Clark touched down in the Fortress of Solitude; it was darker than usual. After a moment, it lit up it's usual white before beginning to flash red.
"Danger... Corrupted... Withdraw... Fortress..." Came the voice of Jor-El, before going silent, the fortress turning black again.
"Re-initialising." Came a different voice, calm and mechanical, totally without feeling, the Fortress lighting up first an eerie green and then it's usual brilliant white light "Back up systems online."
"Who is this?" Clark asked "Who am I talking to?"
"I am the Fortress' back up AI, the Brain InterActive Construct." Came the voice "You may call me BrainIAC."
"What happened to Jor-El?" Clark asked "Why has the Fortress been inactive for the last six months?"
"Darkseid uploaded a virus." BrainIAC replied "It erased your father's consciousness, Kal-El. I have been attempting to repair the damage."
"Can you answer the same questions as Jor-El?" Clark said "Can you give me the same answers?"
"I am programmed with the sum knowledge of the 27 known galaxies. In short, my knowledge exceeds that of the Jor-El construct." BrainIAC said "What is it you require, Kal-El?"
"My powers." Clark said "I need a way to curb them, to help me keep them under control while distressed."
"Such a device exists within my database." BrainIAC said "However, I cannot construct it in this form."
"What do you mean?" Clark asked "Is there another form of the Fortress?"
"No, Kal-El." BrainIAC said "However, I have drone bodies I can use to complete the work. With your permission?"
"Of course." Clark replied, watching as a crystalline structure came out of the floor.
The front of the structure opened, revealing a mechanoid about Clark's height. It's body was primarily purple, with what looked like silver gauntlets and boots, sharp claw like appendages on the feet, spike like objects on each forearm. Over the entire body were glowing white circles. The head and neck of the figure were one continuous mass, beginning in the same silver as the gauntlets, with an appearance like a neck guard, a green, skull like head on top. The eyes glowed red, with three glowing white circles in an upside down triangle formation on the forehead, black lines joining the two top circles to the bottom one.
"Transfer complete." The mech said "I shall begin work immediately. Please, retire to your quarters, Kal-El. I shall alert you when I am done."
"Okay..." Clark said, slightly unsure, before turning and walking out of the command chamber, leaving BrainIAC to begin it's work.
...
Rudy Jones stood in the lab he'd been assigned to, running inventory. He was grateful to Mr. Luthor for giving him the opportunity to take the job; most people wouldn't give an ex-con a shot with any job that actually had some kind of prospects. This was an opportunity to make something of himself, and to prove to his ex-wife and his kids he wasn't just some bum. That he was better than her new husband, Raymond Jensen. Then he'd win her back.
He opened one of the containers, taking note of the purple fluid inside, before closing the lid again. He wasn't sure why he hadn't been given a hazmat suit, since all the material was marked bio-hazard. Still, Luthorcorp was a massive conglomerate, no doubt they had countless safeguards in place on the project to ensure nothing bad happened to him.
He opened the next container, noting the same liquid. As he did, he dropped his pen, the metal object falling to the floor. He bent down to pick it up, not noticing how close his foot was to the container, until his foot hit the metal container, knocking it over, the fluid pouring out all over Rudy, before he blacked out.
...
Clark walked into the central chamber of the fortress, wearing a black version of his usual costume, his symbol being cast on the chest in a dull grey, the cape missing from the ensemble; it was a traditional Kryptonian outfit that his people had worn as the base layer of their uniforms, under the uniform of their profession they were assigned. Clark was the last son of Krypton, rocketed away as a baby; he had no chosen profession. He'd updated his costume to the red and blue version of this uniform he wore as his costume to honour his people, but he wasn't going to wear the scientist's uniform of his father, or the militia uniform of his mother. As far as the fortress was concerned, he was Kal-El, but as far as he was concerned, he was Clark Kent. Superman was just the happy middle ground.
"Work is complete." BrainIAC said as Clark approached the podium the mech stood on, the mech holding out what looked like a silver ring with a red band made of crystal around it "This ring is powered by red Kryptonite. It will decrease your powers but not remove them."
"A Kryptonite ring?" Clark asked "This isn't going to kill me?"
"No, that is the effect of green Kryptonite." BrainIAC replied "There are many varieties, but the only ones that will effect you are green, red and gold."
"Gold?" Clark asked "What does gold do?"
"Removes your abilities." BrainIAC said "Permanently."
"So, stay away from gold K, got it." Clark said, taking the ring from BrainIAC "Here goes."
Clark slipped the ring on, the veins in his hand flashing red momentarily, the energy going up his arm and through his body. He looked at BrainIAC cocking an eyebrow.
"I don't feel any different." Clark said.
"You will." BrainIAC replied "Give it time."
"It had better work." Clark said, scowling "Or I'll dismantle you for scrap."
Clark turned and walked away, unsure where his comment had come from. He wasn't one for threats; he was the guy who avoided conflict, who tried to protect things, all things. Even if BrainIAC was an AI, he was sentient, and Clark had just threatened to take him apart. Clark shrugged it off; it had been a long day, stress was probably just getting to him. As he reached his room, his Justice League comm. device beeped.
