And they shall kneel... (Kayla & Doom Patrol)
Somwhere in the Midwest, Two days ago.

The fog lifted from his mind for the first time in years a few months ago, but he'd always known on some level, that this was not who he was. Even after all of the Kryptonite, the drugs, the tests and above all, the /pain/....General Zod knew that his current situation was beneath his station. He was a hero, a warrior and a savior; how had he ended up like this?

As the drugs slowly but surely faded from his system and clarity returned, he remembered:

A human was responsible.

Stand with me, Zod, and together, we will crush...under our heel.

Crush who?

Was it the first man he'd killed in his escape from that facility, or the tenth? He could hardly walk, barely run and couldn't fly at all. His skin was not nearly as durable as it once was. They stunned and shocked him, battered and shot him, but Zod refused to let them win. His mind took him to a place beyond the pain, beyond the weakness, to a time when he was /strong/. To a time when his word was law and none dared oppose him.

His mind finally broke through the deepest of the fog when he remembered the times that people would kneel before him. And they would kneel again, once he had his way. He was glad he'd learn to read the stars after his escape from the Phantom Zone, especially here on this backwater planet that Kal-El loved so much, with all of its backwater people. There were so primitive and useless. Kal-El could have ruled as a god here, but he chose to blend in with the monkeys and lower himself from the status of a proud son of Krypton. It made him sick.

Some time later, after all the screaming died down and the facility was in flames, Zod knew where he had to go, what he had to do.

He limped away through the forest toward his destination, gaining strength and speed with every moment. He still couldn't fly, but he could walk, and then he could run, albeit it stiffly and briefly.

He had to put out the call.



Two Days Later- Colorado

The Inter-Active Construct pulsed with cerulean light, its chrome surfaces showing Zod his reflection. It still worked after all this time, which he'd never doubted. He simply hoped that Kal-El would disregard the signal, or show up last, after he'd gathered his army. He was in no shape to fight the so-called "Superman"; his powers were not returning. Luthor's treachery had been total.

Soon, a wave of blue energy expands outward from Keystone City, radiating across the world to any living Kryptonian on Earth. They simply feel the urge to follow their instincts to this place.

Zod leans against a wall and waits for his soldiers to come.