The rift tore open with a shriek of binary and light. Dimensional energy rippled like molten glass, and Alex Price stepped through, servo-skulls orbiting in precise formation. His mechadendrites twitched, dripping with sanctified oils that shimmered in the glow of the Omnissiah's blessing.
The system's voice whispered in his mind:[Dimensional Stability: 89%][Target Timeline: Krypton – 12 hours before Core Collapse]
Before him stretched the glory of Krypton. Gleaming towers of crystal and steel rose into a blood-red sky, their surfaces humming with power. The air itself seemed alive with the resonance of technology so advanced it bordered on sorcery. This was a world where science had supplanted gods, where flesh and machine walked as one.
Alex's helm lenses narrowed. "A paradise of knowledge, choking on its arrogance. Omnissiah, guide me."
He whispered the Litany of Infiltration, and his nanite-cloak shimmered, bending the light around him until he vanished into the crowd of Kryptonians. They moved like drones, efficient and proud, unaware of their imminent destruction
His servo-skulls led him toward the grand archives beneath Kandor, a city that Brainiac's sensors were already targeting from orbit. The data-vault doors loomed before him, locked by codes no human could ever break. But Alex was not merely human anymore.
He laid his mechadendrite upon the crystalline console, whispered a string of binary prayer, and the system activated.[Initiating Kryptonian Code Decryption…][Overlay: Warhammer Tech-Priest Protocols Engaged][Progress: 10%... 50%... 100%]
The vault groaned open, revealing a cathedral of holographic knowledge.
Streams of light cascaded around him genetic archives, military technology, terraforming engines, star drives, Kryptonian DNA manipulation protocols. His servo-skulls spread through the chamber, siphoning everything, their optics glowing as Gear's voice hummed in his ear.
"Download capacity at ninety percent. Brainiac is attempting to intercept."
"Let him try," Alex muttered, his voice metallic.
A wave of green code surged through the system Brainiac's probing presence. Gear countered instantly, her voice sharp with machine-prayer:"By the will of the Omnissiah, you are denied."
Binary warfare raged unseen, sparks of data colliding as Alex harvested Krypton's secrets faster than Brainiac could comprehend.
The birthing chambers were next. The heart of Krypton's engineered future.
Alex arrived silently, watching Jor-El at work. The scientist-priest was encoding the Codex the genetic template of all Kryptonians into the cells of his infant son, Kal-El. Lara stood beside him, her eyes full of sorrow.
Alex's optics flared. He saw the branching lines of probability. Kal-El, the last son of Krypton, carrying the weight of an entire race. But Alex had no interest in destiny. He wanted the Codex.
He whispered a prayer and unleashed his nanites. They slipped unseen into the birthing chamber, weaving into the console. As Jor-El pressed the activation rune, the system shuddered. Instead of fusing the Codex with Kal-El, the data streamed away into Alex's system-space.
Kal-El would still be sent to Earth, still grow strong under the yellow sun, but without the burden of Krypton's entire genetic legacy. That treasure now belonged to Alex Price.
The ground trembled. Krypton's core was collapsing. Time was short.
Alex sprinted to the planetary vaults, servo-skulls tearing open sealed chambers. Inside were the World Engines colossal terraforming machines capable of reshaping entire planets. Kryptonians had locked them away, fearing their destructive potential. To Alex, they were relics to be sanctified.
"System, initiate storage."
The Engines, each larger than a skyscraper, dissolved into system-space, bound in chains of binary light.
[Stored: 3x Kryptonian World Engines]
Alarms wailed. Outside, the skies split as Brainiac's ship descended. Krypton shuddered, fire splitting its crust.
Alex turned once more toward the dying world. Through his helm, he whispered the Litany of Harvest:
"From ruin, knowledge. From death, rebirth. From arrogance, correction. Omnissiah, I return these relics to Your divine forge."
With that, he opened the dimensional rift and stepped through just as Krypton tore itself apart in fire and ash.