"Ugh... Do I have to wear a dress?" Mo complained as she was in a purple dress and had to have her bandanna taken off as her hair was being brushed and combed down.
"It's a special occasion." An older girl with red hair told Mo as she brushed the tomboy's hair, wearing a yellow dress herself.
"Yeah, I guess." Mo said.
"Oh, you girls look so beautiful." A dark-haired redheaded woman smiled as she came to see the girls.
"Thanks, Aunt Carolyn." Mo and the older girl replied.
"Now, where's your brother?" Carolyn asked.
"I think he's in his room, getting ready," The older girl said. "I have to make our little sister look cute and perfect."
Mo stuck her tongue out at that.
"Easy there, Gloriosa." Carolyn told her older niece.
"Oh... Heh, sorry." The older girl smiled bashfully from that.
Carolyn soon went to her nephew's room.
The nephew was shown to also be the driver that picked Conner up from school as he wore his best suit.
"Oh, Timber Spruce," Carolyn smiled. "You look so grown up."
"Oh, uh, thanks, Aunt Carolyn," Timber replied. "I just hope that this will be a fun night."
"Oh, it might." Carolyn smiled.
"I just don't like what Lex is doing with Uncle Chuck..." Timber sighed to himself.
Carolyn put her hands on his shoulders. "I know it's been rough for you and your sisters lately... But Mr. Luthor has given a place to live... All of us... Especially when your uncle and I took you in," she then said softly. "I'm sure it'll get better though... Someday, maybe not today, but someday."
"Yeah, I guess." Timber said.
"It'll be okay," Carolyn smiled. "You also look very handsome like your father in that suit."
Timber looked down softly at his suit before looking back. "I miss him. And Mom..." he then said.
"I'm sure they miss you too," Carolyn soothed before she put her hand on her nephew's chest to feel his heart. "But they're also right here with you."
Timber smiled softly as he knew his aunt was right. The two then shared a hug before they came to meet up with Gloriosa and Mo to go to the party.
"Let's just get this over with." Mo sighed to herself as she sorted out her dress a little.
"Try to have a little fun." Gloriosa told her little sister.
"I'll try." Mo said.
The siblings soon walked off together to go and join the party.
Atticus soon came to the party and looked around as he decided to explore while everybody else did their own thing at the party. And where he was soon surprised to see Lois at the party.
"Something wrong?" Lex asked his female associate.
"No. Everything's on schedule," Mercy replied. "He's just a little... Handsy for me."
"He must get that from you, Donovan." Lex then told his male colleague who was beside him, eating some snacks.
Donovan simply looked over at Lex.
"Miss Lane?" Atticus wondered to himself quietly. "What's she doing here?"
Lois soon emerged from the crowd and looked around before she found Atticus. "Atticus, what are you doing here?" she then asked. "Isn't it past your bedtime?"
"I'm here because my friend Conner invited me." Atticus said.
"Hm... Interesting..." Lois replied. "I was invited too."
"Well, what a small world." Atticus smiled.
"Lois Lane?" A man called from behind the woman before she looked at him. "John Henry Irons. You interviewed me once." he then introduced himself.
"Uh, Dr. Irons! Right." Lois replied before she glanced over at Lex a bit.
Atticus looked over to Lex as well. He narrowed his eyes a bit as he disliked the bald man's company already.
"I'm sorry, would you excuse me?" Lois smiled sheepishly at her friend and decided to walk off once she saw Lex glancing back at her.
"And that's my cue." Lex said as he handed Donovan his wine glass.
Carolyn soon noticed this as she took her own position. Gloriosa, Timber, and Mo soon did the same after their aunt.
"Ladies and gentlemen, once again, I want to thank you all for giving so generously," Lex began to make a speech as some people took pictures. "Together, we will rebuild our great city, and ensure that we never wake to another Doomsday."
Atticus and Lois both glared as they stood within the crowd.
'He should be here soon.' Mo thought to herself.
"You've seen him in the news, but you didn't know who was bankrolling him until now," Lex continued until he gave a special signal. "Ladies and gents, I give you LexCorps' new Superman!"
A black-haired man soon came up on stage and shined a spotlight as a familiar-looking boy soon flew by and all around the crowd.
"Conner?" Atticus whispered to himself.
'Right on time.' Mo thought to herself.
Conner soon landed on stage and did a bow with the spotlight on him. The rest of the party guests applauded at that as confetti rained down for him.
