"Dreams save us. Dreams lift us up and transform us. And on my soul, I swear until my dream of a world where dignity, honor, and justice becomes the reality we all share, I'll never stop fighting. Ever." -Superman

Justice League: Origins Reborn is to be read first. Read through the first ten chapters.This is the second story in my DC Universe, and the first solo hero story. So who else to lead off with but Superman? He is my favorite hero and the true face of DC comics. The first arc of this story comes after TDoS and before Darkseid attacks earth (which as of right now, hasn't been written). It will follow Superman's trial during the 6 months between the two events I previously mentioned. At that point, well we'll get there...

Previously on Justice League: Origins Reborn...

Somewhere outside of time...

Clark opened his eyes. He immediately looked to his chest. There was no hole, no obvious damage. The last thing Clark remembered was the battle with Doomsday. Then...he was shot. And then he died, or at least he thought he did. Clark looked around. It appeared he was in his childhood bedroom. Warm sunlight filtered in through the window and endless rows of corn could be seen. Clark was clad in a white t-shirt and blue jeans. He always used to wear this when working out in the field.

Clark left his room and headed downstairs into the kitchen. "Ma! Pa!" Clark knocked on their bedroom door. "You in there?" Clark waited a few second but received no answer. "Where am I?" He wondered out loud. This couldn't be his real home. It just...felt different.

Clark continued his journey by walking outside. The sun felt good on his skin, but that was when Clark noticed something, his powers were absent. For the first time in his life, Clark was powerless. He couldn't see past the cornfields. He couldn't hear the cows in the distance. Just to test his theory he tried to lift the Kent family tractor. It didn't budge.

"What the hell is going on?" Clark asked the empty farm. He half expected an answer but none came. He sighed and sat down in his father's old rocking chair. "Okay Clark you can figure this out. You have to. There's a world full of people relying on you." He thought back to his last memories. "Okay I definitely died, so...is this heaven?" He looked around. "I hope heaven wouldn't be this empty."

"No." A voice said next to him. Clark whipped his head toward the voice. In the chair next to him was none other than Bruce Wayne. "You would like to believe heaven is filled to the brim. You believe in the goodness of man." Bruce added. "Probably the same reason you believe in heaven."

"So does Bruce, deep down. But your not him." Clark countered to the imposter. "Who are you and where am I?"

"Good questions Kal-El. Or Clark. Or Superman." The fake Bruce said. "You have many names. Which do you prefer?" He asked.

"Call me Clark." He was getting frustrated with the lack of answers. "Now can you answer my questions?"

"Not quiet." Bruce answered. He turned toward the cornfield and admired the view. "Beautiful place here Clark." He paused before sighing and looking at Clark again. "Fine. Call me...Nimotor. This place is...well think of it like this. Do you know what the 12 trails of Hercules are?"

Clark nodded. "I'm familiar with the tale."

"Good." Nimotor said. "Think of this world, as the 12 trials of Superman." Nimotor smiled, but it looked foreign on his face. "Well, except you won't receive 12 trials, you will only receive one." He waved his hand and the red truck Clark used to drive appeared in the driveway. "Drive to Metropolis. I'll meet you there." Nimotor disappeared in a flash.

Clark chuckled in disbelief. "What have I gotten myself into?" He said out loud. He shook his head clear and hopped into the truck. He turned the key and the truck fired up like it used to 10 years ago. Clark smiled a little and shifted the truck into gear. He quietly hummed the song, On the Road Again, to himself. He pushed away thoughts of his teammates and Lois and focused on the road. He had work to do. He had to get home.

The normal drive from Smallville to Metropolis normally took around 20 hours of continuous driving. This was not a normal drive. There was not another car in sight. Not another person. The world was completely empty, yet somehow worked like it always did. Streetlights turned on at night, smoke billowed out of factories, and food magically was being made at restaurants. At one point during his journey Clark pulled into a McDonald's, inside he found mountains of perfectly warm food.

Clark was beginning to understand the world he was in. It acted like the world he was used to, expect he was the only one in it. If what Nimotor said was the truth, this world was created for him. The only question was, why? Why did Clark get an entire world to himself, and seemingly another chance at life. "Why do you think Clark?" Clark turned to look and saw Barry sitting in the passenger seat.

"Nimotor. Nice to see you again." Clark said and focused on he road.

"Not quite Clark." Barry replied. "I am an agent of...what'd you call him? Nimotor? Well whatever he chooses to call himself these days, I work for him. And unlike Nimotor I do not have a name, but if you like you may call me Barry." Then Barry paused and thought for a second. "No that may confuse you. Call me...Bert." Bert nodded.

