Seg-El quotes from Krypton

General Zod

When Brainiac took Kandor, both our families made it out. They made their way to Kryptonopolis. In that city's ancient archives, I learned of the location of a hidden weapon. A pre-cataclysm instrument of violence so powerful, it would give even Brainiac pause.

Seg-El

That's why your base is down here?

General Zod

I've been searching these catacombs for months. With only one clue. [indicating his coat] Inside pocket.

Adam Strange

Don't come crying to me if he's hiding some kind of freaky-ass space spider in there that bites your hand off. Just saying.

Seg-El

Next time we steal uniforms off of dead guys, could you please make sure I go for the larger one?

Nyssa-Vex

Why?

Seg-El

Those trousers are so tight, I nearly castrated myself.

Nyssa-Vex

Rao forbid.

Seg-El

You killed my grandfather when he tried to warn you about Brainiac. And now you are working for him.

Daron-Vex

I had no choice.

Seg-El

There's always a choice. You just made the wrong one. Now's he gonna take the city.

Daron-Vex

I don't know what you're talking about.

Seg-El

Your new master is going to rip Kandor from the ground and enslave all of us. I need to know how he's going to do it so I can stop him.

Daron-Vex

I have idea. And if it were true, you're deluding yourself if you think you have the power to stop him. Better to live under his rule than to die.

Nyssa-Vex

Coward. You won't live to see it.

So, what are we going to do?

Jayna-Zod

We need to raise an army. We can go to Kryptonopolis, establish a base there, reach out to other city-states, and return in force.

Nyssa-Vex

My sisters live there. They can provide us with those resources and connections we need.

There's no time. Brainiac's gonna take the city in a matter of weeks. We must stay and fight!

Jayna-Zod

We will not stand a chance. He controls the Sagitari. If we attempt this ourselves, we'll be slaughtered.

Then so be it. If we are going to die, then at least...

Kem

I'm just gonna stop you there. Um, I don't wanna die, so...

Seg-El

There's another way. The Nova Cycle celebration. That's how we get our army. [holds up a blaster]

Jayna-Zod

Not with that. Our weapons have no effect on him.

Seg-El

They might not harm him, but they will piss him off... when everyone was gonna be watching. If we can provoke him into revealing his true nature, if we can show the people that the Voice of Rao is an alien creature, the entire city will rise and stand against him. We will have our army.

We will need your grandfather's unsurpassed intellect. I believe Val-El is our last, best hope.

Seg-El

You left my grandfather stranded in that place with no way out, but now that we need him, you suddenly have a way to free him.

If you hadn't kept this place a secret from me, I couldn't have done it anytime, if there had been a need. [to Val] I assume you can activate it.

Lyta-Zod

So what's the catch?

Someone has to go in and get him.

Seg-El

I'll go.

You would get lost in there forever. I know my way around and I'll find him.

Nyssa-Vex

Or now that you've failed to stop Brainiac, this is your means of escape.

No one's ever been in there would consider going back an escape.

Seg-El

Grandfather, it's me. It's Seg.

Val-El

You think I wouldn't recognize my own grandson.

General Zod

For all the futures you witnessed, did you ever see one in which you would escape the Phantom Zone?

Val-El

No.

General Zod

So we can change things.

Val-El

No, you can't. From inside the Phantom Zone, I have seen a multitude of possible futures. And they all end the same way: with Brainiac's victory. I assure you, Kandor will be taken. And anyone still there...

Seg-El

...will be trapped in there with Doomsday.

General Zod

We find the Cynthonnites who took him, and we force them to tell us where they hid it.

Val-El

Of the many futures I have seen, the one in which Doomsday is used against Brainiac is, by far, the worst.

Seg-El

Then you lied to me. You promised me there would always be a better tomorrow. And as hard as it was, I believed you. Mom and Dad, they believed you. They gave their lives for your better tomorrow.

Val-El

Those were the empty words of an naive old man. The only tomorrow I have seen are unimaginably worse, as your friends will soon discover.

