"The dead are dead." Arthur argued as he stared at all of us.
"The box brought Victor back." Diana countered.
"Victor wasn't dead. Life is either one or zero. It's to be or not to be. Not both." He fired back.
"Slow down there, Shakespeare." Arthur gave another annoyed glare at me, "If the box can reinstate matter then it means it could repair the damage done by the kryptonite spear. Combined with the amount of energy the box produces it would restart his heart at the same time. It would work." I argued in defense of the plan.
"Can you operate this box, Victor?" Bruce asked, eyeing the cyborg.
"Of course, but we don't know enough about Kryptonian biology. There's no telling what's gonna happen." Victor warned us. He had a point. I frowned in thought when it hit me.
"The ship." Everyone turned to me, "The Kryptonian ship that Luthor used to create that monster. If it could create a monster from the husk of a dead Kryptonian like Zod then…" I trailed off.
"...it should be able to reanimate Kal-El as well." Diana finished and I nodded indicating she was right.
"Okay, we have an idea on how to do it. We have to try. Don't we? We have to try. What do we have to lose?" Barry asked.
"We cannot try unless we activate the box. As soon as it wakes up…" Diana trailed off.
"...the enemy sees it, activates The Unity. The end." Bruce finished. So we have one shot at this. Good to know.
"So, what we have to lose is the entire planet to a bunch of genocidal aliens. That's good to know." Barry said sarcastically.
"Even if Superman could return." Arthur started.
"He will." I added which earned a side glare from the Aquaman.
"Who's to say that he could defeat them?" He ignored me and continued his sentence. He gave me another glare which I smirked at. Oh, he's fun to mess with.
Bruce stared at the Mother Box with a quizzical look before smirking, "The Mother Box did. Victor's father activated a Mother Box almost two years ago when Superman was still alive. Didn't call out to Steppenwolf. None of the boxes did. Not until…"
"Not until Superman died." I finished Bruce's sentence. He glanced at me with a proud smile and nodded.
"Not until Superman died." He reiterated.
"It's like they were afraid of him?" Barry said with unsureness to his tone of voice.
"Yes, they were afraid of him. This is the only way. There are seven of us, not six. There is no us without him." Bruce stated firmly.
I gave a smirk, "Team captain has spoken. We're bringing back Superman. I like a good Hail Mary plan every once in a while." Arthur pointed at me and looked at Bruce.
"Where the hell was she when you visited me the first time?" He asked. Bruce glanced at me before turning his attention back to Arthur.
"Far away. Very far away." He responded curtly.
Arthur's pale eyes turned back to me. He let out a single chuckle before a smirk grew on his face.
"You should have brought her with you. I might've joined sooner. She's a spitfire." I grinned and looked at Bruce. He rolled his eyes but he had a slight smile on his face.
I was sitting back in the office chair by the monitors. Athena was still working on the code. The rest of the team had left while fog was still on the ground. They needed the dense fog to cover them while they dug up the casket of Clark Kent. Never thought I'd say I've been part of a gravedigging plan before.
Bruce and I had stayed behind and Alfred had joined us after dropping Dick off at school. We couldn't spend too much time with him this morning since we had to leave so early. Bruce had mentioned that Dick was in a better mood than he had ever seen him in before.
"Any luck?" I heard Bruce's voice break my thoughts.
"Athena said it'll take her a couple more hours. The amount of code needed for the software to make this work is extensive and complicated. Once that's done, we can see if it'll fly." I stated. I looked over my shoulder to see Bruce standing there.
"It'll be a relief knowing this headache will finally be behind us." Alfred's voice came from beside us. He had his mechanic overalls on and working on the Batmobile at the moment.
Alfred paused what he was doing and stood back up, "What is exactly the plan that you all agreed upon?" He asked.
"We're taking the body to the Kryptonian ship. It's basically an organic computer. It can talk directly to the Mother Box." Bruce explained.
"What? The way it talked to Lex Luthor?" Alfred asked. He wiped his grease stained hands on a dirty rag before walking to us.
"Something like that." I stated. More like using the ship the exact same way Luthor had used it for.
"Huh. What could possibly go wrong?" Alfred said with a sigh. Those words immediately made me frown and begin to think. I drowned out Bruce's and Alfred's conversation as my mind began to race.
