Captain Luthor nursed a cup of coffee, wondering how it had all gone wrong. He'd never liked Superman, had always been suspicious of a being from another world. Lois had always defended him, saying time and time again that she trusted him with her life, that he was one of them in all the ways that mattered.

And Kal-El had killed her for all her trust. Alex had begged her not to leave their lead-lined bunker. She had said that she needed to help by revealing their weakness in what had been a military secret until then. She'd even mumbled something about he would have wanted it that way. She'd watched Metropolis' supposed hero and protector take down buildings with his heat vision, killing millions, and a part of her still believed he was good deep down.

Alex had finally convinced her that she would lose her life if she went out there, and she agreed. He thought she was convinced then in the futility of it, and he'd stupidly gone to sleep as too many sleepless nights finally got to him. He should have known she would go out there anyway, and she did lose her life as a greater hero than Superman could dream of being.

He'd escaped to this world, finding a Superman and budding situation eerily similar to the situation in his, and he would die before he'd let the same thing happen to the Lois of this world. He'd done his best to take him down and almost had. He'd stood there above him with a kryptonite spear above his chest, watching a satisfying fear in his eyes.

In the end, it was Lois who talked him out of it. She'd convinced him this Superman didn't deserve to die for something he hadn't done. Superman here was a different, innocent person, and he didn't want to become a murderer in any world. Still, he didn't trust him. The Superman he'd known had been an ally too until he wasn't. Who was to say the same thing couldn't happen here when some things about a person remained fundamentally the same?

His thoughts were interrupted by the news. It was a breaking story from Smallville though not so new to him. The human Kryptonians had lost their hosts thanks to a scheme by Superman. He and Lois probably thought it was over and were patting themselves on the back for stopping a war. The military was already starting to pull out.

It was just the first wave though if he had to guess. It wouldn't have worked on Morgan Edge. He was still out there and would no doubt regroup, adding Superman to his side. He had to go back before Lois lost her life in this world too.

He pulled up in his RV, but no one seemed to notice his presence. He walked up on the porch and started to knock but paused when he heard voices.

"It isn't fair!" one of her sons yelled. He remembered those teenager moments with his own daughter too well, and he missed them terribly, which is not something he would've ever thought he'd say.

"I know," Lois said quieter but still loud enough for him to hear through the wall.

"Why are they all coming in at once? It's too much, and Dad isn't even here to help this time. How am I going to learn to control this stupid microscope vision. I can't see anything but the grains of the floor or the pores of the wall or wherever else I happen to look. It's like being blind."

Why would Lois' son be displaying powers unless he had become one of them? Had he been taken over, but that didn't make sense because Lois didn't seem panicked about it.

"The first thing you have to do is relax," she said. "We'll figure it out, and your dad will recover all his powers and return as soon as he's had time to rest if not. It's going to be okay."

"Man, you really are becoming Superboy," said the other twin, teasing and sounding a little envious at the same time.

"Not helpful, Jonathan," Lois said sternly.

There was more conversation, but Alex didn't hear it. He was thinking about what he'd just heard. Clark had powers. Their son had powers. Clark Kent was Superman.

His mind was reeling and disgust twisted his stomach at the thought of them coupling. Things were even worse here. Lois was married to her murderer. She'd had his children. Kryptonians were here in a way he didn't even think was possible. He had to get her away now.