Finally, the moment of truth was here. Luthor had been waiting for this for so long, had dreamed of this more times than he could count and had experienced too many failed attempts. Not this time. He would put an end to his most hated enemy once and for all.

He couldn't help being reminded of the last time he'd seen Kal-El, his truest foe, though any Kal-El in any world was his mortal enemy as he had been his father's.

The alien scum had come running at her signal as he knew he would. It was laughable that they expected him to believe that they weren't having an affair? He was no fool.

The tension melted from Kal-El's face when he saw him, which spoke of his stupidity. And they were supposed to be the more intelligent species? "Oh, good," he said. "You know. We both hated keeping this from you."

"I'll just bet you did," he said. He'd never liked him, but the hatred was building up in him like a raging, seething monster, living and breathing. No longer a thing that he controlled but a thing that controlled him. "So tell me. How does it feel to rule the world? Does it feel as wonderful as you hoped?"

"I've told you he had nothing to do with this," Lois interjected. "And now that he's been freed from the Kryptonian consciousness that was inside him, he's been working against them. We think if we can get them all together somehow, we can reverse it."

"And he just happens to know how to reverse the process?" he seethed. "Doesn't that tell you he's the machine's creator?"

"He found his mother's crystal among his brother's things. He talked to her like he is able to talk to his father on the base. She created the machine though never intending the consciousnesses to be put into human hosts. We are so close to ending this nightmare."

"Does your dad's death mean nothing to you? He is your father's killer!"

Tears of human emotion filled her eyes, and he thought he'd finally gotten through to her. "I do love my father, I always will, but he was not a perfect man. He in his prejudice did some questionable things. He saw a boy as an enemy, and no amount of good deeds could have ever convinced him not to be wary of someone who was from outer space. And that is what got him killed in the end."

"You are out of your mind!"

"It's you who can't remove the blinders from your eyes."

"I'm through talking. It's time to take action." He went for his throat. His armored hand wasn't the most deadly tool in his arsenal, but it was the most satisfying. He wanted to choke the life out of the monster.

"Stop!" she cried out in fear for the one she loved.

It was only fuel for the fire that burned in him. He had robbed him of his wife's affections, and for that alone, he deserved death. He would avenge all of the fallen citizens in Metropolis, he would avenge the brave men and women he'd served with. Justice would be served.

Kal-El took it at first, looking properly shamed. He bore a measure of guilt in him even if Lois thought he was innocent. Though he suspected it was mostly to throw him off his guard. As if he actually cared about the lost lives. He lifted them through the roof still hanging onto his neck.

"I'm so sorry," he said to him through the strangulation.

He should be. He was still haunted by the memories. "If there was some kind of ghost in your brain, you could have fought harder," he accused.

"Yes, I could have," he said, already sounding defeated, and he released his grip just a little due to the surprise of his agreement. "My father, my Earth father, taught me control. He had this tree trunk I practiced my punching on, holding back my raw energy to keep from snapping it. You see, it's like I live in a world of cardboard, and if I breathe too hard, if I hug too tight, if I just step the wrong way, I could do untold damage. It's hard sometimes, always being mindful, and I didn't realize how hard until Zod controlled my body. For the first time in my life, I felt what it was like to not have to hold back anymore."

"So you admit it. You admit you're like them," he said with a sneer of disgust.

"I admit that there was a part of me that liked not being in control anymore and not feeling the pain of watching and protecting but never being a part of, yes. I have been so alone for so long. But watching people die and being the reason for it, however indirectly, is something I'll have to live with for the rest of my life."

"Which will be short if I have anything to say about it."

"But I've realized something," he said, looking down at the building where Lois was as if he could see her, which he could if he wanted to. "I'm not alone. There are people that love and accept me as one of them. They always have. And I've let fear keep me from being as close as I wanted to be, but no more. When this world gets back to normal, I'm going to live again. I thought my world stopped all those years ago, but it's time to resurrect a ghost."

"Powerful words. You missed your calling as a writer. Don't worry about Lois. She'll come to see that I was right, and if she doesn't, well, traitors don't get light sentences in times of war, but I'm certain she'll see reason," he said. And then up there in the atmosphere that would have cut off the oxygen of a normal, unsuited man, he used the weapon that would finish him off. He plunged a dagger of green kryptonite into his side and watched his eyes widen in the shock of pain.

He plummeted toward the Earth, and he took the opportunity to get inside his ship for the extra protection it provided as his death would probably bring the other Kryptonians running.

He halfway expected him to die. Yet, he wasn't all that surprised to see him pull it out before he made contact with the ground and heal quickly. He wouldn't say he'd built an immunity to the substance from his home planet over the years, but that constant and early exposure had made him somewhat resistant to it.

Superman was enraged now unlike he'd ever seen sans possession. It must have been the threat to Lois or he'd simply decided to drop his mask. Superman went after him attacking his ship with a vengeance, his AI reporting to him all the while that the shield was failing.

Then the sky opened up in a burst of color. Their earth was not the only one experiencing cataclysmic events. He was robbed of his chance to seek retribution. Until now.

His kinetic hammer had gotten him the closest to finishing him off. If not for his meddlesome kids, who were only alive right now because they were Lois', he would be dead right now. The beauty of the hammer was that he could keep his distance and deliver Superman-level blows. He relished the pain caused as he delivered them close up at first.

"I'm sure Lois will mourn your death as will your boys, but the world will be safe, millions of lives spared. And I'll be there to comfort her. Assure her that a great evil was stopped. I'll even be a father to your boys. At least, one of them turned out normal, and I'm sure we can find a way to fix the other boy."

He could tell his words given between blows added to his anguish. In fact, he began to look angrier and angrier until he could see it in his eyes. He was totally in control again.

Good. He wanted it that way. He would have gladly killed him as Zod, but he preferred to watch the life snuff out of Kal-El's, who had taken his wife and brought about the end of the world. Kryptonians were a disease that if not controlled and eradicated spread like a plague until death was inevitable.

Now a good thirty feet from he delivered another blow to the weakening superhero. Superman flew back into the side of mountain, making the ground rumble below.

"I don't want to hurt you," the Kryptonian pleaded.

"Well, that's a shame because I want to hurt you," he said, already swinging his hammer to gear up for another blow, but the sight he caught out of his peripheral vision almost made him drop his hammer.

Lord have mercy, there were two of them. Except this Kal-El wore a suit of black.