4

J'onzz wandered off not too long after he brought Wonder Woman into Superman's special medical room. He stayed long enough to scan Superman's mind one last time. Since Superman was still not completely himself, it made J'onzz job easier. He stepped in Superman's mind and found himself seeing flashes from the end of Superman's life through Superman's own eyes. J'onzz looked down at 'his' hands and saw them starting to vanish. Green flakes of flesh disintegrated from his hands.

"Kal…"

He looked up at Wonder Woman's face. Her eyes were filled with tears. He reached up to touch her but the last remnants of his fingers were gone.

"I love you," he said.

Wonder Woman leaned down and kissed the top of his forehead. The last thing he saw was Wonder Woman's mouthing '... And I you, my champion.'

The vision faded…

J'onzz gasped as he came out of Superman's memory. He took a few deep breaths as he gathered himself. He looked over to Superman and Wonder Woman. They were lost in conversation. He let out a sigh because Superman hadn't noticed his presence in his head. J'onzz out with a smile on his face as he cleared his throat. Both Superman and Wonder Woman looked over at him.

"I'll come back and check on you in a few," J'onzz said as he turned to leave.

J'onzz left the two heroes alone after he checked on Superman one last time. As he left the medical bay he found Batman outside the room waiting for him. With his ever present resting bitch face, Batman stood just out of sight from the inside. Batman had his arms folded across his chest as the door to the medical bay doors closed shut behind J'onzz.

"So are you going to tell me what's really going on?" he growled in his Batman voice.

"Is the voice really necessary Bruce," J'onzz replied.

"Was lying to Diana about her dead boyfriend necessary?" Batman replied coldly as he pointed to the medical bay behind J'onzz.

"Well he's back, so I didn't lie to her," J'onzz replied. "He's our Superman Bruce. I don't know what else to tell you."

Batman began to rub the sides of his temples in frustrations.

"We all saw him die J'onzz," Bruce replied coldly. "People don't just turn into a trillion pieces and just reassemble themselves. So I'm asking you again, man to man, what is really going on. "

J'onzz whole body took a deep exhale as he lowered his head.

"Bruce I've done every test under the sun," J'onzz added with a sigh.

Bruce grunted as he pointed to his head, "Then check his head…"

"I've seen the last thing he saw before he died," J'onzz interjected, cutting Batman off.

"Memories can be implanted," Bruce said.

The frustration within J'onzz built. He lashed out with his mind and grabbed Batman. Entrapping him in a veil of blackness.

"Would you doubt this…." J'onzz bellowed.

Batman looked about him. He screamed out for J'onzz to stop but his cries fell on deaf ears. Through the darkness thousands of beams of light blew past him. They hurdled past until he found himself opening his eyes to Wonder Woman's face.

"J'onzz stop!" Bruce hissed.

Fear came across Batman's face. A sharp pain ran up his spine.

"NO!" he replied. "You don't believe he is the same man… Well then see for yourself."

Batman lifted his hand and saw the blue of Superman's armor where his black suit should have been. Slowly he watched his flesh ripping away from his body. In between his flesh falling away he saw her, Wonder Woman weeping as she reached for Superman's no long existent hand.

"Make it stop…" Bruce yelled as he tried to break free from J'onzz mental stranglehold.

J'onzz mentally held Batman down as he forced him to watch Wonder Woman say her last goodbyes.

"I love you…" Batman heard Superman's voice say.

"... And I you,"

As the words left Wonder Woman's mouth the world for Batman went dark. The lasting

image Wonder Woman's face lingered in Batman's mind as J'onzz released his grip. Batman collapsed down to his knees.

"Do you believe me now Bruce," J'onzz said as he extended his hand down to him.

Batman shrugged J'onzz hand away as he stood back up to his feet on his own.

"People don't come back from the dead," Batman replied.

J'onzz laughed, "Well Kal-El did…"

"Clark is back…."

Both J'onzz and Batman looked behind them. Aquaman was there with The Flash and Green Lantern beside him. The two men beside Aquaman both looked at one another.

"We didn't tell him…" they both replied in unison.

"You didn't tell me what?!" Aquaman asked as he looked at Flash and Green Lantern.

The two heroes took a few steps back. Flash rushed behind Batman using him as a shield while Green Lantern built a wall of green with his power ring.

"Superman has returned," J'onzz said.

"Returned…. From the dead?"

"It would be assumed so," Bruce said.

Aquaman threw up his hands in protest.

"So you told these two nitwits about it over me?" Aquaman grumbled.

"Hey…." Green Lantern said.

J'onzz bursted into laughter while Batman kept his face unchanged.

"Because you were on monitor duty when we found him floating in space," Bruce replied.

Aquaman scoffed as he looked towards J'onzz, "He did his 'Batman' thing didn't he?"

J'onzz nodded, "You know he did."

"And is it really him?"

"From what I have seen, yes," J'onzz replied.

"You just asked that," Batman said coldly.

Aquaman looked Batman up and down.

"But it's you," Aquaman replied. "Catwoman could be sucking your dick and you would still question it."

The group of men started laughing.

"You'll be glad I am this way," Batman replied as he began to walk off. "One day it

might just save your asses."

…..

Meanwhile on Earth Prime

The remnants of the fortress crumbled around him as laughter surrounded him. He sat alone on a throne of ashes.

"Go to Earth-52 Jon," he heard his mother's orders ringing in his head. "... Go to Earth-52."

He clasped his hands on either side of his head. Lowering his head he screamed.

"HOW!" he screamed into the floor.

Again the laughter filled the dust filled sky. He felt a hand brush against his shoulder.

"My child…" his mother's voice cooed.

He stood to his feet.

"My poor, poor child…."

He turned around looking for his mother. From behind an ice pillar he saw his mother for a second. Jon rushed toward the pillar. By the time he reached it she was gone. Again her laughter filled the room. It came from a corridor not too far from him. He followed the sound of his mother's voice until he reached a once hidden level of the fortress.

Stepping through the rubble he stepped down into a room with a boomtube in the center of it. As he walked toward boomtube voices beside his mother filled the room.

"Failure…."

"False god…"

"Unloved sun…"

Rage built up within him. He blasted his heat vision upwards to the heavens, shattering the upper levels above him.

"Calm yourself," his mother cooed.

A gentle touch pulled his attention back towards the boomtube. He reached his hand out towards it. A purple mist swirled around it. Slowly it started to ripple up his arm. It latched onto him as it pulled him into it. A cackle echoed throughout the rubble of the fortress as Jon vanished into the purple mist.

"Welcome to Earth-52,"