CHAPTER 35

"Lois, this is insane!" Chloe shouted over the rush of air.

She was hanging onto Lois's back as her elder cousin drove Jimmy's scooter, weaving through traffic on their way to the Fortress in the middle of the city.

"I finished my story on Superboy, and his connection to the Military and LexCorp, proving they're still in bed together, and letting everyone know whose side they should be on in this big Superman vs. Superman fight. Now I'm going to go find out what happens next.

"You didn't have to come along," Lois shouted over her shoulder.

"Jimmy trusted me with the keys to his bike; I couldn't just let you take it," Chloe smiled.

"Sure," Lois called back as they rode on.

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The Sun.

Superboy stood/floated before the flaming ball of gas and hope, and pondered the ramifications of simply leaving Superman's body to the whim of chance.

He knew he didn't have long to debate the issue. He was beginning to understand that being a world's Superman meant you didn't have time to second guess yourself.

What was needed now was Action.

Jimmy had asked him to believe. And he knew deep down that should be good enough for him.

Removing the cape from Superman's body, the boy looked down at it one last time.

He knew he should think of something pithy and heroic to say. But he wasn't a writer. Besides, sound doesn't travel in space anyway.

The action itself would have to be the message.

He let go of the body, surrendering it to the gravity well as he reattached the cape to his armor.

There's always a way, he thought. Hope to see you soon… Dad.

And with that, Superboy turned, and began the trip back to the Earth, where he was needed.

Superman's body fell, deeper and deeper towards the Sun, his whole body eventually swallowed up by the Light.

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Steel brought down the hammer in one last swing he hoped would end things.

To his regret and dismay, it did not, as Brainiac caught it with one hand.

The human side of his face smiled. "Even within that suit of armor, you are just flesh and bone. And that flesh grows tired does it not?"

"Just what the hell is your problem?" Steel asked, between gasps for air. "I've never met a robot with so many personality flaws."

"I am driven by a singular desire, to restore Krypton on Earth. Kal-El should have aided me in that quest, but because of the polluting influence of the native fauna, he chose to stand against me, and deny everything his ancestors wanted for him. He doesn't deserve his place as the Last Son of Krypton."

Steel laughed.

"So is that why you stole his face? Haha, you're so pathetic, you actually just want to BE him, don't you? You're no different than Luthor."

"Silence," Brainiac said as he bashed the business end of the hammer into John Henry's armored face, knocking him unconscious.

"Filthy mammals," he grunted.

"Again, I can't tell if you are the most sophisticated A.I. in history, or just the most poorly programmed," Jimmy Olsen said, leaping over Brainiac in his Flamebird costume and dropping miniature EMP bombs.

"The fact that I had the forethought to upgrade this mechano-man's system to survive Electromagnetic Pulses should answer that query for you," Brainiac said, swatting Jimmy away like a fly.

Krypto's growl alerted Brainiac to his presence as the beast dove down out of the sky and crashed into his foe with all the force of a train.

Unfortunately, that tactic had the same result as any dog running into a huge chunk of metal.

"At last," Brainiac seemed to almost sigh, standing alone amidst his fallen adversaries. "Now to find the boy."

"Oh, no you don't!" Lois Lane shouted as she threw a brick at Brainiac and hit him with unerring accuracy, knocking off a bit more of his facial skin.

"Lois Lane, of course."

He turned to see Lois and Chloe standing above them at the rim of the crater.

"Of course you would return to protect your brood, that is your nature."

"What are you talking about?" Lois shouted.

Brainiac rose into the air to be eye-level with her.

"Off all the negative influences on Kal-El, your touch has been the most corruptive. Your primitive 'love' for each other time and time again turning him from the path of a true Kryptonian. And now, you have gone so far as to fuse your Terran DNA with his, creating that abomination."

"Wh… what?" Lois whispered. "You mean, Superboy's human side comes from…"

"That is correct. My scans confirm that… thing is part Kal-El, and part you. Had he been a proper clone of Kal-El, that would have been bad enough. But to lower his genetic code, and sully it with your kind, that is simply disgusting."

"If that kid has Lois's heart, then that makes him worth more than a dozen Kryptonians," Chloe shouted. "Especially if they all think like you!"

Lois couldn't move. She couldn't speak.

"But no matter. Kal-El is gone, the boy shall be next, and you? Your death happens right now!"

"Hey, ugly!" a voice called out behind them

All the three turned to find Superboy floating behind Brainiac.

"Leave my mother alone!"