Chapter Twenty Eight: Power Struggle Part One.

An individual dressed in a cloaked robe with the hood pulled up arrived to the Kandorian stronghold with a trio of bodyguards. He leaned on a cane as he surveyed his surroundings but when he entered the fortress properly, he handed it to one of his retainers. He stood up taller as he made his way inside, his back arched a tiny bit as he kept walking with a limp, keeping his strides rather strong. Even if he was about to keel over at any second, he was there and he arrived.

A large man stood in the doorway, and one of the assassins stepped forward.

"I'm here to see Zod," the robed figure stated in a raspy voice as he made a motion for his men to stand down.

"Enter," the hulking brute stated as he took a step back and allowed them to enter the stronghold.

Ra's Al Ghul understood that every tick of the clock brought him closer to the time where he might have to do something drastic. That was why he accepted this alliance with Zod, although there would come a time where that asset would be cut free. The Demon Head's facial expression was a mask of fury that was unmatched by anyone else in the world. He continued to walk forward despite the sheer agony that coursed through his knee.

His most recent death had ravaged his body worse then ever before and he spent every waking moment of his life in abject agony. A small bit of the serum was able to ease his pain but he was careful not to become too reliant on it.

"It's good to see that you're here and in admirable health," Zod commented as he stood tall and reached forward to grab the hand of Ra's firmly to shake it.

Ra's wondered if Zod was trying to take a thinly veiled shot at his lack of health. There was two bodyguards behind Zod and his retainers stared them down. There was an undercurrent of hostility, it was almost like a cold war. Both were waiting for the other to take the shot of betrayal.

"What is your progress in dealing with the Star Child?" Ra's asked Zod as the Major offered him a chair to sit down in. "No, I'll stand."

Weakness was not in Ra's Al Ghul nature to exhibit, especially in front of Zod.

"His own insecurities will be his undoing more than anything else," Zod informed him. It was true, if he understood anything about the son of Jor-El, it was that he was his own worst enemy. Zod exploited the doubts that he had in his mind, stirring up a hornet's nest.

Ra's facial expression twisted into a sneer and he lifted his arm to up to place his hand on the wall to his side.

"Do not….do not presume to know these things until the fight is over," Ra's stated in a pained tone of voice as he used his raised arm to brace himself up and kept his eyes narrowed on his "ally".

Zod's eyes flickered towards Ra's face. Calmness was the only defining emotion that he allowed himself to present. He placed his hands on his side and continued to watch the man before him, but focused his hearing off to the side. He was half expecting someone to turn up and cause problems. It was the instincts that were bred into him as a trained solider and some might call it paranoia but others called it survival.

"Is there a problem?" Ra's asked Zod, a cold calmness in his eyes. He understood where something was wrong and centuries allowed him to read the body language along with the intentions of the people around him. He waited for Zod to answer.

Zod's eyes and attention snapped him back into reality as he turned around. "It's nothing."

It was far from nothing as Zod found out in the next few seconds as a smoke bomb was thrown to the ground. An explosion resounded around them and multicolored smoke filled the area, causing everyone caught within it to start choking violently.

A figure swooped down from the shadows and the assassins could not get a fix on them. The figure in the mist jumped out, two objects in hand, which were rammed into the chests of the would be attackers. There was an electrical surge as they screamed out loud and landed flat on their backs.

"What kind of trick is this?" Zod demanded as he saw a flicker of green in the light and suddenly grew extremely weak. His expression was rather pained as he saw the Kryptonite ring on a gloved hand. He tried to use his heat vision to blast this person but a shield appeared around his potential victim.

A green Kryptonite dagger flew out with the intent to impale Zod. Zod dodged it but felt weakened by the mere presence.

Ra's expression flickered to one of curiosity and then anger as he reached forth into his satchel and produced a sword. He swung it towards the enemy but his attacks with undermined by the weakness of his body, and he was unable to put any really strength into his blows.

"Checkmate sends its regards, to the both of you," a modulated voice stated as the figure kept moving, blending into the surroundings to the point where the attacks grew more precise and more frantic. Two green fireballs appeared. It was magically conjured fire but it was enhanced by liquefied Kryptonite.

