//------------------------------//
// Krypton 
// Story: Supermare, last daughter of Krypton 
// by Guillermo 
//------------------------------//

Krypton, home to an incredibly advanced race, but at the same time, isolated from the rest of the universe for almost ten thousand years. In its capital, Kryptonopolis, was the Council Tower, home to the Council of Sages, leaders from all over the planet. These were the most intelligent kryptonians that their race could have, or at least they were supposed to be, since there were some who considered that they were nothing more than old men attached to tradition and locked up in their own bubbles. So thought Jor-El, who was on the top floor of the Tower, facing the council.

"Don't you get it? Krypton's core is deteriorating, I told you that blowing up the core was a bad idea."

Jor-El looked at the council members with anger in his eyes. He was a magical kryptonian, one of the two races that made up his species, capable of accessing the magic that plagued the universe and, although it was little on the planet, it was still present. His fur was whitish, while his mane was dark black, and his eyes burned green. The one who answered him was a physical kryptonian mare, the other race of his kind and with slightly greater strength.

"Our power reserves were running low, what could we do?"

"Look up to the stars!" Jor-El shouted, frustrated. "How did our ancestors!"

"It's forbidden" replied another member of the council. "And if we did, are you suggesting evacuating an entire planet?"

Jor-El was silent for a few moments before sighing, shaking his head.

"No, it's already too late, we don't have ships big enough or with the right engines for interstellar travel."

"Surely there is something we can do to prevent the destruction of our world" said another member of the council, being supported by the rest, but Jor-El shook his head.

"No, the core is decaying too fast. By my calculations, there is only a little over 6 months left before destruction. We don't have time to do anything else."

"What if we evacuate one of our moons?" asked another, some nervousness and concern in his voice, but Jor-El shook his head again.

"The explosion will be too big, enough to disintegrate two moons. There will be nothing left."

The members of the Council of Sages looked at each other with concern, murmuring among themselves. In the end, the mare who had spoken to him in the first place got up. 

"Thank you for laying out the situation for us, Jor-El. We'll calculate the odds and see if you're correct in your dire predictions. If that turns out to be so...then consider that the council owes you an apology..."

Jor-El nodded solemnly before turning around, pausing to watch them.

"Are you going to notify the town?"

"Ignorance is sometimes a blessing," another council member said. "If your predictions are correct... they will live happier not knowing what is coming."

Although he didn't agree with that, Jor-El didn't feel like arguing, least of all now. In a sense, he wished he didn't know what he knew. With one last bow, he left the room, now he just wanted to go home to be with his wife and his unborn filly.



The fortress of the House of El was located on the outskirts of Kryptonopolis, on one of the many mountains that surrounded the city, illuminated by the sunset rays of Rao, the red star around which the planet orbited. Jor-El approached on his mount, H'Raka, a flying being with four membranous wings, flying over the enormous dome that contained his observatory, landing on the courtyard and in front of the door, on which the symbol of the House was engraved. A floating object quickly approached, its head was spherical, whose front seemed to be liquid, moving slightly.

"Good evening, sir," it said, the liquid surface of it vibrating with each word. "Did your report go well with they?"

"Halfway, Kalex," Jor-El growled as he stepped off H'Raka.

With a light tap on his back, the animal headed for a space prepared for him, with several service robots ready to support him. Jor-El advanced through the corridors, followed closely by Kalex, until he reached a large room, lined with several armchairs, more nearby service robots, and lying on one of the enormous sofas, was Lara-El, his wife, a physical kryptonian mare with light bluish fur and a mane with two shades of blue, like her light eyes, but what caught her husband's attention was her slightly bulging belly, a sign of her three-month pregnancy, where it still their future daughter was developing, at least according to the medical robots. The mare looked up and smiled, getting up and walking over to Jor-El, who walked quickly towards her.

"Honey, you shouldn't strain."

"Jor-El, I'm pregnant, not invalid, and besides, I'm only three months pregnant" Lara-El said as she rolled her eyes, allowing her husband to put her back to sofa. 

"But that doesn't mean I want to take care of you like the jewel you are."

Lara-El laughed lightly, though concern soon came to her face.

"How has you been?"

Jor-El sighed as he lay down next to her.

"At least they have accepted that the core is deteriorating, but they want to find some method of salvation."

Lara-El was silent, her hoof caressing her belly.

