DISCLAIMER: Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Cyborg was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. I do not own any of the main characters involved in this story. This story exists in my own fan-made continuity and should not be considered to be part of any already defined by the comics, television series, or movies, though it takes cues from other established continuities created for Superman and Teen Titans. Also, elements of Cyborg's back-story in this fanfiction are borrowed by the character Steel, created by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove.


Lex Luthor stared at the ceiling of his cell, arms crossed behind his head, going over one of the many plans he'd been working on prior to his arrest. He wanted to find some way to create a slow cure to cancer, a method of actually curing the disease, but over a long-term process. After all, curing cancer was a necessity for humanity's evolution, but why not make a profit off its erasure? Still, figuring it out was a slow process, even for him, but he was sure he could achieve his goal.

"Luthor!" Lex looked to the shield, seeing a guard standing behind it with chains. "You got a visitor."

Lex sat up, a bit surprised. "...If it's Superman again, I can do without, thank you."

The guard shook his head. "Not him. They say they're family."

Lex cocked an eyebrow. Members of his family hadn't been to see him in at least a year, and the last time one did, it ended with him telling them what to go do with themselves and heading back to his cell. Who would ever come to see him now?


"Anything for you, sir?"

Superman smiled at Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's butler and most loyal friend. "I'm fine, thank you."

Alfred simply nodded, returning to his work dusting. Clark was glad for Alfred, for a lot of reasons. If not for him, God knows how Bruce may have turned out. Then again, Alfred wasn't Batman's only support anymore, something Superman reminded himself of upon seeing the young crime-fighter, Robin, training on an obstacle course nearby. He seemed quite the natural acrobat, leaping hurdles and dodging automated Batarang launchers, all the while making it look quite easy. He didn't even really have an air of showing off, either, just that it came so naturally to him.

"...So, new sidekick," Superman said aloud, Batman searching the Bat-Computer's archived records he'd 'borrowed' from the Metropolis Police Department. "You're actually taking breaks between stopping crimes. Heck, if I recall, wasn't your suit black before, not dark blue?"

"Your point?" Batman asked.

"Just wondering what happened since the last time we saw each other," Clark answered.

Bruce sighed, looking back to the man he often-times begrudgingly called his friend. "...This crusade, it's my mission to see through, but if others are going to be stubborn enough to force their way into it, it's less time- and energy-consuming to let them."

Clark smirked. "In other words, you figured out you should actually let people help you when you need it."

"If that's how you want to interpret it," the Dark Knight muttered, looking back at the screen as Superman rolled his eyes. "...Hold on. I think I may have a match."

Superman looked. Sure enough, the recorded fingerprint Batman had pulled up looked like a match. Pulling the one Cyborg saved on the disc up and overlapping the two, it was confirmed: An exact match.

"So, who's our culprit?" Kal-El asked.

"You might not believe me when I tell you," the Caped Crusader replied.

Superman folded his arms. "Try me."

Batman simply shrugged, hitting a button and letting the owner of the fingerprint's profile appear on-screen, Superman's eyes widening. "...Her?"


Lex let out a small scoff, picking up the phone on his side of the private visitation booth. "So, it was you all along, wasn't it? I have to say, I'm a bit surprised. After all, this sort of endeavour is ridiculously out of your league."

The young woman on the other side of the glass just grinned evilly. "Well, you didn't see it coming, right? And neither did he. And by the time he figures it out, it'll be too late."

"You really believe you can kill him?" Luthor inquired, greatly amused. "You barely managed to build a decent hideout."

"I won't be needing it anymore," the young woman replied. "After all, I'm gonna be moving into your tower."

Lex's eye twitched, feeling a little anger well inside him. "...What."

"See, the thing is, you're old," the woman explained. "Like, REALLY old. Barely pre-mortem. And to be blunt, spending a couple of years rotting away in here is only making it worse. It'd almost be sad, if not for the fact that I'm kinda planning to take everything you've got. Like, out with the old, in with the new type of thing?"

"And how exactly are you planning to do that?" Lex demanded. "My lawyers-"

"Are now MY lawyers," the woman cut him off. "They recognize that you kinda screwed the pooch when you got kicked outta office and locked up here. But hey, you should be happy. I'm doing you a favour: I'm gonna make sure you outlive Superman. In fact, I've even arranged a HUGE public killing of the Man of Tomorrow...well, actually, tomorrow. And you'll get to see it all, since I know for a fact you've got a device stashed in your cell that lets you hack into television signals."