"Okay, Bert." Clark said and looked at him. "So why'd you come to talk to me?"

"You asked a question." Bert replied easily. "I hoped to help provide an answer. So, Clark why did you get a world to yourself, and another chance at life?"

"The obvious answer seems to be that I 'deserve' it, but I don't believe that. Heroes die everyday and none of them get another chance at life. Why would I?" Clark asked rhetorically.

"Maybe your right." Bert nodded. "But then why are you here?"

"Nimotor wants something. Namely, me. For...something." Clark guessed. "The trial is to see if I'm good enough for whatever it is he wants."

"Solid idea, Clark." Bert complimented him. "Very, very, good idea Clark. I'd say you were correct if you weren't so wrong."

Clark looked at him in surprise. "Then why?"

"Oh no no no, Clark." Bert chided him. "I'm not here to answer your questions. You have to find the answers for yourself."

"Then why are you here?" Clark asked getting annoyed.

Bert shrugged. "To help you find your answers. And we're both bored." They both sat in silence for a couple seconds. "Why are you a hero Clark?"

"What?" Clark asked like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world.

"I thought it was a fairly simple question Clark." Bert retorted. "Why be a hero? Being a villain is what most people would do. There's a reason they greatly outnumber the heroes. The average man would rather be a villain, the appeal is too great. A villain can take whatever they want, a hero is simply a very generous civilian. Not only that but most heroes are under appreciated."

"I don't believe that's true." Clark said. "I believe people are naturally good. I think circumstances force people to make bad choices."

"Yes. Nimotor said you believe in the 'goodness of man'." Bert said. "Well this trial is going to test your beliefs Clark. All of them." Bert checked his watch. "Well we're almost to Metropolis."

"What I've only been driving for like 3 hours?" Clark said in confusion, but there it was, the City of Tomorrow.

"Clark this drive was going to last as long as Nimotor wanted it to. You should keep that in mind." Bert said. "Clark I'll see you again soon. You won't remember me though." And suddenly the Barry look-alike was gone. Clark didn't have time to ponder Bert's words, as the engine in his truck died as soon as Bert disappeared.

"Great." Clark said sarcastically. Then he noticed the building his truck had died in front of. "Well that makes sense." Clark got out of his truck and walked into the Daily Planet. Just like everywhere else it was completely empty. "Nimotor?" Clark called out into the empty lobby.

"Right here Clark." Nimotor was seated at the receptionist desk, filling out paper work. He still looked like Bruce. "You're going to forget about all of this Clark, it's the only way to ensure that your actions are truly pure. Do you understand?"

"Yes I understand." Clark nodded. "So what exactly is this trial going to be?"

"Like Bert told you, this trial will test your beliefs." Nimotor explained. "But most of all, it will make sure you're the hero the universe deserves. I hope for all of us you succeed, godspeed Superman. I'll see on the other side."

And then Clark blacked out.

"Ugh, my head is killing me." Clark groaned as he woke up. He sat up in bed and looked around. 'Weird. I feel like someone else should be here...' He shook the thought from his head. 'Come on Clark you know you live alone.' He rolled out of bed and fumbled around for his glasses, he couldn't see without the the damn things. He finally found them after several minutes of groping around in the dark. He put them on and he could now get his day started.

Shower, shave, brush teeth, get dressed. The same routine everyday. Dress shoes, black slacks, white shirt, suit jacket, and a tie. Black or red. Company policy. Then all he had to do was grab his briefcase and work id. It was a small piece of plastic that seemingly controlled his whole life. It had his name, date of birth, a picture, and of course the famous LexCorp logo. It also had the ability to monitor his every move. If he wasn't within 10 feet of it at all times he would be fired, or possibly even worse. LexCorp also used the id to make sure their employee's weren't doing any 'unsavory' activities. Clark was pretty sure the id recorded audio as well.

Clark left his small one-bedroom apartment and walked out into the not-so-fresh Metropolis air. Many people wore medical mask to protect themselves was the harmful, polluted air. Clark knew it may eventually kill him, but he refused to wear a mask, it didn't feel right. "Hey!" Clark heard a harsh voice yell in his direction. He turned around to a LexCorp enforcer standing behind him. "Be careful walking that way. There are protesters on 9th and Mitchell." Clark nodded his thanks and continued down the street, it wasn't long before he could see the protesters.