"What's up?" Clark asked.
"There's a problem in Star City." Came the voice of Bart Allen AKA the Flash "We need you down there. Something about a giant talking monkey?"
"On it." Clark said, spinning on the spot and changing into his costume "Give me five minutes to get there."
"Okay, see you there." Bart replied "Diana's en route as well."
Clark didn't bother replying, instead shooting into the sky, taking out part of the top of the fortress, the crystals beginning the slow process of reforming themselves.
...
Oliver Queen stood on top of one of the apartment blocks he owned, looking down on the street below. A giant ape was running amok, carrying some form of ray gun and blasting people. Ollie couldn't say he was used to such things, but hey, this was a day and age where Metropolis had a man of steel and Gotham had a man dressed as a giant bat fighting killer clowns.
Ollie pushed his green domino mask onto his face, pulling up his green hood from the skin tight green leather vest top. The green and black leather leggings with black combat boots he wore helped him maintain his stability in the breeze, while the black gloves he wore protected him from inadvertently hurting himself with one of his own arrows he carried on his back.
Ollie pulled an arrow from his quiver with a line attached to it, firing down at the ape below. He put his bow onto the line, using the wheels on it to absail down, kicking the ape in the chest, being grabbed and thrown back towards the building in response. As he prepared to hit the wall, instead he felt himself rapidly decelerate. He looked up, seeing he'd been caught by a woman in a red and black suit with silver wrist guards, a gold tiara and a golden eagle motif. Wonder Woman.
"Where have you been all my life?" Ollie quipped, Wonder Woman dropping him in response "Was it something I said."
"Back off, rookie." Said a man in a red and yellow costume with several lightning bolts on it, the Flash, as he sped up next to Ollie and Wonder Woman "Let the pros handle this."
Ollie watched as the Flash sped up to the ape, throwing several punches at high speed before blurring back before the ape had a chance to hit back. A second later, Wonder Woman threw her lasso at the ape, tying it up before it grabbed the lasso, yanking it from her grip.
"Pathetic Humans." The ape spoke in a deep, gravelly voice "You will all bow before Grodd!"
In response to Grodd's comment, he was hit square in the chest by a red and blue blur flying at high speed. Ollie looked at the ape's assailant; Superman.
...
"Stand down!" Clark yelled, seeing both Wonder Woman and Flash getting ready to back him up "This monkey's mine!"
Clark flew at the ape at super speed again, slamming into it again, this time seizing it's blaster from it, crushing the device in his hand. The ape grabbed Clark by the throat, lifting him up in the air before tossing him back, sending him flying through three buildings. Clark flew back into the fight, firing a barrage of heat vision in front of him, setting the ground leading up to the ape ablaze, before setting the ape itself ablaze, the creature screaming in agony.
"Miserable creature!" The ape yelled "You'll pay for that."
"No." Clark said "You will."
Clark flew up to the ape, grabbing it by the throat before shooting up into the sky, through the upper atmosphere and into orbit. He looked into the apes eyes and smirked menacingly before hurling it back down with all his might, watching the creature burn as it passed through the atmosphere.
Clark slowly descended, landing between Wonder Woman and the Flash, who both looked at him, shocked.
"It's dealt with." Clark said "Next time you call, make sure it's something big. Metropolis is my priority. Not this shit hole."
Before they could respond, he shot into the air, beginning to fly back to the fortress, stopping just above it and letting himself fall. Something was seriously wrong with him.
...
Rudy slowly came too in the lab. He looked around; everything had small auras around it, like he was seeing some kind of radiation around it. He looked in the mirror; his clothes were shredded, his hair was gone. His eyes were a deep, sickening yellow while his skin was the same purple as the liquid. His teeth were all razor sharp, like a leeches. He looked at his hands; they were clawed now, with suckers on the palms, each sucker having tiny teeth like a leeches all around it.
He didn't know what had happened to him. He just knew it was terrifying, and that he felt something.
Hunger.
...
Clark stormed into the fortress' main chamber, smashing crystals left, right and centre as he walked through. When he reached BrainIAC, he lifted the mech by the throat, being greeted by a glow of green energy from it, feeling himself weaken as he collapsed to the ground.
"What the hell is happening to me?" Clark asked "Why did I do that to that ape?"
"You're maturing, Kal-El." BrainIAC replied "It seems you are to be a warrior, hence your aggression. You require the tutelage of another Kryptonian warrior to help you learn to control it."
"Shame they're all dead!" Clark yelled.
"Not all. A small group of them took refuge in the prison known as the Phantom Zone, to escape the cataclysm on Krypton." BrainIAC said "Give me a week, and you will be able to bring one out via a Phantom Zone projector. A great leader. In the meantime, remove your ring. It appears to be accelerating the process."
"Fine." Clark said, removing the ring and crushing it in his hand, feeling the anger subsiding "So, who is this great leader?"
"He was a friend of Jor-El's." BrainIAC said "His name is General Zod."