CHAPTER 25

Tess Luthor was in Hell.

She made her way through the ruins of what had once been part of Metropolis. Planetfall, a deep crater formed when the monster known as Doomsday had crash landed.

Doomsday, that's what Superman had called the creature, and her uncle's own collection of Kryptonian records had confirmed it was an appropriate translation.

A living breathing embodiment of the End of the World, Kryptonian in origin, it had come to Earth, most likely tracking the Last Son of a dead world.

And Tess Luthor had come to find its ship.

The area now known as Planetfall was an electronic dead zone, thanks to the devastation. A horrid wasteland, like some evil god had plucked a city from the end of time and dropped it on the Earth. Nothing but collapsed buildings and dead bodies. The Government had not even begun to form a plan of how to deal with the place. And so it simply sat there, a jagged and empty scar on the surface of the planet.

And yet, just yesterday, a signal had flared up in the center of the crater. Like a small sun being born. Suddenly, the area was flooded with electricity, radio signals, forms of energy and communication they didn't even have names for on Earth.

But the energy signal, Tess read, was distinctly Kryptonian.

What else could it be but the vehicle that had brought that monster to Earth? It had to get here somehow. It couldn't have just flown through warp space all on its own and survived, right?

Right?

Tess wished her uncle had joined her.

But ever since Superman's passing, Lex had secluded himself. Sealed away in a lab codenamed "The Room with No Doors," which Tess suspected existed in a miniature pocket dimension, Lex Luthor spent his now unlimited free time on God-knows-what.

Tess suspected a fair amount of it was spent crying.

Lex Luthor's relationship with Superman could have easily been termed "complicated." Though he professed to hate the Man of Steel with all his being, Lex had freely admitted that it was exactly that hatred that had driven him to achieve things only thought possible in the realm of Science Fiction. Superman had forced Lex to create miracles. Miracles in the name of Evil, yes perhaps, but miracles nevertheless.

Without Superman, where would Lex Luthor be?

The question made Tess shudder.

And so, in a world without Superman or Lex Luthor, she had taken point, and was currently plodding through a hellish wasteland in search of a potentially dangerous alien energy source.

Luckily, she had come prepared.

To the naked eye, it appeared she was wearing a simple jumpsuit, her head and hands free and exposed to the harsh elements.

But there was more to Tess Luthor than meets the eye.

In truth, she wore a suit of armor, her own design, microns thin and covering her entire body. In simplest terms, the suit was a force field, with displays on the inside constantly feeding her data about her surroundings, and leading her deeper and deeper in the pit.

She was almost at its center now.

But she suddenly found herself stopped by a wall of debris, dozens of feet high and extending in either direction for miles meeting, her suit told her, in a circle on the other side of the energy source.

"Someone doesn't want this thing found," she reasoned.

Without a second thought, she engaged the suit's anti-gravity systems and shot up into the sky above the protective wall, coming down on the other side.

What she saw there shocked her.

A structure, not unlike a pyramid in shape, but made up of dozens or even hundreds of pure white crystal spires, reaching out of the ground at impossible angles. She had seen something like this before, but only once.

"The Fortress of Solitude?" she asked.

"That's correct, Ms. Luthor," the familiar voice said above her.

She looked up, and confirmed her suspicions.

There he was, as tall and proud and alive as ever, hovering above her like some angel descending from on high.

Superman.

But there was something… off, about him.

For one thing, the costume was different. Instead of blue, the body-suit was a blood-red, and the cape and boots a harsh, dull black. The shield on his chest, now also black, seemed jagged and somewhat more intimidating. The whole look was much less "hometown hero" and more "alien overlord."

But the worst of it was his eyes.

Though still as blue and beautiful as ever, the gentle, easy warmth that had always flowed from them was gone, replaced by a cold and almost metallic sheen.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Exactly who you believe me to be," he smiled. "I am the Superman."

"But you died."

He laughed. Not a pleasant sound.

"Please. Not even death could take me. Not before I have fulfilled my destiny, that is."

"And what would that be?" she asked.

"Once upon a time, there was a planet, unlike any and all others. A shining beacon of light in a dark universe. That planet's name was Krypton. And though that light has long since been extinguished, I have come back from the land of the dead with a new sense of clarity to give this small world a great gift.

"I shall rebuild Krypton on Earth!" he smiled. "Would you like to help me?"

Tess Luthor stood in Hell, and stared into the eyes of the devil.

She did not know who this man truly was. But he commanded Kryptonian sunstone, he flew and he wore the S, and in his self-righteousness he intended to save the world from itself.

Tess Luthor could do nothing but smile.

"I can't wait for my uncle to meet you," she said.

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S-Shield's Notes

I just wanted to take a minute and thank everybody who's been reading.

Someone left a review and had a few questions, and since they were a "guest" and I couldn't respond to them directly, I figured I'd just do so here.

Superman's body was returned to the Fortress by General Lane and Metallo. It's what was inside the casket that granted them access to the Fortress. That's also why, when it disappeared, General Lane freaked out because he thought he saw Superman again. This current chapter kind of validates that fear.

Kal's soul was snatched away by Mxy and Kara before it could get to the afterlife and was placed in the 5th Dimension for safekeeping, because the pair feared Darkseid would be able to get ahold of it first. Of course, Kal refused to hide while all of creation was in danger, so the dream world shattered and Kal leapt into what will hopefully not be a never-ending battle.

Hope that clears everything up. If anyone else has any questions, feel free to ask.