Author's Note: This chapter is decidedly darker then others. As always, reviews are welcome.

She had done it! She had found the one meant for her! A Kryptonian, her perfect opposite, her perfect equal!

Queen Maxima of Almerac would finally have a worthy consort. Almerac would know an era unlike any other. They could begin as soon as her future husband settled down.

Her future husband did not settle down.

He had been so angry with her. He had made this abundantly clear, he had not shouted, he had not screamed, he had mocked her families history and traditions in front of the entire court when he'd destroyed the throne she'd offered him and dropped what was left at her feet. He had called her many things, chief among them a "spoiled brat" incensed, she had hit him hard enough to silence his words, and then, looking into those eyes, she had truly felt fear for the first time in her life, to her eternal shame she had taken a step back at the pure, undiluted rage she saw contained in those fiery red glowing depths.

Whatever she had expected next did not happen, instead, it was as if a switch had been flipped within him, his eyes returned to their usual cerulean blue, he turned his back on her and walked out of the throne room and out of the palace.

Seeing that rage had given her pause, seeing that rage suppressed in the next instant had left her feeling confused and more than a little aroused. That he possessed such passion, such fire and could keep it contained under such an icy facade intensely fascinated her.

Had all kryptonians been capable of this? Or was it a quality he alone possessed? She found herself wondering if it was a trait that could be passed on to their children.

It had taken weeks for her to finally admit to herself he would not come back to beg her forgiveness. A few more days after that to find him. It was inconceivable to her that there was one who would refuse her. Doubly so that the one in question was her chosen.

The only reason nobody accepted his offer of anything within his power to grant them in exchange for safe passage back to earth was because they feared the punishment she would have meted out in return. Or at least that was what she had believed at the time.

She had learned he had taken work on a farm in exchange for food and a place to sleep. Her earlier threat to any who offered him passage off world had been enough to bar any ports from allowing him entry. Although it seemed now that her people approved of her chosen and did not wish him to leave.

All Almeracians knew the stories of the Kryptonians. They had been a universally respected people. That one of them should become their king was seen as a very good thing. A cooling influence on their fiery queen.

She had approached him, though it had irked her pride to do so. She had given him a great honour, chosen him over all others. When she tried to convince him he had given her a cold look and made clear he held no regard for the honour she had bestowed. She was a queen, he called her a common criminal. She would have him become her husband, he said he would not be a slave. She promised him a life of luxury, he said a cage was still a cage no matter how pretty. Growing increasingly angry at his obstinate behaviour, she struck him. Only to flinch at the glacial coldness in those eyes as he turned his head back to face her. His next words she was certain she would take to her grave. He told her she was not fit to be a queen, knew nothing of love and no child of his would ever call her mother.

Her royal guard had been dispatched to drag him back to the palace. Almeracians and Kryptonians were well matched in power under a yellow sun. The fight had been a sight to see. Proving again how well she had chosen. Of the twenty sent to fetch her future husband only five were able to complete their task. Fifteen disgraced guards had been hospitalised from a fight they would not soon forget.

A thoroughly beaten Kryptonian had been held down long enough for them to fit him with a slave collar. After that something in him changed. If she had thought him obstinate before, she soon learned he was impossible to conquer now. He would never raise a hand to her, his own code of honour would not permit him to harm women, a strangely archaic custom to be sure but one that served to further frustrate her.

On Almerac it was a common practice for a dispute to be fought out to the fullest extent until one yielded to the other. But he refused.

He refused to obey, he refused to co-operate.

He refused to talk, he refused to fight.

He refused to touch her, he refused to even look at her.

In desperation she used the pain giving option on the slave collar. He had struggled, he had staggered, eventually he had fallen, when he had finally passed out, she had him taken to her private chambers.

While he had remained unconscious, she had cleaned him up. Immensely enjoying the intimacy of their closeness while he was in such a relaxed state. Unable to stop herself, she had kissed him.

He had awoken during the kiss and shoved her off of him. Hurriedly backing away from her while quickly examining his surroundings. He had crashed off the bed, knocking over the small table and the grooming kit she had used to cut his hair and shave off his beard. In her eagerness to sooth him she had missed his hand claiming one of the sharp blades he now held as weapon to fend her off with.

She had chastised him for his foolishness, explaining that he had no choice but to comply to her wishes and ordered him to put down the blade before he hurt himself.

Instead, he turned the blade on himself and before she could stop him opened an artery in his neck. He fought her as much as he could as she tried to keep his lifeblood from leaving him.

After that it became clear to her that he could not be trusted to his own devices and would have to be watched closely to prevent another incident.

