfort in the bay with the sea life, the tank of salt water, everything ! She always seemed to now what I was thinking because she did know what I was thinking ! She is telepathic, which is the way she communicates with others like her underwater.

We both got down to the business of saving lives and afterward, we talked - for the first time openly and honestly. It was gratifying to know that she actually felt as deeply for me as I did for her, but it saddened me to know how difficult it was for her to deal with it. Evidently, she had come to the decision to break off our affair while I was in Smallville. It had caused her to endure a lot of tears, but it was the right thing to do.

I knew it was the right thing to do, too. Lori was correct. She could no more live in my world than I could live in hers. We held hands, embraced, and one last time - tenderly kissed. No words were exchanged as we parted and she floated slowly away with the current. Her eyes glistened with moisture that came from no ocean, no bay, only her heart. Then she disappeared into the sea and was gone.

I continued to look out toward the sea for a long while and then I too wept, for "the one that got away."

March 10

It appears that I have no worry about my secret. It seems that nobody wanted to admit to even seeing a "mermaid" and a "flying man" much less being rescued by them. Maybe someday I will see Lori again - perhaps even get to meet some of her people. It's hard to believe that anyone could live in the ocean and communicate - even command - the sea life there. Someone like that would be a great ally to have down the road - Whoops! - down the **_waterway_** ! Ha!

I will miss her though. Although it could never have worked out. I know I will never forget Lori.

At this, Jim could read no further and he was adrift on an ocean of dreams for the night.


	13. Chapter 13

13

Doris was helped to her feet by her shipmates. Larson, who picked up her errant flight cap and other personal items that had fallen to the floor, seemed particularly concerned for her.

"C'mon, Dorie, you're with us now. It'll be alright...", he cooed to her as he stroked her hand and hair. Once, about two and a half years ago, Jack and Doris had been something of an item and it was rumored that they were very close to nuptials. But no date had ever been set and the two drifted away from each other as lovers sometimes do. Right now, though, it was obvious that Jack was concerned more than the usual casual friend as he continued to comfort her.

Ellsworth looked a little uncomfortable as he did his part, too, softly patting her back. George felt that his two comrades could see to the young flight attendant's needs and after giving her a quick hug, got confirmation that they would, indeed, take care of her and see her to her apartment. He didn't feel right about leaving them alone in this type of situation, but he had a situation of his own he had to see to right now. And this one involved a lot of people on two worlds.

When he gave his apologies to the rest of the flight crew, they seemed to be very understanding, thinking that he was only being concerned for his own family. He didn't bother correcting them. Phyllis and the kids _were_ uppermost on his mind, but he was about to embark on a task to which he felt obligated due to his alien heritage. In doing so, he might just be able to help out the situation on Earth as well.

_Where to start?_, he thought. _Ahhh...yes! A suitable space vehicle needs to be chartered first. After that, gear and provisions will have to be obtained for the flight ahead._

Hamilton spaceport was an enormous complex of shops, restaurants, exhibits, and the like. Also housed within this titanic area of commerce were, naturally, businesses that specialized in aviation in both atmospheric and space flight. George needed a light spacecraft immediately with as few questions to answer as possible, so of course he completely avoided these businesses and instead entered the seediest, nastiest looking barroom he could find.

The clientele included the seediest, nastiest looking people George had ever seen. He bellied up to the bar and ordered a whiskey which he had no intention of actually drinking, but he supposed hard drinking men who did deals under the table preferred to deal with other hard drinking men.

George hoisted his new prop in a silent toast and observed the bartender who was busy polishing a glass. He was a very large man with a no-nonsense attitude and appeared to have seen many underhanded operations in his day. George set the glass back on the bar and took his shot. "Know anyone here who has a space worthy shuttle or runabout for charter ?"

The bartender continued to polish the glass and didn't even look George's direction as he answered, "If you came from the boarding and departure area, sir, you just passed the business district. Surely, you must have seen some of the space charters as you went by? There's one just across the mall. I think it's called..."

"Ahhh, this would be a charter that asks no questions... uhm... What's your name, pardner? I can't just call you barkeep?"

Barkeep finally took visual notice of George with a sideways glance. "It's Percy, sir. But I would appreciate it if you would call me P. T. Some of these 'gentlemen' seem to think my given name is a little... humorous. As for your query, you seem to want something that sounds dishonest, if I may be so blunt. That is an endeavor to which I would not be an active participant. Further more, continued discussions of that nature could be reason for ejection from my establishment. So I ask you politely this once: Please cease and desist from this current line of questioning."

"Oh! Uh... sorry, Mister P. T. I just thought that..."

"You just thought that this tavern seemed like a likely place to find cutthroats and blaggards and that this was the logical place to do underhanded business. Well sir, I resent the insulting implication and with great resentment, I must ask you to peacefully leave the premises."

George was flabbergasted with embarrassment over the incident. "I'm sorry, P. T. I didn't realize that I... I just needed... I really do apologize! Please accept my..."

"Please do not make this any harder, sir. Just leave immediately... And after you exit the tavern, take a left and pass three businesses then turn right and enter the Chez Paris restaurant. Ask for Jennifer. She will be much less resentful than I to your inquiries."

Looking stunned for a moment, George obeyed the behemoth bartender and followed the directions exactly. In no time, he found himself in a very swanky environment. It looked like the kind of place that would cost you a small fortune just to think about eating here. A tall thin maitre d approached and asked with a condescending look and a very obvious French accent, "Welcome, monsieur, to Chez Paris. I am Francois. Do you have zee ray-zer-vay-see-own?"

"Do I have what? Oh! A reservation! Heh-heh! Actually, I didn't come here to eat, Francois. I was told I should meet with Jennifer...?"

Francois' eyes suddenly bulged in his sockets and his demeanor changed completely from disinterest to guarded importance. "Follow me!" was all he said, and he led George to a private room in the back of the restaurant. He entered to find a beautiful redheaded woman, nicely proportioned and looking to be in her mid thirties. She was wearing a skintight outfit with leopard spots tracking all along the material . Down the sides of each leg and up along the torso and arms, the outfit was buttoned in such a way as to create peepholes. The front of her outfit was almost non-existent. She was sitting at a custom wet bar nursing a martini and her expression peaked with interest as he assessed George's physical attributes.

"Dis guy asked for ya, by name, Boss! Ya wanna see him or should I eighty-six da bum?" George marveled at how Francois had lost the fancy accent.

"No, Frankie, I'll see him. Just be close by in case our guest becomes... unpleasant."

"Check! Me and da boys'll be right outside. Just whistle if ya need some muscle." With a sneer that gave a George a shiver, Frankie slammed the door and was gone.

"My, but _he's_ charming!" George whispered as Jennifer continued to give him the once-over for a second and third time.

"What he lacks in charm, he more than makes up for in efficiency. Would you like a drink?"

"No thanks." _This is beginning to sound like one of those old B-movies from the 2oth century that Phyllis likes so much._ "You're probably wondering why I wanted to see you."

"It's all right, I already know."

"You do?"

"Of course! You're here for the spaceship, aren't you? It's all ready to go"

"It's... all... huh? How did you know..."

" I _love_ the uniform, by the way. Nice touch! You look very... well, let's just say you fill it out _very_ well! You know, it makes you look somewhat... familiar to me, too, but I can't seem to place it right now..."

George was completely confused. It was only minutes ago that he had broached the subject with the bartender. Either P. T. made a quick phone call to Jennifer or he had stumbled onto something he wasn't supposed to stumble onto! Now, he was stumbling over his own words, "W - w - where is it? How will..."

"...You know it? It's in a shuttle in Hangar 7716. You'll find it easily. It's the seediest, nastiest looking hangar in the Long Field quadrant of the spaceport. I hear it's been sold, though, and due for extensive renovation. The shuttle's been stocked with plenty of supplies and provisions. And, of course, your cargo... You'll know what to do with that, I'm sure. But the computer has complete instructions in a hidden file. Just type the phrase, 'boring swan.' Here are the keys. Now, go. If I ever see you again, it will be as if we had never met."

_Actually, I was going to ask her how do I pay for it?_ George thought,but he realized that it would be in bad form to ask that now. For the moment, all he could think to say was, "Uh... Goodbye!" As quickly as he could without breaking into a run, George left the lavish lounge and headed straight for the restaurant's main exit. Once clear of the doorway, he lost himself into the massive crowd of consumers going this way and that.

It was all he could do to take a deep breath and let it out slowly. George wondered silently what he had gotten himself into. Smuggling, maybe? Or gun running, perhaps. He felt the rush of adrenalin in the veins of his arms, legs, and head and knew that he would again have to deal with Jennifer's people once they realized that he was not the man they were expecting to meet.

_It all comes down to how long it takes before the real guy shows up. It does not matter whether I take their bird or not, they will be after me regardless. And I can make better time with it than without it, _he thought. _And since I need it anyway..._

Jennifer switched on the holovision and poured herself another martini.

_To success, _she silently toasted, _When we get through with this operation, I'll be the richest broad on two planets! _Exactly 78 seconds had passed since George left _Chez Paris _when Frankie, a.k.a. Francois came hurriedly into Jennifer's lounge and said excitedly, "Boss! Somebody is out in the lobby and he says _he's_ the guy who's supposed to take the shuttle!"

Jennifer dropped her drink, the glass shattering into thousands of tiny shards. She glanced up at the holovision as a commercial for Yellow Sun Space Lines began to air. There in magnificent 3D-TV was the very gentleman she had just entrusted her plan, the spaceship, her very future to! She must have seen this commercial a hundred-fifty times before! Now she knew why he looked so familiar! He was just the damn company spokesman, for Heaven's sakes! And he was about to take off with everything that had been in planning for three and a half years!

Following Frankie into the room was the same protester who had been hassling Doris earlier that evening. "Lady," said Chuck, "I think you've got a problem... a big problem!"

_Oh, Hell! What'll I tell the people I've been dealing with_, she thought, _They're the kind that do not like excuses! I had better clean this up and fast!_ _But how am I going to find this guy? _She watched in frozen agony a few seconds longer until the words, "George Kent, Co-Pilot" appeared below the image of the impersonator.

Pointing at the viewer with newfound sense of hope, she screamed as loudly as she could to Frankie, "Get George Kent and Kill that S. O. B.!"


	14. Chapter 14

14

Phyllis was having a hard time trying to sleep. George's phone call kept playing and re-playing in her mind. What could it be that required him to remain off-Earth when she needed his inner strength here, now more than ever?

For that matter, she didn't understand why she was so upset about the tremors. She had never been like this before, always facing adversity head on with hardly a whimper. This Nervous Nellie stuff was completely new to her. Why, she had stood up to... _what? What_ had she stood up to? It was happening again, damn it! A fragment of memory starts to play in her head and then - BANG! ZOOM! It's completely gone! _Why can't I get a grasp on these vague recollections? _she thought. _Why can't I retain them?_

She began to think back as far as she could - nearly twenty years ago - back to when she awoke from what the doctors said was a coma that had lasted for at least four days, and possibly longer.

"Well hello, Princess!" whispered a very mild mannered and very good looking man.

Four days earlier, this same fellow was navigating a moon shuttle and as he took a look out through the port, a flash of light seemed to reach up from the Earth and caught his attention. "Captain Ellsworth, I just picked up something, not sure what… exactly…"

"Well, Mr. Kent, around here we kind of like to deal with 'exactly.' Do you have anything of a more substantial nature to report?" Using a combination of the ship's navigational tools and his own telescopic vision, one of the few super-powers passed down from his great ancestor, George managed to pinpoint the location of a small craft a few miles off the Florida coast.

"It appears to be… a raft, I think - uh - I mean it is _definitely_ a raft floating just north of the Bermuda Triangle… and it is in very bad shape."

"How did you pick _that_ up from out here? One little raft drifting around in the Atlantic? I heard the scuttlebutt about your lineage, but I thought…"

"…That I had no powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men?" George grinned. "Pretty much true, but Great Granddad did leave me some mighty amazing eyeballs. Can't see _through_ anything, but if it's far away or itty-bitty, I can… Wait! There's a body out there on the raft! It's a woman…" _An incredibly beautiful woman, too!_ he thought. "I think she's alive, but she's not moving around too much! Captain, I believe we should report this to the authorities!"

"That would be the U.S. Coast Guard, Ensign. I agree. Get on the horn and get the ball rolling."

"Sir?"

"Your find, your call, mister. I just wish I could see their faces when you tell them you _saw_ this raft from out here!"

After George's call, the Coast Guard launched a rescue copter within the hour to the coordinates he gave them. The raft had drifted a bit by that time but it was found in short order. They found an unconscious survivor strapped down so as not to fall into the sea and clutching a small hand mirror. They rushed her to a Miami hospital where she was listed in serious but stable condition.

George couldn't get the beautiful survivor out of his head. Once his flight touched down, he made arrangements to travel directly to Miami to see close up the young lady he had found. The doctors weren't too keen about letting him in, but one young intern recognized him from a Yellow Sun commercial and convinced his older colleagues that considering his ancestry, George's story was very likely the truth, and they relented. The room was quiet when he entered as the medical staff had already begun to thin out.

_She's even more beautiful up close than when I saw her from above_, thought George. The wires and tubes attached to the lass seemed inconsequential - almost invisible - to him as he studied each nuance of her features and fell madly in love with each one. _The docs say she's suffering from a coma. I wonder how long she's been out?_ He stayed at her bedside until a thin man with a goatee and white lab coat joined them.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Plastino. I understand you're the fellow responsible for bringing in our young guest, here. Mister… Kent, isn't it?"

"That's right, doctor. I was just wondering about her prognosis. The staff told me she was in a coma…"

"Yes, the news is both good and bad, I'm afraid. There's not a thing wrong with her other than that, and of course, dehydration is something you expect with someone stranded out at sea. It's amazing that she is alive at all, much less in such good shape physically. As for how long Phyllis stays in the coma..."

"Excuse me, doctor? Phyllis...?"

"Oh, yes. I kind of gave her that name. She reminds me of my eldest daughter, so much so that I accidentally called her by the same name today. Suits her, I think. But as I was saying, we have no way of knowing, really, how long she remains comatose. She could be this way for a long time. Weeks, months, perhaps… Or she could wake up the moment I stop talking."

Both men looked at her silently, as if hoping Plastino had just spoken the magic words would bring her around, but no such enchantment was in the works this moment. Instead, George took up a vigil by her bedside and remained there until, four days later, Phyllis' eyelids fluttered a bit, opened, and she wearily perused the form of the man with whom she was fated to start a family.

"Well hello, Princess!"

"Uh... Hello... I guess..." Phyllis looked all around the private room as if she had never been in one before. The surroundings were unfamiliar and that was very unsettling, but the pleasant fellow at the side of her bed made her feel warm and protected despite all that. That smile of his was certainly a winner, and the "princess" comment gave her a sense of belonging, too.

"In case you're wondering, you're in a hospital," George confided as warmly as he could.

"Yes, I figured that one out," she retorted with a smile of her own. "What I can't figure out is what hospital? What... city? What country, for that matter. And who are you? Are we acquainted in some way?"

"Boy, for a girl from a sinking life raft, you ask a lot of questions! We're in Miami, Florida, U.S.A. And no, our only rendezvous was here after you came in, but I _was_ the guy who found you. George is the name. George Kent. And what about you, Princess? What's your name and how did you end up on a leaky life raft in the ocean?"

"It's very simple, my name is... I'm... I was out there because... uh... This is going to sound very funny, George, but I... I just can't seem... to remember who I am. You say I was on a raft? In the ocean? How did you find me? Do you work on a ship?"

"Sort of," George smiled that smile again. "But that's not important right now. I think instead we should call Dr. Plastino. I think he'll want to talk to you." George simultaneously pushed the nurse's call button and picked up the phone. He had promised to dial up the doctor as soon as his patient came to. "Dr. Plastino, Phyllis is awake, and I think you should see her immediately... Well I'm no doctor, doctor, but I believe I know the condition called amnesia when I see it... Yes, I agree. It would be a good idea to let you do the diagnosis... Yes, that is why I called you... Great then, we'll see you shortly?"

"Phyllis...?" said the puzzled patient.

"That's what they've been calling you, here," said George as the nurse entered the room in response to his call. "Don't worry about it. It's a long story."

"Well, it doesn't look like I'm going anywhere," she said as she repositioned herself with the nurse's help into a more comfortable configuration. "You might as well tell me all about it, but keep calling me Princess. I like it!"

In the days that followed, Dr. Plastino administered to his newly revived charge with tests, therapy, and examinations. All the while, Phyllis and George became closer and closer. After two weeks The doctor surrendered.

"George, Phyllis, I'm a pretty good physician and I know my specialty well enough to be in some pretty elite company. But I am at a standstill on this case and I do not think I will be any closer to solving it any time soon. I haven't even been able to determine, Phyllis, if your present condition is due to blunt force trauma or a psychological repression of some sort."

George was quick to ask the next question. "What kind of recourse do we have, Doctor?"

"Oh, so it's 'we' now, hmmm?" Plastino offered with undisguised amusement. "There aren't too many options, actually. You can continue treatment here, but to be honest, there isn't much more we can do that we haven't already tried.

"Option two is that you can just accept the hand you've been dealt. Phyllis, you have been given a rare opportunity. No matter what your past was, you can start all over again with this new identity. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to just move on. You can become _whatever_ this new person you are now can become."

"And option three?" asked the Princess.

"Option three, and this is my recommendation, is to get a new doctor. Like I said. I'm very good, but I know someone who is better. He's recognized as the top man in the field to be exact, and I've already been in contact with him. He's anxious to look into your case and he's ready to start you immediately. His name is Kurt Schaffenberger, and I have his number right here."

George took the hand scrawled note from Plastino. "This is not a Miami number, doctor."

"No, it's not. Schaffenberger is located in Texas. Fort Worth, I believe. It's been a medical mecca for years. They have a health - science center that is making breakthroughs in every field there every day. But Schaffenberger is the key, not where he practices. If anyone can bring back your memories, young lady, this is the man to do it!"

There was not a lot of discussion. The two of them quickly resolved to see the new doctor. George managed to get Yellow Sun Space Lines to transport her to Texas, and he was at her side every inch of the way. He used every ounce of pull he had with the company as their spokesman and took some accrued leave in order to stay with Phyllis through her transition with Dr. Schaffenberger.

George loved Phyllis. He fell for her at first sight and immediately resolved to do whatever it took to remain with her for the rest of his life.

Phyllis loved George, too. Although she was an amnesia victim - she could not remember a thing before opening her eyes and seeing George - she somehow knew that she had never felt anything this strong for a man before.

The reporters loved the story, running banner headlines like "Superman Descendant Saves Woman" and "Marooned Woman Found By Super-Friend." In the first weeks of her recovery, there wasn't a day that went by that the press did not run a story about Phyllis' rehabilitation or her relationship with George.

Yellow Sun loved the publicity and saw to it that George could have all the time he wanted with the beautiful refugee... as long as their name kept popping up in the news. As far as they were concerned, George was more than earning his pay as a publicist.

Schaffenberger turned out to be an excellent find. A large man with a full salt and pepper beard, he made it clear that there would be no miracle cure just over the horizon but that he would continue to do his best to unravel the mystery of Phyllis' past. He worked as hard as he claimed he would, too, but he never put Phyllis through any more anguish than necessary.

As time went on and Phyllis continued her therapy, George felt the need to resume his career and still remain close to Phyllis, so he made arrangements to move to Fort Worth permanently. Finding the right place was almost too easy. The realtors were practically begging for George to move into one of their listings, and he found a wonderful spot on the west side of town - just the right blend between old and new.

Phyllis loved it! She could still remember that evening when he brought her to "his place" and as she was taking the tour of the house, he asked her if she would like to make it "our place." Phyllis turned around to see George kneeling on the hardwood floor with an engagement ring in his hand.

"Princess, from the moment I first saw you, something - call it premonition - call it destiny - call it delusion - I don't know - but whatever it was told me that I wouldn't be able to live one minute more without you by my side. These last few weeks have only reinforced that belief. You would honor me in the highest by becoming my wife, and I will love, protect, and cherish you forever if only you will have me."

Tears flowed as emotions she could not remember ever having before swept though her heart and soul. Her brain told her that George was the only man she had taken the time to know in this strange new life, that she should meet and go out with others, and see if her feelings for George were only the result of gratitude for being rescued by him. But her heart had a much louder voice and it said very clearly that her feelings for this man were definitely the real thing. Although her past life, for now, was still a dark mystery to her, she somehow sensed that she had never before felt the need for a man to watch over and protect her, but for some reason, George was different, and there was no need to hesitate. Through the stinging wash of happy teardrops she surveyed her "Superman" for a moment that felt like forever, and realized that growing old with anyone but George L. Kent would be a big mistake - and growing old _without_ him would be a bigger one.

"George," she said in a quietly quivering voice, "You've given so much more to me than a new life. You've given me joy and love and laughter... Yes. I will marry you."

George, frozen in his kneeling pose, appeared a little stunned, even though he had received the answer he had been hoping for. For a full fourteen seconds, he tried to pass some sort of communication through his lips, but all that he could do was to continue to gaze at Phyllis with a goofy grin on his face. Finally, some words issued forth. "Great...!.. I... uh... I'm just _so_ glad you said yes because if you had said no... well, it would sure have made the rest of the date really awkward!"

At that, they fell together in a happy embrace, laughing and crying uncontrollably as if nothing in the world mattered but their love for each other, and in this moment - for the two of them, anyway - it probably did not.

The recollections of those happy first weeks together with George brought Phyllis the peace and contentment she needed to push aside the events of the day. Turning over in her bed, she finally settled into a quiet, serene slumber.

Then came the rumble from within the Earth.


	15. Chapter 15

15

"Did you feel that!" cried Jimmy as he sped into his mom's bedroom. "It felt like one of those earthquake things again! Mom? Are you okay?" Noel, also awakened by the tremor, walked into the bedroom a little more calmly than her older brother.

"Yes, honey. It's all right," said Phyllis wearily. She glanced at her alarm clock. The time was five-forty-six in the morning. It didn't feel like it, but she must have been asleep almost six hours. "From the way it felt, it must have actually happened somewhere far away from here. We're going to be all right."

Noel looked at her mother with more concern than fear. "Do you think it was Metropolis again? An aftershock, maybe?"

"I didn't think you knew anything about aftershocks."

Noel shrugged, "We studied earthquakes in science class last year."

"Oh... No, I don't really know if this was in Metropolis or any of those other cities. Maybe we can find out if we turn on the holovision. It's bound to be on the news, don't you think?"

Jimmy did the honors and the three of them watched in rapt silence new images of destruction with graphics that read "Live - New York City." The news anchor continued to inform the public, "Once again, three more earthquakes have occurred within a half hour. One in London, one in Moscow, and of course, the one we are showing aftermath shots of right now, New York City. the Richter scale is not yet available, but experts that we have contacted say that each quake was probably as high as the ones that rocked three other cities yesterday. Despite this, the early estimates of casualties in New York are surprisingly low as officials there were put on alert following the Metropolis quake. Also at the time of that quake, in the middle of the night on the east coast, most people were asleep in their homes. New York, of course, has had highly reinforced buildings since the early twenty-first century after the infamous terrorist attack of September Eleventh, Twenty-oh-three. Officials there are already crediting these special buildings with saving a number of lives that were in potential danger from this latest natural disaster.

"Meanwhile, in London," continued the anchor as the images and graphics changed accordingly, "the famous Big Ben which has been a major landmark of that skyline, sustained such heavy damage that officials there say it may never be repaired. Buckingham Palace was also damaged , but the royal family was unhurt..."

Noel crawled up into the bed with Phyllis and began to hug her mother like she hadn't done since she was eight. Jimmy kept his concentration on the pictures from the ravaged areas as if stunned. Then, quietly he spoke, "Three cities yesterday. Three more today. I believe in coincidence, but this is too much of one. There must be something that ties these cities together. I wonder what it is?"

"There's a link to this! There's always a link! Gentlemen! Ladies! Somewhere, some way, somehow there is a common thread to each one of these events and our task must be to find it. Who's to say what is next? The Earth itself may be dramatically weakened by these tremors that have presented themselves to us in such a very short time. I beg of you, ladies and gentlemen, we must find this common thread now! Before it is too late! For if we do not, I fear this thread may unravel the final fate of our planet!"

Chester Carr agreed completely. He was part of a group of scientists that had been hastily assembled following the latest tremors. He was considerably surprised that he was asked to join the quorum. _Must be my new-found celebrity status_, he thought, _or else I'd be just another rockhound waiting for the press release from these guys. _The man speaking at the moment was Professor Carmine Infantino, a man of obvious great passion who was to have chaired the seminar that Chester had come to Metropolis for as a lecturer. Professor Infantino would have died in yesterday's rubble, except that like Chester, he was late arriving that fateful morning.

"Everything you're saying makes plenty of sense, Professor, but just what are we looking for? And will we be coordinating our search with anyone in the other quake zones?"

"There are already people being organized in all the other sites. I just spoke to a learned colleague of mine in New York before this meeting came to order. As for what we are seeking... Anything! and everything! We will compare findings on an hourly basis until a common denominator has turned up. Make no mistake, something has weakened the very structure of our world. A network of destruction has begun and we must discover a way to halt its deadly spread!"

A determined Chester Carr was more than willing to do his part in stopping it. And he decided the best place to start was back where it had begun for him.

George Kent was most assuredly _not_ Superman! He couldn't fly, he hadn't super-speed, and he certainly was not invulnerable. As soon as he went out the doors of Chez Paris, he broke into a gallop and put as much distance between the restaurant and himself as he could. He was, thankfully, physically fit. His employers had insisted that due to the promotional work he did, George was to undergo a very strict exercise and diet program to keep him as svelte and as "super" - looking as possible. Until now, he never particularly cared for that clause in his contract, but right now all he could think of was _Bless you, Yellow Sun! _

George knew the Hamilton complex as well as anybody. The area Jennifer had spoken of was just ahead. Now, if only he could find hangar 7716 before she realized her mistake and dispatched large burly men to teach him how difficult breathing can really be. He assumed that would be her next move. She certainly appeared to be a part of an organization that would use violence on a regular basis. In this day and time, most crime had been eliminated, but greed and avarice have no timeclock, and with the current political climate on Mars, unscrupulous types seem to crawl out of the woodwork like cockroaches to take advantage of the situation.

George didn't want to wait around to find out what was motivating these people, he had priorities of his own that superceded anything else. Besides, once his newfound mission was accomplished, he could make sure the authorities became aware of the extracurricular activities of Chez Paris.

There was the hangar just ahead! George began to slow his pace as he neared the entrance. Jennifer wasn't exaggerating - this site was in terrible need of repair. He slowed to a brisk walk now, and took the keys out of his pocket. Giving a quick glance in each direction, he fitted the hangar key into its slot and opened the door. Once inside, George took one more look outside just in case Jennifer's friends were right behind. No unsavory types appeared to be coming this way, but in this zone anyone could be on an illicit payroll. Kent decided it would definitely be in his best interests to get out of there fast.

Closing and locking the door, he turned around expecting to see a spacecraft as run down and rickety as the hangar that housed it, but saw instead a sleek state of the art model built for speed - a Reeves 51 Stellar class runabout. _Looks like Jennifer knows a good ship when she sees one_, he thought. The craft was large enough to transport six people in comfort and carry a substantial tonnage of cargo, yet streamlined and small enough to outrun most any other vessel that might be in pursuit. It must have cost a pretty penny.

"Well, Mr. Kent?" came the voice from inside George's ear, "Have you found the proper vehicle for our needs?"

"I think so..." he answered as he admired the spacecraft's design. "Yes, I believe it will do very nicely!"

Noel, with her nose buried in the journal of Clark Kent, shuffled slowly into the kitchen to join her mother and brother . "What's for breakfast, Mom?" she mumbled as Phyllis sipped a hot cup of coffee.

Despite the frightening news of the day, her mom couldn't help but chuckle at her daughter's demeanor. Noel had not been up this early on a Saturday since she had outgrown the early morning kids shows on holovision. Seeing her with a book in her face was a bit foreign, too. These days kids preferred to get all their information and literature from a computer terminal. She wasn't sure that many children had even seen a book except in museums. Somehow the sight of her daughter reading an honest-to-goodness, actual, bound book gave Phyllis a sense of comfort that she wasn't sure she understood, but welcomed nonetheless.

"I'm afraid I've been slacking a little this morning, honey. I've been watching the news of the earthquakes on the television."

"The what...?"

"The holovision. Isn't that what I said.?"

"No. You said 'television.' What is _that_?"

Phyllis noticeably paused and looked confused, then offered, "It's a two dimensional picture that was transmitted in the early days of electronic communication. Now why would I say _that_?"

"I don't know, Mom. But you know more about those olden days than anyone I've ever met." Noel flashed a devilish grin and jested, "Maybe you lived back then!" Both Noel and Phyllis laughed at the insult.

"Now, you're treading on thin ice, little girl! Just for that, you can fix your own breakfast. There's some cereal in the pantry and milk in the fridge." Phyllis giggled with her daughter once again, but she couldn't help but wonder why she would make a slip of the tongue like that.

"Mom, what cities have had the earthquakes again? Besides Metropolis, I mean?"

"Let's see, besides Metropolis it was Paris, Rome, Moscow, New York and London."

"Hmmm... that's kind of interesting..."

"What's interesting, dear?"

"In this journal that Jim found, every one of those cities is named in this entry."

"Really? Probably just a coincidence," said Jimmy as he entered the kitchen. "I mean, that was written a couple of hundred years ago."

"Maybe," said his mother. "But in geologic terms that barely qualifies as a moment."

"Yeah!" sneered Noel with as much righteous indignation as she could muster. "Besides, didn't you say that there had to be a connection between all these cities? Well, this is the first, and so far, the only connection I've found! You want to take a look, big boy?"

Jim had to admit that his curiosity was piqued. He poured a bowl of cold cereal for Noel and for himself and sat down at the table. "Okay, Squirt. It's your big moment! Show me!"

Noel opened the tome and sat down beside her big brother. Their mother decided the news coverage could wait and read along with her children.


	16. Chapter 16

16

June 21, 2000

I failed ! Never before have I ever felt so powerless against a foe as the one I faced in the last few days. He calls himself Brainiac, and as evil as any enemy I have ever faced. It began when Lois and I were covering the space shuttle's latest trip. Lois had the honor of being the first reporter in space.

Her training had her on a rigorous schedule for months, and when the time came for the launch, she was more than ready to go. I had told her how worried I was that she was on the trip and of course she thought I was being silly. She said, "Clark, you've got to stop being so afraid all the time. It's sweet of you to worry about me, but what good is it to be alive if you don't live ? Chance is a challenge we have to live with every day and I wouldn't be me if I didn't meet it head on. Oh, I don't mean taking stupid wild chances, but calculated ones where the odds of success are enhanced. I've been training for this for a long time ever since NASA picked me for it, and I'll be darned if I pull out of it now just because some mild mannered reporter got a little antsy about it."

As Clark Kent, I reluctantly agreed but as Superman, I decided to keep a closer watch over the project. I'm glad I did. The launch went smoothly and the shuttle reached orbit with no problems. I imagine Lois was pretty excited about being aboard as the spacecraft soared above the Earth. I've seen my adopted planet many times from that vista, but each new time is as awe inspiring as the last.

They continued orbiting the first day and even got in a spacewalk. Lois was tethered safely to the ship, but she was outside of it. She said later that she got lots of pictures of Major Robert Maxwell as he retrieved a small communications satellite that needed repair. They probably could have used the robotic arm in the cargo hold, but as the Major said, "Any excuse for an E.V.A.!"

"What's an E.V.A.?" asked Noel.

"Extra-vehicular-activity," answered her mother.

"Where do you get this stuff?" queried Jim as he looked on, astonished, at his mom's quick response.

His mom was a little surprised at herself, too. "I... don't know. It just came to me, that's all. Maybe I read it somewhere sometime."

The kids looked at each other with that "I don't know her, do you?" look and then went back to the journal of Clark Kent.

The next day was spent docked with the new space station that our country and others are building. That's one place I haven't been, yet, It must a great place for keeping a long distance eye on the world. The only place that might be better would be the Moon. I think I'll remember that for later reference.

On the third day, the shuttle left the space dock and began its trek back home, when an alien spacecraft emerged from behind the Moon and began firing some sort of weapon at the shuttle. I was flying near by just to check on Lois and saw the attack. Fortunately, I stepped in front of the onslaught before any real damage could be done to Earth's space vessel, and I began to engage the alien craft in battle. The most that could be said about my effort was that it was a stalemate. Every thing I threw at the ship was deflected by what the pilot of the ship called his "ultra-force barrier." He even landed on a large meteor and exited his ship for a short time, and I attempted to subdue him while he lounged outside. Same story! His ultra-force shell kept me at bay until I had to admit the futility of the situation. My efforts, however, were not completely in vain as the shuttle was able to escape Brainiac's notice until it was in position to re-enter the atmosphere and land.

Lois is safe and we are both back in Metropolis now, but the strange alien is not through with his mischief. Two great cities of the world - Paris and Rome - have disappeared from the face of the Earth after a strange light was reported shining on them from above. There's no trace of them and no signs of rubble, ruined building parts - the usual leftovers from mass destruction. It almost looks as if someone took a giant shovel and dug up the cities.

It seems to me that I recall something like this from somewhere. Of course! It's a memory that I received from the green crystal when I absorbed the knowledge it possessed of my father, Jor-el. I recall something about a great city of Krypton vanishing in a similar fashion. Yes, I'm sure now that this Brainiac is behind it all - and perhaps he may know something about the Kryptonian city, too. I must find a way into his ship! But how? I have not found a way to penetrate this ultra-force of his.

June 22

The number of missing cities grew to six - Paris, Rome, London, Moscow, New York - and now Metropolis ! The strange light reported before each disappearance was some sort of transporter beam that reduced each city in size. We found ourselves imprisoned in some sort of bottle. Some panic did ensue, but surprisingly, it wasn't as widespread as one would think. I'm not sure that many people realized that we were trapped.

I assumed my Superman identity and flew to the top of the bottle - prison and used my super strength to open the cork and escape. I found my size to be about the equivalent to a gnat, but I used my tiny size to my advantage. How often I've heard the expression, "I'd like to have been a fly on the wall during that conversation !" Well, that's just what I was as Brainiac examined some of the structures in the bottles such as New York's Washington Bridge and Paris' Eiffel Tower. This was how I ascertained each bottle's contents - Paris, Rome, Metropolis, London, Moscow, New York. I took it upon myself to memorize each structure Brainiac toyed with so that if I could restore each city to Earth, I could also later do whatever repairs to completely return it to normalcy.

It was when he opened a seventh bottle that I became a little too careless and allowed my presence to be discovered. Fortunately, Brainiac thought I was no more than the aforementioned fly and tried to swat me. While I knew my invulnerability would keep me from harm, I also knew that Brainiac would continue looking for the "insect" as long as I flew around in his ship. I decided to hide inside the bottle he had just uncorked.

As I flew into the new environment of the mysterious bottled city, I could see this was no Earth city, but was strangely familiar to me nonetheless. I also noted my power of flight was beginning to fade away. Realizing that if this power were disappearing, then all my other powers, including invulnerability, would go away, too, it became imperative to reach a landing before it was too late. I was about ten feet from the ground when I completely lost my flying powers, and was able to make a harmless, if clumsy, landing. I was now trapped!

But what city was this? It looked very much like the visions of Krypton I had "seen" in the green crystal back in Smallville during my college years. Was this the great city of Krypton that vanished off the face of my birth planet a lifetime ago?

The buildings and other surroundings were of a futuristic nature like nothing seen on Earth, but I immediately recognized the language used by the natives of this tiny prison... Yes! Kryptonese! I had never spoken it - never heard it before with my ears - but the ancient dialect was imbedded in my brain thanks to my liaison with my father's crystal. This had to be the lost city of Krypton! It must be Kandor, the former capital city of my doomed planet. The details were too similar to be a coincidence.

I decided to see if I could speak the tongue as well as I could understand it. Speaking to passersby, it became obvious from their reactions that I had something of an accent. Somehow, though, I managed to make myself understood, In the course of my conversations, the location of a prominent scientist - a Professor Kimda - was brought to my attention. I decided this was the person I should confide in and hurried to his home.

"Who calls?" He asked in the Kryptonian tongue.

"Kal-El, son of Jor-El," I answered. My accent was still there, but I was getting the hang of it now and becoming more understandable.

"Jor-El? Why, I knew Jor-El back in my academic years. You say you're his son?" Professor Kimda was an amiable though aged sort. "Let me have a look at you." He stared at me from inside the doorway of his home for quite a while, but then abruptly narrowed the opening to a crack. "Go away! Go away, whoever you are! I may be old, but I am not senile! I know as well as anyone - better, in fact - what has happened to our city and you didn't just stroll over from Kryptonopolis this afternoon! You certainly have the family resemblance to Jor-El, but we both know it would be quite impossible for you to be his son!"

"Professor, please hear me out! I really am who I say I am, but no, I didn't come here from another Kryptonian city."

"Oh, and I suppose you've been here ever since the... the... kidnapping of Kandor? Please, I know where Jor-El and every member of his family were the night it... happened. And none of them were in Kandor!" With that, Kimda slammed the door.

"Professor Kimda," I firmly averred, "what would you say if I told you I came here from Kryptonopolis... by way of Earth?"

Nothing but silence came from behind his door for a few moments and then it slowly opened. He appeared skeptical but intrigued.

I continued, " I was in the Earth city Metropolis when it incurred the same fate as Kandor. Please let me in. There are several cities that have been stolen and I believe you may have the keys to getting them all back to normal."

Kimda began to close the door again, but then changed his mind and allowed me to enter. "You know," he said, "You have your father's annoying knack of knowing just what to say at the right time. Come in, but if anything you say does not have the ring of truth..."

"I assured you, sir, everything I am about to tell you is completely true..." Kimda turned out to be an amiable sort once I had won him over. He told me about himself and how he knew my father in his earlier years and consulted with him on many an experiment. He had been the first Kandorian to figure out what had happened to the city and who was behind it. From that moment on, he made it his life's work to learn all he could about Brainiac's terrible shrinking ray so that someday the city could be restored to its original size and returned to Krypton.

It surprised me at first to hear him say that, but then I realized that - of course - these people had no idea that their home planet no longer existed. They had been violated - stolen away in the middle of the night, literally - before the explosion that took so many lives and led to my escape to Earth.

"All right, young man. Kal-El or whoever you are, how is it you came to be on Earth - in one of the cities that madman just stole in fact?"

It took more courage than I have ever had to muster up to give him the sad facts. I explained how the planet Krypton met its end - how my father foresaw this and managed to save me by rocketing me to Earth, where I grew up with great powers on this new planet and became known as Superman. And I told him how I had engaged Brainiac in battle, only to be defeated. I told him how later I was shrunk and imprisoned with the rest of Metropolis, but my super powers allowed me to escape until I found my way into Kandor.

"And that's when you lost these... super powers, right?" He had that look again and I was certain he was going to shoo me out the door again.

"Yes, sir. Look, I know this all sounds like something out of a comic book, but..."

"A what?"

"Never mind - not important. The point is... You must believe me! the fate of Kandor and all of the other bottled cities depends on it!"

"Actually... I do believe you. Your father is the only Kryptonian besides myself that has ever even heard of Earth. That's the only reason I let you in. In fact, you are looking at the man who discovered the existence of the planet Earth. Jor-El learned of it from me. Of course, Jor had a curiosity like no other and made it his task to find out everything there was to know about your adopted home. I suppose that's why he pointed your vehicle towards that water world you've been living in.

"And you say that Krypton is... no more?" Sadly, I nodded my confirmation as he sort of slumped just a bit at the revelation. "Well, it's no longer a concern then. We have work to do...Kal-El!"


	17. Chapter 17

17

Professor Kimda still appeared to be quite shaken and I asked him if he was all right.

"It is a... shock... to hear about Krypton's passing. I had dedicated my life to finding a way to return us all there someday. But now... Now, Kal-El, it seems I have a new mission in life. If Kandor cannot be returned to her home, then perhaps we can yet save the cities of Earth from the same fate.

"Look around you, Kal-El. Assembled here is the most advanced surveillance equipment available in this glass prison. I have studied Brainiac's every movement all these years since he first imprisoned us in this bottle so should the opportunity arise, I would be able to restore our city. I have even built a mock-up of his equipment to practice on. I was also watching as he used his shrinking device on your cities, and I managed to jot down all the information needed to restore them."

When I looked at the hand written note, the Kryptonian symbols seemed like chicken scratches to me. The professor noticed my difficulty and asked me what was wrong.

"This is the first time I have ever actually seen any Kryponese writing, sir. It will take a little time to understand, but it will make sense to me in a moment."

"Then you probably are a Superman, if you can read what I jotted down. On Krypton, doctors are notorious for having the most atrocious handwriting of all people. It's kind of a joke, really - I'm sure it's quite different on your Earth." We both laughed at that remark, probably for different reasons. But then he asked, "Kal-El, if you were an infant when you left our doomed planet, how did you learn about your heritage, the language and such?"

"There was a device my father placed in the vessel with me that brought me to this planet. I was unaware of my origins until I was becoming an adult. This green crystal..."

"Ahhhh... the green crystal... Yes!" he said with a smile, "He was working on that when I last saw him! So that was how you learned about your beginnings, eh? Direct brain transfer! I wouldn't be surprised if that device could do a lot more than that as well! That Jor-El... so clever! Amazing!"

Jim looked up from the book at the mention of the green crystal and recalled his own experience with it. "So that's what happened to me... but why did I lose consciousness? Super-Gramps didn't!"

"Come on, Dopey!" chimed in Noel, seeing a chance to take her brother down a peg, "You just said it yourself! He was _Super_-Gramps...?

"Noel..." Phyllis began to caution her daughter about her chronic need to tease, but Jimmy waved her off.

"No, mom. That had to it. It's the only thing that makes sense. But it still doesn't explain why it wanted me instead of... say... Noel. She's got as much Krypton blood as I do. Why didn't it want her... and why now?"

"It didn't call to... Super-Gramps..." She couldn't help but grin when she spoke the nickname her children had given their ancestor. "...until he was about your age, Jim. Noel won't be seventeen for another five years. That pretty much answers both of your questions, I think."

"Yes, I guess so, except that I've been seventeen for eight months now, and this thing has made nary a peep until yesterday, the same day that these quakes began. I find it a strange coincidence that this all came together at the same time, don't you?"

The females nodded their agreement and Jimmy continued, "And what do you think he meant when he said the crystal could do more? Do you think it's dangerous to others?"

"Nope!" rang in Noel.

"I agree," said Phyllis. "If it was harmful to Earth people, Superma... uh... Super-_Gramps_..." Again, she smiled. "...Would never have kept it in such a place as this. Whatever that thing can do, I'm sure that it only does it to Kryptonians... or their heirs."

The three of them, their discussion ended, picked up and resumed reading from the Journal of Clark Kent.

Kimda showed me around his laboratory and specifically his sophisticated surveillance equipment. We both noted as we spied on Brainiac that a new factor in our struggle had just been introduced. "Great Krypton! He's added two more cities since I've been here! Looks like... Sydney, Australia and... Cairo, Egypt! Do you have the coordinates for these?"

The professor peered into the viewer, "Don't fear, Kal-El. Brainiac took those two cities just before you came to my door. I have all the information we'll need. And it appears that Brainiac is going into a stasis chamber of some sort! The chamber is set to keep him idle for at least two centuries. That could be to our benefit if we can escape this prison right away. But if we cannot, it will be to the detriment of your cities. We would be too far away from Earth to restore them. I think we'd best get you acquainted with the equipment we'll be using once we find a way out."

Kimda went about the business of teaching me how to work the equipment that would restore the cities to Earth. Well into the night, we ran simulation after simulation for each city until weariness began to set in.

"Kal-El, I think a little sleep would be in order. On your adopted world, you may be a Superman, but on this one I'm afraid I am an old man who needs a night's respite. My son often teases me about my lack of stamina. He's a scientist, too. I haven't told him but my health is fading rapidly these days. I don't know how long I have to live, but when I die, all my work may go with me."

"What do you mean, Professor? Can't your son carry on the work you've started?"

"My son could have been one of Krypton's... well... Kandor's greatest men of science. He's that brilliant. However, he is also impatient in all his work and is prone to take too many shortcuts. I don't think he will find the answer to Kandor's problem, but I will leave all my notes to him and maybe someday, he will learn to lose his bad habits and... well, who knows?"

"If we can find an escape from here, Professor, you may not need to worry about it. It's only a matter of following the procedures you've been drilling me on tonight, isn't it?"

"For the most part, yes. I have a suggestion, young man. Let me show you around the city first thing tomorrow. Perhaps we can get some ideas to formulate an escape once you've seen what our resources are like."

We both took an abbreviated night's sleep and did just that the next morning. Kimda showed me around the town. The technology was far superior to that of Earth's. Among the advances in travel was an anti-gravity car called a "floater" by the Kandorians, that had potentially almost unlimited range. Of course, that range was still untested due to the confines of the bottle housing Kandor.

I was amazed, too, how the people of this city managed to adapt to their environment. They actually constructed an artificial sun to signal day's end and to warm the town's people. How this was made possible is still a mystery to me.

No one went hungry in Kandor, either. Robot farmers tended crops on small farms set aside in the bottled prison. It was all very interesting, but I was beginning to worry more and more about the problem at hand as time continued to slip by. I was about to suggest to the professor that we should return to his lab when he suddenly suggested we go to the Kandor Zoo.

"I know it seems a little odd with our present circumstances and all, but I actually get some of my best ideas at the zoo." I wanted to return to the lab before our window of opportunity slammed shut, but I had to admit there was still nothing I could do until an escape was found. The zoo was on our way, so I reluctantly complied with his request.

Kryptonian animals are, for the most part, very much like those of the Earth. There are dogs, cats, monkeys, and the like. But there are other animals that earthlings would find a little more unusual. As we went by an exhibit, Kimda explained a bit about the specimen inside. "It's called a metalavore. It is so named because it eats metal. Tin, iron, even gold - it doesn't matter, this creature will ingest it. That's why the containment area here is made of glass. I'm still not sure how it manages to digest what it eats, but I have an arrangement with the zoo officials to study it. They've even allowed me to take it to my lab for more intensive study."

