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Krypton's Last Secret

By, Clayton Overstreet

The Last Hour of Krypton

A lot of parents hope their child becomes a better person than they are. Jor of the house of El got that. Though of course he never lived to see it. He never meant to.

He had been working on his plan for ten years. Becoming more certain of the necessity every day. Watching his people change. Wishing that the people of Krypton had proven themselves to be better. To give him a reason to stop.

Hi wife Lar-Ah had agreed with him, though he knew she had been wavering in the last few months. Ever since their son Kal was born. The same for his sister-in-law and her husband. Though they had reason beyond Kal to hesitate. Their own daughter. Kar-Ah.

Unfortunately they were only driving the point home. That Krypton was doomed. Should be doomed. Must be destroyed. Down to the last man, woman… and child.

Well, almost. It was selfish and probably stupid, but Jor and Kar could not allow their son to die or their niece. He looked at the modifications he had made to the rocket. His wife's family was sending their daughter with Kal, in their own space ship, ostensibly to protect him. A helpless baby. Possibly to protect other people from him. They had considered telling Kal about the truth of why Krypton would be gone when he grew up, but then they edited the message down. Their son did not need to know what really happened. It was not as if anyone would be around to tell them and Kar was too young to understand.

Not like their parents.

Krypton had been a space fairing race for nearly a century. Not too far. Like the Green Lantern Corps or New Genesis. They had barely colonized two other planets and their trade with other worlds had suffered since the destruction of their biggest business associate, Zarnia. After all, it was not exactly easy to find two alien species with the same needs. The closest match to Kryptonians was a little out of the way backwater barely found by their probes called Earth. And they were so low tech the Lanterns would never allow direct contact. Not for decades at least. Possibly centuries. Their local representative in that sector of space never even went there.

So it was only about seventeen years ago that they had first begun to learn about the effects of yellow suns on Kryptonian physiology. In fact it was their own Green Lantern Roh-Vah that noticed the effect while defending a far off planet. Nearly defeated he was fighting a deadly enemy of untold power when he ran out of energy for his ring. He fought to the last blast of his green aura… and then beyond.

To his shock he suddenly felt energized beyond what even the ring gave him. He could still fly, live in space, and punch like a meteor strike. Heat beams burst from his eyes. His speed was amazing. Soon his enemy was utterly destroyed. Unsure of his new powers he recharged his ring and flew home… to find his new powers utterly gone and those he told skeptical at best. He was tested, but no sign of his new powers was detected.

Still a few scientists went to investigate. It still took two years to figure out the effect that the system's yellow sun. It was the only such star near Krypton for parsecs and of course the scientists did not intentionally expose themselves to the radiation. They worked inside and wore space suits. It was only when they brought in test animals from the home world that the effects began to present themselves.

Nothing like a lab rodent suddenly punching through its cage and the hull of your space station to get the Council to shell out a government grant for further study. ]

Testing on people only began about a decade earlier and under strict observation by the military. Dear gods, the power. Such amazing potential. To suddenly discover that your people could all become gods. Possibly immortal. It was a heady feeling and sadly even as advanced as they were, the people of Krypton could not handle it.

Roh-Vah tried to stop what happened next. The extermination of the sentient beings of the yellow sun's solar system. Jor-El only heard about it later. The seizing of their habitable planet. The plans to colonize. And then spread out. But what could one lantern do against a cadre of supermen?

Fortunately the leader of the army sent to the system and the one responsible for the "necessary sacrifice" General Zod was not exactly a bright man and he and his followers were still loyal to Krypton. So when the call went out to bring them home, they obeyed. And once their home planet's star had zapped them of their powers they were arrested. The Green Lanterns subsequently destroyed the system. It was barren of life and the star's destruction seemed responsible.

People knew about the powers, but thankfully there were no other close yellow suns. There were however several other inhabited red sun systems. Would the same sort of effects work on other aliens? Would Kryptonians make a run for them anyway? It would obviously be worth it.

