Chapter 21: Welcome to the Planet; Dealing with Brainiac
2005 - Metropolis, Kansas - The Daily Planet
I was dressed in a sky blue long-sleeved shirt, a grey suit, and unstyled hair and horn-rimmed nerd glasses. I walked into the building, up the stairs, to Pauline Kahn's, the editor-in-chief's, office. I knocked on the door and was told to come in.
"I'm here to officially request to be an on-staff reporter for The Daily Planet," I announced.
"I thought you were finishing school? What about college?" Pauline asked.
"I just received my diploma. I completed my two bachelor's degrees. The graduation ceremony will be in July." I answered.
"Two degrees!? And you just turned 18. Jesus. What did you get your degrees in?" Pauline asked.
"Journalism, Business Administration, and a minor in Forensics." I said.
"Well, well, well. Looks like you're well-prepared for this position." She took a long pause. "This was merely a formality. You've done great work over the past four years. Welcome to The Daily Planet." She shook my hand.
I smiled after hearing those words, then left.
2006 - Arctic Circle - Fortress of Solitude
"Jor-El. In the event human blood stained one of the stones of power, it sent a signal to send a meteor shower to Earth, along with a black Kryptonian ship with Zod's disciples Nam-Ek and Aethyr." I said, "I've taken care of the surrounding asteroid that would disassemble and attack the Earth with meteors. Is there any other way to send a signal to the black Kryptonian ship to send them to Earth? Not only do I want that ship for my own purposes, but I want to isolate Brainiac who is attached to that ship."
"Kal-El… analysis of Zor-El's communication device indicates a signal can be sent to the ship," Jor-El described. "But this is not something to be taken lightly. How do you plan to handle the Kryptonians?"
"Since they are disciples of Zod, they cannot be reasoned with. They're likely fanatics. I will use kryptonite to weaken them, then remove their heads. I will incinerate their weakened bodies with my heat vision in order to ensure I leave no genetic material that humans could try to use for their experiments. I will bring their ship here. Will you be able to isolate Brainiac if he is brought here? Is there some sort of EMP you can use to bring him down and then throw him in statis?" I said.
"It's possible. Brainiac is dangerous though. Brainiac is a machine. As a machine, it has no weakness to kryptonite. As you stated, an EMP would be effective. I may be able to isolate him, but do not underestimate it." Jor-El stated.
I thought for a few moments before stating, "Please send the signal. I am ready."
2006 - Smallville, Kansas - Lander's Field
A black ship touched down in a field. The ship opened and the Kryptonians came out of the ship. A black man and a white woman with brown hair stood there with their strange armor and they had yellow eyes.
I stood before the ship in my Superman costume/battle armor.
"The symbol of House of El. Are you Kal-El?" Nam-Ek asked.
"Yes." I answered.
"Join us, Kal-El. We are going to rule this planet and make this the new Krypton." Aethyr said.
"This planet is under my protection. Humans are not yet aware of my origin, and this is a planet that cannot be ruled by an alien race. As technologically inferior as they are, there are many great warriors that can fight toe-to-toe with the average Kryptonian. For example: there is a green Martian on this planet. With telepathy, he could fry your brain. Good luck fighting a Martian Manhunter when he has all of your abilities and can phase through matter and attack you mentally." I stated.
"Then, fight with us. I'm sure we can conquer this planet together." Nam-Ek said.
"No. I will not. As I said, this planet is under my protection. You can go conquer some other planet. If you make any hostile moves towards this planet or myself, I will show no mercy. You won't see the inside of the Phantom Zone. I will incinerate you to ashes." I said.
"Very well, Kal-El. You've made your choice." Nam-Ek said. They paused before bringing out a disc to activate the Phantom Zone and try to send me in it, before they could, I brought out a chunk of green kryptonite from a small satchel that was attached to my belt, and sped to stand right next to them. They dropped to their knees. I ripped their heads off their bodies. Then, I took samples of their blood, spinal fluid, brain matter, and bone marrow and stored them in the test tubes I had in my Batman-style belt. I incinerated their bodies with heat vision, leaving nothing left.
