Val of House El!
You are hereby sentenced to death.
Your family will now be considered Rankless,
without name, without honor.
No! Grandpa!
- He's got a bomb! - Death to the Voice of Rao!
You did a brave thing.
You are to be assigned a new surname.
My name. Vex.
We never ask for mercy.
Do you understand, Lyta-Zod?
Yes, mother.
What the hell were you thinking, Seg?
You gonna un-cuff me or what?
Nyssa here has yet to be paired with someone.
As my youngest daughter,
you will be Binding with her.
I'm happy for you.
- It's not like I want to be a Vex. - What's not to want?
You've got better food, better air.
- You're gonna be one of them again. - But not as an El.
- Mom? - It's time you learned the truth.
Your grandfather was no traitor. He was a hero.
My son didn't steal the skimmer. I did!
Who was your accomplice, Charys?
It was me!
No!
My name is Adam Strange.
Someone from the future is coming to destroy Krypton.
This belongs to your grandson, Kal-El.
Once this cape is gone, our time's up.
This thing that's coming...
It's known as The Collector of Worlds,
but its true name is Brainiac,
and it seems your parents gave their lives
because they knew this threat needed to be stopped,
and they believed that you could stop it.
Does this really belong to my grandson?
Yeah.
Then why isn't he here?
Why you?
Uh, he sent me in his place.
Kind of a big deal where I'm from.
Lot of reasons, but mainly because
I can teleport across light-years
using a little something called a Zeta Beam.
I know. It's a cool name, huh?
Came up with it myself.
Only problem is, uh,
one passenger per ride, me,
and... it's a little temperamental.
You don't believe me.
How do you think that I got to this fortress?
Do you...
You think that I power-walked across the ice to get here?
Everything that I am telling you is true.
Trust me.
Even if I did, it wouldn't make a difference.
Can't help you.
What is the matter with you?
Look, I don't know what you expect of me,
but I don't understand a thing about all this.
My parents died before they could explain it to me.
Great, then we can figure this out together.
I don't have time to argue this.
I have to get back to Kandor.
Time?
We don't have any. Brainiac is coming,
and he ain't waiting for you to square away
whatever it is you think needs doing.
Now, I am talking about millions of lives,
so get your head out of your ass and into the game.
I don't care what a big deal you might be
on the planet Detroit.
This is Krypton.
I gave you my answer.
Guess I had the wrong guy.
And it's Earth.
Sorry?
I'm a big deal on Earth,
not planet Detroit.
Well, I suggest
you get on your beam and get back there.
There's someone I need to deal with.
Wait!
Do you think that I could just
get a ride back to the city?
So this guy you're so eager to see...
- Daron-Vex. - Yeah, him.
You say he's the chief what now?
- City's chief magistrate. - Chief magistrate, huh?
Guy like that probably has
a bunch of valuable information
right at his fingertips.
Strange, just don't.
I'm just saying, if you were curious,
you could probably use this guy,
gain access to the city's deep space sensors,
which I promise you, will show you
a big, ugly, organic life form
headed this way.
If you want to honor what your parents died for,
- at least... - Don't
talk to me about my parents.
I know exactly how I'm going to honor them.
I just need to get close to him,
and not get arrested the moment I set foot up there.
If you're thinking about revenge,
which you obviously are, don't.
At least look into what I'm saying first,
and if I'm wrong, hey, man, have at it.
Get your revenge on.
But if I'm right,
work with me.
When we're done putting the foot to alien ass,
I will help you murk this son of a bitch myself.
Deal?
You know, you really stand out, wearing this.
Go find Kem at the tavern. Tell him I sent you.
He'll, uh, hook you up with a change of clothes.
Seriously?
Hello, Seg.
We've been looking for you.
Yeah, what's new?
Rankless amateur.
Come on. March!
I hope you didn't break him.
No, just a little love-tap.
He'll be all right.
He better be.
You can leave now.
What's going on?
My father is waiting for you,
along with His Reverence.
I suggest you clean yourself up and get changed.
You really don't want to keep them waiting much longer.
Trust me.
You bear the sigil of House Vex from now on.
Synced & corrected by kinglouisxx www.addic7ed.com
We have been expecting you...
For some time.
Apologies, Father.
Entirely my fault.
Now, Seg.
Oh.
You are interested in the mask?
Course, it would be the first time
you've seen the many faces up close.
A face to symbolize each of our old gods.
Cythonna,
Telle,
Lorra,
Mordo,
Yuda,
and finally, the one true god,
our supreme deity, Rao.
He who kindled the sun.
We used to worship all of the gods,
but now, only one.
Do you know why?
At the time of creation,
Rao looked out at the chaos
and saw wasted potential,
and so he formed the stars and planets,
the most perfect of which became Krypton.
You see,
our very planet is a symbol of
fully realized potential, Seg.