"You honestly think you can do it?" Luthor asked. "Even with my money and your watered-down version of my liquid Kryptonite plan, you can't possibly pull it off alone."

The young woman just giggled. "You think I'm alone? C'mon, you know me, when have I ever acted alone? I've got one of your former contacts helping me out. One of your top men, and believe me, he lives up to the title of 'top man'."

At this point, the vein in Lex's forehead looked ready to strike through the glass like a bolt of lightning, as he mentally ascertained the identity of the man she was referring to. Someone who shared many things with Lex, like a love of wealth and power, and a hatred for Superman. Someone who would like very much to bury the Last Son of Krypton face down. And, apparently, someone who, like Lex, had an affinity for betraying his comrades whenever it was convenient to him.


Kara floated down to the source of the disturbance. Sure enough, the small, rural area had been all but completely decimated, with only a couple of houses left standing. Much to Kara's horror, the ground was littered with bodies, and while she could tell that some were still alive, there were many that weren't so lucky. She knelt next to a farmer that was managing to cling to consciousness, gently holding his face.

"What happened here?" Kara asked. "Who did this to you?"

"...Rr..Rrrr..." the farmer groaned. "...Rrroobot. Came in...Was huge. Had these green hoses, and...and a face like a skull..."

"Where did it go?" Kara questioned.

The farmer winced slightly, then looked to Supergirl with a confused face. "...G...Go?"

Kara's eyes widened, as suddenly, her senses told her there was something very big behind her right now. Not caring how it sneaked behind her in the first place, she instead balled a fist and whipped around, looking to level it with a massive punch, only to be knocked aside by a green ooze that was shot from the monstrosity. She tumbled across the soil and rubble, gasping in pain as she eventually came to a stop. Clutching her arm, she found herself horrified to see that, yes, she was bleeding.

"...Kryptonite...?" Supergirl gasped, trying to wipe the green substance from her body.

Getting to her feet, Kara looked up in horror of her opponent. As the farmer had said, it was a huge grey robot, about 18 feet tall, with an almost skull-shaped head, and hoses attached to its arms that secreted the liquid Kryptonite. Suddenly, the chest opened up to reveal a man operating the robot inside some sort of cockpit, wearing the tattered remains of an army uniform that was ripped in the places where his rank insignia should have been. He smirked evilly at Supergirl, who glared back at him.

"John Corben!" Kara exclaimed, wincing as she clutched her arm. "So you're the one who had Plasmus attack Kal-El!"

Corben grinned. "I had my fair share of aid. Not that it would help to tell you about it. After all, you'll be dead in just a couple of minutes."

Kara growled, trying to summon up her strength, but the liquid Kryptonite was weakening her severely. Sure enough, she barely had anything in the tank as Corben resealed his cockpit and charged Supergirl, fists ready to pound her straight down into the Earth.


"So, you and Corben decided to team up to take on Superman AND me?" Lex summarised.

The woman opposite of him rolled her eyes. "As if. I mean, that's what HE thinks, sure. He's my fall guy. He's there to give me exactly what I want, when I want, and when he can't do that anymore...well, let's just say I left a little something special in the back of his cockpit. Hell, I might just press the button once he's done with Superman, just so I can finish taking over your criminal empire all by my lonesome."

Luthor frowned, sitting back in his seat and folding his hands. "...So, Superman will be dead, you'll have stolen everything I own, and the only ones that'll be left to link you to the crime will be a dead man and a man in prison...You know, perhaps I had you pegged wrong. It always felt like you never learned a damned thing from me, in all the years I tried to mould you into a young woman with aspirations of world domination. But, it would seem you've nearly mastered the long game of betrayal."

The Goth brunette with red and violet streaks shrugged, smirking deviously. "What can I say, Uncle Lex? There's a reason they call me 'Nasty'."


AUTHOR NOTES: DUN DUN DUUUUUNN! Sorry this one is so short, but I wanted to get the reveal out of the way so the final battle can get ready to start. Also, I wanted to get Cyborg in on the fun for this chapter, but I just couldn't think of a way. Don't worry, though, he'll be getting plenty of action soon enough.

Regarding the villains, Nasthalthia is mostly based off of her All-Star Superman appearance and personality, albeit a bit more devious. Corben's interpretation is based loosely on his more modern versions, and his robot is basically a giant-sized version of his Metallo appearance from Justice League: Doom with giant hoses coming down his arms. So obviously, he isn't Metallo yet.

Anyway, check in next time as Kara tries to fight off Corben, all the while Nasthalthia begins preparing the final battle with Superman. Ja né!