Justice Leage: The Price of Tomorrow, Pt 6

by CaedKunn

The conclusion to The Price of Tomorrow. Batman tries to shut down the Terra-forming engines, Barry tries to rescue civilians, Sherina searches for Lionel, and Superman has to make a choice. Thank you everyone who has read the other 5 chapters, hope you find this ending satisfying, if not slightly unexpected.

JUSTICE LEAGUE

The Price of Tomorrow

Part 6

The Watchtower

Steve Trevor watched as Cyborg monitored the computers.

"So, where you heading?" Cyborg asked.

Trevor bit his lip. "Washington, I guess," he said. "Should probably go see what kind of welcoming committee they have for me."

Cyborg looked up from the consul, his one human eye downcast with pity. "How much trouble you going to be in?"

"Can't see what else they can do to me," Trevor said sighing. "A.R.G.U.S. is shut down, and I'm relieved of duty. Breaking out of the hospital you're not officially being detained in isn't a crime, and I wasn't the one whole took the prototype projector. So, probably nothing official, but unofficially, they'll know it was me, and I'll have hell to pay."

"Right," Cyborg said, turning back to his monitors. "The two who did take the prototype, Mickelson and Day, they seem like good people, handy in a fix."

"Real good people," Trevor said. Then, more seriously, "They don't technically work for the Government, just me. It could be real - bad - for them if that's found out. Could face charges of…"

"Don't worry, already taken care of," Cyborg said. He pressed a few keys and the monitors changed to show the video surveillance feed from the hospital.

The two guards who'd been assigned to him were sitting in their chairs. Cyborg sped up the footage, and it showed the guards gradually nodding off before falling asleep entirely.

"Wow," Trevor said. "That doesn't look tampered with at all."

"That's because its not," Cyborg said.

Trevor nodded as he remembered. Batman had instructed Mickelson and Day to drug the guards evening meals. This must have been intentional so as to make it appear like they had just fallen asleep on the job.

A few second later, Cyborg slowed the footage, and they watched as Trevor walked past the guards, alone, and in his full hospitable attire. The footage also looked real, and would fool anyone, unless they knew it was doctored as Trevor did.

"Batman had me work the camera feeds and set up alibi's for each of them," Cyborg said. "Nobody should ever know they were involved."

"Good," Trevor said. "Last thing I'd ever want is for them to get in trouble because of me."

Trevor felt relived to know they would be ok, but a bit let down at the same time. Mickelson and Day felt like the last two people Trevor could trust after everything that had happened in the last forty eight hours. But now, with A.R.G.U.S. shut down, it seemed his relationship with them would probably end. Even now, they were in the Arctic, whisked there by the Justice League, on a mission to rescue Superman from the Phantom Zone, and shut down the Terraforming engines within the Fortress of Solitude. They were there instead of him, fighting beside the people who'd once been his friends, who'd once been his…

Trevor pushed those thoughts out his head. Cyborg was working on the Boom Tube coordinates, and Trevor let his eyes wander. They stopped on Sherina, the woman from the future who had fought Diana and Superman.

"What's next for her?" he asked.

"Don't know," Cyborg said. "Guess that's up to Batman."

"Batman?" Trevor asked. "You trust his judgment?"

Cyborg paused and looked thoughtfully at nothing in particular, then to Sherina, before turning back to Trevor. "Yeah, I do," he said, flatly.

Trevor opened his mouth to protest, but stopped when Cyborg turned back to the consul briskly; his way of saying the conversation was over. Trevor felt his shoulders tense. This woman, Sherina, was something akin to a terrorist, and, in his opinion, should be handed over to the Government along with her two cohorts, wherever they were. However, Trevor realized his opinion mattered very little anymore, so it was no use arguing, especially with people he liked.

"Coordinates are set, Colonel Trevor," Cyborg said.

"Thanks Cyborg, Vic," Trevor said. He quickly forgot his bitter feelings and extending his hand. Cyborg was a good guy, and Trevor preferred to leave on good terms with one person at least. "It was good to see you again."

Cyborg took it. "Yeah, you too Steve. If you run into my dad, tell him I said hi."

"Will do."

He passed Sherina along his way to the Boom tube platform. She stared at him blankly, and Trevor just looked forward.

She didn't look at all like a woman capable of defeating Diana, Wonder Woman, in hand to hand combat, or Superman for that matter. But apparently she had. Trevor had watched her fight Diana himself on the news, and when he arrived at the Watchtower he learned that she had somehow trapped Superman in the Phantom Zone.

But the woman held here looked like strung out druggie, with long, drawn, blood shot eyes, skin hanging of her skinny arms and legs, and taking shallow, rasping, breaths.

She looked terrible. He didn't know where she came from, or what she wanted with Diana and Superman. She'd also seemed surprised, perhaps even horrified, to learn that one of her cohorts had turned on the Terraforming engines putting millions of people at risk.

When Trevor had stepped just ahead of her, he stopped. "If anyone can stop your friend, its Superman," he said.

He waited a moment, unsure for what. Silence lingered between them for a moment or two, and he continued on.

He had just stepped onto the Boom Tube platform when Cyborg began speaking urgently from behind the consul.

"Yeah I'll check right now. Whoa, Batman he's right, someone did break into the prison."

Trevor whirled around.

"It's not anywhere in the media, so I have to check… got it. Damn. Twenty three guards and soldiers, all dead. The prisoner…Batman he's out, vanished, and they don't have even a tiny lead on him."

Trevor tentatively stepped off the Boom Tube platform, straining his ears to hear more.

"I know he couldn't have just vanished, but I'm telling you, they have no idea where Luthor is," Cyborg said.

Trevor's eyes shot wide open, and to his surprise, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Sherina's head had shot up as well. "Luthor?" Trevor said. "As in Lex Luthor?"

Cyborg began typing furiously. Images began flashing on the screen, and his eyes were vibrating rapidly. Trevor knew that meant he was downloading and processing a lot of data. Then, they stopped suddenly, and grew wide.

"Private channel," he said, urgency lacing his voice thickly.

Trevor ran to the consul. He was familiar with it, but the monitors were flickering at a speed only Cyborg could comprehend. However, Trevor was able to see bits and pieces of information here and there.

"Figured I should tell you this first before the others, but two ICBM's have been launched from Metropolis," Cyborg said.

Trevor stared at Cyborg in disbelief. Then, he started frantically searching the screens, hoping to catch any kind of information related this. His mind began racing, thinking. Metropolis. There was a military base on the outskirts of Metropolis.

"They're heading in a Northwards trajectory," Cyborg continued.

There was something different, unique, about the Metropolis Base, but Trevor couldn't remember exactly what. He began grinding his teeth, reviewing everything he knew about the base. It was built decades ago, as most Military bases around major cities are, but had received an increase in funding, equipment, and personnel only a few years ago.

"I can't say for certain, they're taking a round about way, heading out over the ocean first."

In his peripheral, Trevor saw that Sherina was watching them intently.

"I'm sifting through possible targets now, but I have a hunch, the one we talked about before."

The commanding officer of the Metropolis military base was high ranking and very influential. Whenever he was called to the leave the base, it was to oversee Top Secret operations, or to testify before congress on sensitive matters. He was also the father of a well known Metropolis news reporter.

Trevor's eyes went wide. He remembered.

"Operation Arctic Storm," he whispered.

Cyborg turned towards him. "No, that' Colonel Trevor… yeah, he's still here..."

Trevor dashed to Cyborg's side. "Batman listen," Trevor said. "Get everyone out of there. The target is Superman's Fortress of Solitude."

Cyborg's human eye went wide. Then, he pressed his hand to his ear. "What's operation Arctic Storm?" Cyborg asked, obviously for Batman.

Trevor clenched his teeth, knowing this could possible be interpreted as treason. "It's - a series of safety measure in case Superman ever turn's against us," Trevor said. "The Government wanted a means to fight Superman if he ever became a threat to the U.S. A Nuclear strike on the Fortress of Solitude was one of them. General Sam Lane is the commanding officer at the Metropolis Military base. He's probably overseeing this."

"How long has this been planned?" Cyborg asked.

"It's been talked about for years, but it took the He'l incident for it to finally gain traction," Trevor said. "He'l proved the Fortress of Solitidude could be used as a weapon, so they wanted to make sure they could eliminate it." (Superman: He'l on Earth)

"They really think Superman would turn against humanity?" Cyborg asked.

Trevor threw his hands in the air. "Well, does a big alien fortress causing the Polar Ice caps to melt sound like a threat to you?"

Cyborg turned to the monitors. One of them had a map of globe and it was tracking the temperature changes in the oceans. The map was lit up in a dark red along several coast lines which were expected to flood once the caps melted and the sea levels rose. On another monitor, Cyborg had a display of the flight paths of the nukes. They were out over the ocean now, and were beginning to bank sharply north.

"They've changed trajectories," Cyborg said into the comm. "Due north now."

"They're making sure they don't fly over Canadian space," Trevor said.

His mind began racing again. The Justice League was in the Fortress, along with Mickelson and Day. They were trying to get Superman out of the Phantom Zone.

"If the Fortress isn't seen as a threat anymore, would they call off the nukes?" Cyborg asked.

"They'd have too," Trevor said. "You don't just launch a Nuclear Warhead frivolously. The U.N. council and the rest of the world won't look kindly on a nuke being detonated. But right now, I'm sure everyone that mattes knows what's happening up there, and are probably hoping these nukes stop it."

"Batman," Cyborg said into the comm. "ETA to impact is approximately twenty eight minutes. Get Superman out of there and shut down the engines…what?!"

"What?" Trevor asked. Again, in his peripheral view, he saw Sherina, listening intently.

"The Fortress - it's been sabotaged." Cyborg said.

"Sabotaged?" Trevor said.

"Without them, Batman doesn't think Superman can shut down the engines," Cyborg said.

Trevor blinked. "Then you gotta get Superman out of the Phantom Zone. He and Diana can catch those bastards and hurl them into space."

"Hopefully they'll get him out in time," Cyborg said. "They've staggered them; the second is about five or six minutes behind the first. Not even Superman can fly that fast."

Trevor's jaw tighten, and his fists clenched. He began pacing, resisting the urge to start pounding the consul. His mind flashed between Diana, Mickelson and Day, and the scattered villages near the Fortress. He knew the Justice League wouldn't just sit around; they'd try to evacuate as many as they could from the villages. But what about Mickelson and Day? The storm around the Fortress was growing, and Cyborg couldn't Boom them to safety unless they were out of its range.

His guilt-ridden feelings from earlier increasing tenfold, and spilled over when he Sherina speak behind them.

"It was Lionel…wasn't it."

Trevor leapt over the consul and dashed towards her. A moment later, with the world a blur around hi, he felt his hand clenched around her neck, squeezing tightly. "This is your doing," he said through clenched teeth.

"No…" she said, gasping weakly. "Never…part of the…plan. Never my…"

"Shut up!"

Trevor pictured himself squeezing down on her Adam's apple, crushing her wind pipe, and watching her gasp for breath that wouldn't come. He didn't care who she was anymore, didn't care where she'd come from. It was because of the, Sherina and her cohorts, that this was happening, why Mickelson, Day, and Diana could all die.

But his thoughts were shaken, and he loosened his grip as a hand clamped down hard on his shoulder.

"Trevor don't," Cyborg said. "That's not you man."

Trevor released, and Sherina fell back against the wall. She coughed and gasped, but managed to stay upright. Trevor stepped back. Dark spots began creeping inwards from the corners of his vision. His arms and legs felt shaky, and his heart was racing.

"Listen," Sherina said, panting. "I might… be able… to help."

"Help!" Trevor said. "This is all your fault. Your plan, your operation, your friends!"

"No," Sherina said. She stood tall, and locked her eyes on Trevor's. "We came here to save lives, not take them."

"Well good job with that," Trevor said. "Because either millions are going to die once the sea levels rise, or thousands once the nuke hits."

"Dude, calm down Trevor," Cyborg said.

"Either way, people are going to die, and its because of you."

"I know!"

Trevor and Cyborg became silent and still. Sherina stood, breathing heavily with her fists clenched and eyes narrowed, glaring at Trevor as if ready to fight him.

"This is our fault," she continued. "And I want a chance to make it right. So let me."

"Oh please," Trevor said.

"I can find Lionel."

Trevor shook his head and muttered something inaudible, but Cyborg stepped closer to her.

"How can you do that?" Cyborg asked, calmly.

"Do you still have my affects?" she asked.

Cyborg nodded, cautiously. "Safely away though, in case you had anymore tricks."

"Search them," she said. "You'll find a radar device and our means for transportation. Lionel probably left the Fortress a few minutes before they got there, but he could easily be miles away by now."

"So what," Trevor said. "They have the Flash."

Sherina shook her head. "He can't search the entire arctic that quickly blind, especially if he's trying to evacuate civilians. But I can track him, and get to him quickly."

"What then?" Cyborg asked.

"I'll take him back to the Fortress and make him shut down those engines, by his neck if I have too.".

"And you expect us to trust you?" Trevor said.

Sherina's eyes didn't waiver. "I know you don't have a reason too, but I hope you do anyway."

Trevor was about to shout again, but Cyborg cut him off.

"Ok, it's a deal," he said.