"Is there really no salvation?"

"No…" Jor-El said, sadness deep in his voice. "Evacuation to some of our moons is infeasible, they will be destroyed along with the planet. And escaping to some other planet is out of the question, we don't have ships powerful enough to support the journey, and there isn't enough time to build one."

They both fell silent, contemplating that possibility. Their world was coming to an end, and as things stood, there was nothing they could do to stop it.

"How is the baby?" Jor-El asked after a few moments, trying to put Krypton's tragic fate out of his mind.

"Kalex has already established when her birth will be... in six more months... one day before the destruction" Lara-El closed her eyes, tears sliding down her cheeks. "We'll... we'll only have one day to see her."

Jor-El got up from his seat and hugged his wife, who began to cry in no time. Ever since he discovered the fate of their world, they had spent their days trying to stay strong, but there were times, especially when they thought of their daughter, when the pressure got the better of them. His gaze wandered around the room, taking in the symbol of his House on several of the walls, the symbol that represented hope. Now, it was hard for him to find hope, how could there be when his daughter would only have one day to live? There was no escape.

Hours later, Lara-El had managed to calm down, and she was sleeping peacefully in their bed, but Jor-El was not so lucky. Locked away in his observatory, his scientific mind began to calculate and theorize, a habit he had to try to stand firm, not to succumb to despair. His mind was focused on the ships and the impossibility of creating one capable of taking out the inhabitants of Krypton in time, the only possible way was to use the energy of the Phantom Zone and create a wormhole towards some habitable planet. But time was not enough, a ship large enough could not be created, it would take years, centuries, perhaps. But... what if it were smaller? If instead of a ship to evacuate the planet, it was a single continent...

The Kryptonian turned away from the telescope and went to the computer, a block of steel placed in front of a large empty space, but when he activated it, hundreds, thousands of gray drops gathered into a gigantic sphere that began to form strange symbols and calculations at full speed. A scale model of one of Krypton's continents was created, and next to it, a hypothetical ship to be able to take to a single continent. After some calculations, Jor-El discarded that idea, it was still not viable, so he reduced the ship to save several cities. 

Jor-El discarded smaller and smaller ship ideas until there was only one option left. The only way he could build an escape ship is if the passenger wasn't an adult kryptonian, or even a teenager, he had to be a foal. The stallion frowned, thinking of his future daughter, what if...?

"Kalex, my daughter's birth was scheduled for the day before Krypton's destruction?"

"Correct, sir."

Jor-El looked again at the ship plan that he had started to create, was it possible? With a small spark of hope, he calculates when he might have the ship ready, and almost jumps for joy at the sight of it, three days before the destruction if he starts tomorrow. His daughter... could survive.



"Can our daughter survive?"

Lara-El looked at the plans that her husband had created the night before, a small spark of hope growing in her.

"Yes, if I start today, I can finish it before she is born."

"What are you going to build that ship with? Even if the council agrees you're right, I doubt they'll let you work on this."

"That's why I talked to my brother last night, he'll send me the parts I need."

"Your brother?" Lara-El said with a raised eyebrow. "You haven't spoken to each other since..."

"I know, but he's a smart stallion, he'll know I'm telling the truth. And he values ​​family as much as I do, he'll help me."

Lara-El watched her husband for a while before looking back at the model of the ship.

"Where are you going to send she?"

"I still have to study several possible planets, before deciding."

Lara-El kept her gaze on her husband, who was now busy cataloging the candidate planets, which appeared as replicas in the great gray liquid mass.

"Okay... But don't forget to rest, Jor-El."

"I will when our daughter is safe."



The days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months. Zor-El, brother of Jor-El, agreed to help him, sending him the necessary parts for the ship. As told, the Council of Sages refused to tell the kryptonian people, who lived happily unaware of the apocalyptic disaster that was approaching them. However, they couldn't keep it a secret forever, as more and more scientists discovered that something was terribly wrong with the planet's core, and rumors spread like wildfire.

As the final day approached, Lara-El's pregnancy also progressed, until finally, the day of delivery arrived, and contrary to what many parents did, they decided to give birth to their daughter at home. Jor-El accompanied his wife, trying to reassure her as the mare screamed in pain, gasping for breath, the medical service robots close to her to help her. Kalex, using its liquid surface, displayed a hologram of the little filly, following her vital signs, just as it would another machine but with the vital signs of the mother.