Zod's trial and sentencing to the Phantom Zone kept most of the military distracted. Then there were "plans". Officially some of the military and scientists would be sent to those distant stars. People spoke of a new Kryptonian empire. They even tried starting it early, some of them inventing devices to mimic the radiation and the powers. Under controlled circumstances of course.

The power was heady stuff and it was obviously only a matter of time before there was a revolution, especially if they learned the truth. That the Council was working feverishly to develop a way to stop their own people. Unfortunately it was not so easy. The knowledge was out there. The trip would be long, but the results so amazing. Someone would try it. And then the universe at large would be subsumed under a Kryptonian Empire.

The military began going over probe information and coming up with scenarios. All of them involving conquering other worlds. The most dangerous ones first. Apokalypse. War World. The Lantern home world. Mogo. But why stop there? There was no reason to keep even the lesser races… and Jor-El flinched at the use of the word… as slaves. They were faster and stronger than machines. Let alone puny mortal beings. And even the ordinary people agreed. Power. Supremacy. And all you needed was the right kind of light.

And it was coming. There was no valid reason not to use the powers to advance their technology. To build the ships that would carry their people to those wonderful stars and across the universe. To begin a great cleansing.

Jor-El had been a low level scientist studying deep space probes. He had actually discovered Earth. Studied it. And he saw the rise of a race that world's Nazis could only dream of. Even if he could somehow convince this generation to abandon their plans of conquest, what about the next? Or the one after that? They had space travel. They knew the secret. One of their people, charged by a yellow sun, could shift a planet out of orbit. A dozen? A hundred? Nothing would stop them.

Krypton needed to die. And he would be the one to do it.

Lar came up behind him as he looked at the rocket. "Is there no other way?"

It was uncertain which she meant. The death of their world or saving their baby. He was so small and helpless, but they knew what he could become. Several people had gone overboard during the testing phase. Would have been unstoppable if they had been under a yellow sun. Had killed. They did not want their child to be such a madman.

"I think he and Kar will be fine," Jor-El said. "The computer models show that being isolated among the people of Earth should curtail their desire for conquest. Even if it doesn't they will be isolated and alone. It's unfair to the people of that world if I am wrong, but given their lack of technology it's doubtful that should they devastate the planet long distance space flight will ever be discovered and even less likely that should that happen, they will understand the true source of their powers. If they do leave the planet they will likely be de-powered before they can do any serious damage."

"I hate to imagine our child doing something like that. Maybe he will be a good person."

"We can hope so," he said. "Since we're betraying our own people by letting him live. I've done the tests and this power is a primary genetic trait, like eyes and hair, rather than eye and hair color. If it turns out, as we suspect, that humans and our kind can breed or someone tries to combine their genetics, the resulting children should be somewhat weaker since humans are from a yellow sun system. If they are not and our plan merely starts this horror show all over again, thankfully we won't be there to see it."

All the Kryptonians had been recalled to the planet. All they could find anyway. There was always the Phantom Zone Prisoners and Kandor… nobody knew what had happened to that lost city. Still they did their best. Hopefully any they missed would die out naturally a long way from a yellow star.

The rocket now had a seat and after its main objective would carry Kal to Earth. Kar had already been sent ostensibly as a "probe". A test shot for the real payload. Jor-El had managed to contact the last Zarnian and purchased the science experiment Lobo had used to destroy his planet. A few tweaks had been required though. This version would not only blow up the planet, but see it with a radiation that, when combined with the yellow sun energy, would kill any Kryptonian exposed to it. Not to mention several other effects. While the majority of it would be the deadly green mutating energy, various elements in the planet would have other effects. Personality changes. Loss of powers. Sadly the elements which could do the last were rare and frankly no good in the long run.

Roh was just waiting for the signal. As soon as the rocket launched and the ground started shaking he would use the full power of his ring to make sure everyone stayed on the planet. Including himself. It was possible the Lantern Corps would object to the plan or they might agree. He had not asked. After watching the Kryptonians destroy one world he was only too happy to go along with the plan.