Trevor stepped back, his mouth hanging open. "What!"

Cyborg began undoing Sherina's bindings. "Batman says you should go to Metropolis," he said. Trevor felt his ears begin to burn hot. Of course, Batman had been listening the whole time, and he had made the decision to trust Sherina. "It's a long shot, but if anyone can convince General Lane to call off the nukes, it's you."

Trevor was about to begin shouting again, but Cyborg had already released Sherina and began leading her away.

Over his shoulder, Cyborg said, "I've just set the coordinates to place you right outside the base. Just step onto the Boom Tube platform and everything will take care of itself. Twenty two minutes left."

The Arctic

Ignoring the aching in his back, and the numbness of his hands, Lionel grunted and heaved one final bit of snow out of the hole he'd dug. Smiling, he withdrew a small round device from his pack and casually tossed it in the hole, then began replacing the snow.

The wind was wiping and biting harshly at his ears, and the light from the sun was growing dimmer and dimmer, but Lionel didn't care. He looked back at the path he'd chosen, a vale along the side of a small mountain range west of the Fortress of Solitude

This will do, he thought to himself. This will do just fine.

This was the sixth such hole he'd dug, and he planned on digging two more. He'd begun burying them at the top of the vale; four to five feet in the snow, and staggered twenty to thirty yards apart down the left and right sides.

Thunder sounded off in the distance as Lionel replaced the final bit of snow. Looking up, he saw the dark storm clouds rolling out in every direction from the Fortress of Solitude. They were steadily gaining strength and momentum, and it wouldn't be long the environmental changes being done would start wreaking havoc.

He could already feel the air growing steadily warmer, even through the harsh winds. He figured the normally frigidly cold arctic air was being forced to contend with the warm air being generated by The Fortress of Solitude's Terraforming engines. As the oxygen molecules grew warmer and began to move faster, they would begin to rise, contending with the colder air molecules. The two air fronts would twist and twirl, creating a mighty monsoon which would continue to grow as long as the engines continued to warm the air.

Lionel smiled.

He briefly checked his time piece, then began making his way to the other side of the vale. He descended slightly as he made his way across, making sure his next piece would be buried at least twenty yards below the one he'd just planted.

It wouldn't be long until the final phase of his plan began. By now his ancestor, Lex Luthor, should have reached the Metropolis military base, and promised a way to turn off the engines.

The plan had two possible outcomes, either of which Lionel was fine with. If the military listened to Lex, he would shut down the Terraforming engines and look like a hero and savior, making Superman out to be the global threat to humanity he was. If Lex was successful, millions wouldn't have to die.

The other outcome was much messier.

If the military didn't listen to Lex, the Terraforming engines would continue to melt the Polar Ice caps. The monsoon would spread out beyond the arctic destroying everything in its path, and the sea levels would rise rapidly. Coastal cities would be devastated from the sudden rising in sea levels, and global weather patterns would be disrupted by the monsoon. Besides the loss of human life, a large percentage of the worlds food supply and energy resources would be disabled or destroyed. All this would lead to millions of people, humans, dying.

Lionel had left humanity with two destinies, and the choice was theirs.

Coming to a quick halt, Lionel wasted no time beginning to dig again.

Killing millions of people wasn't what Lionel wanted, far from it. However, he'd learned long ago, that it takes great action in order to achieve great results. Humanity was a creature of habit, seeking comfort in routine. But comfort breeds apathy, and that is when the stalking tiger pounced.

But when the tiger pounced, the spirit of humanity awoke to fight back, and it always won.

Out of the cruelty of despots, arose the idea of democracy. Among the rotting bodies of the sick and plagued, came the discoveries of medicine. From the threat of starvation, came the technology of farming.

But in the future where'd Lionel had come, it seemed humanity had finally found a challenge it couldn't arise too. The survivors and descendants of the Kryptonian city of Kandor had brought humanity to the brink of extinction. Lionel had lost just as much as anyone else to the war; friends, comrades, family, and the woman he loved.

Yet humanity would fight on. It took the death of the woman he loved, Katherine, for Lionel to finally see to what lengths humanity would have to rise too. Humanity had fallen into the cycle of apathy as it always had, only to be awoken too late this time. It had to awaken sooner, much sooner, if they were to survive this challenge.

His plan to travel back in time to alter the future was desperate at best, and insane at worst. It was also their last option. Lionel had spent hours upon hours researching and preparing for each step of his plan. Taking a page out of Sherina's book, Lionel had tried to prepare for every possible outcome. It took him years, but one day he finally designed a plan he found satisfying; a plan that would achieve his desired effect, no matter which path it took to get there.

For Earth to be saved, humanity had to wake up and realize that Superman was the real threat. His ancestor Lex had been the first to realize this, and had been branded a criminal because of it. Lionel had often wondered why no one had listened to Lex, and he thought he had the answer.

Lex could never show humanity what a threat Superman was.

That was the key to Lionel's plan. He would show them. He would show them Superman, and anyone else like him, was someone they should not place blind faith in, but instead fear. And whether they listened to Lex before the devastation occurred, or after, it didn't matter.

Humanity would listen to the Luthor's, as they should have done all along, and all would be well.

Lionel would be the tiger that awoke humanity from its apathy.

Better me than the Kryptonians, he thought to himself.

Lionel dropped the device in the hole in the snow, and began to burry it. Only one more device, and by then Lionel was sure they would find him.

He'd released the alien creatures in Superman's Menagerie knowing it would only delay the Justice League at best. But Lionel wasn't concerned. Escape wasn't his plan, far from it.

From the beginning, Lionel knew there was only one outcome for him, and he'd embraced it. For now, he only needed time.

Lionel sped further down the vale. Along the way, he checked his pack. The crystals from the Fortress of Solitude were still there. He'd taken them from the Fortress' main consul, believing that without them, the Terraforming engines couldn't be turned off. He'd debated hiding them, burying them in a random place just as he'd buried his devices. But that was a risk he couldn't take, no matter how small of a risk it may be.

They would remain with him, until the Justice League found him, and then he would make sure personally the crystals would never be found again.

Lionel sped down the long steep vale without fear. If his plan worked, he'd be reborn in a better a future. He'd never get credit for saving the world, the future, but he'd get something better; a new life, a new world, a new story, written by his own hand, and without any damned Kryptonians.

Lionel smiled as he came to stop and began digging. It was more than a fair price to pay for tomorrow.

The Fortress of Solitude

Stumbling through the barrier, I fall to my knees and take several large, deep gasps. My lungs are burning, gravity tightens its grip on me, and I suddenly feel like I weigh several tons. I've only ever had to experience the transition back to normal reality from the Phantom Zone once, buts its just as painful as the last time.

At first, all I can hear is muffled sounds. They sound urgent, panicked, and little by little, as my senses start to adjust, I remember what's at stake.

Barry is the first to reach me. "Superman!" he says, helping me up as the others gather around.

"Holy Trans-dimensional science! It worked!" someone I don't recognize shouts behind us.

"Now whose theories are crack-pot science," said another.

A pair of arms wraps themselves around my waist, steadying me, and a familiar, sweet smelling scent fills my nose. "Di…"

"Superman," she says, squeezing me tightly.

My vision becomes clear enough for me to see where I am. I'm with my friends, the Justice League, but two civilians are also here. By the looks of the equipment scattered about, I'm guessing they're the ones who were able to breach the barrier between this reality and the Phantom Zone.

"You alright big guy?" Barry asks.

Freeing myself of Diana's arms, I steady myself, and try to look strong. "Legs a bit shaky, and I'm a bit hungry. But overall, I feel fine."

"You sure?" Bruce asks, stepping out from behind everyone.

Our eyes meet. It's easy to tell Bruce doesn't like to talk about what he's feeling, but get to know him, and you can tell.

"What's the situation?" I ask.

"The Fortress' Terraforming engines are melting the Polar Ice caps," Bruce said.

"Right," I said. "I'm guessing its not as easy as simply turning them off?"

"If you know a way, that would make this easier," Bruce said, turning and pointing to the consul.

I see the back side has been torn away, and several crystals are missing from inside. My shoulders suddenly feel heavier.

"What happened?" I asked.

"A descendant of Lex Luthor," Diana said. "He broke into the Fortress, turned on the Engines, took the crystals, and escaped."

"Lex?" I asked.

"He came back in time with Sherina and Caelus," Barry said.

"Caelus?"

"Over there," Diana said, coldly, while pointing near the consul.

A young man was lying lifelessly on the ground behind the consul. His garments were smoldering as if he'd been in a fire. But his skin was unscathed; not even a tiny scratch, wound, burn, or blemish.

I look for signs of life, and all I see is his chest moving slightly. "Is he…"

"He'll be fine," Bruce said. "He's half Kryptonian…"

"And one of the reasons your back," Barry said, pointedly.

"He acted as a conduit so we could power the Projector," Bruce said. "He… he risked his life, for you. We'll explain more later. Right now, we don't have much time."

The Fortress shook then. I could feel it begin deep underground, then spread through the floor, walls, and ceiling. As the rumbling ceased, I began to hear the raging storm outside. This meant my super senses were almost back to normal. But I could hear something else too. A faint humming, coming from beyond the storm. Little by little, it was growing louder, meaning it was coming closer.

"Do you know a way to shut down the engines, even without the crystals?" Arthur asked.

I shook my head.

"Hate to admit it, but I didn't even know the Fortress had Terraforming engines," I said.

"What about the power systems?" Diana asked. "Is there a way to just cut power to all systems."

I shook my head again.

The truth is, I don't much about any sort Kryptonian Technology. I've been able to learn some over the years, but it's a slow and difficult process. Their technology is far more advanced than Earth's, and Alien technology wasn't one of the topics we covered in Smallville Community College.

"We're wasting time," Bruce said. "We're going to operate as if we can't turn them off, so we have to focus on evacuations."

"Is Vic able to boom them to safety?" I asked.

"Too much interference from the storms," Barry said.

"Then we'll do it ourselves," I said. "Flash, you take the west, Wonder Woman east, Aquaman and I will take the south…"

"No," Bruce said sharply.

I'm not if its from how weak and tired I feel, or that my home is about to cause a global catastrophe, or the humming in my ears, but I feel a slight spur of anger in me.

But when I turn to him, the anger quickly subsides. He looks… worried?

"Hear anything?" he asked.

In a split second, I remember. The humming. I had heard it just before leaving the Phantom Zone. I got too caught up in the immediate problem after my return to normal three dimensional space and time that I forgot about the bigger problem.

"How long?" I asked.

"Vic says about twenty two minutes."

"Twenty two minutes till what?" Barry asked.

"A nuclear warhead," I said. "They've launched one at the Fortress."

My friends become tense, but ready to act. However, out of the corner of my eye, I see the color drain from their faces of the two civilians.

"A nuke?" Barry said. "Are they crazy!"

"They see the Fortress as a threat," Bruce said. "They're assuming destroying it will stop the engines and save the world from epidemic environmental damage."

"And a nuke won't cause environmental damage?!" Arthur said.

"Better than the sea levels rising and wiping out entire cities," Wonder Woman said.

"If we can shut down the engines soon, they'll call the missiles off to avoid an international incident," Bruce said. "But only if we shut them off, and we have to hurry. Twenty one minutes."

"Then we need to find Lionel," Wonder Woman said.

"I'll get right on it," Barry said. "He couldn't have gotten too far."

"What about the villages?" Arthur asked. "Shouldn't we evacuate them in case we're too late."

"Yes, you should," I said. "We can't take the risk of any innocents being harmed."

Bruce nodded. "Aquaman, Wonder Woman; start evacuating the villages fast as you can. Flash," he said, motioning towards the two civilians, "take them out of the storm range so Vic can Boom them to the Watchtower, then rendezvous with Aquaman and Wonder Woman. Superman…" he paused and looked at me with narrowed eyes. "The nuke?"

"I can handle it," I said, coldly. At least I hope.

"What about Lionel?" Barry asked.

"Taken care of," Bruce said.

I see Barry clench his teeth, but takes a deep breath instead and lets it go. Good. Bruce is right, we don't have time to argue.

We quickly dispersed. Barry took the civilians, each slung over one of his shoulders, while Arthur, Diana, and myself head out into the storm.

Arthur quickly heads out, and Diana and I lift off. But before we go our separate ways, Diana and I pause. Our eyes meet, her face softens, and I nod. Swift as the wind howling around us, we fly away.

I'm met with an onslaught of hail and rain, while the wind howls and drowns out most of super hearing. The clouds are dark, and have completely blocked out the sun. It's…hard. I've never struggled to fly before, but I don't remember the last time I felt this week. I'm able to continue my ascension, and I hope I won't have to fly too long in this blackness. The nuke is probably designed for long flights, with an advanced propulsion system that makes it travel at at least mach Five. That's fast, even for me, and I hope I have enough strength to break its flight path.

"You can handle this, right?" Bruce asks through the com right on que.

"Don't think I can afford not too."

"That's not an answer."

A gust of wind blows hard against me. It tosses me slightly, knocking me off course. But I can still hear the low hum of the nuke, and I'm able to compensate my course easily.

"I'm not up too full strength, no," I said. My whole body ached, my chest was heaving for air, and there was a gnawing sensation, an overwhelming desire in the back of my mind, to just lay down and rest. I can't believe some humans endure this everyday. Guess this is another reminder of how strong they really are, and how little I know about them.