It was proven time and time again that magic made an utter bitch out of psychics. And this odd quirk caused the Kandorians even more pain and there was a loud scream that echoed through them as their skin blistered and there was permanent damage.

"Who are you?" Zod breathed as she raised her hand and summoned the Kryptonite dagger into her hand and twirled it casually between her fingers.

"I'm here to save the world," the modulated voice stated as a pair of green eyes beneath the mask stared Zod down.

"Lily Potter," Zod breathed but the figure stabbed him in the shoulder with the Kryptonite dagger.

"You may call me Downfall," the figure in the shadows stated as the mysterious figure dug the Kryptonite dagger into his shoulder further, scrawling a "D" into it, a permanent scar that would remind Zod of Downfall's victory for the rest of his days. The figure sped off without another word.

Death watched the scene, cloaked in the shadows. The chess game was getting more intense and she wondered if it could be stopped before innocents were hurt. There were two other people in the shadows next to her and a third appeared.

"I don't even know why you brought me along to observe this," a voice stated, she sounded bored out of her skull.

"I'm not going to tolerate infighting between my Heralds for much longer," Death commented as she turned to the figure in the shadows. "Make sure she understands what will happen. Harry is on the road to recovery from touching the artifact but he must take things one day at a time and he's always going to be perilously close to the rabbit hole."

The figure in the shadows folded her arms and a scowl crossed her face, a nasty look flickering through her eyes.

"He shouldn't…."

"You're not perfect," Death commented in a crisp tone of voice.

If they didn't make amends soon, she would force them all into a room together until they did, because with the coming darkness sneaking up on them, they needed to stand together or they would hang separately.

There was no response.

Kal-El was another issue that she inherited from her predecessor. The previous Death had a sick desire to dick Clark around just for her own amusement and that gave him several issues. The cream of the crop was taking Lana from him, then influencing him to go back in time, and save her, only to take his father from him.

Jonathan Kent accepted that his time had come, which was a relief. Although he expressed concerns about the dangerous path that his son might be going down but Death of the Endless thought that Clark's choices could potentially define him or eventually defile him.


Harry Potter spent the majority of his time in the company of extremely attractive females, so much so that it was an oddly uninteresting sight when it happened. He was in the company of two of them today, that being Donna Troy and Cassie Sandsmark. He was taking both of the girls on a tour of the city of Metropolis.

"It's amazing," Cassie commented as she watched Harry with a smile crossing her face.

Harry wondered if she was talking about the city or himself but perhaps he should maintain the illusion of being modest. That false modesty usually served him pretty well. His green eyes flickered towards the bright blue eyes of Cassie and Donna.

"I….the pictures and the books don't do it any justice, do they?" Donna asked Harry and Harry's grin spread across his face as he pulled the younger sister of one of his bonded towards him in a hug.

"No, they don't," Harry offered as the two of them walked around the city.

So far, things were quiet, a bit too quiet for Harry's liking. He had a sense that things were going to get even more intense as time went on, he judged the situation as some kind of calm before the storm that he might have to deal with.

Zod disappeared into the night after the last time Harry ran into him and Tess commented that she did not even hear from him. Perhaps Harry had gotten better in smelling a rat since the last time he was around but that's what Zod was, a rat. He put all of those thoughts out of his mind as he led the two young females through the doors of the Daily Planet.

"I have to go check out a couple of things, you don't mind, do you?" Harry asked Cassie and Donna who smiled in response.

"Don't keep us waiting too long, Harry," Cassie commented with a bold smile as she placed her hands on her hips and waited for Harry to go take care of business.

When Donna assumed that Harry was out of an earshot, she turned towards Cassie with a thinly veiled grin crossing her face. The blonde raised an eyebrow, curious to see what her dark haired friend was cooking up now.

"So, what do you think?" Donna asked her and Cassie raised an eyebrow, wondering why Donna asked her a question like that. The dark haired female was quick to elaborate on the situation as she kept her gaze locked onto him. "You want his cock so bad, don't you?"