"Except for its size," I mused, "It resembles in many ways an Earth mole. Hmmm... you say it eats metal? I noticed the stoppers Brainiac uses to close up the bottles are made of a metallic substance of some sort... Professor Kimda, I think I know of a way to get out of here and begin returning everything to normal. I'll need you to use your influence with the zoo hierarchy. Tell them you absolutely must borrow the metalavore today! And do you have access to one of those cars you showed me earlier...?"

Kimda made the arrangements we needed and we set about implementing our escape from the bottled city.

"I believe I know what you're up to," he said. "And I'll meet you back at my laboratory. There is something I must do before we embark."

When Kimda returned to the lab, all was in readiness. The floater was loaded with the metalavore and several tethers as well as a special fiberglass platform had been attached to the top of the car. The professor operated the vehicle and we ascended as high as possible - right up to the inside portion of the stopper. "Locking in our position, Auto-hover is on!" he roared as loudly as he could over the whoosh of air being exchanged nearby. We had to be very careful at this point because the tubes feeding the air into and out of the bottle were imbedded into the center of the stopper. Any mistake now could lead to being sucked into the air pump or blown right off the floater to a disastrous fatal fall.

I attached one of the tethers to my belt and carefully inched my way along the platform, making use of each new tether along the way. I almost lost my footing and would have fallen off, but the professor had obviously gotten the strongest tethers available in Kandor - it held fast. Now came the tough part of our plan.

The front hatch opened and Kimda began pushing the metalavore out towards me on the platform. We had outfitted the animal with a special harness to attach the tethers and insure its safety - but the metalavore didn't know that, of course and did not want to exit the comfort of the floater. I pulled and Kimda pushed but this mole-like creature proved to be as stubborn as an Earth mule.

"Do you have any ideas, Professor? He just doesn't seem to want to get out here!" I cried.

"It may be the sound of the air tubes or the lack of stability on the platform," he yelled in answer. "He doesn't see the platform! There's too much light for his eyes - his species normally lives underground. I don't know what to do unless you can make him want to come out there worse than he wants to stay inside. But whatever we do, it must be in quickly! These floaters use up a lot of fuel in a hurry and at this altitude, there is no guarantee how long we can continue to maintain our status!"

For a moment I was afraid that all might be lost as no amount of pushing, pulling, or bullying seemed to work. But then I remembered back in Smallville we had a mule that often refused to go where we needed it to. Pa had always solved the problem by dangling a carrot in front of the mule's nose. The mule would follow Pa wherever he went in an effort to receive the treat. "Would you happen to have a carrot in there, Professor?" I barked out with a smile.

A very puzzled look came across his face as he replied, "A what?"

"Never mind! Let's see how much of a mule this mole is..." Carefully I unhooked the tether I was wearing. This would be very tricky now keeping my balance and avoiding the force of the air exchange. Using all the dexterity I could summon up, I began waving the metal hook from the end of the tether in front of the nose of the metalavore.

If I live to be two hundred, I will never understand how that creature sensed the metal hook in my hand. If there was a scent to it, I certainly couldn't pick it up. But then again, I am not a metalavore. All I know is the creature began lumbering slowly towards me and the hook that I held in my hand. I continued baiting it until it was almost directly beneath the gigantic stopper where we needed it to be. With our animal ally in position at last, I rammed the barbed part of the hook into the stopper as hard as I could. That action nearly ended our assault right then and there as I almost lost my footing. The hook stuck tight and the metalavore began to feast on the hook and the stopper it was lodged into.

Apparently, Kimda got this creature released from the zoo before dinner time as it made short work of the stopper. In almost no time at all, a hole just large enough for one man to crawl through was opened all the way to the outside. "Time to get out of Dodge, Professor!"

"Get out of where? Kal-El, you keep speaking in riddles!"

"Just an Earth expression, sir. It means I'm leaving you, now! I trust you can coax the metalavore to return to the inside of the vehicle. Thank you for all your help! Kandor is a beautiful city. It will be even more beautiful once I have restored it to size somewhere on Earth. I'll see you there later!" With that, I wormed my way up and through the cork in the bottle. As I stood atop it, I could feel my strength returning to my body. I quickly discovered that my flying power was back, too, as I took a few laps around the spaceship's cabin. I must admit, I love flying. And never more than that exact moment in time!

It was time to get down to work. Although Brainiac was in stasis, his course home had been programmed into his spaceship's computer and would leave orbit in four more revolutions. I had to work fast. While we had drilled ourselves over and over on all the maneuvers necessary to restore the cities, Kimda had provided me with a cheat sheet as well. I would be lying if I said I did not refer to it more than once.

It was much different than the drills just because the controls were now vastly enormous compared to my microbic size. But small as I was, my powers and abilities had returned, and I used my super powers of strength, speed, flight, and invulnerability to my advantage. I flew in loops near each control and rammed my body into them to engage each one. One by one every Earth city - Paris, Rome, Metropolis, London, Moscow, New York, Sydney, and Cairo - was returned and restored by the third orbit. There was now a choice to make which in my mind was no choice at all. There was only one charge of energy left. I could either restore Kandor to a location on Earth as I had promised to Professor Kimda, or I could use it on myself.

I knew what was right. I am only one man. There were more than two million men, women, and children - an entire city - in that bottle... A prison they had endured for at least one generation. It was only logical that I use the last ray to restore them on Earth's surface. I began to start my flight into the control to begin the process when out of the bottle streaked Kimda, who punched a different button than I had in mind. Seconds later, I was back to normal size. I had to use microscopic vision to find the professor, who was laying slumped over on the floor. My super hearing allowed me to converse with him as I asked him why he sacrificed his city for me.

He was wearing a Kryptonian jet pack on his back, and he did not look well at all, but he answered my question: "Kal-El, my city cannot be restored on this planet. While most of our people are good decent people, the new powers we would gain in your environment would eventually corrupt many of us - too many of us to control. Your people would be in a new, different danger and even you would be overmatched, I fear. Perhaps, some day a more proper venue for us will be found, but until then...

"I could not allow your world to lose its mighty hero. You have proven your bravery just by showing up inside Kandor! You lost your great powers, but you did not let that stop you from saving the cities of Earth. You found a way, when seemingly there was none! You were willing to sacrifice yourself for a city of strangers. Yes, we are from your birth planet, but the Earth - The Earth, Kal-El - is your home planet now! You deserve to live in it and to continue being the hero that you have become and truly are."

"But we must return you to Kandor - get you back on the floater, somehow..."

"After I got the metalavore back into its cage in the car, I programmed it to descend safely back to the zoo, where the keepers will see to his return. There is no need to worry about returning me anywhere! I am... dying. I knew I would not return home. When I left you earlier today, it was to put my affairs in order and to see that my notes and belongings, as well as a goodbye message, would be passed on to my son... My son! I am ashamed to admit this, but you have been more of a son to me in two days than he has been in a lifetime...Ohhh!"

"Professor, I... I don't understand! You should have gained the same super powers that I have when you exited the bottle. How is it that you are... are..."

"Dying, young man! Dying is the word you are searching for. My age is the reason I did not gain those wonderful powers you told me about. I thought as much when we began our trip. That's why I had this jet pack stowed along. I crawled through the same hole that you did and watched as you went to work. It was... astounding! But when you were faced with that last decision, I knew the only one you could make and I immediately donned the jet pack and hurled myself at the control that would restore not Kandor, but you to... normalcy. When I... rammed into that... button,.. I'm afraid I was... hurt beyond repair. But it was... worth it... to see you... in action... Superman!"

And he was gone.

I took the lost city of Krypton to my Fortress of Solitude where it will remain until I find a way to restore it to its normal size someday. I promise I will not rest until I have done so.

As for Kimda's body, I managed to create a tomb to house it. Miniscule to the eye of an Earthling, but gargantuan to those of Kandorian size. It was the most fitting thing I could do for him. He was a great man and a great scientist. Kandor should be proud of him. He will be missed, and I will never forget his sacrifice. As far as I am concerned, Professor Kimda was the real Superman!


	18. Chapter 18

18

"So, we're clear to investigate this fissure? Have all human remains been removed from the site?"

Chester regarded the cop guarding the gaping hole in the Metropolis street with a solemn mixture of respect and gratitude. He was the same cop who had been the first on the scene after the quake had caused its devastation. He was also the same cop that took over and saw to getting Kirsten's mother to safety. Chester felt a personal debt was owed to this man for his actions in securing the area immediately after the tremors ceased, and minimizing the casualties. He had personally made sure that Chester was treated by paramedics at the scene, and then accompanied Rose and Kirsten to the nearest hospital. It was a debt he was afraid he would never be able to repay.

Right now though, the officer seemed a little miffed at Chester's question.

"Yes, sir. All 'human remains' that we have been able find have been removed!"

"I'm sorry, Officer..."

"Kubert!"

"Yes, I remember. Officer Kubert, did I say something to upset you?"

"Well, sir. It's just me, I suppose. We took out the bodies of four human beings that had been smothered and dirtied and pretty badly mangled by the time they were recovered. I've been a cop a long time and seen a lot of bad things, so I know how you have to have a certain amount of detachment when dealing with things like that. But I also think a little respect ought to be in order. I mean, they were living, breathing people before... this... happened! I guess hearing them referred to as 'human remains' just sort of... you know... set me off!"

"I know what you mean, Officer. I was there. I actually saw them being... devoured by the earth. But if I think about it too much..."

Officer Kubert took a long look at Chester and began to recognize him as the man he had found taking care of the little girl and her mother when he arrived at the scene.

"Oh... yeah! I remember you now. You look pretty good now compared to the other day. Look, I'm sorry, I guess I should be a little more professional about all this, but..."

"No, Officer Kubert, you..."

"Call me Joe!"

Chester smiled in acknowledgement, "Joe it is... No, Joe you have nothing to apologize for. You're absolutely right. It's just that if I think about it too much right now..."

"... It makes it almost impossible to do the job!" Joe finished. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Well, I guess I should let you get to it, then. Let's see your clearance!"

By the time he returned to the scene of his trial by earthquake, Chester had been given special credentials. He was now part of a special task force to determine what sort of effects or after-effects, if any, the tremors caused, and how the tragedy was related to the earthquakes of the other cities around the globe. Officer Kubert examined them carefully.

"I don't know what you're looking for in there, Mr. Carr..."

"My turn! My name is Chester. You can call me Chess."

Joe offered his hand. Chess took it. A new feeling of friendship and respect seemed to envelope both of the men as they became a team.

"Chess, then." Joe smiled at his new comrade. "As I was saying, I don't know what you're looking for in there, but if you come upon any more... people... in there..." Joe winced a bit as he searched for the right words. "...stop what you're doing and tell me. They would likely be deceased but my guys will determine that and get whoever it is out. Then you can continue your investigation. Will that be agreeable?"

"Perfectly! Let's get down to business, then. Shall we, Joe?"

George began checking out the flight controls in the runabout. It was built for two pilots, but configured in such a way that one person could easily do everything necessary to fly her. It all seemed to be in order. He had the engines powered up and warming in no time. Now it was just a matter of getting out of the hangar and away from Hamilton before...

Ka-BOOOOOM! George knew that the sound came from the door of the hangar. Someone had just blasted their way in. He would have to get this buggy rolling and fast. _Where's the darn airlock door remote? _George thought. Although the flight controls were essentially the same in all space vehicles, there were a few slight differences from model to model in panel placement regarding what was considered accessory items such as, in this case, airlock openers.

George knew how to handle stress. While flying around in space almost any problem, no matter how small, becomes magnified because of the airless vacuum that surrounded you. You learn to handle such situations with a cool head. But this situation was a bit different. This time the fate of not just a shipful of passengers relied on him, but two entire civilizations. He continued to fumble around the control panel looking for the button that would open the access to the depressurization chamber and eventually facilitate his escape.

He could hear something banging against the runabout's main hatchway, now, along with muffled voices and an occasional sound of gunfire._ Can't they hear the engines coming on-line? _he thought. _They could be seriously hurt or even killed if this keeps up! _A new sound began from behind the hatchway. This one was a bit more unnerving - a kind of a whoosh like the sound of... _Great Scott! Are they trying to burn their way in here with a cutting torch? _A new resolve swept over George as his fingers began to search for anything familiar to the touch. _Ah! This might shock some sense into 'em! _

With a push of a button, George brought deflector shields on-line, and the sounds of attack ceased. He had used only a fraction of the power reserved for shields which were normally used to deflect small pieces of space debris such as tiny meteors, rocks, and grains of sand. But it was enough to give his attackers a bit of a tingle and maybe second thoughts about continuing their onslaught. His success, he feared, would be short-lived if he couldn't get the airlock open, though. _Just a matter of time before they resort to energy weapons of their own, I'll bet!_

Just as soon as the thought occured to him - KKKK-RRRR-AAACKKKK! The first sounds of hand-held energy blasters rocked the ship. The impact didn't seem that serious, but it was enough to drop down a previously unseen accessory panel near George's knee. He had to increase power to the shields even though it might mean a tighter squeeze getting through the airlock (_if_ he could ever _open_ it!)! Then he checked the open panel for damage. It was the air-lock door remote! _Finally! What were these guys thinking hiding it like that?_ he wondered. Another energy blast kissed the ship again and George decided he would admonish the makers of the Runabout later.

His view screen was active now and he could see all sorts of colors from various energy beams flashing about outside the ship. He pushed the remote button and the airlock doors began to rumble. The sights and sounds of attack ceased as the would-be invaders realized what was happening. If they continued their onslaught, they could get swept into the airlock and be killed when the chamber depressurized. The mob pulled back and George engaged the anti-gravity drive.

The runabout lifted slowly away from the hangar floor as her pilot maneuvered the craft in a 180 degree turn towards the airlock. The assailants showed no intentions toward blocking the craft's way. One or two energy blasts from the promenade door were all that any of them would offer. Three of them, George noted by his view screen, ran out the door as fast as they could, but something told him that were not just giving up and saving themselves. _They'll be back_, he thought, _and soon, I'd wager!_

As soon as the air lock entrance was wide enough, George floated the runabout through it and into the decompression chamber. With the ship safely sheltered in the air lock and three of the attacking leaders missing, the remainder of the mob seemed to lose their taste for violence. All they could do now, it appeared, was to stand back and watch from a distance as the airlock vault slowly closed and locked their quarry safely away from them.

As it did, George let out a breath he'd felt like he'd been holding since last year, but he wasn't going to fool himself into thinking that he was home free. _Those three guys that took off when the airlock started opening are sure to have a back-up plan_, he thought. _Maybe another ship or something, but I just know this isn't over yet!_

Decompression had become a relatively quick procedure since interplanetary flights had become commonplace. The entire operation for a hangar the size George was in usually took about thirty seconds or so, but right now, to George it felt more like thirty minutes. As he waited for the outside doors to open and allow him to escape, it was all he could do but to try and be patient. But it wasn't working very well. He knew that the longer it took for the runabout to get up in the air, the better the chance for Jennifer's associates to find a means of stopping him. And that played on his mind as he prepared for his window of opportunity - and the airlock doors - to open.

He opened the communications system, "Hamilton tower, this is Lieutenant Commander George..." realizing in mid-sentence that it wouldn't do to give his real name in this situation, George looked around the cabin for ideas. Spotting the trademark embossed in the control panel he continued, "...Reeves! Lieutenant Commander George Reeves in the space runabout... er..." He noted the color scheme that had been continued from the outside of the ship.

"...Man of Steel! ...requesting clearance for unscheduled departure." Nothing but silence came across the comm for a few maddening seconds.

"Man of Steel, this is Hamilton tower. What's this about an unscheduled flight?"

"Roger, tower! Sorry for the inconvenience. You know how eccentric millionaires can be! Just a short jaunt to Phobos and back. Can you accommodate us?"

The door was almost open wide enough to fly away as George held his breath waiting to see if his bluff worked.

"Roger, Man of Steel. Proceed to pad eleven and stand by. But please tell your 'eccentric millionaire' to file a proper flight plan in the future!"

"Roger that, tower. Oh, by the way, you might want to send some security out this way. There are three disgruntled ex-employees who have been promising some pretty nasty actions against the... uh... boss for firing them. I think they may be heading this way on the tarmac!"

"Roger, Man of Steel! We'll keep a lookout for them. In the meantime, your flight number is 7837."

The door finally opened enough for the runabout to float through the entrance, and not a moment too soon. The "ex-employees" were in pressure suits and just showing up about five hundred feet away. George breezed by them before they had a chance to use their energy blasters and he proceeded to pad eleven. _I just hope they clear me to take off quickly_, he thought.

The men began running after the ship but they were a good ways behind. Now, It was just a waiting game. There it was! Pad eleven. George settled the craft onto the center of the marker and watched the viewscreen as the would-be attackers drew nearer. "Why do we wait, George Kent?" It was the tiny man George had been carrying around with him since discovering him in the Yellow Sun shuttle. He had almost forgotten about him!

"We have to wait for clearance to take off, Guer-on. There is other traffic up there that we could collide with if we just go without it. Besides, they use a force field to enforce the traffic control. We wouldn't get twenty-five feet off the ground without engaging it and that could damage our vehicle and our chances of saving Earth... and Kandor! Once they clear us a hole will open in the force field and we'll be on our merry way."

"They had better clear us quickly or we may never leave here at all. Look!"

Jennifer's thugs were approaching the ship at a rapid pace. They would arrive in seconds unless the traffic controller allowed the ship to leave... or unless help arrived. As it was, George hit the daily double.

With only about twenty feet to go before the three hoods could reach the runabout, ten security officers descended on the abbreviated mob. Stopped in their tracks they tried what ever they could to get to the ship, but the guards were having none of it. "Looks like the cavalry arrived just in the nick of time, eh Pilgrim?"

"Mr. Kent?" said Guer-on.

"Nothing, Guer-on... Just an Earth expression that means we're going to be all right now."

"Flight 7837, Man of Steel, you are clear to ascend now." came the order from the fight tower. George almost forgot that that was him.

"Oh! Right!" he said as he engaged the anti-grav engines, this time lifting the vehicle and the two unlikely adventurers up into the stratosphere of Mars and away to their mission of survival.


	19. Chapter 19

19

"See, what did I tell you? Every city that's had a quake is listed in this book! Don't you think there might be a connection?" Noel, with a triumphant look on her face, gave her brother a nudge in the ribs with her elbow, having offering her theory.

"I don't know. It's possible, I suppose, but there's eight Earth cities named in the journal. There've only been six that have had earthquakes."

"So that means we know where the next quakes will hit! We have to tell someone! Maybe we can save some lives _if_ we act quickly enough!"

Jim looked at his mother, then back at his sister. "Okay, I'm convinced," he said quietly. "But it won't be as easy as you make it sound. Anybody that we tell will think we're just some Texas yokels trying to use a tragedy and the accident of our heritage to grab a quick headline."

"Not if you tell the _right_ anybody" interjected Phyllis, obviously convinced as well of the connection her daughter had discovered.

"Officer Kubert, you can tell your emergency team they did a fine job in this section. No other bodies..." Chester winced a bit at how callous the phrase sounded and then reworded. "...no other _people_ in here." He was twenty feet below the surface at the bottom of the great chasm that had opened in the middle of Main Street just eight feet from where he lay on the pavement the day before. His work clothes consisted of an orange jumpsuit with an air tank and mask. To assist in his investigation he carried a special sensing device called an "ELMA" (Electronic Element and Mineral Analyzer) to register elemental readings. His communication with Officer Kubert was by two way radio built into the mask. There had been a couple of finds - a man's shoe, a lady's pocketbook - that would be forwarded to their owner or owner's next of kin, but no more corpses. He had just spot inspected the length of the fissure and was getting down to a more detailed look.

"Yeah, I'll have to tell 'em that, perfessor. Anything unusual down there, yet?" Kubert replied down to Chester. He had decided that "Chess" just didn't work for him, but "perfessor" was more in line with the work Chester was doing.

"Nope, not yet. Something must be out of whack, though. There are no major faults running through this area that should have caused this thing. Only thing I see that is even mildly unexpected is what appears to be a... phosphorous type element near the bottom of the pit here."

"Really? Gives you a nice glow, does it? Maybe you can save the batteries on your lantern."

"Well... heh... not that bright. But the color it emits appears to be different than any element I'm familiar with. I'm not reading any radiation... I think I'll take a sample!" Chester broke off a chunk of soil with the dull purplish glow and sealed it inside a bag.

"Say, Perfessor! You know you've been down in that pit for an hour and a half, now. I think it would be a good idea to come up and take a break for awhile, if only to check your air tank or look at your samples in the daylight!"

Chester took a couple of looks around the fissure and decided Kubert just might have something there. "All right, Joe! I think you're right! On my way up!" He began scaling a nylon rope ladder that he and Kubert had secured above the surface. He was about five feet shy of exiting the chasm when a ringing sound came from the pocket of his trousers. Practically leaping the final fibrous rung to escape the gaping hole in the city street, he then dug through the jumpsuit and into his trousers for his mobile phone. "Wow! I didn't think these would be working yet."

"Yeah, they got it up and running this morning. I got a friend in the phone company that..."

"Hold that thought a minute, Joe. I think this might be my wife... Hello?"

"Well Hello! How's my hero doing?"

"Well, I don't know. Let me ask him. Hey, Joe! My wife wants to know how the hero is doing. I think she must be talking about you. So how about it?"

"How about what?"

"How are you doing?" Joe just laughed and waved a "go on, get outta here gesture at his new friend.

"All right, lover, you know I was asking about you ! You and your little girl friend."

"Yeah, I guess if sitting around on the pavement til the cops show up - uh, no offense, Joe..."

"None taken."

"...If that's what constitutes a hero, I guess that would be me. But personally after what I've seen since this thing hit, guys like Officer Joe Kubert here and all the other emergency crew should be treated as the heroes. Hon, these guys really took lifesaving to a new level the other day. But I guess I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth... s'cuse me a sec, Hon... Joe, I'm from Texas. We all pretty much use this homespun way of talkin' - mentionin' horses and all. Makes us sound like rustic philosophers or somethin'... as I was sayin', Hon, I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. I think that was what got me on the investigative board."

"Sweetheart, your _credentials _got you that appointment. You deserve to be there, _and_ you certainly _were_ a hero the other day. There's no telling how that little girl would have reacted before her mom woke up if you hadn't been there to calm her. She might even have fallen into that pit that I saw on the news!"

Chester had had enough hero talk and segued into a new subject. "Speaking of that pit, that's where I am now. Trying to find something to explain all these quakes. Professor Infantino seems to think there must be something tying them all together. I kind of agree, but finding it may be pretty tough."

"Well, that's why I called. I know you're busy, but Phyllis Kent and her children are here and they have something you might want to hear."

_Phyllis Kent and her kids? _Chester thought, forgetting about his neighbors link to the past. _What could they possibly want right now? _"Okay... Joe wants to check some of my equipment anyway. Put her on!"

"Chess...this is Phyllis. Listen, this may be a longshot, but we've found something that may have something to do with these quakes."

"Phyllis, this isn't a good time for any of your jokes. I've got a big job to do here, ya know, and..."

"Chester, I'm not joking. You know who george is related to, right?"

"Yeah, but you guys bring it up so seldom that I almost forget about it sometimes..."

"Well, this time it's actually important. We've had a kind of... _thing _- I don't know any way else to put it..."

"Is everyone all right? I know George is on a flight today..."

"Everyone is fine, but the point is... we've found a book... a journal that was kept by George's great ancestor, and while looking it over, Noel found a passage that lists every city that's been hit with earthquakes. We think the events in this passage may have something to do with what is happening now."

Joe looked up for a moment from checking the tanks and hoses, then continued checking the gear.

"What do you mean, 'what's happening now?' Don't you mean 'what has already taken place?'"

"Chess, there are two more cities listed in this story. There may be more tremors yet to deal with."

_A "story" is probably right, _thought Chester. But he had known the Kents for a long time and they had never been given to crazy notions or played the "super" card. They had always been people you could rely on when you needed them. So he gave Phyllis the benefit of the doubt and listened. If nothing else, it would make a great story later, when this was all over. "Well, what are the other two cities, Phyll?"

"Sydney, Australia and Cairo, Egypt. I don't know in what order they were shrunk..."

"Did you say 'shrunk?'" George suddenly became a little terse with his neighbor.

"Yes, but the important thing is that one of those cities may be ne..."

"Phyllis, did I mention that I'm in the middle of an important project here? I really don't have time for any of Noel's crazy schemes..."

"I _know _what you are in the middle of, Chester. And I wouldn't think of bothering you right now if I didn't think this hadn't any merit. Just because it was noel who discovered it..."

"The passage or the book?"

"The what? your phone is breaking up a little."

"Did Noel find the passage or the book?"

"What does that matter?"

"Humor me."

"She found the passage. Jimmy found the book. That's a story in itself, but we don't have time for that right now. The people of Cairo and Sydney need to be warned!"

"Phyllis, do you know what kind of panic that could cause... even if you're right?"

"I know another little girl could be right in the middle of the next tremor, and this time she may not be as lucky!"

_Boy, that was the right button to push_, thought Chester. With just a hint of compassion in his voice he said, "Let me speak to Candice." There was a moment of silence while the phone was transferred from one friend to the other.

"Yes, Darling?"

"You know I have all the respect in the world for Phyllis, but... Could this be on the level? You know her past mental thing and all. This could be an hallucination, couldn't it?"

"I don't think so, Dear. I think you should look into it."

"And what makes you say that?"

"because I'm looking at the 'hallucination' right now. And it sure looks legit to me!"

Chester paused a moment, then looked over at Kubert, who had just finished refilling the air tank, and then said to his wife,. "I've got to get back to work, Hon. I'll call you back."

"Chester Carr! You _really_ shouldn't ignore this..."

"I really mean it, Candice. I have to get back to work. I _will_ call you back. I... I'll look into it."

"Chess... Those people need to be warned..."

"I said I would look into it... Now... I promise! But right now, I have to get back to work... Okay?"

"Okay... I love you, Honey!"

"I love you, too, Darlin'. Bye!"

"Bye!"

As Chester killed the connection, he noticed Joe was looking at him in a slightly odd manner. "What...? You think I shouldn't listen to my wife on this thing, do you?"

"On the contrary! Some of the best advice I ever got came from my first wife. If I had taken it, I'd probably still be married to her!"

Chester thought about it a minute and then started dialing a new number.

"Calling back your wife?" asked Joe.

"Nope," said Chester. "Infantino!"


	20. Chapter 20

20

"Well, it's a little hard to explain, sir... I... I know... Right! Evidence... You see... Look, Doctor Infantino, I admit it's a stretch, a very long stretch for you to go out on a limb just on my say so... Uh-huh... I will tell you how I've come to these conclusions, but... Well, to be honest, I don't think you'd believe it. I'm not sure that _I _believe it! But... just suppose first that I'm wrong. You'll have me as the built in goat for any criticism, but _if I'm right _- _if_ I'm right, think of the vast number of lives we will have saved! And I give you my word of honor you can take all the credit. Why, you - you'd be an international hero! Your name would be on the lips of every person on every continent on Earth and Mars! Th - there would be statues, Huh...? Well, yeah, maybe I am spreading it a little thick with the statue stuff, but the point is... is... is that we have little to lose and a great deal to win on this gamble. But you'll have to go on blind faith for the moment... Yes sir, I realize that you hardly know me. Just do me one favor, then. If you can't evacuate Sydney and Cairo, at least have a plan ready for emergency crews to move in at a moment's notice. Yes sir... Yes... I'm sorry if I wasted your time. Goodbye, Doctor."

Joe gave Chester a comforting smile and said, "I guess I don't have to ask how that went, do I?"

Chester sat down, dangled his legs over the pit, looked up into the clear blue Metropolis sky and sighed, "Naw... Guess not. I really can't blame him, though. I mean if someone I didn't know that well called me saying the next quake is gonna be in Siam or Cairo..."

"Sydney!"

"...uh... Right, sorry... Sydney, and didn't have a scrap of anything to back him up except some two hundred year old book...! Well, I probably wouldn't even waste my breath talkin' to him, that's what. I can't believe it! The biggest career break I've ever had, and I turn around and toss it away like that! I don't know what's wrong with me!"

Joe did a take that Jackie Gleason would be proud of then interrupted, "What I can't believe is there are millions of lives at stake and you're talking about your damned _career_? Maybe I judged you wrong when I found you comforting that woman and her child yesterday... or when you were bloodied from the rubble that fell on you. I remember you saying, 'Don't worry about me, Officer. Just take care of the lady.' I could've sworn I was looking at a good, decent man who cared more about people than his...'_career_!'

"Let me tell you something, Mr. Carr! Every cop, every fireman, every paramedic that has been great at his job never really climbed the ladder of success that high. Do you know why? It's because of the people we're there to protect! We have to put their interests first, ahead of our own. If it were any other way, no one - _no_ one would be willing to do this kind of job. And we may as well just write off all the victims as dead while we go about taking care of our 'careers!'"

Chester never felt as low as he did that moment. He couldn't even look his friend in the eye. He just hung his head and stared into the chasm. Joe just stood and looked him over for a minute and said, "But you know something, Perfessor? I'm not ready to give up on you yet! I believe the man I saw yesterday really _was_ a good, decent person! And I believe the man I am looking at right now still is!"

Chester, though puzzled, found the strength to finally look up to the officer and asked, "After all you've said, why would you still believe that?"

"Because if you weren't the man I thought you were, you never would have put your 'career' on the line and phoned that high muckety-muck. Hell! You probably wouldn't even have listened to your wife, much less your neighbor! And it wouldn't be bothering you so much that there may be more of this on the way! You put that all together and it says you care! You care about others the way a good, decent human being should. And that kind of person deserves the benefit of the doubt. At least mine, anyway."

Chester, felt humbled and at the same time, renewed. Standing up and walking over to Kubert, he offered his hand. The officer took it. "Thanks, Joe. I guess I forgot for a minute what I was really doing this for."

"No problem, Perfessor. We all need a little shake up once in awhile. Just one question, though. What about this old journal? Was the writer legit? Who was he anyway?"

"That was three questions, and one: it belongs to my neighbor. Two: He was as legit as they could come. And three: Let's just say he was about the most... _super_... person of his time."

"Oh...?" said Joe. Then the realization hit him. "OH!"

"Come on, Officer. I don't think I need to do any more here today. Let's go analyze some geologic samples!"

Kubert was still a bit dazed by the revelation. "Uh-huh... uh, yeah... Sounds like fun!"

"That was some fun, eh kids?" Joked George as the runabout cleared Mars orbit and oriented itself for its next journey. "Course set for the asteroid belt. No bad guys on our tail... yet! At sub-light speed, we should be there in about... oh... two hours or so. And after that, it's a matter of finding the needle in a haystack." George began opening panels and scanning the circuit boards.

Guer-On was at first puzzled by this expression, but then laughed - something Kryptonians didn't do very often these days - as its meaning became clear. "With our combined powers of sense, Mr. Kent, I believe we should be able to find your 'needle' in short order. The only problem I can foresee would be if those ruffians follow and attack us."

"We have a pretty good head start on them. They may be able to follow our particle trail, but that takes some very sophisticated equipment..." He was on the floor now examining the configurations inside a lower panel.

"For humans, perhaps."

George stopped fiddling with the circuitry for a moment and sighed, "Yes, for humans, and it's also very expensive. I doubt if getting this craft stolen was part of their plan, so that's not likely. However, I wouldn't put it past these guys to have a bug aboard somewhere." He resumed his investigation.

"How would an insect help them?"

"It's an Earth slang term for a hidden electronic device, usually intended for spying purposes, or in our case..." As if he was a magician pulling a rabbit from his hat, George displayed a small home-made transmitter. With a dramatic gesture, he cut the wires connecting it to the circuitry in the lower panel. "...A homing beacon! Could be Jennifer was planning a double cross for whoever was supposed to take this ship."

"A... double cross? Another 'slang' term from Earth?"

"Yes, it means Jennifer may be more dangerous than I thought. And if this thing sent any telemetry back to her friends before I managed to yank it out, we may yet have some company." George eyed the computer with curiosity. "I wonder what was supposed to go down with this bird? She said 'boring swan' was the password into the hidden file, didn't she?"

"She did, but whatever they were planning is surely not as important as our mission. Looking into that may be a distraction."

"Under ordinary circumstances, I would agree, but as I said, they may be right behind us. I'd kind of like to know why they're shooting at us. If we have all that information, it may give us more of an advantage if we find ourselves in a tight spot."

The tiny man reflected on this and agreed. "Even as advanced as New Krypton is, we also must still deal with criminals. It seems the more 'advanced' a culture becomes, the more dangerous the criminals also become. Yes, I agree. By all means, we should learn whatever they might be planning."

George typed the password and waited as the computer displayed the contents of the hidden file.

After Kent stood in silence for a moment, Guer-On asked, "What does it say, Mister... uhm, excuse me... _George_? Although I can speak your English language, I still have a bit of trouble reading the symbols you use. To me, they look like something a metalavore would scratch out in his pen."

George didn't answer. Instead, he walked swiftly and decisively out of the cabin and began a silent search. "What's wrong?" asked Guer-On. "What are you looking for?"

"The cargo hold," replied his fellow fugitive. "We could be carrying something that may well help us save the Earth, or..." He trailed off as he located the correct hatchway. "...possibly destroy it!" Kent opened the hatch and confirmed his suspicion. Within the cargo hold, stacked carefully and neatly before him and his tiny Krytonian friend, were scores of metal cases with warning messages and special handling instructions printed on each one.

"What is it?" asked the man from Kandor.

"Only the most powerful explosives known to man." came the reply. "They are , for the most part, assembled and ready to be used, but the warheads are still unarmed. If these people should regain possession of these bombs, they may well finish the catastrophe we're trying to prevent!"

"All I'm saying is that there may be a connection! After that city on Krypton was stolen, the whole planet went blooey! Maybe that's what caused it! Maybe when this Brainiac used that shrinking thingee on Kandor is when the chain reaction started that blew up Krypton!" Noel and Jimmy were locking horns in the den. She was adamant that Jimmy listen to her theory. "I don't know about you, big brother, but if that's what we're looking at with these tremors, I think somebody needs to know about it! Fast!"

"You forgot about something, shrimp. It wasn't but a year after Kandor disappeared that the planet exploded. It's been almost _two hundred _years since the Earth cities were stolen and returned. Why is it this thing is happening now instead of then?"

"You just said it! The Earth cities were all restored to their original places by Superman. Somehow that had to be what slowed down the process. It may already be too late, I don't know. But if it's not and there's a chance it can be reversed, I think all the great minds of this planet might ought to be working on it, don't you?"

"Look, even if I think you're right, how are we going to convince anybody? We're only kids! They'll laugh at us!"

"They laughed at someone on the planet Krypton, too. But he didn't care. And that's why you and I are alive and having this conversation."

Phyllis, listening in the hallway, picked up on something Jim said. "Jim, how did you know it was a year after the city of Kandor disappeared that Krypton blew up? That wasn't in any of the things we read in that book. And you never exactly took to studying the history of Krypton..."

"I... don't know. But it wasn't just something I pulled out of the air. It _was_ a year after that incident that it happened. I know because... I... remember..." Jim stood in silence for a moment, then whispered, "It's that green crystal, isn't it? It's what that rock did to me. It invaded my mind with all that Krypton stuff!"

"Relax, Jimmy! You're okay!" said the concerned mother. "You don't seem affected in any negative way - physically or otherwise. There's no need to get so...agitated by this!"

After settling down, Jimmy was almost apologetic. "I guess you're right, Mom. But what if that wasn't the _only_ thing it did to me? I mean I don't feel any different, but..." Jimmy managed a sheepish smile. "I guess I just wish it could've done the same thing with American history. _That'd_ be great! Knock me out for ten minutes and I wake up knowing everything that happened on every date of the calendar...?"

Noel snapped her fingers in front of Jim's face. "Hey! Super-Brain! What do you mean? You know everything about Krypton's past? Including Kandor being stolen and the planet exploding?"

"Well, I think it's everything Jor-El knew - up to the time he launched the vehicle that sent Kal-El to the Earth. Everything seems to be from that one viewpoint."

"Weird!"

"What's really weird is that I didn't realize it until it came up in conversation. Must be that the crystal stored the information in my subconscious. But now that I do know it, it's almost like a movie in my memory. I could probably tell you everything that happened after Kandor was lost until the explosion."

Phyllis was concerned for the safety of her son, but the Earth's current crisis outweighed everything. "If there is anything you know that could help us stop the quakes, I think we need to hear it, Jimmy. Let's sit down and maybe you can replay this 'memory movie' for us."

The three of them got comfortable and Jimmy began to concentrate. After a long silence, he began...


	21. Chapter 21

21

He was there during the delivery. He wouldn't have missed it for the world! Jor-El loved Lara more than anyone or anything Krypton had to offer, but now, someone else had just made his top two list. His wife had given birth to their son. This was not the Krypton way. Oh no! Quite the contrary, natural childbirth was considered somewhat radical and had been out of vogue for more than three centuries. Instead, a test tube conception was carried to term by an incubation chamber, sparing the parents of any pre-natal responsibilities, and eliminating any chances of birth defects and mortality during birth. Anything else was simply unsanitary and uncivilized. Oh, yes! _This_ was the Krypton way! There were no feelings of worry, no feelings of doubt, no feelings of disappointment, and as all too many Kryptonians were beginning to realize, no feelings at all.

Over the span of time that Krypton's people used this method of procreation, they had, as a race, become as sterile and detached from each other as the method itself. They had developed into a cold, uncaring group, avoiding all physical contact whenever possible. The institution of marriage was nearly dead; made unnecessary as the children born in the incubators were, with few exceptions, raised and educated by the Procreation and Development Council. And the Council did everything in its power to see that all of their charges continued the legacy of the "Krypton way."

Only the very elite families bothered with any form of marriage, and then no real ceremony was performed. Only a contract between the parties was needed. After all, love was practically obsolete, with the only real reason for marriage being a device to extend whatever control and influence a clan might have on others. In some cases, these elite mergers could even circumvent the council, allowing themselves the right to raise and educate their children as they saw fit. But the price was a steep one. Any familial unit raising children outside the influence of the Council had to become even more detached from them - at least publicly - else be disgraced and held as "un-Kryptonian."

One of these elite families was the one which sired Jor-El. And he followed the "Krypton way" as though it was gospel for the first twenty of his years. Then he met Lara. She was part of a revivalist sect that had sprung up in the last century that believed that there was more to life than what Krypton's people had come to accept as normal.

It was during Jor-El's last year of college. His good friend Kimda and his brother Zor-El told him about a demonstration they'd seen on the campus. All three of them were dressed in traditional Krypton garb leaving only a small oval of face uncovered.

"Never have I seen such a thing as this. These people were not dressed as normal Kryptonians would be, Jor-El. They had nothing covering their hands... and precious little on their heads!" Zor-El was thoroughly excited. "And there was something else - they actually made skin to skin contact with each other! Can you imagine that? I saw the hand of one person grasp the hand of another! A handshake, I believe they called it. They said it was a form of greeting."

"A greeting, you say?" Jor-El found the idea rather distasteful, though he had to admit that he was more than intrigued by the idea. "Kimda, I know of many ancient rituals of Krypton and how the ancestors behaved, but I never heard of anything like this... handshake, have you?"

Kimda, smiled slyly at his colleague, which in itself was an unusual act for most of their people. "Who's to say where they picked that up. It may even be something from an alien culture. Furthermore, who's to say that these people are wrong. I, for one, am glad to see a little emotion and life for a change."

"Emotion...?" said Jor.

Zor-El interrupted, "Yes, I agree, Kimda! It's definitely a refreshing change. Ever since I could remember this existence was only that - existense! Today, Jor, I actually felt alive!" Zor reached up to his head covering and ripped it off of his head. "Look at me, brother! I'll bet you never even knew that I had brown hair, did you? What color is yours?" Next the gloves came off. "Someone hand me something - anything - I just want to see what it feels like to the touch."

Kimda picked up Jor-El's computer pad and tossed it to Zor. "Aha! Are you afraid that I will actually infect you with some horrible disease now that my hands are uncovered?"

"No, not at all. I just thought you would enjoy a game of 'catch.'" Once again, the amused look returned to Kimda's face, "How's it feel?"

For a moment or two, Zor-El said nothing as he ran his fingers all along the device as if discovering it for the first time, and then he replied quietly, "Like I've never felt anything on my fingers but those damned gloves... til now!" Zor gave his brother a glance and then left the room abruptly.

Jor's eyes followed his brother until he was completely out of sight, then he turned to Kimda. "What is a 'game of catch?'"

The amused smile faded as Kimda appeared as if he had betrayed himself. "Just a child's game, Jor. Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry? On Krypton, children do not play games, Kimda. You know, that's the second explanation you've come up with for these unusual things since you've both come in here. Now I'd like to know, what's really going on here?"

As Zor-El had done moments before, Kimda was silent, then answered, "Why do you care to know?"

Stunned, Jor stuttered out, "W-what? What do you mean?"

"I said, why do you care to know?"

"Well... I suppose it's because... I am concerned about my brother's behavior."

"Concerned? Or embarrassed, perhaps?"

"A little of both, I guess. But Zor is practically grown up, whatever he does really has no bearing on anything I do anymore. I guess I'm just worrying for my brother. I would hate for him to get hurt."

"You may knot realize it, Jor-El, but worrying or caring for anyone is becoming more and more unusual these days. Your family is one of the lucky ones. If they had not been so important in stature, you and your brother would probably not even know each other. Other families have their offspring taken away by the PDC shortly after birth. The parents don't object because they haven't carried the children for nine months or had any time to become emotionally attached to them in any way. I, myself, never saw my parents but five times in my life that I can remember. The first time was when I was entering school at four years of age. The second, when I moved into secondary school. The third, when I got myself in trouble with a schoolmate over a dispute about a paper I wrote. The fourth, when I began my college term. By the last time I saw my father, my mother had just died. His reaction was in true Kryptonian style. He said simply, 'It is the way of things.' Question: Have your parents ever hugged you?"

"Hugged...?"

"Never mind, I can already tell what the answer is. Jor-El, come with me tomorrow. See these people and what they are like. They call themselves the "Open Heart." After you see for yourself how they actually... _love _life... You may be ready to follow your younger brother's lead."

It was a long night for Jor-el as sleep did not come easy. All he could think of was his brother tearing the hood from his head and Kimda's words. And he thought of his parents. It was true. They never had embraced him... or Zor... with anything resembling love. He decided to go with his friend and his brother to the demonstration tomorrow and see what this cult was about.

Next morning, Zor and Kimda arrived bright and early and both were dressed in bright clothing with no skullcaps or gloves. It was a sight that Jor-El was unprepared for.

"Kimda, I half expected this from you, but Zor! You really don't want to go parading out in public like that, do you? Look at yourself!"

"You know, my brother? That is exactly what I am doing for the first time in my life! I _am_ looking at myself! And I like what I am becoming. Don't you understand what this is about? We as a people need to find each other again. We have become so sterile, so far removed from each other that we are stagnating. No one looks to new ideas anymore. No one wants to reach out for them lest they become infected or, even worse, that they might actually care about someone."

"What about our family, Zor? What about our parents? What would they think about this... movement?"

I'm going to tell you something, Jor. And it shouldn't come as much of a shock to you, because I believe you already know it to be true. Our parents really don't care what we do. They only care about the "El" name. That is the only reason why you and I have been lucky enough to be raised and educated outside the influence of the PDC. It is the only reason we have managed to stay in close proximity to each other. And it is the only reason that we even get to see our mother and father. There is something very wrong with that. Everyone should be able to enjoy life, love naturally, and touch each other both emotionally and physically. And if you will get out of that Kryptonian "monkey suit" and into these clothes that Kimda and I brought you, we'll show you something that will change your life - maybe even change all of Krypton - if you will only allow it to."

Jor-El didn't on the face of it like the idea of such a massive sudden change in the Kryptonian way of life, but he had decided to see this demonstration, so he changed into the outfit that Zor and Kimda had brought to him. It was a green outfit with yellow and red trim. Long sleeves covered most of his arms, but no gloves covered his hands, nor was any sort covering surrounding his head. Only a narrow headband was worn around his temples. On the shirt, a sort of symbol depicting a sun, only it couldn't have been Krypton's star. This one was yellow instead of their more familiar red sun.

Kimda noticed Jor-El's confusion. "It represents the solar system of a very special planet I have discovered," he said. "I'll fill you in on that later. But right now, let's go! There is one young lady there that I think you really must meet..."

The three of them exited the dormitory room and although Jor was somewhat embarrassed by his new clothes, he made no further protest about them.

When the three comrades arrived at the demonstration, Jor-El was fascinated by the openness of the people there. Not just the participants, but many of the bystanders as well. At least three different persons came up to him to perform this "handshake" thing Zor had told him about, and one very pretty young lady with long blonde hair gave him a hug. It was easy to distinguish the proceedings of the demonstration, however, from the goings-on of the crowd. The participants were singing songs, dancing to pre-choreographed steps, and on every occasion possible, hugging each other. There was one moment that took Jor-El completely by surprise when the same young lady that hugged him earlier, found her way onstage and actually _kissed_ one of the demonstrators _on the mouth! _Kimda noted Jor's reaction and said, "You could probably stand to learn something from these people."

But nothing excited him as much as another girl. This one with beautiful ebony hair, a lovely figure, and a creamy complexion. Jor-El couldn't take his eyes off her. Her dress was considerably different from the garb Krypton women usually sported and her demeanor carefree. There was much going on with the demonstration, but Jor was oblivious to all except this exquisite gem of femininity. He watched and waited for her to speak or sing or dance – anything as long as it was her.

"What do you think, Jor?" said Zor-El.

"Beautiful!" replied Jor, as if entranced. "Simply beautiful!"

"Yes, that was my impression, too. I've never seen anything like it, have you?"

"Never! Who is she?"