I hadn't thought of that. The monster Luthor had made was created by the mixture of his blood and Zod's body. It was an extremely powerful Kryptonian thanks to using Zod's body but it couldn't talk. It wasn't the most intelligent being either but it did learn fight patterns like Zod. It's almost like it was running on instinct of what Zod use to be, but didn't have the personality of him. I don't even think it remembered what it use to be.
Lois is the key.
That phrase didn't make any sense earlier when I first heard it. This alternate form of Barry wouldn't have been saying it to Bruce if it didn't mean anything. He wouldn't have transverse through the multiverse if it wasn't important. That version of Barry could be from a universe where something did go wrong when bringing back Superman. They discovered the answer to their solution too late and ended up losing. If that's the case then Barry warned Bruce of what was coming and told him the answer to prevent the same disaster from befalling us. Lois…we need Lois if we're bringing Superman back. I abruptly stood up from the chair startling both Alfred and Bruce.
"Athena, keep working on the code while I'm gone." I instructed as I activated the Voltess suit.
"Where are you going?" Bruce asked, completely puzzled.
I looked over my shoulder, "To get Lois." I said and started to walk to the door.
"Lois? Wait, Mel!" Bruce called after me. I stopped briefly as Bruce jogged up to me.
"Lois is the key. That's what the other Barry kept telling you. It was a warning. They must have resurrected Superman in that universe as well but like Alfred said, something went wrong. Their universe is now destroyed because of it. That version of Barry came to warn you of what was to happen. That something will go wrong with Superman." I informed him.
Bruce's brows furrowed in thought, "And Lois is the solution for what went wrong." I nodded my head in agreement.
Bruce stared at me with a serious look, "Find Lois and bring her to Clark once he's back." He ordered.
I nodded, "I will." Before I could walk away, I felt his hand grip my wrist.
I felt myself get pulled back and my eyes closed as I felt his lips meet on mine. He broke off the kiss and I gave him a puzzled look.
"What was that for?" I asked, slightly miffed.
Bruce smiled, "For figuring it out." A smile grew on my face in return.
"You and the others need to be careful." I warned him.
Bruce nodded slightly, "We will. I love you." He whispered the three words.
I smiled and leaned up to give him a brief kiss before pulling back. "I love you too." My mask covered my head as I turned back around. I rushed out of the door and the flight thrusters immediately lifted me off the ground.
I knocked rapidly on the door of Lois Lane's apartment. I tapped my foot impatiently and looked at the time on my phone. Bruce and the others should be heading to the ship right now. The door still remained closed.
I knocked on the door again but I still heard no movement from behind it. She's not home. Damnit. The sound of a neighboring door got my attention. I turned around to see a woman leaving her apartment.
"Excuse me!" I called and jogged over to her, "Do you happen to know where the woman staying in this apartment goes in the mornings?" I asked. Hoping that Lois' neighbor knows her at least a little bit.
"Oh Miss Lane? She normally goes to the coffee shop just around the corner." The neighbor answered.
"Which corner?" I asked as I slowly started to back up to the staircase.
"Take a right when you exit the building. It's a straight shot." The woman answered.
"Thank you!" I yelled as I turned and ran down the stairs. I hopped over the wooden railing when I neared the ground floor. I broke off into a sprint for the front doors of the apartment building.
I ran through the glass doors and took a sharp right. I dodged and weaved through the people walking along the sidewalk. I could see the corner coffee shop come into view.
I practically skidded on the sidewalk and gripped a nearby lamppost as I turned. I ran up to the counter where the barista was at.
"Excuse me, have you seen a woman with long red hair and blue eyes come in here? She's a reporter for Daily Planet." I asked the barista.
"You're talking about Lois right?" I nodded, "She comes in every morning and buys two coffees. You just missed her. She was here five minutes ago."
"Do you know where she goes after she leaves here?" I asked.
"Yeah, she visits the Superman memorial down the road." I took a deep breath before running out of the coffee shop. Lois Lane, thank you for being a creature of habit! But next time, don't make your habits so far away!
Right now I was thankful for the electricity that flowed through my muscles and veins. It gave me the stamina needed to run this much. I sprinted down the much less busy sidewalk. I could see the ruined statue in the distance. Just a little bit more.
I came to a stop at the crosswalk and pressed the button feverishly. I looked at the red hand waiting for it to turn into the walking man symbol. I happen to glance off across the street from me. I froze and my eyes widened seeing Lois just walking onto the sidewalk from the crosswalk. There she is! I caught up to her!
"Lois!" I yelled and made a break for the opposite crosswalk.
