(excerpted from "Explosion Seen, Not Explained" by Chloe Sullivan in the Sunday, October 13th edition of Metropolis' "The Daily Planet")
"… the explosion, occurring at around 3:00 PM Friday, could be seen for several miles in every direction. While no evidence of arson could be found, several sources say that "Benevolent Billionaire" Lex Luthor was within the building shortly before the infoerno ensued. Luthor's publicist, at time of press, was unavailable for comment. Some sources suspect that Luthor's father, former CEO of LuthorCorp, Lionel Luthor, may have finally been found, leading to his son's presence at the Metropolis Morgue. Details, however, are unclear at this time, and such claims remain conjecture.
Of more interest, perhaps, is the large beam of white light seen by several eye-witnesses Friday.
"I was on my way back form my last class", Diana (who did not want to give her last name for personal reasons), a senior at Kansas A&M said "When I heard this really loud thud, like an explosion, or something. All the cars all across campus started going off. Then, like, a moment later, this really huge wave of white light just encompassed everything around me. When that left, I saw this great big beam of it off sort of near where I heard the explosion coming from. It just seemed to reach all the way up into the sky, without any end to it. I thought maybe it was, like, terrorists or something."
NASA confirms the presence of this beam, as seen below (image removed) though it has yet to offer any explanation for this strange occurrence. The beam, according to a public statement given by the Metropolis Branch of the Department of Homeland Security soon after the blast, lasted only 3 or less seconds. It was not, contrary to some reports, related to a nuclear explosion. At time of press, no explanation can be found for this strange occurance…"
He opened his eyes very slowly. It seemed as if he had been sleeping for a very long time, in some deep hibernation. The last time he felt like this was after his ordeal in the cave that summer, when he had traded his life for his fathers. Now, though, all this was magnified. He felt weightless, almost, like he was flying again. Then, to his slow realization, he was weightless. Immediately, panic set in. He could barely breathe. Not even he, he guessed, could breathe out here. And yet, he was. The stars surrounded him in a brilliant display of twinkling lights. Last he remembered, he was in the barn, trying to stop the veritable end of he world. Now, though, in this endless expanse, he worried if he had indeed, failed.
"Awaken, Kal-El." The voice was all-too familiar. But what was Lionel Luthor doing out here? A pair of glowing white eyes soon answered his questions. A voice filled his ears much like Lionel's, but with a much different tone. It was as if he was an entirely different person
"I have been sent by your father to free you of this void. The people of Earth need you, our Last Son of Krypton, now, more than ever. This is your purpose: to serve them and guide them to the good within themselves. You will face many obstacles in your path. Much as you already have. You will rule over them with an iron fist gloved in the benevolence of our great and mighty civilization. It is your duty to eradicate their world of all evils, much as I now eradicate you of the binds of this Phantom Zone. Go forth, last son of our people, and ensure that this planet may have many more."
Lionel's hand slowly extended towards him, palm outstretched towards his sternum. As they met, a violent storm of light and other things he couldn't quite define surrounded them. He could see through the haze that the light was leaving Lionel's eyes, and entering his. A glow surrounded him, pulsating in the deep dark. As the last of the light left him, Lionel's voice could barely be heard saying "Do not be concerned with this man. He has served his purpose, and his time has come to depart from his planet. He will be heralded forever more as the bringer of light to the nations, and the Eradicator of darkness."
As soon as the voice was finished, the light left Lionel's eyes and face seemed to explode in a mix of shock and assuredness. "I knew." were the last words heard from his lips as the oxygen left his body, and his whole person shrunk upon itself. Clark would later mark himself as the only witness to the death of Lionel Luthor, amidst glory of the stars and heavens he'd strived for his entire life.
Memories he did not know he had began to flood Clark's mind. A veritable history of his people and their culture was suddenly and instantly accessible. In this internal timeline, Clark honed in on one specific detail. And, as soon as he did, he disappeared in a movement so fast, that he dragged the matter around him, even including Lionel's shriveled and shrunken corpse, right with him.
Minh-Duc Huyn was stationed for the 11:00AM shift at the Chinese's satellite headquarters station. His hot cup of tea from the lobby downstairs was the only thing keeping him awake at the moment. It had been, suffice to say, a long night. Suddenly, a few sensors at his computer screen had gone off, and Trey almost spilled the over-priced beverage all over himself in surprise. Things like this never happened. He cued up the alert, and found himself staring at a radar screen meant to monitor for thousands of light-years, looking for asteroids that were earth-bound. Whatever this was, it was moving much faster than your average asteroid. Within three seconds, it has crossed the screen form one end to the other, putting it within miles of the earth. Minh-Duc sounded a code black, not sure what exactly could be done at this point, shortly before cowering under his desk. Across the globe, members of such government agencies reacted in a way very similar. In New York, businessmen and women pressed their faces to glass walls on every level, watching the ball of fire light up the night sky, as CEOs ran for their lives and cowered underneath desks. Actors on location for the Christian-themed thriller "Judgment Day" quit suddenly, after witnessing what they believed to be the harbinger of the true judgment day in the sky above them.
Somewhere near the artic circle, a polar bear gnawed on the last bone of the seal it had just caught. Her cubs, stationed nearby, cowered as a great and bright light filled the sky. All three ran off, completely bewildered and utterly frightened by the great noise and sudden wave of pressure that followed moments later.
Shards of crystal showered down on the snow-covered ice, each reflecting the morning sun as it struck itself in place. A great hole had been driven into the ice bank, and around it lay the remains of what was once a great crystallized structure, intermittent with great boulders of newly-placed black rock. Steam and smoke poured out of it as the sheer heat melted the snow and ice further and further. As the sun rose on the horizon, a figure seemed to levitate out of the chasm below, it's silhouette striking against the orange glow. It was a human form, with one arm held akimbo, and the other raised in a fist towards he sky. The form, as it moved itself, on nothing more than air, onto soft snow below it, could have been seen wearing very little. What it did have on was singed and torn at every point and every angle. Steam and smoke rose from he mysterious silhouette, creating a haze through which the amber rays glowed. Two red ovals opened near the top of the silhouette's form, glowing in a pulsating rhythm. After a few moments, the pulsating stopped, along with the steam and smoke (for the most part)
All of this might have seemed a frightening image, but it's witness remained unmoved.
A soft, but resolute voice, very male, sounded through the frozen desert: "Fine."
After a moment, the witness responded, in a voice just a soft, but much more menacing
"Yes?"