"Hello, ladies!" Conner smirked as he took the microphone. "If you want a hero who can measure up, I can-"
"And I promise you that as long as LexCorp exists, Superman lives," Lex interrupted with a grin as he took the microphone back. "Metropolis will be protected."
Fireworks soon went off as a banner rolled down with Lex and Conner on it that said "MAKING METROPOLIS SAFE AGAIN".
Atticus soon tightened his hands into fists as he felt like he should have gone back to superhero work as Superboy as Metropolis did need a hero after his adoptive father was killed and before the Supermen showed up. Lois decided to get herself going after the little presentation.
"Where are you going?" Atticus asked Lois.
Lois gasped before she looked over to see that it was just Atticus.
"Because I'm gonna go with you." Atticus decided with determination.
"Alright, but what about your friend?" Lois asked.
"I'll let him know that I'll meet up with him." Atticus said.
"All right," Lois replied. "Just make sure you don't tell anyone in your school about what we might find."
"My lips are sealed." Atticus said.
Lois nodded at that as she walked off. Atticus followed for a bit before he looked at the stage, still surprised to see Conner as he stood beside Lex. Conner was seen leaning against Lex, looking like a cool kid.
"I can't believe you were living here all this time, Conner," Atticus whispered to himself as he came towards Conner. "I can't believe it."
"Uh, hey, kid!" The black-haired man called to Atticus. "You shouldn't be up that close."
"It's okay, Dr. Brody," Conner replied as he noticed Atticus coming towards him. "Let him come see me."
"Whatever you say, kid." Dr. Brody said.
"Hey, you made it." Conner said to Atticus.
"Yeah, good to see you." Atticus replied.
"Sorry I didn't tell you." Conner said.
"Well, it's just a bit surprising and a lot to take in," Atticus replied. "Who's that with you?"
"Dr. Charles Brody," Conner told him. "He helps my dad take care of me and lives with us with his family."
"That's nice, but also I need to understand as to how Lex Luthor is your dad." Atticus said.
"...He's just my dad..." Conner shrugged. "I don't know what you're confused about."
"I mean I just never knew he had a son." Atticus said.
"I guess there's a lot you don't know," Conner replied. "Though he's busy a lot of the times and usually Dr. Brody looks after me and sometimes his nephew helps him out."
"Nephew, huh?" Atticus asked.
"Yes, my nephew," Dr. Brody spoke up. "His name is Timber Spruce. I look after him and his sisters, Gloriosa Daisy and Monique with my wife, Carolyn."
Conner smirked as he saw Atticus blush after hearing Mo's name.
"Do you know Monique?" Dr. Brody asked.
"Y-Yeah," Atticus replied. "She's in my class with Conner."
"Yep, and he has a crush on her." Conner smirked.
"Conner, not so loud." Atticus blushed.
"Oops. Sorry." Conner chuckled.
"Atticus?" Lois called.
"Oh!" Atticus then remembered. "Uh... Excuse me..." he then said. "I have to help out Miss Lane with, uh, something important."
"Well, okay, but don't be long." Conner said.
"Don't worry; it'll be quick." Atticus said.
Conner nodded at that as Atticus walked off.
"Well, I'm glad to see you making some new friends." Dr. Brody said to Conner.
"Hey, I'm cool," Conner smirked. "Who wouldn't wanna be friends with me?" He soon saw Dr. Brody giving him a look, telling him not to overdo it. He just looked sheepish in response.
"I'll catch up with ya later." Atticus said as he went after Lois to see what she was up to.
"Alright." Conner said.
Lois and Atticus soon ended up in a hallway with many doors. Lois smirked as she found a door and decided to open it.
However, before she could, a pair of elevator doors opened up and Donovan came out from them before he saw Atticus and Lois as they were unable to hide, so they acted like they were lost. "Um, party's back that way." he then told them, pointing them in the direction.
"Oh, hello." Lois greeted Donovan.
"Hello." Donovan replied.
"Hey." Atticus waved innocently.
Lois looked around before trying to look cute and seductive. "I was looking for someone..." she then said before she took a look at his ID card. "Mr. Donovan~"
'Oh, this is too easy for Ms. Lane.' Atticus thought to himself.
"Not here," Donovan soon told Lois before looking at Atticus. "Do not disturb."
Atticus was about to follow them.