Lois froze and turned her head to look in my direction. I could see her jaw drop as her eyes laid on me.
"Oh my god…Mel?!" She exclaimed as I stopped right in front of her. I placed my hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath.
"H-how are you here? I saw you turn into dust and Bruce told us the truth about you." Lois asked.
"I'll explain that later," I took a couple of deep breaths, "I need you to come with me." Lois furrowed her brows in confusion.
"What? Why?" I stood back up and stared at her.
"We found a way to bring him back." She looked even more confused.
"Bring who back?" She asked just above a whisper.
"You already know who." I told her quietly. Her eyes widened as she slowly shook her head.
"No…that's not possible. He's gone, Mel." Her voice still held hurt and pain.
"It is, Lois. Ther-" I was interrupted when a sudden blast was heard behind us.
We both turned and looked up at the sky. A geyser of water was shooting up in the air. The water eventually dissipated and I held my breath as I saw a man floating in the air. I glanced at Lois and I watched as she brought her hand over her mouth.
"Clark." I heard her muffled voice through her hand.
I looked back up at the sky and I saw Clark fly over to the ruined Superman memorial. I turned back to Lois with a serious expression.
"I need to get you over there now. He's back but there's something wrong with him. I don't know exactly what but he won't act like the man he was once was. Not unless he sees you. Just like last time." Lois lowered her hand.
"I'm the only one that can stop him." She muttered. I nodded once again signaling she was right.
"Come on! We don't have much time!" I broke out into another sprint and Lois followed right behind me. We both ran across the crosswalk as I could see other figures of the team head towards Superman.
I could only watch as the other Barry's warning came true. Superman was fighting the rest of the team. He was beating all of them. He even attacked some of the military that responded.
Lois and I were halfway across the field by now. My eyes widened seeing Batman now showing up. Superman instantly saw him and began to make his way towards him. No! I couldn't even suit up right now! There were too many people!
Victor tried to stop Superman's advance but he was quickly tossed aside. I could see a flash of lightning where Barry charged at Superman. Arthur jumped with his trident ready and aimed at Superman's back.
Before I could even blink, Barry crashed into Arthur as Superman sidestepped him. Diana then landed and went to strike her bracers together but was stopped. Superman attempted to headbutt her but she shook it off and headbutted back. Superman then lifted her into the air and headbutted her downwards into the ground.
I was more than halfway down the field now. I had left Lois further behind with my increased speed.
"No!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as Superman's laser eyes hit Batman.
Batman put his arm up and the arm guard began to protect him from the laser. The impact however sent him into the police car behind him. I gritted my teeth and small sparks of electricity came from my legs. I used my powers to increase my speed slightly.
"Stop!" I yelled as I finally made it to them. I crouched in front of Batman as I glared up at Superman.
"You don't want to do this!" I yelled at him. Superman remained silent but tilted his head as he stared at me.
"Mel, get out of here." Batman pleaded behind me.
Superman glanced at Batman then back to me. His eyes began to glow red. I didn't have my suit on to reflect the blast. I suddenly felt a gloved hand grip my wrist and pull me back. I could feel the heat of the laser in front of me. I looked down to see Batman held up his last remaining arm guard to absorb the laser.
"Clark! Clark!" I heard Lois' voice shout. The laser stopped as Lois ran up to us. The officers behind us had their guns pointed at Superman but were ordered to hold their fire.
"Clark." Lois looked up to him, "Please." She begged him. Superman slowly lowered down to the ground.
Lois slowly approached him, "Please." She whispered again. She hesitantly touched his shoulder.
"Please. Just go." She said as she slowly hugged him, "Let's go." Superman hugged her back before shooting off into the sky with her.
I released the breath I was holding and turned to Batman. His head looked up where Superman and Lois had just left.
"Hey," He looked at me as I placed either of my hands on the side of his cowl, "Are you alright?" I asked softly.
"Yeah…I'm fine." I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead against his, "I'm fine, Mel." He reassured me. I felt his gloved hand rest against the back of my head.
"Guys!" I separated and turned my head hearing Barry. He pointed upwards in the sky. Batman and I followed where he was pointing and I saw a familiar beam.
"Steppenwolf." I muttered.
"We need to go." Batman grunted as he began to get back up. The rest of the team went ahead while Batman and I had to rush over there. I hated not being able to fly right now. I've had enough running. I'd be able to help sooner with my suit on. Steppenwolf can't get ahold of the last Mother Box.