It is also harsh and inhospitable.
The only thing protecting us is the force dome,
and the only thing protecting the dome is...
Order.
Sadly, your parents chose chaos.
I need to know if you intend
to follow in their footsteps.
I don't.
The Investiture Ceremony will be held tomorrow night,
and then you officially become a Vex.
Don't be late.
You are dismissed.
Come on, guys. Line up.
Come and get your brand-new, state-of-the-art firepower.
All new blasters.
Blow your whole chest cavity out.
Feel the weight of it, much lighter
and much quicker.
You look after that.
Commander?
What is all this?
Mommy didn't tell you?
New offensive.
We're going down to the Rankless
to smoke out Black Zero.
This looks like we're going to war.
Well, shit yeah, we're going to war.
The Rankless are not our enemy.
Black Zero is.
Well, who can be bothered
sorting out your actual terrorists
from your regular, everyday,
Rankless shitheads?
All right, boys. Who's ready to crack some Rankless skulls?
Quex is right.
You know the El name was already synonymous
with resistance amongst the Rankless.
Val-El's execution made sure of it.
Now with Ter and Charys,
Black Zero have new martyrs for their rallying cry.
They weren't terrorists.
They confessed to it,
and I bet my life
their son is, too,
and now he gets to
walk amongst us up here in the guilds.
It's not right.
You know what Quex is like.
If he leads this thing, it will be a bloodbath.
Innocent lives will be...
You know, I never really cared about the scars.
Sometimes, I even forget I still have them.
- Dev... - Or the ache in my shoulder
that wakes me up every single day.
I can live with that too.
What I can't live with
is knowing the people responsible
were never found.
They get to live free somewhere,
while my family...
Maybe...
not all Rankless are Black Zero,
but they provide cover for them,
so please don't talk to me again
about innocent lives.
Primus Zod, a word, please.
Quickly.
This new offensive.
The Rankless Initiative. What about it?
It's only going to breed more resentment.
Our people are divided enough without this.
Black Zero almost assassinated the Voice of Rao.
Until he was saved by a Rankless.
I can't see them putting their lives on the line for him
after we destroy what little they have down there,
or after you've gunned down two of their own
in the Tribunal.
I executed two self-confessed terrorists
who pulled weapons on the chief magistrate,
as is my duty.
You had best be very careful
of what comes out of your mouth next, Lyta.
Or perhaps you'd care to explain
what compels you to defend the Rankless
at every chance you get?
I just...
I have to believe there's another way.
You have neither the right
nor the rank to question this.
And given your recent training performances,
your focus should be on staying alive.
Nothing more,
nothing less.
Is that clear enough for you?
Loud and clear, Primus.
I got your message.
You okay?
What happened to my parents...
I know it had nothing to do with you...
really, I do...
but at the same time, I can't forget
what your mother did.
I understand.
I just don't know what I'm meant to do now.
There are so many things in our lives we can't control.
Only you know
what's inside you,
what you're capable of.
You just need to be true to yourself.
We both do.
Seg?
You look troubled.
Is something on your mind?
I wanted to ask you about my parents.
I'd like to perform traditional funeral rights.
It's out of the question, I'm afraid.
Your parents died as
enemies of the state.
I'm sorry, Seg.
I lost my parents when I was, uh...
a few years younger than you are now.
I thought I'd never recover,
but I did,
and you will too.
You remind me of him, you know.
Your grandfather, that is.
You're going to be a Vex soon.
Maybe it's time we talked about
the history between our two houses.
Maybe I can help you understand
what happened all those years ago.
With your grandfather.
What people fail to realize is
how much I admired Val.
We were so close, once.
But what Val was doing...
It threatened our whole way of life.
He developed a highly advanced computer system,
but of course, he refused to reveal its location.
Through this technology, he claimed to have
detected a... presence,
many millions of light-years away.
He said it was collecting worlds, and...
eventually, it would come for Krypton.
And you didn't believe him?
Of course not.
You see, Seg...
Even great men can lose their way,
and that's the tragedy here.
If not for this obsession,
Val could have gone on to achieve
so much more for our people.
His legacy could've
lived on forever.
He could've been immortalized.
Maybe his legacy can live on.
If you admired him as much as you say, then...
Let me continue his work
His earlier work,
with the Science Guild.
Let me serve Kandor the way he did.
Wow, you look...
You look. Are you sure
Seg is gonna pay for those?
Absolutely.
And you know, I'm offended.
He was very clear. Change of clothes,
no expense spared.
Oh, clearly.
And, uh,
he also said something to quench my thirst.
Extremely clear about that one.
Did he? Okay.
Well, enjoy.
Well, this looks positively intriguing,
and I am dying to hear all about it,
but can we just have a...
a little word in private first?
- Yeah? - Yeah, sure.
- Yeah. - It's not about you.
Just...
Okay.