"You can, darling," Jor-El said in as calm a voice as he could manage, clutching Lara-El's hoof. 

The mare looked at her husband, appreciating his presence. Time passed slowly, especially for Lara-El, but in the end, the filly's head slipped out into the world, and the room filled with the sound of her crying. A health service robot was ready to grab the little filly between its tentacles, help bring her into the world, and cut the umbilical cord. Her mother gasped, her mane sticking to her face and feeling the sweat all over her body, but seeing the robot approach with her daughter, who was still crying softly, she knew she would be willing to go through all that one more time just for her. Jor-El held their little filly in his arms, watching her, feeling the love that only a father would know run through him.

The filly was born a physical kryptonian, she had his coat, and her mane was just like her mother's, only it was a little softer in tone, and when she opens those eyes, he can see her mother's in them. With a few tears, Jor-El handed his precious daughter to Lara-El, who caught her between her hooves and pressed her gently against her chest, crying with joy at the sight of her. 

"She's beautiful" Lara-El said with a smile, seeing how her daughter had finished crying, yawning softly and falling asleep on her chest.

"Like you," Jor-El said, walking closer and looking at the two most important mares in his life. "Our little Kara-El."

Although both parents wanted to prolong this moment, they knew very well that if they wanted her little filly to survive more than a day, they had to get going, and fast.



Jor-El walked quickly through the corridors of the Council Tower, heading to the room where the members of the Council of Sages would be, carrying some saddlebags on his back. Arriving at the gates, he was stopped by some guards, but the gates opened, allowing him to enter. The kryptonian walked past the guards and into the room, looking at the council members, and not surprisingly, he saw defeat and despair on their faces. As the gates closed, the stallion started to bow, but he was quickly stopped by the same mare that had spoken to him the first time.

"No need, Jor-El. Since these are the last days of Krypton, such formalities are unnecessary."

"I guess you haven't found a way to save us" he said, already knowing the answer.

Jor-El looked at the faces of the council members, defeated and depressed.

"No" said the same mare, "as you warned us... there is no possible salvation. Our lust for power got the best of us and we have brought Krypton to destruction."

"It's possible," Jor-El said, studying the council's reactions. "But if you help me, I can safeguard the future of our race."

The council members looked up at Jor-El in confusion.

"What do you mean?" said the same mare.

"Give me access to the codex, and the history of our civilization will not die with us."

The council looked at each other, murmuring.

"What makes you think we have the codex? We abandoned cloning hundreds of years ago."

"I know that the Council of Sages never destroys a piece of history, even if it represents one of the darkest times of our species."

The council members looked at each other, until finally, the mare got up and approached Jor-El, stopping a few meters from him.

"When you warned us that digging into the core for energy was dangerous, we didn't listen and brought destruction to Krypton...we won't make the same mistake again."

The mare looked at the council members, who looked at each other before getting up as well. Once positioned, they all hit the ground with their right hooves, causing a slight tremor. Right in front of Jor-El, to his hooves, a hidden hatch opened, and out of it levitated the codex, where the DNA of magical and physical kryptonians was kept, a small skull that belongs to the common ancestor of both races of the kryptonian species. 

"Take the codex, Jor-El" said the mare. "I don't know what you're going to do... But don't make our same mistakes."

Jor-El nodded, using his horn to grab the small skull and stuff it into his saddlebag.

"Thanks..."

"No" said the mare as he picked up a hoof. "We don't deserve your thanks or your forgiveness, or yours, or anyone else's."

Jor-El looked at the council members, nodding and walking away, ready to go. But before he did, the doors burst open, a cloud of smoke billowing into the room. Coughing a little, the stallion looked into the smoke, making out three forms of three physical kryptonians, and thought he recognized the one in the center.

"This council is dissolved!" the kryptonian in the center yelled.

He wore gray armor and a black cape, as did the other two kryptonians beside him. His fur blended well with his clothing, as it was gray in color and his mane was dark black. The mare who had spoken to Jor-El frowned and brushed past him, stepping in front of and facing whoever was the general of part of the kryptonian army, Dru-Zod.

"On behalf of what authority?"

"Of mine."