"Between that much exposure to Kryptonite and being in the Phantom Zone, you're probably not near your full strength," Bruce said.

"Once I get clear of these clouds and into the sun, it'll help."

"About as much as charging your phone five minutes before heading to the Daily Planet," Bruce said.

I focus on following the humming.

A moment later, Bruce said, "There's something else Clark."

"Any chance it's good news?" I asked, knowing it wasn't.

"There's two of them," he said.

Thunder and lightening ripped through the sky, momentarily drowning out all the other noise my super hearing picks up. But I don't notice.

"They're staggered a few minutes apart," Bruce continued. "Too far for you to grab them at the same time, but close enough that you won't be able to catch them both."

"I'm calling Diana…"

"No," Bruce said, sharply.

I'm certainly not in the mood for this. "Bruce! She's the only one besides me who could catch a nuke and hurl it into space. I know she's evacuating the villages, but they won't survive anyway if a nuke hits."

"I know," Bruce said.

"Then quit wasting my time!"

"Clark!" Bruce said, raising his voice. "I sent her to deal with evacuations for a reason."

"You mean… you knew there were two all along?" There's an ominous silence that's more deafening than the growing monsoon. With Bruce, sometime more can be said through silence than anything else. "Why didn't you…"

"We have to think one step ahead Clark," Bruce said.

"What are you talking about?"

"Think about it Clark," he said. "They see the readings, they've made the projections. They launched the nukes because they see the Fortress of Solitude as a threat…"

"But it's not a threat," I said.

"From their vantage point, it is."

"This is my home Bruce. And it was Lionel who did this, not me!"

"That doesn't matter to them, only the clear and present danger," Bruce said. "With so much at stake, they've decided to act, not ask questions.

" And Clark," Bruce continued. "There's a good chance we might not be able to turn off these engines. And if we don't, it will cause world wide disaster and chaos. We can't let that happen."

"There's always a way Bruce, we'll find it."

I hear him laugh slightly. "Sometimes, I really wish I had your optimism. But I don't, so here's what we're going to do."

I didn't want to listen to his plan. I wanted to shout. I wanted to say to shout and tell him to take his cynicism and pessimism and hide inside his dark little cave. I wanted to call Diana and have her help me.

But I didn't. I couldn't.

Why does Bruce always have to be right?

It was my turn to be silent now.

"Take out the first nuke," he said. "Find it, catch it, hurl it into space or whatever it is you do, but leave the second."

"Leave the second," I repeated, slowly.
"Yes…" he said. "… just in case."

"In case what?"

"The others will get the villages safely evacuated. There shouldn't be any casualties."

"Bruce…"

"I'm staying here Clark," he said. "And I promise, I'll do everything I can to shut the engines down."

Ahead, I see the clouds are starting to thin. Conversely, the wind is slowing, the rain is thinning, and the humming is growing louder.

But my mind has grown still, and all I really notice is Bruce's voice.

"And if you can't shut them down?"

"Then we let the nuke hit," he says. "It destroys the engines, the environmental changes stop, and we avoid global disaster."

I shake my head. "But Bruce, that means you'll…"

"Go Clark," he says. "We only have fifteen minutes, and I need to concentrate."

Metropolis Military Base

"How much longer Luthor?"

Lex cocked an eyebrow and stared. From behind a panel of glass three inched thick stood a sour looking General Sam Lane with an impatient looking Anthony Cartwright at his side. Both were watching him. Luthor sighed and press his com button.

"The more times you interrupt me, the longer it will take," Lex said, then lowered his head to the consul again. "Patience is truly a virtue."

"You said you could shut those engines down," Cartwright said, his face turning a shade redder.

"Wrong," Lex said without looking up from his work station. "I said I believed I could help. I gave no guarantee. This is not a simple task, even for me. But you see, to do this, I have to, as the kids say these days, "hack", into an alien supercomputer. To do this, I have to improvise with our limited technology here based on theoretical science the world doesn't even have the imagination to comprehend. All of this, takes a great deal of concentration, of which you are breaking. Now please, shut up or leave."

Through his peripheral view, Lex saw Cartwright's face turned bright red as veins on his forehead and neck suddenly bulged.

It took a moment, but his anger finally boiled over, and he slammed the glass with his fist. "Do you have any idea who you're talking too!"

"An idiot?" Lex said.

The com was abruptly switched off, and Lex could hear muffled voices as General Lane abruptly pushed himself between the viewing glass and Cartwright.

Lex smiled.

The Metropolis military base was better equipped than Lex had hoped. They'd brought him to one of their top secret labs which had a nice workstation filled with several supercomputers, an array of communication devices, short and long wave transmitters, micro-wave emitters, and other such high tech gadgetry.

They'd allowed him in, but not without supervision; it was the only way to keep Cartwright from calling whoever was above him on the chain of Presidential brown-nosing. Several guards were positioned around the entrances and exits to the lab, while Lane and Cartwright personally watched every move he made through the glass.

The com switched back on. "Luthor," General Lane said. "Do you need anything?"

"A bit of gratitude, but peace and quiet will suffice for now."

General Lane grunted. "Fine. By the way, fifteen minutes."

"Noted General," Lex replied, and the com was switched off.

Lex went back to the computers and continued to work. Except he wasn't really working. He had the means to shut down the Terraforming engines right in his pocket; a gift from his time traveling descendant Lionel. It was a simple device, disguised as common, everyday item, with which the Base's security personal did not find threatening, and thus let him keep on his personnel. But this device was capable of sending a sub-space transmission to the Fortress of Solitude which would shut down the Terraforming engines. All it took was the press of a button, from anywhere on Earth, at any time Lex wanted.

All he was doing now was waiting for the opportune moment.

"Ah," Lex said, a satisfied smile crossing his face.

The com flipped back on. "What is it? Did you find a way?" Cartwright's face had gone from red to pale.

"I've made…progress," Lex said, carefully.

"Progress? What kind of progress?"

Lex hmmed and hawwed, but choose his words carefully. "I believe I have found the frequency the Fortress uses. And perhaps now that I am inside, its only a matter of breaking down its language and programming."

"Huh?"

Lex rolled his eyes.

While Lex wasn't doing anything to actually "hack" into the Fortress of Solitude, he knew every little keystroke he made was being monitored and recorded. So, Lex had to at least appear like that he was attempting to solve the problem. Deciding to serve both his needs and theirs, and unsure of when he would have access to such resources again, Lex was actually studying the device Lionel had given him.

It didn't take hardly any time for Lex to discover the foundational basis for this technology already existed in this time. It was at its theoretical stages today, but seemed to be common place by Lionel's time in the future. Knowing this, Lex's mind had already begun spinning at the advantage he'd have over the rest of the world in creating, patenting, and ultimately, selling entirely new methods of transportation, communication, and information technology.

At this moment, while a Kryptonian Fortress was threatening the entire worlds eco system, Lex was becoming the knowledgeable person in the world. And with knowledge, always came power.

But, he had to be in the right position.

"Are you saying you can understand Kryptonian?" Cartwright asked.

"A little," Lex replied. "You see, while your lot has been swaying back and forth like fallible reeds in the wind of public opinion, I've been studying our alien invader since his arrival. His physiology, heroic delusions of grandeur, patterns of behavior, strengths and weaknesses, that sort of - stuff. You see, I believe in being prepared, Cartwright. However, one always hopes that what he prepares for never actually comes to pass."

Lex saw Cartwright blink several times in the corner of his eye, before narrowing his eyebrow into a scowl.

"Pre… preparing for what?" Cartwright asked, desperately trying to keep his composure.

"Shh, not now," Lex said, holding up his hand and turning back to his consul. "I still have work to do."

He switched off the com before Cartwright could reply. Cartwright and General Lane began speaking again, though their tones seemed much more subdued. Meanwhile, Lex continued. Of particular interest, he wanted to study the subspace transmission capabilities of Lionel's device. It was programmed, for lack of a better word, specifically to Superman's Fortress. But Lex wondered if it were possible to reach any piece of technology on Earth, or beyond.

Either way, it had been a long time since Lex had been in proper laboratory, and he was enjoying it. He was feeling the familiar rush that came discovery. It began with an intense feeling of anticipation, festering but growing slowly deep inside him. It grew with each and every tiny bit of new information that was discovered, recorded, and thus turned into fact. And as the brink neared, the point where a theory was either confirmed or disproved, but ultimately knowledge was gained, the need for food, sleep, and other such material goods would be driven away as he worked through the nights and days without stopping.

But the greatest moment came when it finally spilled over. When that moment was reached, when success had been achieved, when the barrier had been broken and it seemed as though a new secret to understanding the universe and there life itself was in only his hands, Lex felt like a god.

Those familiar feelings were returning to him now. But a new dimension had been added. There were two nuclear warheads capable of decimating entire cities heading towards the arctic. They were fired to stop a threat, a global threat, and only Lex could stop it. Not directly of course, but since when did god's intervene directly with human affairs anymore? No, Lex had the ability to prove man's greatest weapons were futile, a waste. And at most, all he'd have to do is lift a little finger.

The murmuring from the other side of the glass had ceased, and Lex could see Cartwright pacing in the backdrop, while General Lane looked on. Lex was just checking the time he had left, when the doors to the lobby outside the lab burst open, and two guards entered, escorting another familiar face.

Lex switched on his com, but said nothing.

"General Lane, this…"

"Colonel Steve Trevor?"

Cartwright stopped pacing and stared at the Colonel with a mix of utter shock, and, interestingly to Lex, with utter disdain. However, he was abruptly held back with a strong arm from General Lane.

"Colonel Trevor what the hell are you doing here?!" General Lane shouted.

"General Lane, you have to call off the nukes," Trevor said.

"Call them off?" Cartwright said, indignantly. "How do you even know about them? And your authorization should have been suspended…"

"I know about them because you tried to recruit me for Operation Arctic Storm, and isn't that what this is?" Cartwright said.

"Then you're probably aware of what's happening in the Arctic," General Lane said. "With the Fortress of Solitude."

"Yes, I am General," Trevor said. "But that's why I'm here. It wasn't Superman who turned on the Terraforming engines. In fact, he's trying too…"

Lex's eyes went wide; apparently Colonel Trevor knew more than Lex realized. "Not Superman you say," Lex said, cutting in quickly.

Trevor turned slowly. Lex couldn't tell if Trevor looked more shocked, or angry.

"Luthor!"

"Good to see you again, Colonel," Lex said.

"What are you doing here?!"

"Saving the world. You?"

Trevor turned back to the General. "Sir, you can't be serious. Luthor is a highly dangerous prisoner of the United States Military…"

"Steve," General Lane said, holding his hands up fiercely. "I know. But he's here because I want him here, and don't go reciting all the damn protocols and chain of command garbage Waller drills into you."

"General listen to me…." Trevor shouted.

"Colonel Steve Trevor!" General Lane said, raising his voice to match Trevor's. "Remember your rank…."

"…Luthor is a part of this!"

Lex cocked an eyebrow.

"Trevor are you out of your damn mind!" General Lane said. "Get out of here before I have to detain you!"

"It was Luthor, not Superman who turned on the Fortress' Terraforming engine," Trevor continued. General Lane rolled his eyes and waved his arm. The guards stationed around the roof began to circle in on Trevor, gripping their rifle's tightly.

"Last chance to leave on your own accord Trevor," Lane said. "You're a good soldier, don't do anything stupid."

"No, wait General," Lex said, casually through the com. "Colonel Trevor seems to be speaking with quite a large level of enthusiasm and conviction. And as I am the one he is accusing of not only treason, but perhaps world wide genocide, I'd like to hear him out."

"I hardly think this is the time," Cartwright said, beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead.

"I trust Colonel Trevor understands how limited our time is," Lex said. "That is, if he knows as much as he's claiming." Lex made a welcoming gesture with his hands. "Personally, I'm perfectly capable of working while listening. So please Colonel Trevor, if you will. We only have about twelve minutes remaining." Twelve minutes for you too tell me everything you and the Justice League know.

General Lane sighed and rolled his eyes again, then with another wave of his hands, the guards stood down. Trevor didn't waste another second.

"I… I don't know everything, but I know that Lex was broken out of prison by a descendant of his from the future. Then, they went to the Fortress of Solitude and turned on the Terraforming engines."

Lex was lazily pressing keys and watching the consul as the moments of silence ticked by, each one more awkward than the last.

"Is that it?" General Lane said.

Lex saw Trevor's shoulders slouch and the color drain from his face.

"That was quite a tale," Lex said, without looking up from the consul, then smiled to himself. "I can't help but notice a few plot holes, though. And I hate to be a critic, but you must tell me why a, descendant from the future as you say, would come back in time too break me out of prison, only to have me come here, to the Lion's den of the very people who incarcerated me."

Trevor clenched his teeth. "I…"

"And, your audience would expect to know why my descendant and I turn on these Terraforming engines with the intention of turning them off, from a far away location, using advanced theoretical science that I am turning into reality on the spot. Which is very difficult I might add."

"Well I…"

"And then you must explain the means from which I traveled from the southwest region of the United States all the way to the Arctic, then back to Metropolis in, what, less than thirty six hours, without a private jet no less. We don't all have access to Boom Tube technology from the planet Apocalypse you know. Yes, fill those holes Colonel Trevor, and you might actually have a decent work of fiction."

