Jor-El pushed his winged mount to its limits, racing against time, until at last he reached the gates of his family's manor.
But what awaited him was far from a peaceful sight. The manor's defenses had already been disabled. Lara was being restrained by several armed men, and in another man's arms—his newborn child.
Jon… H'el?
What was this boy planning? Why was he threatening his wife?
With a heavy thud, Jor-El leapt down from his mount.
"Jon, what are you trying to do? Do you have any idea what the consequences will be?"
Jon toyed with the infant in his arms—or rather, the infant destined to become Superman.
"Jor-El, do you think I'm joking with you?" His eyes flicked to Lara, then down at the child in his grasp.
"You have ten seconds. Hand over the Codex, or today you'll all go down with Krypton."
"Impossible, I—"
Jor-El's words faltered as his eyes met Lara's pleading gaze. His heart sank into chaos, his mind unraveling. In this moment, he was nothing but a helpless lamb on the chopping block, awaiting slaughter.
Never had he imagined Jon would go this far.
"Jon, listen to me. I'm doing this for Krypton—for the future of our people—"
Jon cut him off with a wave of his hand. "You have five seconds left."
"Four."
"Two."
Lara collapsed to the ground, her eyes locked on Jor-El with desperate intensity. He froze, torn between choices. Hand it over, or not?
"Kill her." Jon snapped his fingers, and instantly a soldier raised his weapon toward Lara.
"Stop! Enough… you devil, enough! I'll give it to you!" Jor-El raised his hands in surrender.
From a guard he accepted the Codex—seeing it for the first time. It was a skull. A skull… could it be the ancestor of the Kryptonian people themselves?
He could not yet know. That mystery would have to wait. For now, survival demanded his focus.
Cradling Kal-El in her arms, Lara looked on as Jon prepared to leave.
"You've destroyed the future," Jor-El spat bitterly. "You are Krypton's greatest sinner."
Jon's lips curled into a cold sneer. "Sinner? You should know better than anyone who deserves that name. You claim this is for Krypton's future? No. This is only for your son. Let me leave you a parting gift, then—tell him never to forget me."
In a sudden blur, Jon snatched Kal-El from Lara's embrace and, with a flicker of crimson energy, carved a jagged "H" across the infant's chest.
"Remember this. He must never forget me. I will find him."
And then Jon was gone.
Jor-El had no time to waste on rage or despair. If their son was not sent away now, he would perish with the planet.
"Lara—Lara, quickly! We must launch the ship. If we hesitate, there will be no chance left!" He pulled her up, and through her tears she forced herself to follow.
They stumbled through the halls of the manor into their hidden chamber.
The small spacecraft stood ready. Lara tried desperately to erase the scar branded onto her child's chest, but no matter what she did, the "H" remained, glowing faintly. Kal-El wailed in her arms.
"Forget it!" Jor-El urged. "We've found a habitable planet. He must go now."
Lara wept. "But what if he can't survive there? What if he dies alone in the void? I… I can't bear it!"
Jor-El sighed deeply. "This is the only chance we have."
The ship rose from the base of the manor and shot into the skies. Beyond Krypton's atmosphere, it bent space itself, vanishing into a wormhole.
Meanwhile, in the Council Hall, General Zod had been taken prisoner, forced to watch the confrontation between Jon and Jor-El. Among the elders stood Jon's father, Abel.
"So this is your so-called hope?" Zod spat with disdain.
Elder Kalaka regarded him solemnly. "No, child. You too are one of our hopes."
"You think I don't know of Krypton's crisis? You think I don't see what's coming? Give me the Codex, and I will secure Krypton's future. I alone—"
Kalaka's eyes flared with light, silencing him. "No. We have seen another future. A safer one."
"Jon?" Zod's eyes narrowed.
"Precisely."
The elders' tone grew final. "Zod, you marshaled soldiers to overthrow the Council. By our decree, you will be imprisoned in the Phantom Zone. Do you have any last words?"
"Pfah… I'll find your so-called hope. Whether it's the child of House El or Jon himself, they will die. Only I… only I can bring salvation to Krypton—"
A transparent energy swallowed him mid-sentence, encasing both him and his followers. Their bodies froze, suspended in a timeless prison where thought remained, but speech and movement were impossible.
The Phantom Zone. A punishment far worse than death.
Three ships bore the prisoners away, pulling the vast machinery of the World Engine behind them.
"Jor-El," one elder said gravely, "have you forgotten your duty? You are Krypton's greatest scientist. Yet you've placed personal desire above the planet's survival. Was this ever truly for Krypton's sake, or only for your son?"
The words struck him like a hammer. For an instant, doubt clouded Jor-El's mind. Had he truly been manipulated?
Lara's hand grasped his arm, pulling him back to clarity. He said no more. Soon, all they could do was await Krypton's end.
Back at the Hael family manor, Jon's own vessel was prepared.
"Moos, are we ready?"
"Yes, young master. All systems arranged. We can depart at any time."
Jon nodded, boarding the research craft. The AI system came online instantly.
"Welcome aboard, Master Jon. I am Moos, at your service."
"Launch. Destination: Krypton's orbit."
"Confirmed. Initiating sequence."
The ship roared into the sky, piercing through the clouds and into space. Beneath them, Krypton hung motionless, its crimson glow dimmed by the red sun.
Jon exhaled. "Then… let us leave."
Without activating the warp engines, the entire ship vanished, cloaked by a mysterious power.
Moos remained behind, watching the sky. In his hand was a slip of paper—an almost childish way of leaving instructions, one only his master would dare use.
"Truly, our young master is extraordinary. I'll await your return, Jon."
And so Krypton awaited its end.
Across the planet, people feasted and celebrated wildly, as if already resigned to death. Beasts and birds screamed and scattered across the plains in primal terror.
Then it began.
A blazing scar of red split across the planet's poles, visible even from orbit. Like the shell of a boiled egg cracking apart, fissures raced across Krypton's surface.
Mountains collapsed, magma burst skyward, and the very core of the world imploded.
With a final, deafening roar, the planet shattered into fragments, scattering across the void as burning debris.
Thus ended the age of Krypton.
Jon lay unconscious within his vessel. Since awakening his strange powers, a vast and unfathomable force had seized both him and the ship, dragging them into another realm.
Here, time, space, and matter seemed meaningless. A realm beyond perception—could this be the quantum world? No. It was something far greater.
Colors like a kaleidoscope surrounded him. Particles of every shape and size rushed past—or perhaps he was rushing past them.
He drifted in and out of unconsciousness. When he finally opened his eyes again, the void outside had changed. The once-thick darkness had thinned, becoming translucent.
Through it, he saw worlds. Countless worlds. Some familiar, some alien. Some… staring back. Eyes—watching, questioning.
A chill ran down his spine. Perhaps they were not looking at him, only sensing something passing by. But if he faltered here, if something went wrong—he dared not imagine the consequences.
His ability allowed him to traverse worlds, but not to choose them. His destination would be random. He could only pray the next world would suit him—and that it would not be one ruled by powers beyond his comprehension.