"Go away." Donovan told him before he went to leave with Lois.
Atticus groaned before remembering he had magic. Donovan soon led Lois away. Atticus smirked to himself before decided to turn invisible and quickly followed after the two without any of them realizing that he was right there with them and luckily made it through the door before it closed from Donovan's ID card at the slot.
"You look familiar." Donovan said as he took a look at Lois.
Lois looked worried before smirking at him as Atticus eavesdropped and spied. "You don't look so bad yourself," she then said to the man, trying to seduce him. "Do you work down here? What do you do?"
"Advanced genetics," Donovan smirked a bit as he lowered his goggles at her. "Fragmenting and manipulating DNA for molecular duplication and, ah, reproduction."
"Gross." Atticus whispered.
"Ooh! Sounds important~" Lois swooned at the man.
"You don't think a sophisticated clone like LexCorps' new Superman out there, just happens on its own." Donovan said to Lois, trying to be suave.
"Clone?" Lois blinked.
"That's right." A familiar voice soon stated.
They soon looked to see that it came from Lex who didn't look happy. Atticus tried to keep cool, but he couldn't help but admit that Lex's sudden appearance like that startled him. Luckily he wouldn't be seen by the creepy bald man.
"Mr. Luthor," Donovan spoke to his boss. "I was just-"
"Mouthing off. Again," Lex glared a bit. "Word of advice, Donovan. A man who can't keep secrets shouldn't sleep around on his wife."
"Lex, I swear, I didn't." Donovan frowned.
Lois glanced over to see the man she ran into earlier as he hid behind a door.
"Of course, you did," Lex told Donovan. "And I'll deal with you later. Get out." he then demanded.
Donovan bowed his head and soon went to get going as he was told to do.
"Ms. Lane, I'm hurt; I always assumed once Superman was out of the way, you'd come back to me." Lex told Lois.
Atticus simply rolled his eyes as he could already tell that would never happen. Suddenly, there was a loud thud which nearly knocked them all down.
"What the hell?" Lex muttered from that.
Soon, Lois, Lex, Donovan, and Atticus came out from the elevator as Atticus jumped out, turning visible again briefly before they saw the other party guests running and screaming for their lives. Conner yelled out as he was thrown and hit the ground hard which made him groan out of pain.
"Conner, you okay?" Atticus asked.
"Ugh... My head..." Conner groaned. "He's too much for me."
"He? It must be one of the other Supermen," Atticus said. "Can you stall him while I change to my superhero outfit?"
"Ugh... I guess I could try." Conner replied.
"Thank you." Atticus beamed at that.
"What do you think you're doing?" Lex glared at the new Superman.
"At this moment, I am answering a question posed by Lex Luthor." The new Superman simply stated.
"Okay. Well, here's another one," Lex scoffed from the smart-aleck response. "Why the hell are you here?" he then asked.
"Lex Luthor is a known criminal," The new Superman replied as he raised his hand as it glowed. "Criminals must be eradicated."
Once Atticus found a spot to change to his new superhero self, he made sure no one was watching. "Shazam!" he then shouted.
"Thank you." Lex told his female associate.
"For what?" Mercy asked only for her to be in the new Superman's line of fire.
Lex then ran out of the way with Lois before Black Adam bolted over to charge at the new Superman and where this was a surprise for everyone as they didn't know who he was. Lex and Lois soon crawled away and began to hide. Dr. Brody soon rushed out to get his wife, nieces, and nephew to safety as Black Adam flew out to face against the new Superman. Conner looked surprised as he didn't know Black Adam either.
"Get outta here!" Black Adam glared at the new Superman.
"Negative, I believe it is you who should get out of here." The new Superman replied as he tried to shoot at him with his laser hands.
Black Adam glared as he blocked both hands. The new Superman glared back before they began to fight each other in the air. Lex and Lois poked their heads out from where they hid. The new Superman soon shot a laser blast at Black Adam who ducked from it, but unfortunately, it came right at Lex and Lois.
"Get down!" Lois yelped as she pushed Lex down as the wall they hid behind got shot before Lex ended up right on top of Lois then.
Conner soon flew up to join in the fight with Black Adam.
"You okay?" Black Adam asked Conner.
"I think I'll be okay now," Conner replied as he narrowed his eyes. "Let's get this guy. Together."
"Couldn't have said it better myself." Black Adam said.
