Return to the Lab

"What is this place?" Looking down to my side, I looked to see the young Mark Grayson, son of Emperor Nolan at my side.

Mere days ago, the Vrangs had surrendered to Korg's invasion. It had been an unexpected outcome, I had imagined they would continue to hold out for as long as possible. But it seems that the moment Korg had come close to their homeworld of Mobile, they had decided to surrender.

A strange thing for sure, their most elite forces stationed around Mobile would have proved a dangerous challenge to Korg. But instead of risking them, the Vrangs had instead surrendered and kept them intact. I wasn't complaining at this strange outcome though, it helped me out quite a bit in fact. Korg would now be at my side when the Green Lanterns came.

"This, is where it all began for me." I told the young boy, heading inside to the large mountain. Behind us, the Spike Soldiers and a few scientists from nearby races followed behind. Mainly those that had been the brains behind Viltrum's technological advancements.

As we came into the mess of technology that had one been Betron's laboratory, Mark looked around in wonderment like any child would. He was innocent, completely unaware of his true position in life.

Though that would not be the case forever. Eventually, he would learn the truth either by himself or at the hands of someone else. But that was something I always knew and was prepared for. Nolan and Kregg would, for their own reasons, work hard to change Viltrum's position in my Empire. By my expectations, it would only take them a few years at most to have earned, not my forgiveness, but contributed enough for me to overlook it.

Never forgive, never forget.

But I could put it to one side.

As a result, Mark wouldn't have a reason to betray me. Not only would he be not strong enough, but he would know that his people would be the ones to pay the price, not him. Who knows, that unsaid threat may not be necessary. I hoped to be able to instil loyalty that would last. Yet it never hurt to be prepared for all possible scenarios.

"Where it all began?" Mark questioned curiously.

I nodded my head, fists clenching tightly as I looked around me, reminiscing. "This is where I got my first taste of power. Where I discovered the true depth of my Kryptonian heritage. Perhaps it could also be where you discover your powers?"

A shared memory was one that helped to build loyalty. If both Mark and I could discover our papers here, it would give us some semblance of similarity. A foundation for me to build upon further.

"Korg," my friend came up to me, Igently pushing Mark towards him. "Take Mark back to the ship, it is not safe for him here."

As the Kronan took the boy away, the young Prince chatting away excitedly, I turned towards the scientists. "Here you will see the efforts of perhaps one of the greatest minds to ever exist and remnants of Kryptonian technology." I could see the greedy gleam that came into their eyes the moment I mentioned Kryptonian technology.

My race was perhaps one of the most technologically advanced races in the universe. Without our immense powers, we had compensated with technological advancements that made us still incredibly powerful. So much so, that our technology was desired by many different races. Our names upon the tongue of every scientist with envy. It was a perfect incentive for these scientists to work hard and prove themselves.

Not for my betterment, but for their own.

Many would be willing to work hard purely to expand their own knowledge and understanding of the universe. In doing so, their advancements would be my own, any technology taken from other planets, offered to them to help further expand my Empire. A cycle that would see both of us profit, a simple relationship that did not need to be expanded upon further.

The way it was worked best for us both and we knew it.

"However, there are two things I desire for you to focus your efforts upon first. Only when I have deemed it acceptable, shall I allow you access to the rest of the technology within this mountain." Some disgruntled looks were shared, but I expected that. "Cloning and synthesising the energy from a sun."

Though those looks quickly disappeared, I waited patiently as they whispered excitedly amongst themselves. "Cloning? And synthesising the energy of the sun?" One of the lead scientists asked, I nod my head with a smile. "I can understand cloning, the Viltrumites are, of course, few in number, but highly valuable. But why synthesising the sun of the energy, nor do I quite understand your meaning behind it either."

I liked this one, even if he was no part of any comic book.

But he had correctly figured out why I wanted him to focus upon cloning. The Viltrumites had less than a hundred members in their race. But each were loyal to Nolan and the idea of Viltrum. That was not something I wanted to have continued. I knew from the history of my own race with cloning that it was unstable, they would eventually develop their own ideas and rebel. It was that rebellion that was contributing factor to the destabilisation and destruction of Krypton.

But I had the perfect tool with which to control them, the Spikes.

This planet would become the new home for the Spikes, they already disembarking from the ships as I stood here now. Thousands upon thousands of starving Spike Children, waiting for a host to enter. This mountain would become their source of food, churning out Viltrumite clones that would then be fed to the Spikes and turned into soldiers for my Empire.

I would not use them straight away though.

The Viltrumites needed to be punished first, but once it was done I would then unleash them as I saw fit. Not a perfect source of soldiers, the Spike Fathers having already expressed uncertainty and also distaste at the thought of killing their children. A few hundred, that was the extent of their willingness, but any more than that?

Clones by themselves were unstable, Spikes though were the perfect way to control them. Once I could isolate understand their ways of reproduction, I would then use that to my advantage. the scientists working towards accelerating that process to mass-produce Spikes in droves. The only reason the Spike Fathers were willing to accept the deaths of hundreds was that they could afford to lose that without their numbers getting any lower or higher. If I could find a way to accelerate the reproduction, then the number of Spike Children that could be sacrificed in turn would also increase.

A simple thing really.

But this facility would not only focus on cloning Viltrumites but also other, valuable and powerful races and hopefully, mixing them. Imagine a Kryptonian-Martian clone, possessing the powers of both races? Imagine how powerful that would be? If I could do that and then streamline a process of making them loyal, my army would be unbeatable.

I was getting ahead of myself of course, but that was my hope for the future.

And it would all start here.

The first of many cloning facilities within my Empire.

"Correct, cloning Viltrumites is my intention," I told them. "As for synthesising the energy of a sun, that's simple. When I first came here, the scientist that controlled this base was able to turn the formless energy into a liquid base that could be injected like a drug." Once more, the eyes of the scientists sparkled with glee, looking around hungrily at the technology in their grasp. "I want you to not only recreate this machine but also make it smaller, more compact. It is my hope, that in the future, near or distant, that this technology could be turned into a suit, an addition to my own armour."

And to add further incentive, I smiled. "Anyone that should accomplish this feat, whether it be a group or individual, they shall be rewarded greatly." Making my way through the laboratory, I came to a small cupboard.

Before I left this planet the first time around, while I had allowed my powers to grow before setting out to begin my first conquest, I had sorted through this base. These two machines were the ones I wanted sorting first, the ones that represented the greatest advantage both short-term and long-term. The cloning matching and the yellow sun synthesiser.

Showing these two to the scientists, I smiled. "Gentlemen, ladies, I trust you won't disappoint?" My only response was the group of scientists rushing towards the machines, studying them and chatting excitedly between themselves.

This was just the beginning.

Soon everything would expand to even greater heights. Patience was key, as all good things came to those who waited.