What in the name of Rao is going on?
Firstly, you disappear without a trace,
and then you show up, looking like this,
then this guy shows up,
says that you sent him,
and starts telling crazy stories about...
I know, I know, I know, they...
- They sound crazy. - Yeah.
They might...
actually be true.
Seg, listen.
I know you've been going through a lot lately.
I'm fine.
Trust me.
Okay, okay.
You know, I like Candy Crush as much as the next guy,
- but this is... - Shut up and listen, Earth man.
I took your advice earlier,
so now I'm a member of the Science Guild.
They gave me that
and unlimited access to their data banks.
Ah, see, I told you that that was...
I'm not finished.
You said you could find proof
to back up your claims about Brainiac.
Here's your chance.
But I'm not going to let you string me along forever.
You have two hours.
If you don't come up with anything by then,
I'm going to finish what I went up there to do.
Commander,
do you have a moment?
I've already been informed of your complaints.
Concerns, not complaints.
You should've come to me first.
You made me look like a punk.
You don't need my help with that.
What did you just say?
Commander Quex-Ul.
I, Lyta-Zod,
hereby invoke the spirit of Jo-Mon,
and our ancient traditions,
in challenging you to a Kandorian duel.
- Lyta... - You silly girl.
Of which the victor
will assume command of this division
and the right for their voice to be heard
above all others.
Lyta, please.
Don't do this.
If you go through with it, there's nothing I can do.
Quex is bound by Kandorian rite
to show no mercy. That means to the death.
You think I don't know that?
Then please explain this to me.
- Tell me why. - Sagitari Zod,
inside.
Now.
What is the meaning of this?
I challenged my commander
for the right to lead our division.
I am not required to give a reason.
I'm asking for one.
As my superior?
As your mother.
My mother who doesn't believe her child
is capable of being a warrior.
- Not yet. - Not ever.
I see it in your eyes, Mother.
I always have.
You try to hide it, but you don't think
I will ever be worthy of the Zod name.
- That's not true. - It is.
And it's fine.
But it's not going to stop me.
You and I both know
there's no turning back from this.
May Rao's grace be your shield.
Nothing on the satellite array.
Nothing on the deep space sensors.
It's not just Kandor City, either.
This is connected to
the Guild's planet-wide network.
There's nothing out there.
No, that can't be right.
It's a mistake. Check that again.
Seg...
- Well, that's it, then. - Seg...
Seg, hey, come on...
Hey, hey, hey, wait!
Just wait.
Give us a second.
Seg, please think about what you are doing.
Okay? Forget this idiot.
Let's just you and I
sit down and talk it over.
All I've done is think about this,
and I'm done talking.
If you do this,
you are throwing away everything.
There's nothing left to throw away.
You look me in the eye
and you tell me
that what you've been saying is true.
I swear to God.
Well, then, we'd better find another way to prove it,
or else our boy is gonna get himself killed.
You're a quick learner.
You've hardly been up here,
and you already look sure of yourself.
About my father,
he's...
always had a flair for the dramatic, but...
You said your father only thinks that he chose me.
If this really was your choice,
then maybe you can tell me why.
First, I want to show you something.
It's my parents ashes.
But you could be arrested for this.
I know.
Then why?
Everyone deserves a chance
to say good-bye to the ones they love.
No matter the circumstances.
Nyssa.
Thank you.
Climatology reports, atmospheric physics,
- meteorological phenomena... - Bam! That's it!
Check for anomalies.
Uh, anomalies. Okay.
Um... Hm.
Well, here's something you don't see every day.
The meteor shower reported in the Outlands.
Is it recent?
Yeah, three days ago.
Okay, we gotta check that out.
Well, okay, but, I mean,
I guess we can tag along with a salvage crew,
but it's illegal,
so we're gonna have to bribe them.
Great. Let's go.
What?
Hm?
Why are you looking at me like that?
Well, I'm not exactly flush,
but there might be another way.
It may just cost you that head cover.
My...
No more hiding.
- What? - All your life,
you've hidden your truth,
like it's something to be ashamed of.
I've always seen it,
when nobody else has, even your mother.
You are not Sagitari.
You are Lyta of House Zod.
You are a warrior...
And you always have been.
Rhom, Ona.
I'm...
I'm sorry. I... I, um...
- I wasn't expecting you. - We just wanted to stop by
and pay our respects.
Your mom and dad...
They were always willing to look after Ona
when I worked nights.
Never asked for anything in return.
I hope you know how much they meant to us.
Thank you.
Thank you both.
A thousand cycles ago,
the ancient warrior Jo-Mon
faced a challenge
that would change Krypton forever.
Jo-Mon invited his detractors
to the highest peak
of the Jewel Mountains
and challenged them,
one by one,
to a duel to the death.
His victory
ushered in
the first golden age of peace
in Krypton's history.