Conner and Black Adam soon flew towards the new Superman to fight him. The new Superman growled as he fought them with his best efforts, even if they were technically children.
"Why, Ms. Lane, you do care~" Lex smirked from Lois's position.
"Call off your clones, Lex!" Lois glared at the bald man.
"Only the boy is mine." Lex glared back in defense.
The new Superman was soon about to shoot them with his laser hand.
"Watch this~," Conner smirked at Black Adam before he soon punched the new Superman away, sending him flying through the air.
"Impressive," Black Adam smirked back. "But you realize he'll come back, right?"
"I got it," Conner smirked before he flew right out to the new Superman up against the wall and began to brawl against him. "Sorry, pal. Crash my party, you get bounced." he then told the new Superman before punching him and soon flew out as he kicked the new Superman against another wall.
The new Superman soon fell from the wall as heavy weights then fell on top of him in the middle of the floor.
"I think that about covers it." Conner smirked as he soon flew down to see the damage.
Black Adam made sure that the new Superman didn't try and get another hit on Conner. The new Superman soon got out of his situation.
"Uh... Hey..." Black Adam glared bravely.
"You two have both been classified a priority one criminal accessory," The new Superman threatened as he brought out his fist as it began to light up. "Surrender or be eradicated."
Conner looked unafraid. "Well, you've been classified a priority one dirt-bag, so, there!" he then said cockily before punching and kicking the new Superman, who looked unaffected from the hits and just stared with beady-red eyes.
Black Adam soon flew at the new Superman and punched him with his full strength. Conner soon got himself out of the way.
"Go away!" Black Adam glared at the new Superman.
"I shall not." The new Superman glared back.
"My new friend and I will not rest until you're gone," Black Adam glared. "You've forced me to do this."
The new Superman glared from that. Black clouds seemed to come to the skies from Black Adam's gaze as lightning flashed before the thunder and lightning shot down at Black Adam to charge him and he soon shot some back at the new Superman which sent him back several feet.
"Whoa!" Conner smiled.
"That won't hold him for long, but that was awesome." Black Adam beamed at himself.
"That was so awesome." Conner smiled at Black Adam.
"Thanks," Black Adam smiled back. "Just getting the hang of these new powers."
The new Superman soon came back to slam them both through the floor. He then began to punch them both with his glowing fists which concerned Lois from afar. Conner began to look dazed and weak from the punches. Black Adam looked a bit dizzy from the punches before shaking off the dizziness. The new Superman glowered before he soon flew away from the two young heroes.
"Yeah!" Conner called out as strongly as he could. "You better run! Jerk!"
"He sure knew when to quit and run, or in this case, quit and fly." Black Adam smirked.
However, the new Superman was coming right back down.
"Oh, no..." Conner moaned from that as he was in agony.
Black Adam worried for his new friend, so he began to glare and got ready for a defensive attack.
Glass shattered all over among the buildings as the new Superman zipped down like a rocket before a hammer was soon thrown which knocked the new Superman right into the wall before he could hit Conner or Black Adam.
"What the-?" Black Adam muttered. "Where did that hammer come from?"
Lex glared a bit while Lois looked curious before a robot Superman was shown as he retrieved his hammer.
"Thanks for the help." Black Adam told the robot Superman.
"Hey!" Conner glared.
"Huh?" Black Adam blinked at his friend.
"I had that guy." Conner told the robot Superman.
"By all means, go to town, Superboy." Robot Superman replied as he walked towards the new Superman.
"It's Superman!" Conner corrected with a glare.
"I think it's better that all three of us handled this guy." Black Adam said, referring to the new Superman.
"Us? Work with that chump?" Conner huffed.
"Come on, if you wanna be part of a team, you gotta let others share," Black Adam winked at him. "Such as fighting crime or maybe, I dunno, playing football together."
"Hmm..." Conner paused thoughtfully at that. "Well, all right." he then gave in. He soon had an idea who Black Adam was, but decided to have a word with Atticus later.
Cyborg Superman soon brought out his hammer to use against the new Superman. "Okay, we can do this the easy way or the hard way." he then told his opponent.
New Superman soon got up and lunged out at him. Robot Superman then protected himself, using the hammer as a shield which made the other Superman tumble and fall to the floor. The hammer was tossed around New Superman who then decided to grab the hammer before it could do any more damage on him. Black Adam tapped the other Superman's right shoulder from behind him. The new Superman soon turned away to look at Black Adam as his red eyes pierced into Black Adam's sapphire blue eyes.
