It was a nice cool evening, almost the perfect fall day. Orange leaves fell from the trees and softly blew in the occasional gust of light wind. It would have been the perfect day, if they weren't burying the world's greatest hero. It seemed an injustice to simply bury Superman, but it was all they could do. The spot of his grave was atop unoccupied land belonging to Lex Luthor, who donated it without hesitation. Of the people in attendance, only a few knew his real name. They knew better than to mark his grave with his real name, to drag his family into the spotlight. Instead the tombstone simply read: "Here Lies Superman – Our Hero"

His coffin was carried by heroes, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, The Flash, and Shazam. They laid him to rest in a grave dug by a hundred people, each one somebody Superman saved. They stood surrounded by more heroes, the Batman, Martian Manhunter, Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Kid Flash, Speedy, Jay Garrick, Robin, Captain Atom, Mister Terrific, Hawkgirl, and Lex Luthor himself, in addition to a teenage girl none of them recognized.

Each of them stepped in front of the grave, Wonder Woman first. "I first met Superman when he was just starting, practically a child. He punched a tank that was heading towards an occupied village, giving me the time needed to evacuate the civilians. He stood strong against a small army, not letting them into the village an disabling their equipment for nearly an hour all by himself. It was then that I saw there truly was good in the world of man."

Green Arrow stepped up next. "I only met Superman once… I was tracking a drug cartel into Metropolis, only to find out they already got taken care of by Supes. He took them all out without hurting anyone, just, wrapped them up with their own ropes and chains, and called the police. He was the first person I ever saw, first hero, that didn't want to hurt anyone. No matter how bad."

The Flash was next, "I met Superman as I searched for one of my own enemies in Metropolis, Captain Cold. All he had to do was look around the city and he found him just by looking. He was… he had powers so great, yet he used them to help everyone, even those who didn't really need it."

Then came Shazam, "I only just met Superman a few days ago… but I had seen him so many times. I saw him protecting everyone. He even protected me, defended me. He was a hero."

Batman said, "I wasn't his friend, but we both knew each other's secret identities. We trusted each other. He was the only person I trusted, outside of my family."

Booster Gold said, "As all of you know, my name is Booster Gold. I'm also from the future. Ever since I was a kid, I was hearing about what a great super hero Superman was, how he never backed down from a fight and protected everyone, helping them in every way he could. He was… he was my inspiration for becoming a hero. I came back in time just to meet him, and he was better than I could have ever imagined. He was… he was just a good person. Even if he didn't have powers, he would still help people."

Blue Beetle said, "Uh, hi… I met Superman a few times. The first was when I opened the Kord Industries building here in Metropolis, there was a terrorist attack. Or rather, there wasn't. Superman found the bombs and destroyed them before they went off, shook my hand. It was awe inspiring. Then he came to me when the cyborg Metallo emerged and had me build a device to shut him down so he could be safely arrested. It was an honor working alongside him."

Jay Garrick stepped up and said, "I've known plenty of heroes. Superman, he was one of the greatest. Everyone always worked for some motivation, money, fame, ego. Not Superman. He did it because he truly wanted to help people. He was a hero in the greatest sense of the word."

Last to speak was Lex Luthor, dressed in a black suit instead of his usual white. He looked over the group of heroes and said, "Me and Superman… we were never friends. In fact, I kind of… I kind of hated him. I thought because of him, he was making the world more dangerous by always being there. I always saving people, punching the bad guys, that it made people feel safe and defenseless. But I was wrong. He was saving people who needed it. He was saving me… and now, he's gone. We still have heroes, but we don't have a Superman. Without him… the world will never be the same."

Most of the heroes left, including Lex, who gave one last look to the grave of his greatest enemy before he told is driver to leave. Then just Batman, Robin, and Kara were left. Batman told Robin to go back to the Batmobile as he approached Kara who stood silently over Superman's grave.

"I let him die," she quietly said.

"It's not your fault," Batman replied.

"If I just went after him right after I heard it… I could have saved him."

"No, that monster would probably just have killed you too."

"I had just got him back… then I lost him again…"

"It's not your fault, Kara. Come back to the Batcave with me. I'll get you a room, a safe place, something to eat. I'm sure you're starving."

"I'm fine. I just… I need to be on my own for a while. Go back to the Ark. At least I'll be around my culture…"

"You know where I live."

"Thank you, Bruce. I'll stop by… eventually."

"Goodbye, Kara."

"Goodbye."

Gotham, two hours later

Bruce Wayne walked down the steps to the Batcave, leaving behind his family to brood in peace. As he reached the bottom he looked around, finding everything exactly as he left it. He said, "I know you're here."

Mister Miracle stepped out from behind the giant penny and asked, "Wow. How?"

"Dust trail coming from your breathing. You're not Thaddeus, so who are you?"

"My name is Mister Miracle,"

"No. It's not."

"Okay, I'm named Scott Free."

Bruce stared at him in silence for nearly half a minute before asking, "What are you doing in my cave?"

"There's a war coming."

"With Superman's death? Undoubtably."

"No, not that. Apokolips is coming."

"An apocalypse, huh?" Bruce asked, clenching his fist as he prepared to fight.

"No, listen to me! It's a planet, a war world! It's leader, Darkseid, he's going to kill everyone here! He goes from planet to planet, wiping out all life, except for the strongest. He takes them and breaks their minds down until they serve him, continuing the process. He's going to invade your world, and he's going to win."

"Do you have any proof? Anything to make me believe you?"

"He's the one that sent Doomsday. He's the reason Superman died."

"How do you know this?"

"Because I'm Darkseid's son."

"So I have even less reason to trust you."

"Listen to me, I'm not trying to hurt you! But you have to prepare. Your world, it's stronger than most of the others. You have a chance of winning, but only if you're ready for when he comes."

"Say I believe you. Then what am I preparing for?"

Scott took a deep breath then said, "Genocide. Most of your world will die, no matter what. He has millions of soldiers. Hundreds of millions. Then there's the Furies, elite warriors, each one a New God. They're all nearly as strong as Superman. Some even stronger, and all better warriors. Then there's his Four Horsemen. They change frequently, probably an entirely different roster when they get here. But each one is incredibly powerful. Then Darkseid himself… he's unrivaled. He's almost unstoppable."

"Well then… we better get started."

"You believe me?"

"I believe that you believe what you're saying. There's never any harm in preparing. Besides, you don't seem like you care about who I am."

"Yeah, your whole secret identity thing is weird. Where do we start?"

"At the basics. I need to know everything about his military, and how to counter them. Once we're ready for the masses we get down to specifics, all the way up to Darkseid himself."

"You can't beat him."

"Everyone has a weakness. We just have to find it."