*Ch. 24- Uh…oh

Smallville, Kansas

Jonathan Kent loved days like this; days where the sun went on for miles, white fluffy clouds hung high in the sky and natural landscape was full of blues, golds and green. He slowed the tractor to a halt as he sat and basked in the warm Kansas sunlight. Eyes closed, he clasped his hands behind his head, reclined in his seat and simply enjoyed the peace on Kent family back forty.

She looked so much like a lady
But she was so much like a child
A devil when she held me close
An angel when she smiled.

She always held it deep inside, but somehow I always knew
She's go away when the grass turned green and the sky turned baby blue…

He hummed the chorus of BabyBlueas the voice of George Strait continued to croon from the most recent addition to his favorite old tractor. He would be sure to thank Clark again for fitting the old workhorse with small speakers and an iPod adapter.

"George, you truly are the king." Tipping his hat, he chuckled to himself as the second verse began, thinking again how this song reminded him of his dear Martha. ThisishowtheLordintendedlifetobelived. After a solid thirty minutes of solitary peace and noticing the sun descend, he decided it was time to head in.

"Jonathaaaaaaannnn!"

His heart skipped several beats at hearing the frantic shrill of his wife. He was still a good two hundred yards away from the house, his foot came crashing down on the accelerator as he tried to make double time. "Comin', Martha!" God,don'tletitbebad.

As the rear of the Kent home came into view, Jonathan could see his beloved standing on the back porch, waving him in. His grip on the steering wheel tightened and he leaned forward, as if his change in posture would speed the old tractor along. Clark had always told him it was time for an upgrade. Whydidn'tIlistentotheboy? Martha ran down the steps to meet Jonathan as he neared the house. He pulled the emergency brake and hopped off the seat without a second thought, running the rest of the way to meet her.

"Martha? Are you hurt?"

"No, Jonathan, it's worse…the alarm has gone off!"

"Alarm? Martha, what—oh, God. When?" Now he understood her frantic state.

"Five minutes ago."

"We need to call Clark. Now."

Luthor Mansion

Lex Luthor felt great. Not great in the sense that he knew he was better than everyone else— although he'd thought this to be true his entire life. Ever since his encounter with Darkseid, he had never felt better in his life—of course, aside from that initial bout of devastating, gut-wrenching pain and the fuzzy memories that accompanied it. Other than that, he was a new man. Luthor whistled a catchy tune as he exited the shower, stopping to admire himself in the full-length mirror. He marveled at the changes in his physique. Bear in mind, he was no slouch before, but now…now, he had the body of a god. His eyes stopped briefly at the bruised patch of skin on his abdomen, now only a slight reminder of the price he paid for his alliance with Darkseid. Shaking the painful memory from thought, he continued his self-perusal.

"I must say, thus far the perks of partnering with Darkseid are aplenty," his eyes were once again drawn to magnanimous improvement in his nether regions, "aplenty indeed."

"Lex, we're waiting for you-again-" Talia stopped mid-sentence as she found the man she'd been sent to retrieve, albeit she never expected to find him in such a state.

Lex unabashedly turned around, a satisfied smirk on his face as he saw her also admiring his recent…improvement. "I take it you like what you see, Talia?"

Never one to back down from a challenge, she didn't turn her eyes away immediately. Instead a wicked gleam sparkled in her eyes. "I don't know what type of workout plan you're on, Lex, but I must say it's definitely working. Definitely."

He expelled an amused chuckle. "Finally, we agree on something. Now, care to enlighten me as to why you once again felt the need to forego the obvious closed door and barge into yet another of my rooms?"

"I was simply alerting you that your …troops—and I use that term very lightly—have assembled at the meeting location and are awaiting your arrival." She answered.

"Ah…yes, the meeting. My apologies, I was detained with an earlier…reconnaissance mission."

"Mission? I hope it proved…fruitful."

Lex would be remiss to mistake the sudden glaze that had clouded her eyes as she again appreciated his nude form. "Trust me, it was…but, that's talk for another day. I could use your help in other…matters."

Her response was a raised eyebrow of interest. Lex took two quick strides to reach her at the door, wasting no time in pulling her body flush with his own and claiming her mouth in a rough, impatient kiss. She returned the kiss just as fervently, clearly not displeased at all with his rough approach. Lex hoisted her frame in the air long enough for her to wrap her legs around his waist.

"They've waited this long, I'm sure they won't mind waiting just a bit longer." Those were the last words he spoke as he carried Talia to his bed, fully intent to take advantage of the new body he'd been granted. Yes, indeed.