"Ugh!" Black Adam cried out.
The new Superman soon grabbed Black Adam and threw him into the Robot Superman which sent them both flying. Both crashed into the wall before falling from where they landed and fell flat in the middle of the floor.
"Surrender Luthor over to Superman and this ends." The new Superman threatened as he then approached Lex and Lois.
Black Adam glared as he couldn't let someone like the new Superman claim himself as Superman, even if the original one wasn't there with them now. He soon decided to use the magic of Shazam to help him see.
"That's enough." A voice soon said.
"Not what?" Black Adam sighed before looking over. "...Whoa... A Cyborg Superman after a Robot Superman."
"We may see it differently, but in the eyes of the law Lex Luthor is not a criminal," Cyborg Superman scolded New Superman. "The rule of law is a rule you never break. And real justice is everyone's right. Even the worst among us."
Lois looked emotional as that reminded her so much of the old Superman. Black Adam could almost see Cyborg Superman as the original.
"Now, who the hell are you?" Lex demanded.
"I'm Superman." Cyborg Superman simply stated.
"There is only one Superman." New Superman glowered and soon shot his laser hand.
Cyborg Superman deflected the laser blasts as Lex and Lois went to run off. Mo was seen shivering and whimpering as she looked scared to death.
"You're right about that and you are not him." Black Adam glared at new Superman.
Cyborg Superman kept his shield up before he shot the new Superman with laser-vision.
"Ya let your guard down!" Black Adam smirked at that before flying over and slammed new Superman into the wall.
"Nice slam." Conner smirked.
"Thanks." Black Adam smirked back as Cyborg Superman skid the new Superman against the wall while flying up with him.
"And he's not too bad either." Conner smirked.
"You okay?" Black Adam asked.
"Yeah, I guess so," Conner replied. "I just want that Red Eyes guy gone."
"You and me both." Black Adam said.
Cyborg Superman then slammed the red-eyed Superman down to the floor, crashing through other platforms on the way down. The new Superman then shot lasers back at him, only to miss as Cyborg Superman flew right back down to keep going. The final blast soon hit Cyborg Superman before the two began to fight and beat each other up on the floor together.
"Those two are really going at it." Black Adam said.
"Yeah..." Conner replied. "Even if this is my party."
Black Adam hid a slight eye roll from that.
Mo began to crawl away to get out of trouble as she was unable to walk, looking scared especially since she couldn't find her family. 'Oh... Where are they?' she thought to herself in distress.
Black Adam soon looked over and zipped towards Mo to get her out to safety as it was too dangerous to stay around where they were. "Hey, you okay?" he then asked.
"Uh... Yeah..." Mo said softly as he carried her in his arms. "Sorta..."
"What's wrong?" Black Adam asked.
"I tried to run after my family, but they were faster than I was, then I tripped and twisted my ankle." Mo pouted.
"I'll get you to your family." Black Adam said.
"Oh, thank you," Mo blushed a bit. "You're so brave and sweet."
"I try my best, little lady." Black Adam smiled as he went to take her to safety.
Mo smiled back while blushing.
"Ugh... I can't take this! Just what kind of fool do these Supermen take me for?" Lex groaned. "That's Superman, that's Superman, that's Superman, I'M SUPERMAN!" he then pointed out at Conner, Cyborg Superman, Robot Superman, and the red-eyed Superman before he sounded like he was going to have a nervous breakdown. "Are there any other Supermen I should know about?"
"Woof." A dog bark was heard before a white dog was shown with his own red cape and Superman insignia on his collar.
"...I'm outta here." Lex muttered weakly.
There was a bunker shown with Carolyn, Charles, Gloriosa, and Timber inside of it as they all held onto each other while the Supermen fought, though they were deeply worried as they couldn't find Mo and hoped she wasn't hurt or killed. They soon heard someone knocking at the bunker door. The family held onto each other out of fear. Charles got up and decided to come to the door, bracing himself before he opened it.
"Uncle Chuck, I presume?" Black Adam asked innocently.
"It's Dr. Charles Brody by professionals, but yes..." Charles replied in relief once he saw Mo. "Monique, are you alright? We tried to look for you."
"I'm sorry, Uncle Chuck," Mo said to him. "I was trying to look for a way out, but I was running as fast I could, then I tripped and twisted my ankle."
