Chapter 6: Do Not Lie To Me, Kyrptonian

Lexcorp Tower Lobby

"Hey, Clark! Feeling better after that cold yesterday?", Jimmy asks in a chipper mood, press badge on his shirt. "Yep, just need a day's rest sometimes." "Quick question: is it me or are the three of us the only reporters here?", Lois asks, scanning the area. "Maybe, I haven't see anyone else with badges so far." "Hey! You three, Daily Planet crew!", shouts a familiar female Newark voice. "You don't need to walk amongst these old farts." "Do I know you?", asks a confused Jimmy. "Mercy Graves, Head of Lexcorp Public Relations. Ms Lane, how come you brought a kid here?" "Mr Olsen here is our choice photographer, Mercy. Just show us where we gotta sit, this isn't our first rodeo", Lois dryly barks.

"Fair enough. Gotta say, big boy, ya picked a feisty partner in her!", Mercy replies, tapping Clark's chest. "She's a great reporter, ask anybody here. Oh, wait a minute! Are there any other reporters here to agree with me?", Clark replies in an unexpectedly sassy manner. "Excuse me?", Mercy and Lois say in unison. "Whatever, here's the seats Mr Luthor himself picked out for you three. Enjoy it if you want more nice things like this", Mercy claims, walking off towards the stage podium.

Behind the stage curtains lies Lex and his new artificial partner in crime. "Brainiac, power on as ordered by Lex Luther of Earth." "Scanning Lexcorp Tower of Midtown Metropolis of threats to safety of Brainiac and Lex Luthor." "Excellent, but skip that. I've vetted everyone here personally, there's no need for that. Repeat to me how we will introduce ourselves to the lovely shareholders and press in the FRONT ROW." "You, Lex Luthor, will speak shortly and then call out my name, summoning me to showcase a simpler Earthling's idea of advanced mechanics." "Correct! Now, just sit tight and remember: do not go off script. DO NOT even if the damn Kryptonian shows up!"

"Lex Luthor, I have gathered data from your simplistic Internet database about the Kyrptonian. His name is Superman, and appears to be a threat to the Kryptonian people as a whole, considering his willingness to kill one of Krypton to save lesser Earthlings. He takes pride in being apart of Earth apes instead of his objectively superior—" "It appears you have, even though you were shut down, theoretically making you incapable of research. That is a concern for a later discussion, however." "I will explain to you the 12th level intellect I have amassed when you request it, Lex Luthor."

"Lex, quit playing with your toys, the money's asking for ya!", Mercy interrupts. "Duty calls. Enter stand-by mode, Brainiac", Luthor barks.

Lex walks out from behind the stage curtain, waving his hands in a Nixon-like manner, as the shareholders applaud him as if he was the second coming of Jesus. "Ah, it feels good to be back!", he jokes, adjusting the podium microphone. "Gents, I must say, thank you for all of your continued support during my false imprisonment. It truly inspires my belief in not just the American man, but the Metropolitan as well!" "Bull-" "Quiet, Jimmy", Lois whisper-shouted while slapping the back of his scalp.

"Let's get right to the meat and potatoes, however. The boys in R&D really outdid themselves in theory, and allowed me to finesse it before those damn capes wrongly arrested an innocent, powerful, wealthy white man! What you're about to see will walk, talk, and think fully on its own through a soon to be patented synapse duplication processor. Allow me to proudly introduce to Earth,… Brainiac!"

The metallic, humanoid skeleton walks steadily next to Luthor at the podium, with its protruding red bulbs glowing brighter than the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. As the crowd curiously watches this secret alien grab the microphone, Clark spies a series of familiar shields only known to residents of Krypton on its outer shell. "Those shields on its chest, they're from Krypton. That one's for the Grand Army of Krypton! That's the same shield Zod wore, and that one… that's my symbol! How could this, this THING wear the house shield of El?", he thinks to himself.