If one believes
they are worthy of true leadership,
it is not only their right,
but their obligation to act on it.
Fight with honor.
Fight with pride,
and fight without mercy.
Begin.
"The blood of House El will forever bind us."
The blood of House El.
Hello, Seg.
Grandpa, you...
You're not...
I'm afraid not, Seg.
I'm a projection.
A copy of Val-El.
I share his thoughts and memories, but...
in essence,
I'm a computer program.
You knew they were coming for you.
I suspected it.
But I knew I had a responsibility to you, Seg.
That's why I created this program.
To guide you.
To educate you
when the time came.
Well, there's a chance that time has arrived.
Well, then, we better get started.
Seems to love that arm clock.
Oh, yeah, he really loves it.
Ooh, yeah, he's... he's tough.
Used to wrestle.
But, um, there it is.
We're good, yeah?
- Mm-hmm. - Great.
Mm.
- I... I told you. - Come...
I told you.
You said we had to get to the Outlands.
This is the price we pay, okay?
Good deal.
It's weird, anyway.
It's like your forehead's got a beak.
Just...
Oh. Oh.
Mwa! Beautiful!
This way.
We're in.
He's not even a fan.
And Tharb-El,
also a member of the Science Guild,
discovered a cure for the Green Death,
which almost drove our planet to extinction.
Seg, it would take millennia
for me to detail the achievements of our house.
The important thing to remember is
their greatness
lives on in you.
The blood of House El.
You are the torchbearer for our legacy now.
You must keep that flame alive,
pass it on to the next generation.
If you believe in yourself,
the way I always have,
your accomplishments will stand alongside
all those who came before you,
and will forever inspire those that follow.
Then tell me about Brainiac.
Help me find a way to stop him.
Well, there's not much to tell.
Once the Council moved to silence me,
I continued my work here,
where I created the most incredible technology
that allowed me to enter
the interdimensional realm
which lay beyond
the normal space-time continuum.
I called it the "Phantom Zone."
You have a better name?
Eh...
No, no, it's a cool n... It's a cool name. It's catchy.
It was only a prototype, and I knew it was dangerous.
I used it to travel throughout space,
where I found entire galaxies,
swarming with intelligent life,
all under threat...
by a barbarous creature
moving unchecked
throughout the universe,
devouring these civilizations one by one.
I hurried back,
somehow made it out of the Phantom Zone,
tried to warn the Council.
Then...
Well, you know how that ended.
It's not over yet, Grandpa.
We're gonna finish what you started.
I promise.
I like the sound of that.
But you better do something
about this house of Vex situation first.
Mercy!
We never ask for mercy.
Well, Seg, this is impressive.
You're early.
Investiture Ceremony isn't for another hour.
There's not gonna be a ceremony.
I'm sorry?
You want me to be Ranked again?
Join the Science Guild,
Bind with your daughter, okay?
Even if I never get to bear
the sigil of my own house,
I will not wear yours.
I'd rather die Rankless.
Now, you listen to me.
And you listen well, th...
This is acceptable.
You will wear the sigil of the Science Guild.
- Why, Your Eminence... - Leave us now, Seg.
May Rao's light
forever guide your way.
You too.
Please.
Help me understand.
You want to control him.
This is how.
We've been at this for hours!
What?
I'm sorry, but I think we need to call it!
You know what the first rule of archaeology is?
- I have no idea! - And neither do I.
I dropped out the first year of college,
but I think it's something like "never stop searching."
That's a wonderful story,
but we need to go,
or else we're gonna die!
Hold on.
I found something!
Oh, yeah, we call those rocks.
It's not just any rock.
See the markings?
Yeah.
Scorch marks
from something crashing here.
Over there.
The sigil on the urn was a nice touch.
Not that it mattered.
I'm voicing my displeasure here,
in case you couldn't tell.
What do you want me to say?
Evidently, he didn't get the closure we expected.
You expected.
It was your suggestion.
And now I have another one.
Be patient.
He trusts me now.
That alone made this worthwhile.
I hope it was worth it.
I tried talking to you.
I don't know why you're protecting Seg,
but if you want to risk your life for him, so be it.
But not even Rao will help you
if you risk those of your squads.
Lyta-Zod,
I hereby appoint you
Commander of Fourth Squad, Sagitari.
You are obliged to bear true allegiance and faith
to the Military Guild of Kandor City
against all enemies
and to defend and support the Supreme Council,
in loyal service of His Reverence,
the Voice of Rao.
May Rao's grace
be your shield.
It only gets harder from here.
Dismissed, Commander.
This better be something real, Earth man.
I'm getting tired of being...
What is that?
Not sure what you call it.
Brainiac sends them out to any planet
that he deems worthy of conquest
as a forward scout.
Brainiac isn't on his way.
He's already here.
Synced & corrected by kinglouisxx www.addic7ed.com