"Ten minutes," Cartwright said, sheepishly.

Trevor's eyes went wide, and he turned desperately to Cartwright.

"The Portal," he said. "Lex's descendant is one of the people who came through the portal."

"What portal?" General Lane asked.

Cartwright's eyes danced back and forth between the two military men. Lex saw him bite his lip.

"Colonel, we were never able to verify your claim about a portal appearing in an alley of New York," Cartwright said.

"But you've connected the dots," Trevor said, desperately. "All the incidents that have happened in the last seventy two hours; the assassination attempt in Central City, the attack on A.R.G.U.S, the assault on Wonder Woman, the hacking of STAR labs. Now you can add breaking Luthor out of prison. Come on; you're people have to have some idea."

"Any information I may have, which I'm not confirming or denying I do, would be Top Secret," Cartwright said.

"Not the time," General Lane growled, stepping in front of Cartwright. To Trevor he said, calmly, "If you have anything additional information, I need to know, NOW." Then, through the com, "And Lex," he said, somewhat suspiciously. "How did you break out of prison?"

He saw Cartwright squirm, and Trevor clenched his fists.

Lex smiled. "Actually General, I've known how to break out of that prison for years. However, I believed I should serve the time you thought I owed to society, and never was planning on breaking out. But this is a desperate time, and I thought it called for a desperate measure. I know I better serve the world here, in a place of science, than in a prison. So here I am."

"Nine minutes," Cartwright said.

Trevor stepped forward. "General, listen to me. Luthor is part of this plan, you can't trust him."

"What would have me do instead, Colonel?"

"Abort the missiles," Trevor said. "You're risking innocent lives and devastating environmental damage. Give Superman a chance…"

"Oh yes," Lex said. "Give the resident of this secret base containing advanced alien technology, which he has refused to open to the public, refused to share with the people of Earth, a chance to get his own house in order. Yes, let's all put unquestioning blind faith in that man."

"General, you can't let that missile strike!"

"That's enough, both of you!" General Lane said. "We're wasting time."

"Time, time, time," Cartwright echoed. He cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and Lex knew he had him. "Now General, Colonel, this is precisely why we drew up operation Arctic Storm; in case the Fortress of Solitude ever became a serious threat to the United State's, or the worlds, National Security. And now we only have eight minutes."

"Indeed," General Lane said. "So Colonel, I'm sorry, but unless you can back up your claims with facts and evidence, we have a no choice. Lex, keep working on trying to find a way to shut it down."

"Absolutely, General," Lex said, without turning away from the monitor.

"But General…"

"Colonel, I won't trust Superman. End of story," General Lane said. "The nukes continue on. Until then, Colonel, if you want to be useful, then hope Lex finds a way to shut this down so we can call the nukes off. If you're not willing to do that, then get the hell out of here."

Trevor's face was beat red and his knuckles pale white. Veins bulged from his neck and forehead, but soon settled as defeat washed over him. He sighed, then turned to leave.

"Just a minute, Colonel," Lex said. Trevor stopped, but only glanced over his shoulder. "I'd like to invite you to stay and watch. Hopefully I am successful, and a nuclear strike against the Fortress of Solitude will prove unnecessary. So come now Colonel Trevor, see what a real hero can do." And then you can run and tell your Justice League friends what I'm truly capable of.

The Arctic

The winds were now howling at well over fifty miles and climbing. Hail mixed with rain and pounded the Earth below. Dark storm clouds now covered most of the Arctic landscape in pitch blackness. It wouldn't be long until it began working its way south where it would devastate the mainland's.

Barry looked over his shoulder. Behind him was trail of slush kicked up from the melting ice while his Speed Force lightening was crackling with increase intensity from the ion changes occurring in the air.

Diana was above, flying through the strong winds before banking sharply to a lower altitude. "That way," she said, pointing in an eastward direction.

Barry took a sharp turn, a fish tail of slush bursting from the ice behind him. Small dark bumps began protruding from the white surface in the horizon. "Arthur, due east," Barry said into his com.

"Another?" he asked.

"Hopefully the last," Barry said. Then, after looking over his shoulder towards the storms spreading his way said, "Has to be."

He sped to a stop in the middle of the village a few moments later. Diana landed next to him and Arthur short time later.

The village was primitive. Built against the side of cliff with a mix of igloo's covered in animal skins, and huts resting on wooden poles, the storm had already done a thorough amount of damage. Many wooden structures were tipped over, pieces of it scattered throughout the grounds. Several fire pits, extinguished by the harsh winds and rain, were blowing wet ash all about. Clothing lines and meat racks were blown everywhere.

The village seemed empty, but after Barry quickly expanded his vibrational field, he felt a massive concentration of people huddled in several larger structure's built beneath an overhang of the cliff.

"Storm shelters," he said, pointing. "They must have gathered together to wait out the storms."

Diana wasted no time. She tore open the locked doors to the first structure beneath the cliff. She was met with at least a dozen fearful faces who turned to her with wide eye's when she stepped inside. Outside, Barry saw her say a few words, make a few gestures, and the villagers began following her outside.

Moments later, Barry was racing across the ice again. A villager slung over each of his shoulders, they had protested almost violently when he tried to take them. Barry only two languages, English and Forensics, and was lost until the chief intervened. After explaining to his people what was going to happen, their expressions softened, and Barry swept them up before they could change their minds

He carried them just far enough beyond the threshold of the storm, where the dark clouds were thinner, and he could even see a hint of blue sky above.

"Boom'em out Vic," Barry said quickly, then dashed back.

Hearing the soft pop of the Boom Tube behind him, Barry opened himself as far as he dared to the Speed Force. On his way back, Barry ran underneath Diana, who was carrying two villagers of her own. It was a routine they'd repeated over and over, until every single villager was safely boomed away

It didn't take them much time, but every second counted, and the storm was continuing to grow.

"How much time do we have left?" Barry asked over the com.

"Fifteen minutes," Arthur said.

Barry clenched his teeth. "Any word from Clark?"

"Clark will be fine," Diana said, sharply. "But we must continue."

"We're not going to have enough time to get them all," Barry said as he skidded into the village. "The storm's pace is picking up. The larger it grows, the faster it grows."

"We stay until we find every last one, even if we have to circle the entire Artic," Diana said.

"Didn't say I wanted to quit Diana," Barry said. "Just wondering if Clark needs help."

"Clark will make sure the nuke doesn't strike," Diana said. "And Bruce will find a way to stop the storm. They're doing there part, and we do ours."

Barry bit his lip. He didn't like that they hadn't heard word from either Clark or Bruce yet, but what could he do. If they didn't ask for help, then they should keep focusing on the civilians.

It took another eight trips each to evacuate the entire village. Focusing on the women and children first, he'd taken children from their parents, wives from their husbands, and caring children away from their elderly parents. Barry could understand their fear; the unknown.

Their lives would be shattered into pieces after today. And nothing is ever put back together the same way it fell apart. And as they tried to put the pieces of their lives back together, they'd feel lost.

Barry couldn't even look at the children he dropped off before racing back to retrieve their parents. Vic boomed them away immediately, so they were safe, but he could only imagine their fear.

After his last trip, Barry ran along the cliff pass on his way to rendezvous with Diana and Arthur. This route was indirect and even a bit longer, but he wouldn't have to contend with the wind, so he'd reach his destination sooner.

It took a bit of concentration to navigate over the ice, but he managed, until he sensed something peculiar through the Speed Force.

He stopped himself suddenly, skidding along the slick rocks and expanding his sensory field.

Beyond the ridge, down what seemed to be a vale, he felt something. Two things actually. One was a singular being, traveling swiftly down a gorge on the other side of the mountain. It was traveling far too quickly to be an migrant Eskimo; and stopped far too suddenly to be just anyone.

Barry took off, a red trail of snow flying behind him.

"Barry, what are you doing!" Diana shouted.

"I found him!"

"What, who?" Arthur said.

"Lionel! Just beyond the mountains."

Arthur and Diana shouted inaudibly at the same time. Barry didn't bother trying to make out what they were saying. He was too busy running, running as fast as he could towards their only chance of saving everyone.

They had less than ten minutes left.

This would be their only chance, and Barry suspected it wouldn't be easy.

Through his sensory field, Barry felt something else speeding towards Lionel as well. It was moving fast, almost as fast as he was, and it didn't appear intent on stopping.

I've always known what it means to be a Wayne. It's a lesson that takes begins in a moment, but takes a lifetime to learn.

To be a Wayne means, you prepare for everything, expect the worst from those closest to you, you don't make excuses, you amend your wrongs, stand strong, stare into the face of death without blinking, and never mourn the guilty.

In my time, the Wayne family has become one Earth's oldest and most famous. Our family tree dates back to the early twentieth century when their presence first became known in the now legendary Gotham city. Our family was known its influence, its contributions, its generosity, and its vast riches. Being a Wayne was a privilege.

But that was a long time ago.

The stories of Gotham city don't paint a pretty picture. They're not warm and friendly, they don't boast of great men or people, they're not inspiring. They're dark, cold, and grow uglier with the passing of time; just like my families history.

The history of the Wayne's go back a long ways, to days when they were generous, influential, and contributed vastly to the advancement of humanity. But those stories are rarely told any more. No, when you first hear of the Wayne family, you usually begin with Bruce Wayne, better known as the Batman.

He was one of the most significant figures in the so called Age of Heroes. A leader amongst men. No, not men; god's, even though he was nothing more than a man himself.

It was because of Bruce Wayne that being a Wayne changed from being a privilege, to being a responsibility.

"Gasp!"

"You alright?"

A second ago I was on board the Justice League Watchtower, high above the Earth in space, orbiting the planet they dedicated themselves to protect. Now, I am in the frozen tundra of Earth's upper Arctic shelf.

"Yes, I have successfully made it through," I replied.

"Ok good, I dropped you off just outside the storm's western front."

Speaking to me through a small communication device place in my ear, is the man called Cyborg. He used their transportation device to bring me here so I can find Lionel. Time is short, millions are at risk, but I can't help but take a moment to survey this landscape.

The air is cold, the wind brisk, and the sun reflects so brightly off the clean white snow. I imagine this view would be awe inspiring, considered beautiful. The top of the world, as some would say. To me, this place is legendary, for it was here where humanities death was born.

I only take a moment before returning to me responsibility.

"The other's are south west of you. If you…"

"I am sorry, Cyborg," I said. "But I no longer require your assistance."

"Hey, what…"

Dropping the primitive communication device onto the ice, I crush it under my boot. It shatters into hundreds of tiny circuits and wires, and I am alone.

If I were different person, belonged to a different family, I might feel regret over what I'd just done. Cyborg had released me from the captivity the Justice League has placed me in, with orders from the Batman, my ancestor.

But I don't belong to a different family. I'm a Wayne.

I active my space-time manipulator, our means of transportation, and begin my search. Time slows around me, and my body phases into what could be called a time current. I'm able to move outside the normal parameters space and time, allowing me to travel great distances in short periods of time.

Turning on my homing beacon, I tune it to find Lionel's signal. Unbeknownst to him, or to Caelus, our other companion who came back in time, they're each carrying a tracking device embedded in their bodies. They were told the devices would help monitor and stabilize their bodies when we traveled through the rip in space and time on our way to the past. That was a lie. I wanted these devices within them in case anything went wrong.

As a Wayne, you prepare for everything.

Gripping the Amazon blade tightly, I speed towards his location.

This is my mess, my reasonability, and I intend to make it right.

The war with Kandor changed the world like it had never been changed before. Countries collapsed, Government's dissolved, and prominent families of the human race stepped into fill the void. My family was one of the first to raise itself above others. We, along with several other prominent families, formed the human resistance, and fought to protect and shelter what was left of humanity.

I grew up just behind the front lines of war. It became a common occurrence to witness firsthand the brutality of our enemy, and the frailty of humanity.

I studied and trained everyday, pushing myself to limits, absorbing knowledge carnivorously. I never allowed myself to believe the war could one day end, I never allowed myself to hope. My only thought was this; one day, it would be my turn to lead, and I had better be damned prepared for it.

As a Wayne, you are the first to the fight.

"LIONEL!"

A flick of a switch, and I return to real time and space. My momentum carrying me forward, towards him. I lift the sword, and aim for his chest.

Our eyes meet, and he simply smiles.

"Good to see you," he says.

Leaping back, Lionel withdraws a pistol for his belt, and just as I don't hesitate to strike him, he doesn't hesitate to fire.

A concentrated beam of energy measuring over 451 degrees Fahrenheit; hot enough to burn a hole straight through human tissue, bursts forth from his pistol. Holding back, I lift the sword directly over my heart, and the beam deflects off it harmlessly.

"I didn't expect to see you here, Sherina," he says. "Did you escape? Or maybe they let you go."

"Where are the crystals Lionel?" I said. "Tell me and maybe I'll let you walk away from this."

"So they let you go," he replied. "Looks like with all your toys too."

They did. The sword is from my time, but once belonged Princess Diana's of Themyscira. Imbued with magic, this sword is one of the few known items on Earth that a Kryptonian has no defense for. I searched long and hard for this sword, my only intention to use it on a Kryptonian.

