Zod spent hours telling Clark everything he knew about the Worldkillers. Initially there were five, but one left during the years of peace on Krypton. He knew they had been bred only for war and destruction, not to protect their captors. He had always seen the Kryptonian Science Guild as slavers. He was known as Worldkiller-1. The other four remained biding their time until they knew an enemy would come that was more than they could handle. The four were Reign, Deimax, Perrilus and Flower of Heaven.

"The Worldkillers are a threat far greater than you can handle Kal-El. Reign, Deimax, and Perrilus each possess superhuman strength. In addition with the exception of Deimax, Reign and Perrilus share some of the same powers that we do on Earth. Flight, superhuman speed, stamina and durability. Reign alone is more than a match for you."

"She's not unbeatable."

"Alone...of course not. But with the other three by her side they will do what they were created to do. And that is to destroy Earth as they did Krypton. Perrilus is also capable of Toxikinesis."

"We're invulnerable on Earth."

"She doesn't need to be able to cut you to poison you. Although Deimax is vulnerable to certain toxins. That is the only advantage you will have if this comes down to a war."

"What about the fourth Worldkiller? You have yet to mention the fourth."

"The fourth is the greatest threat of all. Her name is Flower of Heaven. She has the power of flight, energy projection with what she referred to as a thermal-blast. She is also capable of energy absorption. I imagine that she was the true cause of our home's final destruction. If the Worldkillers are here, you must realize you have no hope."

"That's where you're wrong Zod. As long as life exists, there is always hope."

"A foolish sentiment Kal-El. Earth is doomed. Now I have answered your questions. Leave me."

"Fine...but you should know that I know of your history before Faora's death..."

Zod quickly stood and sneered in disgust as Clark mentioned Faora again. He had warned his longtime adversary to refrain from mentioning her, but the hero pressed on, ignoring Zod's anger.

"You were the bravest warrior Krypton had ever known. You were highly respected by the High Council...and you were once a friend of my Father. You even disobeyed a direct order to arrest him and my Uncle."

"And when I did it was your Father who acted on orders from that very same High Council who sentenced me to the Phantom Zone. Your pleas...your blatant attempts at flattery will get you nowhere Kal-El. I will not help you fight the Worldkillers."

"Then I guess I was wrong. You will always think of yourself before others. Go on Zod...be what the Council turned you into. Nothing more than a selfish; self-absorbed villain. Prove that they were right to have my Father banish you and your followers to the Phantom Zone."

Zod fell back to his seat as Clark turned to depart. While he refused to believe that anything the son of Jor-El said could sway him, the General knew that his enemy wasn't wrong and his pride was burning as he remembered the years of loyalty he had to Krypton. Even now, as he thinks back to all those years ago when he tried to conquer Earth, he didn't want to see the planet destroyed. In his mind his intentions were altruistic, even if Kal-El was correct in calling the attempt misguided. In a way, Jor-El's son embodied the best of their friendship before the end.

While Clark was in the Arctic, Brainiac had implemented his plan of retrieving the other Worldkillers. One by one, he tracked their landing sites and created a pod for Reign to travel undetected to Earth. Three separate trips she made as the pod was equipped to carry only the pilot and one passenger at a time. Over a period of twenty-four hours, she rescued the remainder of her family. All three were still in an extreme state of hyper-sleep as the destruction of their vessel had been violent. The vessel had suffered greatly in the cataclysm of Krypton and was barely being held together up to the destruction of Argo City. The remaining three were kept in stasis as Brainiac healed them of their injuries.

Days passed as one by one the Worldkillers slowly awoke. The first to regain consciousness was Deimax. Her greatest strength lay in terrain destruction and on the ground she was a force of nature not to be trifled with. Her destruction of the ground around Krypton's core allowed Flower of Heaven the access she needed to absorb the energies of the planet.

"Deimax, welcome back sister."

"Where am I? This place is unfamiliar to me."

"You have been asleep for several years after we traveled the cosmos in search of Kryptonian life. You remember the destruction of Argo City?"

Deimax blinked her orange eyes as her memories of her creation on Krypton and the planet's subsequent destruction at the hands of her and her sisters came crashing into each other. As the hyper-sleep faded, she looked up to a familiar sight.

"Reign. I remember when we decimated Argo City. We left it destroyed along with the Kryptonians who inhabited it."

"We did, but our mission is not yet complete. There were more Kryptonian survivors. These are directly related to our creator, Zor-El."

"Then we must finish what we started."

"We will; in time. Our other two sisters have yet to awaken and we must still regain our full strength. Only then will the last children of Krypton burn."

The next day Perrilus woke in much the same way that Deimax had. She was groggy and confused as to her surroundings but began to remember as Reign gave her the same speech she gave previously to Deimax. Brainiac was strangely absent despite their being aboard his vessel. In truth neither Reign nor her sisters cared much as he had promised them a chance at vengeance. Flower of Heaven took the longest to recover and wake as her absorption of both Argo's energy shield and core overwhelmed her powers.

"Reign...has our long journey at last come to an end. Have we eliminated all Kryptonian life from the universe?"

"Not yet, sister. Kryptonian life still exists on the primitive planet beneath us. How many, I do not know...but until they are exterminated our mission remains unfinished."

"Then we shall destroy them and the planet they now call home."

"I see that your family has finally awakened Reign; and they have all remembered their purpose. But one Kryptonian must survive. The prophecy indicates that she will be the doom for this planet. She will lead the Worldkillers towards victory."

Reign's eyes burned with anger at Brainiac's words. She and her sisters have never cared for prophecies and for him to insinuate that a Kryptonian would take her place as leader of the Worldkillers ignited an explosive rage.

"You forget your place Dox. You may have convinced my family to rise against Krypton, but if not for us joining you, your plans would have failed. I will bow down before no Kryptonian, nor will my sisters."

"A pity then...perhaps I have less use for you than I thought. The prophecy will not be denied; Worldkiller. Fate has decreed that only the last daughter of Krypton has the power to bring this planet to an end. Allow me to show you the element that will birth her."

Brainiac led his allies to his secret weapon. As before when he began tracking the Worldkillers, he opened the compartment to reveal the black rock. The radiation it began emitting gave pause to Reign, Deimax and Perrilus. Only Flower of Heaven reached for the rock, to be stopped as Dox turned his metallic hand into a vice grip that halted her progress.

"Have care with this last remnant of Krypton. It contains powers unknown and could destroy your very being. This kryptonite must remain untouched until your confrontation with this last daughter. You; Reign will be the one to bring her to her knees."

Brainiac sealed the kryptonite back in to the compartment as his vessel continued to orbit Earth. Through the viewport on the bridge he and the Worldkillers watched the planet with sadistic pride as the humans and Kryptonians inhabiting the planet were ignorant of their coming fate.