Zod raised his right hoof, and from his gauntlet, a cannon shot out a bolt of energy at a mental command from his owner. The bolt caught the mare in his chest, throwing her back, already dead. Once so, the general gestured to his lieutenants, Faora, a mare with a blood-red coat and a black mane, and Non, a fairly large stallion for a kryptonian, brown fur and a mane of the same color but somewhat darker. 

"Arrest them."

As the two lieutenants obeyed, Jor-El moved to stand in front of Zod, who gestured to the nearby soldiers to allow the stallion to approach.

"What are you doing, Zod?!"

"What I should have done years ago, old friend" Zod said, brushing past Jor-El and glaring at the council members. "These idiots, with their endless debates and ambition, have brought Krypton to ruin!"

"And you think a coup is going to save us?"

Zod turned to look at Jor-El, walking over and placing his right hoof on Jor-El's shoulder.

"Then help me, old friend. Together, we will save Krypton and eliminate the corrupted bloodlines that have brought us to this."

Jor-El held the gaze of his foalhood friend, then watched as his lieutenants and his soldiers arrested the remaining members of the council.

“And who will decide which bloodlines survive?” he asked, meeting Zod's eyes again. "You?"

Zod frowned, pulling away and staring at Jor-El.

"Don't do it, El, I don't want to be your enemy."

"I will respect the stallion you once were, but not the monster you are now."

Zod stared at Jor-El, knowing that his paths were totally separate now, if they weren't already.

"Take him out of here, keep him in the cells."

Two soldiers approached Jor-El, who took advantage of Zod's turning away from him to send a small spark of magic through his horn, barely perceptible from him, just before they put an inhibitor ring on him. He was dragged out of the council room and through the corridors of the Tower, down several floors to the one containing the cells. In one of the turns, Kalex appeared, attracted by the call of its master.

"Is everything okay, sir?"

"Back off!" one of the guards yelled.

Jor-El nodded and closed his eyes, practically at the same time that Kalex illuminated its liquid face and blinded the two guards. The kryptonian raised his left hoof and slammed his elbow into the side of the soldier to his left, then hitting him in the head with enough force to knock him unconscious. The other managed to recover, but the stallion had already approached him and hit his head against the wall to reduce him. Once freed, he look at his robot assistant.

"Put me through to Lara."

Kalex's liquid face moved, revealing Lara-El's face.

"Jor-El? Do you have the codex?"

"Yes, prepare the launch now, Zod has started a coup, and I'm sure he'll want the codex when he finds out I have it."

Lara-El nodded and communications were closed. Jor-El ran through the corridors closely followed by Kalex, emerging into the outer courtyard where he had landed, a few parked civilian ships and, in the stables, guarded by service robots, several winged mounts roaring at what they saw beyond. War had broken out in the city, small battleships darting between buildings and attacking larger ones.

"H'Raka!" Jor-El yelled as he approached the stables.

His mount stopped roaring alongside his companions as he heard his master taking flight to catch up with him. Jor-El climbed onto his back and strapped himself into his saddle.

"Stop!" 

Jor-El turned, seeing several soldiers running from the entrance towards him. The kryptonian finished tying himself to the saddle and grabbed the reins, yanking and indicating to the beast that they could go. H'Raka ran at high speed towards the edge of the platform, jumping into the void and spreading his four wings, flying at high speed. Both entered the buildings of Kryptonopolis, dodging as best they could the enemy ships and the rays that were thrown between them. Kalex was close, flying at high speed to stay within range.

"Enemy ship approaching, sir."

Right after it said that, a bolt of energy passed by Jor-El and his mount, and turning, he saw one of the small battleships approaching, oval in shape with four huge wings on its back that also acted as engines and were capable of moving in any direction. In the nose, just below, was a power turret that was rapidly lighting up. The kryptonian urged H'Raka to move faster, trying to dodge enemy fire. Unfortunately, when they were close to leaving the city, one of the shots managed to hit the beast in the joint of his lower left wing, causing him to cry out in pain and drop several meters before he could stabilize himself with the three remaining wings. 

"Come on, H'Raka, you can!" Jor-El shouted, trying to cheer his mount up, turning to see that the ship was still behind.

Before it could fire another blast, it was hit by an even larger bolt of energy, fired from an even larger warship. Jor-El made sure they didn't decide to follow him and headed towards his fortress. 



H'Raka managed to reach the House of El fortress, collapsing in the courtyard, and several service robots immediately arrived to assist him. Jor-El unfastened his restraints and climbed down, stroking the head of his mount.