A Wayne knows his enemy better than themselves.

"Where are they?!," I say again, louder.

"Sherina, what are you planning to do?" he asks, coldly.

My eyes narrow, as does my grip around the sword.

"Whatever it takes."

He scoffs. "I thought you were different Sherina. I thought you were willing to go as far as it would take."

"Melting the polar ice caps was never part of the plan…"

"Not your plan, no. This was all my own doing."

"But you're going to kill millions!"

"To save Billions!" he shouted, angrily.

"Of humans," I shout back. "We came back to save humans. And we've succeeded. The pieces have been moved. There is little chance our future can occur."

But my voice falters, and from the way he looks at me, he knows.

"Listen to yourself," he said. "You've never been a fool Sherina, so hear me out. Earth needs to see just what the Kryptonian's are capable of. And they need to see it now. They need to see just how awesome and terrible their power is. A lesson felt the whole world over, a lesson paid in blood. And each year, when the sun rises on this day, they will remember, because they'll have felt it first hand."

My jaw clenches as I see the look in his eyes. Conviction, commitment; he believes what he's saying. And unfortunately, I do too.

But I can't let human's die. That is when the price of tomorrow becomes too high.

"I'm sorry Lionel, I truly am."

The hesitation is gone, and I leap towards him, drawing the blade back. He squeezes the trigger.

But My eyes were instinctively drawn to his fingers, and before I even saw them twitch, I began to feign. The plasma bolt passes harmlessly by, and he never sees the small knife from my belt as I hurl it towards him. The pistol falls into the snow as he cries out in pain, a line of blood spilling from his shoulder where the nerves are severed by the protruding knife.

His eyes widen in shock, and he gasps as my shoulder slams into his chest.

He didn't think I'd anticipate him firing. That's a mistake most make.

As a Wayne, you expect the worst, especially from those closest to you.

He falls backwards, and I try to pin him with my knees. But I can't press down upon him, or hold his shoulders down, and after recovering from his shock, he uses our momentum to continue rolling backwards and toss me. It's the venom. I'm still weak from it.

I gasp as the wind is knocked out of me.

My heart accelerates, my legs and arms feel like limp noodles as I try to stand. Too much is stake, too much is at risk. I have to find a way.

As a Wayne, you don't make excuses.

I've barely turned, and I see him charging me, the knife I threw at him clenched tightly in his hand. He's running on adrenaline now, meaning he's desperate. I guess that makes us even, because I've got nothing left except adrenaline too; adrenaline, and anger.

Ducking, I grab the wrist of the hand clutching the knife, while my other strikes his wounded shoulder. He screams as I use his momentum to toss him into the snow.

"Do you think this is what I wanted?" he growls. He's still holding the knife, and pointing it at me. I approach him cautiously, and he keeps his distance by backing away on all fours.

"If it's not what you want, then stop it," I said. "Tell me where the crystals are, and we can end this before anyone has to die."

"Don't you get it! People have to die! You can hate me here and now if you want, because it wont matter. When I succeed, and I will succeed, we'll all be reborn. We'll have new lives, new destinies, and new hopes, and none of us will have to live through the hell we grew up in. The people who die today are dead anyway. At least their deaths have meaning now."

"Listen to yourself!" He keeps backing away, waiting for me to strike. Normally, I would have already. He's stalling. Stalling because the Terraforming engines are running, the more the world will see just how dangerous Kryptonians technology is.

"No Sherina, you listen!" he said. "Our resistance was created to save human life. Above all else."

"We can't save humanity by killing it!" I shout back.

"Of all people, I thought you would understand. I like you Sherina, admire you. I've even considered you one of my closest friends."

If I were a liar, I'd say I'm stalling because I'm afraid of the knife he holds. But I don't lie, especially to myself. I'm stalling because I'm listening to him, and I understand. I grew up hating Kryptonians. I've watched them slaughter humanity my entire life; systematically wiping us out so they could claim Earth, and its yellow sun, as their own. And if Lionel has found a way to make sure that never happens, is it right for me to stop it?

I stop approaching him. He backs away a few more paces, then stands. My eyes stay steady on his, my mind is racing. While keeping the knife still, he reaches into his pocket and withdraws three silver spheres. Light Grenades.

"You do understand, don't you?" he asks.

I breathe in slowly, and my mind begins to settle. "If I was always one of your closest friends, then tell me," I said. "Was this always part of your plan? Killing millions, to save billions?"

He takes a deep breath, then lets it out slowly. What little of a heart I have left, sinks. "I've lied to you more than I ever wanted too Sherina," he said. "So I won't anymore. Yes, Sherina, this was always part of the plan."

My cheeks begin to burn as I loose all feeling in my fists, arms, and legs. Standing before me is a man I once called friend, but I don't recognize him anymore. He's a stranger, a killer, a murderer. Millions could die because of him; and it's my fault.

As a Wayne, you amend your wrongs.

I charge. I've forgotten about the crystals, I've forgotten about the Terraforming engines. All I see is a murderer, a murderer who must be brought to Justice.

My vision goes bleary as I raise the sword above my head. It better not be tears, but I don't care, because through the bleariness that's the space between us I see Lionel open his palm with the three light grenades.

"None of this will matter," he said softly, flipping the sphere's towards me.

Never one to excel physically, Lionel always prefers fighting from a distance. He'll do anything to make sure he never has to fight hand to hand, because he would loose. So he resorts to trickery and confusion.

I know this because I've studied Lionel.

Closing my eyes, I listen to the faint clicking which indicates the light grenades are arming. Then, my body takes over. Relying on my adrenaline, ignoring the shakiness of my arms and legs, I dance through bright beams of light, each only narrowly missing me. Meanwhile, I'm counting in a beat.

One two three, four, five, six.

I dive, leap, and twist through the patterns and algorithms I've memorized of the light beams until I know they're done. And after one final leap, I pull the sword across my body, and strike with the flat of the blade.

I feel the blade strike flesh, I hear Lionel cry out in pain, and as I open my eyes, I see him land on his back in the snow.

A moment later I have the blade to his throat.

"How…"

He stops as I press the blade harder onto his Adam's apple, a thin line of blood appearing beneath it.

"Where are the crystals?"

"Think of all the people we've lost," he says, desperately. "We could have them back."

"Where are they!"

"Earth will learn to defend itself from this. They'll never be at the mercy of Kryptonians, or any other alien invader."

"Where are they!"

"We are torn down only to be rebuilt stronger. Humanity will be stronger from what I've done today."

"TELL ME!"

"We won't have to grow up in hell, fearing for our lives every moment of every day."

I punch his face. His nose breaks.

"WHERE!"

Another punch, and teeth come loose.

"ARE!"

Another, and blood spurts from his lip.

"THEY!"

Another and his eye swells shut.

He coughs, and I stop, holding my fist high, prepared to strike him again.

"Think… think of Katherine."

I stop. My senses suddenly go blank. I don't feel the wind, I don't feel the cold, I don't hear the storm raging behind me.

Katherine.

"Think about it… you'd never have to… to hold her …as she dies."

My sister.

Katherine and I couldn't have been more different. Growing up, while I gave myself to duty, she gave herself to hope. She talked all the time of a future without war; a future where human and Kryptonian lived side by side. I use to hate her for that.

It was a silly idea; human's and Kryptonian's could never co-exist peacefully. But she did believed it, it was her dream, and she fought for her dream, her vision, her hope.

"Do you remember what you said to me the day she died?" Lionel asked.

As we grew older, my annoyance turned to hatred. Whenever she talked of a peaceful future, I either scoffed, yelled, or stormed away. I thought her hope was a weakness, a crutch for her to lean on.

As a Wayne, you stand strong.

Then one day, she died.

She died fighting. Fighting bravely, and for her dream. It was only as I held her in my arms, as she drew her last breath, that I realized her hope was not a crutch, but a shield. I fought simply because it was my duty. But she fought for a goal, a cause, a future. It was only after she died that I realized why I would get so mad with her; I wished I could have hoped like she did.

Her death became an omen. The war took its final turn then, and Humanity was on its last proverbial leg, and I saw the signs long before anyone else. If humanity had been destined to survive, then the world would need people like her, people with hope and vision. But instead humanity was destined to fail, and so only the bravest, fiercest, and duty bound people had survived to this bitter end so as to give humanity an honorable death; people like me.

Lionel may be right; his way would bring her back. But she would never ask anyone to pay this price for tomorrow.

I clench the blade tightly again. "Katherine would never…"

"I know," he said quickly. "But I loved her as much as you and Caelus did, probably even more. And in the future I'm bringing to pass, I'll be able to be the man she always hoped for, the man she always deserved."

My anger rises.

"No," I said. "Katherine would never love you for killing millions."

"But she'll never know, and neither will I, because I'm prepared to pay the price or tomorrow."

With a desperate twist of his shoulders, that causes the blade to cut into his throat, Lionel reaches his hand to a spot on his belt, and presses a small switch.

A series of explosions follow. Beginning at the top of the vale, they explode one at a time, alternating each side, working its way down. The explosions cause the layers of packed snow and ice to become loose, and it begins to slide towards us.

"LIONEL…"

I let myself get distracted, and he puts his knee to my chest, throwing me off him. The ground is rumbling beneath us, and we probably have less than forty seconds to get clear. Plenty of time with our space-time manipulators.

That was my mistake.

I reach to activate mine, and don't see him charge. He lands hard on top of me, reaches for my space-time manipulator, and hurls it away.

Then, he punches me in the Adam's apple.

I feel my throat swell, and I start gasping for air.

"Sorry Sherina," he said, standing. "Keep in mind, neither of us will remember this, and in our new lives, I hope I'm lucky enough to be your friend again."

The ground rumbles harder, and Lionel runs. He's running further down the chasm, but not away from it.

I try to gasp for air, I try to stand. I have to at least find my space-time manipulator. But black spots begin to appear at the corner of my vision, and I start to loose my balance.

I look about, but I can't see the space-time manipulator. It's lost in the snow, and the avalanche is only another fifteen seconds from reaching me. The ground shakes harder, and I loose my balance. The effort to stand makes it even harder to breath, and I… I… I don't know what to do.

It dawns on me then, as heavy as the snow and ice I'm likely to be buried in; I've failed.

The future might be altered, but not because of my actions. My plan was included bloodshed, but only of Superman. Caelus isn't a killer, and I knew he would never be able to go through with killing Trambeline. But it wasn't suppose to matter. Taking out Superman was the key. Without him, our future could not occur.

I succeeded in trapping him in the Phantom Zone, and have sentenced millions to die anyway. Die because of Lionel, because of me.

I turn. The ice and snow are rushing towards me. Maybe ten seconds until it reaches me. Nine. Eight.

As a Wayne, you stare into the face of death.

I feel chunks of ice and snow flick against my face. Against my warm cheeks its surprisingly refreshing. I've always told myself that I should die without regrets; but here and now, with death seconds away from me, I have one regret.

I've only been here a short time, but that's all its taken for me to realize how beautiful this world is, or once was. The sky was blue, the oceans clear. The air smells crisp and clean, unlike the odor of burnt fossils fuels that litter the air in my time. But most of all, the sun. So bright, so beautiful, so yellow. I've never seen a yellow sun, and its rays seem to gently caress the entire world in a warm embrace.

This is a world worth saving, a world worth dying for.

I wish I could have more time, just to see it.

Six seconds. Five.

In my peripheral vision, a blur of red suddenly appears.

Four seconds.

With four seconds left, the red streak races down the expanse, weaves through the tumbling ice and snow, straight for me.

Before I blink, I'm swept up in a pair of arms and taken safely to the other side.

"Whoa, what happened to you?"

It's the Flash, Barry Allen.

I watch as a force of ice and snow tumble past where I had been standing just a moment before. Then, another sweeps down next to us.

"She appears injured."

It's Wonder Woman.

Our eyes meet. Their cold.

Barry Allen steps between us. "Lionel, where is he?"

"More importantly, where are the Crystals?" Wonder Woman asks.

I point. It's all I can do. Diana Prince and Barry Allen look down the chasm. Lionel has made a good distance, but the avalanche will be upon him in moments.

"Holy…" Barry begins, but I don't hear the rest as he speeds away in a blur of red. Wonder Woman follows, leaving me behind to watch.

"Grab him if you can!" I hear Wonder Woman shout. "Hurry!"

Barry Allen is running so fast I can hardly see him. But its not fast enough.

Lionel looks behind him, and suddenly stops. Briefly, our eyes meet. I've known Lionel most of my life. I've called him soldier, I've called him genius, I've called him friend. But now I could call him stranger, liar, murderer. And as he's lost in the ice and snow as the avalanche sweeps him and the Crystals away, I watch with indifference, because as a Wayne, you never mourn for the guilty.

I finally catch a glimpse of it over the Beaufort sea.

"Bruce, found the first one," I say, banking along side it.

"Ten minutes Clark, the other has fourteen."

I'm pushing myself as much as I can, but it's nearly enough. It took me five minutes to get this far from the Fortress, two minutes longer than it should have. Hopefully I'll have enough to push the missile past Earth's gravitational pull, and quickly.

I narrow my heat vision on the hull after finding the onboard navigational computer with my supervision. It's well protected, but not near any other vital systems, so I don't have to worry about an accidental detonation.