Justice League Watchtower Satellite….Southern Quadrant of the Moon

Kal closed his eyes as the scalding hot water rained down on him, although it felt comfortably warm as the water cascaded from his head, over his torso, and finally sprinkled his feet. The steam in the shower chamber settled in like a thick fog and Kal could feel some of the tension flow from his body and he inhaled and exhaled the dense mist. He was expecting a call from Diana nearly thirty minutes ago with an update on their progress on the search for her mother. The woman he loved was nothing, if not prompt; understandably, he was a little disturbed by this.

Dude,sheistheQueenofanationandmayhaveotherpressingmattersthantocallherboyfriendforanupdate,the small voice of reason offered an answer. He shook the thoughts from his mind and lightly reprimanded himself for being selfish. Diana would contact him when she was able. His thoughts were interrupted by an incessant vibrating which originated from his sleeping quarters. Surprising even himself, Kal blurred out of the shower and answered the phone immediately.

"Well, hello, beautiful. I've been waiting to hear your voice all day." His voice was velvet as he crooned into the phone.

"Well, I'm touched that you think my voice is beautiful, son, but we need to talk." He sobered up immediately at hearing his dad's gruff voice over the phone.

Clearing his throat to hide his embarrassment, Kal added, "Dad! Always good to hear from you-"

"Clark. We've got a problem." Jonathan's voice was grave now.

Kal's ears focused immediately, so focused that he could hear the rapid beat of his father's heart. "Dad, what's happened?" Fear seized him, "I-Is it mom?"

"No, son, your mother's fine. She's right here with me."

"I'm fine, Clark." He heard his mother's soft voice in the background.

Clark didn't trust himself to speak, afraid that the momentary panic he felt would be evident in his voice.

"Son? You still with me?"

"Yeah, dad. Yeah."

"Clark, you mother received an alert a little while ago. Someone breached the perimeter…" The elder Kent male trailed off, awaiting his son's reaction.

Kal mumbled a silent curse as his father's words settled in. "When?"

"Just about eight minutes ago."

"Dad, listen to me, I want you and mom to get to the bunker ASAP. I've done some work done there and stocked the food supply. I'll come for you once I've secured the Fortress."

"Son, you know we Kents don't back down from any challenge." Jonathan argued.

"Dad, please. If someone's found the Fortress and obviously gained access, it can't be good. Just let me determine exactly what's happened first, okay?" He all but pleaded with his father to see reason.

"Oh, alright, son. Be safe and we love you."

"Thanks, dad. I love you guys."

The words had barely left his lips before Kal zipped out of his quarters, dressing faster than the eye could see. He contacted J'onn telepathically as he entered the coordinates for the transport pod.

J'onn, there's been a breach at the Fortress. I'll be back as soon as I can.

The Fortress? Are you sure you don't need someone to come with you, Kal-El?

Not this time, my friend. Your services are needed here. Please, tell Bruce for me.

As you wish.

*Fortress of Solitude, North Entrance

The sonic boom which announced Kal's arrived had barely begun to pierce the atmosphere as he dove beneath the surface of the arctic waters. He was only immersed for scant fractions of a second before entering the Fortress via one of the hidden underwater access ports. In the time it took him to enter the Fortress, Kal scanned the entire structure and found nothing out of the ordinary. Hovering a few centimeters above the floor, Kal turned his body a full three hundred sixty degrees, taking in his surroundings at a much slower pace, listening with all senses to determine if anyone was still inside the fortress. Nothing. He used his supervision to scan the entire structure to see if anything looked out of place. Still nothing. Thesecuritybreachalarmcouldn'thavebeenwrong.It'sneverwrong. Kal settled in front of the crystalline information center, pushing and pulling the kryptonian crystals in a very specific formation. The crystals began to glow, revealing a holographic imaging of the Fortress at the time of the alleged security breach. He watched the footage once, twice, and then a third time and still saw no trace of a breach—wait,whatwasthat?Focusing his eyes fully on the screen before him, Kal caught the slightest glimpse of a shadow. Now that he knew something was there, he played the footage again and focused in on the origin of said shadow. What he saw caused his blood to run cold. There, before his eyes, Lex Luthor stood inside the Fortress, seemingly smirking directly at wherever he ascertained the camera would be. Kal watched the footage from beginning to end, this time slowing every frame down with his superior vision and processing skills. Moving more crystals, he saw Luthor enter his lab, heading directly for the one item Kal had hoped he would never locate. Luthor picked up the small mirror-like cube, pocketed his find and was gone as soon as he'd appeared. It seemed as if he'd simply shimmered and faded away as if a mist of some sort. Fear gripped Kal as he thought of the imminent danger now. If Lex figured how to activate the cube, he would unleash again a horror onto this world that Superman himself was unsure if he could defeat a second time. Doomsday.