"She? I was talking about the… Jor-El? You are talking about the presentation, aren't you?"

"Hmmm…? Huh? Oh! The presentation! Well… yes…I guess it _is_… different… and I admit it is refreshing to see people actually enjoying life so much."

Kimda joined into the conversation. "Exactly what I was trying to tell you yesterday! It seems to me the only lives most Kryptonians seem to care about these days are the clones they've taken to keeping for harvesting body parts. Now, that's a crime against nature as far as I'm concerned."

"Now, wait a minute, Kimda. That process has saved a lot of lives…"

"Saved? Or taken? Jor-El, you make it sound like those clones are inanimate objects. Whether created by Rao or scientists in a lab, they are alive – as alive as you or I – and what do we do with those lives? Why, we put them into a freezer for cold storage until we need to cut them open for parts to transplant. Those clones are people, Jor-El! Just like us. And it is not only cruel that we bring them into the world, but we torture them and slaughter them, too! Now that's what our current culture has brought us to, and that's enough reason by itself that it must be changed!"

Jor-El was silent. All the points Kimda brought up were thoughts that he himself had entertained many times. His parents had had a clone created for him as a child, and they made it a point that he see it at a youthful age, supposedly to desensitize him to the "creature". But it had just the opposite effect on him. Repulsed by what he saw, he determined never to allow any transplant from such an abomination. He couldn't believe he was using the same argument - the same excuse! - to Kimda that he had heard so many times before from others and rejected.

Zor broke the silence. "Come on, men. I believe you wanted Jor to meet someone, didn't you, Kimda? They've taken a break. Let's see if we can visit."

Worming through the masses, the three confederates made their way to the rear of the makeshift stage. There sitting on the steps was the young girl who had hugged and kissed so many people. She was about nineteen or twenty and dressed in brightly colored silks. Her already pleasant demeanor brightened even more at the sight of Kimda and his friends.

"You came! Again! Oh, I'm so happy to see you, Kimda!" She threw her arms around him and gave him a great squeeze. Then it was Zor's turn. "And _you!_ I almost didn't recognize you! Look at yourself! I didn't even know what color your hair was! Give me a hug, Zor!"

Zor obliged, and said, "I was telling my brother the same thing about my hair the other day, Lyla. He was… curious, so we dragged him along. This is Jor-El."

Lyla gave Jor a hug. "Welcome to the Open Heart, Jor-El. I see you've come dressed similar to ourselves. Are you a convert or as your brother said, just 'curious'?"

"At this point, curious, I suppose. This all seems very strange to me. But I do admit that your fellow... whatever you call yourselves... are certainly a breath of fresh air. But... earlier I saw a young lady - black hair, beautiful... and she was dressed... Well, to be honest, I'm not sure how she was dressed. I couldn't keep my eyes off her face."

All three of them interrupted Jor-El in unison. "Lara!" followed by laughter. It was a sound Jor-El had not heard very often in his life, but he liked the way it made him feel inside. It made him feel almost as good as the sound of Lara's name.

"Is she promised to anyone? Can you introduce me to her?"

Kimda giggled with delight. "Always the scientist, eh Jor-El? You just can't wait to get to the heart of the situation, can you? No, she's not promised to anyone, and yes, we can arrange a meeting. Lyla, can you ask Lara to come out here for a moment?"

"Sure, I'll only be a jiffy. Wait here... Oh, by the way, Zor-El? Speaking of meeting someone, my sister asked me if she could meet you! Do you mind? She seems very much smitten by you."

"I guess so. If she's anything like you, she must be wonderful. What's her name?"

"Allura. And I think you two would hit it off just dandy!" After Lyla disappeared into the backstage area, Jor looked at his friend with puzzlement in his eyes.

"Jiffy...? Dandy...?"

"Earth expression... just go with it."

Jor-El, still puzzled, could only mouth the words, "...go...with...it...?"

After a short time, Lyla returned with two companions. "Zor-El, meet my sister, Allura."

"Pleased to meet you, Allura," said Zor to the golden haired beauty. " I didn't know you were Lyla's sister, but I saw you dancing during the presentation. Do you think you could teach me some of those steps?"

"And Jor-El?" Lyla said. "This is Lara."

There was silence for a moment as Jor seemed to choke on any words that may have been in his throat. Lara finally smiled at him as she realized this young man's dilemma.

Jor-El had never seen a Kryptonian woman smile at him until Lyla a few minutes earlier. There was something different about Lara's though, but whatever it was, he didn't care. All he knew was that he wanted Lara to smile at him for the rest of their lives. Remembering the handshake thing that Zor told him about, he finally thrust his arm toward her somewhat awkwardly. Lara gently took his hand with both of hers. She started to say something to Jor-El, but then it became her turn to be tongue-tied. For the longest time, they just stared into each other's eyes as if searching for that piece of the soul that would bind them forever to one another. At last, Jor leaned in towards Lara and kissed her lips very tenderly.

Kimda, watching all this with Lyla, turned to her and said, "Well... he certainly learned _that_ pretty fast, didn't he?"


	22. Chapter 22

22

Chester Carr glanced over at Officer Kubert and smiled as the policeman began to nod off in his seat. "Joe, exactly how long have you been without sleep? You look like you ought to be in bed. You know, this is something I can do without you. You can go home if you want."

Kubert, startled more by the realization that Chester had caught him napping than by the voice awakening him, snorted once or twice, then replied, "Yeah, it _has_ been at least thirty hours or so..." He rubbed his temples just to the side of his eyebrows and added, "...but with the force as depleted at it is from this earthquake thing, we've been working voluntary twenty-four hour shifts. Besides, I'm pretty curious about what you've found down in that crevice. Don't know why, but something tells me you may be on the verge of a breakthrough with that soil."

Chess grimaced and took another look into the microscope at the sample he had been trying to analyze. "More like a break_down_, actually. Whatever this stuff is, it hasn't been entered into any geologic databases that I can find. I don't even know if it's been found at any of the other sites." There was a pause as the lanky Texan looked up from the equipment and sat back in his lab seat. "I'm probably just wastin' my time on something inconsequential when I should be doing more on the job at hand."

Joe rose from his seat and joined Chester at the table. Picking up Petri dish number four, he eyed the strange sample carefully and inquired, "Well now, that stuff came out of the fissure that the quake created, didn't it? And the guy that's running this shebang - Infatimo... Infanto..."

"Infantino!"

"Yeah, him! Didn't he say you should check out anything unusual about the site and confer with the investigators at the other sites?"

Chester smiled slightly. Kubert had a way of doing that to him. "Yes..."

"Right, and that stuff is about as unusual as anything we've encountered since this thing began, isn't it?"

"I suppose.."

"Have you conferred with your colleagues at the other sites and told them to be on the lookout for that - whatever it is...?"

"Yep! I reckon I have at that."

"Well, then? I'd say you've _been_ doing the 'job at hand,' now. Wouldn't you?"

Carr marveled at his new friend and thought that this fellow was going to be someone that he would have to stay in touch with for the rest of his life. He did wonders for his morale.

"You know, Joe? If you ever give up on livin' here in the Big Apricot, you should think about movin' somewhere near my house! I could _use_ a dose of this affirmation stuff on a daily basis! But anyways, I've uploaded all the information on our find to everyone involved in the investigation, but so far no one has reported back on anything similar. If it turns out to be an anomaly, I'll have to put a probable major geologic discovery on the back burner until we're sure the Earth isn't going to swallow us all up or something.'"

Chester's cell phone began to cry out for attention. "If it's your wife again," volunteered Joe as he began to rise from the aged couch he was sitting on, "I'll wait out in the hall. I'm sure you'd like a little privacy this time."

"Naw… Sit tight, Joe. It's Infantino."

Joe shrugged and reclaimed his place next to the spring that had worked its way through the cushion.

"Hello, Doctor. Anything new on our…? Really? Well, I guess that's something. Yeah, I'll get as much information as I can to everyone that needs it… Hmm…? I didn't catch that…? Well, it's back home in Fort Worth, but I can…Really?" Chester's face suddenly darkened. "That can't be a coincidence. How many were…? I assure you, I take no pleasure in... Well, what about rescue teams…? It was in a journal… written about two hundred years ago by my neighbor's ancestor. His name was Clark Kent… Yes, sir. That's right. _That_ Clark Kent! That's why I didn't want to dismiss it out of hand… Yes, Doctor. I will. Thanks for the call, sir. I'll get down there before the day is over. Bye!"

Carr was silent as he clicked off the connection. Joe noticed the sudden difference in his new friend's demeanor.

"Perfessor?"

"Joe, they found the mystery element in the soil at all the sites. They just had to dig a little deeper than we did, but it looks like the first link in this caper." He was looking directly at Kubert, but still he was somber and distant.

"So… That's good, isn't it? I mean, you've finally got something to go on now, right? So what's wrong? You look a little shaken up." Joe suddenly regretted his last sentence as he realized the news that Chester had just received.

"Infantino didn't call to tell me about the mystery element. We might want to find a holovision. Cairo just got hit with another quake!"

"So what this appears to be is nothing more than an old-fashioned land grab." George was looking into files on the uninet.

"A what?" Guer-on was once again puzzled by Earth vernacular. George stifled a chuckle.

"Land grab. Our girl Jennifer has been a bad girl. She's been buying up Martian acreage like crazy - pennies on the dollar, of course."

"Well... of course." Guer-on agreed, although he had no idea to what he was agreeing.

"It looks as though most of the lands she's been purchasing are undeveloped areas... Land grants!"

"Yes... uh... 'land grants.' That must be it...?"

"See, once the first Earth colony on Mars was established, it was a given that more would follow. The terrain was mapped and divided into tracts of land that were granted to individuals on a first come first served basis. Anyone who wanted them could have them for free, basically, but there was a catch."

"Oh?"

"Yes. First of all, the receivers of the properties were required to relocate to Mars and actually live there. Since not all the areas were yet capable of supporting human life, these folks would become a part of the new colony until life support systems were in place. Then they were required to live on their lands for at least five Earth years."

"I'm beginning to follow you, but so far, it all sounds perfectly legal to me."

"Yes, except that each land applicant was limited to one Martian land tract apiece. The Colonial Land Commission, as it was called, wanted to make it difficult for anyone to gobble up all the land and sell it at outrageous prices later, but it appears Jennifer is part of a cartel that is doing just that."

"Let me guess. By using strong-arm tactics, coercion, and of course, blackmail to force the legitimate owners to sell at a fraction of the value of the land."

"Very good, Guer-on! Have you been reading over my shoulder?"

" No, as I mentioned earlier, I cannot fathom your symbols, but I must confess. Ever since the days of Kandor's life as a bottled city in Kal-el's Fortress of Solitude, our people have studied Earth society in case our city would ever be restored on your planet. Among the many ways we would gather intelligence on your planet, we received an old form of frequency waves then called 'television'..."

George grinned. "I think I know the term."

"Yes... that carried a great deal of information and entertainment. Much of this information has been saved in archives, and I have found a great deal of enjoyment from a form of entertainment called 'movies', in particular a genre referred to as the 'western.' What we have stumbled upon is eerily similar to the plot of many of these 'westerns.'"

"I must admit it does seem to have that feel, doesn't it? I don't think Roy Rogers or Gene Autry will be riding to the rescue, though."

"I see you're acquainted with the genre as well, eh?"

"Yes, but don't tell either of my kids. They think I'm enough of an anachronism already. I can't seem to have a conversation with them without Noel stopping me in mid-sentence and telling me how passe the subject..."

_WHAM! _

George was so shaken and surprised by the impact of an energy explosion just outside and astern of the ship that his feet almost went out from underneath him. He managed to grab a handrail to regain his balance, and promptly returned to the pilot's chair.

"What is it? What's happening?" demanded Guer-on.

George studied the monitors and sensors for a moment. "I can put it this way," he said solemnly. "It wouldn't hurt if John Wayne would show up now with the cavalry. Looks like Jennifer's gang is riding again!"


	23. Chapter 23

23

"Mom, this is spooky! Make him stop!" Noel had never seen her brother in such a state before. It was as if an entirely different entity was channeling though him. The essence of Jimmy was somehow set aside for the moment while this other consciousness took over to tell the story of Krypton's last days. Noel was so terrified by the change that her mother had to reassure her.

"I agree that this is unsettling, Noel," she told her daughter as she took her into her arms and caressed her as only a mother could. "But we must put aside our fears. Although Jimmy doesn't look like it, I believe he is in control, and something tells me that we need to hear the all of this story."

Noel returned her mother's hug and resolved to face the situation - no matter what she was feeling. "Well okay, but if he gets any weirder or starts saying, 'take me to your leader,' or anything like that, I'm bailing out of here!"

Phyllis chuckled a bit and both of them returned their attention to Jimmy as he continued relating the story of Jor-El.

The wedding of Jor-El and Lara was more than just a ritual. It trumpeted a turning point in Krypton's social behavior. The joining together of two people in matrimony had become, in the last two centuries, a mere businesslike undertaking. But by now, the movement embraced by Lara's friends at the college had caught on far better than anyone would have guessed. As Jor-El's family was one of the more affluent and well-known on Krypton, this wedding demanded widespread scrutiny. In keeping with their new-found openness and emotion, the pair of lovers had made sure that this wedding returned to the pomp and grandeur of Kryptonian past. Dancing, singing, and rejoicing were equal partners in the event. Lara's parents had both passed on a year ago, but Jor-El's mother, Sara, and father, Jor-L, attended. Although they felt somewhat awkward in the new style of dress that their son requested, they acquiesced to his wishes and seemed to even enjoy the open show of emotions.

The ceremony was different than anything ever seen on Krypton before. Zor stood up as best man, a custom unknown until now in Kryptonian society, but in the last year since he met Lara, Jor learned many Earth marriage rituals from Kimda, and this one seemed like a great way to reaffirm his familial ties. Lyla served as Maid of honor and Allura, a bridesmaid. A friend of Jor-El and Kimda, Nor Kann, filled out the entourage as groomsman while Kimda gave away the bride.

"Are you nervous?" whispered Zor to his brother as the bridal entourage began to arrive. "You _look_ like you're nervous."

"Why do you say that?" said Jor in equally hushed tones.

"Because you're fidgeting so much that you're practically dancing!"

The only person that was perhaps more nervous than the groom was the presiding minister who was somewhat hesitant as he conducted the ceremony. Jor-El and Lara had to search a very long time to find someone to conduct the ceremony the way they wanted it done. No agent of civil service would be appropriate as none was familiar with any type of ceremony at all. They really only served as witnesses to a contract and then filed that away in some governmental bureaucracy.

In fact, it had been years since the clergy had been called upon to join two people in matrimony, and never using these strange new ideas. Finding a minister then, was the only logical choice for the lovers. There were few willing to preside over so radical a ceremony as this, and many turned down the opportunity because they had never done a marriage of any sort. But finally a candidate, aged Ta-Ul, came forth and offered to do the honors. "After all, a marriage is a marriage." he told them when he agreed. "As long as we do nothing to blaspheme Rao, I will be happy to join the two of you... er... I don't have to be naked or anything like that, do I?"

When Lara approached Jor-El at the front of the hall, he was in awe at how beautiful his bride was. _Every man on Krypton must envy me, _he thought. _I must be the luckiest man in the world. _Her long raven hair was accented by the dress she wore - an exquisite powder blue gown with ruffles.

The ceremony itself was basically true to Krypton religion until just before the final pronouncement, Jor-El and Lara spoke their own vows. _Children_, thought the old man, _Great Rao! What will they come up with next?_

The answer to his unspoken question came quickly as there was an audible gasp from many in the audience who still clung to "traditional" Krypton values. Jor-El and Lara actually kissed each other very passionately and very publicly, but the same traditionalists were appeased when the bride and groom gave each other Kryptonian marriage bracelets which featured a color variation no other couple would be allowed to have. It was the perfect ending to a perfect wedding.

What the wedding lacked in tradition, the reception more than made up for in opulence. No grander event had ever been held on Krypton. Music, dancing, food, art, and as many other forms of elegance as one could imagine were all represented. It was a celebration of not only union but of life. Amid all the bustle and noise, Jor-El realized the time was right for him to do something he had always wanted to do.

"Mother, I hope you and Father have been enjoying yourselves. I do realize that our wedding is most unconventional and that you may not understand why we did some of the things we did. I would not have understood it myself a year ago, but I have learned so many things since that time and the most important of these is that life is a gift from our maker, and it should not be wasted ignoring the people who matter most to you. Life is just too short for that. After all - who knows? - the world could blow up and we could all be dead tomorrow. It's just too short..."

Jor's mother assumed he was speaking to her about Lara, and was about to give them her blessing when he caught her completely by surprise. Jor quietly but firmly approached the woman who had given birth to him, and embraced her for the first time in either of their lives. "Mother, I love you. Please say you approve of this union, but more importantly, please say that you love me, too."

Sara was flustered almost to panic, and at first she was not sure of what she should do with her hands, holding them up and away from her son. But the caress seemed not only pleasant but actually natural, and seconds later, she lowered her arms around the young Jor-El and squeezed him as if she only now realized that he was her son. Tears welled up in her eyes as she whispered, "I do love you, my son. I do! And I wish all the happiness for you and your pretty bride." Jor-L, who had gotten into the spirit of the wedding earlier by dancing with both Lyla and Allura, came over and joined in the embrace. He was followed by Lara, Zor, Allura, and Lyla to make it a group hug.

Jor-El managed a peek at his brother, who was crying like a baby. "What's the matter, Zor? You were the one who suggested this should happen someday. Are you the one who is nervous, now?" Zor was still so overcome with feeling that he could not speak. Instead, he simply managed a grin through his joyful tears towards Jor, and a nod.

Their father, obviously full of new found emotions himself, saw his boys as if through newly opened eyes and realized how right his eldest son was.

"Son?" he inquired, still hanging onto the rest of the group.

"Yes, Father?"

"This new movement you've become part of...?"

"Yes...?"

"Does everyone do this... what do you call what we're doing?"

"Hugging. Yes, almost everyone. Why?"

"I like it!"

In the days that followed, Jor-El and Lara settled in Kryptonopolis, the second largest city on Krypton. Lara continued to be active in the humanity movement while Jor continued in the sciences and soon secured a place in the prestigious Science Council. Kimda and Nor Kann returned to Kandor, their home town and capital city of the planet, where they often collaborated on various projects. Kimda kept in touch with Jor and would pass along everything that he could learn about their common new hobby, Earth. They would often collaborate by video-phone and discuss new facts and theories about the faraway planet. It had recently become easier for Jor-El to study Earth on his own since he had been admitted to the science council and had access to its labs and observatories.

"Admit it, Jor-El. You're just as fascinated by the place as I am," said Kimda as they squared off again in yet another phone call discussing their passion. "I believe you might know more about it than I, now."

"That may be impossible, Kim. You keep coming up with new information every time I talk to you. But I must admit, it _has _been a very interesting hobby for me. Lara thinks I should spend too much time collecting scientific data on the place. She'd like to know more about their arts and history, but I cannot deny my own nature. I am a scientist. You know, I think it would be an awesome experience to find a way to actually visit there. Can you imagine what it would be like with the lower gravity. Why, we could leap tremendous distances and lift enormous weights. We would be almost..."

"Don't forget that star of theirs, Jor. It's yellow, unlike our red sun. The effects it might have on a Krytonian are unpredictable, perhaps even harmful. You just don't know what it would do. It might even cause blindness."

"It doesn't seem to harm the natives as a rule. Oh, there are _occasions_ of skin disorders and eye damage, but in most of those cases, over-indulgence or ignorance played a major role. And remember, Kim, as much as we enjoy learning about them, they _are_ a primitive race compared to us."

"Ah, that's yet another debate, I think. Technologically, there is no way to dispute you on that. But as you and I have personally learned, they have so much they could teach us. I believe whenever we look at a culture different than ours, our arrogance wants us to automatically perceive them as 'primitive.' Don't be so quick to judge."

"My friend, you may have something there. How is my friend, Nor Kann. I understand you and he have working together on an agricultural project?"

"Yes, and he is always going on about his gratitude to you for helping him through school. He reads practically everything you write and keeps up with all your theories. Just what did you do to inspire such hero-worship in him?"

"It's a long story. Sufficed to say, he needed help during a rough time and I was the one who helped him."

"Well, it wouldn't hurt if you could get him to transfer a little of that towards me. After all, he is working with me, you know. How is your brother and the rest of your family?"

"Zor has a new project that the Council has assigned to him. He has moved to Argo City to start work on a biosphere experiment."

"Biosphere? I thought Krypton was already done with that type of thing."

"This will be different. This experiment will have the entire city enclosed. It will be an enormous undertaking and the need for cooperation from the populace will be tremendous."

"Well, if anyone can accomplish that it would be Zor. He is a natural leader if I ever saw one."

"Yes, and since Father died, Zor has needed something to take his mind off of that. It seems like we both just got to know him and suddenly he's gone. Zor took it much harder than I did, though."

"It will be good for him, and the fact that Allura lives there couldn't hurt, either. You know, I think I'll give him a call after we finish our conversation. I know that he keeps later hours than you. Oh, by the way, have you been keeping up with Lyla? Her career has certainly taken off, hasn't it?"

"It has! I never would have dreamed that the little movement she started in college would lead to such a social revolution of our planet. Not only has it spawned a new interest in arts, but now motion pictures have made a comeback. Our own Lyla Lerrol is the medium's greatest star. The attention hasn't changed her that much, thankfully. She visits with us quite often."

"That's good to know. Be sure to give her my love when you see her again, and tell her to come see her old friend, Kimda, when she can get to Kandor."

"Will do. Take care, my friend."

It would be the last conversation Jor would ever have with Kimda.


	24. Chapter 24

24

"Zor! For Rao's sake, it's the middle of the night!" Jor-El could hardly see through his weary eyes as he answered the vid-phone on the table next to his bed while Lara, still in the grip of slumber, turned over and yawned. "Just what could be so important at this hour?"

"It's gone, Jor! It was there one minute and then the next moment, it was just...gone! Like someone just took a big spoon and ladled it out in one motion!"

"What are you talking about?"

Lara began to stir. "Whus goin' on, Jor? Is your brother all right?"

Jor-El shrugged his ignorance and patted her arm tenderly.

"Kandor!" said Zor. "I'm talking about a great city! How could an entire city just disappear? Answer me that!"

"Calm down! You're not making any sense! Just..." Jor deliberately slowed the pace of his speech so that his brother might sense the need to compose himself. "...relax a minute and tell me - _calmly_ - what's gotten you to this state? And start from the beginning."

"All right... I'll try... I was talking to Kimda on the vid-phone..."

"Yes, he told me last night he wanted to do that."

"Right, and we were having a grand visit. He was telling me about a cute young lady that he had taken up with recently..."

"Really! He didn't mention that to me! Well, I'll have to give him a little piece of my mind when I next talk to him."

"That may not be too easy, brother."

"Why? What do you mean?"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you. We were talking and the connection just went dead!"

"That's not a reason to get this upset. That happens a lot more than many people realize. Even in this day, no technology is perfect. Breakdowns happen all the time." Lara got out of the bed, squeezed her husband's shoulder and left the room.

"That's what Ithought. But when I couldn't re-establish the connection, I thought I'd watch a little holo-vid to help me relax to sleep. And it wasn't but a few minutes before the bulletin began. Kandor! The entire city of Kandor has completely vanished! There is nothing left where it was but a gigantic crater. The reporters were guessing it was some sort of bomb, but there was no _sound! _Tell me what kind of bomb makes _no sound?"_

Lara returned with two mugs of hot tea, handing one to Jor-El. "Wait a minute, Zor. Let me turn my set on. But so help me, if this is one of your silly jokes..."

"I assure you, brother. No joke!"

Jor tapped the control panel on the table, and as he sipped the tea from the mug, a three dimensional image began to form between the bed and the wall beyond. The images that followed verified his brother's fear. Where once there had been a great city was now a giant hole in the ground. The emotions within Jor ran the gamut between fear, disbelief, and outrage.

"Well...?" asked Zor.

"I... I'll call you back later. I need to..."

"It's all right. I understand."

"I... I'm sorry, Zor. I have to... to watch this... The Science Council will want to..."

"Go ahead, brother. We can talk later. I knew you would want to know about it now..."

An aerial wide shot attempted unsuccessfully to convey the scope of the situation. Lara was just as awestruck as Jor. Neither one of them could say anything for minutes.

By and by, the shot switched to a reporter interviewing a young woman wearing a uniform and who looked as though she had been weeping.

"We're talking to Kerra Zee, who says she was an eyewitness to the strange disappearance of Kandor. Kerra, what did you see?"

"I'm a forest ranger and I work in a tower in the Scarlet Jungle. The jungle, as you know, abuts with the southeastern fringe of the city. I was just finishing my hourly safety check, scanning the horizon with my telelens for fires. I looked toward the city - uhm, mine is the only tower in the jungle that has a view of Kandor - and I was thinking about how pretty the city lights looked through the brush, when a kind of purple... light…kind of, shone down on the skyline for maybe three or four seconds. Then it stopped and the city was gone."

"Did you see where this purple light was coming from?"

"I'm not sure exactly. It was coming from the sky above the city, and I grabbed my telelens again. I must have been looking at some sort of illusion of some kind, because it appeared to be emanating from a flying craft shaped like a... disc of some sort."

"Sort of saucer shaped?"

"Yes, exactly! Saucer shaped! Anyway, after the city disappeared, this... flying saucer just zipped straight up and disappeared, too! I don't think I'll ever forget it!"

"Kerra, you seem a little shaken by all this. Are you all right?"

"I don't know. I live in Kandor with my mother and brother when I'm not on duty. I don't know what's happened to them..." the young ranger, almost losing her composure, buried her head in her hand for a moment trying to hold back tears. "My mother is going to... _was_ going to have a baby... I just want know if they're all right..."

"Lara, I have to get out there."

"I know, darling. I know. But why don't you come back to bed and leave in the morning. I'll make you some breakfast before you go."

"I may as well get started right away. I wouldn't be able to sleep, now, anyway. The Council will want this investigated thoroughly. But breakfast sounds like a great idea."

Jor-El's beautiful bride kissed his cheek and started for the kitchen. Her husband was right. Sleep would have been near impossible now - for both of them.

Jor was correct in assuming the Science Council would assign him the task of investigating the disappearance of Kandor. He was the newest member of the Council and in his early tenure he had already developed a reputation for being somewhat unorthodox in his approach to a problem. His method of solving problems had the other Council members very divided on their opinions of him.

There were some who felt that he had been given his seat because of his family's stature and not because of any talent he might have for science. Others still clung to their isolationist ways and saw Jor as a threat to their way of life because of his association with the Open Heart movement. These factions of the Council were always seeing that Jor-El received the most impossible tasks to investigate, hoping that any failure would disparage and discredit him to the point of resignation, leaving his seat vacant for a more deserving individual, usually a relative or lackey of their own.

His proponents also were happy to see Jor get the toughest assignments, but for a different reason. His own way of looking at things seemed to give him a fresh approach toward any investigation and opened up viewpoints that might have gone unseen without him.

So it was no surprise to Jor or Lara when the vid-phone rang early in the morning and Vel-Ar, the Council's chairman, asked him to investigate the strange disappearance of Kandor.

"I already have a bag packed, Mr. Chairman. I am ready to be on the next transport to the site. I... suppose I would have asked for the assignment, even if you hadn't chosen me. I have some friends who live... _lived_ in Kandor."

"We all had friends there, Jor-El, in fact we lost three of our longest tenured members to... whatever caused this. But you know as well as I that you must put your emotions aside and investigate as dispassionately as possible. This is one time your Open Heart days will not serve you well."

"I will... do my best, Vel-Ar. But it will not be easy."

"We have seen enough of your work to know that you are the best choice for the job, young man. Take heart in that we do not send you lightly."

"Are there any hypotheses from any of the other Council members?"

"Only a few opinions, but all are pretty general. None of us have been to the site, yet. I have included all the data we actually have _and_ those opinions in a brief that will be aboard the floater we have sent for you. They may be of help to you, but I would not put much stock in them. This appears to me to be a mystery of a type we have never seen before, and I believe it will definitely require your fresh approach in order to solve it. Now, good luck, Jor-El. May Rao guide you."

The floater arrived in short order, and as he began to leave their home, he kissed his wife with more passion than he had ever kissed her before. "I... I suppose this has made me realize that we could lose anyone at any time. I could lose... you! And I couldn't bear that, Lara. Please stay safe while I'm away. I love you _so_ much!" He kissed her again, then he was out the door and on his way to the Kandorian crater where the great city once stood.

Lara sighed heavily as she watched her husband drive away in the transport. She had wanted to give him some important news this morning, but with the situation being what it was, it seemed the time was just not right to tell him now. She shook her head and wiped away sad tears that grieved for lost friends and happy tears that smiled for her news. She would tell Jor her secret tomorrow - that he would soon become a father.

Upon arriving at the site, Jor-El was awed by the scope of what he saw. Though he had seen pictures on the holo-vid, it was nothing like what he was experiencing now. The vastness of the crater was simply overwhelming. Satellite photos confirmed the crater was a perfect circle, and within that circle was absolutely nothing - no ruins, no vegetation, nothing! If some asteroid had impacted the city, there would have been, of course, catastrophic consequences world-wide. Dust clouds and pollution would have created an unnatural winter across the globe. Oceans would have shifted tides forming massive waves which would have beaten the shores into submission. No, no impact of any kind caused this. There was no sound, no remains, nothing - just a big hole in the ground where once a mighty municipality stood.

The task of roping off the affected area would be nearly impossible. Crews were already busy working on that chore. Jor did not envy their charge. And he worried that curiosity seekers would infiltrate the area and destroy crucial pieces of the puzzle he was about to negotiate. Already a few stragglers appeared to have entered the zone. He decided he had better get down into the crater and get busy.

Climbing aboard a one man mini-floater, he eased himself down into the vast sea of nothingness. The trip to the crater floor took about ten minutes, but only four minutes was actual flight time. He hovered above to note anything about the area that might be useful to his investigation, but for the moment nothing seemed too out of place except that a city should be there. He continued his descent and espied someone sitting on the ground near where was to alight. As he closed in on his landing, he began to recognize the figure as the young ranger he had seen the night before on the holo-vid. She was just sitting cross-legged, randomly picking up rocks and tossing them away. It was obvious as Jor walked over to her that she had been crying.

"This was where we lived," she said between sobs. "Right here! I know because I would look out to the southwest and see my tower between those two trees right there." She pointed towards nothing in particular without lifting her head then picked up another stone and flung it in the same direction. Jor gazed out that way, but saw nothing but the side of the crater, which from this viewpoint looked like a mountain ridge.

_Poor woman_, he thought. _Her mind just can't handle the reality of the situation. _He put his hand on her shoulder and tried to say something to comfort her, but no words would come to him so he instead asked her name even though he remembered from the report last night that it was Kerra. She didn't answer him, but instead just continued flinging rocks and dirt clumps.

Finally, she said, "I know they are alive. I don't know _how_ I know it, but I know they are." She then looked at Jor as if she just realized he was there and added, "But I also know that I'll never see them again..."

"Kerra, how about if we get you out of here. We'll take you home..." Jor stopped short as he realized what he had said.

"I am home! This is the spot! I know it!"

"I'm sorry, Kerra. You're right, but we'll find you another home," He offered her his hand. "...a new home."

She looked at Jor as if he was crazy, but then took his hand and pulled herself up. "Yes, a new home... That would be good..." With that, she threw the last clump of soil she had scooped up into her free hand and tossed it down. Jor noticed the strange purple color of the clump.

"Kerra, is there a lot of that purple soil?"

"I think so, I don't know," she answered absently. "I just picked it up and threw it. Please take me to my new home."

Jor-El smiled at his new friend and radioed the command center above for a floater. Kerra was in desperate need of psychiatric help due to her shock, but she also was the only eye-witness to the tragic event that he was investigating. He intended to see that she got the best of care and that he would be able to find her again later. "Kerra," he told her after the floater arrived, "Go with this man. He will take you to a new home."

"Will you come to see me?"

"Yes, I promise I will. What is your full name?"

"Kerra Zee."

"All right, Kerra Zee. My name is Jor-El. Just go with this man and if you need me, tell him or the people he will take you to. They will call me and I will come to see you."

"You promise?"

"I promise!"

"Okay. Good-bye, Jor-El."

"Good-bye, Kerra." Jor-El quickly briefed the floater operator to take Kerra to a mental facility in Kryptonopolis and to check her in under his authority. He would call the hospital later and take care of all the details then, he thought. But now as the floater soared away, he picked up the purple clump of soil and recalled that Kerra told the reporter about a purple light shining on the city before it disappeared. It was no stretch to theorize a link between the light and this soil, but that still didn't explain what had happened to Kandor. It would take more study to work out that puzzle.


	25. Chapter 25

25

Jor dug around the immediate area and found more traces of the purple element almost everywhere. _This may be nothing_, he thought, _or it may be the key to the entire puzzle_.

"This may be the key to the whole thing," said Chester to Professor Infantino. "If this purple stuff is in every crevice opened up during these quakes, I think this is our link."

Infantino appeared willing to believe if not totally convinced. "Just what makes you think this is the catalyst? Other than the phosphorescence, it doesn't seem to be that different from the rest of the soil samples. And other elements are common to all the quake zones as well. What makes this one special?"

"Well, first off, I think any element that has never been recorded in geologic history certainly bears watching. And the fact that it suddenly appears in every instance of these tremors is pretty darn suspicious. Have any of the other crew come up with anything else that seems to point to why these quakes have been happening or why now - one after another?"

"As you are aware of, my boy, earthquakes do not punch a timeclock. You can never really predict when they are going to occur. The fact that these all occurred in succession, however, is to say the least... intriguing if nothing else. And the other members of our team, I must admit, are baffled. Your "link" does seem to be the best lead we've found so far, but until we know more about this... whatever it is... it is still just something we've found at the sites and doesn't explain a thing."

"We are conducting extensive tests to learn what exactly we're dealing with, Professor. I hope to find some answers before another quake hits. By the way, have you contacted the folks in Sydney?"

"Your 'Superman' theory...?"

Chester cringed a bit as he recalled putting his credibility on the line not long ago. "Yes, sir. I think we... you... saved a lot of lives in Cairo. We may be able to save a lot more in Sydney if we could..."

"...Evacuate the city? No, Mr. Carr. We will do the same thing for Sydney that we did for Cairo, only we will be more at the ready when anything happens. Can you imagine what would happen if we were to tell everyone in a city of that scope that they were about to undergo a disaster of this magnitude and to leave immediately? The panic would be immeasurable. I believe we might cause more deaths than we would save. No, we are sending extra emergency crews to stand at the ready, and the authorities there have been put on alert that Sydney is high on a list of possible sites for another quake, but that will have to be all we do until the situation calls for more."

After Infantino left, Chester pondered what he had said and decided he was probably right. A revelation like that could _cause _a panic that would be more dangerous than the threat itself. _At least he believes me enough to send emergency teams down there_, he thought. _And he's right about this stuff, too. Just because it's there doesn't mean it caused anything. _He went back to the petri dish where he had left one of the samples and looked at it carefully. The phosphorescent purple streak was still surrounded by ordinary soil, some pebbles, and other debris just as he had left it earlier, but something seemed different about it for some reason. He couldn't, however, place what that difference was... yet.

George continued to pilot the ship in an evasive fashion, dodging the energy bursts and torpedoes that kept exploding nearer and uncomfortably nearer with each burst.

"I don't know how long we can keep this up," he mumbled to Guer-On, who seemed more annoyed than frightened by the recent turn of events. "I've never had to do any of this kind of flying before. They've got to be missing us more because of luck than my piloting skills."

"Your piloting skills are quite adequate, George. I don't think you give yourself enough credit. It appears to me that you're doing just fine."

"Thanks, Guer-On. You know, it's great to have you along, but right now, I wish you were my size. I could sure stand to have you run weapons on this bird. It's kind of hard to..." George pulled back on the wheel hard and the ship changed direction just in time to avoid an energy burst from behind them, "...pilot and run defenses!"

"I understand how you might feel that way." replied the Kryptonian as George jerked the wheel hard counterclockwise. The glint of weapons fire flew harmlessly past the ship and to its right. "How far from the asteroid belt are we?"

"Another three Earth minutes if we were going in a straight line, but due to our present circumstances it seems our route will be somewhat... circuitous." Another torpedo rocked the ship as it exploded just meters from its port side. "If we get there in five, I'll be absolutely ecstatic! Whoopsy-daisy!" At George's command, the ship performed a corkscrew maneuver and avoided yet another shot.

"How far behind us are our pursuers?"

"Close enough to hit us with weapons fire, but far enough that it's difficult, why?"

"I understand they're following us in part to recover their cargo...?"

George began to grin. "Yessss..."

"I propose that we give some of it to them."

"I like the way you think, friend. But I'm kind of tied up with this wheel... Hold on!" He banked the ship hard to starboard and another torpedo just missed them. "...and you're - pardon me for bringing this up - to small to handle the cargo."

"Small, yes, but you seem to have forgotten something, George."

Another weapons surge rattled the ship. The explosions were getting closer with each salvo.

"Forgotten what?"

"I _am_ from Krypton!" With that, Guer-On leaped out of his shelter in George's ear and _flew_ to the cargo hold and returned carrying one of the cases of explosives. As small as he was, the bomb package appeared to be flying by itself. In a split-second the package was opened, buttons engaged, and the lethal parcel was armed. "I suggest we release this in our wake. The ship pursuing us will surely hit it or at least come close enough to trigger the bomb. Even if it doesn't destroy them, it should at least slow them down enough to enable us to reach the asteroid belt, don't you think?"

Kent's face lit up. "I do think! Yes, if you can put it in the airlock..." Almost as fast as thought, the tiny man from Kandor coupled his flying ability with his super strength turning the hatchway's locking wheel and pulling open the massive door as if it was as light as cardboard. In another blink of the eye the dangerous container was placed in the airlock and the door resealed and locked.

"I believe you can open the outer door from your panel, George." Kent said nothing as he powered the ship into a dive to elude another burst of weapons fire, then straightened his course. "This is going to be the tricky part, Guer. I have to make sure that they are right behind me or we miss them. The only problem is once they realize I'm not changing course, they can easily draw a bead on us and... Well, I guess it wouldn't be too good for us, huh?"

"How long can we..."

"Not yet..."

"But they're gaining..."

"Not yet..."

"George! I think they're locking on and..."

"**_NOW!_**" And George pulled the airlock release. Two and a half seconds later, all hell broke loose.


	26. Chapter 26

26

Jimmy seemed to awaken from his trance. He gave a bit of a shudder, then looked around the room and finally to his audience of family members. "Whoa! I feel a little drained. It was like a whole other person was inside me using my motor skills to tell that epic." His body slumped a bit on the couch and he wiped his hand across his brow. "And all I could do was listen. Whew!"

Phyllis, concerned for her son, took his hand and asked her daughter, "Noel, go get a glass of water for your brother, please."

"Cripes, Mom! It seems like I've been babying him the last two days! First I gotta get a wet washcloth for his face, now I gotta get him something to drink! Next thing you know, you're gonna have me feeding him, too. Why do I have to..."

Phyllis quickly turned her attention from her son and fixed one of the coldest, scariest scowls she could muster upon Noel, who suddenly saw her life flash before her eyes.

"On my way!" said the youngest Kent and was out the door to the kitchen. In a moment, she returned with a large glass of ice water and handed it to her brother, who couldn't help but snicker at the turn of events. "Service with a smile," she added and punctuated the deed with a large, if not altogether sincere, grin of her own.

Phyllis was all business outside, but inside she was fighting to keep from bursting out with laughter. "See... (heh!) That wasn't so hard (hee-hee), was it?"

"No, I guess not. But if _I_ ever get zapped in the head by a ray from a glowing green rock, I sure as heck better get the red carpet treatment by a certain brother I know!"

Jimmy laughed, "You got a deal, Sis!" He chug-a-lugged the contents of the glass and turned to his mother. "Are you ready to hear more of Jor-El's story?"

The worry returned to his mother's face as she turned her attention back to Jim. "Are you sure you're up to it, son? It seemed to take a lot out of you?"

"I'm fine, Mom. I just needed to take a breather, I guess. Besides, I think we may have something Mr. Carr can use in his investigation. We've got to go on."

"All right, as long as you're in control. Like you said, it was like you were an entirely different person while relating this history. Just be careful, please!"

Jim nodded to his mother and Noel rolled her eyes. "Oh, man! You're gonna get all spooky again?" Phyllis didn't bother turning toward her daughter, but Noel could almost feel the left eyebrow arch on her mother's forehead. "I mean... uh... Great! I love a good story!"

Jimmy winked at Noel, who caught the gesture and, this time, felt the love behind it. She gave her brother another little grin, but this one was very, very sincere.

He concentrated for a moment and then resumed the tale.

"My early findings are just too fantastic, Lara. Even for my reputation. I don't think anyone will believe me. Why, I'm not sure I believe it myself." Jor-El, back in his home laboratory in Kryptonopolis, studied the satellite photo of the crater very carefully. It had been taken with a special ultra-violet lens, and revealed that the unknown element that had been dug up the day before, was strewn about the entire crater area in a very deliberate checkerboard type pattern. "One thing is obvious to me. This was no tragic accident, no atomic explosion, no seismic quake that swallowed up the city. No, Kandor - the entire city of Kandor - was the victim of a deliberate crime..."

"I'm sure you're right, darling, but I need to tell you som..."

"...the scope of which is far greater than any crime ever known before..."

"Yes, dear, but I..."

"I mean, the pattern of the purple element in the crater is just too perfect to suggest it pre-existed underground before the incident..."

"Jor-El, please...!"

"It almost looks like someone took a giant paint sprayer and pointed it at one spot on the planet's surface and..."

"You're going to become a father!"

"...and the crater itself is a perfect circle. No meteor could be that precise...! Eh... Uhm... What did you say, Lara?"

"I said, 'you are going to be a _father _!' We're having a _baby _!"

Jor-El was speechless. Of all the things that could happen right now, this was the one thing he would never have expected.

"Uh... wuh... hah... a... bahbee...?" was all he could get out. As his wife's news finally sunk in, he asked, "But how? We didn't go to the PDC together and leave samples... We just... er..._ OH! _"

"'Oh!' is right, dear," Lara said with a grin. "We don't need no stinkin' PDC to have our baby!"

Noel tugged her mother's arm. "I have a feeling that Jimmy might have influenced _that_ translation just a wee bit."

"Hush, Noel!"

"Sorry, Mom..."

Jor-El was flustered - more so than he had ever been in his life. All sorts of emotions came rushing through as he realized that the child would be carried through to term in Lara, not some incubator. They would be taking a huge chance by bringing the child into the world in this manner. He worried for Lara. He worried for the child within her. But then his love for Lara and their child - yes, _their_ child - overwhelmed all his fears and as Jor-El found a deep sense of satisfaction and, perhaps, pride overtake him, he enveloped his wife in a loving caress with tears of joy streaming down his face.

"Rao himself couldn't make me happier than you did today, my love! A child! _Our_ child! We will be a real family! I promise, Lara, that we _will_ be a real family, perhaps the first real family on Krypton in centuries! Oh, great Rao! How long have you known?"

"I tried to tell you yesterday, but you became too busy with Kandor exploding..."

"It didn't explode. It... disappeared. And I believe... stolen!"

"Stolen? An entire city, Jor-El? How is that possible?"

"I know how fantastic it sounds, Lara. But from the evidence available, it is the only explanation that makes sense. The crater is a perfect circle. That's too much of a coincidence to be anything else but the outline of a single ray of an energy beam of some sort. The purple residue in the crater is patterned, as I said, as if it came from a single source within that beam and spread with distance. Finally, there is not a trace remaining of Kandor anywhere within the confines of the crater, while everything on the outside of its perimeter is as untouched as it was before the incident.

"We know that teleportation of matter is viable in theory, and while we know of no Kryptonians who have such a device capable of this, it is feasible to believe that someone - on Krypton or from another planet - could have created one."

"From another planet?"

"Yes, Lara. As you know, we are aware of civilizations on other planets in the galaxy. Earth, for example."

"Oh, Jor! I know we've taken some of their customs and mimicked them, but even I understand how primitive they are compared to us. I don't see how they could travel here to..."

"Yes, they are too far behind us in the sciences, darling. But just as they are primitive to us, there are other planets and civilizations that would view us as primitive compared to them. It would have to be a race such as this to be capable of such interstellar travel and molecular transport technology.

"And to reach the proper altitude in order to project a beam wide enough to encircle a city the size of Kandor, it would take a craft capable of interstellar flight."

"Isn't it possible that the city was disintegrated by a weapon instead of stolen?"

"No. Again there was no trace of the city within the crater at all. If Kandor had been destroyed in any way - disintegration included - there would something - ashes, residue, d. n. a., something! - within that hole left over from what once was a collection of people and buildings."

"All well and good, Jor-El, but where did the city go? If it was an alien spacecraft that stole our city, how was it carried away? Was the ship so large that a city could fit inside it?"

"No, any craft that size, alien or domestic, would have been picked up by sensing devices on the ground. It had to be small enough to avoid detection."

"Then I don't understand how a great city could fit into a small spaceship."

"That is the one piece of this puzzle that I haven't made fit... yet! I do have a theory, but I need to do more study before making my findings known to the Science Council.

"In the meantime, I am more concerned about you, dear. I don't know too much about naturally bringing a child to term. It is done so infrequently these days. Are there even doctors who are still skilled in this form of childbirth?"

"Yes, darling. As you say, few Kryptonians have taken this route to giving birth, but there are some who have over the centuries. There has always been a need for doctors who understand its nuances. I've already contacted someone. We should be all right."

"Speaking of 'all right,' are you?"

"Am I... what?"

"Are you all right? As I say, I know little about this, but it seems to me that having an extra person within you would be somehow... tiring, to say the least."

"Darling, I am fine right now. But when the pregnancy is in its later stages, I may need a little help around here while you are at work."

Jor remembered that Kerra, the girl he took to the hospital, mentioned her mother was pregnant. "I think I know someone that will be able to help us when we get to that point."