It takes four seconds to melt through the outer hull, another three for the computer's wires. The navigational computer looses power, effectively taking the auto pilot off line, but keeping the rest of the missile's primary systems running.

The engines sputter, but remains lit, and after flying underneath its hull and resting it on my arms, a gentle tilt is all I need to make it ascend.

This takes another ten seconds.

"Clark?" Bruce asks.

"Autopilot is offline," I say. "It won't circle back around once I get it far enough out into space."

"Good," Bruce says.

"Any word?"

"Not yet. Keep in touch."

The com goes silent.

I can feel Earth's gravity weaken as I approach the outer atmosphere. By my best guess, it'll take me between two to three minutes before I'm far enough into space to safely let it go.

Without oxygen, the missile will be propelled by the vacuum of space, drifting aimlessly until it eventually lands somewhere. I'll have to take the missile far enough out into space to make sure Earth's residual gravitational pull doesn't pull it back in. If that happens, it could detonate in a random place on Earth either by burning up in the atmosphere or by impact.

It takes a minute and fifteen seconds to reach the Exosphere, another forty five to breach into space.

The fire from the thrusters sputter out without oxygen and I veer the missile away from the sun, moon, and any other major planets. I can't see out into space indefinitely, but I can see far enough with my supervision to select a trajectory that will send the missile safely through the Milky Way galaxy and into deep space.

There's a risk the missile could get caught by another planet's gravitational pull, but it's a risk I have to take. If it is captured, hopefully it'll be by an uninhabited planet, or one with the capability to destroy it without making it detonate.

It takes another minute before I've settled on the right trajectory and release it.

I watch it hurl through space. It takes three seconds before I'm satisfied it'll stay on course before myself back towards Earth.

Thirty to re-enter the atmosphere, ten to locate the other missile with my super hearing, one to set my course.

"Bruce, first missile is away," I say once I'm back into com range.

I lurch as Earth's gravity takes hold of me again.

"Good," he says.

I'm guessing the other missile is passing the outer fringes of the Arctic ocean by now. From there, I'll only have another eight minutes before I can safely pull it away. Bruce has to find a way to shut down the engines before then.

"Talk to me Bruce," I say. "Have you made any progress."

A moment of silence, then, a simple response.

"No."

I bite my lip. He hasn't found a way to shut down the Terraforming engines without the crystals.

"What about Lionel? Have they found him."

"Yes."

"Good," I say, passing into the Arctic Ocean. I begin scanning the area with my super vision, a surge of hope strengthening me. If they've found Lionel, they've found the crystals. I can take care of the is other missile and then take care of the Terraforming engines, assuming Bruce can't do it himself. "How soon until he's there?"

Another moment of silence, then, "He's not coming."

"What do you mean he's not coming?"

"He's dead."

"Dead?"

"He planted explosives along a ravine and detonated them when Barry and Diana got close. It caused an avalanche. He let it take him."

"The Crystals?" I ask, desperately.

"They're gone too."

"Isn't Barry looking for them?" I ask, ready to change my direction and head towards them to help.

"There's only eight minutes left Clark, we'll never find them in time."

Ahead, the missile comes into view. I try push myself harder, faster. But it's several miles ahead, and I'm gaining on it at a snails pace. A quick scan tells me it's constructed the same as the other, and I know I have enough strength left to get this one to space too.

But the storm clouds come into view as well, and they're massing at a rapid pace while spreading out over the horizon. I can feel the air still warming, rising and mixing with the cold air and causing the ice to caps to melt and the storm to grow. Far away, I can hear the thunder, and I can see the lightening. It's a storm the likes of which the world has never seen, and its almost to a point where we won't be able to stop it, even if we're able to turn off the engines.

"Bruce, you've done all you can in there," I say. "Get out."

"There isn't time."

"Come on! Yes there is. Call Barry. He can come back and get you out past the storm range fast enough so Vic can boom you to safety."

"No, he can't."

I feel my heart suddenly quicken. I know Bruce about as well as anyone can know Bruce, and that scares me right now.

"Fine, then I'm coming to get you."

"We talked about this Clark," Bruce said, firmly.

"Yes, I know, but I won't let you…"

"You can barely able to keep up with the ICBM! You'll never out-race it. And you're too weak to take a nuclear explosion."

"Then I'll toss this one into space too."

"No!"

I clench my teeth, and try to fly faster. The ICBM is traveling several times the speed of sound, and I'm barely making any ground on it. Bruce is right, as always; I'm too weak.

"You can't just stay there. You can't just … die."

"It's okay Clark," he says calmly. "They've only launched these missiles because they're afraid. Afraid of what the Fortress is doing, afraid millions of people are going to die. And guess what Clark, they're right; millions will die. I'd hoped that if I could shut it down maybe they'd call them off. But I can't shut them down, not without the crystals."

"But you don't have to die because of it."

"I took a chance Clark; high risk, high reward. The reward would be saving millions and your home. The risk is… well you know. But I failed, and we have to let the nuke strike. It could destroy your home, but it'll also destroy these engines. The storms haven't grown big enough to be irreversible yet, and once the engines are shut down, the climate will return to normal. And millions won't have to die."

"No. I won't let you," I say. I try to dig deep, try to fly faster. But as I enter the storm's front I'm met with a gale of wind which knocks me slightly off course. The missiles travels on, and I'm even further behind it than before.

"It's better this way Clark," he says. "Kandor will be buried. Brainiac constructed his bottles well. It might even survive a nuclear blast. Kandor will be buried and forgotten until the world is ready. Then, Sherina's future won't happen, and we'll be saving billions of lives, both humans and Kryptonian."

I get caught in another tail spin of winds. They send me toppling end over end until I can slow my momentum down enough to regain my bearings. In that moment however, I loose sight of the missile. A second later I pick it up again, but I've fallen even further behind. The clouds have blocked out the sun, and I feel unsteady, shaky. It's even a struggle to breath now. This must be how humans feel while running marathons.

"Clark, you ok?" he asks.

The missile tilts slightly, and begins to descend.

I can manage only a whisper. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"Is there… anything I can do? Dick, Tim?"

"They'll be alright," he says. "They're strong.

"Yeah, they are."

More silence. By now there's less than three minutes left.

"You should go help the others," he says.

Lightening rips through the sky, breaking through the darkness and illuminating the world below. Where there used to be a landscape of ice dunes larger than rolling planes, are now bodies of water as large as ponds. The rain pouring down only adds to the rapid pace of which everything is melting.

I pull up and slow my momentum until I'm floating steadily in a place where the cross winds aren't so hard. The missile descends further, homing itself on my home. The low whistle it emanates fades into the background of the raging storm until I can't hear it over the hum of the Terraforming engines.

"Two minutes Clark, go," Bruce says.

Every muscle in my body tenses, and for once I wish I was facing someone or something I could punch, kick, or melt. But there's nothing I can do; even with all my abilities, there's nothing I can do.

Bruce is right, as always, we don't have a choice.

I feel I should stay and watch, maybe I even want too. But the others need my help, and if we hurry, maybe Bruce will be the only one who has to die for tomorrow. Gathering what little strength I have left, I turn away from the fortress, away from Bruce, and begin to fly towards the storm fronts.

But then I stop. The low hum from the Terraforming engines that I hardly noticed now, suddenly stopped.

I switch the com back on. "Bruce!"

He replies in a whisper. "How is this… possible…"

Then, I began to feel changes. It began almost instantly; the air temperature began evening out, the wind begins to still, the clouds slowed. Looking above, the lightening strikes began to settle, and there was hardly any thunder to hear.

The climate was returning to normal.

I take off fast with a burst

With the wind settling, I can fly faster, and its easier to stay on course. I can hear the low whistle of the missile more precisely, and I can actually gain ground.

Small beams of light begin to break through the dark canopy of clouds above. I pass through them, letting the suns warmth wash over me as my cells feed upon its radiation with a ravaging hunger. It feels so good.

"Bruce, what just happened?"

"The engines," he says. "They've shut down."

That's what I thought, what I'd hoped. How and why? I don't care. There's only one thing that matters now.

"Sit tight Bruce," I say. "I'm coming for the Missile."

"Don't risk it Clark."

"I'm risking it. With the engines shut down there's no reason to let it strike."

"You're still to weak.

"Not any more."

The clouds begin to disperse faster, and more and more sunlight breaks through. I can feel my strength return. It's not as much as I'd like, but every bit helps, and with a little luck, I'll have enough to catch this damn missile and hurl it into space.

I have less than a minute by the time I find the missile in the thinning fog. It's still on course, heading for the Fortress.

"Why haven't they called it off?" I ask.

I try to steady myself and aim my heat vision. But from this distance, and with the winds still as strong as they are, my aim has to be perfect. Focus on the Auto Pilot, my first few blasts sail harmlessly by it, the tiniest vibration from the wind sending my shot several feet wide of its target.

"I don't know," Bruce said, genuinely confused. "It doesn't make sense."

It's never good when Bruce is as confused as I am.

Tucking my arms and ducking my head, making myself as aerodynamic as possible, I try to pick up speed. I even try to take advantage of Earth's gravitational pull. It helps, but not nearly enough.

"Clark don't!"

I won't give up, I can't give up. I'm getting closer, closer. Below, the Fortress comes into view, and I have maybe thirty seconds. I gain on it, I can almost reach out and grab it. No room for error. I'll only have one shot. I have to time it perfectly.

Desperately, I reach out one final time…

But then its rudders bend, it's engines begin to burn bright, and the missile begins to ascend, pulling away from my grasp.

I watch, wide eyed and open mouth, as it begins ascending away from the Fortress, away from the Arctic. I barely have time to overcome my surprise and slow myself before speeding directly into the Fortress.

Coming to a stop, I hover above the Fortress and watch as the missile flies away.

"Clark?"

"Bruce," I say, unable to take my eyes off it, just in case this is too good to be true. "It changed course. At probably the last possible second, it just changed course."

The rain has stopped, the temperature is cooling, the clouds are no longer black, and the sun shines down upon the arctic as it always has. And as the low whistle of the missile fades away, the world around me become still and silent, as if nothing had happened.

That silence is broken by Bruce, who can only say, "Hmmm."

Metropolis Military Base

Lex folded his hands. He was watching the tactical screen, watching a Green dot which representing the second ICBM change course. Through the com, from the other side of the glass, Lex listened as General Sam Lane hung up a phone.

"The ICBM has been successfully diverted from its target, and is returning to base," he said.

Anthony Cartwright and Colonel Steve Trevor both stood silently.

Cartwright was the first to blink. "That's… that's good news," he stuttered. "I'll tell the President right away."

"Yes, do that," General Lane said gruffly as Cartwright stepped out into the hall, his cell phone already dialing.

Trevor, who looked less stunned and more suspicious, turned to Lex. "What did you do?"

"I did what I said I would," Lex replied. "I saved the world."

Trevor stepped towards the glass, veins protruding from his neck and forehead. Lex stared at Trevor plainly. Color began to rise in Trevor's face, and his jaw was clenched. Then, he slammed a fist on the glass. "Was this your plan all along? What did you do!"

"Colonel Trevor!" General Lane shouted. Three men quickly grabbed Trevor by the arms and waist and began pulling him away from the glass.

"No, General, this was a setup. He and his…"

"Yes, my descendant from the future and I put the whole world at risk," Lex said as though he were bored. "It was amusing the first time we heard it Colonel Trevor, but I'm really not in the mood to hear this comic book story again."

"General, please, listen to me! He was the one who turned on the Terraforming engines, not Superman..."

"What the hell is going on in here?" Cartwright said, returning from the hall.

"Nothing Cartwright," General Lane said. "Colonel Trevor was just about to be escorted out of this Base. But first," he turned to Lex, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "How did you do it Lex? How did you shut down those Terraforming engines, from here of all places?"

"I'd be happy to tell you, General," Lex said. "And perhaps our friend Colonel Trevor would like to hear as well."

This seemed to enrage Trevor more. Lex bit his lip to suppress the smile his face was desperately trying to form.

"You see," Lex said. "While every culture on Earth and beyond develops their own forms of communication, there is one common language every being made of matter uses; science. Break everything down to its most fundamental elements, and you have a natural universal language.

"It's true Kryptonian Technology far exceeds our own, but it's built upon the same theoretical foundation as our own technology; physics. So first, I had to make contact with their technology. That entailed discovering, deciphering, and then, using a subspace transmission, broadcasting the vibrational frequency on which Kryptonian Technology is based on.

"A more understandable way of phrasing it would be to say I found which frequency it was using.

"From there, I had to use my limited knowledge of Krypton's most predominate language to weave through its, well let's just call it a hard drive. Again, breaking everything down to physics and atoms, I was able to systematically determine which active protocols within the Fortress were controlling the Terraforming engines.

"Then, it was just a matter of shutting it down. To accomplish this, I simply commanded the incredibly massive and self-sustaining power source within the Fortress to cut its power to those specific protocols.

"It all went rather swimmingly if I saw so myself."

"That's…that's rather impressive, Mr. Luthor," Cartwright said.

And I didn't even have to lie about it. "It was nothing. And please, call me Lex."