"Rest, H'Raka, you've done a great job."

H'Raka gently licked the hoof of his master, who took one last look at the beast and entered his home. Jor-El walked for a while before reaching the observatory, which had had a few changes. The telescope that had been there was replaced by the ship, which floated in the air thanks to its levitation system, and nearby, a launch terminal had been built. Lara-El was near the ship, rocking little Kara-El in her arms, singing a soft lullaby. Her husband watched them for a few seconds, regretting having to break that image, but he had no choice.

"Lara" he said, calling his wife by her first name, something he used as a token of affection. "Is the time."

Lara-El nodded weakly, still watching her daughter.

"I…can't…I thought I could…but now that I have her here…"

"Lara..."

"What if the ship doesn't make it?" Lara-El asked with fear and doubt in her eyes, looking at her husband. "She will die out there, alone..."

"If she stays here, she will die with no chance of surviving. If we send her on that ship... she has a better chance of surviving."

Lara-El closed her eyes, crying as she felt her daughter doze softly against the fur of her chest. The mare opened her eyes, looking at little Kara-El, kissing her forehead before letting Jor-El grab her with his hooves. The stallion mimicked his wife, gently kissing his daughter before levitating her with his magic into the open cabin. The filly stirred a little, disturbed in her sleep, but she went back to sleep right away.

"Have you found a place for her?" Lara-El asked as she watched Jor-El pull away from her.

"Yes, search the archives of the House of El for scout ships that were sent into space millennia ago" the stallion said as he gestured to Kalex.

The liquid surface of it moved, creating a representation of a solar system, although there was something strange, something that stood out to the naked eye.

"The star... orbit around the planet" said Lara-El confused. 

The hologram represented the destination planet in the center of the system, with the star and its moon orbiting around it.

"Yes... It's the only one of its kind I've found in the galaxy, and I have a feeling it's the only one in the entire universe. But aside from that, it's perfect for her, its star is a yellow star, young, her cells will absorb all that radiation."

Kilex's hologram changed to represent three beings similar to kryptonians, two of them were practically the same as physical and magical, but the third had feathered wings. Still other species appeared on the list, another similar but striped species, one taller, another insectoid, one with head feathers, feathered wings, claws, and a beak, another that resembled a winged reptile, and according to the little description on their side obtained from the archives of the scout ship, they were capable of breathing fire...

"It appears to have multiple dominant species, but she will camouflage well."

"You don't know that" Lara-El said as she looked skeptically at the species, especially the ones that seemed to be winged lizards. "She will be an outcast... she may even be killed."

"How?" Jor-El asked, still watching the inhabitants. "To them, she will be a goddess."

Lara-El looked at her daughter, tears running down her cheeks, knowing that despite all her worries and protests...this was the only way her little filly could survive. Jor-El walked away from the ship and over to the computer, the liquid gray sphere waiting for him to do anything. The stallion made sure the command key was in place, wedged over the computer, the symbol of the House of El standing out. The kryptonian took out the codex and levitated it until it was above the gray sphere, beginning to levitate on its own.

Jor-El began to perform various commands, watching as the small skull began to glow yellow as three tentacles protruded from the sphere and approached the codex. Upon contact, it was a few seconds before it began to dissolve, a golden glow traveling through the tentacles until it was lost in the sphere. When finished, a tendril approached the control pedestal where the stallion was.

"Passing code to command key" said the robotic voice from the computer.

The golden glow moved up the tendril to the pedestal, and when finished, returned to the sphere. Jor-El then placed his hoof on the pedestal, from which four small tentacles came out and clung to him. Awareness of him, memories of him, and all knowledge of him traveled to the command key, creating a backup for him. After about seven minutes, about to finish the transfer, he turned to see his wife, who had not left the ship and was still watching her daughter.

"Lara, come, she will at least have a part of us."

Lara-El nodded, moving closer to leave her mind on the command key as well. But before Jor-El finished and made way for his wife, Kelax came quickly over.

"Five ships are surrounding the fortress and assessing its defenses. I estimate there are only four minutes left before they destroy the main gate and another three minutes until they get here."

Jor-El frowned, looking at his wife, who was looking at Kalex with concern. After a few seconds, Lara-El turned and ran towards the launch terminal.

"Kelax, give me the coordinates of the planet, now."