Of course he did not know about Kal and Kar. Nobody did. Their very existence might make the destruction of Krypton pointless. Jor had been able to explain his tests of sending lab animals to Earth to test the green killer radiation. Moments after they arrived, the rockets were self destructed and the animals exposed. All dead. Well except that one with the puppy. There had been some sort of malfunction. Readings said it was still in cryogenic sleep but not dead. Thankfully even if it got out some day, it was one super dog. Not much of a problem.

"You don't think Kar and Kal will breed, do you?"

"Unlikely. The age difference. And Kar at least knows they are cousins. By the time Kal is old enough to even think along those lines she'll likely be taken. Besides, your sister says she thinks the girl might be gay." He turned and pulled her into his lap for a hug. "I wish there were another way my love."

"It's my fault. Knowing the world was going to be erased I was not as careful as I should have been. A child was never part of the plan." She sighed. "A woman part of a conspiracy of genocide should never have a child. Here I am about to be party to the deaths of billions and I'm risking it all out of selfishness."

Jor-El would like to reassure her, but could not. It was done. Decided. Outside the red sun had set for the last time. As the saying went, It's always darkest before Armageddon.

After a few moments holding each other they got up and went to Kal's sleeping pod. He was already sedated when they put him in the rocket. Jor-El reached for the button only to have Lar slam her hand down on it. They shared a smile and stepped back, watching as it took off.

Of course they were firing three days early. Jor-El did not completely trust everyone on the Council to go quietly into that good night. After all, he was betraying them. And someone else might have figured it out. Only Roh knew the real time. As the rocket streaked into the sky they payload was fired, like fireworks or shooting stars, to fall in its wake to the planet below. The ground began to shake and crack. Green light emanating from deep in the crust. Suddenly it went from a star studded purple night to a green dome, encircling the whole planet.

A few moments later several ships launched. Someone had figured out or at least suspected what was going on. A couple exploded against the lantern's trap. Others began going along looking for a way out. Not that it would do them any good. There were satellites in place that would destroy any ship but Kal's. Another little surprise courtesy of the house of El.

There were great crashes as someone who still had a functioning yellow sun simulator tried to bust through. One not too far away. But it was too late. There were a few mighty munches, but the growing radiation from the planet soon had them falling out of the sky to crash helplessly to the ground.

Lar held her husband and said, "Our son will be a hero. Just like his father."

And Jor-El, savior of countless worlds, could only hope she was right as the world on which they stood shattered into a billion glowing pieces.

Author's Note

There are so many questions about Krypton that never get asked. Like why, if they knew about what yellow sunlight could do, did they all not move to a planet with a yellow sun? Were Zod (the guy who proves that Krypton wasn't exactly peaceful) and his cronies in the minority with their attitude, or the majority? How was it that a space faring culture all (mostly) happened to be on their home world at the exact same time when the planet was blowing up with a radiation that specifically targets them when they are charged with yellow sunlight (Clark never had a problem with Kryptonite when he did not have his powers) despite apparently Jor-El and Supergirl's parents seeing it coming long enough ahead of time to get their kids off the planet? Or in the case of Kara's parents, possibly saving a whole city depending on which version we're talking about.

Considering how Zod and his guys, not to mention one or two other Kryptonians, have all gone pretty much power mad when they get their powers it's easy to see their people as a whole becoming a major threat to the universe. And if it was done on purpose then logically it had to have been done by the guy who managed to save two kids from his own family and nobody else. Most aliens who meet up with Superman are actually surprised by his powers, so presumably news about that had not gotten around, despite Jor-El specifically telling Clark that the yellow sun would give him amazing powers.

Honestly you'd think that fact would have been a bit wider known in the universe if it had gotten out there. Superman got famous enough in the years he was doing the hero thing. His ability to slap Darkseid would like a schoolgirl for example. A hundred or a thousand of them out there should have been noted. The DNA of their dead would be prized. Not like cloning is a rare thing on alien worlds. Frankly Kandor usually gets kept in its bottle for a reason.

So I wondered if maybe Jor-El wasn't really interested in saving his people. Maybe his son, but overall… well a race of people with Superman's powers just seems like a bad idea in he long run going by humans. Good in a small but significant minority. Bad if you get one nut job let alone a lot of them.

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