Chapter Eleven

It was at this point that the hologram fizzled out and disappeared, and the globe that Diana held aloft ceased to glow. She gently returned it to the pedestal.

Clark felt like he'd been punched in the gut. The man that he'd just watched commit all those atrocities… murdering friends and teammates… it was him. A twisted, future version of himself, but him nonetheless. Wells and Superman eyed Clark carefully, not sure how the young man was going to handle what he had just witnessed.

"It was at this point that Tempus first came to Kal-El, and offered his assistance," Diana explained. "He told Kal-El that he was a time traveler, and that he could help him by warning him in advance of any potential threats to his reign over Earth. Kal was reluctant at first, but eventually accepted Tempus's aid, and made him his Chief Advisor. It was with Tempus's help that Kal created a computer program, called Brainiac, that they equipped with time-travel capabilities. It was Brainiac that chronicled the history of the world on these globes. All of human history is recorded here."

"Diana," Superman spoke up. "In what we just watched, you were pregnant…"

"More than year has passed since then," Diana said. "I went into hiding and delivered the child. He is safe." Before they could ask her to elaborate, she started to walk out of the room. "Come, there is more I must show you."

The three men followed Diana out of the room, and down another hallway.

"Tempus convinced Kal that the threats to his rule would come from other realities," Diana continued. "Other versions of himself, called Supermen. That's when Kal began invading other realities, killing or imprisoning the Supermen of other universes."

She led them into another room. It looked like they were in a museum. Weapons, costumes, and artifacts were displayed in large cases or mounted on walls.

"What is this place?" Superman asked.

"It is his Trophy Room," Diana said. "He saves the weapons of those he vanquishes. The key to defeating him may lie somewhere in here."

Clark, Wells and Superman walked somberly through the rows of artifacts, knowing that many had come from those who had died trying to overthrow Kal-El. They recognized the costume of the man from the hologram, the one they had called Bruce, with the bat symbol on the chest and the horned cowl. It was singed and burnt. Bart Allen's bloody Flash costume hung nearby. Another case held a giant pair of wings and a mace. Then a blue suit with yellow, beetle-like goggles. A gold suit of armor that looked like something out of the far future. An orange and green wetsuit. An emerald archer's uniform. Row upon row of Green Lantern rings.

Then there was a row of blue and red costumes that looked very much like the one that Superman wore. They knew that these must have belonged to those Supermen from the other realities that Kal had killed. Even though they had never met these other men, they felt a strong sense of loss.

Clark turned around and saw another case, filled with objects which were more familiar to him. Some of them were items that he recognized from Lex Luthor's collection. One of the Nicodemus plants. A parasite from the Kawache caves. Kal-El must have taken them for his own trophy room after he killed Lex. Some of the other artifacts, though, were things that had never belonged to anyone but him. His old journals with drawings of the Kryptonian symbols. The map of the caves. Kyla's bracelet. One of the red kryptonite class rings. Even the octagonal key was displayed here.

Superman found a row of cases containing artifacts that he recognized as well, which Kal must have pillaged from his reality. Jason Trask's Bureau 39 files. One of Lenny Stoke's sonic devices. Some of Winslow Schott's Space Rats. The Prankster's freeze-camera. Jaxon Xavier's virtual reality helmet. An assortment of Bad Brain Johnson's electronic gadgets. The remains of the Vixen android.

Clark started to feel weak as he walked down the row towards the back wall of the museum. He soon understood why. He gasped as he saw the last relic in this case. It was a handful of the kryptonite bullets and the sniper rifle that Van McNulty had used to try to kill him back in Smallville.

"Is that what I think it is?" Wells asked, startled. "Why would he keep something like that around?"

"He must think no one would be crazy enough to break in here and use it against him," Superman said.

Diana frowned. Then, quietly, she opened the case, and picked up the gun. "I know that I was the leading voice against killing Kal-El when we had the chance before," she said. "Then I saw what he did to our own teammates. Bruce… Hal… Bart… they were all my dear friends." She gently loaded the bullets into the gun. "Since then, Kal has only gotten worse, killing anyone who dares to speak out against him. I realize now that we have no choice." She cocked the loaded gun.

Clark stepped forward. "Here," he said, taking the gun from Diana's hands. "Let me handle this," he said.

"Dear boy," Wells said. "Are you sure you're up for this? You understand what you're about to do, don't you?"

"Trust me," Clark said. "I know exactly what I'm doing."