Jor-El looked at his wife, and when the computer finally released his hoof, his memories up to that point completely passed to the control key, he approached, listening as Kalex said the coordinates and Lara-El typed them into the launch terminal. 

"Lara, what are you doing? You must turn your mind to..."

"If Zod gets here, Kara won't leave this house, and you know it" Lara-El said staring at her husband. "The process of transferring my mind to the command key will take too long. I'm not taking any chances, Jor-El."

The stallion looked at his wife for a few seconds before nodding and walking over to the computer. With a few quick movements, the command key came out of his slot, being caught in Jor-El's magical aura. It was pure white in color with soft blue ripples running across its surface, glowing faintly. The kryptonian quickly approached the cabin where his daughter was, bringing the object closer to her. From both sides of the shield that contained the symbol of the House of El, two tendrils sprouted and wrapped around her neck, turning the command key into a makeshift necklace. 

"Bye, Kara" Jor-El said, placing his hoof on his daughter's chest one last time. "Our dreams and hopes travel with you."

As Jor-El stepped away, Lara-El readied the ship from the launch terminal, closing the cockpit and lifting the ship upright, holding the little filly in place with it artificial gravity system. The dome, which previously served only to observe the stars, was opened, now being the door to reach them. The launch was ready.



The battleships surrounded the fortress of the House of El, facing the courtyard. H'Raka, still resting in his stable, managed to rise and roar a threat at the invaders. One of the ships turned around, revealing its rear, where the door was open and where General Zod was, observing everything. 

"Concentrate fire on the front door and take down that beast, he can cause trouble!"

Two of the ships positioned themselves on either side of the ship his general was in, one of them aimed at the gate and the other at H'Raka, firing at the same time. As soon as Jor-El's trusty mount fell to the ground dead, the energy blasts focused on the gate, destroying it in no time. Zod's ship landed and he went down, closely followed by Faora and Non.

"General Zod, we have detected the presence of a ship inside, it is about to take off" said Faora.

Zod looked up at the dome atop the fortress, open to its fullest capacity.

"Stay here and secure the area, don't do anything against that ship unless I order it" he said as he started walking towards the shattered door.

"Are you going in alone, General?" Non asked.

"Yes, this is a personal matter between me and Jor-El... Let no one else come in."

His lieutenants complied and stayed at their posts as Zod walked on and into the House of El. He walked quickly until he reached the observatory, he could see Lara-El in a terminal, a ship about to take off, and in at the entrance, clad in battle armor and the symbol of the House of El on his chest, stood Jor-El, ready for combat.

"What's on that ship, Jor-El?" Zod asked as he approached.

"My daughter... And you're not going to stop her from escaping this planet."

Zod scowled at the ship, but he had more important things to do.

"Lucky for you, I'm not interested in your daughter. I know you have the codex, and since it's the last days of Krypton, the codex can help keep our civilization safe. Give it to me, and I'll withdraw my forces."

"No, the codex will go to my daughter, Zod, and when the time comes, she will see that our entire race thrives, not just the bloodlines you choose."

"Don't make me do this, Jor-El... You were my friend, but if you continue down this path... you will become my enemy."

"You have already become mine by taking up arms against your own kind" Jor-El said as he got into a combat stance.

Zod growled and charged forward with a cry of rage. He raised his right hoof and tried to punch his old friend in the face, but he narrowly missed it and tried to do the same, receiving the same result. Despite being raised to be a scientist, Jor-El also received combat training. Nimbly dodging, the scientist drew a small short sword from his gauntlet and struck, but the general managed to move away from him. The blade slashed part of his forehead, a wound just above his right eye, causing the warrior to cry out in fury. 

Before he could recover, Jor-El launched a series of quick strikes with his short sword, overwhelming his opponent, finishing with a kick that managed to knock him to the ground. Zod growled from the ground, managing to stand up, but he felt the point of the sword on the back of his neck. His gaze lifted and he saw that the ship was already belching fire and smoke as Lara-El prepared to take off.

"Lara, listen to me!" Zod yelled, drawing the attention of the mare, who looked over his shoulder at him. "The codex is the future of Krypton! Abort launch!"

Lara-El looked at Zod for a few seconds before looking at her husband. Then, she turned towards the launch terminal and started to take off. As the ship began to rise, both the mare and Jor-El watched it, hope and sadness mingling with each other.