"Donna!" Cassie snapped in a scandalized tone of voice, unable to believe her friend was displaying such a blatant lack of tack.

"Don't Donna me, it's obvious in your eyes," Donna commented to the blonde in a light tone of voice as she wrapped her arm tightly around Cassie and pulled her into a kiss. "That's okay, you're young, beautiful, and Harry is the best man to have your first time with."

Half of the Amazons on the island were after his powerful cock as well, Donna mentally noted. She suspected that if Harry ever returned to the island, he'd be extremely popular and she would like a front row seat for that show. In fact, she would also enjoy being an active participation in the show.

Harry was out of their earshot or so they thought. He was hearing every single snatch of the conversation that they had. The green eyes of Harry swam with amusement as he turned up and saw a brief glimpse of Clark.

Perhaps it was Harry's imagination but Clark made his way off in the other direction the moment that Harry arrived. Lois noticed Harry and greeted him with a smile as he turned up to the office, a grin crossing her face.

"Yeah, sorry about that….with Clark," Lois informed Harry as he turned up and the dark haired woman's expression followed him. "I don't know what his problem is….well his current problem, if you know what I mean."

Lois fixed her gaze on Harry as she backed off and allowed Harry a few moments to speak with her.

"Just wondering if you've heard anything about the Kandorians, lately," Harry remarked to her and Lois's eyes widened but she shook her head. She wondered why Harry was asking her of all people about this. She knew far less than she did.

"No….although Zod's been quiet, you aren't concerned about that, are you?" Lois asked to him, with curiosity manifesting across her face. She kept her eyes firmly focused onto Harry as he smiled.

"Concerned, yes, a little bit, but it's just a waiting game now," Harry remarked to Lois as he turned around. "I just figured that anything of value, it comes through here first."

Lois would have to agree with that as she placed her hand on her chin and looked through the news. There were a few petty crimes, stopped by the Blur but that was just business as usual. Her eagle eye was normally able to pick out the absurdity in the world but now she was trying to put together more pieces. She frowned deeply.

"Thanks, Lois," Harry remarked as he looked at her. "I'll talk to you later."

Lois smiled as he moved off in the other direction. She had a deadline to meet, self-imposed but she still had one to make.

"Sorry, if I kept you waiting," Harry commented to both Donna and Cassie but both females exchanged a wide smile.

"Believe me Harry, it's more than worth the wait," Cassie told him with a wide smile on her face.

Harry smiled, she was being rather subtle.

"So, how about we return back, it's getting a bit late in the afternoon?" Donna asked to him.

Harry thought that she seemed anxious about something and it was obvious what.

'My sister is not subtle when she hints about something,' Diana thought although she was extremely amused about what was going to transpire.

'I wonder if she gets it from you,' Harry thought to Diana and the Raven haired princess smiled through the bond link.

'I'm not sure if I should be insulted by that or not,' Diana thought.

Donna and Cassie were back at the Shining Light Foundation immediately and suddenly, the younger princess smiled.

"So I've been eighteen for a few hours and Cassie will be in a little bit," Donna commented to Harry in a not so subtle tone of voice as she placed her hands on her hips.

"I think I might have something for you to unwrap for your birthday," Harry remarked to Donna as she grabbed him around the waist and planted her lips onto his in a searing kiss.

The dark haired woman continued to ram her tongue down into his throat, trying to choke him with it but his tongue pushed her out. The two continued there hot and heavy makeout session, with Harry pulling her closely into his muscular chest.

Cassie watched, feeling a bit left out as Donna was tipped back onto the couch in the lounge area. She reversed Harry's positioning and Donna kissed him on the mouth, as she ripped his shirt open to reveal his sculpted chest and abs.

"Mmm," Donna stated in a lustful tone of voice, drool threatening to escape from her mouth. She ran her hands up and down his body slowly tracing every inch of his upper body with her finger tips as she committed it to memory.

She clutched his shoulder with her left hand and with her right the dark haired Amazon ran her hand slowly down his center in the direction of his groin.