Lex's explanation was true. Knowing he had the capability to shut down the Terraforming engines this entire time, Lex took the opportunity to study the remote his descendant Lionel had given him. It was indeed capable of create a subspace transmission the Fortress could detect and recognize. It was also programmed to cut power to the Terraforming engines with a simple press of a button.

All Lex had to do was wait for the most opportune moment, and reach into his pocket and press the button.

They effects were detected almost immediately. It seemed as though the climate was eagerly racing to return to normal, and so the storm was dispersing, the air was cooling, and the ice caps were refreezing. The millions of lives that had been at risk where no longer at risk at all, and it looked like it was Lex Luthor who had saved them.

Lex was pleased, but even more pleased with Superman; he had done exactly as Lex had expected.

Lex had suggested the ICBM's be launched a few minutes apart. He'd expected this would force Superman to take them out one at a time, or, if Lex was really lucky, would need help from his fellow Justice League member Wonder Woman. Seemingly acting alone, Superman had caught the first ICBM and thrown it into space.

It was magnificent, and looked as though he were defending his Fortress, made entirely of Kryptonian Technology he had refused to reveal to the world, which was currently a global threat. Superman had returned for the second, and too both Lex's surprise and amusement, Superman seemed overmatched. To keep the missile from detonating, and thus causing a potential scene of the world stage the President was eager to avoid, General Lane had to call the missile back.

Everything was working out perfectly.

But, there was still more work to be done. Superman would face scrutiny for his actions, but it would take much more than this to destroy him. The first step is always the hardest though, and Lex was eager to begin planning for the next.

He stood and approached the glass. Holding his hands up, he turned his palms forward, and stood straight. "And now, I return myself to your custody, without resistance," he said. "General, as always I'm grateful for your friendship, and even more grateful for the opportunity you've given me to do my part for this world."

"Yeah, sure," General Lane said, gruffly.

"You're turning yourself in?" Cartwright asked, tilting his head curiously.

"Of course," Lex said. "I've done what I came here to do, and now I return to pay the debt our Justice System believes I owe."

Cartwright looked bewildered. "But without you…without you…then…" he stammered, speaking more to himself than anyone in particular.

"Oh please," Trevor said. "You don't really believe this crap, do you?" the guards tried to push him into the hall, but Trevor resisted.

Lex saw Cartwright's eyes grow wide before he whirled around to face Trevor.

He jabbed a finger in Cartwright's chest, and spoke assertively. "You, Colonel Steve Trevor, are supposed to be on leave, and are not authorized to be here."

"He set this whole thing up," Trevor said, pushing back against the guards. Two more joined them. "What's your game Luthor? What's in this for you?"

"In a word, nothing," Luthor said. "As I said before, I'm turning myself over to your custody, General Lane, without resistance."

"How many soldiers did your descendant kill?" Trevor said. The guards nearly had him to the elevator, with Cartwright following behind. "How many …":

"That's enough!" Cartwright shouted. "Colonel Trevor, you are ordered to return to Washington, immediately."

"I don't take orders from civilians!" Trevor shouted back.

"Then you'll take them from me," General Lane said. "I don't care about this crazy time traveling bullshit. All I care about is that the engines were shut down, and we were able to avoid a nuclear strike thanks too, it seems, Lex Luthor. So Colonel, with all due respect, don't make this any worse for yourself, and get the hell out of here."

Lex smirked as the lift doors shut just as Colonel Trevor, surrounded by five guards, was about to shout again. Huffing, General Lane turned to Lex.

"As for you Lex, thank you for your cooperation," he said. "We'll have to hold you here until we get word on where too…"

"Actually General," Cartwright interjected. General Lane scowled, but Cartwright brushed past him, either not noticing his scowl, or not caring. "I believe Lex should be kept in custody, but taken to the President." He approached the glass and continued. "The President had begun considering several - policy - initiatives regarding the Meta-human community. I believe after this incident he'll want to hear any input you may have to offer."

Lex lowered his hands and blinked several times. "Of course, Mr. Cartwright," he said. "I'd be happy to assist the President in any way he asks."

Cartwright nodded. "Good. And call me Anthony."

"Thank you, Anthony, and call me Lex."

Cartwright opened the door and extended his hand, which Lex took and shook firmly. They both smiled at each other politely.

Better than I hoped, Lex thought to himself.

Central City

Barry ran. Opening himself up to the Speed Force as much as he dared, he churned his feet on the Cosmic Treadmill as lightening created from kinetic energy crackled through the chamber. He ran faster, and faster, until the right speed was reached, enough energy was produced, and with a burst a swirling mass materialized before them.

He slowed himself gradually before stepping off the Treadmill. "That should do it," he said.

"If it's not exactly when you left, it'll be pretty close," Batman said, stepping from behind the terminal next to the Treadmill.

Caelus and Sherina stood side by side, while Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Cyborg stood behind them. Cyborg looked at a small monitor on his arm.

"The wormhole is stable, but only for about a minute or so," he said.

"I still say this is a mistake," Diana said. She stepped out in front of them and glared, particularly at Sherina. "Someone should have to pay for the lives they've taken."

Sherina glared back, but looked away uncertainly as she began to tremble. Superman placed a hand on Wonder Woman's shoulder.

"No, those lives were paid for by Lionel," he said. "We'll let them go home, and hopefully they'll be returning to a better future."

Sherina steadied herself, and turned to Superman. "And if it hasn't?" she asked. "Kandor is still in your Fortress, safe and intact. As long as that city remains, my future is possible. How do I know you or anyone else won't restore it?"

Superman sighed, and looked at her sorrowfully. "I guess you won't," he said. "But please believe me, I don't want your future to occur anymore than you do. I never want humans and Kryptonians at war with each other."

"Then destroy it," Sherina said, pointedly.

"No," Superman said. "The people in Kandor are in a stasis, not alive, but not dead either. They have as much a right to live out their lives as you or I. I consider myself both human and Kryptonian, and I still believe they can live side by side, for the benefit of both."

Her glare remained, and her eyes turned cold. The other's watched, tensely, as Sherina brushed past him towards the worm hole.

Before stepping through, she stopped and turned, her eyes burning into Superman's. "If you were me," she said. "What would you do?"

Superman looked at her sorrowfully, and shook his head slowly.

"I don't know," he said.

Sherina narrowed her eyes, but said nothing. Then, while turning back to the portal, she paused and looked at Batman, her ancestor. She didn't say anything, only gave him a simple nod, which he returned. With a blink and flash, she stepped through the wormhole and was gone.

Caelus moved to follow, but stopped and faced them. "Please, don't judge her harshly. She's always carried a big burden on her shoulders."

Wonder Woman glared, but Superman quickly spoke. "No one does," he said. "And we all hope enough has been done here so that burden is lifted."

Caelus nodded and he turned back to the portal. Superman and Wonder Woman joined the others, but Barry stayed near the platform.

"Thank you Mr. Allen," Caelus said. "For saving my life, even though you had every reason not too."

Barry shrugged. "You're the one we should be thanking. Without you, we wouldn't have gotten the big guy back," he said, tossing his head back towards Superman."

"Without me, he wouldn't have ever needed rescuing," he said. His eyes were long and drawn. Barry shook his head and extended his hand.

"Good luck Caelus," he said.

"Good luck…Barry," Caelus said, taking his hand.

They shook, and Caelus turned towards the portal again. But before he stepped through, Barry remembered something.

"Hey, almost forgot," Barry said. "Uh, Sherina said your family has always been sympathetic towards humanity, even though you're Kryptonian. Why is that?"

Caelus turned, but only just enough so that Barry could catch him glance briefly at Superman. "My family has a long history with humanity, and we've always considered ourselves apart of both worlds," he said softly. "I've seen the best and worst of both worlds, but I believe the best far outweighs the worst. My family has always hoped that both our peoples, Human and Kryptonian, can one day live together."

Barry nodded. "Well, keep trying. As the big guy always says, there's always a way."

"I know," Caelus said, taking another brief glance at Superman. "In fact, that's been a family saying of ours for several generations."

Another blink and flash, and Caelus was gone. But just before he stepped through, Barry's eyes went wide. He turned to Superman, studied him closely. And as the energy he created on the Cosmic Treadmill ran out, and portal collapsed behind him, a half smile cracked on Barry's face.

"Huh, well I'll be damned," he whispered softly.

Washington D.C.

It was early morning by the time Trevor finally reached his front steps. He'd been walking for several miles from where his escort had finally released him. He was tired and hungry. He was so hungry he wasn't sure he could stand to wait the thirty or forty minutes it would take for the nearest take out place to reach him, but so tired it was an effort just to climb his steps.

They'd taken him in the dark back of an armored vehicle all the way from Metropolis to Washington, escorted by several armed soldiers who never spoke to or around him. Since he wasn't under official detainment, they didn't bind or cuff him, but the nature of the escort had sent a clear message.

Trevor leaned heavily on the stone railing as he made his way up the stairs and by the time he reached his door, he was breathing heavily. Once inside, he flipped on his light switch, but the room remained lit for only an instant before he heard a small pop in the light fixture above him, and the room became dark again.

Trevor swore.

Fumbling in his pocket, he found his phone, but swore again after discovering they'd taken the battery out. Feeling his way through the dark, Trevor found a small table where he kept a regular phone connected to an ordinary lan-line.

Before he could change the light bulb or find food or collapse in his bed, Trevor felt compelled to do one thing

He dialed a number, and felt his chest tighten.

It rang three times before someone answered it. "Hello?"

"Mickelson?" Trevor asked, feeling his chest loosen slightly.

"Colonel Trevor! What's up man?"

"Hey, I'm calling on a lan-line," Trevor said, slowly.

"Oh, right, a lan-line," Mickelson said, his voice dripping with cool savviness. Normally, Trevor might have rolled his eyes, but not this time; Mickelson's tone meant he understood, and that was important right now.

"So, you two get back from your - trip - okay?"

"Sure did Colonel. Day's a bit shaken up, say's he's had enough cold weather for his lifetime. But not me, I just want to go to a bar, grab the prettiest waitress and say…"

"Um, right, that's good," Trevor said, quickly.

"And are you okay, sir?" Mickelson asked.

"Yeah," Trevor said, loosely. "I'm home, safe and sound. So that's good I guess. But I just called because I wanted to make sure you guys were okay, and to thank you for - everything."

"Of course, Colonel."

"Call me Steve," Trevor said, somewhat distantly. "So listen, I'm not sure what's going to happen with your old job, but…"

"Oh don't worry about that," Mickelson cut in. "We know what happened to the old place, but we already got new jobs."

"You do?"

"Yeah, you know the, the… the guy who likes rodents that fly in the night… he said he'd hook us up with a couple of jobs in Gotham City."

Trevor cocked an eyebrow. "What? With who?"

"Wayne Enterprises actually, that's the big time. We start next week, but he said we should all stay in touch."

"Uh, right," Trevor said.

When the conversation ended a few minutes later, Trevor's head was spinning. Now he felt he'd truly lost everything. A.R.G.U.S was shut down without any promise of re-opening, his career was most likely permanently damaged, he still had unresolved feelings towards Diana, who was still with Superman, and now his two secret scientist, who'd been the most helpful during this whole ordeal, had been recruited away from him by Batman.

Trevor dropped the phone. The busy tone beeping incessantly when it landed on the floor, but Trevor left it. Deciding he just wanted this day to be over, he began stumbling through the dark looking for his bed room. He could eat and change the light bulbs in the morning, as well as face whatever the world had waiting for him then.

He made his way along the hall until he found the door he wanted. He opened it and began reaching for the place on the wall where his light switch was, when he had to squint. The light was already turned on.

Fight to open his eyes, he saw a figure sitting at his desk chair.

"Whose there?"

"Hello Steve, you look like hell."

Trevor blinked, allowing his eyes time to adjust to the darkness. When they had, his eyes grew wide. The person sitting in his desk chair was the last person he expected to see.

"Amanda?"

Amanda Waller had two small glasses on the desk. She poured a bit of gin in both, and offered one to Steve. "Sorry about the lights, but we had to do a thorough check of the place before you got here. I'm guessing we accidentally blew them out."

Steve took the glass, and held it under his nose. "Find anything interesting?" he asked.

Amanda took a drink of the gin, and Trevor did the same. "Oh yes," she said, motioning towards his desk top.

An array of small devices were laid out. Trevor wasn't an expert in surveillance technology, but it didn't take one to recognize what the devices were. All in all, there was about seven, a listening device for each room, phone, and computer in his apartment.

"Don't you think they'll notice they're off line?" Trevor asked.

"We've taken care of that," she said. "Besides, its not like they can publicly admit to spying on you."

"Who?" Trevor asked.

"That's the question, isn't it" Waller said, taking another drink. "One we'll add to our to-do list once you get back to work tomorrow."

"Work? Don't you remember telling me I was relieved of duty?"

"Of course," Waller said. "But that was for Cartwright's benefit. As far as I'm concerned, A.R.G.U.S. is still up and operational, and you still have work to do with the Justice League of America."

"And if our - friend - finds out A.R.G.U.S. is still up and running?" Trevor asked. He began to feel a slight buzz; it had been that long since he last ate.

"Don't worry about him. He'll get his soon enough."

"What does that mean?"