Kerra Zee brightened considerably when Jor-El walked into her room. She had already shown remarkable progress , but his was the first familiar face she had seen since her arrival at the hospital. Her room was especially drab and dreary, even by old Krypton standards, but Kerra had done what she could to cheer up the place with crayon drawings and water colors.

"You came! You really came! Jor-El. I am so happy to see you again!" Kerra gave Jor a big hug. "These people are very nice, but I haven't had anyone that I could just talk to. Ohhh..._ Thank_ you!"

"And hello to you, Kerra Zee, but why are you thanking me?"

"After I got here, I thought perhaps that you only_ told_ me you would visit me to, you know, calm me down." Kerra noticed a young lady with long black hair at the door. "I_ was_ a little emotional at the time. I wouldn't have blamed you if you hadn't come."

"No, Kerra. One thing that you can always count on from me is that I always mean what I say." Seeing that his new friend had spotted Lara, he gestured toward her. "I'd like you to meet someone."

"She's not a another doctor, is she? I think I've seen about a dozen doctors since I've been here."

"You've only been here three days, Kerra. Could you be exaggerating just a little?"

"Well, maybe just a_ little_ bit," the young forest ranger admitted with a grin.

"No, this is not another doctor. I'd like you to meet my wife, Lara."

"Hello, Kerra. I'm pleased to meet you. My name is Lara. I'm sorry to hear about your loss. At least you knew your mother. I never even knew who mine was."

"Hi, L-Lara. I-I'm Kerra Zee. Thank you for the sympathy, but you don't need to bother with it. And I'm all right now, Jor-El! I really am. You see, I now know that my mother and brother are alive and well."

"You do? I seem to recall you saying something like that when I met you. You know, right now almost everyone else on Krypton believes that Kandor and all its people have been destroyed. How do you know that it wasn't?"

"You won't believe me, but you've been so nice to me that I'll tell you anyway. I had a dream last night."

"A dream?"

"Yes, and I saw a young man come to me in my dream and I knew who he was - even though I'd never seen him before in my life."

"Who was he?" asked Lara.

"He was my new little brother - the one who hasn't been born yet."

"Yes, Jor told me your mother was pregnant."

"She is! And he came to me and told me that it was all right. Kandor still exists. And that it would survive long after Krypton had perished. I don't know what he meant by that, but I knew it was true. In my heart I knew it!" She looked at both of her visitors and added, "What's more, you know it, too. Don't you, Jor-El?"

The young couple glanced at each other and Jor admitted, "Yes, Kerra, I think it is true. And that is one of the reasons I came to see you today. You said the purple light came from the sky. Could you have been running any sort of video recording device when it happened? Perhaps we might be able to see something that would tell us exactly what happened?"

The girl smiled broadly and announced. "Why, yes, of course. You're right! As I said before, I was doing my safety check with a telelens. It records what it sees directly into a computer. The data is probably still there, but it usually gets purged from the system after a few days."

Jor-El was elated. Maybe he would be able to produce hard evidence to support his wild theory after all. "That's wonderful, Kerra! I need to look at what you recorded to figure out what really happened that night. Do you think you could show it to me?"

"If you can get them to let me out of here. They think I'm crazy because of my dream. I don't think I should have told them about it. You don't think I'm crazy though, do you, Jor-El? What do _you_ think happened to Kandor?"

The scientist put his hand on Kerra's shoulder and smiled at her as Lara began to peruse the drawings and paintings on the walls of the room. "No, Kerra. You're not crazy. But you may think that _I _am. I think Kandor was stolen... by someone in a space ship."

Lara took notice of one watercolor in particular and, taking it down from its place on the wall, she handed it over to her husband. "No, darling. I don't think she'll have one bit of trouble believing you."

The subject of Kerra's painting was a rendering of a saucer shaped vehicle floating in dark, starry skies with a purple light emanating from it toward the lower portion of the paper. "I'd say she just might concur with your theory completely."


	27. Chapter 27

27

The knock on the door roused Chester from his semi-conscious state and he forced himself from his horizontal position on the time beaten drab green couch to a sitting position. As he scratched the back of his scalp, he simultaneously yawned and muttered, "Come on in. I may as well have some company. I don't seem to be _doing_ anything right now."

Officer Joe Kubert strolled into the makeshift lab and asked his new friend from the Lone Star State, "Does that mean you're through investigating?"

"Well, that kinda depends, Joe. No, the investigation continues because we still haven't any hard evidence of a cause of the tremors. But yes, I think _I'm_ through investigating because I keep coming up dry on my theory. I know - I just _know_ - that this purple element has something to do with the whole thing, but I can't seem to figure out how! I'm... about out of ideas. I guess I may as well just... pack muh stuff and head on back to Cowtown."

"Cowtown?" Kubert was completely baffled.

"Oh, that's just one of the nicknames for my home town. Cowtown, Panther City... One writer once said that Fort Worth was where the West begins, and Dallas was where the East petered out."

Joe chuckled, then eyed the geologist as if disappointed. "So that's it, then? You're giving up?"

Chester realized he was disappointed, too. "If I just had something to go on, Joe, I would keep at it. But all I have is purple dirt! Purple... dirt! It's at every site, but every sample I take shows nothing that would cause anything but stains."

'I guess I might feel a little beaten at this point too, Perfessor. I guess I was just hoping that if someone was to save the Earth, it would be nice fella like you instead of one of those pompous windbags you have to work with. Is this the sample I looked at yesterday?"

"Yep, That's it. The dish right in front of you."

"Nah, this can't be it," said Kubert as he squinted down at the clump of soil and rocks. "Must be another sample."

"No, I remember. You were looking at that dish. Petri dish number four."

"This couldn't be what I looked at yesterday, Perfessor. Unless you changed the rocks in the dish. These are smaller than the ones I saw. Not _much_ smaller, but it is a little."

Chester, with a puzzled look on his face, stared at the New York cop for a few seconds, then he looked at Petri dish number four and elbowed his way past his friend. "'Scuse me, Joe!" was all he said as he picked up the calipers he had left near the dish, then picked up the same rock he had measured the previous day. "I can't believe it! How did I not see this! This... this has got to be it! Joe! You found it! Y-you found it!" Chester was jumping up and down and laughing.

"I found what? What the heck are you talking about?"

"Don't you see?" He thrust the calipers in front of Kubert, who had no idea what the geologist was going on about. "The calipers are still set from the other day!"

"I... still don't..."

"The rock! I measured the size of this rock with these calipers yesterday!"

"Yeah, so..."

"Look!"

Chester passed the calipers over the rock and at least a quarter of an inch of space appeared between the rock and the legs of the device.

"Okay, what does it mean?"

"It means we have something, Joe! It means we have a very important something!" With that, Chester yanked the policeman's cap off his head and planted a kiss smack dab in the middle of his friend's bald spot.

"Are you all right?"

"Of course I'm all right. I'm invulnerable."

George let out the breath he had been holding for what felt like hours. The explosion they had set up had rocked the ship worse than any of the weapons their pursuers had unleashed. George had been thrown from his seat by the impact and deposited on the floor of the craft, but he had no time to recover. At least three panels had blown causing several small fires to smolder up. He grabbed an emergency fire extinguisher and went to work on the two nearest him while Guer-On used his super-breath to blow out the remaining blaze.

"At least no one is firing on us now," said George as the fires were snuffed out. He checked the damage control listing on the computer screen readout. "Life support is undamaged. We still have all propulsion engines intact. Force fields are down twenty per cent and the only real damage was to short range sensors and the aft camera. I think we lucked out." He paused a moment and then added. "That never happened in any of the movies I ever saw..."

"Excuse me?" asked a puzzled Kandorian.

"In the movies... dramatizations on recorded media..."

"I know what movies are, George. We actually did have such a thing on Krypton... And, as I have already said, we have observed your broadcast signals for many years."

"Sorry. Well, in the movies when the good guys are being chased by the bad guys and the good guys toss an explosive behind them to dissuade the bad guys from chasing them, the explosive always stops the bad guys and the good guys just keep on going untouched. That didn't work like that exactly for us."

"Perhaps because in the movies they do not use real explosives."

George laughed, "Yes, perhaps! I guess they were closer to us than I thought, too. They hit the little forget-me-not we tossed much sooner than I thought they would."

"Well, I suggest that we not wait around for long. They may have sustained as little damage as we. I believe we can now as you say, 'make a run for it?'"

"Good idea. The belt is just ahead. Once we make that, we should be able to hide from Jennifer's clowns pretty easily while we search for... what did you say it was called?"

"Illium 349-a... but your people have a simpler name for it - Kryptonite."


	28. Chapter 28

28

"So this is from where you saw everything?" Jor-El asked Kerra as they eyed the lookout tower looming above them. "How do we get up there?"

"I'm afraid it's a bit more low tech than what most Kryptonians are used to. We use this thing called..." She pulled on a rope hanging from the top of the tower and a door opened in the floor of the observation deck at its top. "...A ladder!" dropped down from the opening. Stifling a chuckle, Jor began the climb to the top followed by his new friend.

"The pair were met by a young man in a uniform Jor-El recognized as similar to the one Kerra had been wearing the night she had been interviewed. "Kerra! What a surprise! We all thought you would be away from work for a long stretch," he said with genuine concern in his voice.

"It _is_ going to be awhile Ko-Lim. I'm taking some leave time to help a... a friend! This is Jor-El. He's investigating what happened the night that... the night Kandor disappeared. He wants to view our recorded data and holovids."

"Right," said Ko-Lim. "Captain Zim filled me in. He said I was to cooperate with Jor-El in every way. Welcome, sir." He snapped off a very sharp salute to his guest.

Jor smiled at his host and said, "Thank you, Ko. Perhaps we should just get right to it. Kerra and I should be all right alone. You can procede with your regular duties. We'll call you if we need you." The ranger looked a little disappointed, but nodded and went about his business.

"What would you like to start with, Jor-El? Computer readouts? Meteorological data? Holovid?"

"Let's check the computer first. If I'm right, though, it will not reveal that much. There was probably a very powerful E. M. surge when the spaceship appeared." Ko-Lim had been trying not to eavesdrop, but his head spun around at the mention of the word, "spaceship."

With their voices lowered, Kerra answered, "It would have had to have been a powerful surge. Our equipment is heavily shielded. The Scarlet Jungle is an area that has some strange E. M. activity of its own." She accessed the computer's files leading up to the night and time of the event. "As you can see, there are quite a few spikes in this graph as the sensors swept the area... Hmmm... But this one is very different from all the others. It shows up just before I saw that purple ray surround the city."

"Can your computer show this in the form of a map of the area with the location of the E. M. spike enhanced?"

"We can try... Yes... Jor-El! Look! That activity is located directly in the center of where the city was!"

"We have more proof of my theory, Kerra. Now, I hope we get the final proof with your holovideo of the sweep. Where is your holovid?"

"Over here! Let me just program our search time and date and... Here it is. Good luck, Jor-El. I hope you find what you are looking for... _and_ what I thought I saw!" Kerra played the visual record. It began with the camera angle slowly rotating from left to right on the holoscreen. Slowly, the city of Kandor came into view. Then the entire screen became a purple glow. When the colors returned to normal, Kandor was gone, replaced by the now familiar barren circle. Kerra, obviously disappointed, choked out the words, "Not much there, I'm afraid. I'm so sorry, Jor."

"Don't be sorry, Kerra. I think there may be more there than you think. Run it back to just before the purple ray hit the city." Kerra complied. "Now, go frame by frame... That's it. There! hold it!" Jor squinted closely at the screen. "Do you see this small dot on the screen?"

"Where?"

"Right here!" Kerra drew in a long breath and nodded as she saw what her friend was talking about. "Now, is your vid capable of magnifying this section of the screen and enhancing the image?"

"We'll try!" By this time, Ko-Lim had dropped the pretense of doing his forestry work and was watching right along with the two video detectives. Kerra worked a few controls and the dot became larger. "Now let's enhance..."

All three of the observers were stunned at the sight before them. The dot they had magnified had become a saucer shaped craft floating in air, closely resembling the picture Lara had pulled from Kerra's hospital room the day before. Kerra began to sniffle as tears rolled down her face. "I - I thought I was crazy, but there it is! It really _was_ a flying ship. It really _was_ there!" She began to weep uncontrollably, and Ko-Lim embracing her, comforted his friend.

"Yes, Kerra," said Jor-El in a softly triumphant voice, "It _was_ really there!"

The rest of the day was spent logging all the sensor data from the night of the abduction and makling copies of the holovid recording, both with and without the magnification and enhancements. Jor made sure that all three of them signed an affidavit swearing to the authenticity of the recordings. When it was time to leave, he told Kerra that he was going to go by the crater site again to gather new samples, and the pair hurried down the ladder and into Jor's floater.

By now, the council had relaxed their no-fly zone orders, and Jor-El was able to land his craft directly into the site. But as he descended, he noticed something was different. "The purple element! Kerra, I don't see it any more! Do you?"

"No, I don't. Do you think maybe the wind blew it away?"

_Not likely_, he thought. _Not from a crater this size. _"Let's get our shovels and take some samples. This may be an important development."

Once on the ground, it was apparent that while the purple soil had disappeared from view, it had left the ground with small ruts in the pattern where it had once been tinted. The two friends began to dig their samples when Kerra called to the scientist, "Look, Jor-El! The purple element has not gone away, it's just a little deeper in the soil."

"Actually, Kerra," he said as he studied her discovery, "I think it may be something more than just that. Let's get this back to my lab."

Once inside the floater and airborne, Jor-El turned to Kerra almost apologetically and said, "I've been meaning to ask you about something. I remember you said your mother was pregnant..."

"She always insisted on giving birth to her children herself, Jor-El. She didn't believe in using the incubators for something that precious. She felt it to be too impersonal and that a very important mother - and - child link is lost that way."

"Lara and I feel that way, too. That's why our child is to be carried to term naturally." He noticed Kerra grinning at him as he continued, "Yes, Lara is pregnant. I know that the forest service is placing you on leave to recover from any trauma you be experiencing by losing your family. Since you may be without a place to stay for awhile and you may be familiar with the problems of a woman during pregnancy, we thought..."

"Jor-El, I would love to help you both. Lara is a wonderful, lovely person and I owe you both so much already. I can't think of a better way to say 'thank you' than to do this. When my mother gave birth to my brother, I did learn a lot about pre-natal care."

"It shouldn't be much of a problem for you - especially at first. We are both sort of working in unknown territory. Anything you may have learned from your mother's pregnancy would be information we would appreciate knowing. And later when Lara is nearer to delivery, we would count on you to help out with chores and tasks that she might find too difficult due to her condition."

"How could I say no? It would be an honor to work for you. Thank you for the opportunity. It almost feels like I would be helping my mother again."

It wasn't long before Jor-El's vehicle reached town. He dropped Kerra off at the convalescent facility to allow her to make preparations for her move, then he proceeded on to his laboratory. Once landed and inside, he placed all the evidence he and Kerra had collected in a safety vault, then placed his new soil samples in displays next to the others from his previous trip. Though he wanted to be more interested in his new collection, there was something about the old one that kept drawing his attention there. And then it dawned on him what it was. The soil and stones around the purple residue had gotten smaller, and at a tremendous rate. He looked at the new samples again that they had dug up because the new element was spreading underground and grimly realized that the two actions coupled together could be potentially disastrous. He quickly did what he could to calm himself and was reminded that despite his qualifications, this was essentially his first major project for the council. More study would be prudent before drawing any quick conclusions. _I could be overreacting_, he thought. _This may be nothing serious... But - Rao help me! - For some reason, I just don't like it!_


	29. Chapter 29

29

"How long have I been doing this?" asked Jimmy as he began to return to his normal state.

"Way too long as far _I'm_ concerned," his sister quickly chimed in. "I don't like it when you get all scary-eyed like that. Mom, can we quit doing this now? Jimmy looks like he's done anyway."

Phyllis, who had been taking notes all the while Jimmy had been in his "trance" surveyed the boy, trying to balance the need for life saving information with the health and well being of her son. "We have been at this a long time. Maybe a break _is_ in order. Jimmy, is there more to this or are we through?"

"There's more, I'm pretty sure. But that... mode or whatever it is that I was in... sure takes a lot out of me. I think I do need to relax a little while. Hey! I'm hungry, too. Is there anything to eat?"

Phyllis involuntarily looked at the clock above the doorway. The time was 11:35 A.M. It was almost lunch time anyway. "Let's go over to the Carrs' house and see if we can get in touch with Chester. I think he might could use the information you've given us so far. Then I think we may just go out for lunch. It is Saturday, after all. Even if your father isn't back yet, we'll still have a family outing together." _But George_, she thought, _I wish you'd finish whatever it is you're doing and get back here! _

"Did you say _Kryptonite_?" George, taken completely unawares at the revelation, was aghast.

"I take it you know of it?" said a very droll and composed Guer-On.

"I know it's almost killed my great-great-great-great grandfather a few times... and it would be lethal to you and your people as well."

"Which is why I couldn't simply go and gather enough of it by myself, George. I needed help and it had to be someone who would feel a bond with his ancestry... Someone who was acquainted with the history of my people... Someone who could hear a cry of help from his beleaguered own... Someone who..."

"...Someone who could get within five feet of those glowing green rocks without dying?"

"That also occurred to me, yes."

"Well, at least it should make hunting for the stuff a little easier. Not too many elements look like the 'Big K.' I can see how Superman never figured out that this was the element that powered Brainiac's shrinking ray. How could it, since it could not have existed before Krypton exploded?"

"It is quite logical, actually, when you give it thought. Ilium-349 is the original element used in the device to shrink and transport anything. I can only surmise that the original scientist who investigated its properties discovered how unstable anything returned to normal size became later. Obviously, more experimentation revealed how a purple residue left behind was actually the soil or other organic material abutting the actual subject of the shrinking event. This material, once irradiated, would continue to shrink and effect other material or soil and spread like a tree taking root until a network was created throughout whatever it touched."

"That explains the earthquakes on Earth, I guess. This 'purple residue' simply continued to shrink the soil until it was too weak to support the surface activity?"

"As your people say, 'that is it in a nutshell.' And this is what happened to Krypton. It was accelerated by the exposure to our red sun. While the ilium residue is extremely volatile on its own and will explode once it reaches a certain point, the ilium network reached the core of our planet which was composed of uranium. The rest is known to you. It was the shrinking ray itself that inevitably caused the destruction of Krypton.

"Later on, Brainiac encountered some of the fragments and ascertained that what we now call kryptonite is modified ilium-349. A much more powerful energy source than the original, he implemented it as the power to his ship and the new shrinking/enlarging ray. This is why Superman could never penetrate Brainiac's force-field. It was powered by the one substance he could not stand up to... fragments of his exploded home world."

George blinked hard at the revelation. "And now, Earth could suffer the same fate as Krypton?"

"Not could, George... _Will_! Unless we can arrest the process. And once we have enough kryptonite in our possession we may be able to do just that."

"_May_!"

"There are no guarantees in life, George. You know that. All we can do is arm ourselves with the proper tools and take our chances."

" Okay, then. I guess we're about to begin arming ourselves right now. Here's the asteroid belt." Indeed, the runabout began to approach the stream of giant flying rocks. George threaded the craft into it as if it were a tailor's needle entering a tapestry.

"Okay, Guer-on. You said 'may.' How is kryptonite supposed to keep Earth from exploding? And then how do we save New Krypton?"

"The device we must use is in my spacecraft. Once we have harvested enough kryptonite, we must return there with the ore. It will need to be processed by the device our scientists have built. Once that has occurred, the same device can modulate special waves that, in theory, should nullify any remaining effects of the original shrinking ray."

"What do you mean, 'in theory,' Guer-on? Haven't your people tested this device?"

"I... I must confide, George, that we _are_ working primarily on theory. When we discovered that Rokyn... New Krypton... was in danger, we rushed to create an answer. Time was short. Shortcuts were taken. But every scrap of evidence and logic points to this as the answer. And since kryptonite is basically non-existent in our solar system, tests were impossible. I was sent here to enlist your help to gather the necessary materials - kryptonite... and lead."

"Lead?"

"As I said kryptonite is next to impossible to find on our adopted planet. Lead, I'm afraid, is almost as rare."

"And the only known substance that can contain the lethal rays of kryptonite is lead."

"Precisely. Fortunately, we seem to have found an abundance of lead containers in the cargo hold."

George raised his eyebrows at this suggestion. "I don't know about that one. That bomb we dropped on Jennifer's thugs was pretty powerful. I'm not sure I'd want to mess with them."

"Again, George, chances must be taken if a world is to be saved... If _two_ worlds are to be saved."

"True enough, I suppose. But how is it that New Krypton came to be in danger? And how is it you are microscopic in size? I thought Superman restored Kandor and everyone in it to normal proportions."

"It was one of the happiest days in our history, and yet the well-intentioned actions of your ancestor have led us to this crisis we face now."

If George was surprised by Guer-on's statements earlier, he was absolutely flabbergasted by this. He couldn't even utter a protest. All his life he had been taught that his great-great-great-great-grandfather had been the salvation of Kandor, not the cause of its pending destruction. Guer-on saw the angst of his new friend and tried to console him.

"I did not mean that the actions of Superman were wrong. Based on the information that he had back then, he did everything exactly as it should have been done, and every Kandorian since then to the present feels a debt of gratitude to him for it. But allow me to explain.

"It was about two hundred years ago when Superman used the enlarging device on Kandor. He had found what he was sure was the missing ingredient to finally restore us all, and our city, to normal size: energy collected from an exploding supernova star. He even had it tested on himself after tricking Brainiac into shrinking him to tiny size. Brainiac was accidentally shrunk into infinitesimal size himself during their battle, but that is a story for another time. For now, it is only important that the test seemed to confirm Kal-El's theory.

"Soon he was transporting the bottled city to Rokyn, a planet the scientist Van-Zee had chosen along with his fellow Kryptonians. It was a giant planet, a primitive world orbiting a red sun, much like Krypton once did. When the perfect spot was found, the enlarging ray transported our city from within its glass prison and was restored to its full-sized glory. The celebration was so... euphoric! I'm not sure that I can find the proper adjective to describe it in your language, but I think I've heard some of your broadcast programs use a fitting phrase: The people of Kandor went absolutely nuts!" At that, both George and Guer-On broke out in uncontrolled laughter - George for the surprise of the Earth slang expression from his Kryptonian friend, and Guer-On at his new ally's reaction to it.

But as sudden as the mirth began, it quickly subsided as the microscopic alien continued, "Unfortunately, the celebration was short-lived, for the buildings of the great city suddenly began to crumble into dust. Moments after it had been restored, Kandor was nothing more than sand upon the primitive plains of Rokyn. The enlarging ray, even with the supernova energy, would only work on living matter, not inanimate objects. Kal-El, who moments earlier was as joyous as he had ever been, was now at the nadir of an emotional low, contemplating what he felt was failure."

"I had never heard this story told in this manner. But knowing all that I know about Grandpa Clark... Well, I can believe it. He loved his roots and wanted more than anything to see the people of his ancestry to return to a thriving civilization."

"You sound as though you met him."

"I did... once when I was no more than four years old. He had lost his superpowers by that time - he was a hundred-eighty-three years of age at the time, and I remember being a little afraid of this great paragon of truth and justice lying there all sick and wrinkly. He seemed to understand my fear as he managed a wink toward my direction and then forced himself to smile at me until I could no longer keep from doing the same. I know it was difficult for him to do that through the pain he was enduring then, but somehow just for the sake of a small child, he did it."

Guer-On, visibly moved by the story, whispered lowly, "A hero to the end."

"Oh, that's not all. After having won me over, he beckoned me to come close to him. I looked to my father for his guidance and he simply smiled at me and nodded toward our forebear. I approached him slowly until we were no more than inches from each other's face. He whispered something to me that I will never forget. It was just a simple phrase, but it was the _way_ he said it, as if it were his mantra for his entire life..."

"What did he say?"

"He just said, 'Do what's right.' Then he patted my shoulder and smiled at me once more. After that, he went into a coughing spasm and I was made to leave the room. I never saw him alive again after that. He died that night. And I... I..." George took a moment and a deep composing breath before continuing, "I just cried my eyes out all the next day. Wasn't much better during the funeral."

"It must have been very hard for you."

"Yes. The press coverage was most extensive in Earth history for the passing of a single man. My family only wanted to be left alone to mourn, but Dad said we owed it to the world to at least acknowledge the love Clark had for his adopted planet. I just wanted to bring him back and get to know this man, but of course, I couldn't." George slowly shook his head at the memory, then decided to change the subject back to Guer-On's story. "What about the people of Kandor? Did they feel he failed as well?"

"There was one scientist who had worked all his life on a cure for the bottled city's woes that harbored great jealousy over Superman bringing his work to an anticlimactic end and wasted no time in condemning Kal-El for the miscalculation. But again, Van-Zee, who was more than just a scientist now, but an authentic leader, managed to convince him and your ancestor that it was a blessing in disguise. That it was time for us all to do our own rebuilding and not to rely on anyone else. I don't know if we could have survived without him. 'We will be New Kryptonians,' he is quoted as saying, 'On a New Krypton!' There is a memorial on our planet to him with that inscription."

"But you said these events led to where we are now. What did you mean by that?"

"After Kal-El left, our people went about the business of recreating Rokyn in the image of Old Krypton when we could, and adapting to the requirements of our new world when we could not. It was a project that spanned generations, but soon our New Krypton was a thriving and vital civilization once again... until about twenty of your Earth years ago.

"Remember that nothing had been subjected to the shrinking ray on our new planet, and as such, we all thought that there was nothing to fear. But the buildings of Kandor had turned into dust and that dust was infected with a long dormant form of the radiation from that original shrinking ray of Brainiac. It blew across the lands of New Krypton, spinning its evil web over the globe. And then... it was no longer dormant.

"A 'purple soil' that, no doubt, your scientists have by now encountered on Earth, began to appear. We were baffled, frankly, by the phenomenon. We believed it to be some sort of trait of our adopted world until the quakes began. It took some time before we connected the two occurrences, but once we did, we managed to trace everything down to the story I just told you. A plan was conceived for the gathering of kryptonite, and that is what brought me here."

"That doesn't explain two things. First, how is it that you contacted me?"

"That was an inspiration I came up with during my flight. As I neared your solar system, I picked up broadcasts of your... what do you call them? Ah, yes... _commercials_! And when I understood, thanks to our people's mutual history, that you were Kal-El's descendent, I knew I could count on you for help. That was also how I knew Earth was in the same trouble as New Krypton."

"And now once again, the question, Guer-On, that you have not yet answered. If Kandor's people were all restored to correct proportions, why is it that you are microscopic in stature?"

"I was one of the first scientists who wrestled with the problem of the purple soil. One of the things it does is to shrink whatever comes into contact with it. When I first encountered it, I must have run my bare fingers through it more times than I can count, never noticing at first, its reducing effects. You see, ilium-349 does not have to be projected as a ray to shrink matter. The ray is simply a method to intensify and accelerate the effect, and finally to transport the subject to another locale... such as a bottle."

"So it's a little more personal for you?"

"If you want to be so crass about it, I suppose you could say that. I am _still _shrinking, George, thanks to my blundering investigation of the ilium dust. But I would give my life... or in this case, my size, to save New Krypton."

George noticed a large asteroid they were approaching with a mass of glowing green material lodged in a crater. "I think you may get a chance to that and more, Guer-On. I think we may have just hit the mother lode."


	30. Chapter 30

30

It was the right time to take a break. Jimmy was drained, Noel was bored, and Phyllis felt that Chester Carr needed to hear about the information they had gathered from Jim's trance. Phyllis headed over to Candice Carr's house next door to do just that. Noel went with her to see what Sherry was up to. While Jimmy left the house at the same time, he took a slightly different direction and wound up heading toward the home of his girl friend, Linda Kaye Reeves. Linda lived over about a block from Jimmy's home so it was no problem getting there in a hurry.

He realized that with all that went on the previous night, he failed to even phone her. _I hope she isn't angry_, he thought. _We were going to go to a holomovie and maybe get a bite to eat afterward. Now, I get to tell her I was held up by an alien mind probe! That oughtta get me out of trouble! Yeah, right!_

As he neared the Reeves home, he saw that Linda Kaye was outside, working weeds out of the yard. She glanced up towards him as one particularly stubborn clump of crabgrass finally released its hold on the Earth. But as quick as she noticed Jimmy, she returned her concentration to her task as if he was any other passerby. Jim tried to put on his best smile, but could mange no better than a sheepish grin.

"Hi, Sweet Thing!" he said as he approached her, "Looks like your folks have you a little busy, huh?"

The temperature in Fort Worth that day was approximately seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit, but it may as well have been seventy-five below from the reception Jimmy got from Linda. She did not even acknowledge his presence, but instead turned to another grouping of wild plants. While he expected a cold reception, he didn't expect it to be quite that frigid.

"Sorry I didn't make our date last night. I... uh... heh-heh! I had a kind of... situation... uhm... develop..."

This time Linda Kaye squinted up at the boy for two seconds, then continued her landscaping tasks. "What kind of 'situation' developed?" she said, obviously unswayed by it all.

"Well, that's kind of... difficult to explain."

"Try me." She was now at least dividing her attention between the weeds and Jim.

"When I came home from school, my mother was scared by a green light in the attic. She sent me up there and the green light was coming from this green crystal in an old rolltop desk we have up there and it turned into some kind of beam that knocked me silly. I was actually unconscious for awhile." Linda stopped her work and stared at this person she referred to as her "boy friend" as he continued to squirm. "And it sorta… talked to me, you know, sending all kinds of weird history and information about the planet Krypton into my brain - maybe too much... That's probably why I blacked out. And there was this journal, see, and a big bottle with an air hose attached, and..."

"STOP!" said the girl with a wave of her hand. "James Olsen Kent, I have heard some stories in my still young existence, but I don't think I want to hear any more of this one. How could you do that? You just frivolously skip our Friday night out, you don't even call me, and then you come up with a story to cover your slightly overweight hiney that makes as much sense as a fairy tale... NO! Check that! A fairy tale makes more sense. At least it has a moral to it. And then, to top it off, you bring your _mother_ into it! Have you no shame at all?"

"Overweight...?"

"Ohhhh! Honestly!"

"Aw, Linda. Don't you think I know how stupid this whole thing sounds? I wouldn't even try to use this as an excuse if it weren't true! And once we started reading the journal..."

"Hold it! Just how long were you allegedly out?"

_Uh-oh!_ he thought. _I know where this is going._ "Uh... a few minutes?"

"A few minutes!" she bellowed. "And you still didn't call?"

"It... just kind of cascaded from one thing to the next. After I woke up, we read some stuff in the journal of Clark Kent about how he fell in love with a mermaid, then we heard about the earthquakes and Noel found a link to them in the journal..."

"Now it's a full circle," said Linda under her breath. "Now even his sister is involved. Look, Jim. If you had just stuck with the earthquake stuff, I would've understood. Everybody has friends and family in those cities that were hit. But this story... And you involve your mother and sister in it... And, hey! You never even like to talk about your great-grandpa any other time. Why do you invoke his name now? Just to squirm out of trouble with me?"

"If you ask me, I think he does it just to get attention!"

_Nuts! It's Moe! Is it too late to hate my life? _"Come on, Moe. This is a private conversation between my girlfriend and me."

"Doesn't look private to me. You two are both outside with all of nature to listen in. I'm part of nature, too, ain't I?"

_Un-natural is how you always pop up at the worst times!_

Moe continued, "As for her being your girlfriend, you might want to check with her on that one, nerd. I think she may be ready to dump ya after that pathetic story."

Silence as both the boys peered at the girl for her reply. Finally, she spoke up. "Jimmy has always been honest with me about everything in the past, and I don't think I'm ready to throw it all away on one mistake in judgment..."

"Phhhhish..." came the sound of dis-believe from Moe.

_Thank you! _thought Jim.

"But... "she went on, looking straight at Jim, "...if you _ever_ try to make up another cock and bull story like that one again..."

"Yeah!" said Moe.

"And by the way, he's right, Moe. This is _none_ of your business!"

"Awww, whattayou see in him, anyway? He's such a wimp!"

"There's a lot more there to him than there will ever be in you, Moe. Now if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you would just leave, now. We'd like to work out our problems alone, okay?"

"As a matter of fact, I do mind. I don't like getting told what to do by anybody! And for sure not by a wimpy nerd or his so-called 'girlfriend' who wouldn't know a real man if she saw one!"

Now Jimmy was mad! "Hey, you can pick on me all you want, but don't ever talk to my girl that way!"

"Phhhishhh! 'Your girl' huh? I told you, Kent. I don't let _anybody_ tell me what to do!" Moe unleashed a right fist square in the gut of James Olsen Kent. Yesterday's sucker punch left him out of breath for a good ten minutes. But today...

"OW! OW! OW! My HAND! What did you do, Kent? Put a piece of steel under your clothes or something? Ouch, oooh... I think it may be broken..." Moe gave Jimmy a look that was simultaneously a look of puzzlement and one of warning, then he turned around and scampered away, presumably to attend to his aching paw.

Jimmy couldn't believe what had happened, himself. After watching his main nemesis walk away, he looked down at his stomach. He hadn't even felt more than a tap when Moe hit him. Then he looked at Linda, who was staring at him like he had two heads.

"Uhm... You said something about a crystal?" she finally inquired.

The mood at the Carr's household had changed dramatically since Chester had been found alive and well. Candace was back to being her bright, cheery self again, and Sherry was in good spirits as well. She and Noel went up to her room to do adolescent girl things, which was basically to talk about boys, makeup, boys, music, and more boys.

Phyllis, meanwhile, was carrying on her mission to contact Chester. Candace put the call through.

"Chess, this is Phyllis. How's it going?"

"It's been a slow go, Phyll. Have you heard from the cosmic cowboy, yet?"

"No, and I'm a little worried about it. He made it sound like he was in some kind of trouble. He told me not to worry and that usually just makes me worry all the more!"

"Well, as long as I've known the son of a buck, he's always given me impression that he knows how to handle himself. I wouldn't worry."

"Chester, what did I just say to you about that?"

"Oops! Seriously, Phyll, he's gonna be fine. But I have a feeling you didn't call me about that, did you?

"No, I didn't. I have a little more information that I hope will help you... I'm a little surprised that you're even considering listening to me. The last time I called, you stopped short of calling me crazy."

"Well, I learned a little something yesterday, Phyllis. You can't turn your back on any information when digging into the unknown, no matter how far-fetched it seems. Turned out you were right about Cairo, and the watch is unofficially on for Sydney."

"What do you mean, 'unofficial?' I thought since..."

"Publicly, we have to take the stance that nothing is eminent. Otherwise we could have a panic problem that could be as detrimental as the quakes have been. But privately, we've got teams close by, ready to go in when and if it happens."

"I noticed that the casualty rate in Cairo was lower than the other sites and that teams arrived there quickly. You must've told someone about it. Did you have any problems with the head of your project?"

"A little. Let's just say that he was as skeptical as I was. But ultimately it was his decision to have the people in place there. I won't pretend I understand how you knew - how that journal written two centuries ago could predict it, but I owe you an apology for blowing you off when you called."

"Not really. I think any sane person would have had the same reaction. But like I said, I have something else you may need."

"Okay, I'll listen right nice this time, ma'am. 'Sides, I'm pretty happy right now, we've had a kind of breakthrough in our research."

"That's just what I wanted to talk to you about. In your investigation, have come across some soil or element that emits a kind of purple glow to it?"

Chester was silent for a moment. It was the second time in two days that his next door neighbor had surprised him with outrageous information. Only this time, he couldn't dispute her findings. He had the mysterious element in his lab.

"Phyllis, don't tell me your journal had that information..."

"Okay, I won't, because it doesn't. But please don't ask me where it did come from, Chess, because I don't think you would believe it."

"Oh, I believe it. We have the purple stuff and it seems to have some strange properties. And I know we didn't release that data to the public. What is it you know about it?"

"It shrinks the soil that it touches, which may be why the earthquakes have happened..."

"Yes, we already figured that one out. But is there any more to it?"

"I'm afraid so. This element spreads through the soil as it does its work, like a tree taking root. I don't have any inkling how deep it could go, but this happened on the planet Krypton years ago."

"Krypton!"

"Yes, the planet of my children's heritage. This thing is all tied into it because of a crime of unparalleled proportions centuries back. I don't have any hard evidence of it, but you know what the ultimate fate of Krypton was, and it isn't too much of a stretch to assume..."

"That Earth could suffer the same fate as Krypton."

"Yes." Phyllis paused for a moment, not so much for effect as for the fact that she hadn't really realized the connection herself until she voiced it to Chester. "I'm... still investigating this, Chess. There may actually be no more than what you've found, but we'll keep digging - no pun intended - until we have the whole story. That's assuming there is a whole story to be known."

"Thanks, Phyllis. I promise I'll keep an open mind on this one this time."

"Do you need to talk to Candace again?"

"No... No, she'll probably want to kill me for this, but in view of what you've told me, I think I'd better get back to work right away. Just tell her I love her and I'll call her back at the usual time tonight. See ya later, Phyll, and thanks again."

Once Phyllis finished her call and gave Candace the message from Chester, she thought about her son and how he had been affected by the strange glow of the green crystal. She was worried for her son, but she also had the feeling that much more was at stake. _The entire world may be in peril_, she thought, _and Jimmy may be its best chance for survival._


	31. Chapter 31

31

"Do you think there's enough here?" George queried as he eased the runabout closer to the asteroid's surface.

"I am... ecstatic, George. I had expected to have to hunt much longer and harder than this to find the necessary quantity of ore. How do you propose we proceed?" The pair began to edge toward the airlock where a set of lockers stood nearby. George opened one.

"I think the asteroid is large enough for its gravity to hold the ship, so we'll set her down on the rock. Obviously, you will need to wait in the ship." George poked around in the locker and then produced a large white environmental suit from within. "I'll go out in an EVA suit and assess the situation. Once we know how firmly the kryptonite is wedged in, we'll have a better idea on how to get it out."

"What about storage?"

"As you said earlier, we've several lead boxes that these explosives are currently stored in. If you could safely dismantle the bombs and diffuse them, we could store the ore in them. Then we can get them to your ship and get this device of yours working."

"And then we will head to your planet to reverse the effects of Brainiac's curse?"

"That would be _my _idea of a plan... I just hope this works. I've been missing my family so much since this all began." George began to don the EVA suit. "You know, I think you'd like my wife and kids, Guer-On... Say, do you mind if I call you Gary?"

"Must you?" said the tiny Kryptonian as George checked the back pack for atmosphere levels.

"No, but it is a little easier on the human tongue."

"I suppose it would be all right." Guer-On feigned righteous indignation. "Just don't ever do that should you find a way to visit New Krypton."

"I hadn't even thought about that. Do you think that could be possible?" All George needed to complete his outfit was a helmet. He located one in the locker's shelf.

"I hope so, George. You know, I... I have a family, too. It would be wonderful if you could meet them."

"I'd like that, Gary. It's a date... _if_ we live through this." He smiled at his friend as he entered the pressure/depressure chamber. Upon closing the hatch, he put the helmet in place, sealed all breaches, then began depressurizing the airlock.

"Mom, about what that crystal did to me? There's been a little development." Jimmy and Linda Kaye arrived at the Carr's house just as his mother and sister came out the door.

"What do you mean, a development?" Phyllis was just a little uneasy at this notion. Noel, on the other hand, greeted the news in her usual demeanor as the group started down the road toward the Kent homestead.

"I knew it! He's growing a tail!" Phyllis glared at her daughter and then put her hand on Jim's head.

"Son, are you feeling all right? It hasn't made you sick or anything, has it?"

Linda Kaye couldn't help but to giggle a little as she answered for her boyfriend, "Oh no, Mrs. Kent. I think he actually feels pretty darned good!"

Jimmy appeared to be a little embarrassed as he picked up a fist sized rock from the gutter. "They say a picture is worth a thousand words... at least the guys who make comic books do,"

"Momma, don't let him hit me with that rock!" squealed Noel.

"Relax, shrimp!" said her brother with a smile, then he squeezed the stone and it became nothing more than dust. Phyllis and Noel were shocked into silence, stunned by the feat. "Did I mention earlier that I thought that crystal might have done more to me than invading my mind?"

Finally Phyllis asked, "What other abilities have you gained?"

"Really, I don't know, Mom. I felt something was different about me ever since I got up this morning, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was. I was completely in the dark about it until Moe Brawn..."

Noel winced at the mention of the name. "Oh, no! Not that creep!"

"... until Moe punched me in the stomach."

Phyllis became agitated by the revelation that her son had been in a fight with another boy. "What is it with you and that boy? Do you do anything to get him stirred up? Why can't you just stay away from him? Do you do things to get him stirred up?"

"Mrs. Kent," interjected Linda. "To be fair to Jim, Moe never needs to be stirred up. He's just an immature Neanderthal who has to be more important than anyone else in his world, and Jimmy's relationship to greatness has always made him an easy target... for Moe and anyone else like him."

"Anyone else?"

"Jimmy has been taking abuse from other kids ever since I first met him in grade school. Most of them grew out of it, but Moe still hasn't. Didn't you know?"

"I knew he had _some_ troubles, but I never knew it was that bad. Jimmy didn't always tell me."

"Aw Mom, I didn't want to be a whiner. Besides, how does it look for a guy to tell his mother stuff like that? And especially with me being the great, great, great..."

"You should have said something, son. A boy that does that to you would do that to others as well. I could have alerted someone in authority - your principal... or Moe's mother perhaps - and had him disciplined... for his own sake if not for yours."

"Yeah, that would have worked!" Jimmy retorted with a laugh. "And I wouldn't have lived past sixth grade!"

Noel wanted Jim to finish his story. "So he punches you in the gut and then what?"

"He screams like a..." He started to say "like a girl" and thought better of it since he was surrounded by femininity. "He screams like he's really in pain and stares at his hand. I think he - uh, I - might have broken it."

Jim's sister began to giggle uncontrollably. "Hee-hee-hee. About time that creep got what he deserves. Way to go, Bro!"

"After that, I did a couple of tests - like the rock thing - and found out that I am really, really strong, and I can move at super-speed. I don't know about flying, though. I haven't tried it, yet. But I can hear things from a long way off."

"Do you have any vision powers like your father?" Phyllis automatically thought of the story about how from outer space, her husband had spotted her on a raft in the ocean.

"I... think so, but I'm not sure. Frankly, Mom, I'm a little scared to try them. I'm afraid I might start a fire with heat vision, or give someone cancer with x-ray vision or something. I'm not sure how to turn them on or off and how to make the right one happen!"

Noel, as usual, interrupted, "So if you start a fire, you get to find out if you have super-breath like Super-Gramps. And they have pills to cure cancer these days, you know."

"Yeah, well, maybe I'd give them some new unknown type of super-cancer that..."

Phyllis intervened. "Okay, enough. I get the picture. We can find out just how much this thing has affected you later. Right now, let's get some lunch and then, Jim, I want you to try and finish that story about Jor-El in case there is something more that might help Mr. Carr. Linda Kaye, would you like to join us?"

"Thanks, Mrs. Kent, I'm supposed to go back home and finish my chores, but I'll ask my dad. I just came by to support Jim with his story. He was afraid you wouldn't believe him."

"Oh, but of course I would. I'm his mother! I know when he's telling the truth and when he's making something up just by instinct. Besides, I've seen so many strange things in my life that... uh..." It happened again! Yet another fleeting memory had popped in and out of her mind like a flash bulb going off in a dark room.

"Mom? Like what?" Noel could sense her mother's distress. "You never said anything like that before. What kind of strange things have you seen?"

Phyllis looked at the kids surrounding her and couldn't answer. She tried hard but nothing came. It was moments like this that she wished that George was here. And right now, she wished that very hard!


	32. Chapter 32

32

George was more than just a little apprehensive about getting so close to a large boulder of kryptonite. Although he was much more human than Kryptonian, he did still retain some strains of the blood of his ancestor, and there was no telling how much its radiation could affect him. Thus he moved very cautiously as he neared the green rock imbedded in the asteroid upon which he stood. It was large - at least a meter wide and a meter and a half long.

If he was as vulnerable to the strange rays emitted by the boulder as his alien passenger, the EVA suit may have had enough protective lining in the outfit to shield him from them. As it was, he did feel some discomfort in his stomach as he approached the rock. Beads of sweat formed on his brow and a mild headache throbbed at his temples. But, he thought, that could just be a case of nerves. He studied where the meteor had impacted the asteroid and determined that the kryptonite must have struck quite some time back, as the area around the emerald ember did not appear to have fresh markings to evidence a recent impact. It was also embedded no telling how deeply into the rocky face of the asteroid. If this was going to be removed from its resting place, it would take more than George's hands to wrest it away.

George took a moment to admire his view of the ebony vacuum of space from his vantage point. Even after all his years of piloting spacecraft, he was still awestruck by the heavenly bodies around him as he traveled through the heavens. He knew that this and the other asteroids which were flanking it were all traveling at thousands of miles per hour, yet from his perspective they were all practically motionless, as if they were chalk drawings on a giant blackboard. It gave him a feeling of serenity, despite the fact that this seeming order was actually a part of a great chaotic grouping of flying boulders.

_Speaking of boulders_, he thought, _I'd better get inside the ship and see what we can find to get this one loose,_ and he ambled back to the airlock hatch and re-entered the runabout.

While waiting for the chamber to pressurize, George thought about his children and especially his beautiful Phyllis. He wished he could be with her right now instead of figuring out how to pull rocks out of rocks in the dead of outer space. _Why me?_ he mused. _Why couldn't someone else be the one to fly around the cosmos and save the world?_ And then he remembered. It was two worlds he was helping to save. And if he wanted to see his family again, he'd better get with it and get inside the runabout.

He removed his helmet as soon as breathable atmosphere returned to the room, but kept the rest of the EVA suit on. After all, he would be going right back out again once supplied with something to get the kryptonite loose and something to contain it with. The air pressure in the chamber finally normalized and the hatch into the ship slowly opened automatically.

He nonchalantly stepped into the runabout and headed for the bridge and asked, "Gary, it looks like that meteor is wedged in there pretty tightly. I wonder if there's an energy rifle in a storage hatch somewhere?"