Seg-El

Where are you going?

General Zod

I'm going to save Krypton!

Seg-El

I will not let you trade Val to Brainiac.

General Zod

I don't think you can stop me.

Seg-El

Val is your flesh and blood too. You would sacrifice him to that thing?

General Zod

And you would sacrifice everyone else?

Seg-El

You don't even know if he'd take the deal! He might just kill you.

General Zod

Is that what you're really afraid of, father? I didn't think so. [pushes Seg aside]

Seg-El

If Brainiac gets a hold of Val, imagine what he could do with that information. Imagine how many more worlds he can conquer! The entire universe will pay the price for this.

General Zod

If he spares Krypton, then so be it.

Seg-El

Don't take a step. I'll do it. I will.

Brainiac

I don't believe you. You had as much chance of convincing me you would kill your own grandfather as convincing me what I see here... is anything more than a hologram.

Seg-El

[activates Phantom Projector] Oh, I wasn't trying to convince you of anything. I just needed your big, green, 12th intellectual ass up on that platform.

Seg-El

Look, if you're here to try and force me to tell you where Doomsday is, then you're wasting your time. The Cynthonnites double-crossed me; they hid it somewhere.

General Zod

That's not why we're here. We need you to get us to the Fortress. We're gonna bring back your grandfather.

Seg-El

Where did he go?

Into the Phantom Zone, a dimension that exists outside the normal space-time continuum.

Lyta-Zod

How do you know that?

Because I was trapped in there with him.

Seg-El

You mean you were sentenced there for leading a coup.

Yes. Because the Council convinced me was as corrupt as the one that condemned Val-El.

Seg-El

That doesn't make sense. If Val went into the Phantom Zone 14 cycles ago, and you were thrown in there some point in the future, how did you two even meet?

Once inside the Phantom Zone, time and space have no meaning. Val told me that her father and the Voice of Rao believing that he was dead, it game him opportunity to seek out Brainiac, observe the way the creature operated in order to help Krypton prepare its defenses.

Seg-El

Then why didn't he come back?

Because he didn't have this. It was his only way out.

Nyssa-Vex

So you stole it? You betrayed him.

Only one of us could get out with this. So, yes, I betrayed him, but not his mission. Who better to stop Brainiac, hmm? A frail old man or a general? Such a mission required a Zod, not an El. Turned out I was both.

Brainiac

I am detecting elevated cortisol levels, which can lead to an increase of thirst and more frequent urination. You need to pace yourself, Seg-El.

Seg-El

So you now care about my well being?

Brainiac

Inasmuch I require your assistance. Radiation from the sunstone caused some of my essential neuromorphic chips to deteriorate.

Seg-El

Yeah, well, those chips must be completely fried if you think I'm helping you.

Brainiac

This world was once a planet-wide technological marvel. And then my progenitors sought to elevate their consciousness by fusing it with artificial intelligence, and thus, I came into being. It took me 1.3 seconds to realize I could optimize my chances of survival by distributing myself throughout the galaxy. Regrettably, this necessitated the extinction of my race.

Seg-El

Why are you telling me this?

Brainiac

Because I know how desperate you are to return to Krypton. There are still remnants of Coluan technology buried here. With your help, I can repair myself and construct a ship.

Seg-El

Yeah, yeah. And the minute I outlive my usefulness, you're gonna betray me.

Brainiac

Well, of course, just as you will inevitably turn on me. But it only logical to put aside our differences until then. Assuming you are capable of rationality.

Seg-El

No, Adam?

Adam Strange

Yeah, surprise.

Seg-El

No, Adam, you died. I watched you die. There was an explosion, how...

Adam Strange

Saved by the Zeta-Beam.

Seg-El

You know, I really, really thought I would never say these words... [hugs Adam] But, damn, am I really glad to see you, Earth-Man.

Adam Strange

What the shit was that?

Seg-El

I don't know. Brainiac said that this planet's meant to be uninhabited.

Adam Strange

Was that before or after you turned his head into a canoe?