"It mean's he's an idiot," Waller said. "And so is everyone who listens to him and his ilk." She paused and took another sip, Trevor followed suit. "Unfortunately that's a lot of people in a lot of influential places right now, which means we have to change how we do things."

"You know he's taking Lex Luthor in," Trevor said. "He thinks Lex saved the world."

Waller shrugged. "Oh he's wanted Lex Luthor for a long time," she said. "But he couldn't go recruiting him when the world thinks he's the most dangerous criminal on the planet. He was waiting for the right time, and the events of the last few days have given him that."

"I saw Cartwright's little news conference," Trevor said. "The one where he declared it official U.S. policy that all Meta-humans should take their business out of America."

"Yup. I've seen a lot of moronic press conferences before, but that has to be the best."

Trevor laughed. "I'm glad to know someone saw it the way I did," he said.

"Mhmm," Waller said. "I've actually seen it coming for a long time, and I wish you had too. But I think your minds been preoccupied with other things."

Trevor scowled.

"Perhaps now things can be different," she continued. "There are plans in motion, Steve, and you're part of them. You always have been."

Trevor took a long drink, glaring over the top of his glass at Amanda. He drained his glass, and clutched it firmly in his palm

"Plans huh," he said. "Well that's great, but I'm tired of being thrown in every direction like I'm some kind of disposable diaper. So let me be clear Amanda, if you want me to be apart of these plans…" he slammed the empty glass on the desk. "Be honest! You tell me everything. Every angle, every contingency, every purpose for whatever plan, operation, for every plan you have. Starting now."

Amanda Waller took the empty glass and filled it, before motioning for Trevor to sit in the other desk chair. "I should have always told you everything," she said, filling her own glass. "But I didn't know if I could fully trust you before. Now, I think…I know… I can. So sit, drink, relax, and listen." She raised her glass and held it steady before him, offering a toast. "We have a lot to talk about."

Trevor cocked an eyebrow and stared silently. But a moment later, he raised his own glass, and together, they drank.

The Fortress of Solitude

If I'd seen it in a museum, an antique store, or even a street side vendor, I'd think the Bottle City of Kandor was nothing more than an oversized snow globe. Even with my super vision, the people trapped inside look like nothing more than specs of dust as they lay preserved in a frozen moment in time.

"You sure you want to do this?"

Slowly, I step away from the bottle.

"Yes. For now, I think its best if it stays here. This way I don't have to see it every time I come here."

Bruce grunts a reply as I place a crystal within a wall consul. Six panels made of a clear material foreign to Earth join together forming a cube around the bottle. There's a snap as they join together, and a hiss as the oxygen is drawn from within it. Turning another crystal, the cube shaped containment cell rises, then sets itself against the wall. Beside it, the two indigenous creatures I rescued from Zylon IV stare at it curiously, before returning to their usual activities.

By shifting another crystal the lighting around the cube dims, causing the tall buildings of Kandor to cast long shadow before it eventually falls into total darkness.

Then we leave.

"How's Diana taking all this?" Bruce asked once we stepped onto the lift.

"She's hurt," I said. "I told her everything, from beginning to end. About Kandor, you, Cyborg, and everything else "

"And?"

"She's hurt," I said. The conversation had been difficult, but it could have been worse. I expected her to be angry; she'd have every right to be. But instead of being met with angry glares and having her storm away without a word, she only looked at me sorrowfully.

"She wondered why I didn't tell her, why I didn't ask for her help when I came to you and Cyborg."

"Why didn't you?"

I bit my lip. Bruce is still the only one who knows about her and I. Bruce explained that Sherina had known about us too, but didn't say anything to make the others guess. I suppose that's a good thing. But the day will come when they find out, or we have to tell them; and the longer we wait, the more we risk.

Still, there's a very good reason why I didn't ask Diana.

"I'm a reporter, Bruce," I said. "Seeing things objectively is a necessity to what I do. Ever since I recovered Kandor from Brainiac I've wanted to restore it, but didn't know if I should. It's been on my mind for years now, and I'm constantly going back and forth about the dangers and benefits. But I finally came to a decision, and I haven't changed my mind.

"However, I know its nearly impossible to think objectively regarding Kandor. So I decided to surround myself with people I trust to keep me objective, to make sure I see everything clearly."

"So, you're saying that because of how Diana feels about you, you don't think she'd have told you if she thought restoring Kandor was a bad idea."

"No, not at all," I said as the lift reached the anti-chamber. "If she thought it was a bad idea, I don't think she'd hesitate for one second to tell me so."

"Hmm," Bruce said. It's his way of saying "go on."

"But here's the thing; I don't think she would have thought it was a bad idea."

Bruce looked at me intently. From beneath his cowl I know he's trying to read me, trying to see what I'm thinking. It's his paranoid nature. Bruce doesn't naturally trust people, and believes the worst of them. I wish he knew by now I always say what I mean, and that I'd never lie to him.

"Diana is alone, like me," I said. "We both feel like we're standing on the other side of a glass window staring inside."

"That's why you wanted to restore Kandor in the first place, isn't it," Bruce said. "You don't want to feel alone anymore."

We've come to the anti-chamber. It's a mess, but nothing a little time and care won't fix. The consul Lionel vandalized is still in disrepair and I don't know if I'll ever get it running again without the Crystal's he took. I also haven't figured out why the Terraforming engines shut down suddenly.

But I push those thoughts, along with my feelings about the U.S. government firing a nuclear weapon at my home, far away. I can think about them tomorrow; today, I have to think about this.

"I'm used to feeling alone Bruce."

"But that doesn't mean you like it," he says. "You spent most of your life guarding who you really are; lying to everyone, keeping yourself distant, making sure you don't accidentally loose control of your powers."

"Or hurt someone."

Bruce sighed. "Clark I…" he said, then stopped. He paused for a moment, a moment where I think he was choosing his words carefully. When the moment passed, he said, "I can't imagine that's easy."

I smirked. "It has its ups and downs. I did had friends for the record, but you're right; I couldn't let them get close. I did lie to them, every second of every day I let them believe I was a normal kid just like them. I hated that more than the loneliness."

Bruce's scowling returned and he grunted. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. We live in a crazy, chaotic, paranoid world, Clark. A world where people are constantly in a desperate struggle to gain control of their lives. And what they can't control, they fear."

We pass the statues of my parents to the lift that will bring us to the main hall.

"You realize after what Lionel did, they'll be more afraid of you than ever," Bruce said. I nod slowly. Bruce crossed his arms and grunted again. "Imagine what they'd do if they found out there was an entire city of people like you."

I stare forward as the lift begins to ascend. "That's the worst part. I still think there's so much to be gained from Kryptonians and humans working together. But it'll never happen if they fear each other."

"That's what Lionel wanted," Bruce said. "He wanted to show the world how dangerous Kryptonian technology could be. He wants the world to be afraid of you. And he succeeded, Clark. They've seen it, and they're scared."

The lighting in the anti-chamber fades as we descend over the statues of my parents. They're left in darkness, a darkness that hides their kind, gentle expressions, and leaves them looking like two dark enshrouded giants.

"I don't get it," I said. "We're the good guys. So why is the world starting to see us like criminals?"

"Maybe we are criminals," Bruce said. "Ever since we first put on the capes, rings, tights, and masks, they've tried to control us. But we've never let them."

"And anything they can't control they call criminal," I add.

Bruce nodded as we began walking down the main hall.

"That's why I'm putting Kandor out of sight for a while," I said. "If I've learned anything from Sherina, Lionel, and Caelus, its that the world isn't ready."

"But you still plan on restoring Kandor someday?"

"Yes," I said.

"Hmm."

"I have too, Bruce. They're alive in there, and they're people, just like you, me, and everyone else on Earth. And now that I know I can restore Kandor, I know I have too. Life is precious, and as far as we know, we each only get one. They're not alive, but they're not dead either. They deserve a chance to live out their lives, if for any other reason, so they can die properly and pass onto whatever afterlife their is. So I can't just leave them in there, I won't just leave them in there. I owe them this."

"Even though you know the risks," Bruce said, as more of a statement than a question.

"If you're worried I won't think about Sherina's future, don't be," I said. "I'll always make sure I keep myself surrounded by people who will keep me grounded, especially you. One day I will restore Kandor, when the world is ready and I know Sherina's future won't happen, but that day isn't today."

"How will you know when that day has come?" Bruce asked.

"I've been thinking about that," I said. "And the truth is, I don't know. While I was in the Phantom Zone, I saw some things; things that made me realize I've let myself drift away from humanity. Growing up, Ma and Pa were my anchors to Earth. They kept the window open, helped me understand what made people do good or commit evil.

"But I didn't know how big the world was when I left Smallville after they died. I didn't realize how much more there was to learn about humanity. But instead of learning, I've let myself become isolated, guarded as I've backed away from the window."

I look down at my suit. It's made of Kryptonian Bio-technology which bonded to my skin and able to form with a simple thought. It's what the world sees when they see me, and its utterly alien.

"I've got to get back to the basics, Bruce," I said. We've reached the two wide swinging doors that separate the Fortress of Solitude from the rest of the world. "I have to return to learning what it means to be completely human. I have to understand them, us, better."

The doors swing wide and we step out into the world. The sun is shinning brightly, the air is crisp and cool, but the land still shows signs of damage. The climate has returned to normal, but the visible damage remains. I don't know the extent of the harm done, and I don't know when it will be corrected. But for now at least, the sun's warmth feels like cozy embrace which flows around me snuggly, and it feels good.

"Don't expect to find greener grass on the other side," Bruce said.

I actually smile. "No, I won't. We don't have the benefit of being omnipotent. We can't peer into the future and see the consequences of our actions, so we don't always know what the right thing to do is. So, we have to do the best we can, and do what we feel is right based on what we feel in our hearts, and trust the results will be good."

"That's a big leap of faith," Bruce said.

"Yes, it is. But I hope by learning all I can about humanity, and myself, I can trust myself to make the right decision."

Bruce grunts and looks out into the distance. It's not the response I was looking for, but the one I expected. I guess I don't blame him, after all Bruce has seen the darkest side of humanity. It's what makes him who he is. But that's why I need him.

"Good luck," he said simply. "But what about in the meantime? What's next?"

I smile and think back to the Phantom Zone. If there's one thing I've learned about humanity, is they have a need to relate. It's why they have friends, lovers, and families. So perhaps the first thing I should do is start being a better friend.

"Well, what do you know about Lead poisoning?" I ask.

Epilogue

The familiar morning noises of a typical weekday begin disturb the peaceful quiet of the small suburb of Metropolis as a brisk wind blows from the west and the sun slowly rises in the east. Cars have already begun to drive along the streets, dogs are barking at the small critters who invade their yards, and the children come out to play.

A few boys meet up on the streets before heading to the neighborhood park. They chat along the way about what they watched last night, what levels they reached on their computer games, or what they read in their favorite comic books. All of this prepares them to enter their own little worlds as they reach their own, imaginative world.

They always take turns, some playing the good guys, some playing the bad guys, and pretend they're defending the weak, freeing the oppressed, and helping the needy. The one's playing the bad guys always try to stop the good guys, but in the they all agree; the good guys always win. Why? Because that's how its suppose to be.

Today is a day unlike any other. They've forgotten what they played yesterday, and they're not thinking about what they'll play tomorrow. All they know is today, and that's fine with them.

Some may have overheard their parents talking about a global threat that was thwarted at the last moment. Other's heard their parents arguing who was at fault for what. But they didn't take that with them to their world, because in their world, the good guy's always win.

"Haha, I'm Darkseid, and I'm going to destroy your world!" shouts one.

"No you won't! The Justice League is here!" shouts another.

One crouches, and speaks in a low, gravely, voice. "I'm Batman."

Another, a girl, steps forward and flexes her right arm. "And I'm Wonder Woman."

A small, jittery boy who talked excitedly began running in circles around them. "I'm the Flash, bet you can't catch me."

More join them.

"I'm Aquaman!"

"I'm Cyborg, beep beep beep."

"And I'm Superman!"

"No way, its my turn to be Superman."

"You were Superman yesterday."

"No I wasn't."

"Were too."

"Stop it, both of you, I'll be Superman."

"NO WAY!"

They argue as kids argue; big talk, but little action. The other's don't wait and begin playing. And the sun keeps rising, the cars keep driving, the dogs keep barking, and the wind keeps blowing.

But suddenly they stop. The bad guys blink, the good guys, pause, and the arguments cease as a shadow falls upon them from above.

They've heard of men who can fly, but they've never seen one in person, and they kids stare in stunned silence, apprehension and worry mixed on their faces as a man descends slowly from above. He floats a few feet above them, clad from head to toe in blue armor that looks like nothing from any sci-fi movie they watched without their parents permission. A red cape blows softly in the wind, and his arms are crossed as adults often do when they're being stern or serious. But he smiles, and the children's faces turn from awe and worry childish grins.

"Hey," the man says as the sun glints off the red "S" on his chest. "Mind if I play?"

Author's note:

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read The Price of Tomorrow. Thank you also to those who took the time to write your reviews. I'm sure everyone who posts material to this site is looking for idea's, directions, and encouragement, and thanks to all of you, I have. This was a lot of fun to write, and I hope you all had as much fun reading this story as I did writing it. Thanks again, and have a good one.

Sincerly

Caedus

"There's always a way."