"Bring her inside, we have a First-Aid Kit." Charles told Black Adam.
"No problem." Black Adam replied as he came to help Mo get settled.
Mo winced slightly before she was put on a box to sit on as Charles and Carolyn began to cater to their niece.
"You didn't hurt her, did you?" Timber glared at Black Adam.
"No, of course not," Black Adam reassured. "She was like that when I found her."
"It's true." Mo told her brother.
"Okay, Monique, give me your hand." Carolyn told her youngest niece.
Mo took her aunt's hand, squeezing it a bit as her uncle treated her sore spot before he was done.
"That wasn't so bad." Carolyn smiled.
"Yeah, I guess it never is." Mo smiled back, though soft due to the pain she had.
"Well, I better go see how one of the Supermen is doing." Black Adam said.
"Will you be back?" Mo asked softly.
"Don't worry about me," Black Adam smiled. "You guys just stay safe. I'm glad that you're all okay though." Once he was out of the bunker, Black Adam flew off.
Timber quickly rushed to the door and locked it shut as he began to sit with his family while the Supermen would fight each other.
There was a huge explosion which nearly knocked Black Adam off course as Lex and Lois made it safely outside themselves.
"This is getting crazy." Black Adam said.
"Tell me about it." Conner muttered.
A huge explosion was soon coming between the new Superman and Cyborg Superman.
"Conner! Quick!" Black Adam gasped as he saw Mercy. "We have to get out of here."
Conner nodded at that before he picked up Mercy and they both flew out as quickly as they could.
"Oh, I hope that bunker's strong enough to protect them." Black Adam whispered to himself as he saw the family bunker as the big explosion was coming.
"I'm sure it will be, Atticus." Conner whispered to him.
The explosion soon shook everything in the room, but luckily, the bunker was safe and so was the family inside of it. Lex and Lois went to run off as the explosions continued before Robot Superman flew down and caught them in his arms before flying off with them. LexCorp was nearly all destroyed as the red-eyed Superman looked unharmed before he decided to fly off on his own.
"That Cyborg Superman sure is acting like the real Superman." Black Adam said.
Eventually, the authorities rode over, as well as some members of the press to have a word with Conner.
"Oh! No problemo," Conner smirked, a bit smugly as he was being interviewed. "Just doin' my job. Like the boss says, as long as LexCorp exists, Superman lives. And I'm Superman. Me."
Black Adam soon took off to a spot to change back to Atticus Fudo. The bunker door soon opened up as Charles and Carolyn came out first.
"Evening, sir and ma'am," Atticus greeted. "Are you okay?"
"We're fine," Charles replied. "Just doing our other jobs of keeping our nieces and nephew safe."
"And thankfully that fight ended." Carolyn said.
"Uh, how's the youngest one?" Atticus asked bashfully. "I hear she, uh, got a little hurt."
"She'll be fine, but she'll probably need to stay off her ankle for a few days." Charles replied.
"Oh, that's great." Atticus smiled bashfully.
"Would you like to see her?" Carolyn asked.
"Hmm... Yes, I suppose so..." Atticus nodded bashfully before he came into the bunker.
Gloriosa hugged Mo a bit, trying to soothe her from the pain as her ankle pain really bothered her.
"I sure can't wait for this ankle of mine to feel better." Mo said.
"It will," Gloriosa soothed. "I'll write you a note for Gym Class."
"Thanks, Glori." Mo whispered happily.
"Um, excuse me?" Atticus spoke up as the girls soon looked at him. "I thought I'd come see how the little patient was doing." he then said with a bashful smile.
"Oh, she'll be fine," Gloriosa smiled back calmly. "Just a little sore is all."
"That's good." Atticus smiled back.
"I thought I was a goner... But luckily a very brave hero saved me." Mo smiled.
"Yeah?" Atticus asked.
"Yes... I believe he called himself Black Adam," Mo replied. "He seemed so brave, strong, and heroic... I don't know if I'll ever see him again though."
"Oh, you just might." Atticus smiled.
Mo smiled back fondly at him.
"There he is!" A voice called out. "Over there."
Atticus and Mo looked over as the press rushed over to interview Cyborg Superman and take pictures of him.
"Over there! Over there!"
"That's him!"
"Why are you here?"