"Cassie, babe, join the party," Donna encouraged her and she stepped forward, in a dazed expression but she placed her hands on Harry's shoulders and started to rub them.

"Cassie, babe, join the party," Donna encouraged her. In a daze she stepped forward to place her hands on Harry's shoulders and started to rub them in a lingering caress.

Smut/Lemon Begins.

-PROFILE-

Smut/Lemon Ends.


Talia Al Ghul swayed her body from side to side as Jade turned to look at her, a hood covering her face and the Cheshire mask in her hand.

"Will you quit doing that?" Jade asked as she continued to watch Talia who looked over her shoulder. "You're making this situation already worse than it is."

"I'm waiting for….him to show up," Talia remarked as Jade stared at her.

"And you're acting like an overeager Freshman going to homecoming," Jade commented in a biting tone as she could not deny that she was also extremely interested in what Harry Potter had to offer them. "Are you really going to…."

"I'd like to exercise my options," Talia offered but now her mind was going around in circles as she thought about everything that occurred over the past few weeks. She reached up and rested her hands on the side of her face as she continued to mull everything over.

Her father seemed to have all of the right answers for a while but as time passed, his rhetoric seemed weaker, as if he truly didn't believe in what he was saying. Talia's eyes narrowed she felt that he had betrayed everything that he ever taught her, the second he joined up with Zod. Now Talia felt the need to even the odds.

She did not want to go down this road, as some people would perceive what she was doing as a betrayal. The dark haired woman kept herself calm and her companion was as equally calm, although her eyes flickered from one end of the area to the other.

Jade heard a rustling in the shadows and a dagger appeared in her hand. Being an assassin, she had hair trigger reflexes that could be drawn upon in a matter of moments. Her eyes flickered with a great deal of annoyance as she threw the dagger in the direction of the person who had made the noise.

The dagger froze in mid air and then dropped to the ground.

"Great reflexes."

Harry Potter walked out of the shadows and both members of the League of Shadows watched him appear in their line of sight. Both females kept their eyes on him and the situation was tense. Talia relaxed first but Jade was not going to back up without a fight, her eyes pierced him with an intense glare.

"So, you think that you're amusing," Jade commented to him but Harry smiled at her. She did not like to admit how much that smile affected her.

"While I'm sure that I can be fun loving as the next person, you've called me here for a reason and given the fact that we're doing this in the dead of night in one of the worst parts of this town, it's not for any fun and games," Harry remarked to them without taking a breath. He had Diana, Kara, and Karen waiting around the outside, on the off chance that this was a League of Shadows ploy. He wanted to think that things weren't like that but it was better to play it safe than play it sorry.

Besides even if it wasn't a ploy, there was always a chance that the League of Shadows could jump in and cause trouble. That happened in the past and Harry was not about to deny that it could happen once more in the future.

"Yes, we are for a reason and you know what the reason is," Talia remarked as Harry raised an eyebrow. She was not going to be one to play games, her green eyes met his green eyes. "It has to do with a partnership between Ra's Al Ghul and Zod."

Harry's expression remained calm. He had to admit that one came a bit out of left field but maybe it was because they spent most of the past three months going to war over the Book of RAO.

"Last time I checked….Ra's decided to try and use Zod's head as a vessel for his own brand of insanity," Harry remarked to them.

"Desperate times call for strange bedfellows," Jade offered him in a sardonic tone of voice. There were times where she did not see eye to eye with a few members of the League of Shadows but there was times where she needed to take certain steps and coexist with them.

"I see that," Harry commented to her as his expression never wavered.

All of them awaited there being some kind of catch that would upset the apple cart. The green eyes of Harry fixed upon those of Talia and both continued to stare back and forth with each other, neither wished to back up from the stance that either of them had.

"My father….he's not well," Talia remarked.

'And we're just coming to this revelation,' Kara thought through the bond link, placing a hand on her side and throwing her hair back. 'Nothing yet, love.'

'Keep a look out, they'll show up eventually,' Harry thought although he was unsure if this was because of the meeting or because they found out that Talia and Jade found their way over.

