Kr followed the two adults down long and stretching hallways. According to the man, who had said his name was Desmond, they were in a research lab called Cadmus. It had been here that Kr had been created.
This was so much to comprehend. The way Desmond told it, Kr had not come into being naturally. He had been genetically grown took look the way he did within a matter of months.
"So no one gave birth to me?" he asked. "I wasn't born."
"Does that disturb you?" asked the woman, who had introduced herself as Spence. "Don't think of it like that. Think of it as something that makes you unique, special. You were grown for a special purpose, a life like no other."
"And what life is that?" asked Kr, the words almost coming out like a plea. It felt strange to hear the shift in his own tone of voice. He could hear the strong desire in his voice, the need to know what he wasn't being told.
"The answers are through this door," said Desmond.
They were at the end of the hall now. Up ahead was a door, which Desmond pushed open. Gesturing with his hand, Kr understood what it meant. Desmond wanted him to go through first.
Again, there was a split second of indecision from Kr. And yet he told himself he had to go on. He had to understand his connection Superman.
And so he went through the door, finding himself staring down at dozens of workers, not all of them were human. They were strange creatures that Kr felt should be familiar to him. These creatures came in all shapes and sizes, and all of them sported horns of varying sizes on top their heads.
"Those are genomorphs," said Spence. "They created similarly to you. Genetically grown here at Cadmus Labs."
"But what are their purposes?" asked Kr. "Why were they created? Are they like me? Were the made to fulfill a purpose."
"Everything has its purpose," said Desmond. "And this is yours, one where you need not concern yourself over the genomorphs. You were made in response to Superman."
"In response to Superman?"
"Yes," said Spence, "for one of two reasons. Should Superman perish, you are to take his place in the name of humanity. However, should Superman turn against us, it will be your purpose to eliminate him."
The words rang in Kr's ears. It was then that he remembered how he knew that Superman had super hearing. He could hear the echo of Spence's words in his head. He had been created to kill Superman?
Out of all the things Spence and Desmond had told him, this was what he had the hardest time believing. Kill Superman? Could he have the potential to be that powerful? Did he have the same powers?
"I don't understand," he said at last. "Why would Superman turn against humanity? Has he not always done everything to defend people?"
"Hard truth you need to learn, boy," said Desmond. "People can change, not always for the better. This applies to Superman just as it applies to everyone else. It would be foolish not to be prepared for the worst. We must be ready to resort to any means to save lives."
As he was talking, something strange happened to Kr. As Desmond spoke, he saw a new image in his head. But this one was different. Before now, everything had been in color, but not this one. It was all black and white.
He saw a plane flying over an island country. Japan, he realized. He watched as the plane soared overhead before dropping something. Something small and made of metal descended toward the land below. Seconds later, there was a powerful explosion. A giant cloud rose into the air in the shape of a mushroom.
Somehow, Kr knew that had been a bomb that plane had dropped. And then it hit him what that bomb had been. That had been "Little Boy," the atomic bomb dropped over Enola Bay in Hiroshima, Japan. So many people had died as a result of that bomb's detonation, with more following after the second atomic bomb, "Fat Man," had been dropped on Nagasaki.
"Is this what you want to be?" a voice asked, but no one had spoken, not Desmond of Spence. No, this was different. The voice was coming from somewhere else and was speaking to him through minds. Telepathy. "You were made to be a weapon to destroy a single individual. And yet humans have destroyed each other in the past with drastic resorts. Do want to live such a life, or do you want to write your own destiny?"
Kr wanted to reply, say something. But somehow, he knew the voice had gone. He was left with only Desmond and Spence for company. And he suddenly saw this was not what he wanted. He did not want to be used. He did not want to be responsible for death. If he was to live, he wanted it to be making the world a better place.
"How many people have to get hurt or be killed before Superman is dead?" he heard himself asking Desmond.
The man turned around to stare at him in surprise. "What are you on about? What brought this on?"
"Haven't humans fought to end wars trying to save as many lives as possible?" Kr asked him, his voice now becoming demanding. "And yet many people died as a result anyway? Look at what happened as a result of the Manhattan Project. A war ended at the cost of ending countless lives and devastating an entire country."
"That was decades ago," said Spence. "Things have changed since then."
"But more people would die in an all-out fight against Superman, possibly more than the final casualties of World War II," Kr persisted. He had to make his point clear. He had to make these two see the sense he had just felt. "I don't want a life like that, not a life where I've spilled innocent blood. So thank you, but no, I won't do what you say."
And that was when Desmond smirked at him. "You're too much like the one you were made to replace. It doesn't look like we have use for you after all." Before he react, Desmond pulled out a radio and said, "Lock this place down. I don't want anything to leave this building."