Conner began to look jealous of Cyborg Superman of getting all of the attention. Atticus soon went to check on Conner.
"Nice work in there," Lois smiled at Conner who glared jealously. "Thank you."
"He got away." Conner pouted at himself.
"Yeah, so did we," Dr. Irons told him. "Also that new hero... Black Adam, I think he called himself."
"What happened to the man in steel?" Conner then asked about Robot Superman.
"He took off," Lois replied before she decided to introduce herself to the boy. "Lois Lane. Daily Planet."
Conner nodded before smirking eagerly. "So, how old are you?"
'Oh, please don't tell me he actually asked Ms. Lane her age.' Atticus thought to himself with a face-palm.
"Excuse me?" Lois glared a bit. "How old are you?"
"Old enough." Conner smirked.
Lois put her hands on her hips firmly.
"Okay, Babe," Conner then said as he decided to fly away. "Hit me up!"
"That was your friend, huh?" Lois asked Atticus who was still face-palming.
"Yep." Atticus nodded, looking unfortunate that Conner asked Lois how old she was.
Lois sighed a bit from that.
"I'm so sorry about that," Atticus said to Lois. "I had no idea he would do that."
"It's alright, Atticus," Lois said to him softly. "It wasn't your fault."
"Anyways, I better get back to my uncle." Atticus said.
"You get home safe, alright, Atticus?" Lois said softly. "I worry about you."
"I appreciate that, Miss Lane, but I must go." Atticus nodded as he decided to go home for the night.
Lois hoped Atticus would get home safely.
"So do you mind telling me what the heck you were doing in that lab?" she soon asked Dr. Irons after she shook off her revolting experience with Conner's advances.
"I used to work there," Dr. Irons told her. "I suspect Lex has been using tech I developed to retrofit weapons for the black market. What the heck were you doing with Donovan?" he then asked her.
"Finding out that Superboy is a clone." Lois replied.
Atticus soon made it back home as Jessica and Patch were both asleep on the couch after the TV Show Thunderbolt had ended. "Guess they tuckered themselves out." he then whispered to himself.
"Yes, they did," Sombra whispered back, making Atticus turn to him. "Patch wanted to see if he could wait for you, but he got too sleepy after that Thunderbolt show ended."
Atticus soon turned off the tv before helping his uncle get Jessica to bed.
"Did you have fun?" Sombra asked Atticus.
"Oh, it was an interesting night alright." Atticus chuckled sheepishly.
"And it should seem Black Adam had quite a night too." Sombra smirked.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, for sure," Atticus chuckled with a small yawn and stretched as he spoke through the yawn. "It was a fun night for sure... Even though there were numerous Supermen."
"Just know that none of them will ever be like the original." Sombra said.
"Oh, believe me, Uncle Sombra, I know," Atticus nodded from that as he went to get some sleep. "Excuse me, I should go to bed."
"All right," Sombra smiled. "You have a good night. It already looks like your dog and sister will."
"Good night Sombra." Atticus smiled back.
The two shared a hug as Sombra grinned, having Atticus with him. Atticus smiled sleepily as he got out of the hug and soon climbed into his bed for the night after getting in his pajamas and drifted off to a good night's sleep. Sombra was seen going into his own room before smirking. There was a bit of an evil laugh heard as Jessica, Patch, and Atticus slept soundly through the night.
"Mom, Dad, I hope I find you soon." Atticus said in his sleep. His vision power soon activated.
Atticus woke up in the Dream Realm and looked around. "All right, what am I dreaming about this time?" he then asked himself as he went to take a look at the vision that he was set up for. He began to look around before he saw Superman and where he looked surprised as he recognized this one all too well. He rushed over to get a closer look as he felt amazed and alarmed, though in a good way to see the original Superman. He soon saw the original Superman at the Fortress of Solitude.
"Dad..." Atticus couldn't help but whisper, even if Clark Kent/Superman wasn't his biological father, he still felt that way about him regardless, especially with solving his family secret with the help of his friends. He soon saw the original Superman facing him, looking like he was sorry for something. Atticus frowned from the sorry look on Superman's face. He soon saw himself running right at Superman.
Superman just gave him a glum look from where he was. What Atticus saw next surprised him as he saw himself fighting Superman out of anger and sadness.
"What? No!" Atticus gasped to himself. "What's going on?"
The vision didn't show the fight any further as it then showed him another surprise and where it involved an invasion.