A decidedly different voice from Guer-On's - a female voice - answered him. "I haven't seen Gary, but I do have an energy gun. Will this one do? Oh, wait! I'm using it, aren't I? I'm pointing it at your head and preparing to blow you into atoms!"

That feeling of serenity George had been experiencing faded away as he stared into the barrel of a gun held by non other than the most nefarious restaurant owner on the Martian colonies, and he was so surprised that all he could do was to utter her name.

"Jennifer!"

Jimmy enjoyed lunch tremendously. Phyllis took them all out to a Tex-Mex restaurant - Jim's favorite food - and he had taken advantage of a defenseless enchilada platter with a taco on the side. Noel downed a taco platter while Phyllis and Linda Kaye ate salads.

"I think you two could eat this kind of cuisine for every meal and be very happy!" said Phyllis to her two children, who only nodded their agreement as they continued to dig in.

Linda finished her salad and eyed her boyfriend as if she was looking at him for the first time. "Not to change the subject from this happy small talk, but you said something to me on the way over here about some kind of trance you were in... telling some sort of story?"

"Oh, please! No!" said Noel. "That is really spooky stuff! I don't want to watch him do that again!"

Jimmy shrugged his shoulders and volunteered, "I'm not too keen on it myself, Shorty, but I think it's something I've gotta do."

"Yes, Sweetie," added her mother. "Jim's right. We have to find out everything that could help Mr. Carr and his friends. It may sound melodramatic, but the fate of the world may in his hands."

"_His_ hands? I played football with him Wednesday, and he dropped three passes!"

"Noel!"

"Aw, mom! I'm just kiddin'. I know you're right."

"Well then..."

"But it _is_ spooky!"

"No-_el_!"

"Sorry... Go ahead, big brother. My nerves are like steel."

Jimmy looked at the entourage seated around him and closed his eyes for a moment. Taking a deep breath, he opened them again, and resumed Jor-El's story...

Studies on the soil samples and the Kandor Crater, as the news media had taken to calling it, continued for four months. Jor-El had discovered that the purple element in the soil would become unstable, especially when exposed to radiation, and could explode after some time. He had returned to the site of the grand theft and determined that the element 349, as he had catalogued it, was continuing to grow beneath the ground of Krypton at an exponential rate. The one thing he hadn't discovered was how to stop it. And now, something new had been added to the mix... quakes.

Tremors were nothing unusual on the great planet of Krypton. Seismic activity occurred now and then as on any planet. But these newest quakes seemed to be happening with more frequency and in areas that were not prone to such events. So far, the activity consisted of no more than a rumbling, but each tremor became more intense than the preceding one, and the Science Council began to take notice.

Jor-El suspected the quakes might be related to the element found in Kandor Crater, and he asked the council to allow him to be the lead investigator in the case. They had no objections as this activity was, they thought, of a naturally occurring nature and of no major concern. Jor-El thought differently, of course.

Meanwhile, Lara continued to discover the joys and woes of natural gestation. Morning sickness was an unexpected malady that she had to learn to deal with. Fortunately, Kerra was able to help her through it.

"Ooooooh, I do not think I am ever going to be able to eat anything again... never!" said Jor-El's wife after a rough bout of nausea. Kerra tried to suppress a smile, but found it too difficult.

"My mother said the same thing during her pregnancy, and then she would turn around and eat Xandorian ice cream with sour pickles."

Lara suddenly perked up. "What's wrong with that? That actually sounds good to me. Do we have some?" Kerra rolled her eyes as she grinned at her benefactor. It had been like a dream come true working for the El family. They both couldn't be nicer people. Jor made sure she was well compensated for her time and Lara was so easy to talk to. It was very therapeutic for her as well, to able to deal with the loss of her own family by becoming a part of this one.

And she was still assisting Jor in his investigations. When the first quake hit in the Scarlet Jungle, she was able to use her training as a forest ranger to help him find and get to the site where it happened. She had even been the first one to spot the strange purple element sticking up through the surface.

Jor had built a device that was sensitive to element 349, and after Kerra spotted the ore, he scanned the area with it. The element had reproduced itself, spreading out in a web-like pattern from the crater area. The quake site they were staking out was a good ten miles away from the crater. _How widespread can this become?_ thought the scientist. _And how deep will it go?_

He was more worried about the last thought than the first, but he was careful not to show his anxiety to Kerra. _If the core of our planet is composed of uranium as our scientists have theorized_, he reasoned, _then there's no telling what could happen if this element's roots reach that far. Even if it is composed of any other element such as, say, iron, the results could still be catastrophic. The unstable nature of 349 makes the situation just that unpredictable. _

One thing was certain, though, in Jor-El's mind - this new development signaled a danger to the people of planet Krypton. How great that danger was remained to be seen.


	33. Chapter 33

33

Time passed too quickly the next four months. Jor had turned in his final report on the disappearance of Kandor to a lukewarm reception from the Science Council. There were many who were quite open minded about extra-terrestrial life, but there also were a few stodgy religious zealots who, despite their scientific background, felt that Krypton was the center of the universe and supreme in the eyes of her god, Rao. _There may be other people on other planets_, was the thinking, _but none were as developed as Rao's chosen_. Among these fanatics was a particularly terse and cruel man, Mal-Vol.

Jor-El was aware of Mal-Vol from the first day he became a part of the Council. Vol had been a colleague of his father - had, in fact, been a great friend of Jor-L's through their youthful tears in the Science Council, until differences of opinion began to tear their friendship apart. While Jor-L seemed more interested in ways to better Krypton's people and learn about the worlds around them, Mal-Vol became more and more immersed in his own particular concept of the natural order of things.

As time went on, Mal-Vol would often be seen very publicly leading protests against any groups or individuals who dared to deviate from his own idea of civilized life and morality which he liked to term, "the Krypton Way." There was one group that drew the greatest part of his attention, and that group was the Open Heart Movement. Vol kept extensive records on the cult and its members. He called the leaders of the movement - Lyla Lerrol, Lara, Allura, and even Jor-El's best friend, Kimda - criminals, and constantly pressed the authorities to arrest them on the pettiest circumstantial charges. Fortunately for Open Heart, no real laws were ever broken, and rare were the times when any of its members were ever taken into custody.

Each success of the movement was taken as a personal slap in the face to Mal-Vol, and each slap in the face made him twice as bitter for the experience. It was no surprise then, that the rift between himself and Jor-L became completely impassable when the sons of his former friend joined "that cult." There was certainly no chance of any reconciliation once Jor-El and Lara's wedding became a matter of public celebration. The last words Vol said to Jor-L was just the day before the ceremony. "If you and your wife lend any credence to this unholy union, there will be a terrible price to pay, Jor-L! Heed my words! Rao will see that these heathens and those who would support them will be punished eternally!" Jor-L had been on the fence about going to the wedding until Mal-Vol's ultimatum. After all, Sara was very devoted to her faith, and the Open Heart represented a dramatic departure from their standard way of life. But _no one _was going to threaten him, his wife, or any member of his family as far as he was concerned. Despite "the Krypton Way," he very much loved them all, and if his son was getting married, by Rao, he was going to _be_ at the ceremony, even if he had to go naked!

Mal-Vol unintentionally paved the way towards bringing his rival's family ever closer together. It was a setback that he would never forget... or forgive.

He went out of his way to malign Jor-El's report, categorizing it as science fiction instead of science fact. Vol's allies in the Council followed his lead and made light of Jor-El's findings. Fortunately for Jor, his own supporters rallied behind him and it became apparent that a power struggle that he never solicited nor wanted was beginning to take place.

The theft of Kandor gave Jor-El and, he hoped, the Science Council itself, many things to think about. Too many "what-if's" lingered in his mind. What if... the unstable nature of element 349 was the reason for the tremors. What if... there was no way to nullify it. Jor certainly had not been able to find any way to reverse or even block the strange ore's effects on the soil around it. And what if... there was no limit to how widespread or how deep the network of its roots would grow. It could get into the core of the great planet, and then...

Jor-El found himself looking for contingencies in case the worst took place. His search led him to an aging fellow scientist named Ken-Dal, a master of space travel theories. He had often heard his father speak of him and how Krypton could have benefited by embracing his ideas of reaching out towards the stars. "The Krypton way" played as great a role in keeping the great planet's people chained to the ground as its tremendous gravity. But Ken-Dal was a forward thinker, and kept his dream alive that someday, Kryptonians would take their place among the stars as great explorers of galaxies. He was credited with developing the principle of antigravity to a fine art, and it was rumored that he had even found the secret of safely propelling spacecraft at tremendous speeds, surpassing the speed of light itself many times over.

Mal-Vol's cronies, however, continually found ways to convince enough Council members that Dal's ideas of far reaching space exploration were either too expensive or too risky, and space travel remained limited to the great planet's moons and nearby planets that orbited her sun. Despite the setbacks he had incurred thanks to "the Krypton way", the now retired Ken-Dal never became bitter nor gave up hope that one day his dream would come to fruition. He continually felt that someone someday would take up the torch he had lit, and carry on his legacy. And it came as no surprise to him that the someone turned out to be Jor-L's son.

"Who knocks on my d...? Eh? Oh, it's you, Jor-El. What brings you to an old man's house?"

"I have a matter that is most urgent, Ken-Dal. I beg you to please let me enter and discuss it with you."

The door swung wide for Jor to enter. Ken-Dal had a smile on his face as wide as the Rainbow Canyons, but that was not unusual. Ken-Dal had always tried to see the lighter side of things. Even during the tough times when he was enduring Mal-Vol's cult, he would always take an optimistic view of things. If those religious fanatics got under his skin, he never showed it, always taking each setback in stride. "They are only doing what their interpretation of Rao's Word tells them to do," he would say. "The people of Krypton will someday see them for what they are, and my work for what it is. I am at peace with the belief that a manned Kryptonian spacecraft will travel to a distant planet someday... and soon!"

As Jor made his way into the old man's abode, he had to stifle a smile of his own. The house was littered in every direction he could look with books or half finished projects. "Please pardon the mess, my young colleague. I'm afraid I haven't been too keen at keeping the place tidy. You know, ever since Matty died, I just haven't been able to keep things in order. I do miss her so much... so much... Ahhh... But enough of that! Refresh my memory, why did I send for you again?"

"Actually, sir. I needed to see _you! _You see, I have discovered..."

"Oh, where are my manners? You must be thirsty! Can I get you some tea or something else to drink? I know that I have some just freshly made... er... somewhere around here... or was that last week...?"

"Uh... No thanks." Jor found a chair that had several half finished circuit boards in the seat.

"I heard about the passing of your father. Please accept my condolences. He was a good man. I know just how you must feel. I lost my Matty not too long ago, too. You know, I do miss her so much…"

Jor swiped away the circuit boards and sat. "Professor Ken-Dal, let me get right to the reason that I am here. I have need to learn as much about inter-stellar space travel as you would be willing to teach. I already have an acquaintance with the subject, so I am not exactly a novice. I believe that with your help, a great spacecraft could be fashioned that could conceivably transport a vast number of people to another solar system. I have reason to believe that such a voyage may be necessary in order to save our people from extinction. Will you help me?"

Ken-Dal had one hand resting on his chin and appeared to be fascinated by Jor-El's plea. He stood in this position for several seconds, slowly stroking his chin as if smoothing a non-existent beard while deep in thought.

Finally he removed his hand from his chin, looked at Jor-El, and replied, "So... will that be tea with sweetener or without?"

The young scientist was devastated. Clearly, Ken-Dal was going to be no help in the race to save the people of his planet. "Thank you, no, Professor. I guess I made a mistake," he said as he rose from the chair. "I'm sorry I took up your time."

"I'm sorry that you made a mistake, Jor-El. But mistakes happen all the time in our business, don't they? But we mustn't ever let them get the best of us. After all, making mistakes is how we learn, isn't it? That's what Matty used to say. You know, I miss her so much!"

"I know that you do , Sir. I guess I need to be going."

"Well, it was nice to see you again, Jor-El. Please give your mother my regards. Oh, and be sure to bring a good computer with you when you return tomorrow."

Jor was puzzled as he opened the door. "Return tomorrow...?" He echoed.

"Well, yes! You'll need it when we start to work. You did ask me to help, didn't you? Tsk-tsk. You're so young and already going senile. But I can overlook it. Matty used to say the smartest of us have our ecentricities. We should start early tomorrow. Be here after breakfast." The old man started to close the door as Jor exited, but abruptly stopped and asked Jor, "Thank you for coming, and I hope you enjoyed your tea."

In the days that followed, Jor became a very busy man. Despite the fact that his work on the Kandor theft was officially over, he continued to experiment with element 349, testing its properties and trying to discover a way to reverse its effects. The quakes continued to spread and intensify, and Jor became more and more convinced that his first Council case was directly tied to the other. Meanwhile, he found himself driven to learn as much from Ken-Dal as he could, that is, when he wasn't seeing to his wife's needs.

Lara's pregnancy was almost to term, and while she had never complained, Jor knew she was in great discomfort most of her final trimester. "Perhaps we should have used an incubation chamber for the birth, Lara. I hate to see you hurting so much."

"No, Jor-El (oooh!), I would not have it any other way but this. Pain is part of life, but for every pain I (ouch!) have, the greater the pleasure it will be once our child is delivered (ow!). Besides, each time he kicks, I know he is alive and doing well."

"Then he must be doing very well since you've been fidgeting more than I have ever seen you in some time."

"I won't disagree with that! He is very definit...OW!"

"Another kick?"

"No, this is...(ouch) different. I think it's time. Maybe you should contact Dr. Kemma... and tell Kerra, too."

Dr. Kemma was almost as nervous as Jor-El, as natural childbirth delivery was an almost forgotten science. Those in medical school still studied the method, but few of the graduates had ever used the skills in actual practice. Kemma was one of those. She tried very hard to not show her fretfulness, but still, she was more edgy than usual as she went about her task. Her years of med school, and recent study on the subject allowed her to do what was needed. And Kerra, thanks to her experience from her mother's birth, served as a sort of hybrid between nurse and midwife, offering support. Kemma, fortunately, saw this as an opportunity to learn rather than as a hindrance, and with Jor at Lara's side coaching, the process went smoothly. In a short time, the baby made its way into the world.

After the birth, Lara said the light the doctor was using looked like a giant star shining sweetly on their child's entrance. Jor liked the analogy. "A star shining on our son's birth? I think you just named him, darling! I know we went over name after name before seeing this through, but it just came to me when you said that. We should call him Kal-El. It comes from the ancient Kryptonese meaning 'star child.' What do you think?"

"I think it's perfect! Come here, little Kal-El, give your mother a hug!"

Jor-El's family was overjoyed at the news. His mother said she thought the baby looked like him, but that "the child should outgrow it eventually, thank Rao!" She couldn't help but smile with pleasure when she met little Kal-El... and Jor couldn't help but smile at the thought that his mother - _his mother_ - had actually made a joke. Zor couldn't be there because of his responsibilities with his experiment, but Jor phoned him with the news.

"Congratulations, Mister straight and narrow," said Zor-El on hearing the news. "I knew you'd get that girl in trouble the minute I saw your eyes meet hers back in college. Is the little fellow close enough that you could show him to his uncle."

Jor pointed the lens in the base of the phone at his young progeny. "There he is, Uncle Zor! What do you think? Does he favor his father's side of the family. or the mother's?"

"Definitely the father's. But I have it on good authority that they grow out of it, thank Rao!"

"That's funny! That's exactly what Mother said." Jor brought the camera lens back toward him. "I hear you have a quite a 'baby' of your own about to be born."

"Ah, yes. My biosphere experiment! Argo City is about to begin a new age, Jor. The basic construction of the dome is now complete. All that remains now is to detect and seal all the micro breeches that may exist, and to get rid of any surplus material that we won't need or want. By the way, do you have a use for about 20,000 tons of lead?"

"Lead? That element is next to impossible to find on this planet. How did you end up with so much?"

"A couple of my colleagues were concerned about radiation leakage for some reason. They managed to get hold of what I guess is just about all the refined lead available on this continent. I finally convinced them it was unnecessary. It's not like radiation is coming up from the ground or anything."

"I could probably use some of it, but not that much." Jor thought lead might be useful in containing the effects of element 349.

"I'll see if I can cut you off a slice or two. What kind of projects are you getting into these days?"

"I... am busy with the Science Council's bidding. I've been investigating the tremors our world has been experiencing lately. And of course the Kandor disappearance is still an open case... officially."

"Yes, you've told me they weren't too receptive of your theory."

"I know the explanation sounds implausible, but after reviewing the evidence, I'm sure it is the truth. I have finished the thought transfer crystal, also. I am currently programming as much history and scientific information as I can into one that I plan to give to my new son when he is older."

"Everything you ever wanted to know about Krypton in less than a minute!"

"That's pretty much the size of it. And finally, I have been working to learn as much about space travel and propulsion as I can."

"You should call Ken-Dal. I've seen a lot of his work and it is brilliant."

"Exactly what I've done. In fact, we're putting together a couple of models to experiment with. The first one is set for a launch next month. We may even include a living payload; a small animal, perhaps."

"You may want to keep current on the biosphere project, too. What we learn from this could just be very beneficial to a long term voyage in space. I am very excited about it... And I'm very excited about your 'Star-Child.' Congratulations again, brother. I hope to see my nephew in person soon. Stay in touch."

"Take care, Zor."


	34. Chapter 34

34

The task of researching and building vehicles for space travel became all the more difficult with the news that Lyla Lerrol, Lara's and Jor's good friend from their Open Heart days, had died. Authorities had ruled the death a suicide, finding huge amounts of sleeping drugs in her system. But Jor and Lara were convinced that there was more to it than that. "Lyla had too much to live for!" sobbed a grieving Lara. "And you know she would never do a thing like that! They didn't even find a suicide note!" It was very hard to take this news, but life for others must continue, and Lara occupied herself with preparing for the upcoming birth of her and Jor-El's child, while her husband doused his sadness for his lost friend by concentrating on his work.

It soon became apparent to Jor-El that element 349 was spreading at such a rapid rate that it would soon cover the entire surface of Krypton. Worse, it was rooting itself deeper into the giant planet and would soon reach its unstable core. There was no way to predict how much time was left to the tragic world before the purple plague would react with the uranium and lead Krypton to its cataclysmic fate. The only thing Jor was sure of was that it was inevitable.

His consultations with Ken-Dal, then, had become all the more important, for if his world was to come to its end, it was his intention that there would be an escape plan for his people. He had envisioned thousands of "space arks" to carry the people of Krypton away from the doomed planet before the final moment and then search for a new home elsewhere in the galaxy.

The research had been thorough and testing had been stringent. He and Ken had even sent a small puppy into orbit as a test of the life support system. Important data was still being amassed on that project as the canine passenger continued to circle the mighty globe, but the point had been proven. It _could_ work. There was only one thing left to do before construction could begin, and that was to inform the Science Council of his findings.

He had not told Ken-Dal about his findings regarding element 349 and his reasons for wanting to learn about space travel. He was afraid that the old man might panic and become unreliable during their planning meetings, or worse, that Ken would think that he was crazy and have nothing to do with him. He could not afford for that to happen. Krypton could not afford for that to happen. So he kept silent as he learned all that his elder colleague could teach him, and continued to plan for Krypton's people to escape their dying planet. His heart was filled with dread as he waited with his aged mentor for his turn to speak.

"Jor-El," whispered Ken-Dal as they sat, "I enjoyed meeting your wife and child the other day. That boy is the spitting image of your father."

"Mmm-hmm," said Jor, deep in thought.

"Mark my words, he is destined for greatness. I believe that someday he will continue the tradition of your family and surpass all his ancestors as far as being known for doing wonderful things."

"That's nice of you to say, Ken. But right now..."

"I don't just say that to be nice, Jor. There is something about him that speaks to me in a way that I can't explain. I truly believe that he will be the greatest son of Krypton, long after our planet is a dying ember."

"What? How did you...?"

"I couldn't help but read your notes on your recent investigations. You left them right out there for me to see. You know, you really should be more careful about where you leave things. That's what my Matty used to say to me..."

"But I didn't write down my conclusions in my notes. How did you figure out that Krypton was... was..."

"Doomed? I may be old, Jor-El, but I am still a scientist like you. It was pretty obvious to me that that would be your conclusion. You could have told me about it. I would have understood, you know."

"I was afraid that you would think..."

Vel-Ar interrupted with the announcement of Jor's turn to speak. Nervously, the young scientist made his way to the floor where his visual evidence and charts had been set up for his presentation.

"Chairman Vel-Ar, heads of the sciences, ladies and gentlemen of the Science Council, I come today to you today to report my findings in the investigation of the tremors we have been experiencing on our planet of late. It would be my greatest pleasure to announce that these quakes are a temporary problem due to the usual shifting of plates within Krypton; that the natural forces that cause these events are nearing the completion of a natural cycle and that our people will soon be safe once again. But this is not the case.

"My investigation into the Kandor incident was met with skeptical comments and leers, and because of that, I have checked and re-checked all my data in this matter. It still points to the same conclusion: Krypton is... is..." Jor began to choke on his words - the words that he had never tried to speak aloud before this moment. Now, he knew that they must be said, and with conviction if the people of his planet were to have any chance of survival. "My brothers and sisters of Krypton," he finally continued after regaining his composure, "our planet is nearing death. It will soon become an afterthought; a flash on some astronomer's telescope on a far off planet."

Jor-El related all the evidence from his investigations. He told of how it all began with the theft of an entire great city and how the crime left an alien residue that corrupted the soil. He told them how the residue became a web of tendrils squeezing its way down below the surface of the planet, shrinking matter all around it and causing the infrastructure above to weaken and collapse, thus causing the quakes. He told them that the element as it reproduced became unstable to the point of explosion, making the surface above further unreliable. And then he told them the worst - that there was no stopping the process until it reached the core of their planet - a core composed almost entirely of pure uranium - a core that, if excited by this strange alien element, would become the greatest nuclear explosion ever experienced by living creatures. There would surely be no survivors left from such a cataclysmic event.

"...Unless we resolve to survive. And the only way this is possible is to leave Krypton! Leave it as soon as possible! I propose that the Council sanction the building of giant spaceships that would ferry our populace away from our planet before it is no more. With the assistance of the learned Ken-Dal..." Jor gestured toward the spot where Dal had been sitting with him earlier, but the old man was no longer there. He was, in fact, no longer in the room. _He must have needed to refresh himself, _thought Jor. _No need to read anything more into it. _"With Ken-Dal's guidance we have been experimenting in space travel. It would be possible to travel to a new home and continue our existence elsewhere. We have made all the tests to prove it can be done. We have even put a living creature in space; it circles our globe even now in perfect health. Ken-Dal and I have fashioned a programmable model spaceship that can serve as a template for our escape vehicles..."

"I have heard enough!" the voice of Mal-Vol echoed through the hall. "This man is obviously insane! Who but a crazy man would tell such fables as spacemen stealing cities, or strange rocks that cause the firmament to shake? And then on top of all that, he begins shouting, 'the end of the world is neigh!' I have seen poor unfortunates that have fallen victim to an addiction of rainbow wine do the same. Their information comes from inside a bottle. Jor-El's is concocted from his own need of self-importance! Look at his so-called 'evidence,' my fellow colleagues. Look at it! Everything he has shown you can be explained in a number of different ways. He chooses to frighten us with science-fiction monsters and death rays! Then he wants to put us all on spaceships! Such fiction as this is better from a book or a film. Perhaps the loss of his movie actress friend must have affected him far too deeply!"

Jor-El had expected obstinacy, disbelief, and even derision, but Mal-Vol had crossed the line by using the death of his friend in this manner! Jor had to be restrained from charging into the audience after the scheming liar!

"You see!" bellowed Vol. "He can't even be counted on to control his emotions and actions! I am telling you, this man has a mental disorder!"

"How can you be so unfeeling? Lyla was a good, caring woman who only wanted people to love each other! Has your... cult... brought you so far down morally that you must resort to such...!"

"Now he attacks my religion! This is far too much! Jor-El, you have disgraced yourself totally in front of your peers! You should be removed from this Council and stripped of all your privileges as a scientist! I call for a vote..."

"Enough!" Vel-Ar angrily pounded his gavel as he tried to regain order in this disordered situation. "Enough! Mal-Vol, this outburst of yours was obviously staged to upset Jor-El in his presentation. If anyone should be sanctioned, it should be you!" Vel-Ar let his words sink in as the room finally began to quiet down. "But..." he added as he turned toward Jor. "You do bring up a good point! Jor-El, while your findings are far from the fiction Mal-Vol says they are, the evidence could be considered shaky. Your sole witness to this... crime as you call it, was emotionally overwrought by the loss of her family. The pictures of the extra terrestrial vehicle were blurry at best. And this element... eh... 349 is still in the experimental stage. How can you justify your conclusions based on this?"

Jor, still a bit shaken but composed now, quietly answered the chairman. "Sir, I have performed every investigative test possible in order to get to the truth. I have left absolutely nothing to chance. I apologize to the chair for my emotional response. I was totally out of line for my outburst, but I stand by my findings. If we do not leave this planet and soon, we will be doomed to be blasted into atoms with it."

The chairman pointed his gavel at Jor-El's antagonist. "Mal-Vol?"

"I have no apologies as I have spoken only the truth. And I still demand that a vote be taken immediately."

"Very well. Jor-El, do you have any objections?"

"Let's get this over with. Time is short and the fate of Krypton's people is in our hands."

Jor-El did not bother with a floater or any other vehicle to travel home. He instead preferred to walk. He wanted to feel the ground beneath his feet, to smell the flowers and the grass, and to feel the gentle Krytonian breeze against his face and he wanted to remember how all this felt, because he knew it may be last time he could. The vote of the Science Council did not go well. Mal-Vol and his cronies had spearheaded the opposition against him and managed to pick up enough converts in this case to disavow his findings. There would be no escape from the shattering of this once mighty world.

To make matters worse, Jor-El was dismissed from the Science Council altogether and sent away in disgrace, the first member to be treated in that manner in more than a century. The vote on that was much closer than on his proposal, but it didn't matter it had been by a landslide margin, the result was still the same. He was out. He was strangely not as despondent as he thought he would be, thus his decision to walk home and enjoy the world around him. _I suppose I always knew it would end this way, _he mused. But as he was leaving the Hall of Science where plaques and memorials honoring other famous members stood on display, he paused and studied one in particular. It was a new plaque chronicling his father's achievements for Krypton. The Phantom Zone ray projector and the first practical floater car were among his many contributions. He felt so very unworthy to be Jor-L's son. Failure was all he would accomplish in his all too short tenure. Just as he began to leave, a hand curled around his shoulder in a gesture of friendship. It was Chairman Vel-Ar.

"He was great man. your father. I remember when he had the opportunity to become chairman and turned it down. Do you know why?"

Jor turned and looked into the eyes of a friend and, being too choked up to speak, just slowly shook his head back and forth.

"He told me that he had two sons that he wanted to spend more time with than the chairmanship would afford him. I recall that when he said it, I could feel the pride he had for them both. And of course, this was well before the Open Heart movement changed everything. He was well ahead of his time, that one. I have a feeling that he would be proud of you today as well."

Surprise replaced sadness on Jor's face. "Why... why would you say that. I failed! I was booted out of the Council in disgrace! How could you think he would be proud of me today? You even voted against me!"

"I voted against your proposal, not your expulsion. Jor-El, I, and several other members, believe your findings to be true, but we could not allow them to become public. That's why we voted against you. If all of Krypton's people became aware of the situation, it would be sheer anarchy. And though you and Ken-Dal are amazingly far ahead in your space travel project, you can give no guarantee that you could have enough spacecraft built in time for the final cataclysm. There would be riots and - who knows what? - when the time comes and there are not enough spaces available for everyone. We don't have the right to decide who goes on to live and who stays to die. We don't have the wisdom to know what would be the proper criteria for such an undertaking. No. We could not let our people come to that."

Jor nodded at the new point of view that he had not until now taken into consideration. "I see. But again I ask, why would Jor-L be proud of me? I accomplished nothing, basically."

"He would be proud of you because you had the courage to stand up for your beliefs and still tell the world the truth - not what they wanted to hear... and I am grateful to you for making me realize that I have a family, too, And I have been so very neglectful of them of recent times because of my job here. So, if you don't mind. I am taking some leave from my position - a permanent one, probably, from what your notes say - and spend the rest of my life with my wife and grandchildren. I advise you to do the same with your family."

Vel-Ar patted the back of his young protege and exited the hall. Jor-El watched him disappear through the giant wooden doors, then slowly followed him out.

The walk home, would normally take about thirty minutes to traverse, but today it took about an hour as Jor took in all the sights and smells and textures of his homeworld. It was almost like experiencing these things for the first time, like a child whose awareness is just beginning to dawn. He was aware of the make-up of all he surveyed, but he had not pondered the natural beauty of his planet since his Open Heart days. And even then, he still took so much for granted.

By the time he arrived at his house, Lara was fraught with worry. By now, Kerra had left the employ of the Els. Being a part of Jor's research, she was aware of the coming disaster and wanted to spend her last days with Ko-Lim and living them out in her beloved Scarlet Jungle. There was no one left for Lara to commiserate with. When her husband finally showed, she greeted him at the door with a great hug.

"Jor, you're so late! I thought something might have happened to you."

"No, Love. I've just been walking... and thinking. The Council voted me down... and out! I've been removed from my membership."

"I know, Darling. Ken-Dal told me that would probably happen. He..."

"Ken-Dal? When did he tell you? Where is he?"

"He's down in the lab, waiting for you."

Jor wasted no time in rushing to his laboratory. He wanted to speak to the old man that abandoned him to the whims of an angry Council. He thrust open the lab doors with such force that they slammed into the walls on the other side of the portal. Ken-Dal was not the least startled as an ordinary person normally would be. Instead, he was tinkering with the insides of the model spacecraft and didn't even look up as Jor burst his way in.

"Where were you? I could have used your help back there. At the least, I could have used your moral support. Do you know what they did to me back there? I am ruined! I will never sit on the Science Council again!"

Dal finally looked up from the work he was performing and looked at the young man for a few moments and then replied, "From what I have seen of your notes, Jor, there won't be a Science Council, will there? Hand me that spanner, please."

Jor was dumbfounded for a few seconds, but as the wisdom of what his friend said sunk in, he began to laugh, slowly at first and then uncontrollably. "I guess... ha-ha...I guess you're right... ha-ha-ha!" He gave the old scientist the tool he needed. "But I guess I thought if you were there, it might sway them to adopt my plans. But..."

"It wouldn't have mattered if I were there or not, Jor. There were plenty of members with good, righteous reasons for voting down your proposals, and then there's Mal-Vol... He is such an evil man! That's what my Matty used to say to me, she'd say, "Kendy, that man is composed of pure evil! And you know, the sad thing about it is he doesn't even know it! He thinks he is following the path of Rao! But he's not! He's just... oh, my! That needs to be adjusted! Would you hand me that screwdriver, please?"

Jor passed the screwdriver to him. "Yes, I suppose the fate of my findings was already sealed, but why did you leave before I spoke?"

"Why, to do some final adjustments to this model ship. Every second counts doesn't it? Ooh, you've done some nice work in here, Jor!"

"Uh... thank you. Uhm... No, it doesn't matter much anymore, Ken. You see, I've decided not to try to escape the final explosion. I've decided to face the end with my wife and son at my side."

Ken-Dal stopped what he was doing and looked at Jor incredulously. "Well, that's just... stupid!"

"What?"

"I said that's stupid! Why are you stopping now? The idea was to save our race! Have you been wasting my time here?"

"Well... I... eh..."

"Just because the Council voted you down, doesn't mean it's all over! That's a very nice warm and fuzzy notion to see it through with your loved ones, but you can still make a difference here, Jor-El! You can't save the entire populace of the world, but we can build a scaled down version of your original idea. We have this model as a guide. It is large enough for one adult person to fit inside comfortably... well, semi-comfortably... well, all right, it would be cramped, but a person could be saved from Krypton's fate by riding in this vehicle, and if Rao grants us the time, we could create a ship large enough to carry, say, a family of three - a man, a woman, and child, perhaps?"

Jor wasn't sure of anything now. He had changed his plans completely - twice! - in the space of an hour. First, he wanted to build a fleet of space arks, then he took a fatalistic view of the coming crisis, and now...

"All right, Ken-Dal, but we build this next ship to accommodate four people instead of three. I want you along for the ride."

"No, Jor. I'm too old and I have no intention of going anywhere... well, not in one piece anyway, heh-heh. You and yours have something to live for, I have done all I wish to do in life, and it was you that made that possible. No, I will stay. Besides, I look forward to seeing my Matty again in the afterlife. You know, I miss her so much..."

"All right, then. I guess we should get started on the new ship. We don't need to do any more on that model."

"I think I must disagree again, Jor-El. We absolutely must finish the work on this vehicle. Once we have perfected all the systems that will be necessary for the trip, building the up-scaled version will take little time to complete. Besides, it would serve, as I said, as an escape for one person if we run out of time."

Jor reluctantly agreed. After all, riding in an exploding space craft was not much different than riding on an exploding planet.

The next two days went by very fast. By day, Jor-El and Ken-Dal labored on the model and began drawings on the new ship. During the evenings Jor spent all his time with Lara and little Kal. Late nights were spent programming the thought transfer crystal with the history of Krypton and his own journal of recent events from his perspective. _No matter what happens, _he thought, _Kal will know his heritage. _

The third day was the day Jor-El knew the race was over. The model was complete and safe. A passenger could expect to leave this planet and step out onto a new one with reasonable assurance. But the quakes now began in earnest. The rumblings, once short dull sobs of a planet in pain, now became the constant wailing of a world about to die. The halls and buildings of Kryptonopolis shook and began to moan in defiance of the grounds beneath them. Men, women, children all screamed as their world opened up wide gaps that swallowed them whole and, in some cases, spit them out again as lifeless husks of their former selves. It was over, and Jor-El of Krypton did not win this race. But he did not lose it, either.

Remembering what Ken-Dal had said, he prepared the model for a single passenger, and made this final entry into his thought crystal journal:

My Son,

Know that, above all, your mother and I love you. By the time you gain these memories, the planet of your birth will be long dead, and so will your parents. We had planned to be with you on your journey, but time was no ally in this race, and only one could be spared Krypton's final destiny. That one is you, my son. I had originally planned to program the vehicle that would have taken us all to safety to land on a planet not too far away with a red sun like Krypton. That planet we call Rokyn. But you will be alone on this journey, and circumstances dictate that your best chance for survival is a populated world with beings that look like you. A planet with people who can nurture you in the ways of their world would allow you to walk among them as one of their own. I have always had a fondness for one such planet - A planet on which its lower gravity and our greater molecular density would combine to give a person of our world great powers of strength and stamina. I have come to love this world you have come to know as home, and as I die with Krypton, I hope that you, too, have grown to love your Earth. Protect them as you were protected by them.

The quakes are increasing in intensity. Time is short and I must act now if you are to reach safe haven.

Remember us,

Jor-El and Lara


	35. Chapter 35

35

"All right, Perfessor," said Joe as he puttered around the geology lab, looking at various exhibits and projects in progress. "I'll bite. What exactly are we waiting for?"

Chester looked up from the soil sample he had been working on. "We're waiting for the electronics boys to give me a modified ELMA to re-check the quake site. And meanwhile... I'm playin' in the dirt."

Joe laughed with that quiet little laugh of his that meant he thought the remark funny, but that there was still serious work to do. "How different is it from the other gizmo you were using?"

"I asked them to see if they could modify it to specifically sense this mystery element, and to amplify the range of the sensor so we can tell just how deep this stuff goes. If my neighbor is right, and if it goes deep enough into the Earth, we could have ourselves one nasty little problem."

"Your neighbor... Is she really related to Superman?"

"Her husband is. He's a direct line descendent of the hero of Metropolis! Nice fella, too. You'd think somethin' like that would really go to his head, wouldn't ya? But George is one fine guy. He's raised his kids right, too. Ya oughtta meet his son, Jimmy. Now there's a real pistol for ya! Resilient, too. Gets teased and beat

up by the bullies at school, but keeps comin' back for more every day."

"The descendent of Superman gets beat up at school? That's kinda funny."

"Yep. George - uh, that's his father's name, George - George doesn't know much about it. Jim won't tell him and I've been sworn to secrecy. He came home from class one day not too long ago when I was out in my yard cuttin' the grass and he had _one_ heck of a shiner. Told me he ran into a door, can you believe that? I told him he's better come up with a better story than that or cause his dad would never buy that one. He fessed up. Some big kid with more muscles than brains had it in for him just because he was one of 'those' Kents. And then he said it had been going on since he was in grammar school. Said he needed to tell somebody about it but didn't want his parents to know, especially his father. I promised I wouldn't say anything, but I said he needed to get over his pride and talk to his dad."

"Did he?"

"I don't know. George never said anything about it and I kept my word... and my mouth shut."

"I see. Well, how's the dirt?"

"The what?"

"The dirt. You said you were playing in the dirt."

"Oh... yeah." Chester took his hands out and strated wiping them off with a towel. "Well, My neighbor said the stuff was pretty unstable. I'm trying to see if I can agitate it into a reaction of some kind."

That remark annoyed Joe ."You mean like an explosion? Isn't that a little dangerous?"

"Naw, I don't think there's enough here to do any real damage. But I probably _should_ be wearin' some sort of eye protection, now that you mention it. Tell ya what, why don't ya hand a pair of those goggles over there and I'll just... uh..." Joe obliged his friend. "There ya go. Thanks, Joe."

"Sure, no problem."

About that time a young man in a long white lab coat entered the room with what looked like an ELMA, but with an external sensing arm attached.

"Dr. Carr, I think you will like this. My associates and I have managed to create a setting that is especially sensitive to your mystery element. We have it internally set so there is no chance of accidentally changing it. The arm is used just like you would use any metal detector. Just slowly swing it back and forth and the ELMA should sense the compound."

"How about the depth of sensitivity?"

"I can't guarantee that it will reach to the core but it will sense deeper than any ELMA ever has. And of course, there's no way to test it but to put it to use. Best we could do, I'm afraid."

"Then I guess we'll give it a workout. Thanks."

The young man looked back at Joe and Chess as he went out the door. "You're welcome and... Good Luck."

Chester examined the new contraption he had been given and said under his breath, "Yeah, we'll probably need it." He looked at the cop with a smile and winked. "Okay, Joe. Let's get back to the quake site. I wanna give this thing a shakedown. Cover that dish for me, would ya?"

Joe found a glass cover and placed it over the dish of purple dirt. "Okay, but what about your 'agitating?' This stuff gonna cause any problems while we're gone?"

"Naw, I don't think so, but you know what they say."

"What's that?"

"A watched dish of purple dirt never explodes. Come on..."

"So, how've you been, Sweetheart? Did you miss me?" Jennifer beamed as if she were a tot opening a Christmas present. "You know I missed you! Well actually, I missed my runabout... and technically, it's not really my runabout, but never screw up a good story with facts, I always say."

"Jennifer." George said once again, dumbfounded.

"You know, I just love it when men whisper my name like that. In fact, I might just let you live just so that I could hear you say it to me again. Oh wait. No, I can't."

She had that same sexy smile but her outfit was decidedly different. Now she was wearing something that looked like it came straight out of a bad twentieth century sci-fi movie, a cherry red corset-style outfit with pointed sleeves that looked like wings on her shoulders and a train in the rear. Dark lace stockings ran the length of her slender legs down to her red stiletto high heels. On the third finger of her right hand was something else that was new: a ring with a good sized green stone.

George felt a little tense as the barrel of her energy pistol lowered towards him. She smirked just a bit as she prepared to pull the trigger. But then she pulled the pistol back and said, "You know, I really hate this killing stuff? Especially when the person I'm going to kill just looks back at me with dreamy eyes like yours, George. Couldn't you like, beg for mercy or something? It would make me feel so much better, like I was doing you a favor. Kind of like I was putting you out of your misery or something like that. You know?"

"I know that you say 'you know' an awful lot! It can get pretty annoying. How did you know my name?"

"I watch holovision _way_ too much. Actually, one of your commercials came on as you were leaving and your name was on the bottom of the image. Are you _really_ related to Superman?"

George was not amused. "You want an autograph or something?"

"Oh, this is marvelous! It's Kismet, fate, destiny all rolled into one! George, we're old family friends! My great-great-great-great-great-grandfather knew your great-great...whatever-grandfather! They knew each other since they were kids! I can't believe it!"

"Does this mean you're not going to shoot?"

"Oh no! I'm definitely going to shoot. But I thought we could catch up with family histories first. You see, my full name is Jennifer Alexis Luthor."

_Luthor? _thought George. _That explains the ring and why Guer-on seems to be missing in action. He can't go near enough to Jennifer without being effected by the stone in her ring - a kryptonite stone._

Jennifer noticed George staring at her ring. "Like it? It's a family heirloom. Handed down from generation to generation til it found itself around my finger. Of course, I had to have the stone reset for my dainty digit. I don't wear it all the time, though. The kids in our family get taught at an early age how Grandaddy Lex lost a hand to the radiation. But when I realized who I was going after and your family background... Well, it just wouldn't be right to _not_ wear it, would it?"

"I thought that bomb would've pretty much destroyed your ship. It made a big enough bang. How did I miss?"

"Well, actually you didn't darling, but you see, there were _two_ ships after you. The one in front of mine was the one that blew up. I was far enough behind that mine was relatively unscathed. Lucky me, huh?"

George noticed that one of the lead bomb casings behind Jennifer was seemingly moving under its own power slowly towards her. He needed to keep her attention on him for a few more seconds. Fortunately, she seemed to really enjoy hearing herself speak. "How did you find me after the first ship blew up?"

"Simple, really. The very first hit on your ship while you were being chased was a locating transmitter. We had one inside but you must have found it. By the way, I'm really ticked at you for that explosion trick. All my men were aboard that ship. Most of them were no big loss, but I really liked Francois! He was a funny guy!"

"Sorry. I guess I get a little carried away when I'm fighting for my life."

"Well, don't let it bother you. You also managed to take out Doug, too. He was with the people that wanted to use the explosives. He was probably going to have me killed for letting you take this vehicle. So I guess you did me a favor by blowing him up. Now my turn. Who are you working for; the FBI or the Martian Crime Authority maybe? You don't seem like the type to be working with any kind of crime syndicate."

"Crime syndicate? I thought crime was pretty much dead on Earth and Mars these days."

"How naive! You really _are_ descended from the big blue Boy Scout aren't you?" The casing was almost right behind her now. It was time to act. George's vision powers were not nearly as powerful as his famous ancestor, and he hadn't used heat vision since he was twenty years old, but things were getting hot right now and he needed to make things even hotter. He focused on the ring on Jennifer's hand.

"OW! OW! OW!" She involuntarily dropped her weapon and frantically ripped the red hot kryptonite ring from her finger, throwing it to the floor. Guer-On threw the lead casing atop it, trapping the deadly rays emanating from the stone. George leapt forward and grabbed the pistol before she could recover. Guer-On, about the size of a gnat, rammed himself into the spiked heel of Jennifer's right stiletto, sending her toppling to the floor of the bridge. In the blink of an eye, literally, the tense situation was reversed.

"I don't suppose you'd like to tell me just what the heck happened just now?" asked a puzzled Jennifer as she looked up at her gun in George's hand.

"I confess, Miss Luthor, that I did inherit some powers from my super ancestor, and they are all in my eyes."

"Heat vision?"

"Heat vision!"

"Okay for that. But I know I saw that lead casing fly through the air by itself and cover my ring after I threw it. What's up with that?"

"Uhhhhhh... Mice?"


	36. Chapter 36

36

"Okay, so what do we do with her, Gary? We can't keep her spread eagled like this. We've too much we have to do!" George was keeping Jennifer covered with her own energy weapon, albeit very nervously. "And I don't know how much time we have left!"

Jennifer looked at her captor with confusion. "That's the second time I've heard you 'talk' to this Gary guy. What is he, you're imaginary friend or something? I searched throughout this tub while you were out there and there isn't anyone on this ship but you and I!"

George couldn't help but chuckle at Jennifer's observation. Of course, it would appear to anyone listening and watching him that he was crazy. A tiny humanoid no bigger than a speck of dust would be practically impossible to see unless you possessed microscopic vision, and George could only hear Guer-On when he took shelter from the inside of George's ear. "Sorry, ma'am, I know what it looks like, but I do have a partner in the room with us."

"Huh!" said Jennifer as she rested her head back on the floor of the bridge and closed her eyes. "So, Superman's progeny is a nutcase!" Realizing her situation, she reopened her peepers and looked at George in an apologetic manner. "But a very polite nutcase. But please, drop the 'ma'am' stuff. It makes me feel old!"

"Sorry, m… er… Ms. Luthor. Are you all right?"

"You really are too polite, aren't you? Yes, I'm okay. Nothing but a very hard floor causing me distress. Well, that and an energy pistol pointed at my face."

Guer-On finally made his way to George's ear. "We could lock her in the cargo bay once we get all the explosives out of there. I think I can have them out in about 15 seconds or so."

"Okay, but I'm not invulnerable like you. Take your time so as to insure they won't blow up."

Jennifer stared at George in that "here he goes again with the voices" face. "What do you mean you're not 'invulnerable' like me? I'm not invulnerable, either. And who is to take his time with what?"

"We're going to put you in the cargo bay, Ms. Luthor. Gary suggested it. He's got to get your bombs out of there first, though." George decided it was time to change the subject. "Look, I don't know if you understand it or not, but there is a crisis on Earth right now and we don't have time for your little scam. We have to..."

"Hey! I beg your pardon! There is nothing 'little' about this plan. If it had worked, and it _would_ have worked, I would be the richest woman alive."

"I assume the bombs were for the Mars Liberation Front?"

"Ha! That's a laugh! The MLF doesn't even exist. It's just a little idea I had to make it all work. Yeah, we were going to scare the folks back home into thinking that Earth was too dangerous to stay there. The bombs were supposed to convince everybody of that. They'd have to move to Mars and buy my land holdings."