"My father…has had a source in their midst for so long," Talia remarked to Harry and he raised an eyebrow. She answered the question that was unasked. "I have no idea who the mole is, but there is every reason to believe that Zod has his own eyes and ears in the inner circle of my father."

"And if he knew who they are, they'd be dead," Harry offered to them and Talia nodded knowingly.

"In another time, the Great One would have taken out any resistance and cut him off at the head," Jade stated to Harry. Her eyes flickered towards him as she added. "And now…."

"It's becoming so that he can't even figure out when someone's trying to double deal him," Harry told them and the two dark haired assassins nodded.

"I believe that we can stop this partnership, because we both know what Zod is after, the Lazarus Pit," Talia offered him as she paused. "And we both were there and saw what happened the last time a Kryptonian accessed one of the pits."

Harry remembered all too well what happened, in fact it flickered into his mind, all that Clark did after he got knocked into the pit. Despite the fact the wizard was still recovering after touching the artifact, he was not sure that Clark completely back to what passed as normal for him after all of these months.

That being said, someone like Clark with Lazarus induced insanity was nowhere near as bad as someone like Zod with Lazarus induced insanity.

"I have information for you," Talia told Harry and Harry awaited for her to give it to him.

He'd find out if it was accurate or not before too long.


Clark wondered if his journey, for better or for worse, had lead him to this moment. He was once again in what appeared to be a representation of the Fortress of Solitude. Of course, his mother had decommissioned the Fortress, thinking Kal-El not to be ready and she encouraged him to get his head on straight, to allow his minders to take care of him.

"Do you see it clearly now, Kal-El?" Jor-El commented in a crisp voice as he faced his son who nodded. There was a burning "S" symbol in the stone. "You have been kept from your birthright, you have been kept from your destiny. You were to be a symbol that would lead your fellow Kandorians to a new golden age."

Jor-El paused as his eyes locked onto his son's.

"Harry Potter will squander them, he will cause them to fall flat on their faces," Jor-El commented in an extremely brisk tone of voice, his voice utterly calm and utterly cold, leaving no room for argument. "You must find a way to lead them Kal-El, you must find a way to help lead them and make sure Zod does not fall."

"Why do I need Zod?" Clark asked to Jor-El but as always, his father had the answers for him.

"Zod represents a legacy for the Kandorians and he is not an ally that you should discount, Kal-El," Jor-El commented to his son in an oddly formal and stiff tone of voice. "You disappoint me by asking these questions. You will fail and the world will be doomed if you do not learn to take decisive action!"

For a brief moment, Clark thought that he was going to be slapped by Jor-El.

"I have taken steps to block you from their influence," Jor-El commented and there was no need for Clark to ask who they were.

He did have a question for his father all the same and his eyes turned towards Jor-El. "Do you….do you think they'll notice?"

"As one of the most foremost geniuses in all of Krypton, I do not think that a quartet of mere girls will be out of my ability to negate," Jor-El stated in a proud and haughty voice. Kal-El was shaken as his boldness diminished.

"I….are you sure?" Clark asked and Jor-El reached forward, placing a grip on his son's shoulder and roughly squeezing it.

"Yes, Kal-El, I'm sure, you need to learn that they are not more powerful than you, and they will be put in their place," Jor-El commented as his eyes flared.

"What about my mother?" Kal-El asked and Jor-El's grip squeezed around his son's shoulder.

"Lara is dead to me, as she should be to you, Kal," Jor-El remarked and Clark's expression flickered for a second before he looked back up.

"CLARK!"

Lana was at the entrance of the barn and she saw Clark slumped over like he was lost in space. She thought about dumping water over his head and bringing him back to life. The dark haired woman stepped in and her legs nervously twitched as she kept walking towards him. Her eyes blinked and she traveled towards him.

"Is everything fine, Clark?" Lana asked, Clark looked like he had a blackout.

"Everything's fine Lana," Clark commented as he grabbed her around the waist and gave her a wide grin, before he sped her into the wall and pressed her against it, kissing her. "In fact, it's more than fine."

Lana's expression was one of surprised, as of late, Clark had been emotionally detached, she had to coax him to do certain things. Now, she did not….her mind was losing herself as his tongue buried into her mouth.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," a voice commented and Clark and Lana turned around.

