Chapter 66: Figure Maniac
"Do your worst." Astra raised her head proudly. "I won't say anything, no matter what you do."
Perhaps it was the tortoise-shell style of bondage that evoked rather... unseemly associations. When she spoke, the kinds of torture that came to mind were more or less linked to words like "female general," "captive," and "humiliation."
To prevent the misunderstanding from escalating, Orin Vale immediately got straight to the point. "Name?"
"Astra."
"Identity?"
"Former Kryptonian general, later sentenced to the Phantom Zone for 'crimes against Kryptonians' for life... What did you do to me!?"
A hint of panic began to show on Astra's resolute face.
She was a glorious Kryptonian warrior, unafraid of torture or death. But the body was one thing; having one's spirit toyed with was another entirely.
She had just firmly resolved not to say a word, confident that her willpower was strong enough to resist any torture. But while her mind thought one way, her body refused to obey. The moment her opponent asked a question, the answer slipped out, completely beyond her control.
It felt as if her body no longer belonged to her.
What was even more terrifying was, if the other party could make her speak at will, did that mean they could do even more?
"Just a little Truth Spell. Nothing worth mentioning."
While he said it was nothing, the Old Wizard couldn't help but strike his "This is what you call a wizard" tactical lean-back pose.
It's common knowledge that Kryptonians have negative magic resistance. They can tank damage-dealing magic with their tough skin and high durability, but they aren't very good against unpredictable and insidious functional magic.
Not to mention, the Kryptonian general was currently in a depleted state, with her superpowers themselves offline.
"So now," Orin Vale asked, "what are you doing on Earth?"
"Hah, if you think I'm going to tell you, I... I... I'm here on Earth to find someone!"
She gritted her teeth in humiliation. She clearly didn't want to, but her body was completely out of her control, the words spilling out on their own.
"Who are you looking for?"
"The daughter of Krypton, my... niece." She ground her teeth, mustering all her willpower to fight the spell. "Her name... is... Kara-Zor-El."
Astra gasped for breath.
"Just for that?" Orin Vale asked. "No other reason?"
Orin Vale had a recollection. The Astra from the TV show wasn't a good person either. She and her husband, Non, had designed a system called the "Great Purge," which could make the people of an entire planet obey their commands with the push of a single button.
They were arrested on Krypton for this very reason and locked away in a super-prison in the Phantom Zone called Fort Rozz. After arriving on Earth, they still hadn't given up, attempting to activate the "Great Purge" program again to complete on Earth what they had failed to achieve back then.
As a member of the Light Race, Orin Vale was naturally disgusted by such an unethical system that could turn everyone in the world into puppets with a single click. If the Space Garrison knew about it, they would never allow such a thing to exist.
But to his surprise, Astra shook her head adamantly.
"That's it."
"You're sure there's nothing else?"
"Of course not." She glared fiercely at Orin Vale.
Orin Vale raised an eyebrow and glanced at the Old Wizard.
"Are you sure that spell is working?"
The Old Wizard rolled his eyes in displeasure. "Who do you think you're talking to!? You're questioning the Guardian of the Rock of Eternity, the..."
"Wait, I was just asking! Of course I believe your spell." Orin Vale hurriedly cut off his chanting.
He also felt that Astra didn't seem to be lying, but the discrepancy from the original work still made him a little suspicious.
The DC Universe's battered little ball of a planet was comparable to the one in their Ultra universe—both were disaster-ridden centers of cosmic chaos.
There was this group of people. They'd spent ages recklessly draining their homeworld's resources until, after much messing around, they accidentally blew it up, becoming a bunch of famous interstellar orphans. Then, the 'headmaster' of their orphanage discovered a group of poor unlucky sods living on Earth in the neighboring solar system and gleefully brought his entire 'institution' over to begin relocation.
This was the DC Universe, of course. Otherwise, back in his own universe, Orin Vale would have sworn this description was about the ever-loyal Baltans.
The Kryptonians' desire for Earth was understandable. After all, their home was gone, the solar system was in a neighboring sector and relatively close to their old home, and more importantly, they could all achieve god-tier power by sunbathing. Ruling the natives and dominating Earth was a matter of course for them. Even General Zod from the movies had the same idea.
"Are you sure you're not planning some invasion, occupation, or establishing a colony?"
"Earth? Of course not." Astra snorted.
Under the restraint of the Truth Spell, she was naturally telling the truth, but the spell also weakened her willpower. Orin Vale noticed that her eyes were clearly avoiding his as she spoke.
"What are you hiding?" Orin Vale frowned.
"...Hah. Alright, there's no harm in telling you."
Astra chuckled lightly and looked him straight in the eye.
It seemed she had come to terms with it and had given up fighting the Truth Spell. It was one of those things in life—if you can't fight it, you have to learn to enjoy it.
"Because of Brainiac."
"Hm?" Orin Vale narrowed his eyes.
"An unbeatable destroyer, a disaster for any civilization," Astra said coldly. "An ultimate artificial intelligence, possessing technology so advanced that not even Krypton could have imagined it."
Orin Vale, of course, knew of Brainiac.
A classic DC Comics villain, and one of the most terrifying opponents of Superman and the Justice League.
The thing's origin was a classic, cliché story of an AI gone berserk. It was said that on a planet called Comet Core Star, a bunch of bored scientists not only created the universe's first twelfth-level intelligence but also artificially created emotions like envy, greed, and hatred.
And then their home planet blew up.
The endlessly evolving Brainiac destroyed its home planet and, over a long period of growth, gradually evolved into a figure maniac, collecting everything from animals and plants to miniaturized cities—he refused almost nothing. He had an entire spaceship full of 'figures,' a collection of countless cities from destroyed civilizations, including Krypton's former capital city, Kandor City.
"Krypton was once attacked by him. An entire city vanished before our very eyes." Astra's face was ashen as she spoke. "He is an opponent beyond your imagination, his technology has nearly stepped into the domain of the gods. To this day, I can't forget the feeling of powerlessness when I faced that thing..."
"So you're saying," Orin Vale frowned, "he's come to Earth?"
"Not yet, but I believe it will be soon. So you ask me why I have no designs on Earth, member of the Light Race. Well then, please tell me..."
Astra leaned back in her chair and said calmly.
"...why would I be interested in a dying planet?"
(end of chapter)