"How could you not know what it is? That man clearly left it with you."
"I really don't know." Clark Kent's tone was steady, his voice firm. "I'm not lying—believe it or don't."
At first, General Zod's voice was calm, even when he pressed him. But the longer it went on, the harsher his tone became. "Didn't I warn you not to lie? Hand it over!"
Zod seized Clark Kent by the collar, his eyes burning with anger. "Don't push me. For the sake of our people, you'd better choose your words carefully."
"I really don't know."
Clark's answer didn't waver in the slightest.
Zod's fist crashed into his face. "Tell me the truth!"
"I really don't know!"
That was the only answer Clark could give.
Soon his face was battered and swollen.
"Faora, are you certain we searched everywhere? Could he have given it to someone else—his adoptive parents, perhaps?"
As Zod spoke, a sinister gleam lit his eyes.
"If we can't find it, kill him."
"No! My parents don't know anything!"
"Pathetic. Worthless lower creatures—and you dare call them parents?"
In every way, Zod looked at Clark Kent with nothing but disdain.
"Yes, General."
Faora had no wish to harm ordinary humans, but if it was Zod's order, she had no choice. She turned to leave almost immediately.
Clark couldn't allow that to happen. He lunged toward her at once.
He had always lived in a peaceful world. Even when he did use his powers, it was rare.
Against Faora and Zod, warriors born and bred, he was no match.
"Damn it!"
His eyes suddenly blazed red. The heat vision cut across the room, dissolving everything in its path.
Caught off guard, Zod cried out as the back of his hand seared with a severe burn.
Clark was forced into battle against both Zod and Faora.
And now Zod's intent hardened—he meant to kill him.
If Clark refused to reveal the Codex's whereabouts, then keeping him alive was useless. Worse than useless—he would only be a liability.
Zod clenched his fist, ready to strike the killing blow, when a hand appeared, effortlessly blocking his punch.
It was Lorien.
Space rippled faintly around him as he stepped into existence, so suddenly that even Zod hadn't registered how he'd arrived.
"What you're after is with me."
Lorien's words dropped like a bomb.
Zod straightened, studying the man who claimed to hold the Codex.
He looked mild, almost gentle.
On the surface, he seemed full of openings. But the fact that he had appeared out of nowhere was proof enough that he was anything but simple.
"Who are you?"
Why hadn't Clark entrusted such a vital object to his parents, but instead to this unrelated stranger?
Something wasn't right. Zod suspected trickery.
He didn't know Lorien at all. Faora, in fact, had deliberately kept everything about him hidden.
She pressed her lips together, clearly unsettled. She hadn't wanted Lorien to show up—and yet here he was, more formidable than even she had imagined.
Zod read the room. He saw enough in Faora's eyes to know she'd concealed the truth.
With a violent sweep of his arm, he struck at her. "Faora, you've disappointed me greatly!"
Her behavior was enough to convince him that the Codex really was in this man's possession.
"What will it take for you to give me the Codex?" Zod demanded harshly.
"If it's in my hands, then it's mine. And I won't give it up so easily."
Lorien's voice was calm, his smile light, as if he were discussing something utterly mundane.
That casualness only fueled Zod's rage.
"The Codex—is it on you now?"
Zod's eyes roved across Lorien's body, searching—his chest, his pockets, anywhere it might be hidden.
And then Lorien, under Zod's very gaze, simply lifted his hand.
The Codex floated in his palm.
Zod's eyes flared with triumph. "Yes… this is it. The Codex! The treasure that will allow our people to endure and multiply!"
Even Faora's gaze burned with longing.
The two of them lunged toward Lorien almost in unison.
But with a small, effortless shift, he slipped back, and they grasped nothing but air.
"This can't be given to you."
His voice was cool as he tucked the Codex away again, clasping his hands behind his back. "If it fell into your hands, Earth would be doomed. You want to reshape this planet to suit Kryptonians, don't you?"
Neither Zod nor Faora answered, but their eyes betrayed the truth.
Clark, slumped in the corner, was in agony. But his mind was clear, his senses sharp.
And when he heard their intent, he was stunned. "There are billions of people on Earth. You're insane!"
To remake Earth into Krypton's image meant its air would vanish—meant humanity itself would vanish.
Clark found their plan horrifying beyond belief.
For the sake of their people, they were willing to treat Earthlings with such ruthless cruelty.