Clark cleared his throat and stood up with a prideful and stiff expression. He wondered what came over him, although it felt good to conquer this woman. A few seconds later and he would have her kneel before him. He would drill her in the mouth until her jaw broke and she begged for no more.

He shook his head, wondering where that came from. Clark was losing all sense of himself and he did not necessarily think that this was a bad thing at all. Never the less, his gaze traveled until it met a brunette girl who stood before him in the barn, dressed in a black t-shirt, jeans, and hair that was slightly bushy.

"We haven't been introduced," Clark remarked and Hermione watched him.

Lois showed up at this second, she had seen Lana in the ground, with scratches on her cheek.

'I really didn't think you had it in you Clark,' Lois thought and she tried to tell Harry that there was someone here. 'And now, I'm getting a busy signal. And I thought calling customer service was a bitch.'

Lois said nothing as she waited for this woman to say something.

"My name is Hermione Granger," Hermione remarked as she smiled at him. "I'm a huge fan of your work at the Daily Planet, I think you're a brilliant journalist."

Clark wondered about this as the brunette's eyes flickered and a grin passed over her lips. The Kryptonian suspected nothing at least not for the moment although Hermione kept pressing on, the grin on her face getting wider.

"I hope you don't mind….if I hang out with you a little bit," Hermione remarked to him with a slight smile on her face.

Kara turned up and saw Hermione standing there. She turned invisible as she decided to observe how this played out.

"I have information about a story that is going to light the world on fire," Hermione breathed to Clark but she paused and looked around. "I'll only tell it to you, if you're the only one who is around."

'Alex better appreciate what I'm doing,' Hermione added as an afterthought which Kara picked up, even though she said nothing.

As Kara tried to delve into Hermione's mind to find out what Harry's female duplicate was doing. Hermione was scooped up in Clark's arms and sped off.

'Do not go after them, Lois, Lana,' Kara thought.

'Wait, are you telling us not to do our job?' Lana asked to Kara in confusion.

'No, the stakes have gotten dangerous, we don't know what's at stake here,' Harry thought to them finally popping in. 'Sorry, Lois, busy looking into something.'

'No problem, shit happens but what is Clark doing?' Lois asked.

Harry did not answer, mostly because he wanted to see how this played out.

Death appeared from where Harry stood at the edge of the Kent Farm, appearing in a flash.

"You know, this is only going to end badly," Death told him.

"Yes, but she's the one who is taking this road, not me," Harry told Death and Death sighed.

"You are keeping your mother imprisoned," Death told him and Harry turned around.

It's funny, isn't it," Harry remarked, keeping himself calm. "If I keep here there, I'm the biggest jerk in town but if I let her out and she tries something, I'm the biggest idiot in town."

"There is one thing you could do that would make sure she does not try anything deceptive," Death remarked to Harry. "It was a journal, partially corrupted by my predecessor and I believe she's sincere about her repenting."

Harry said nothing other than offering a non-committal shrug.

Death was now sorely tempted to shove Rose, Harry, Lily, and Alex all in a room and allow them to work their tensions out. Then maybe for an encore she could get a piece of Harry herself but first things first.


"I've found out that there is a traitor within your midst," Zod commented to Ra's as he stared him down.

Ra's was nearly belligerent, he refused to think such a thing would happen and his expression was growing to one of disbelief and he stared down Zod.

"How do you know this?" Ra's asked.

"Are you trying to say that the Great One does not know when there is a traitor in his midst?" a second individual stated in a challenging voice as his eyes locked onto Zod.

Zod's expression twisted into a smile of his own as he faced all of the members of the League of Shadows that converged. There were far less on both sides but then again, there were far less on Zod's side as well. It was quite the interesting contrast and the Kandorian's expression continued to contort to one in malice.

"Why don't you ask your daughter about betrayal?" Zod asked Ra's with a crisp tone and Talia's eyes widened.

"I don't know how you get off coming in here and making these accusations," Talia remarked as she spun around and was prepared to do something about Zod but two of the Kandorians grabbed her around the arms.

