Did you hear what the Penguin said to the Goat?

Chapter One: The Last Exodus of Krypton.

The crimson glow of Rao painted Kandor's spires in hues of fire and blood as Jor-El stepped forward in the Grand Science Chamber. His holograms displayed the unthinkable truth in pulsing glyphs - Krypton's death warrant written in mathematics.

"The core will collapse within thirty-seven rotations," Jor-El declared, his voice cutting through the murmurs. "Not in centuries. Not in years. Now."

Where before there had been scoffing, now only pale-faced silence. The chamber trembled as if in agreement, another tectonic spasm rippling through the planet's dying crust.

High Eminence Lor-Van turned to the floating consciousness that had guided Krypton for generations. "Brainiac. Verify."

The AI's luminous form pulsed. "Affirmative. Cataclysm is imminent. Survival protocols recommend immediate evacuation." A holographic projection split the air - Jor-El's Phantom Zone stasis plan on one side, Brainiac's direct exodus route on the other. "Phantom Zone contingency carries significant failure variables. Full evacuation to planetary destination - designated Earth - offers superior survival probability."

Lor-Van's aged hands clenched. "Then we evacuate. All of us."

The Antarctic ice sheet trembled as ten thousand Kryptonian ships descended in perfect formation. Energy domes bloomed across the frozen waste, their golden light swallowed by blizzards. Within hours, the great citadel of Argo rose - invisible to human eyes, its spires of living crystal pulsing with stored sunlight.

High above, unseen by all, Brainiac's consciousness fragmented between the fleet's navigation systems. One subroutine observed young Kal-El's wayward pod streaking toward Kansas.

In Smallville, Jonathan Kent nearly crashed his pickup when the meteorite slammed into his south forty. The smoking capsule contained neither rock nor metal, but a child - impossibly warm despite the autumn chill, his eyes already glowing faintly gold.

Half a world away, beneath two miles of glacial ice, ten thousand pairs of Kryptonian eyes turned skyward. They would wait. They would watch.

And when the time came, they would welcome their lost prince home.

Next Chapter Preview:

The Antarctic Citadel's first contact with human civilization
Brainiac's hidden agenda in separating Kal-El from the exodus
Clark's first terrifying manifestation of powers he doesn't understand
The Kents' discovery of the strange signals coming from Antarctica…