Superman: The Ark of Krypton
Chapter 128
By
Jason Richard
"I'm afraid this does collaborate with the information in my database," said Brainiac. "Jor-El hadn't done nearly as much research into Apokolips as Zod claims to have done, but what information my creature did gather fits what Zod has told you."
Standing in the bridge of the Ark of Krypton, Superman frowned, rubbing his chin. This planet was probably responsible for sending Lobo after him as well. Not only would they likely to go after him again, Superman would have to worry about them starting some kind of revolution indirectly, and it could be from anything. They could prop of terror organizations in the world, or they could send another alien threat their way. The worst scenario Superman could think of was that Apokolips would find a way to put Lex Luthor in charge of the world. That would be a nightmare.
Still, what could he do about it? All the threats he'd faced so far had either been individuals or small groups. Even the Kryptonian invasion hadn't been an entire planet's population, and these aliens would likely be as powerful as Superman from the start. Could even Superman, with all his power, stand up to such odds?
It was a moot question. He had to stand up to it. The question was, how?
"If it helps sir," said Brainiac. "I'm still attempting to jam signals from deep space and make it more difficult for them to monitor us."
"And I think we all appreciate that," said Superman. "But they must have told Zod of their identity somehow, and we know they have the ability to open other dimensions. If I have to listen for alien threats as well as talk of general crime here on Earth I'm going to risk spreading myself so thin I can't hear either."
"I suggest you leave the former to me," said Brainiac. "I've been working with Kara to upgrade the Ark's scanners so I can better detect alien technology, which they would have to use to reach Earth in the first place."
"Sounds good," said Superman, sighing. He didn't know if it would be enough, but it was all they had.
And to make matters worse, this was far from the only problem on Superman's plate.
…
Lex Luthor walked up to the courthouse warily, Mercy Graves following him with a solemn expression on her face and bodyguards surrounding the pair of them. This was going to be an interesting trial to be sure. He was guilty of the crimes he was being accused of. This was certain in most people's minds. The fact that he was being tried for them was more of a formality than anything else. Anyone who understood this case knew what was really going on.
This case was about whether or not Lex Luthor was necessary for the defense of Earth or not. If he could convince the world that they could not survive these alien onslaughts without him, then his past crimes wouldn't matter. With Luthor's technology relying on a weakness on not anything unique to Lexcorp technology, it would be difficult to make that claim.
Difficult, but not impossible.
Lex Luthor took a deep breath.
Mercy noticed. She'd never seen Lex this Nervous before.
…
Lois Lane and Clark Kent walked up to the courthouse, watching Luthor and his bodyguards stroll up as well. The pair of them knew what was really going on with this trial as well. They couldn't do much except explain the evidence they'd separately gathered against Luthor during their reporting, but they knew full well Luthor would be playing the 'I can help save the world.' Card.
Even with Superman out there protecting people, the threat of another attack by an alien force would always be there. Most skeptical of Superman's intentions would at least consider Luthor a viable alternative, and even those who believed Superman was on their side would be afraid he couldn't protect him, not with Superman's weakness to Kryptonite now out in the open.
Fear would give Luthor an advantage here. Both Lois and Clark knew this trial was going to be a big one.
…
Luthor sat on a bench in the courthouse, waiting to be let in as Mercy and the bodyguards stood around him. Luthor remained poised and thoughtful, hiding that his thoughts were a torrent of doubts and apprehensions. This could go very badly for him, and he wasn't certain he could just go into hiding if things went south again. Furthermore, Edward Lytener's tech made independently of Lexcorp had done well, better than Luthor had expected, and he couldn't just let a potential rival continue working while he hid. Something had to be done.
"You look nervous," said a calm, confident voice.
Luthor looked over and saw a man sitting next to him wearing an expensive looking suit, sunglasses, and sporting a classy beard. Luther's eyes darted around as he realized darted around and noted that his bodyguards, including Mercy, didn't seem to know this man was there.
"Who are you, how did you get here, and why is it only I can see you?" Luthor whispered.
"Not a single thing you just asked is in any way important," said the stranger. "What is important is that I can help you."
"How very convenient," said Luthor dryly. "But I'm not interested in help from extraterrestrials."
The stranger frowned and said, "How..."
"You get past my guards," said Luthor. "And we can have a conversation in the open without anyone noticing? That would require technology not available on Earth. Were it available, I'd know."
The stranger grinned and said, "Would you now? You sound confident, but now hardly seems the time for confidence, considering what's on the line for you."
"Well," said Luthor. "Maybe you're right, but even so. I'll deal with my own problems. An alien force with technology such as yours wouldn't be contacting me unless they felt they had a use for me, and I have no intention of being used as someone's pawn.
"You see, sir, I don't make deals with the devil, because I aim to surpass him."
The stranger stared at Luthor silently for a moment, then grinned.
"Well alright," he said calmly. "If that's how you feel I'll respect that. A word of warning though, you may want to reconsider...when this trial goes south."
Luthor didn't react, and after a moment of silence, the stranger disappeared in a flash of light, still going unnoticed by everyone nearby. Luthor regarded the empty space where the stranger used to be and rubbed his chin, the hint of a wicked smile emerging from the corner of his mouth. He may not be interested in being someone else's pawn, but this appearance might just be a profitable one after all if the things he suspected were true.
Luthor pulled out his phone, made a call, and said, "Hello? Yes, I want you to send a covert drone over, the one with that recent scanner. I have something I want found."
As he made this call, Mercy turned around and gave him a curious look.
…
Lois and Clark sat together once they entered the courtroom, and Clark eyes Luthor suspiciously. He'd been using his hearing and X-Ray vision this whole time, and he hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary, except for a single phone call, where wanted something, "Found." What could that be? And of course, Luthor seemed alert, his eyes darting around for something. What was he looking for?
"All rise for the honorable judge," said the bailiff, and thus the trial began, forcing Clark to put this out of his mind.
The trial began, but Clark couldn't help but notice Luthor looking around, his entire body on edge. That should have been normal. Considering the situation he had to be nervous, but he almost didn't seem to be paying attention to the trial. What else could be on his mind right now?
The judge's words as court proceeded almost didn't matter. Luthor was up to something. Clark was certain of it. If only he knew what it was, but he couldn't just leave to investigate, not when his and Lois's testimonies could help put him away for good.
And then, Superman heard something, a receiver hidden in Luthor's ear. He wasn't supposed to have that, but what the person on the other end of the line said was of even great concern.
"You're right Lex," said Mercy. "The scanners are detecting something. In rear, left-hand corner of the room something is displacing the air. We'd never have found it if we hadn't have been looking."
Something hiding in the room? But what...
Luthor immediately stood up and before anyone could react pulled out a device like a flashlight and shone a red beam in the corner Mercy mentioned, and it revealed an alien probe, floating there silently.
The whole room, Lois and Clark included, stared at the probe in shock while Luthor just stood there satisfied. Luthor knew they'd want to keep an eye on him during the trial so that they could make another offer when it was all over. All he had to do was expose them and prove he was indispensable to the world.
"Now you're my pawn," said Luthor with a satisfied grin.