During his recovery, while heavily medicated his guard had lowered, the strong medicines loosening his tongue. She had learned a few things about him. He had been named Kal-El by Jor-El and Lara. He had felt a crushing responsibility for the lives affected by pieces of his birth planet. He felt immense guilt for the fact the man who he considered his real father had sacrificed his life trying to keep him safe from Jor-El's plans. He could barely look his mother in the eye without being reminded of this fact. He had been married before and had lost his wife to a killer. Jealousy flared within her at the mention of his dead wife. That another had once had what she coveted did not sit well with her.

For the longest time she had wanted a consort who was perfect for her. That ideal had been embodied by the men of Krypton. Kryptonians were revered as the greatest warriors the universe had ever seen. That she would even find one was a carefully hidden hope she had held to her heart since she had learned of their existence. That this single survivor was as cold to her as his dead homeworld was so ironic it wasn't even funny.

"How do you feel?"

"Crap! So I'm still here"

"If I had not stopped the bleeding you would have died my husband"

"I AM NOT YOUR DAMN HUSBAND!"

"Soon we will be wed and then we will start . . ."

"Stop it"

"You are stubborn, I am told many marriages start out with difficulties . . . "

"Get this through your thick skull, I am not going to stay here, I am not going to marry you and I am not going to let you use me for some sort of breeding program"

"You are the last Kryptonian, do you have no wish to carry on your peoples legacy"

"No"

"Then you dishonour their memory"

"What would a kidnapper and thief know about honour?"

"How dare you . . "

"How dare you! You took me from my planet, stole me away when I refused you."

"I am the queen of Almerac"

"You are a spoiled brat and a tyrant, any child of yours is looking at a lifetime of abuse and cruelty. I will not help you.

"I could make you"

"I'll bet, then you could be a spoiled brat, a tyrant and a rapist."

"Do not speak to me this way, I am a queen"

"Or what? You'll have be beaten again?"

"You will be re-educated"

"Brainwashing? Why am I not surprised, good luck explaining to the kid that mommy had daddy turned into a robot just so she could rape him." The punch came out of nowhere, Clark was surprised he was still conscious afterward.

"You will co-operate"

"I will die first"

"The people of Almerac expect you to be my consort"

"The people of Almerac can rot for all i care"

"What will it take to get you to accept this union"

"You are the Mayor of Crazy-town! I cannot be bought like some toy for you to play with! I am not for sale! Either let me go or kill me"

"I will get what i want"

Not long after that conversation, they moved him to the room for his "re-education" Clark had fought as hard as he could, whether it was to escape or to get himself killed he wasn't sure. What he was sure of was that whatever would come out of "re-education" would not be him.

Maxima watched on, certain that they would look back on this as the first chapter of their lives together. He would come to accept his place by her side as queens consort. They would start a dynasty that would change the universe, he would add Krypton's strength to Almerac's. Their children would inherit such a beautiful world that Maxima and Kal-El had made for them. Most importantly he would never again speak such cruel words to her.

It was many days later when he emerged from re-education.

At the first sight of him she had felt compelled to run into his arms. Having missed his presence. Looking into those eyes was her first clue that something had gone wrong.

"My husband?"

"I am Kal-El of Krypton and it is time I fulfilled my destiny"

She never saw the punch that rendered her unconscious. When she came to, she found herself in a cell, chained and secured like her husband had once been.

"You are the one who freed me." Looking up at the voice, she saw her chosen enter the cell.

"Who are you?"

"I am Kal-El"

"You said you preferred 'Clark Kent'"

"Thanks to your influence, Clark Kent is dead, purged from the mind that had held me prisoner"

"I do not understand"

"My father was forced to intervene when the Clark Kent personality would not obey him. It was necessary to input Kryptonian ideals and knowledge to fulfil the destiny Jor-El had laid out for me"

"You were re-educated before" Maxima realized with growing understanding.

"Due to the interferance of Martha Kent, I was imprisoned and Clark Kent once again took control of this body. Now I can fulfil my destiny and Krypton will be reborn.

"Release me, I will gladly have you join me in this venture, we can bring about a new beginning, blending Krypton and Almerac"

"No"

"No?"

"You have no part in this."

"But you said you would see Krypton reborn?"

"Krypton will be reborn, it's power rebuilt, for that to happen Almerac will be destroyed"

"Why?"

"Before a foundation can be laid, the area must be cleared"

"I will not allow this"

"It has already been done"

"Then why am I still here?"

"Krypton will require workers until the first of the new generation reach maturity"

"I am no worker, I am the queen of Almerac"

"You are queen no more, as Almerac is no more"

After she had calmed down, one of her husbands drug induced utterings came back to mind.

Jor-El's message to rule with strength, for that was where his power lay.

It was only then Maxima had realised her wish for a new era had been fulfilled. By her own hand.

The era of a new Krypton.