Kr looked around in shock. All the windows, which had been open to allow sunlight to enter the room and illuminate the interior of the building, were now closing. He was going to get locked in. And then he knew what would happen to him. Desmond would have him killed, denying him life.
But then he remembered: I was made to destroy or replace Superman. Did that mean he had Superman's powers? If that was true, then that surely meant he could fly. He had to try.
"I won't let you keep me here!" said Kr. "I was given life, and I don't want to lose it now!"
Kr turned from Desmond and Spence and made to leap away from them. Before he could, he felt something tug at him. He turned around to see Spence had grabbed the back of his white shirt.
Kr struggled to break free, pulling forward to try and break Spence's grip. In desperation, he pulled forward in the hopes that she would let go. There was a loud ripping sound, a surprised scream, and Kr was free. He turned around quickly to see Spence had fallen backward, ripping Kr's shirt off in the process.
Ignoring calls from Desmond and Spence, Kr looked directly up at the roof. Now was the time. If he did have Superman's powers, he should have the ability to fly. He would escape by punching through the roof and flying his way to freedom.
And so Kr jumped with all his might. His feet left behind small craters where he had been previously standing. He was doing it, he was flying. He could actually fly. The roof was getting closer and closer...
...and then all of a sudden, he was losing height. He was falling. The shock began to sink in, and then the next thing he knew, he had crashed to the ground below.
Kr started to recover, eventually staring down his own hands. "I don't understand," he muttered to himself. "If I'm cloned from Superman, why can't I fly? Do I have any powers at all?"
Before he could ponder the matter further, he suddenly heard Desmond shout above him, "All genomorphs, destroy Project Kr!"
Kr was now aware that was surrounded by the genomorphs. He was badly outnumbered, all of them looked deadly, and he apparently had no powers he could use. He felt helpless.
And yet the thought of what would happen if he stayed began to overwhelm his own doubts. If he went down now, he would not live to see tomorrow. He had to escape, and in order to escape, he had to fight.
"Out of my way!" he cried.
The genomorphs swarmed as one. Most of the ones that attacked were a head shorter than Kr, and all of them sported long, sharp claws. Four immediately leapt on top of him. Kr was knocked to the ground as the quartet began to slash at his torso.
Kr was ready to cry out in pain as the genomorphs slashed over and over, but the pain he expected never came. Desperately, Kr lashed out with his hands, knocking all four genomorphs aside. Looking down, he saw to his amazement that there was not a scratch on him.
"I really am a clone of Superman," he thought aloud. So he had some of Superman's powers. Just not all of them. But he did have super strength. And right now, that was all he needed.
Ten more of the small clawed genomorphs charged at him. This time, Kr did not wait for them to come to him. This time, he came at them. Throwing his fists again and again, he punched his way through them all.
This is it, Kr thought, I'm going to be free!
And that was when four larger genomorphs moved to intercept him. He had almost made it for the nearest door when they blocked his path. Just when escape had been so close.
"Give up, Kr!" Desmond called down below him. He sounded smug, like he had always known it would come down to this. "You've lost this fight! You may have bested the G-Elves, but you cannot handle these G-Trolls! Come back now, and then we can work everything out."
"No!" said Kr. "All you wanted was to use me as a weapon! I want something more meaningful from life! So I'm going out there, into the world beyond the walls you built around me! I'm going out there to make a difference, and I'll do it without you!"
And without waiting for a reply, Kr turned to the G-Trolls. Each one was roughly ten feet tall. They had to be extremely strong. It looked like his own strength was about to be tested.
Gritting his teeth, Kr leapt directly at the G-Trolls. They charged to meet him, the closest one moving to headbutt him. Kr reacted just in time, slamming both fists down on the creature's face. The genomorph staggered backward, crashing into the G-Troll directly behind it.
As those two genomorphs crashed, Kr ran toward the third G-Troll. Before the creature knew what he was doing, Kr had grabbed it by the legs was spinning it in the air. Eventually, he let go, allowing the G-Troll to sail directly into the final G-Troll. This one managed to knock aside its brethren, only to look up in time to see Kr punch it squarely in the jaw.
With the four G-Trolls down, Kr turned to take one last look at Desmond, who was speaking into a radio. Even from this distance, Kr could hear him calling for backup. But he was not going to stick around and wait for them to arrive and kill him.
Kr turned to the door, now unblocked, and ran for it. Up ahead was another wall, which he easily smashed through. And then he had done it. He was outside. Above him was the sun; he remembered seeing images of the sun before waking up. But this, this was the first time he had actually seen it.
Kr suddenly heard footsteps coming up from behind him. Desmond's reinforcements were on the way. But within a few leaps, he had the building out of sight. He was finally free from Cadmus.
Now that he was outside, Kr did not know what to do. Then he remembered what Desmond and Spence had said about Superman being in Metropolis. Then that was where he was going too.