"Greetings, visitors of Lexcorp Tower. I am Brainiac, a creation of Lexcorp. I am capable of calculations deemed difficult for our CEO Lex Luthor himself", the automaton dryly recites, as per the demands of Lex. "Although my appearance may frighten the more timid individuals of Earth, I assure you that my pre-programmed prerogatives are wholesome and for the enrichment of your species, as Lexcorp has always prioritized."

The machine suddenly stops mid step, noticing familiar DNA during an unconscious scanning of the room in the form of Clark Kent. Brainiac's skull twitches uncontrollably towards the mild mannered reporter, just as a compass directs travelers to true north. "Well, as you can all tell, Brainiac is still currently a prototype for something much more grand scale", Lex nervously chuckles once more, using all his strength to make him budge at all to no avail while hiding it as a brotherly embrace. "Brainiac does contain scanners inside the skull, allowing advanced facial recognition for a multitude of purposes to be determined later on!"

"Ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-Kryptonian", Brainiac stutters, transitioning seamlessly into his algorithmic vocal pattern. "You are the Kryptonian who nearly killed General Zod for the safety of human beings. Had he not received the mercy he deserved as an expansion specialist for Krypton and all of its colonies, you would be the only sentient creature of intelligence in this solar system", he added, unmistakably pointing in between Clark's eyes as the shareholders scream in shock and confusion.

"I'm who? Mr Luthor, what kind of machine is this?", asks a scared Clark, slowly standing up to leave with Lois holding his forearm. "I can assure you all, this is just a slight glitch, nothing to worry about!", Lex comforts once more to no success. "Brainiac, I think it's time to reboot yourself considering your little on-stage hiccups, don't you agree?" "My scanners are correct in analyzing this contained area. The timid humanoid in front of me is the Kyrptonian I am searching for", Brainiac sharply replies, stepping firmly off the stage. "You are the Superman of Metropolis", Brainiac replies, hastily transforming his left arm into an energy cannon once more. The crowd starts to scream in fear and sprint out of the building. "Shut yourself down, now! He is NOT SUPERMAN!", Lex cries, jumping in front of a ready to kill Brainiac, moving the blast out of Lois and Clark's way.

During the chaotic stampede of people running away from the murderous machine, Clark grabs a few nearby shareholders and drags them out of the way as if he's hurt by the blast. "Everyone ok here?", Clark asks, panting heavily and faking sweat. "Y-yeah, big guy. I'm ok", replies one of the rescued shareholders. "You're strong, but not Superman strong. Get a new workout regimen, my guy." "Clark, you're not Superman, are you?", asks a very frightened, nearly traumatized Jimmy. "Jimmy, this was scary. Anyone would be as terrified as you are", Clark replies, still faking his sweat and barely existent stamina. "But that wasn't the truth. I'm not Superman."

"Shut it off shut it off shut it off shut it off shut it off", Mercy stammered frantically at Lex while slamming the robot's head with a spare metal chair. "Maybe if you won't break our metal friend's skull here, I can try to fix this!", Lex replies, ready to snap at the drop of a pin. Brainiac soon stands up tall, flinging Lex and Mercy out of the scene. "What kind of friend is ready to open fire at our biggest supporters?!", she shout-whispers in utter rage.

Suddenly, a second blast of energy fills the room, as Clark and the Daily Planet crew run for their lives away from the autocratic automaton.

"I WILL FIND YOU ON THIS EARTH, SUPERMAN OF METROPOLIS. I KNOW YOU ARE ON THIS EARTH, AND I WILL FIND YOU ON THIS EARTH. YOU WILL ANSWER FOR YOUR CRIMES AGAINST THE GRAND ARMED FORCES COUNCIL OF KRYPTON AND THIS PLANET'S IMPERFECTIONS WILL BE REMOVED. I AM BRAINIAC, AND I WILL FOLLOW MY CORE PROGRAMMING FROM JOR-EL FOR THE PLANET OF KRYPTON!", roared the artificial intelligence with its first ever sensation of emotion, shaking the very ground he stood on with only his synthesized voice.

END OF CHAPTER 6