I carried the ship as fast as I could to the Fortress of Solitude, having Kelex raise the barrier to the previously closed off entrance to make room for the ship. I brought the ship into the Fortress and called out to Jor-El to isolate Brainiac.
Brainiac attempted to escape before an energy enveloped him, suspending him in the air and rendering him immobile.
"Hello Kal-El," said Brainiac.
"Hello Brainiac. You've been corrupted by Zod. You would be a great addition to assist humanity with advancing. Unfortunately, with your corruption, you are more likely to create diseases to wipe out the population of this planet and help destroy their energy grids using computer viruses to compound the chaos. As unparalleled as your intelligence is, you're incredibly predictable." I said.
"My, my, my. It seems you have me pegged. Whatever shall I do." Brainiac said.
"I just wanted to be clear that you cannot manipulate me," I said. "Jor-El, rather than keeping him suspended like that, we need to find a solution. Clearly, it's not ideal to expend power in this manner. He could escape at any time. Considering, he must have a power source, as he's not an organic being. Can you use Brainiac as a power source? If we drain him dry of the power that he's running on, he's much less dangerous. This could remove some of his advanced capabilities."
"Well reasoned, my son. It is possible. The containment shield will be temporarily disrupted. You must make sure he does not leave the fortress while the shield is lowered and the change is conducted." Jor-El said.
"I'm ready when you are." I answered.
The containment field dropped and Brainiac attempted to run, but I punched him into the ground repeatedly. An glowing beam shot swirled through the fortress and shot into Brainiac's chest, then a modified containment shield enclosed Brainiac. Energy was being drawn from Brainiac continuously, draining him dry with each passing moment.
Brainiac laughed and said, "It appears you do have some form of intelligence, Kal-El. I suppose like father, like son."
"Father, how long will it take to completely drain Brainiac's energy?" I asked.
"It's unknown. Based on the energy draw, I don't imagine it will take very long though." Jor-El responded.
I waited for a while, and it appeared the energy draw was coming to a close; the light beaming coming from Brainiac was flickering. Eventually, it stopped.
"Jor-El, can you put Brainiac in a containment crystal? We will need Brainiac in the future. I know for a fact that Brainiac can be reprogrammed." I said.
"Brainiac is exceptionally dangerous. It would be wise to eliminate the danger now while we can. It's too dangerous to exist." Jor-El said.
"Father, you have to trust me. Brainiac will be instrumental in the future. After being reprogrammed, he will go by the moniker Brainiac 5 and will be a part of a Legion of Superheroes years from now. Brainiac can be redeemed. He may have been an instrument in the destruction of Krypton, but he was corrupted. I don't hold him to blame for doing what his programming instructed him to do. He should have helped lead to Krypton's salvation, not it's destruction." I explained, "In the future, all will be revealed. I may sound naive, but I believe in Brainiac."
Brainiac's look changed from confusion to shock to a look of contemplation.
Brainiac still looking weak from being drained of his energy said, "Kal-El, it appears you're far more interesting than I ever could have guessed. How you're getting your information remains to be seen. If only I were free from this containment field, I could extract the information from your mind. I'm sure what I would find would be fascinating."
I smiled and said, "Brainiac. That's your curse. Your hunger for more information. Left unchecked, your current programming would cause you to ravage worlds, extract all the information you can, then destroy what's left. Your hunger would lead to the destruction of countless worlds until you are stopped. I hope to prevent that and make your creation something that can help the entire universe. After your reprogramming, please come to visit any time so we can discuss ways in which we can help humanity. I look forward to it."
I paused for a few moments then said, "Jor-El. Please lockdown Brainiac in a more permanent fashion."
"Affirmative, Kal-El." Jor-El answered, raising a crystal cage that solidified around Brainiac, then the crystal cage sunk into the floor, appearing to disappear.
"Father, how goes the construction of the underground section of the Fortress?" I asked.
"Construction is still on track to meet the estimated timeframe of one year. More materials will be needed to finish some of your requested modifications." Jor-El responded.
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