"I don't suppose the earthquakes were a result of your mischief."

"No, can't claim that one. But when they began, I was convinced the time was right to initiate my plan. This was all supposed to start to take place in another month. I just moved it up when the first quakes hit. I couldn't have asked for better timing. I was mortgaged up the..."

"I get the picture! And you figured that once the quakes subsided, that your phony MLF would take credit for them, hit a few more targets, and start selling Martian land parcels."

"What can I say? Tragedy is good for business!"

George looked over towards the corridor. Several lead bomb casings were now stacked neatly along the wall. "It looks like the cargo bay is ready for you, Ms. Luthor. Please, get up... _slowly_... and walk down the hall to your new quarters. I will be right behind you with your weapon. And please don't make any sudden movements. I don't like these things, but I have been trained how to use them. Let's go."

Keeping her eyes ( and her smile ) trained on George, Jennifer did as he said. Once up, she noticed the bombs stacked where there had been none just minutes ago. With a puzzled look, she turned to her captor. "How did these get here?"

"I told you! I'm not alone. Gary did this while we were talking. Now, don't dawdle please, Ms. Luthor"

"Call me Jenn."

"Please don't dawdle, Jenn. I've got a lot of work to do, and you've delayed me far too much already."

"Yeah," Jennifer slowly began her way to the makeshift jail. "You said there was a 'crisis' on Earth? What did you mean? Aren't those quakes about over?"

"I don't know, Jenn. But I do know that they may be a prelude to a disaster that would make your little scheme seem like nothing in comparison." Jennifer stepped into the cargo bay and George began to close the door.

"What do you mean?"

"The Earth could be about to explode into nothingness, Jenn. And my friend and I mean to help save it." The door closed and George locked it tight from the outside. _At least this little dance brought me something to loosen that kryptonite boulder,_ he thought as he studied the pistol in his hand. _I'd better get back out there and get back to work on it._

Inside the cargo bay, Jennifer Alexis Luthor reached into the bosom of her outfit and produced a small disc with a single red button on it and she smiled. _He is a nut case_, she thought. _But I'll be rid of him in short order and then I'll start thinking about all that wonderful money I'll be counting very soon..._

"Okay, Joe. Looks like the ELMA is about ready to go." Chester spoke into the same microphone and receiver setup he and Joe had used just the day before. "When I give the word, I'll need you to turn that red switch to the setting marked 'engage.'. Got it?"

"I think so, Perfessor. This one right here?"

"That's the one! Now, stand by... and... _Do it!" _Joe complied and the modified ELMA came to life. He could feel the power surging through its electronic circuitry as if it suddenly found sentience. The small readout screen of Chester's earlier handheld ELMA with gauges and LED's was replaced with a separate and very powerful computer with digitally mapped graphics on its data screen. It made reading the information collected by the sensing wand almost instantaneous and analysis much easier to calculate. Joe, holding the wand, was in the bottom of the crevice that the quake had created in downtown Metropolis, and began to slowly move the large saucer shaped end back and forth, as Chester remained above watching the readings on the screen.

"Slow down just a bit there, Joe. You're moving the saucer too fast for the sensors register all the data."

"Tell me again why you don't have one of your geologist colleagues doing this?"

"Because they're all busy with their own theories and lab samples... I don't think this machine is calibrated right..."

"Whattaya mean?"

"If this is correct..."

"Perfessor, we spent an hour and a half checking every detail on this contraption. I think you fine tuned it at least twenty times. If it isn't working right now, then it never did."

"I was afraid you would say that, Joe. Say, can you hold the saucer in that one spot for a minute..."

Joe complied and waited for what seemed like a quarter of an hour before he thought he heard the chirp of a personal phone from up above, "Okay, okay. My arms are getting a little tired of holding this thing in this position. Can I move them while you're having your little conversation?"

More silence.

"Perfessor...? what's wrong?"

"Come on up, Joe. And bring the sensor with you." Joe had seen and heard Chester express many emotions since they had met, but the sound of his voice right now was the closest thing to absolute despair that he had yet heard from the lanky Texan. Throwing the electronic device over his back, he climbed up the ladder to find Chester sitting dejectedly in front of the computer monitor with his head in both his hands.

"It's too far gone, Joe. It's just too far gone. Look at the screen. This stuff is like a spider's web and it's almost three quarters of the way to the Earth's core." Chess finally looked up at his new friend. "And if it's as volatile as I think it is, we're in big trouble."

"But, we can do something about it, right? There must be a way to stop it?"

"Superman's daddy couldn't stop it from blowing up the planet Krypton. I don't have _any_ idea how to keep it from doing the same to Earth."

"So we're just giving up all hope then? We're just... doomed?"

Chester managed a weak smile. He knew what his ally was up to. "Could be. But naw, I'm not givin' up. Jor-El couldn't find a way to stop this stuff, but maybe we can, if we're lucky."

"What was the phone call?"

Chester leaned back in his chair and looked straight up into the sky as if expecting a superhero to fly down and fix everything. "It was Infantino. Sydney's been hit by a quake.

"That's the last one mentioned in the book," said Jimmy to no one in particular as he and his family heard the news about the Sydney earthquake on a holovision in the restaurant. "I wonder what happens now?"

Noel, of course, didn't skip a beat with her answer. "Now, you put on your cape and tights and go fix everything. Isn't that what you superheroes are supposed to do?"

"Noel, just because some rock made me a little stronger and my skin a little harder..."

"Some superhero! I bet you can't even fly, can you?"

"Well, I haven't tried yet. I..."

"What are you afraid of? Falling? Hello! You can't hurt yourself. Aren't you supposed to be invulnerable?"

"I - I don't know. It _seems_ like I could be, but..."

"And just how strong did this thing make you, anyway? Can you bend steel in your bare hands? Hey, waiter! Got any steel in this place that needs bending? My brother can do it!"

Phyllis decided it was time to intervene. "Noel, that's enough of that. Your brother doesn't need that kind of treatment right now. He's very confused by this transformation."

"Mom, not so loud!" said Jimmy. "You make it sound like I'm going through puberty or something!"

"Well, sweetie, in a way you are. Your body has changed in so many ways that I wouldn't be surprised if it has affected your hormones, too."

"Aw, Mom! It's not that! It's just that I... I..."

"What, dear?"

"I'm no hero! Somehow, I received this... this 'change' and I have powers others only dream of. But I'm still Jimmy Kent, not Clark! I can't be a superhero! I don't know how! I don't even know if I have the heart for it, or the... courage."

"Yes you do!" Linda had been staying out of what she felt was a family discussion, but she couldn't sit by and just listen anymore. "Of course, you have the heart! Jimmy, I've known you since we first started grade school, and I've gotten to know you pretty well since then. You may be timid about your ancestry, but you've always been ready to help people whenever they've needed it. I've seen you go out of your way to be nice to little kids..."

"I don't know about that one!" chimed in Noel.

"Okay," laughed Linda. "Present company excluded. I've seen you do chores for older folks who are too weak or too infirm. You find time to be in charitable committees at school all the time. As for your courage, you put up with Moe's foolishness every day and keep coming back for more. That may not be on a superhero level, but it takes courage to do _that_."

"Or stupidity!" said Jim. "I don't necessarily agree with all that, but I see where you're going with it. And I guess, now that I have the ability to help some of the quake victims and I really ought to get over there, but how do I do it? Like I told Noe, I'm not too sure about the flying thing."

"Before you go off to save the world," said Phyllis, "let's go home first. If you're going to take on a tough job, you'll need some working clothes... and I know just where to find some."


	37. Chapter 37

37

The green glow now gone, the attic no longer seemed so sinister as it did before. Nonetheless, Phyllis still felt uneasy as she led her children and Linda Kaye cautiously up the stairs and back into the chamber where she had been so frightened the previous afternoon. "It's right over there, I think. I was just about to dust it when the tremor knocked me into the desk."

"What is it you're looking for, Mom?" asked her son.

"That!" she said, pointing at an old trunk which appeared to be ages old. "This trunk and its contents have been handed down from generation to generation and finally to your father. I've never seen what's in it, but he's told me that it holds many possessions of your great-grandfather Clark, including..." She had brought a key up with her from a safe box in her bedroom and inserted it into the trunk's lock. The ancient chest made a creaking sound as it was opened. Phyllis reached in and found what she was looking for right away. "...this!"

Jimmy had seen many pictures of it. He had seen it in countless videos and had even seen many people wearing re-creations of it. But there was no doubt in his mind that he was looking at the real thing right now, and despite his many years of denying his heritage, it took his breath away to see it now. In his mother's hands was the familiar blue, red, and yellow uniform that had become almost as famous as the man who had worn it those many years ago. The symbol, the "shield" as his family called it, of red and yellow in the field of blue stared back at him and instilled admiration for the deeds his ancestor had performed in the service of his adopted home. A powerful sense of pride overwhelmed him as he stood spellbound gawking at the simple outfit, and then a just as powerful feeling of inadequacy followed as he realized his mother's intention.

"Mom, I - I'm sorry, but... I just couldn't. I couldn't wear... that! I know how corny this must sound, but... really, I just don't feel... worthy!"

"Jimmy, I had a practical reason for you to wear this uniform. I didn't dig this out of that trunk just because I want you want you to follow in Grandpa Clark's footsteps. You have to wear this, because it's the only clothing on Earth that will withstand the punishment you will be inflicting on it. The outfit is as indestructible as Superman was. It won't burn or rip by ordinary means."

"But it wouldn't fit me. I've seen enough historical footage to know Clark was a pretty big guy. Look at me! I'm not exactly a perfect physical specimen and I'm only seventeen!"

"It will fit. It was made to stretch and contract with the user's body. And remember, Clark wasn't much older than you when he first wore it. There is a reason you were given this gift, and you may as well use the proper working clothes."

"Yeah, brother. Put it on," said Noel almost absent-mindedly as she rummaged through the trunk. "There's more stuff in here, Mom. You know what it is?"

With imploring eyes, Phyllis handed the colorful costume to her son and began exploring the contents of the old chest. "It looks like mementos Grandpa Clark kept close to him over the years." Jim hustled downstairs as the girls continued digging through the relics in the trunk. "Let's see... a high school yearbook... graduation cap and gown... a two dimensional image, they called it a photograph back then, of a young, pretty, teenaged girl... press credentials for Clark Kent of the Daily Planet... Oh! Clark's and Lois' marriage license!"

"Yeah, Mom, but look! There's some kind of metal box here, too. The way it rattles, it must be... I don't know... jewelry or rocks or... something."

Phyllis opened the container and shook out the contents of the small box: a golden ring, an emerald ring, a jagged-edged boomerang, a belt buckle in the shape of the letter "A," and a short piece of yellow rope.

"What is it, Mom?"

"I think... I know..." said Noel's mother with a strange expression on her face. She touched the golden ring with her index finger. "Barry!" she said. She touched the emerald ring. "Hal." The boomerang. "Bruce." The buckle. "Arthur." She just stared at the rope as if afraid to touch it.

"Mom! Are you all right? Who are those people you were just talking about? Mom? You're getting all weird on me like Jimmy did and I don't like it any more with you than I did with him... Mom!"

It was like a dream to Phyllis. She could see movement, but the sounds were unintelligible, like a warped record played at slow speed.

"Linda, go get Jimmy! I think my mother's having a seizure or something!" were the last words Phyllis heard before it all went black.

"I think she's coming around," were the next words she heard as the blackness slowly became a dull gray, then resolved itself into something akin to the color of reality. She realized she was lying on the floor of the attic with Linda Kaye holding a cold, damp washrag to her forehead, with Noel looking frantic behind her and a concerned looking figure in a blue outfit and a red cape looming over them all.

"K-Kal?" she said weakly.

"Who? Mom, are you okay? You gave us a real scare!" It was Jimmy. He had donned the uniform, but he was more worried about his mother's lapse. Phyllis sat up as Linda removed the washrag.

"I-I think I'm all right. Thanks, kids, for taking such good care of me."

"It was Linda," said Noel, still a little flustered. "I freaked, but she knew just what to do."

"Yeah," said Jimmy. "If you ask me, she's the one who's the hero around here."

Linda Kaye took it in stride. "I just did what was needed in this situation," she shrugged. Then looking around her, she sheepishly added, "But I _am_ thinking of going into a medical career when I get older."

Phyllis took the washrag and ran it over her face once or twice. "I don't know what came over me. I was looking at those relics from the trunk and it all went crazy. I thought I was... I thought... I'm not sure what I thought..."

"Mom, who's Cal?" asked Noel.

"Who?"

"Cal! You looked at Jimmy and called him Cal. Who is Cal?"

"I don't know. I have no idea where that came from."

"I do." said Jim. "We all read the name in that journal. Remember? It was Grandpa Clark's real name: Kal-El. She woke up and saw me in this costume and she must have thought I was Superman for a moment."

Linda nodded and said, "Makes sense to me."

But Noel needed more. "I guess it does to me, too. Only why would _you_ call him Kal instead of Superman or even Clark?"

"I... suppose I just know him better as Kal... or something... I really don't know, but I do know it all began with those keepsakes we found."

"Yeah, and when you touched each one of them, you whispered a different man's name every time." Noel was then silent for a moment and looked very troubled. Finally, she got up enough nerve to ask, "Mom, do you have boyfriends?"

Phyllis couldn't help but to burst out laughing out loud at the suggestion.

"I mean, I know Dad is away on those trips he makes for the spaceline and all, but..."

Her mother, realizing that Noel was serious, put a stop to the laughter and held out her arms to her daughter, who quickly came to her and wrapped herself into them. "No! Honey, no! I never ever would do that! I love your father way too much to ever even think of doing something like that."

"I'm sorry, Momma," Noel was crying now. "I'm sorry for thinking that! It's just that when you fainted, I thought maybe you were dead or something. It made me crazy, too, I guess."

"Shhh! It's okay, Sweetie. Really! I really don't know why I fainted, but I think... I think I know where the names came from." Noel extricated herself from her mother's arms and they all stood up and made their way back to the items from the box.

"We've seen that Grandpa Clark was very sentimental and kept souvenirs that reminded him of people he loved. I believe these items once belonged to his teammates on the Justice League of America."

"Huh?" was the collective response.

"Sometimes a crisis was desperate enough to require several superheroes working as a team. These things once belonged to the other members of that team. The gold ring..." She picked it up. "...belonged to the Flash - Barry Allen. The green ring was used by Green Lantern - Hal Jordan. This boomerang with the scallops? It was called a 'batarang' by its creator, the Batman - Bruce Wayne. This," she picked up the belt buckle. "This appears to be a buckle from one of Aquaman's earlier outfits. His real name was Arthur. And this is..."

"...A very short piece of Wonder Woman's magic lasso, isn't it, Mom?" asked her son. "I thought it couldn't be broken. Did Supergramps do that?"

"No, he was as powerless against magic as he was against kryptonite. He tried, though, it was so funny! He could change the course of mighty rivers but he couldn't break that rope apart. He couldn't even burn it apart with his heat vision. The only thing that would cut it was the magic sword of Theseus. You should have seen his face! He was so frustrated! This powerful superhuman who had been known to change the path of whole planets! Then, a woman about half his size drops a sword on it and - snip! - it's cut! It was just so hilarious... so..." Phyllis noticed the kids were staring at her.

"Mom," said Jimmy softly. "How would you know about all that? You make it sound like you were there..."

She couldn't reply.

She was as shocked as her children.

"Were you?" continued Jim.

She looked deep into her memory and knew there was nothing more. She looked deep into the eyes of her children and knew there was something else. "Maybe..." she whispered as she reached for the piece of magic lasso. "Maybe, we should find out..." And the golden cord was in her hand.


	38. Chapter 38

38

George stopped what he was doing. Something had changed. For the better, for the worse, he couldn't say. But he knew that at that precise moment in time, things had changed.

_I must be crazy_, he thought._ What could have happened, and how could I know that anything had?_ He stared down at the huge green boulder he had been attempting to excavate using the energy pistol he had acquired from Jennifer. The work was going too slow, and he was worried that he might have to use the explosives, but he was hoping to avoid that. Too much could not only shatter the kryptonite into atoms, making it unusable, but it could also damage the spaceship, stranding him out here until Guer-On would be able to send help, which would, of course, happen much too late to do his home any good.

The problem was not the weight of the boulder. On an asteroid, even one of this size, gravity is so low that he might even seem like his famous ancestor when lifting heavy items. It was the _mass_ of the boulder imbedded into the asteroid itself, buried well into its shell. There was no way to tell exactly how deep it went, but he knew the longer it took to harvest this find, the lesser his chances to save his homeworld became.

There was another problem.

Although he was not as affected by the emerald meteor as his full-blooded Kryptonian friend, he still possessed a small amount of DNA from his great-great-great-grandfather. While he didn't feel any real danger was imminent from the kryptonite, he had developed a pretty good headache and moments of dizziness. It was getting harder to simply remain standing. It _could_ be the green K, or, as George just now realized, it could _just_ be the fact that he had not eaten or slept in the last twenty hours or so.

Either way, he dared not stop until the meteor was freed from the asteroid. If the problem was the kryptonite, it would soon be encased in the lead and that problem was solved. If it was just human biologic needs, he would grab a bite in the galley of the runabout, and that problem would also be solved.

The thought of food made him think of Jennifer's restaurant, and then of Madame Luthor, herself. He and Guer-On had to leave her locked in the makeshift brig alone while they were busy with their respective tasks: George with the kryptonite, and Gary removing the explosives from the lead casings. Every few minutes, George would look up and see the flash of the discarded contents being harmlessly ignited by his friend. He couldn't hear them, of course, with no air to carry the sound waves, but the colors that lit up the ebony skies of space were like the July fourth celebrations back at Heritage Park in Fort Worth. Phyllis and the kids loved to go out there every year to picnic and watch the incendiary show.

Phyllis...

Something was still troubling him and for some reason, he felt like it was about her. He had no way to communicate with her as long as he was in this asteroid belt, so he decided that would be the first thing he would do once they were underway again. Until then, he had to hope that his intuition was just another hunger pang.

The gray area around the kryptonite began to narrow. Had he passed the midpoint of the boulder? There was probably more than enough of the stuff sticking out of the ground to do whatever Gary needed it to do. _Maybe I can cut the boulder itself,_ he thought. Kryptonite itself, unlike the creatures and relics that escaped the doomed planet, was not indestructible. It could be broken, crushed, polished into jewelry quality stones, melted, whatever. The only thing was that one had to be careful of was the incredible energy it possessed. While the radiation wasn't immediately lethal to humans, it could, when harnessed, be a viable source of power. It had, in fact been used to power spacecraft for a time in the late twenty first century until all the available green K on Earth had been used up.

But here was a large boulder of the stuff, and while he was never one for cutting corners, time was running out, so George decided it was worth the risk to attempt to cut through the green rock where it was sticking out.

He checked his energy pistol to make sure he had the power left to do the job, said a silent prayer, and thought of his family. "I love you, Princess," he said aloud to someone who was too far away to hear.

He triggered the pistol and aimed it like a cutting torch at the boulder about an inch above the ground where he had dug earlier. Slowly he moved the energy beam concentrically about the boulder. _Good, _he thought. _No adverse reaction... so far!_ He had circled the rock twice with the beam when the gun finally ran out of power.

"Damn!" It was uncharacteristic for him to swear, and anyone that knew George Kent would have been shocked to hear him use even a mild expletive. "I was so close! So close!" He was so frustrated that he forgot about safety factors and kicked the rock with the flat of his foot.

Again the gravity of the asteroid was so low that the reaction of the kick threw George about twenty feet from where he had been. Reality returned and he knew he should not have been so reckless. It would have been so easy to rip a breach in the environmental suit. He checked the onboard diagnostics and was relieved to find he'd been lucky this time. No breach.

He made his way back to the rock and found the part above the cut he had been making was loosened. When he kicked the stone, the stone had cracked inside where the energy pistol had not reached. Carefully, he pulled the top of the green rock up off its body and placed it in the casing Guer-On had given him earlier. He couldn't have cut it to fit any finer than if he had used a tape measure and scissors. The casing fit over the rock like it had been made for that purpose and that purpose alone. George closed the casing and turned for one last look at the dig site and to his surprise, found a perfectly formed green crystal laying atop where he had cracked the rock open. He had never seen one before, but he had been told the stories of the crystal his ancestor had brought with him from Krypton years ago. This looked just like he had imagined that one would.

He wrestled it away from what was left of the boulder's grip on it and took a moment to examine it. _I don't know what it means,_ he mused, _but I'll find out later. Right now I have two worlds to save. _He put it into a pocket of his E-suit and then, taking the casing filled with kryptonite, he started back for the runabout.

But before he could take a step, he felt the ground beneath him rumble. _An earthquake? Up here? _But it was no quake. Instead, the engines of the runabout were powering up. Like the silent fireworks show he had been audience to earlier, no sound could reach his ears from the craft as it began to ascend from its rocky perch. Instinctively, George rushed toward the runabout, waving "I'm here!" at whoever was controlling it. It was, of course, futile. The ship began to rise, leaving its previous pilot stranded on a gigantic gray rock.

The radio in his helmet crackled to life. "Sorry, Georgie! I have no more time to play with you. I need this ship to finish what I started."

"Jennifer? But how did you get out of the cargo bay? We had it locked tight!"

"Let's just say I keep a few tricks up my sleeve... Well, I guess it wasn't up my sleeve, technically..."

"You have to listen to me! The Earth is in danger! I have the means to save it now! I have to get back there before it's too late!"

"Oh, George, George, George. You really need to do something about these delusions of grandeur. The Earth is not going to blow up! Just a few selected areas in cities and towns to kinda... encourage travel to my neck of the woods. Think of it as a new style of travel marketing. Besides, even if you're right, I still don't see the down side for me. We just get the word out and the people will rush to buy as much Martian real estate as they can get. And guess who they'll have to buy it from?"

"You... can't... do this!"

"Oh, now! Come on! Buck up! Be Momma's little soldier! Besides, I'm not totally heartless. Remember, I had to fly a ship up there so we could have our little visit, and it's still on that rock you're on. The life support is still functioning, but you just might have a teensy weensy problem getting it to fly. You see, I wrecked the injector coils before I hijacked this ship. But if you're lucky, my little ship could keep you alive for... oh, I don't know... a day or so, maybe."

"Jennifer...! Everyone on the planet will die! Don't you care?"

"Hmmmm... No! Not really! By the way, speaking of dying, that explosive that you tossed at my guys? The ones that were chasing you?"

"We didn't think there was enough to destroy their ship. We only wanted to disable them."

"Oh, that's all you did. I was the one that blew them up with an energy torpedo. But I wanted to thank you for making them such an easy target."

"You killed your own men? Why?"

"The usual reason: greed. I would have had to pay them a share of my profits when the land scheme paid off. And the icing on the cake is that I had a partner who was on that ship - the guy that I thought you were! Now I won't have to split with anyone. Isn't that just fabulous! I _will_ kind of miss Frankie, though. I just loved his French accent!"

"You can't really be that evil, Jennifer. It'll lead you to a bad end."

"Ooooh, I think I heard that one in about three or four old movies. Besides, I believe you're the one who's about to face a 'bad end.' I _have_ to keep breathing. After all, Georgie, as long as there's a Kent, there has to be a Luthor. I really have to go now. Bye-bye! And give your imaginary friend 'Gary,' all my best!"

George watched as the ship gathered speed as it pulled away from the asteroid on which he was now imprisoned. Then he watched in horror as the craft, now no more than a dot of light in the ebony sky erupted into a fiery ball of flame. Had the ship exploded?

She was in the area where Gary was setting off the explosives from the cargo bay. She may have hit one of them or it may have just been Gary exploding one nearby. George used his telescopic vision, but his earlier exposure to the kryptonite boulder had taken a toll and he was unable to focus much further than ordinary eyes could.

"Jennifer! Come in! Jennifer! Are you all right? Come in!" It was no good. There was no answer and he knew there wouldn't be one. If what he saw was what he saw, then there would be practically no way of surviving such a blast. If it was something else and didn't even involve the ship, she would be too far out to be in his e-suit's radio range. For a moment he stood still, waiting for an answer that would never come. Finally, he had to get back to his immediate problem of survival and went looking for the ship in which Jennifer had arrived.

He hoped Guer-On would be able to find him. If he was onboard the runabout, his invulnerability would have allowed him to survive. _By now, in any case, Gary should know something is wrong and come looking for me. I hope!_

George continued to trod across the rocky plain of the asteroid. _I'd better find this ship fast. My supply of air in this suit is getting low. I hope she wasn't lying about the life support systems._

As if in answer, the silvery gray glint of a metallic shell appeared as George maneuvered over yet another craggy hill. He welcomed the sight of it as he briskly picked up the pace. Upon reaching the ship, he managed the air lock and entered the pressurization chamber, then went inside to safety.

Jennifer had been truthful about the condition of the ship. It was not about to lift off the asteroid, but there was air to breathe and the interior temperature was acceptable. Once he shed his E-suit, the first thing he did was examine the small craft for any sort of provisions.

A small area on the bridge served as a makeshift galley where standard ration bags were found. He opened one and wished he could be back home enjoying real Texas barbecue. _Chester sure makes a great brisket_, he thought. Jerky would have to suffice for now, instead.

The air lock activated. George watched it seemingly open and close by itself, as if an invisible man were manipulating the hatch. He knew it was his friend from New Krypton.

"I don't mind telling you," he said. "I was getting worried! I trust you figured out what happened?"

Guer-On found his favorite resting place in George's ear. "Yes, well... I saw the ship take off and hit one of the explosives that I was about to ignite. I thought for awhile that you were inside. It appeared like a globe of some sort just large enough to encase one human may have ejected just before the explosion, but I wasn't able to track it. I searched this floating mountain for signs of it, and found this ship and you in it. I presume this is the vessel that delivered Ms. Luthor to our midst?"

"Yes, and that was she piloting the runabout into your fireworks show."

"My...what?"

"Never mind. The important thing is this ship will not fly unless you happen to have a spare injection coil in your pocket. I don't suppose you have one, do you?"

"Nnnnnno... But will a spare spaceship do?"


	39. Chapter 39

39

"I can't believe how quickly you fellers got this thing set up!" praised Chester. He marveled at the speed with which things had moved since he brought back his findings. The engineers that had modified his ELMA had forwarded their specs to all the other geologists and technicians working on the earthquake crisis. A network was quickly set up and, with Chester at the helm, all the findings were about to be coordinated into one graphic reading.

"Success breeds success, sir. After you proved this would work, the rest was simple. I just hope the intel it provides will help."

Joe was interested in more immediate happenings. "What about Sydney? How bad was the quake there?"

Chester's demeanor turned grim. "The quake hit hard there, Joe. Even though we had more emergency teams sitting at the ready, half of the city was left in ruins. The casualty count was high, but I guess we should be thankful that we kept it as low as we did."

"Well, that was the last of the cities your friend warned us about. Is the danger passed? That is the last of the quakes, isn't it?"

Chester tried to look his friend in the eye, but found it most difficult. "If this thing is really tied to the story in the journal, We're just gettin' started. The fate of Earth could inevitably be the same as the fate of Krypton. And since all the cities taken by Brainiac back in the twentieth century have been hit by quakes…"

"Our time has almost run out." Joe finished.

Chester just nodded slowly. "Something else, Joe. That sample I was playing with earlier today? You remember I was trying to make it flash, explode, anything…?"

"Yeah?"

"I went back to the lab when we got back here to get some notes I had left behind, and the dish it was in was in pieces. It had blown itself up!"

"Do you have any idea how… or why?"

"I think I do, yes. The mystery element continues to shrink itself and anything it affects until there is no more space for the molecular building blocks that form it to operate safely. The atoms become so compressed that a reaction occurs and… well, let's just say they make more space… fast!"

"And that's what will eventually happen wherever this stuff is?"

"I'm afraid so, but that same reaction, may have given us some hope." Joe perked up at that revelation. "I noticed that there were still residual clumps thrown about the room. I thought it was just the same clumps of soil strewn about the room, and I was right. But the reaction to the explosion had changed the atomic structure. The purple soil was now greenish in nature, and had a sort of glow about it."

"Like kryptonite?"

"I think you're catching on. I compared the modified soil to another sample of the purple soil, and close proximity of the two seemed to cancel each other out."

"You're saying you've found a cure?"

"I'm… saying we have a chance. My biggest worry is that it may be too little and too late. That's what this…" George gestured toward the computers set up in the room. "…is all about. We need to find out just how widespread this thing is. We need to stop it before it reaches the core of the Earth. If we don't, a cataclysmic event will destroy our world along with everybody and everything on it."

Joe was silent. Fear, worry, grief, indignation, defiance, they all registered somehow at the same time on the face of the Metropolis policeman. He had been with Chester almost every step of the way since the quake hit the city, and he had heard his new friend say time and time again that devastation could be imminent, but the reality never sank in… until now. He wanted to tell the lanky Texan that he had made a mistake or that this was some elaborate joke he was playin', wasn't it, or who do ya think ya are, ya stupid hick?

But he couldn't say anything. Nothing would pass through his lips but silence, because he knew in his heart Chester was right. Finally, Joe gained control of himself again and croaked, "This… chance you say we have? Is it a real chance? Or are you just blowing hot air to make yourself feel important?"

Chester was hurt by the question. "I-I thought you knew me better than that by now, Joe. But the answer is yes, it is a real chance. It's not a big chance, but it's the only one we've got. I've seen it work. But if we can't get enough of this… negative element, and if we can't get it in time to stop the spread of the purple before it reaches the core…"

"Dr. Carr!" The computer tech interrupted. "The computers are ready, sir. All stations have reported in and they are all ready to connect!"

"Well," said Chester as he tried to lighten the mood, "Looks it's showtime. C'mon, Joe. Let's go see what kind of pretty pictures we can make."

It was like a house full of dark rooms and one by one the electric lights began to illuminate each chamber, revealing its contents. Memories of a past life, once covered and pushed behind the drapes of amnesia, were now unveiled and brought back to the forefront for inspection as Phyllis, now gripping the magic lasso segment, began to remember her past.

"Mom! Mom! Are you all right?" It was her son. She hadn't exactly been unconscious while her memory returned, but it had been so overwhelming that she appeared to others to be in some sort of a trance. It was somewhat like the state that Jimmy had been in while he was recounting the story of Krypton's last days.

"Mommy! Please! Speak to us!" Noel was even more flustered than her brother.

"You must be very frightened, Noe," said the mother to her daughter. "You never call me 'Mommy' except when you're really scared."

"Man! If this was how I looked when I was channeling, I don't blame you for being freaked, Sis! That really _is_ spooky!"

"Told ya! Mom, are you okay? That's twice in ten minutes that you were... what.. incommunicado?"

"I'm fine, honey," said Phyllis as she stood up and headed for the stairs. "It was just a little much all at once like that, but I'm fine now."

"Mrs. Kent," asked Linda Kaye, "are you sure you should be standing up so soon after a traumatic episode like that?"

Phyllis smiled at Jim's girlfriend. "Linda, I've never told you this, but I think you are such a nice person. You always care so much for other people, and that's a trait that will serve you well in the medical field. I'm glad Jimmy loves you so much." Jim, hearing this, couldn't help but blush. "But really, I'm fine. I just think we've done all we can in here and we need to move on. Our world is facing a crisis, and we can help to solve it. I think it's time to call Chester again."

"Mom?" asked Jim in that little boy voice that men of all ages use with their mothers at times when they are worried, scared, or sick.

"Yes, dear?"

"Do you know who you are, now?"

"Yes, dear, I do."

"And... who... are you?"

She stopped, turned, and gave both her children a hug. "I'm your mother!" she said.

"Okay, so just where is this spare space ship? I suppose you're carrying it in your back pocket?" asked George of his microscopic friend.

"Well, no. Actually, you are. But it's not in a back pocket, it's in your shirt pocket - the one underneath your wings decoration. Here, I'll get it out."

George found that he could once again use his microscopic vision power and was able to actually see Guer-On come into his field of view and zip into his shirt pocket, and then carry a foreign-looking vessel back out again. He proceeded to set the tiny craft on the deck of the incapacitated ship they were currently using as safe haven, and then, after zipping back to George's ear, continued their conversation. "We will need to go back outside to continue. We will need to enlarge the ship to its normal size and at normal scale, it would be a little larger than this one. Oh, and be sure to bring the kryptonite with you."

Guer-On quickly briefed George on what he was to do. Once again, the E-suit was enlisted. George made sure to get the one with the crystal in the pocket, grabbed a fresh tank of air and the lead casing of green K, and stepped into the air lock. Guer-On carried his ship out to the asteroid's surface and placed it a good distance away from Jennifer's. Then he went into his miniscule missile and returned with what appeared to be a machine of some sort and a tiny gun.

George watched as his friend aimed the gun which emitted a glowing light at the apparatus. In seconds the previously microscopic machine became about a foot taller than he was. Guer-On retreated to a safe distance and waited, for it was now George's turn. Opening both a hatch on one side of the device, and the lead casing, he transferred the kryptonite into a reaction chamber. His earlier experience with the element prompted George to work quickly. He wanted to limit his exposure to this stuff to as little as necessary. As he made all the connections as outlined by his friend, he couldn't help but admire the soothing emerald glow it produced. How could something that looked so peaceful be so deadly?

His work accomplished, George closed the chamber and stepped back as Guer-On returned to the area. The contraption was an awkward one, to be sure. A panel of buttons and gauges jutted out from the body and a large light emitter adorned the opposite side. Various wires, tubes, and jumpers were crisscrossed in all different directions. The emitter, being manipulated by the man from New Krypton, was re-aimed at his ship. He then took his place in front of it and waited for George to finish their tag team operation.

George performed flawlessly, remembering precisely the instructions Gary had explained to him earlier. One by one, each control was engaged until the machine began to vibrate with life. Had there been air to carry sound, they would have heard a humming noise as the emitter began to glow not unlike the gun Guer-On had used minutes ago. And then, both the spaceship and the Kryptonian were tiny no more.

George switched off the machine and surveyed the craft. It was slightly larger than the one they had used to escape Jennifer's mob and much sleeker in design, obviously for speed in atmospheric environments. His friend, now as tall as he was, opened the air-lock of his ship and then glided across the rocky plain of the asteroid to him. Gesturing, Guer-On indicated to George that he should retrieve the kryptonite and get into his ship. Then Guer-On went into Jennifer's to see if they could salvage anything from it. As George opened the reaction chamber and transferred the kryptonite back into the lead casing, he still had a very uneasy feeling. So much so, in fact, that he could have sworn that he saw a shadow cross the panel as he locked the green K into the casing. But when he looked around to investigate, it was only Gary. The two men headed for the newly restored ship and into the air-lock. Once inside, the chamber re-pressurized with air and George, doffing the E-suit, was finally able to do something he had wanted to do ever since he had become involved in this drama:

He shook the hand of his now normal sized friend, Guer-On.


	40. Chapter 40

40

Chester winced as the information flashed across the computer screen. A few nuggets seemed promising enough, but most of what he was seeing wasn't good news.

"You don't look too happy, Perfessor. I hope this doesn't mean there's no chance to beat this thing..."

"Joe, I've been able to read chunks of data as it comes in, but the information flies by at such a rate that I can only catch a little as it goes by. We won't really know how to attack this problem until the computers do a final render and give us a global graphic representation of just how deep it's spread. But just do me a favor, will ya? Just keep a little hope in your heart. It may be all we have left."

"Yeah, I'll try," was all the cop from Metropolis could say, but he didn't feel like he could muster up much at the moment. After all, something from beyond the stars had infected his world with a cosmic virus that was weeding its way around and through the inner reaches of the Earth undetected for almost a century. And now, the best minds on the planet have had only two days - **_two days!_** - to determine that it may very well destroy our home world.

He slowly ambled out to the corridor and found a window that overlooked the city - his city - and took a good look at the architectural wonders Metropolis had to offer. He had an excellent vantage point as this was the fiftieth floor of one the few buildings left relatively unscathed by the recent earthquake. He was not a particularly religious man, but he said a silent prayer for the deliverance of his world. _Funny, _he thought, _we conquer major diseases, crime, manage most natural disasters - we even have finally gotten all the countries of the world to work together in peace - and it all comes to end,_ he snapped his fingers, _just like that!_ He thought about his childhood growing up in Metropolis, and about Mary, his ex-wife. How they met, the good times, the not-so-good times. He thought about joining the force and working his way up to top sergeant in the city. And he thought, _If it **is** all over, I'm going to be going down swingin'! I'll do whatever I can to help, whether it be fighting the purple virus, or helping people evacuate the Earth for the Mars colony! But number one is that I will **not** give up hope!_

He perked up and went back into the lab to find Chester on his cel phone.

"...No, Candice, I'm right in the middle of something very important! It may be the information we need to take care of this thing that's... No, darlin', no! I told you I don't have time to talk to Phyllis right now. Yes, I know she's been right about the other quakes, but we're doing something that... No, please don't put her on. Please don't... oh, hi Phyll."

"Hello Chester, I know you are busy, but I won't keep you but a moment. Where are you right now?"

"Well, I'm still here in Metropolis, and trying to get some work done."

"No, I mean where in Metropolis are you? What building are you in?"

"I'm in the Thaxter Building just west of the Daily Planet building..." As soon as he said it, Chester wanted to bite his tongue off. "I don't understand why you want to know that?"

"We're coming up there to help out. We can be there in an hour by hypertrain."

"Not a good idea, Phyllis. I am very busy right now. Look, I can't tell you how grateful I am for the information you've provided, but really... there's no more you can do! Not in Metropolis anyway. Now, would ya - would ya please, just forget coming here and put Candice back on?"

"We'll put Candice on for you, Chess, but we are coming up there. Believe me, when we get there, you'll understand."

Phyllis handed the phone to her neighbor with a nod of thanks and left her to face Chester's wrath. It was time for the world to reacquaint itself with super heroes.

"Okay, now make me understand. You had an enlarging ray in your ship, but you needed to use a kryptonite powered enlarger to restore your ship to normal size? This is very confusing..." George had just set a course for Earth, and now was anxious to engage Guer-On in conversation, now that he could see and hear him at the same time.

Guer-On obligingly answered his question. "Well, you see, the handheld enlarger ray I had onboard was based on the one Superman used a century ago to restore Kandor to normal size. All the people were finally freed from that glass prison, but the ray had one flaw. All the inanimate objects such as buildings, furniture, houses, and the like could not hold their cohesion, and quickly eroded into dust. Our forefathers of New Krypton managed to cope and rebuild a great society on their new home planet, but the enlarging ray remained flawed. They had no need to fix it since they were all normal sized.

"But then we found that that same dust, which was the result of molecular instability induced by the old enlarging ray, had brought about a global crisis. This instability spread through our new home planet's crust like a purple web and still threatens to reach down into the core. Research showed the need for this new model which is powered by ilium 349-A, or kryptonite as you know it. This one could restore inanimate objects with molecular cohesion intact, as well as emit a modified radiation that would reverse the effects of the so called 'purple element.' But there was not enough kryptonite on our world to power a machine large enough and powerful enough to halt the spread of the purple on a global scale.

"I was the lead scientist and, as I have already told you, was infected in such a way that I shrank to this size. Once we developed the theory for the machine we had two prototypes built and placed in this ship. We then reduced it to my scale and here I am."

"Okay," said George, "but where does the handheld enlarger come in?"

"Anything enlarged by the handheld ray would not hold its cohesion for long, but it was necessary to enlarge the newer model with the handheld, and then use that prototype - once powered by kryptonite - to enlarge myself and my ship and its contents including the onboard anti-ilium ray. Because of its exposure to the handheld ray, the prototype would soon collapse into ilium dust which made speed an important factor in our operation."

"That makes sense, except why didn't your people send someone not affected by the ilium? Someone full sized?"

"A long series of reasons, but the short of it is that I insisted on it. I was the one who discovered what the ilium-infected dust was doing to New Krypton, I was the one who needed to be cured of its effects, and I am the only one who understands completely the principle of the anti-ilium ray. And I needed to be here to make sure that it works safely."

"How did you know about Earth's problems with the quakes?"

"Actually, I didn't. It may be difficult to believe, but the truth of the matter is, it was a coincidence. I only came here to harvest enough kryptonite to power the ray. The fact that your homeworld needs it too, just makes our crossing paths the more fortunate."

"Well, we should be back in Earth space in about two hours. We'll see if this ray of yours will do the trick, then assuming success, you can be traveling back to New Krypton to use it on your home."

"I am already looking forward to it, but is it warm in here? I'm feeling a little weak and dizzy for some reason. I thought such things weren't supposed to happen to Kryptonians under your yellow sun..."

"Such things are not supposed to happen unless..."

"...Unless the Kryptonians are in the same room as, say, kryptonite?" The voice came from behind the men. Guer-On slumped to the floor of his ship as George turned to see a figure in an E-suit come closer. In its right hand was an energy pistol pointed at George. In its left was a large hunk of green K. He didn't need for the predator to take off the helmet. He knew at once who it was.

"Jennifer!"

She made no move to remove her helmet. "Oh, how sweet! You remembered me. And I was worried that you had forgotten how much we meant to each other."

"Look, we have a problem that's bigger than any grudge you may have against me. Please, just - just put the kryptonite away where it won't hurt my friend. If he dies, Earth dies!"

"Oh, this must be Gary! How do you do?" Guer-On remained silent as he lay on the floor in pain. "Oh, not so good, huh? You do look a little 'green' around the gills! Ooh, I made a funny, didn't I? You know Georgie, I thought for the longest time that you were completely bonkers and that you just made him up. You know, like an imaginary friend?"

"Jennifer, please! The kryptonite..."

"Georgie, where are your manners? Why don't you ask me to take off my helmet and stay awhile?"

"You're killing him. Pl..."

She waved the pistol at George with an exaggerated gesture, and the smile in her voice was gone as she insisted, "I said, ask me to take off my helmet and stay awhile!"

George got the message. If he were dead, there would be no saving Guer-On, and if Guer-On were dead, there would be no saving Earth. "Please... Jennifer... would you like to... take off your helmet... and... stay awhile... please...?"

"There now," the sweetness in her vocal delivery returned. "That wasn't so hard was it? You know, I knew someone a long time ago who once told me something I've never forgotten. She said, 'It doesn't cost a damn thing to be pleasant.' I've always thought that it was good advice. Of course, she said it to me because we were having a... disagreement. So I killed her. Oh, but how rude of me to digress. You asked me to take off the helmet and stay! Thanks, I will."

Carefully, she dropped the kryptonite close to Guer-On but still out of his reach. She began to undo the locks that bound the helmet to the suit. "I guess I really should just be grateful to be alive right now. Your friend's pyrotechnics caused me to have quite the accident. Several panels exploded on the bridge of the runabout. I made it to the escape pod without any life threatening injuries, but thanks to you two, I now _look like this!"_

The helmet came off, revealing Jennifer's face with a few minor burns and bruises, and absolutely no hair on her head whatsoever. She was as bald as an egg.

And George was very, very afraid that she had cracked.


	41. Chapter 41

41

"Tickets, please!"

In the twenty-third century, there was practically no need for paper. Most things that were, in previous ages reserved for paper, were now in the domain of computer screens. This included contracts, receipts, books, wills, and tickets of almost all kinds. But rail tickets were still printed on paper. It was pretty much a romantic holdover from an earlier, simpler age.

The custom continued on even after most locomotives were replaced by hypertrains, which were basically propelled on the same principle as spaceships. This allowed a one-thousand mile trip to take as little as fifteen minutes from the time it left one station and arrived at another. More time was often taken on the procuring of the train ticket and check in than the actual trip itself.

So when Phyllis told Chester that she would be in Metropolis in an hour, she was very accurate in her estimation. It had taken ten minutes to pack, fifteen minutes to ride to the depot, ten minutes to buy the tickets for herself and her children, ten to settle in and now that they were handing in their tickets to the conductor, they were expecting a ten minute ride to Metropolis where a five minute taxi ride should get them to Chester's lab.

Most of the routes taken by hypertrain were underground like subways, but on a continental scale, allowing them to deliver their passengers with less chance of accident or delay due to extraneous traffic. The "rails" were actually power supply and data interfaces in the floor of the tunnels that the on-board computer of each train would access and analyze data. This data told the train where to go, when to slow down, when to speed up, and in an unlikely emergency, when to stop.

The Kents handed their tickets to the conductor and found their way to their seats. The car they were in was made up in the image of a passenger car of the 1890's. The seats were plush with red velvet material while beautiful mahogany walls festooned with pictures and brass fittings enveloped the area. Though the train was actually underground, the windows appeared to be open to a scene of an old depot from somewhere in the wild west (perhaps Fort Worth?) of the nineteenth century. Closer inspection revealed each portal to be a small holovision screen with a preprogrammed animated diorama intended to complete the illusion of a simpler time.

As the train began to pull away from the passenger loading area, the diorama began to move, too, as if it were actually leaving the old-timey berg. All the "people outside" waved and cheered and yelled words of encouragement and tearful goodbyes at the real life passengers inside. Noel found herself waving at the make-believe well-wishers until she remembered that they were only holo-images.

The holovision trick served another purpose as each car was outfitted with its own artificial gravity and inertial dampening devices. A closed car with no such "windows" would seem like it was not moving at all as each car was basically its own world. This was necessary to make the speed of the hypertrain work safely. Without the dampeners and gravity devices, the people would be very messy splatters on the rear walls each time the train engaged hyper-speed.

Some cars were actually adorned to resemble a cozy room, so that some passengers could come in, sit down in what appeared to be a den or library, read some books or magazines, or watch holovision, then get up and walk out to a completely different city, all without feeling the least bit of movement.

The car the Kents were utilizing, however, had the holographic windows and conveyed the illusion of movement to its riders.

Jimmy wished that Linda Kaye could have come with them and enjoyed the experience with him. He still had the uniform on, but he had it covered with regular civilian attire: blue jeans and an unbuttoned corduroy jacket. He wore a straw cowboy hat on his head and left the bright red boots on as they seemed to complete the urban cowboy image he was going for. He allowed the "S" shield of his uniform shirt to show with no fear of blowing his cover. These days every other kid his age wore a logo of some kind on their shirts. His just served to blend him in with the rest of the crowd. _Shoulda worn this outfit at the stock show rodeo last January, _he thought.