"Now what's happening?" Atticus sighed as he watched what would happen next. He soon saw Sombra as he was in front of a magic mirror that was made out of crystal as it showed someone from Apokalips. "What...?" he muttered a bit.
"I hate to unleash war while raising my heir in my possession, but sometimes you gotta make sacrifices." Sombra smirked fiendishly at the mirror as he stepped back to bring out his special guest.
"But what happens when he finds out about this?" Steppenwolf asked.
"Oh, you don't need to worry about him," Sombra replied. "I've got it all under control and he's merely a pawn in my scheme in keeping him with me, along with the remaining family members he still has."
"And you haven't told him about that 'superhero' he turns into?" Steppenwolf smirked as he air quoted the word superhero.
Atticus listened closely while he still could as luckily they were unable to see them.
"Ah, yes," Sombra chuckled. "He knows a little something, but he's still unsuspecting over other certain details."
"So he doesn't realize that Black Adam was once a villain in the end?" Steppenwolf smirked. "You are good at keeping secrets."
Atticus gasped a bit in the back from that.
"I do my best," Sombra smirked. "It took some years, especially in my past life before I ended up in this world."
"Too bad he can't change who he turns into after shouting that old wizard's name." Steppenwolf smirked.
Atticus narrowed his eyes as his fists shook.
"Not even I can do everything, old pal," Sombra replied. "The best I can do is keep Atticus unsuspecting. Just take it one step at a time, that's what I've always heard after all."
"Your army is ready whenever you give the word." Steppenwolf told Sombra.
"I remember," Sombra nodded. "I don't know when that will be yet, but you'll know once I'm ready."
"I really look forward to it." Steppenwolf grinned.
Atticus looked ready to punch his uncle, even if this was a vision. Sombra and Steppenwolf laughed together.
Atticus soon woke up briefly and narrowed his eyes. "I'm gonna have a word with Uncle Sombra..." he told himself firmly.
"You gonna confront him right away?" A voice replied.
Atticus soon looked all around before he saw Thor in the corner. "...Thor?" he then asked as his best guy friend waved at him with a big smile. "...What're you doing here? How did you get here?"
"I felt like there was some sort of friendship emergency." Thor replied innocently.
"So you used your magic to teleport yourself into my room?" Atticus asked.
"Is that bad?" Thor asked bashfully.
"Well, if you needed to talk, you could've just texted me or something," Atticus replied. "Besides, we have school tomorrow."
"Yeah, I know, I just felt concerned," Thor told him, sounding like a little kid who did something wrong. "So are you going to confront Sombra?"
"Hmm... I guess I should think of a plan on that first..." Atticus replied thoughtfully. "...Is your uncle coming to school tomorrow?"
"I'm pretty sure he is, actually." Thor said as he felt like that would be true.
"I think I should talk to him then." Atticus then said.
"Great." Thor smiled.
"Thanks, buddy," Atticus smiled back before yawning. "I'm going back to sleep. That party took a lot out of me."
"I'm sure it did," Thor smirked. "I'm not as dumb as I look."
"I'll see you in the morning." Atticus yawned.
"See ya, buddy." Thor nodded before he soon took himself home.
Atticus then went back to sleep, though grabbed his pillow a bit as he still thought about Sombra and Steppenwolf's little talk. He soon felt Patch coming up close to him. "Patch...?" he muttered before he slowly opened his eyes to see his Dalmatian.
"Hey." Patch said as he made his way into his owner's arms.
"Hey, there," Atticus smiled as he hugged Patch. "How was Thunderbolt?"
"Dirty Dawson kidnapped Tommy to get away with him in a train," Patch smirked. "He didn't stand a chance."
"Should have known." Atticus smiled.
"Was the party fun?" Patch pouted a bit.
Atticus looked a little sad from his pout before he glanced away. "Oh, uh, it was kinda boring..." he then said. "You wouldn't have liked it. No pets... Except for maybe that kid I tutor for's dog."
"True." Patch said.
"I'll make it up to you though, boy," Atticus smiled. "Maybe tomorrow after I finish my homework, we can watch that episode of Thunderbolt together."
"I'd love that, Atticus." Patch smiled back.
Atticus soon closed his eyes to get some sleep. Patch smiled as he yawned and fell asleep with Atticus as the two slept a lot better when they were together as a boy and his dog. The rest of the night soon went smoothly for everyone.