In the end, Morin reached an agreement with Jor-El.
Under the label of "child support," Jor-El handed over a portion of Kryptonian technology. Morin had no intention of releasing it to the world. With Earth's current state, it would only trigger conflict.
Forced progress was never a good thing.
"Morin, help!" Clark rushed in carrying Lois. When he saw Jor-El, a strange sense of familiarity surfaced-but there was no time to dwell on it.
"Minor issue." Morin nodded and cast a healing spell.
"Do you want me to wipe her memory?"
"What?" Clark blinked. "No."
"Absolutely not!" Lois reacted sharply. She instinctively touched her stomach.
The bleeding was gone.
The wound was sealed.
There was no pain at all.
That alone convinced her Morin could do exactly what he claimed-and she wasn't about to allow it.
As a reporter, this was the story of a lifetime.
"Why not?" Morin asked calmly.
"Because..." Lois straightened her back.
"People have the right to know."
"Heh." Morin didn't bother arguing. If he wanted to, he could dismantle her career in an afternoon. But since she was Clark's future wife, he decided to leave it to him.
"Clark, if you're not wiping her memory, you handle the identity issue. Take her outside. We need privacy."
"Yes," Jor-El agreed.
"This conversation must remain undisturbed."
"Okay..." Clark began guiding Lois away.
"No-don't leave me." Lois grabbed his arm and whispered urgently.
Her instincts were sharp.
Clark was the easiest one to sway.
The sudden contact made Clark stiffen. His face flushed red.
"Sorry." To avoid further embarrassment, he simply picked her up and flew out.
"I'm honestly not very impressed," Jor-El said once they were alone.
"Same," Morin sighed. "But she isn't malicious. If Clark likes her, that's enough."
"True," Jor-El nodded.
"At least she has courage."
"Also true. Not many people try bargaining the first time they meet beings like us." Morin paused. "Though I suspect she's just a bit airheaded."
"Same thing."
The two older figures seamlessly transitioned into gossiping about the younger generation.
Outside.
"You can't report this," Clark said, setting Lois down.
"Why?" She refused to back off.
"You know who we are now," Clark said carefully.
"We're not normal humans. We have to stay hidden. If we're exposed, no government will leave us alone. They'll want to study us. Take our technology. We can't allow that."
"If you expose us... there's only one outcome."
"War," Lois whispered, shivering as she understood.
"It's only a war if both sides are equal," Clark said quietly.
"Otherwise, it's a massacre."
"I don't want to hurt anyone. I grew up here. I belong here. I don't want to be locked up or treated like a monster."
"Do you understand?"
"I..." Lois swallowed.
"I understand."
"I don't mind having another human friend," Clark smiled.
"What's your name?"
"Lois. Lois Lane."
"I'm Clark Kent." He wrote down a number and handed it to her.
"If you want interesting stories-and promise not to publish them-we can talk sometime."
"Are you... asking me out?" Lois stared at the note.
An alien was asking her out.
That was new.
"Uh... I guess?" Clark kept his expression steady. He didn't want to look inexperienced.
And just like that, he sent her away.
Clark wasn't too worried. If she tried to publish anything, Bruce could simply buy the paper. Clark didn't have money-but he knew people who did.
As for the "massacre" part?
That was just to scare her.
He'd never actually do it.
Once Lois was gone, the ship lifted off under Jor-El's control, leaving the Arctic researchers staring at nothing but fading exhaust.
"You're back?" Morin looked at Clark, then at the smiling Jor-El.
"Meet your dad."
"Dad?"
Clark froze.
Crude timing-but the strange familiarity finally made sense.
Blood.
"Kal," Jor-El said softly. "Seeing you grown and healthy... there are no words. I wish your mother were here."
"Mother... Kal..." Clark hesitated.
"Is that my name?"
"Yes. Kal-El. Your Earth name works too. Morin told me. Clark Kent, right?"
"Yes..." Clark struggled.
"Can you tell me... why I'm here? What happened to Krypton?"
Jor-El nodded. A hologram of Krypton appeared behind him.
"We have time. I'll begin at the start."
"Krypton was powerful," Jor-El said.
"But we adopted artificial population control. Natural birth was abandoned. Genetic engineering assigned every citizen's role before they were born."
"As a scientist, I foresaw our end. Out of love for you-and hatred for that system-your mother and I chose natural birth."
"We placed the Codex, the genetic archive of our entire race, inside you."
"You have limitless potential."
"You are the closest thing to a god."
"Not a product."
"I see..." Clark looked stunned.
"I have a question," Morin raised a hand.
"I've been holding it in."
"Yes?"
"If you could send Clark here... why didn't the rest of Krypton leave? Why didn't you and your wife leave?"
Jor-El: "..."
"Yeah," Clark added quietly.
"Why?"
"Well..." Jor-El searched his remaining databases.
"It was a byproduct of the system."
"Population control."
"Because of genetic engineering, my people lost the instinct to explore. They lost the will to move forward. So they stayed... and waited to die."
"...That's kind of weak," Morin said flatly.
"I agree," Clark sighed.
Jor-El: "..."
I'm an AI. I died. Please stop making this harder.
"It already happened," Morin waved it off.
"Continue."
"Not everyone died, Kal," Jor-El said, shifting topics.
"My projections showed that prisoners in the Phantom Zone would survive."
"Led by General Zod."
"A born warrior."
"He tried to overthrow the system. I died by his hand."
"It's past now. He saw the system was failing-but not that genetic engineering was the root cause."
"I wouldn't join him. So I sent you away."
"Forgive my selfishness."
"They'll come for me," Clark said.
"Won't they?"
"Yes. They need the Codex to rebuild Krypton. They won't stop."
"Are we... enemies?"
"Zod will try to terraform Earth into Krypton," Jor-El said.
"He'll use the Codex to restart cloning. Repeat the same mistake."
"I won't allow it." Clark clenched his fists.
"There's a better way."
"Yes," Jor-El nodded.
"Natural birth is the future. But Zod won't listen."
"You must train, Kal. You must gain the strength to face him."
"Only victory gives you the right to negotiate."
"I will," Clark said firmly.
"Good." Jor-El smiled.
"Come. I have something for you."
"Our family crest."
"It stands for Hope."
Meanwhile, in Coast City.
"Ah-!"
Hector Hammond rushed out of his classroom, dismissing his students early as he headed straight for the lab.
Something was wrong.
Since last night, he'd been hearing voices. He thought students were mocking him-but when he snapped at them, they looked confused.
They weren't speaking.
He was hearing their thoughts.
Earlier, in a surge of rage, he'd sent a student flying across the room.
In the lab, Hector drew blood and placed it under an electron microscope.
He froze.
Yellow matter was consuming his red blood cells.
Exactly like the fish.
He was infected.
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