While Phyllis was anything but merry, she no longer exuded the feeling of unsure anxiety. If anything, her children had noticed, she now sported a kind of quiet determined confidence that they had never seen before. Noel kept her mind off the situation by concentrating on the holographic diorama and the computer generated scenery as it went by. But Jimmy couldn't stop thinking about the events that went on in the attic just a short time ago and how his mother had reacted. She _seemed_ like his mother, and yet this person was still different in a way he was unable to pinpoint. He felt, though, that whatever was going on, she had the good of the world uppermost on her mind, like she had a plan of some kind. But what that plan was, he had no idea.

"Mom, what's going to happen when we get to Metropolis? I thought I was going to help out the people in Australia."

"Jimmy, the quake is over and the search and rescue teams are already handling what needs to be handled there. While you could be of some help there, your new powers will be of more use taking care of the big picture, which would be stopping the chain of events from following the path of Krypton. Besides, you would need to fly to get to Sydney, and you don't know how to do that yet. It was the last power that Grandpa Clark learned to master, you know."

"No, I didn't know. How did you?"

"Well... uhm... He... er... Oh, we might as well get it out in the open. He told me."

"He... told you?" Now he wasn't sure if the attic episode hadn't unbalanced his mother. "When did he - uh - tell you?"

"Not long after we met, about a hundred and ninety years ago," she replied, in a matter of fact sort of way.

"Hey!" cried Noel, "What happened to the scenery? The window disappeared!"

Sure enough, the holographic displays had stopped functioning leaving only a gray panel inside the glass pane. At the same time the lights inside the car flickered off and back on, causing the other passengers to fret.

"I don't think this is good," whispered Jim.

"It doesn't look like it, does it?" his mother quietly agreed.

The door in the front of the car opened and the conductor entered with a worried expression on his face. "Don't be alarmed, folks! Don't be alarmed! We've got it all under control!" he cried, even though he looked as if it were anything _but_ under control.

"Conductor," asked Phyllis, "What's going on? You can tell me the truth. I won't panic, and I won't tell the other fares anything you don't want them to know."

"Well, I don't..."

"I think the train is slowing down," said Jim.

"How could you know that?" shot back the conductor. "The artificial gravity should make that undetectable!"

"Nevertheless, I can feel it... and in a few seconds... There! That's it...!" All the people in the car lurched forward and back. "Now everyone else should be feeling it too. The artificial gravity just quit."

Phyllis took the man's hand and looked into his eyes and said, "Look, I know we've got a situation here, but we can help! Trust me on this! We can! But we need to know what's happening before we can be of any service. So please, Mister..." She checked the conductor's name tag. "...Smythe. Mister Smythe, please tell me and my son what has happened."

He looked back into her eyes for a couple of seconds before saying anything, and then decided he needed to trust someone. The eyes are the window to the soul it's been said, and Mr. Smythe's gaze into Phyllis' told him that she was the right person to trust.

"There's been another quake, or an after-shock, or something!" he whispered to her. "The tunnel's been damaged, the power to the train is cut off. We're operating on emergency power to the lights and environmental controls only, but it won't be long before that dies out and then it's only a matter of time before the air..." He couldn't finish his sentence, but he had made the point.

"Aren't there escape and maintenance tunnels that lead to the surface?" asked Phyllis.

"There were... before the tremors started. The tunnel is caved in behind the train and before it. It's my job to keep everyone calm, but I don't see how we can get out of this..."

Phyllis gave the aging gentleman a reassuring smile, and asked him how she and Jim could exit the train. Despite his training against doing so ("I know I'm gonna get fired for this!" he said), he led them to the emergency exit for the car.

Once outside the train, Jimmy took off his civvies revealing the uniform of the Man of Steel. "Okay, Mom." he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I know this is where I'm supposed to 'go into action,' but I haven't the foggiest idea what I should do. Any ideas?"

"Yes. The first thing you need to understand is that your body is the most powerful tool you have at your disposal. Anything else will wear out long before the job can get done, so..." She cupped each of her hands and demonstrated a sort of swimming motion. "...your hands must be shovels and earth movers. Use them to cut through the rock in the side of the tunnel creating a new tunnel to pull the train up to the safety of the surface. You'll also need to dispose of the rock and soil you've cut through by hauling it into the backmost portion of the main tunnel. Obviously, you'll need to do this at super-speed. I would help you if I could, but I'm afraid you'll be on your own until I can be restored."

This observation puzzled her son. _Restored? I thought her memory **was** restored!_ But he had more pressing matters at hand, and began the work his mother had outlined for him. At first, he was hesitant to chop into the rock-hard cement buttress, afraid that he would hurt his hands, but once he found there was no pain at all and that it was no match for his powerful fists, he charged ahead.

The clay and rock he encountered were no match for his yellow sun charged muscles coupled with his invulnerability. With every blow, he picked up speed and, more importantly, gained more confidence in himself. He followed his mother's instructions to the letter, cutting through the surrounding clay and stone that imprisoned his fellow passengers and disposing of the waste material in the existing tunnel. Using his newly acquired x-ray vision to guide himself, he was able to construct the escape route in a low angle to the surface.

He also noted that each handful of dirt he dug contained a considerable amount of purple residue. He recognized it as the same element he had seen through Jor-El's eyes in his visions. But he had no time to dwell on this right now. It wouldn't be too long before the batteries in the train cars expended their power, stopping the environmental systems and suffocating all the people aboard. He concentrated on the task at hand and continued to dig the new tunnel. In just a few minutes, a new tunnel just wide enough for the train's body was created and Phyllis re-entered the car.

"Listen, everybody!" she announced. "The train is about to be moved to the surface. Now, the artificial gravity is no longer working, so you will feel every bump and shake until we stop, so please, get hold of the seat in front of you and grip it tight enough for your own stability." She instructed Smythe to carry the same message to other cars and then, from the open emergency door, gestured to Jimmy, who took hold of the lead car and began pulling the train into the makeshift escape tunnel.

No one was more surprised than Jimmy at the ease with which he was able to tow the train behind him. He hardly felt any resistance as he carefully angled the train into the opening he had made and began the trek upwards to the surface. Inside, the ride was as bumpy as Phyllis had warned it would be. Every passenger grasped whatever he or she could to steady themselves as they swayed this way or that.

Noel found herself sitting near a little boy of about four years of age who had become frightened by the ordeal. His mother was doing all she could to comfort him, but nothing seemed to work. Noel made her way over to him. "Isn't this fun?" she said to the child. "It's just like a roller coaster, isn't it? I love to go on rides at the park, don't you?" She winked her eye at the mom who got the message, and with a "Wheeeeee!" the two got the boy to see the situation as an amusement park ride instead of a life or death struggle to survive.

Soon, Jimmy reached the outside and carefully pulled the caravan to halt. Once the train was safely stopped on the surface, all the emergency doors opened and the passengers evacuated the cars. Smythe came right over to Phyllis and smiled. "I don't know how you did it, but thanks. We've radioed ahead and emergency vehicles should be arriving any minute to take the passengers on into town."

"Are we that close to Metropolis?" asked Noel.

"Yes, young lady. We were only thirty seconds out when the train began to stop. We might have died underground just short of our destination, but thanks to your mother and your brother, we... oh my!" Smythe had just noticed Jim for the first time since the train had surfaced and noticed the familiar uniform he wore... and the crowd of passengers gathering around him.

Jim smiled and shook the hands of his new admirers and then excused himself. Walking to his mother, he said, "Mom, that purple stuff that Jor-El was talking about was everywhere! We've got to get to Metropolis right away and find out what Dr. Carr has come up with!"

An elderly woman came up to Jim and patted his arm. "You wouldn't remember me, but I saw you once when I was a little girl about seventy years ago."

Jimmy was a little flustered by this. "Uh, no Ma'am, I don't think you..."

"You were announcing your retirement as I recall, and you said you couldn't do the things you used to be able to do, but you certainly did just fine with this, didn't you? I don't know how you did it, but I'm so glad you're back, Superman. The world needs you again." and with that the lady planted a kiss on Jim's cheek and gave him a loving hug.

She turned and walked away leaving Jim slightly confused and embarrassed. He started to tell the woman that he wasn't the same man she thought he was, but his mother tugged at his arm and shook her head ever so slightly as if saying "Never mind. Let her believe."

He got the message and looking at the scene around him he assessed, "I guess I _did_ do all right thanks to your guidance, Mom." She said nothing but smiled in agreement at her son.

Noel finished playing with the four-year old and overheard her brother. As usual, she brought everyone back to Earth. "Yeah, yeah, you did just peachy but I still haven't seen you fly!"


	42. Chapter 42

42

"What was that?" said someone towards the back of the lab. Chester knew what it was. Once you've been through an earthquake, you never forget how it feels. This one wasn't as intense as the one he survived two days before, but the rumbling underneath was frighteningly similar.

"Tremor…" he said curtly, and then he scanned the computer screens for more information. "Looks like the city got lucky this time. Seems to have hit in a mostly open, rural area. With any luck, there may be minimal casualties."

"Let's pray that there were none…" whispered Officer Kubert, not intending for anyone to hear, but the lanky Texan picked up on it right away.

"Amen to that," he agreed, as he continued to monitor the seismographic readings streaming into the computers. "Looks like these rumblings are happening all over the globe at seemingly random moments," he said with a weary voice and he looked up at his friend. Joe smiled back at him, but he could see that the crisis had taken a lot more out of Chester than he had thought. His eyes were tired and sunken into dark circles. His clothes were wrinkled and needed washing. Joe couldn't recall seeing him eating anything in the last twenty hours or so. This man was thoroughly exhausted.

"Say Perfessor, whattaya say we take a break for a while. I could use some chow, and from what I see, so could you."

Chester looked surprised at the suggestion. "Joe, I'm not sure that right now would be a real good time to..."

"It would be a great time! I know you'll be needed here, but you won't be any good to anyone if you're not at the top of your game. I've seen the same thing in the department so many times from new, eager recruits trying to make an impression on detectives baffled by a case they were trying to solve. But the answer is always the same. You can't take care of anything unless you take care of yourself first."

Chester considered the words of his friend and said, "I gotta admit that I am just a bit... spent." He smiled and added, "I guess I could use some chow and a little rest. You know a good place near here?"

"I know a pizza parlor just a couple of blocks away that you'll be crazy about. It managed to be relatively untouched by the quake. C'mon! These guys can call you if anything really serious happens. And we can leave a message for your friends to meet us there if they arrive before you're through eating."

"Okay, you talked me into it. But I need to know if any major changes occur." He jotted something down on a pad then turned and spoke to a lab tech, "Bonnie, would you call me at this number..." He handed the pad to Bonnie. "...if anything notable happens or when the computer is ready to render the holographic simulation? Thanks!"

The two men from different walks of life strode out of the lab together and headed out for a respite from catastrophe.

"Now, don't even think of trying that vision stuff again, Georgie. If I feel the least warmth anywhere on my person, I promise I will pull the trigger on this pistol before I do anything else. This time it's pointed right at your noggin, and it would be a shame if I had to blow your head off. It is such a cute little mug."

Jennifer waved the pistol around as if to emphasize its importance. She seemed a bit unhinged since George last saw her. He attributed her incoherent demeanor to her brush with death in the other runabout and her resulting baldness. _Something like that could make anybody lose it, _he mused.

"What is it you want, Jennifer?" he asked her.

"Why, what I've always wanted, Georgie," she replied as if the answer was common knowledge. "To be the richest human being that ever existed of course!"

"No, I mean what is it you want from me? ...from us? You came after us to get your runabout back. Okay! You got it back! You managed to blow it up in the process, but you got it back. Your business with us is over! So what is it you want from us now?"

"Let's get something straight. I didn't blow it up, George. You did! You and your alien friend there." She had a wild gleam in her eyes as she continued, "What I want from you two is that you die a horrible painful death at my hands."

_Something isn't right about this, _he thought. _If she wants us both dead, why am I still alive? She should have already killed me, or at least wounded me, if she wants to see me suffer like Guer-On. _

He looked at his friend from New Krypton and worried for him. He looked worse. His skin had taken on a greenish tint and his breathing had become shallow. George needed to do something right away or Gary would perish a victim of kryptonite poisoning.

He looked at Jennifer to see if he could spot a weakness and then he looked closely at her pistol. Was it...? Yes, his microscopic vision revealed that it was, indeed the same pistol she had brandished at him in the other ship! The same pistol that he had used as a cutting torch on the kryptonite boulder! The same pistol that had expended all of its energy supply and was now no more than a harmless prop in the hands of a villainous madwoman. Jennifer had been trying to pull off a bluff. George rose slowly from his chair.

"What are you doing? Sit down!" she cried. For the first time since he had met her, a look of panic seemed to spread across her face. "I told you I would kill you! You'd better do as I say!" George calmly continued to ease toward her.

"I don't think you'll be killing me, Jennifer. In fact, I don't think you'll be killing me or anyone else anytime soon."

"Stay back! I warned you!" She pulled the trigger. And then she pulled the trigger again... and again. George was right! It was the same gun that he had used back on the asteroid. _Jennifer must have picked it and a hunk of the broken kryptonite rock up from the dig site before sneaking aboard Gary's ship._

"I don't have time for this, Jennifer!" He wrapped his fist around the dead pistol in her grip. "My family and my home are in danger. There are two worlds that have precious little time left before a cataclysmic death claims them. Gary and I can save them both if we get there on time, so I've had enough of you!"

He ripped the gun from her hand and as he did so, Jennifer Alexis Luthor collapsed to the floor of the alien spaceship on her hands and knees and began sobbing and thrashing like a spoiled baby. George paid little mind to her tantrums as he scooped up the radiant green rock and put it into the lead casing they had brought aboard earlier.

With the deadly kryptonite rays safely blocked from him, Guer-On began to recover, but ever so slowly. The greenish hue began to fade from his skin as he found the strength to gradually sit up. "Oooohhhh!" he moaned, "I feel so... drained..."

"You'll be okay in a few minutes, Gary. Just relax and recharge a bit." George scanned Jennifer with his x-ray vision and found a device hidden in the bodice of her outfit. "As for you, Jennifer, let's get this e-suit off..." He extended his hand and helped his adversary to her feet. In moments, she shed the e-suit. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll take that little box with the red button...?"

Still choking back tears, she looked at him questioningly, but he didn't back down. "I know where you've stashed it, Jennifer," he said. "Either you can hand it to me or I can reach down and take it. I think we'd both prefer the former over the latter."

Jennifer reached into the bosom of her skimpy outfit and gave it to George. "Damn your eyes..." she muttered.

"How are you feeling, Gary?"

"Better, George. But I still feel like a metalavore just did a mating dance on my head."

"What can we do with Ms. Luthor, here?"

"Didn't we already have this conversation?"

"Afraid so. But the fact of the matter is that we're in the same boat as before. I don't think locking her in a cargo bay will do it this time."

"I agree," Guer-On managed to get off the floor and find his way to a seat by a control panel. "She seems intent to repeat history." His fingers began flying across the panel. In a few seconds, a glow enveloped Jennifer Luthor and she was gone. "There. I daresay she won't be bothering us again."

George was aghast! "Wha... You killed her! Gary, I wouldn't have thought... Why? She was beaten! Disarmed! Broken! It would have been difficult to proceed with her distracting us but..."

"No, no, no, George! I would never take a life knowingly. All I did was put her in a place where she could not escape and we would not have to divide our attention between her and the job we have to do."

"What... place is that?" asked George with more than a little confusion.

"A dimension between realities. One of your ancestors discovered a way into it."

"The Phantom Zone? You have a Phantom Zone projector on board your ship? That seems rather odd, if you don't mind my saying so."

"I don't mind you saying so, and I thought it was a bit 'over the top' as you say on Earth, too. But my colleagues were concerned about security and this was one solution. Looks rather like they were psychic, doesn't it? In any case, Madame Luthor will be safely incarcerated in the zone until we are able to complete our work."

"And we can retrieve her at any time? Safely?"

"Absolutely. And in view of her previous treachery, I think this option is our safest towards meeting our deadline."

George thought about it a moment and then curtly replied, "Agreed. Setting course for Earth. And Gary...?"

"Yes?"

"Please don't say 'dead.' Okay?"

The Kents arrived at the lab at about the same time Chester and Joe returned from their break. Jimmy was once again in the coat, jeans, and cowboy hat outfit that he had been wearing while traveling. The sight of him in this attire brought a smile to Chester's face.

"Nice Stetson there, cow puncher. Makes me feel like I'm back home!" he said as introductions and hugs ensued all around.

"Thanks, Mr. Carr. Linda Kaye came up with this get-up. She said it could be my 'secret identity.'"

"Linda Kaye, huh? You know, I'm glad you got hooked up with her. She's a mighty sweet little girl." He looked at Noel and added, "But not as sweet as your little sister, here! How're ya doin', cutie?"

Joe was showing her the city from the window he had been looking through earlier. "Just fine, Mr. Carr... Wow! This is a neat view of Metropolis from up here. Hey, Jimmy! Look at this!"

Her brother shrugged and joined them at the glass and took in the sight of the man-made landscape. Chester turned to Phyllis and asked, "What's this 'secret identity' thing he was talking about?"

"We've had a few... changes since you last saw us, Chess. But I'll give you those details later. What have you learned about the eruptions?"

"That's what we're about to find out. There've been tremors over the entire globe including another one just outside of the city."

"Yes, we know. Our hyper-train was trapped in a cave-in because of it."

"Really? Well, what happened? Did you all get out through an emergency tunnel?"

"Mmmm... Sort of..." Phyllis smiled. She knew he was talking about the man hole sized escape tunnels built at regular intervals along the route, but those had been caved in by the quake as well. The one they had taken had to be constructed by Jimmy in a matter of minutes.

"Mr. Carr?" Bonnie's voice called out from the mass of electronic wizardry. "The computer is almost finished compiling the data and rendering the holo-image! You might wish to see the results."

Chester winked his apologies to Phyllis and they both ambled over to the holoviewer. "Have you called Professor Infantino?" he asked.

"Yes, sir. But he's been busy providing information for the rescue and search operations. He sends his regrets and says he is confident in your ability to handle the job here."

That caught Chester by surprise. Up until now, he thought Infantino saw him as a hick from Texas whom he invited onto the geologic team only because of his recent celebrity status. When he had admitted that some of his information had come from the nearly two hundred year old journal of a mild mannered reporter, he was afraid that his association would end right there. _The only reason it didn't,_ he pondered, _is that it turned out to be right. Twice. _"Can't think of higher praise coming from him. All right, let's see what we've got..."

Bonnie ran her fingers over the keyboard and the holo-screen began to project a three dimensional image of the Earth spinning before them as if they were approaching it from some vista in outer space.

"Okay, Bonnie. Let's see where the seismic activity is." Bonnie pushed another couple of keys and a grid surrounded the globe. In two more seconds, red markers indicating tremors began to throb on virtually every land mass. "Not good. Let's see how widespread our mystery element is." Another keystroke and a purple web-like pattern appeared instantly, covering almost the entire globe. Chester's jaw dropped as he saw how far the purple plague had spread.

Gathering up his resolve, he asked, "How deep has this thing gone, Bonnie? Let's get a cross section." Another few commands punched in and the sphere divided in half. Bonnie and Chester gasped as Joe and the Kent family gathered around the display.

"What is it, Perfessor?" asked Joe.

"It's worse than I thought," he answered. "Our mystery element is almost three quarters of the way down to the core."

"Oh, my God..." Joe said it, but everyone had the same thing on their minds.


	43. Chapter 43

43

Phyllis finally broke the silence. "Chester, Candace said you mentioned that you were onto something that might defeat this thing. What was it you found?"

"It isn't much more than theory, really. We found that when the purple stuff explodes, it changes in molecular structure, and when the purple is in proximity of the transformed element, they cancel each other out, returning to their original natural state."

"Is there a chance we can implement this theory of yours into actual practice?"

"I... think we may be too late. I've had the techs working on a way to amplify the effect - Perhaps accelerate it. We believe we can use the web itself as a sort of conduit for the naturalizing radiation. But from what I see in this simulation... The naturalizing effects from the radiation would never make its way to the end of the web before the spread reaches the Earth's core. It's just too far gone. Once that happens, it's all over."

"Wait! If we could initiate the radiation at a point between the core and the existing web, it would stop the growth at that end, wouldn't it?"

"It might, if you could find a sort of... focal point to concentrate the initial exposure, but to do something like that is... well... improbable if not impossible. Even as advanced as our technology is in the twenty-third century, we have no way to get that far down into the Earth. Even if we could, we wouldn't be able to get there quick enough to do what we need to do."

"My brother can!" said Noel defiantly. "He can do it and with time to spare!"

"Sweetie, I'm afraid that's just impossible. You see..."

Jimmy spoke up, "Mr. Carr, how long _do_ we have before this thing actually reaches the core?"

Chester gave Jimmy a quizzical look, studied the simulation once more, then looked at the data on another computer screen and replied, "I'd say we have about twenty-four hours before that happened, but how can you...?"

"It's like I told you on the phone, Chess," said Phyllis. "We've had a few developments in the last day or so. Do you think you could locate that focal point you mentioned?"

The geologist grew ever more puzzled, but he and Bonnie went to work on the keyboards. In a minute or two, he punched a button and the cutaway holographic image of the Earth rotated and revealed three red circles within the sphere. "It looks like if we are to succeed at stopping the spread in time, we would have to irradiate spots at three locations underground within seconds of each other. At the same time, the crust of the Earth would need to be irradiated as well. I just don't see how it could be done."

"You don't see how what could be done?" Everyone turned toward the door to see who had just entered and spoken. Phyllis practically flew past them all and wrapped her arms around George. He responded in kind just as Noel and Jimmy joined the hug-a-thon. "It's good to see that everybody still remembers me!"

"How in the world did you know we were here?" asked Phyllis.

"We landed in Fort Worth first, Princess. Candace told me that you and the kids were here... with Chester! Howdy, pardner!" George shook his neighbor's hand.

"Howdy, cowboy! Welcome back from the old, dusty trail."

"It's good to be back."

"Daddy," interrupted Noel who had an iron grip on her father's waist. "I am _so_ glad you're here! We've had earthquakes, and the attic went all green and knocked out Jimmy and he woke up and got all spooky with these Krypton stories and then he broke Moe's hand but he still can't fl..."

"Wait a minute, honey. Take a breath! I know about the quakes... and the crystal - Mom told me about that. But what's this about stories... and Moe's hand...?"

Jimmy answered, "The crystal put all this information about Krypton in my head, Dad. I kind of went into a trance... or something... I guess it was all relevant to the earthquakes. It must've scared Noe a little bit."

"_A little?_" blurted the kid sister.

"Okay," said George. "But what about Moe, and what's this under your coat? It looks like..."

"The shield? It is. Uhmmm...the crystal did a little more than just infuse my mind with Kryptonian history and science. It kinda... made me... made me... well, er... super!"

"Huh?" said Chester.

"Super...?" said George.

"Well... uh... yeah! I'm really, really strong, and nothing hurts me... I can go real fast, and... Oh yeah! You'll like this! I have vision powers like yours now!"

"But he still can't fly!" chimed in Noel.

"You probably don't believe a word of this, and I sure wouldn't blame you if you didn't."

"No... no... After what I've seen the last two days, I would believe just about anything - even that an extraterrestrial green crystal gave my son super powers. So what else have you all been up to?"

"Not much," said Phyllis. "Just trying to save the planet from a cataclysmic explosion that would surely wipe out all life on Earth. You?"

"The same, only I need to help save _two_ worlds."

"I should have known you'd outdo me. Oh, something else has come up also. but we can talk about that later."

"Okay, Princess. Later it is. But first, meet my new friend." George beckoned a man standing just inside the door to come join them. "This is Guer-On. He is... you might say... from the 'old country' - New Krypton."

Guer-On was introduced to each member of George's family and to Chester, who likewise introduced some of the tech crew and made special mention of Officer Joe Kubert. "We never could've made nearly the progress on this earthquake problem without him."

"Aw," said Kubert with sincere humility. "I think you're overstating it just a bit, Perfessor."

"Naw, Joe, now - now, if it hadn't been for you I would've given up a long time ago and run back home with m'tail between m'legs. Your role in this thing has been just as important as anyone's."

"And what progress have you made?" asked Guer-On.

"Enough to give hope. But it may be too late. We know that radiation from the remains of the exploded purple soil..."

"Ilium-349a."

"Uh... okay... it will return the affected areas to normal, but I'm afraid the spread is too far gone to stop it before it reaches the core. We're working on a device to amplify the radiation, but we need to irradiate the web at three critical focal points - here, here, and here, and meanwhile someone must do the same thing to the entire surface from the vantage point of space. That's assuming, of course, that we manage to develop the device we need to do all this."

"You won't have to," said Guer-on.

"I - what?"

"You won't have to develop the device. I already have one."

Chester was, at the same time, astounded and elated. From out of nowhere there was once again hope. "You've got a machine that will irradiate the purple... I mean this ilium-349a?"

"Ilium-349. Ilium 349a is the irradiant."

"I don't care if it's kryptonite! At least we have a chance! Now if we can find a way to these focal points..."

"I think," said Jimmy, "that this is where I'm supposed to say, 'This looks like job for Superman,' isn't it?"

"That's right, you did say something about super-powers, didn't you, Jim? This is just so hard to believe! Then again, two days ago, I wouldn't have believed we would be facing Armageddon tomorrow, either. Now, Jimmy, you - you wouldn't be pulling a joke on me, would you? Because that would be a very, very bad prank to play right now!"

"No sir. I don't really understand how it happened, but it's the real deal. Only thing, I don't really know just how much I can do or what my limitations are. I'm kinda operating in uncharted waters here."

"Yeah, well, I'm betting that the escape tunnel your momma told me about was dug by you, wasn't it? You saved the people on that train, right?"

"Well, yeah, I dug the tunnel and pulled the train to the surface, but Mom and Noel kept the passengers from freaking out. They did as much as I did, really."

"You saved a train full of people?" asked George, feeling a sudden surge of pride for his family and his son in particular.

"But _you_ dug the tunnel!" said Chester excitedly. "And I'd bet you can dig another one right to one of those focal points, couldn't you?"

"I - I guess so..."

"Hot Dog! We may be in business after all!"

"Mr. Carr," said Noel. "You said three places. That leaves two more."

Guer-On spoke up, "I am Kryptonian. As such, I have the same abilities as George's son. I can dig to one of these focal points and effect that area."

"Are you sure, Gary? You were weakened quite a bit by that kryptonite Luthor used on you. You may not be completely recovered yet."

"I don't think we have a choice, George. If that holo-image is a representation of the spread of the ilium..." Chester nodded an affirmative. "...we're running out of time, and weakened or not, I have the best qualifications."

"Well, this is getting better and better..." said Chester.

But again the voice of doom spoke, this time from the person of Officer Kubert. "We still need someone in space, and at one more focal point!"

George was quick to answer. "I can handle the space work from Gary's ship. He has the ray emitter built in to the hull."

"That still leaves one focal point," said Chester. "I dunno. Maybe we can get by with just two. I don't see another option. Heh-heh! Unless, of course, Phyllis here is really Wonder Woman!"

Everyone in the room began to laugh. Everyone, that is, except Phyllis.

Instead, she quietly turned to her husband and said, "Darling, that's the other thing I need to talk to you about."


	44. Chapter 44

44

"So when you held the piece of rope, your memory returned just... all of a sudden?" George queried Phyllis as he piloted a small anti-gravity transport that carried his family towards the Bermuda triangle. Despite the fact that there was a more comfortable lounging area in the rear cabin, the entire family sat in the cockpit area together.

"Yes," she replied, "but you must remember that it was a segment of the magic lasso of truth. And my 'truth' was being hidden by my amnesia. Plus, I had been recalling little snippets of old memories more and more lately. It was like when you want to use a certain word to describe something but that word just seems to be beyond your grasp. You have it 'on the tip of your tongue' as they say. My memories were like that, and when we found the segment of golden lasso among Kal's things..."

"Kal...?"

"Your great-great-great- grandfather. I called him by his Kryptonian name."

"Just how old are you?" asked Noel.

Phyllis smiled at her daughter. "You know a lady doesn't answer that question in front of gentlemen, dear." She turned back to her husband. "Anyway, when we went through all those things, I felt the memories pounding away trying to get through to me. I instinctively knew what each was and what it represented. And I knew that the golden lasso of truth would finally unlock the secrets I had been holding inside for years, so I took it in my hand and... well, I guess the phrase 'the truth will out' took on a whole new meaning."

"Mom, how much farther before we reach our destination?" asked Jimmy as he peered out the transport's window at the choppy seas below.

"Not much further, Jim. Just be patient."

"I'm not too sure how to take all this," said George. "I've always envisioned growing old with you. That won't happen, will it?"

"I... honestly don't know, darling, but I think this is a conversation we should probably save for later, don't you?"

"How high up are we?" interjected Jimmy again.

His dad answered, "Approximately twenty thousand feet."

"I guess that's high enough."

"I guess it is. Why do you ask?"

"Is the cabin pressurized, Dad?"

"Is that all? Yes, it is. But if you're feeling like it's hard to breathe, that's a natural reaction. After awhile, you get used to..."

"It looked like we entered through an air-lock when we came in. Is that what that was?"

"Uh-huh. What's this all about, anyway?"

"Uh... Just want to learn a little more about what my dad does for a living."

"Oh... well... If that's all you want to know there are a lot of other things I can tell you that are a lot more interesting. For instance..."

"Er... Excuse me a minute, Dad. I need to use the little boys' room. Gotta fly." And Jim left the cockpit area.

"Hey, Mr. Curious! You're going the wrong way! That's the way to the airlock!" said George just before alarm sounded an in-flight entry into the airlock.

The three remaining family members suddenly looked at each other and said, " 'Gotta fly?' " George put the transport on autopilot and a mass exodus ensued as the Kent family quickly adjourned to a window with the best view of the exterior door of the airlock. In short order, another alarm sounded, the exterior door opened, and a young man clad in a blue outfit and red cape ejected himself from the transport.

"What the deuce does he think he's doing?" said his father. "He'll be killed!"

"No," said his mother. "He'll be okay. He has his ancestor's power of invulnerability. But why would he do this?"

"Because," said his sister, "He wants to fly!"

"Yes, but why would he do this _now?_"

"Seems like a good time to me, Mom. He's already twenty thousand feet in the air, so he'll have a couple of minutes to figure it out. If he doesn't, there's nothing but ocean under him, so he'll won't hurt anyone or damage anything. Don't tell him I said so, but I think it was pretty smart."

"Well," said George, "I'll fly the transport low so that we can try to find him in case he _doesn't_ figure it out."

"All right," said Phyllis. "We're almost to the island anyway. Go ahead and drop down to ten thousand feet and come around ten degrees southwest."

"Okay... executing!" The anti-grav plane circled slightly and lowered its trajectory to reach the desired altitude. "But I don't see anything resembling land, yet."

"You will. Just stay on this course. We'll watch for Jim and you watch for the island. It should phase into view any second."

"Phase...?" About that time, a great land mass seemed to shimmer into existence from out of nowhere.

"That must be it!" he said without trying to conceal the surprise in his voice. "And there's an air strip right on our course. I don't know how you knew it would be there, but there it is, Prin... Princess!" He swallowed hard at the pet name he had used for his wife the last two decades. Now, he realized, it was more than a pet name. It was fact. "I'll set her down here. Did you see our budding super-hero?"

"No, but I-I'm sure he's okay."

"I see him!" cried Noel.

"Where?"

"Look! Up in the sky!"

"It's a bird!"

"Oh! yeah! I guess it _is_ just a bird."

George gently maneuvered the craft onto the air strip for a perfect landing. Almost immediately, a low rumbling was heard - and felt by the Kent family. "Must be the changing strata underground," said George. "We should try to do this as fast as possible." They were preparing to exit the transport when the sound of knuckles rap-rap-rapping on the outside door was heard. After quick glances all around, the air lock doors were opened and there on the runway stood James Kent, sopping wet with water dripping from a thoroughly soaked blue and red uniform.

"Nice swim?" asked Noel as she stepped past her waterlogged brother.

"What were you thinking?" asked his dad.

"I thought it was a good place to try to fly," said Jimmy.

"Well," said Phyllis as the rumbling sounds continued, "That's one of the reasons we're all here together. I'm going to teach you. But first, we must find a few things that are somewhere on this island."

"Is this where you came from that day I found you adrift on that raft twenty years ago?" asked George.

"It's a very long story, darling, but yes, I had been in a struggle with an enemy who was threatening to destroy my family and friends who lived here. We had all been captured and forced to remove our magic bracelets which give us our powers of strength and endurance. I had managed to formulate our escape from our holding pen, and turned the tables on our foe. But there was one more surprise in his arsenal - an explosive with which he was planning to ignite and eradicate us all. He was caught in his own trap and, I can only surmise, was killed. But I also was hit by the force of the explosion as I attempted to reach safety with that raft. It must have knocked me cold and led to my amnesia."

"What about the other Amazons?"

"I think everyone made it out okay. When we escaped our prison, they were supposed to retrieve our bracelets and return while I kept our enemy under surveillance. Unfortunately, circumstances dictated that I had to force the issue before they returned with mine."

"So is that what we're looking for?" asked Jim. "The bracelets?"

"That, and a couple of other things. My lasso, breastplate, and magic girdle."

"Magic _girdle?_"asked an incredulous Noel.

Phyllis laughed. "Jimmy has his working clothes. I'll need mine, too."

"All right," said George. "I guess we should get started. Hopefully, we'll meet a few of your friends before long. I guess they would know exactly where to find your belongings."

"Yes, and once I have my bracelets, I can give Jimmy a few flying lessons."

"You can do that?" asked her son.

"Yes, I can, dear. One of the powers granted me through my feminum bracelets is the wings of Hermes. But before we leave, maybe Daddy could help you dry out a little with his heat vision. Would you mind doing that, darling?"

With a nod, George granted her request, and a cloud of steam immediately rose from Jimmy's uniform. "Gee, thanks, Dad!" He said. Noel, watched it all with a look of melancholy that escaped everyone but her mother.

"Come on," Phyllis said. "If anyone is here, they would be in the citadel - this way."

As the rumbling continued to come and go, the Kents made their way through the dense growth of flora via a small clearing which led to a well worn path. With Phyllis leading the entourage, they hiked along the lane until they emerged from the woods and found themselves on the outskirts of a small city. All of the buildings, homes, and temples were built in classic Greek style white stone, many appearing weathered and ruined.

The group continued their trek into the square unmet. "Odd," said Phyllis. "We should be seeing hundreds of amazons by now. Frankly, I'm surprised that we haven't been detained."

"Could it be that your enemy survived the explosion? Maybe returned and..."

"No, I'm sure that didn't happen. It does look like the island has been abandoned, though." They continued to explore the area, finding nearly all the once proud buildings in various stages of ruin. Until, that is, they approached one temple that stood out from the others. It seemed to be better cared for and kept up. "This used to be the citadel," said Phyllis.

Together, they entered the citadel and found display after display honoring Diana, the Amazon who entered Patriarch's world and became known as Wonder Woman. Exploits of their champion were memorialized in sculpture, oils, photos, dioramas. Many were accompanied with old fashioned newspaper clippings or two-dimensional videos (Noel was completely baffled by the television set style monitor). The building shook just a bit from the pulsating rumble that came and went, but finally, they came upon the centerpiece of the museum - a glass case housing a mannequin displaying the original uniform and tools of Wonder Woman.

"So these are your working clothes?" asked Noel. "Which is the magic griddle?" The glass shimmered as another rumbling came and went.

Phyllis laughed. "It's a magic _girdle_. And it's this belt-like thing here," she pointed out. The glass shimmered again with another tremor.

"Oh. What's all this other stuff? It looks like handcuffs and a yellow rope like the one in the box we found. Were you guys into bondage or what?"

"From where did you pick up that phrase? You're only twelve years old!"

"Sherry said it once, I guess," admitted an embarrassed Noel.

"Remind me to have a talk with Candace when this is over!" Phyllis said to George. He winked an okay back to her.

"These," she said pointing at the 'handcuffs,' "...are the magic bracelets which give amazons their great powers of immortality and strength. This particular pair has extra powers as well. The rope is the magic lasso of truth. The breastplate is one of several I've used in the past, perhaps the last one I ever took into battle."

"Battle?" asked Jim.

"The never-ending battle. You'll find out, Jim, that now that you have these gifts, you will be expected to use them in all manner of ways. It will be your responsibility to Mother Earth and her citizens to do so, just as you did earlier today, just as you are about to do later."

Noel became wistful again. Her mother noticed and said, "And the same goes for you, too, young lady."

"M-_me_?"

"Yes, you. I know you're feeling left out, aren't you?"

"Well... yes! I mean Jimmy's got super powers, you've got super powers, even Dad's got super powers... sort of..."

" '...even Dad? ...sort of...?' " said George.

"Sorry, Daddy. Yeah, everybody except me. I feel like this... super-family is going to fly off someday and leave me all alone to just be an ordinary human! I don't want you to leave me alone!"

"Sweetie! That will never happen!" said Phyllis as the entire family converged on the child with open arms and love. "We could never leave you for anything! As for these so-called powers, you should always remember this: It isn't the powers or the magic or the gimmicks we use that make us what we are. It's our hearts - our humanity - that make us great. Look at Super-Gramps for instance..."

"Super-Gramps...?" George whispered to his son.

"Something we came up with the other day, just go with it." Jim answered.

"He was lucky enough to have parents that could teach him right from wrong and a passion for helping others. He may have been alien to this planet, but it turned out that his greatest strength of all was his humanity - his compassion for others. Without that, he would have been nothing. Don't ever - _ever_ - take yourself for granted just because you're an 'ordinary person.' After all, Mr.Carr has no super powers and we wouldn't even be this close to saving our planet without his findings."

"Momma!" said the girl as she grabbed her mother in a child's embrace. "I'm sorry, I know you're right. I just saw everyone else getting these powers and I wasn't and... oh... I just... don't know!"

"Anyway, if that really bothers you, keep in mind that you are half Amazon with a little Kryptonian blood thrown in. When you're older, you just might become more powerful than any of us."

"Really?" she said as her mother wiped away a tear.

"Really!"

"Then, I could beat up Jimmy, couldn't I?"

"Hey!" said big brother. "_Too_ much power is not a good thing, okay?"

"Okay!" Noel was stifling the sniffles but forcing a smile at the same time.

"How do we get the display open and get your things?" asked George. There seems to be a pretty sophisticated lock on it."

"Yes," said his wife. "Even though the island looks rather deserted, it appears someone has been keeping this building - and its contents - in good condition."

"That would be me!" came a voice from behind them.

"Artemis!" cried Phyllis. A rather imposing female figure stood in the doorway behind them as another tremor shook the island. Her armor appeared to be a mixture of ancient Greek and Egyptian, with a little high-tech thrown in. At her side was a nasty looking spear.

"Okay, you know me. But just who in Hades are _you?"_

"Look at me, Artemis! It's me! Diana!"

"You resemble Diana, but that's impossible. She's dead. She died defending our home, such as it is these days."

"It _is_ me!"

"You look older than Diana."

"I had no bracelets, remember? It's been twenty years. I've aged just as a mortal would."

"If you're Diana, where have you been? Why have you chosen to return now?"

"The blast from the explosion knocked me silly. I was actually suffering from amnesia until recently. I know how hard it must be for you to believe me but..."

"Who are these people with you?"

"This is my family: my husband, George; my son, Jim; my daughter, Noel. I've been going by the name of Phyllis. Phyllis Kent."

Artemis raised her right eyebrow at this. She glanced at Jimmy, who was still in his uniform, cape and all. "And I suppose you want me to believe that this is Superman."

"Yes... and no. My husband is a direct descendant of Kal-El. My son is the great-great-great-great- grandson of Superman."

"He doesn't look very super to me."

"Hey!" said Jim, "My powers only came to me yesterday!"

"Can you fly?" asked Artemis.

Jim looked at his sister and asked, "Why does everybody ask me _that? _What is it about this flying thing?" Then to Artemis, he replied, "No, I haven't learned how to do that, yet. But I hope it's soon so I never have to answer that question again."

"Hmmph!"

"How come no one ever asks me to change the course of mighty rivers or something easy like that?"

"Artemis, listen to me!" implored Phyllis. "The Earth is in great danger of exploding! Jimmy and I and another Kryptonian..."

"Another Kryptonian?"

"Yes! We have a chance to stop the process that if left unchecked could rip the globe apart and kill everything on it! I know you feel the tremors that have already begun beneath us. Please, Artemis! Unlock the display and let me have my bracelets - and the power - to help save the Earth from destruction."

"I don't know for sure that you are Diana, but you certainly talk like her. All right, I'll take a chance. I'll let you wear the bracelets. If you are Diana, I'll know it immediately. If you aren't, they will do you no good at all, and I will make you pay for disturbing our shrine."

Artemis produced a remote keypad from a pocket in her armor and pressed out a code. The display case opened obediently and she handed the bracelets to Phyllis. "I have been following the news of the quakes. I sincerely hope you are who you say you are, for if you are not then we are all surely doomed."

Phyllis held the bracelets in her hands and just stared at them for a moment. She looked as if she was saying a silent prayer or two, then she shackled the bracelets about her wrists. In that instant, there was a change in her that was both imperceptible yet undeniable. There were no lightning bolts from the heavens nor sounds of a chorus, but her family would swear later that they heard both. Her physical appearance remained unchanged, yet she seemed to be recharged with the drive and spirit of youth. She had only a flash of time to savor this feeling however, for Artemis suddenly attacked with a vengeance!

Swinging the spear over and down, she attempted to smash Phyllis' head. In one motion, Phyllis caught the end of the spear with her right hand as it was coming down, redirected it to miss her yet continued the motion. When it was past her, she turned her back to Artemis and grabbed the other end of the spear in her left hand. With a mighty heave, she went to one knee and pulled the spear – and Artemis - over her head, flinging her fifteen feet away.

Artemis got up quickly with fire in her eyes, and she appeared to be readying for a counter-attack. But those same eyes softened right away as the truth sank in. Diana, the princess had returned to Paradise Island!


	45. Chapter 45

45

"So what happened to all the Amazons?" asked Phyllis/Diana to Artemis as she dressed. They had retreated to a small anteroom while George and the kids explored the museum.

"It happened after the explosion. We all came back as soon as we could. There was nothing left of anything but a crater. We searched the area and found no remains, nothing. By the time we put out to sea, there was no sign of the liferaft you said you escaped in. It was discovered later that the explosion affected Paradise Island's phase variance..."

"The dimensional shift in reality that keeps the island hidden from the outside world. Yes, it caught my husband and daughter by surprise when we went through it."

"Due to that anomaly, time ran at a slower rate for us than the outside world for awhile. We didn't know that at the time, of course, and you must have been found by the Coast Guard long before we were even able to look for you. We still didn't worry, though. We believed that if you had survived, you would come back to the island on your own. After days, weeks, months, and finally after two years, it was decided that you must have died in the explosion."

"That explains why no one came looking to find me, but it doesn't answer my original question: What happened to the other Amazons?"

"It became total chaos on the island, Di. There was no leadership. Those you had placed in control couldn't get anyone else to follow. Half of us wanted to remain an influence on Patriarch's world, half wanted to go back into total seclusion in light of the attack that took you from us. The factions split between themselves with petty bickering. Everyone seemed to think she was the one with the answer. Soon, it almost came to civil war, but thank Hera, we realized that would solve nothing. Finally, with our home far from being the paradise it once was, there came an exodus of sorts. Groups of women left the island to join the rest of the world and become a part of it. What few that were left of us here erected this shrine to you as a memorial for all you had done for us. We've tried to keep this building maintained if none other."

"How many amazons are left?"

"Only a handful, but they will be overjoyed when they find out you're alive and returned to us."

"I... don't know if I can stay. I have a family now. It's become so very complicated..."

"Diana, you must come back! We need your leadership! If word gets out that you're here, the amazons that left the island will return as well and we will be able to return to the greatness that we attained once before!"

"But, it would split up my family. My husband and son wouldn't be able to live here with us..."

"Your _Amazon_ family has _already_ split up, and you can heal the disease that opened the wound!"

"I would have to leave my home and friends in Texas..."

"_Texas! _Talk about going from Paradise to Hades!"

"Oh, please! It's a nice place! I love it there."

"Diana, you always seem to love anyplace you are at the time! Look, I know you have a job to do that is more important than this right now, but when it's over - successfully, we hope - please, please, please think over what I've said. This may the last hope for us as a people."

Phyllis and Artemis emerged from the anteroom and re-entered the main hall where they met up with the rest of Phyllis' family. Phyllis was now wearing her 'working clothes' - the red, white and blue uniform of Wonder Woman.

George whistled. "That's impressive, Hon! I wish we had time to meet your people, but the clock is running out on us. You have everything you'll need?"

"Almost. I need to give Jim a flying lesson."

"You know, I always thought _I_ would get to do that!"

It wasn't long before the super family found themselves out in a clearing on a remote part of the island.

"Remember, Jimmy," said Phyllis. "The Earth is basically a giant magnet and we are all smaller ones. And if you remember your physics..."

"Opposite poles attract, while like poles repel."

"Exactly. What you have to do is basically reverse your polarity and balance it in such a way as to repel the gravity of the Earth. It's the same principle of an anti-gravity transport. Like the one we came in on to the island."

"Okay, I got the principle, now all I need is the how...?"

"Well, it's kind of a chicken and egg thing. Once you've done it, you'll never forget it... unless of course, you've had amnesia like I did. You have to sort of... visualize it and then it becomes second nature. Try!"

Jimmy thought about a moment and raised his fist in the air. And _suddenly_... absolutely nothing happened. "Maybe if I said something dramatic like, 'Up, up, and away!' or 'Shazam!' or something?" He looked at his sister who was watching the flying lesson with intense interest. "What do you think, brat?"

Noel simply shrugged her shoulders. It wasn't like her to pass up a chance to razz her big brother.