"NOOOO!"

Zod, feeling Jor-El's sword move slightly away from him, and blinded by rage, quickly rose and activated his own short sword from his gauntlet, piercing the neck of his former friend. The scientist widened his eyes and stared at the general in confusion, before refocusing on the increasingly distant ship of his daughter, and losing his life.

"JOR-EL!" Lara-El yelled, backing away from the launch terminal.

Zod ripped the sword from the flesh of his former friend and backed away from him, trembling slightly at what he had just done. As Lara-El knelt beside a deceased Jor-El, the general gazed at the distant ship, and his remorse for what he had just done subsided...for the time being. 

"Your daughter, Lara... Where have you sent her?" he said as he focused on the mare.

Lara-El stopped sobbing for a few seconds, looking at Zod over her shoulder.

"Her name is Kara... daughter of El... and she is out of your reach."

Zod looked at Lara-El for a few seconds before grunting and walking out of the observatory, past the mare. With a quick step, he went out to the courtyard, where his lieutenants and soldiers were already observing the ship. 

“Shoot that ship down!” Zod yelled as he stepped between his lieutenants and stared up at the sky. "Don't destroy it completely, the codex is inside!"

One of his battleships circling the fortress started up, heading toward the fleeing ship. Its submachine gun swung into position, and just as it was about to fire, a massive energy bolt hit and destroyed it. An approaching warship, accompanied by several smaller ships, was responsible, and they trained their weapons on Zod and the rest. 

"General Zod, by order of the Council of Sages, you and your lieutenants are under arrest!"

Zod watched the ship target him, hiding the one with the codex and the daughter of his old friend...Kara-El.

As for the ship, it stepped out of the planet's atmosphere, and the rear engines began to glow bright green. Right in front of the ship, a circular portal was created, and when it was passed through, it closed, thousands of light years away. Kara-El had escaped. 



The shuttle was located in the center of Kryptonopolis, and from there the ships left for the small colony outposts on the moons of Krypton and those that went to the gigantic portal to the Phantom Zone. Above this was a large, oval-shaped transport ship, and since the destruction of Krypton was imminent, it was operating only with artificial intelligence, allowing its workers to be with their families. On the platform were the remaining members of the Council of Sages, Lara-El, several soldiers, and General Zod and his lieutenants, sitting immobilized on three small circular platforms.

"General Zod, for his high treason, you and your lieutenants will be sentenced to 300 cycles in the Phantom Zone."

Zod growled as he watched them, completely still in his place. 

"You don't have the courage to kill us, do you?!" Zod said angrily. "Jor-El was right! You are a bunch of useless, first to last!" his gaze stopped at Lara-El, who held his gaze. "And you... I intend to find your daughter... And finish what I started!"

The council member who pronounced their sentence gestured, and soon, a bluish liquid began to creep up the three bodies, freezing them. Zod kept his eyes open and locked on Lara-El, the hatred in his gaze before it was hidden by the liquid, which turned solid in no time. With another gesture, the three prisoners began to board the ship, and once its only passengers were inside, it began to ascend to leave the planet. Its goal was the portal to the Phantom Zone, made up of three gigantic plates that joined in a triangular shape. Lara-El watched the ship slowly disappear into the sky, moving away shortly after without even saying goodbye to anyone.



Lara-El was in the House of El, hours after Zod's sentence, walking slowly towards one of her balconies. In the distance, she could see the sunset illuminate the city of Kryptonopolis. A tremor shook the earth and, in a secluded area of ​​the city, a pillar of fire and lava erupted from the ground and disintegrated several buildings, and with every second, more and more pillars of fire appeared.

"Lady Lara, shouldn't you seek shelter?" Kalex asked, a little behind her.

"There is no shelter, Kalex…" Lara-El said, sadness in her face and voice. "Jor-El was right... it's the end..."

The columns of fire grew closer, and Lara-El could already feel the heat. Her gaze went heavenward, thinking of her daughter…her little Kara.

"Create a better world than ours, Kara."

From the depths of the mount that supported the House of El, a column of fire and lava erupted, effortlessly obliterating the ancestral home of one of the most important kryptonian families. From the outside, you could see all of Krypton full of red cracks, part of the crust sinking, and before long, it exploded, reducing an entire millennia-old culture to ashes and stardust in just a few minutes.