She pushed herself free and drawing her sword in a smooth motion slashed it across one of Kandorians chest, surprisingly the sword shattered on impact.

Talia stood, eyes widened as the shattered pieces of the sword dropped to the ground. Her eyes continued to flicker in confusion.

"They have their powers back," Talia commented in an awed tone.

Ra's was caught off guard, he thought that Zod was the only one who had his powers returned to him. The Demon Head's eyes flickered into a glare as he stood to face Zod.

"Your daughter has betrayed you, are you going to do something about it?" Zod asked him and Ra's reached into his cane, as he slowly slipped out a Kryptonite sword.

"I will not have you speak of my daughter like that, Zod," Ra's commented and the partnership broke apart like that.

Zod blocked his hand and twisted his wrist.

"My suit now blocks the radiation, unlike some, I learn from past mistakes," Zod stated as his hands squeezed around Ra's throat and he started to have the life squeezed out of him. "That's it, on your knees old man."

As Talia's eyes nervously looked over her shoulder a rough faced Kandorian grabbed her from behind. Clasping his hand over her mouth, he held her into place.

"If you value the life and the life of your daughter, you will point me to the Lazarus pits, so I can make my army invincible," Zod growled to Ra's as his fingers dug into the old man's neck and blood started to dripped from his mouth.

"Drop dead," Ra's growled as he stared Zod with contempt.

Cheshire rushed in an attempt to nail the Kandorian who'd grabbed Talia from behind, in an unarmored area on the back of the neck with a dagger. The thug responded to this by backhanding her hard in an almost casual manner as if she was little more then a gnat.

Jade was sent flying backwards. She only could make out the arrow being shot in. The arrow connected into the wall and blasted a flare that caused the Kandorians to be blinded.

Talia took this advantage to slip out of the hold she was in and she slid underneath the follow up attack. She reached down to help her father, but Clark sped in.

"You're not going anywhere," Clark commented as he grabbed Ra's by the throat and picked him up.

"You must let me go," Ra's panted as Clark hurled him halfway across the room.

Clark, on the other hand, was not armored, so the moment he came into proximity the modified Kryptonite sword, it immediately cause him to hunch over in agony.

Ra's crawled over towards it and lifted the sword which he pointed it towards the throat of Kal-El.

"Say good night Star Child, you're too dangerous to allow to live," Ra's commented as his eyes flared with madness.

Zod sped back in and grabbed Ra's around the waist he lifted him from the ground, before slamming him against the wall.

There was a second flare that caused everyone to be blinded and their ears rang. Clark in particular felt like there was a never ending humming that coursed through his ears and it was hard to keep his head up and focus.

"Damn it," Clark groaned as he tried to grab his ears but the humming would not subside even for a second. He felt his eyes water and the pain continued to course through him until a white blur shot down seemingly from out of nowhere.

Clark's eyes continued to follow the situation as the Kryptonite dagger was picked up as one gloved hand grabbed him from behind, holding his hands back. The dagger was placed at his ear, the tip up against him causing a burning to explode through him. "

I should take you down right now," the modulated voice said in Clark's ear.

"Who are you?" Clark groaned as he staggered, his eyes flushed.

"I'm Downfall," Downfall said as the shadowed figure, no shape, no nothing, hurled him across the room.

Clark landed, cuts appearing over his face.

"Who are you?" Clark demanded as he tried to speed in but suddenly he was frozen like he was nothing as whips extended from Downfall's suit.

The entire suit appeared to be made of modified Kryptonite and he watched as the Kandorians could not go near this person either.

Whatever shielding Zod used….this was a different form of modified Kryptonite then what the Kandorians had created, because their shielding did not work.

"Checkmate," Downfall stated as the whips were brought down on Clark's face and chest, causing him unbearable pain.

Ra's wondered who this new player on the board was. Zod was down, weakened and Ra's had the Kryptonite sword.

'We'll see who kneels now,' Ra's stated as he summoned what strength he could, Zod's neck now exposed and primed for the kill.

To Be Continued in Part Two.