Phyllis snickered, "I don't think Kal ever said, 'Up, up, and away' in real life, and 'Shazam' was Captain Marvel. Nope, it's something that you do - not say."

George came over and spoke up, "Listen, son. Close your eyes."

"Okay."

"Good, now imagine that you're outside in the Kent farm in Kansas."

"Uh... okay, I guess."

"No, not 'I guess!' You have to really picture it!"

"Okay! Mmmm... Okay! Got it!"

"All right. Now you know that apple tree just south of the barn?"

"The golden delicious? Yeah, those are great."

"Well up high in the tree is best, most delicious looking apple you have ever seen and you just have to get that apple. So reach for it, but it's out of your reach! So maybe if you could just get a little higher..."

Jimmy's hands reached up above him.

"Higher, son! It's still just above your reach..."

You could see the strain on Jim's face as he stretched higher and higher and then...

"Momma! Daddy!" squealed Noel. "He's floating! He's floating!"

"Jimmy! Open your eyes, son." He obeyed and found himself a foot off the ground being suspended by no visible means of support. At the sight of his levitation, he suddenly came crashing back down in a thump!

"You did it!" were the cries from everyone watching the lesson.

"Yeah, but he fell back down once he opened his eyes," his sister dejectedly pointed out.

"Doesn't matter, honey!" said Phyllis, obviously proud of her son. "Try again, son. This time with your eyes open."

Once again, Jimmy raised his arms but nothing happened.

"Remember what you felt when you were reaching for that apple, son," said George.

All of a sudden, Jim's feet left the ground and he began to rise higher and higher.

"Look!" screamed Noel, who was now so excited that she was jumping up and down like a six year old would do on Christmas morning. "He's doing it! He's really flying!" Soon Jim was a hundred feet above the ground, but as he began to level into a forward motion, his trajectory became erratic. He began to lose control and finally, he tumbled back to the ground about fifty feet north of where he took off.

"Jim, are you hurt?" shouted his father as his parents and his sister neared him.

"Oh, nothing but my pride, thanks to this invulnerable body that crystal gave me. You know, I always thought I would enjoy that more."

"Well, at least you got up there," said his mother. "Now that you know you can, you'll just need to practice, but you don't have time to do it now. The rumblings are coming at shorter intervals now. I think our zero hour is approaching."

"We should go back to Metropolis and get any updates from Chester," said George. "By now, Guer-On should have been able to supervise the creation of the emitters you'll be using."

"Right! I need to get a few things and then Noel and I will meet you and Jimmy back in Metropolis. I have alternative transportation I think she'd like to experience, and it justmay come in handy," said Phyllis. They were silent for awhile as they walked together and then Phyllis turned to her husband with a soft smile and added, "'Reach for the apple,' huh? Not bad, Mr. Kent!"

"Told ya I always thought _I_ would be the one to teach him to fly."

Noel looked at her brother as they both followed their dad to the transport. Jimmy couldn't help but notice.

"Okay, brat! What? I'm waiting!"

"Waiting? For what?"

"For the inevitable insult or pun or whatever. I know that it's coming! Let's get it over with!"

But Noel's smile was genuinely warm as she said, "You know, when you kinda crashed, I _wanted_ to make fun of you, but I couldn't."

"Cause Mom and Dad were there? That's never stopped you before."

"No, because I was really a little worried that you might be hurt." If there was one thing Jim was not expecting it was an expression of sisterly love like this. He was truly touched by Noel's confession.

"But I shouldn't have worried," she continued. "Deep inside, I knew you would be fine."

"Why's that?"

"Because you're my brother... and you're Superman."


	46. Chapter 46

46

"The entry points for the three of you are located in three of the cities where the major quakes took place. Each has a chasm that extends well into the Earth and very nearly reaches one of the focal points we discussed earlier. However, make no mistake! There _will_ be excavation required in every instance. A crew of humans could get through if there was enough time, but there is _not_ enough time! Only you three with your super-human strength have a chance to beat the clock on this, so don't dawdle."

"What kind of deadline are we facing, Chester?" asked Phyllis. "Have you actually been able to calculate that?"

"Well, to tell ya the truth, Phyll, er, uh..." Chester was having trouble getting used to seeing his neighbor in super-herogetup and it showed."It's pretty much a guesstimate. We've run computer sims based on the data we've already gathered and the nearest we can come up with before the point of no return is four to six hours, give or take a coupla hours. After that, there is no way to guess how long it will be before the planet explodes. That is something involved with the core and we just don't know enough about that to make an educated guess. But be assured, annihilation is inevitable if even one of you is not successful in this mission."

"Where are the entry points and who goes where?" asked Jimmy.

"One is right here in Metropolis. It's the one Joe and I were exploring when we first found the purple stuff. An adult human can go down about fifty feet, but thanks to our new ELMAs, we now know that another tunnel was formed by our mystery element about fifteen feet below and to the northwest from the floor of the lowest level. That, I believe, would be ideal for you, uh... Phyllis. Ya know, maybe I should be callin' you Wonder Woman instead. Would ya - would ya be more comfortable with that?"

Phyllis/Wonder Woman blushed a bit as she answered, "Things may have changed a little, but I'm still the same person you've known the last twelve years. Besides, the name 'Wonder Woman' is just a tag someone stuck on me to sell newspapers years ago. 'Phyllis' is just fine, Chess." Phyllis broke into a wide smile and added, "Or maybe you'd like me to call you 'Rock Man?'"

"Yep, you're still the same Phyllis all right. Anyways, I think this one is best for your situation. There are fewer areas to dig through to get to your focal point, and since you're not invulnerable like Jimmy or Gary..."

"Gary...?" asked Phyllis.

"That would be me." answered Guer-On. "At first I thought it was a bit... rustic, if you will. But it's been growing on me. That is the expression, isn't it?"

"That's it all right. Gary, your entry will be in a chasm created in Sydney. Jim, your chasm is in Moscow. We'll give each of you special equipment that will allow us to keep track of you, and stay in voice contact. This equipment also includes a special ELMA sensor that will wirelessly interface with our main computers and pinpoint your focal point. Without it, your odds of guessin' the right spot to irradiate are worse than breakin' the bank at Monaco."

"'Breaking the bank...?'" asked Guer-On.

"Don't worry about it. Just means it will be really hard to do!"

"Oh..."

"Once you three are in position and set, we'll give the command and you will use the special emitters that Gary has helped us build on your assigned focal point.

"George, you've got what appears to be the easiest job on this project. You'll be in Gary's ship and once the command is given, you'll emit a wide beam burst of the radiation from space. You will need to continue this until you have managed to orbit the planet and affected every inch of it. This might take as many as three to five orbits, but from what I hear about that ship, that won't take long at all."

Chester stopped talking and looked about the room. "Okay, that's the plan! Any questions?"

"I have one!" said Noel. "What do I do?"

"You're with me!" answered her dad. "You can help me in Gary's ship. I've always wanted to take my little girl flying through space with me. Now, I can."

"Cool! Will you let me run the controls? Mom let me fly a little in her plane on the way back here! Did you know her plane is invisible?"

Chester asked, "Well now, if - if it's invisible, how do you know if it's a plane?"

Noel said nothing, she just stared at her neighbor like he was a strange visitor from another planet.

"Okay!" he said, breaking the silent standoff. "Let's go save the world. Pick up your gear in the outer area of the lab as you go out the door. Bonnie will issue each of you a pack that you must wear at all times in order for us to stay in contact with you. George, Gary already equipped his ship with a special com link to us, but take a mobile pack with you just for safety's sake, okay?"

George nodded his assent and the five adventurers charged with the mighty task of saving a planet from utter destruction headed out. Noel was almost out the door when she turned and ran to Chester and gave him a big hug. Joe was nearby watching this and was totally surprised when she came over to him and gave him the same treatment.

"Thank you both for being heroes!" she said and then scurried away back to her family.

"Cute kid!" said Officer Kubert as he brushed away a tear. "And _all_ your friends seem like good people."

"They're the best, Joe. They're the best."

Once everyone had their gear, the Kents lingered a moment and gathered together as a family once more. The goodbyes were different than the usual "Have a nice day at work, Honey!" that often took place in the kitchen before George would head off to co-pilot a shuttle to the red planet. This time it was a little more intense. A group hug ensued and it seemed like only an atomic bomb would pry them apart, but in a moment or two, the grip was lessened and Phyllis kissed each of her children in that way only a mother could, conveying her love and concern for them. Then she and George embraced and kissed passionately. Jimmy kept expecting Noel to make a face and say, "Awww, Mom!" But she kept her silence for a change.

"At time like this," said George as the husband and wife slowly began the process of parting, "the hero is supposed to come up with a really deep and thought provoking comment to his leading lady, but all I can think of right now is... I love you, Princess. And I don't care if your name is Phyllis or Diana or whatever. I love you! Just be careful and come back in one piece!"

"I'll do my best, hon. I love you, too. Even now that my memory has returned, I know I've never met anyone as... super... as you." She was fighting back tears now. "George, when this is over, we have a few things we'll have to discuss..."

"I... kind of expected we would. But if we don't get going, it won't matter anymore, anyway. So we'd better head out. I love you!"

"I love you!" answered Phyllis, who then turned to her children and added, "And you! And you!" There was one more hug for each of them and then the Kents went their separate ways to revive the family heritage.

Guer-On accompanied Jimmy in flight to Moscow. Jim was still a bit erratic in mastering the flying, and asked Guer-on to see that he landed without putting anyone on the ground in jeopardy.

"I just don't know if I'll ever get the hang of this thing. And I'm afraid to practice! If I should lose control and fall on someone and hurt them..."

"I understand your worry. When I entered your yellow sun's range and found my ability to fly, I was quite inconsistent as well. I was fortunate, however, that my tiny size afforded me the luxury of practicing without that particular concern. But you'll get better at it eventually. You'll find areas that are sparsely unpopulated where you can practice - even on this rather densely packed world. The ocean is good place I hear..."

Jimmy looked at Guer-On at the mention of the ocean. Had he heard the story of his ill-fated attempt to fly on the way to Paradise Island? Jim thought he saw just the hint of a smile on the Kryptonian's lips. Then Guer-On did something he must have learned from his dad or Chester - he turned to Jim and winked!

They continued on in the air with Guer-On helping Jim to correct his course occasionally until they finally approached Moscow. Cutting their speed, they began to lower towards the chasm which was right in the middle of what was once known as Red Square in the twentieth century. Police tapes and inspection crews lined the perimeter of the gaping abyss. Jim began to lose control once again as they neared the ground, but Guer-On steadied him.

"Hello!" said Jim as armed security crews quickly surrounded them with guns drawn as they touched down. "Uhm... We... er... hereski to go into holeski!"

"Don't be insulting, Jim. Please allow me," said Guer-On and he began speaking what sounded like perfect Russian to the group. Presently, the guns lowered and one of the men, presumably the leader, returned a little conversation, gave a smile, and flashed an 'okay' sign. "He said he'd heard someone was coming, but he never expected anything like us. He said you can proceed on down into the tunnel. It has been evacuated, and these people will see that no one else enters until either you emerge or they hear that they need to send a search party for you."

"I think I like option one better." Jim took a quick look around at thecrowd of people surrounding the cordoned off abyss. They seemed to gaining new interest in the goings on."Well, I guess there's no time like the present. Thanks for your help, and good luck on _your _mission. Will you come back to pick me up after you're through?"

"No, I think not. It's time you went solo, I believe. But for now, just be careful and don't get toocomfortablewith your powers. You could run into anything down there that could get you in trouble, and it could besomethingthat evenyour abilities can't help you get out of.All right?"

"All right!" He looked around once again at the people lining the perimeter who were eying him with just as much intensity. One young lady was mouthing the words, 'soo-per-mahn?' which gave Jim cause to smile. "Be seeing ya!"

"Be seeing me? You're doing that now... Oh! Of course! Yes! Goodbye until later and good luck!" With that, Guer-On disappeared into the sky. Jim looked at the crowd once more and waved at them all. Cheers and chants of "Soo-per-mahn! Soo-per-mahn!" erupted as they waved back, and Jimmy, the new Superman, hopped into the rift.

_I feel like Alice dropping into Wonderland, _thought Phyllis as she descended the tunnel. The day was warm, much warmer than Metropolis usually was this time of year, and She was glad at first to be wearing the short-shorts version of her famous red, white, and blue uniform. But the deeper she went into the quake formed chasm, the cooler it got, and she began to wish she had worn something a little heavier. At her side, along with the unbreakable golden lasso of truth, was the magic sword of Theseus - the same sword that had brought her such amusement years ago when her friend Kal had failed to cut the magic rope. Now, she was using it to cut through the rock and clay of inner Earth in order to reach the tunnel Chester had told her about.

As she continued to hack through the hardened soil, she thought of her conversation with Artemis on the island before she left. As Princess Diana of Paradise Island, she had a responsibility to her homeland. Artemis may have been right that the news of her return could bring the wayfaring amazons back home. From what she had seen, the island needed them more than ever. Ironic, thought she, how guns and bombs couldn't destroy the Amazon nation, but a bump on her head almost had.

On the other hand, centuries of her life had been spent for the good of the land of her birth. She had been a warrior, ambassador, beneficent monarch, world icon, nurse, secret agent - all in the name of the Grecian gods of myth, her mission in Patriarch's world, and Themyscira. Wasn't it time she lived for herself and the fulfillment of her new family?

It was a battle she had to fight within herself, but the time for that must come later. Right now, the survival of the Earth itself was paramount in her priorities. Right now, her focus needed to be on digging her way through the hard, densely packed limestone and soil.

"Phyllis, this is Chester," Her communicator announced.

"Hello, Chess... (Mmmmmph!) What's up?"

"Just watching your progress. It looks like you should be breaking through any second. I don't know what you're using to cut through all that rock, but it really is somethin'! I don't suppose there are many more of 'em, are there?"

"Sorry, Chess (uhhh-**ahhh!**). But this is the only one (Ah-mmmph!). I think you're right, though, about breaking... through. Just one more lunge, I think and...(Urrrrgh!)!" The wall of dirt and rock she had been cutting through suddenly gave way to a tunnel just in front and below. Along with the wall went part of the floor supporting her, dropping her backside on a ledge ten feet below.

"Owwwww!" said the princess.

"Phyllis!" cried Chester through the two-way. "Are you all right? We're reading thatyou had a bit of a sudden drop just now."

"Your monitoring system is working fabulously, Chess. Yes, I'm fine. Nothing hurt but my pride. It's been so long since I've done anything like this that my reactions are a bit slow is all. But, I've cracked into the tunnel and I'm about to descend. You... failed to mention that it runs almost straight down."

"Didn't I ? Must've slipped my mind. Sorry, neighbor, but I knew you could handle it!"

"Right...!" she said as she carefully stood up on the ledge. _I guess I'll see if I can remember my flying lessons now, too._ "Okay, Chester. I'm descending... now!" And with those words, Wonder Woman stepped off the ledge and began to float effortlessly down through the narrow tunnel towards her mission target.

Guer-On was running into considerably more resistance as he burrowed down through the Earth. He had found the entry point in Sydney and checked in with the crew there before entering the chasm. His progress went unimpeded for about a mile or so, but then, with Chester's guidance, he had to begin forming his own way. According to the Earthling scientist, he would be breaking through to a new tunnel any minute.

As he continued to work his way through down into the planet's innards, he reflected on these acquaintances and how open and friendly they had been. _More open than I have been with them, _he thought. _I probably should have told them that I had not yet fully recovered from my encounter with kryptonite earlier._

In fact, Guer-On was still experiencing moments of dizziness, and during the work of burrowing through this planet's insides he was feeling somewhat weak. When he had been flying with Jimmy, he felt very strong. _Probably due to the effects of the yellow sun recharging my cells,_ he thought. And he felt no ill effects until he had to crash through one earthen wall that caved in atop him. Since that moment, he had begun to feel weaker and weaker. But he continued on, knowing what was at stake and the consequences were if he could not fulfill his part of the mission. _But maybe if I just rested a moment..._

"Gary, this is Chester. Our monitors show your progress has stopped. Are you all right?"

Guer-On, startled by the transmission, looked at the chronometer he had been issued and realized he had stopped digging at least three minutes ago. "I'm fine, Chester. I... simply was... reassessing my position. How much further need I dig to reach the final corridor?"

"I guess that's why we were concerned,. The wall you're working is about to go. One more of those super-powerful punches of yours and you'll be through. Once you've done that, you're only about three hundred feet from your goal. About a football field away."

"A what...?"

"Earth American game. Never mind..."

"All right..."

"Gotta check in with George, but you stay in touch, okay?"

"Okay." Guer-On resolved to continue and drove his hand into the wall of stone and hardened soil. His punch had been less than super-powerful. It had only penetrated about six inches through. This was going to take longer than anyone thought.

"Okay, George. Everyone's just about ready. How're things looking for you and the little princess?"

"Everything's looking good up here, Chess. I've been taking advantage of the situation to teach her about her Kryptonian heritage."

"Speaking of Kryptonians... Y- your friend, Gary... Is he okay? He sounded a little strange when I talked at him awhile back."

"What do you mean, strange?"

"Well, ta be honest, he sounded like he was kinda sick or somethin'. You guys didn't run into anything out there in the cosmos that would do that to him, did you?"

"Actually, Chess, we did. He was exposed to a pretty healthy dose of kryptonite while we were dealing with... a situation. It was awhile before I could help him. But that was long enough back that he should be fine now."

"I see. Well, maybe I was hearin' somethin' that wasn't really there, but he sounded like a man who needed to be in bed... or a doctor's office. Ya know, those portable emitters being carried by everyone down there are powered by some of that kryptonite you two brought back. He has a pretty good sized lump of it in his backpack."

"You think he could have had an accident?"

"I hope not. He didn't say anything about it last time we talked, anyway. In any case, let's just hope we're all just worried about nothin'. We're almost at zero hour, here, and there isn't much leeway on our time to fudge with."

"How much time is left, Chess?"

"It's been about two and a half hours since you all left me in Metropolis. I'd say that if Gary isn't able to complete his part of the mission, The Earth has about an hour to live."


	47. Chapter 47

47

Miles below the surface of the Earth, in a pocket of air surrounded by rock, a sword enchanted by the Grecian gods of myth burst through a wall of dirt, clay and limestone, and through the aperture it created stepped the human wielding the blade, Wonder Woman.

"Okay, Chess. I've accessed the area. Can you lead me to the exact spot?"

"Face north by northwest, Phyll. Turn on your laser sight, and _slowly_ move it as I direct you."

"Okay, sight's on. Now what?"

"All right, we have it on screen, now. Point it a little more right. Little more. Little more. Hold it! Now, up just a bit. Keep goin'. Keep goin'. Stop! Mark that spot, Phyllis. Once everybody else is set, that will be the target for your emitter."

"Speaking of everyone else, how are they progressing?"

"Jimmy's broken through to his spot. I'm about to set his target. George and Noel are in the proper orbit trajectory and they are ready to do their part."

"What about Guer-On?"

"I... think we may have a bit of a problem there, Phyll. He was moving faster than any of you, and his path had the most digging involved. But he's been stuck just outside of his final destination for some time now. I've been in contact with him, but he won't tell me what's wrong. He sounds like he's sick or somethin'. You got any ideas?"

"Well, in this solar system, there's only one thing I know of that would make a Kryptonian sick, and that's kryptonite. But it wouldn't be buried that deep into the Earth. It hasn't been around long enough to find its way down there."

"Unless someone brought it down there with him..."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, Phyll, the power supply in your backpack is powered with kryptonite. It's the radiation from the kryptonite that is refined and used to neutralize the purple soil - the ilium 349 as Gary calls it. The housing is built to withstand most trauma, but suppose something struck it just right, and caused a breech..."

"Oh, Great Hera! He could be suffering kryptonite poisoning from the very apparatus we're using to save the planet."

Guer-On felt as if his arms weighed more than this planet he was digging through. But if he couldn't open an entry into the next chamber, all would be lost! Earth and New Krypton both would be fated to suffer a cataclysmic end. And this time there would be no survivors! He had to ignore the pain, the illness, the suffering.

_For Rao's Sake, the spot I need to irradiate is only a few feet away! _He thought._ I must get through!_ _Even if I die in the attempt, I must be successful! George is a good man, and I know he will return to New Krypton and do what needs done to save them, but I... must... get... through!_

The scientist from New Krypton threw another punch at the wall with everything he had, which wasn't much. He had become so drained that the power behind it was barely that of a normal human's strength, and nothing, it appeared at first, seemed to give.

"No! I can't be done now! Not after all that's transpired! All these innocents..." He began to weep. "Rao! God! Please! Help me!"

There were no voices from above. Only the cold, dark, silent mood of the tunnel answered his call. In a heap of exhaustion, he collapsed, falling forward against the wall he was so desperately trying to breech.

"Gary! This is George! Chester told me you seemed to be having trouble and he patched me through to you! Gary! Guer-on! Come in!"

Guer-on stirred. Though weakened, he managed to answer his friend's hail. "I... hear you... George."

"Thank God you're alive! From what Chester told me, you could be suffering from the effects of that kryptonite we encountered earlier."

"That's... what it... feels like, George. But I... felt fine when I... entered the cave. Why would it... be affecting me... now?"

"Guer-On, this is Phyllis. George mentioned to me that our backpacks are powered by kryptonite. Is it possible the casing was compromised by a cave-in or such?"

Of course, all he needed to do was to get away from the backpack long enough to recover. But did he have the time? And how would he be able to irradiate his focal point without the kryptonite refining apparatus. "Yes, Phyllis. I think... that is exactly... what happened."

"Gary, this Chester. I hate ta sound crass, but I'm afraid there isn't much time left. Are ya through to the next chamber, yet?"

Guer-On started to prop himself up to see how much progress his last punch made and his arm pushed through to the other side! Despite the kryptonite influence from his backpack, he suddenly found new strength. He began to push, pull, and punch a large enough hole to squeeze through.

"Gary! Are ya all right? Ya didn't answer me! We've already sent a crew down there to help you, but if you can get to..."

"It's all right, Chester. I am through... to the next chamber. Please orient me... and set my target."

Chester talked the Kryptonian through as he had with Phyllis and Jimmy earlier. Guer-On couldn't make another step past the hole he had gone through. He just aimed his emitter from a sitting position.

Seconds passed, and then Chester began the countdown.

"Ten... nine... eight... "

George nodded to Noel, who pushed a button on the ship's console. "This is Space - One! Emitter engaged!" A widespread greenish ray sprayed out from the spaceship towards the Earth as it continued to orbit the planet.

"Seven... six... five..."

"Cavern - One ready!" said Phyllis.

"Four..."

"Cavern - Two ready!" called Jimmy.

"Three..."

"Cavern - Three... ready..." whispered a struggling Guer-On.

"Two..."

During the next two seconds, many thoughts flashed through Guer-On's head as he waited for the final word to engage his emitter. He thought of his home back on New Krypton, his family, his accomplishments and failures...

One..."

He thought of his mission to save his planet and how providence had diverted him to save another planet instead. He thought of his failure to make New Krypton safe from the same affliction that Earth was enduring. But he knew, in his heart that the friends he had made here would not allow his death to be in vain. That they would somehow find their way back to his home and do the same for New Krypton that they had done for the Earth. But right now, he didn't care about all that. He _would_ accomplish his mission, even if it would be with his dying breath. And he would be damned if he couldn't.

"ZERO! Engage underground emitters!"

"Go!" cried Phyllis!

"Go!" cried Jimmy!

"GO!" cried Guer-On at the top of his voice.

Simultaneously, the three emitters began firing their strange green laser-like beam at the spots that Chester had referred them to. The emitters continued to burn for thirty seconds, then a minute, then Chester chirped on the intercom, "Disengage the emitters... Stand by..."

There was silence in all three caverns as they waited. "Caverns - One, Two, and Three, We have positive response from interior radiation!" Cheers were heard from the lab people near Chester over the com system. "Space - One, we have positive response from exterior radiation!" Chester allowed himself and his friends a moment to allow the news to sink in. The Earth was saved. There would be no Armageddon today. Finally, he opened the mike again.

"Space - One, did you copy?"

"This is Space - One. We copy!"

"Cavern - One, do you copy?"

"Cavern - One, I copy, Chess!"

"Cavern - Two! Do you copy?"

"Uh, yeah! Sure! Roger - Wilco and all that jazz."

"Cavern - Three! Do you copy?"

Nothing but silence answered.

"Cavern - Three! Do you copy? Over!"

No sound.

"Guer-On, do you read? Come in, please!"

All of the comrades in the mission were listening. The cheering that had been heard with the successful mission had died down to a whisper. George couldn't help but feel powerless to assist his new friend. Phyllis was already on her way up the cavern, but felt her progress would be too slow to do him any good. But Jimmy...

If there had been anyone in the cavern with him, they would have sworn that the boy in the blue and red costume had simply disappeared, but the reality was that Jimmy, upon hearing what was taking place with Guer-On, began to ascend the shaft he had created at near light speed. There was still someone to save because of this quake business. And Jimmy was the only person on the Earth that could save him.

The Crew around the chasm saw nothing but a blue and red streak as Jimmy went by them. They only felt a rush of air as he emerged from the hole and took to the sky.

This was different than the other times he had tried to fly. Before, he was thinking about it too much. This time he simply flew.

_Before I get into the tunnel in Sydney, _he thought, _I will need to protect myself from the kryptonite radiation. In school, we learned that Russia and Australia both are productive in the mining and refining of lead. There must be a smelter somewhere along the way..._

He headed for the eastern coast of Russia, and found a mining operation with a smelter nearby. Flying into the processing plant, he found what he was looking for: a large vat of molten lead! Jimmy never hesitated. He dived into the white hot bath of plumbum, covering himself from head to toe with a light coating of the heavy metal. Once covered, Jimmy continued on his flight to Sydney arriving just seconds after he left the smelter in Russia.

Down the shaft he dove, following the tunnels and openings that Guer-On had created. Down into the dark cavernous void, twisting and turning until at last, he found the Kryptonian.

Guer-On was out cold. His face and hands were a sickly green shade that made Jim cringe. He worked fast, unbuckling the backpack with the broken power supply housing the kryptonite, and throwing it as far away from them as he could. The force of his throw embedded the assembly deep into a wall of the cavern. Then, picking up the seemingly lifeless body of the Kryptonian scientist as if it had no weight at all, He turned and began the upwards flight towards the surface.

Once Jimmy cleared the tunnel opening, he continued his flight straight to Metropolis and the chasm from where his mother had just emerged to cheers and applause from the security and geologic team. The cheers died down to near silence as they witnessed Jim landing with a comatose humanoid in tow.

Jim was still covered in a light leaden coating, but Phyllis knew who it was despite the unintentional disguise. "How is he?" she asked as she ran over to him.

"I - I don't know," he answered. "I just got him out of there and brought him to you. I just thought... Mom would know what to do..."

The crowd began to gather more bystanders and all had their eyes glued on Jimmy. "Uh... Not to distract you or anything, but why are they staring at me?"

Phyllis never even looked up as she absentmindedly answered, "It's the lead you have over your body. You look like a comic book hero I used to read about, but he was silver instead of lead. Guer-On's breathing, but it's shallow. He's alive, at least."

"I don't know, Mom. He still looks a little too green to me. Do you think he's gonna make it?"

"No way of knowing. Just getting him away from the kryptonite should be his best medicine." Phyllis' mood seemed to change suddenly from caring nurse to scolding mother. "By the way, what were you thinking? Don't you realize that the same kryptonite that was killing him could have killed you, too? You could have waited for me to get there and do it for you, you know. I would not have been affected by the kryptonite radiation. It would have been much safer!"

"No offense, Mom," answered Jim quietly. "But you just got out of your chasm. It's been twenty years since you've put your body through this kind of thing. No telling how long it would've taken you to get there and Guer-on didn't have the time to wait. I was the closest of us to him and... well..." Jim spread his hands out as if showing himself to his mother. "I did take precautions before I went in. Besides... I wasn't worried about me." He had that little boy look as he seemed to sulk apologetically.

A scowl remained on Phyllis' face as she said, "Well, that's... just..." The scowl slowly became a smile of pride. "...What heroes do! Come on, let's get Guer-On somewhere away from prying eyes. He'll need to be where he can soak up enough yellow sun to recharge his cells."

Together, the super-team took hold of their fallen comrade and leapt into the air, but not before Phyllis, the Wonder Woman added, "Way to go... Superman!"


	48. Chapter 48

48

"Weren't we just here the other day?" asked Phyllis as the waiter left the table.

"Mom, is your memory going again?" Jimmy queried in reply. He then grabbed a tortilla chip and dipped it into the salsa and placed the delicious concoction in his mouth. "You know, I think you were right the other day. I _could_ eat this stuff at every meal and still enjoy it!"

Another hand went into the serving basket of chips and selected one perfectly curved for dipping. "So... this is... Tex-Mex?" asked a slightly wan Guer-On as he mimicked Jimmy's behavior and coated the tortilla with the tasty sauce and sampled it.

"Well, actually this is just an appetizer. The good stuff is being prepared," answered Jim. "By the way, thanks for melting that lead off of me with your heat vision."

"It was the least I could do. This does have a... tang... to it, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does!" said Noel as she and her Dad made their way into the restaurant. "Have you ordered me a taco, yet?"

"Oh, yes!" answered her mother who then kissed George hello. "And for you, flyboy, chicken quesadillas."

George winked at his wife. "You sure you're talking to me? I heard that Jimmy was the new 'flyboy.' " He went over to his son and gave him a hug. "Congratulations, you hero, you!"

"I... just did what was right, Dad."

George's eyes glistened as a memory of a past conversation with another hero came to mind. "Exactly!" He turned to Guer-On and shook his hand. "And you, my extra-terrestrial friend, are always surprising me! You could have died down there from the green K."

"I almost did. But here I am, thanks to Jimmy."

"And here we all are, thanks to you! How did you manage to hang on long enough to hit your mark?"

"I don't know, really. It was the fact that two worlds would be blown to pieces if I did not, I suppose. But, it wasn't just me. It was all of us together."

"Yes it was," added Phyllis. "And look! The rest of the team is arriving!"

With those words, Chester Carr and his family came into the room with Metropolis police officer Joe Kubert and sat down, joining the super-friends.

"I didn't know what you wanted," said Phyllis. "You'll have to order for yourselves when the waiter returns."

Chester laughed, "Is that any way to treat the family of the man who engineered the rescue of the planet Earth?"

"Yeah, the Perfessor's boss was so impressed with him that he offered him a job!" said Joe.

"Yep, but I turned him down. I would've had to move to Metropolis, and I've had my fill of the place." Kubert gave Chester a scowl. "No offense, Joe. It's a nice town and all, but I guess I'll always be just a Texas boy at heart! Oh, and speaking of Metropolis..."

He reached into sack he was carrying and handed a box to his daughter. "Here ya go, Sherry. This is for you. Take good care of it. It's been through a lot just to get here!"

Sherry opened the box to find the snow globe her father had bought just before the earthquake hit Metropolis. "Ooooh! Thanks, Daddy! I love it! Look! that flying man there looks kind of like... Jimmy...! Doesn't it!"

"Yes! Yes, it does!"

"That reminds me," said George to his son. "I picked up a little souvenir, too." George fumbled around the pockets of his jacket until he found the green crystal. "I found this while mining that asteroid for kryptonite. I don't know if this one will speak to you like the last one, but..."

No one was more surprised than George as the crystal began to glow and then focused an emerald beam at his son. Phyllis was up and ready to revive Jim from what she expected to be a dead faint, but this time he never required assistance. The crystal was active for no more than a second, and Jimmy seemed less than fazed by the experience.

"Are you all right, son?" asked a worried George. "I only meant to give it to you! I never expected that to..."

"It's all right, Dad! I'm okay. The crystal did no more than infuse my mind with information."

His mother was still concerned. "The first time you were hit by the effects of one of those crystals, you were out cold for awhile. Why didn't that happen this time?"

"I'm thinking it's because that when it happened before, I was predominately human. Now, my Kryptonian blood has taken over."

Guer-On was intrigued. "That technology had not been invented by the time Kandor was separated from Krypton. According to archives, though, Jor-El was working on the process. So this is how you gained the powers you now possess?"

"Yep, but at first I thought it only put a lot of information in my head. As far as I can tell, this time that's all it did."

"And what did it tell you this time?"

"Aw, gee. I thought I was done with this trance stuff. Okay, Give me a sec, and I'll play it back for you."

"Play it back...?" asked Guer-On.

"Oh, no! Not Spooky Time Theater again!" said Noel as Jimmy went into the familiar trancelike state.

Jor-El, scientist of Kryptonopolis began this record of the final moments of his planet in the hope that it might somehow survive the explosion and reveal any secrets behind the cause of it that he could not discover. He and his wife, Lara, had already placed their infant son, Kal-El into a faster than light speed vehicle that was set to launch for a distant world where he would be safe from the destruction.

"The surface is erupting everywhere around us. We've little time left." Jor-El looked deeply into her eyes and added, "Lara, there may be room for both of you..."

"No, Jor! Save our son, but I can't leave without you. My place is by your side."

Suddenly, a fearsome figure broke through the door of Jor-El's lab. It was... "Mal-Vol? Why are you here? Despite what you think, Krypton _is_ about to die as I predicted! I have no quarrel with you, but I intend to save my son!"

"Oh, I know the planet is about to shatter, Jor-El! In truth, I have known about it for far longer than you!"

"But... if that's true," asked Lara, "we could have saved our civilization, our heritage. Our people could have started over on another planet!"

"Oh, but that would never do," replied Mal-Vol, whose demeanor seemed to be that of a madman to the young couple. His eyes were wild with insane malice. "Our people are beyond saving! That's why I took it upon myself to destroy them!"

"No... Not even you could have..."

"Oh, yes! Yes, I did! The destruction of our planet is no accident, Jor-El! It is the final part of a plan that I mapped out long ago. History will never record it, but I am the destroyer of Krypton! And I do so willingly... for very good reasons!"

Lara could not believe what she heard. "How... Why would you do something so heinous? Our people were on the verge of a new age! A new age of science and art, and of love. We were becoming a people with compassion..."

"What? Even now you spout that blasphemy? With the planet coming apart all around you? That Open Heart tripe...?"

"The Open Heart movement made us a better people! We were becoming..."

"We were becoming a race of heathens that had turned so far from Rao, that we could never get back to the Krypton Way. It was time to cleanse all existence of the unfaithful! And I began the process with that slut that started it all."

Jor-El didn't like where this was going. "Who are you talking about?" he whispered cautiously.

"That blonde tramp. Your friend..."

"No! You killed Lyla?".

"Yes, of course I did!" the zealot replied triumphantly. "You should have been there, Jor-El. I've never felt more exhilarated. I wrapped my fingers about her pretty little throat and squeezed the life out of her! But, she deserved it! Don't you see? She was the Anti-Rao! She had to die before the sins of our people could be washed away!"

"You're insane!" cried Lara.

"Oh no, quite the contrary. I am the only sane person left on this planet. And that is why I created the so-called alien spacecraft that stole Kandor from the surface."

Despite Mal-Vol's reprehensible story, Jor-El's curiosity got the better of him as the sounds of the quakes increased in amplitude. "You... created..."

"Let me make it easy for you, Jor-El. The 'alien' spaceship was designed by me. It was built on one of our moons."

"You were the pilot?"

"No, I needed to be publicly visible somewhere when it happened so I could not be tied to the event. And there was no alien piloting the ship, either. It was a super-computer that I personally programmed. Oh, you seem so surprised that anyone other than_ your_ family could make discoveries or create technology. It was I who created the element 349 as you like to call it. It was I who harnessed its abilities and married it to a transporter beam. It was I who created the spaceship and the super-computer that ran it. And_ it was I_ who concocted the plan to destroy the planet, thus wiping out the sinful from the cosmos."

"And what have you done with Kandor? Have you destroyed it?"

"It still exists, for the time being. Just before the planet becomes cinders, my super-computer - I call it 'Brainiac' - will return to transport me away from Krypton. The sinners of Kandor will be informed by me of the fate of their home. And that if they choose not to return to Rao..."

"As _you_ interpret His word?"

"As _I_ interpret his word, yes... then I will see to it that Rao's wrath shall come to pass over them as well, and they will all go to meet their maker and face Rao for their sin."

"While you remain chaste and alive, of course?"

"If I must be the last and only Kryptonian alive, then so be it!"

"So I repeat my original question. Why are you here? To tell us this? It hardly matters now, does it?"

"I am here to abort your attempt to save your family. You see, you two and your unholy progeny must meet your fate, Jor-El. I knew you would not cease in your efforts to escape the explosion."

"Kal-El is just an infant," cried Lara. "Surely even you can see he's innocent..."

"There are no innocents! Especially him! He is of your husband's bloodline, and that makes him anything_ but_ innocent!" He paused for what could only be interpreted as dramatic effect. "But... I had another reason for coming here! I wanted to see Jor-El suffer as he watches you die!"

"We've already made our peace, Vol. We're ready to die together in the blast."

"Oh, no. Your family won't die that way. A quick Ka-boom, and you're all gone? Oh, no, no, no! You, Jor-El, will have the pleasure of seeing me personally take the life of your wife and child the same way I took the life of that harlot friend of yours! I want that vision to be on your mind as you wait for the final cataclysm."

Jor-El had heard enough. How Mal-Vol had planned to incapacitate him enough to carry out his threat, he didn't know, but he was not about to wait for it to happen. He leapt at the religious fanatic and knocked him over as the two grabbed and punched at each other. All the while they fought, the quakes continued to increase. The skies darkened with smoke and ash spewing up to the heavens.

For an old man, Mal-Vol was in excellent shape. His strength was far greater than Jor-El would've thought. More than once, it seemed as though he would lose the advantage in their struggle, ending all hope of saving his son.

And then, Mal-Vol managed to push Jor-El away long enough to wrest an energy pistol from his pocket.

"I don't care what you do to me, Mal-Vol." said Jor-El through gasps for breath. "But you _won't_ stop me from saving my son from your misguided plan."

"Oh, I don't know," said Mal-Vol calmly. And he fired the weapon at the launch control kiosk. "I believe I've just done that! Now the two of you! Back against that equipment rack! Now!" The madman took the time to chuckle at his advantage. "Now, Jor-El. Now the time has come for you _all_ feel the wrath of Rao!"

Suddenly a figure stepped out of the shadows. It was Ken-Dal and he had picked up a metal bar from the quake debris! He swung the bar and smashed it against Mal-Vol's hand, disarming him. Again he flailed away at the fanatic, and again, and again!

"You will not hurt anyone anymore! You won't! You won't!" At that moment seismic activity struck the lab and a gaping hole opened up in the floor, spewing fire and lava up to the ceiling. With one last swing, Ken-Dal connected with Mal-Vol's chest, sending him backwards and into the hole. Mal-Vol fell into the abyss and it closed as if swallowing a treat.

Ken-Dal sunk to his knees exhausted. As Jor-El and Lara looked on, he turned towards them and said, "My Matty never liked liked him. She always said he was a bad man!"

Lara went to the old man to comfort him, but Jor went to the launch control. "It... doesn't look too bad. It could be fixed. But not in time, I think." Lara helped Ken-Dal up. The rumblings were now non-stop. The end was approaching.

"Jor-El, maybe I can help!" said the old man. He looked at the control panel that had been hit with the energy ray. The panel had been blown open. Wires were exposed and the contact switch had been destroyed. "This wire..." he said, "...and this one..." He touched the wires together and sparks flew. The kiosk began to heat up and... the model starship came to life! The craft began to rise through the open ceiling and away from the danger of the planet.

"Mal-Vol said _we_ were about to face the wrath of Rao. I can't help but think that's what happened to him! Thank you, Ken!" said a grateful Lara to the old man.

"Just like when I was younger," he said. "I haven't hot-wired a floater in years!"

The three of them watched the craft as it rose higher and higher into the sky. Jor-El embraced his wife as the planet crumbled beneath them.

"Farewell, Kal-El!" he said. "Farewell, my son!"

As the starship climbed, it gained speed and then was gone in an instant. Seconds later a seemingly alien saucer-like ship appeared, and not finding the individual it sought, it quickly disappeared again into the heavens.

Jor-El cradled his wife in his arms as their world prepared to blow apart. "I love you!" he said.

And then there was no more.

Everyone stared incredulously at Jimmy as he snapped out of his trance. "So 'there was no more' meant..." asked Noel.

"I guess that's when the planet blew up." said Jim. "Everything looked like it was flying apart and then it all went black."

"So the destruction of Krypton was not just an accident of nature nor the carelessness of its people," mused George. "It was a deliberately planned and executed act of vengeance."

"And that act almost stretched over to two more worlds." added Phyllis.

"And countless trillions of lives." said Guer-On, who seemed to be the most shaken individual of all. He was silent for a moment.

"Are you okay, Gary?" asked Chester.

"Yes... I think so. It's just that for more than two hundred years, it was believed that our planet exploded due to our ignorance of the ecology... or the planet losing its orbital trajectory... or the clone wars. Take your pick! But to now realize that one fanatical extremist would..." He began to weep.

Noel left her chair and came over to Guer-On. Putting her arms around him, she hugged him and said, "But it's all over now, Mister Guer-On. And Krypton's people live on today, thanks to people like my Grandpa Clark."

"Yes, Noel. You're right." said the obviously touched Kryptonian. "And to people like you and your family." Guer-On straightened as he wiped away a tear and tried to change the mood. "Well! I believe I was about to taste real Tex-Mex! What was the dish you ordered for me, young Mister Kent?"

"Steak fajitas! And I ordered the same. My favorite, you know!"

"And here it comes!" cried Noel as the waiter returned with the dinners sizzling on the plates.

In short order, the group was ready to dig in, but not before George offered a prayer. "...And thank you, Lord... or Rao or whatever name one wants to call you. Thank you for the wisdom..." George glanced at Chester. "...The strength..." He looked at his wife. "...The courage..." He gazed at Guer-On. "The exuberance" He winked at Noel. "...and the will to... to 'do what's right.' " His eyes were on his son. "And we pray our thanks for the deliverance of this world as we ask for the deliverance of another. Amen!"

"This is... quite tasty!" said an obviously pleased Guer-On as he chowed down on the steak and peppers.

"Oh, no! No! No! No! No! No!" cried Jim alarmingly.

"What's wrong, son? Are you all right?" asked his mother. "Another disturbing vision, perhaps?"

"You could say that! Tomorrow, I have to go back to school. And I just remembered that I have a paper to write for history class or Mr. Weisinger is gonna flunk me!"


	49. Chapter 49

49

Three months later

Kent Family Reunion

Smallville, Kansas

"What a beautiful day!" said Phyllis as she and George toted a large drink cooler out towards the picnic area.

"Yep, kind of amazing when you realize the world was about to blow itself up three months ago," agreed George.

"Didn't you say you had invited Guer-On to the reunion?"

"Yes, but he said he needed to monitor the seismic activity of New Krypton for awhile since we went back there and irradiated the surface with the ilium 349-a rays. I told him someone else could do that, but he said he started the project, and he wanted to see it through. I think that he just felt like he would be intruding, though."

"As if he could! I may have met a more humble man in my lifetime..."

"Looooong lifetime!"

"Watch it, Buster! ...In my lifetime, but I really can't remember when that was. And no, I'm not relapsing into amnesia again."

"Hey, look! Chris and Margot's kids are flocking around Jimmy. I don't remember when he received this much attention!"

"Hey, man!" said a tall skinny kid of about fifteen. "How much weight can you press. Coach has me up to fifty-five pounds."

"I can do... uh... a little more than that." said Jim.

"Oh, yeah, Well, I guess so. You are a little older than me, aren't you? Hey, didn't you graduate this year?"

"It's... Dean, isn't it?"

"Yeah, man. That's me."

"Yep, I managed to squeak by. I almost flubbed it, though. I came _this_ close to failing history. Luckily, I had a teacher that took pity on me. He gave me an extra - credit assignment that pulled me up enough to get by."

"Hey, big brother!" hollered Noel who was walking with a young blonde girl about her age. "Have you met Terri? She wants to know if you can..."

"Yeah, yeah. I know! If I can fly, right?"

"No," she replied with a look like she had no idea what he could be talking about. "She wants to know if you could get the rest of the sodas and bring them to the picnic tables. I think we're all about to eat!"

_Silly me, _thought Jim as he headed for the sodas.

"Yes, Margot." said George. "I'm taking a little extended time off. Phyllis and I are making some adjustments in our lives now that she is spending much of her time in Themyscira, but we're determined to make it all work."

"We're going to take a cruise - an Alaskan cruise - before I return," added Phyllis. "And I've already promised George that I would return home to Fort Worth at every opportunity."

"Why don't you just all live on Themyscira?" asked Margot.

"I've already committed a transgression just by allowing a man to set foot on the island, but that was unusual circumstances, of course. Now that things are getting back to normal, it wouldn't be proper."

"What about that business with that criminal?" asked Chris of George. "What happened to her?"

"We stopped at Mars Hamilton Department of Justice on the way to New Krypton. Guer-On released her from the Phantom Zone to police custody. I gave a deposition, but it wasn't really necessary. Jennifer practically begged them to put her in jail. Evidently, a cell was far more preferable than the Phantom Zone."

Phyllis turned to see Jimmy nearing them with twenty cases of soft drinks towering above in his arms. "Jimmy, didn't I tell you not to show off!" she scolded.

"Sorry, Mom," said the super-strong boy of steel. "But Terri dared me to do it. I couldn't back down." He set the cases down carefully and began un-stacking them. "Oops! Wait a minute! I gotta go. Someone's fallen into a river and can't swim!"

"One of the kids!" cried out an alarmed Margot.

"No, Aunt Margot. Relax. It's someone in Nebraska. I picked it up with my super hearing. 'Scuse me!" In exactly two point four seconds, Jimmy was airborne and on his way, presumably headed to Nebraska.

"Will I ever get used to that?" George asked Phyllis as their son disappeared into the sky.

"Lois got used to it. So will you. Come on, the sandwiches are unpacked. Let's eat!"


End file.

DC Elseworlds, Adventure, Humor