There were about two dozen protesters chanting in unison. Picket signs displaying their very clear message. 'LexCorp is evil!' 'Superman is a monster!' 'The Justice League doesn't care about Justice!' Protest like these were common, and Clark knew what was coming next. Enforcers began attacking the protesters, beating them with batons and shocking them with tasers. Suddenly they all stopped and looked toward the sky. Clark saw why they stopped. Superman had arrived.

"Mr. Luthor!" The head enforcer fell to one knee. His fellow enforcers followed his lead. "We were just dealing with these dirty criminals, Superman, sir."

"Good work solider." Superman said as he landed gently in front of the man. "But I'll handle them from here. Understood?" There was an underlying threat to his words. The enforcer had done nothing wrong, but Superman made sure he knew that didn't matter. If Superman desired him dead, he would die.

"Yes, sir." He said quickly before getting away as quickly as possible. Clark realized he shouldn't be standing out in the open and quickly ducked behind a dumpster, so he could still see. Superman turned his attention to the protesters, who were either too injured to move, or paralyzed with fear.

Superman slowly walked around the protesters bodies. "Who is in charge here?" He asked the group. When he failed to recieve an answer he picked up one the protesters by her neck. She was a young pretty girl, probably still in her teens. And then he snapped her neck. "Anyone want to talk now?"

Clark's breath caught in his throat. He didn't know how many people he had seen killed by the Justice League, at least a hundred, but for some reason it suddenly bothered him. And then the deaths of all those other people ran through his head and he just couldn't stand it anymore. He had to do something, so he stood up to run out there, but was immediately jerked back down. "Are you crazy Clark? What the hell are you doing?"

Clark turned to see a blonde man about his age. It was Bert, his best friend since kindergarten. "I'm going to stop him." He stated.

"Clark you can't stop him. He's Superman. He could kill you with a look. Literally." Bert looked at him like he was insane. "You can't go out there, you'll die. Plus they're going to die whether you go out there or not."

"That doesn't matter. I have an obligation to stand up for what's right, whether I have the power to stop it or not." Clark explained.

"What good will it do? You're just going to die." Bert pleaded with his friend. "And so will all of them."

"Maybe it will inspire someone else. At the very least I'll be doing what's right." Clark then heard someone scream out in pain and he ran out from his hiding place. Out of the corner of his eyes he thought he saw Bert smile. "Hey! Superman!" He picked up a rock and hurled it at Superman, nailing him in the head. "Let him go!"

Superman had been using his heat vision to torture one of the protesters. He slowly turned around and faced Clark. "Who, the hell, are you?"

"Clark Kent." Clark said confidently. "And you need to stop hurting these people."

Superman laughed in his face. "Why? Whose going to stop me? You? I am a god! You're pathetic!"

"No I can't stop you." Clark admitted. "But I know two things. First, I'm doing the right thing, even if it gets me killed. Second, you are not a god."

"I'm not a god!" Superman cried in anger. "You must be confusing me with someone else, because I am certainly a god! I will punish you Clark Kent, but not by killing you, no that would be too easy. Instead I will make you watch all of these people die, and then I will kill you. How does that sounds Clark?"

"Just kill me, you don't have to kill them." Clark pleaded.

"Oh but I do Clark. They have disobeyed me. They have disobeyed their god. I give them that all that they need and yet they still are not satisfied." Superman had the look of a madman in his eyes. "There is no hunger, no poverty, no crime, we live in a perfect world. All thanks to me and the other Justice Leaguers. We have given them all that they could wish for and we get no thanks. They must be punished Clark, and they must be punished with death."

"What kind of perfect world doesn't have freedom, Alexander?" Clark asked as he started Lex Luthor in the eyes.

Superman's breathing became ragged. "You...you will not call me that! You will pay! I will ki-" And then the world exploded, and Clark blacked out.

Clark once again woke with an ache in his head. "This better not become a regular thing." Then he noticed he wasn't in his tiny one bedroom apartment. The events of the previous day came flooding back to him. The last thing he remembered was a huge explosion and then a black out. "Where the hell am I?" He asked aloud not expecting an answer.

"Hey Smallville. Long time no see."

And that concludes our first chapter of The Adventures of Superman. Little short, but this is where the chapter ends. I sincerely hope you enjoyed. Please follow, favorite, review, blah, blah, blah. And here is my pondering for the day. We all have different goals and expectations for ourselves, and often the greatest disappointments we have are when we fail to reach goals we set for ourselves. And when we met a goal it isn't that satisfying, because well, we were supposed to succeed. Humans are always pushing for excellence, but it can be good to remember when we do something good and celebrate it, who knows how many more times you can. Now for our second quote of the day.

It's not an S. On my world it means hope. -Superman