Issue #22 – ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE
LexCorp:
It was a busy day at LexCorp. The final countdown for the activation of the worldwide grid had begun, and Lex Luthor was preparing a speech to give to 6 billion people across the planet. He sat at his desk, memorising the words he had written, a glass of water and a couple of painkillers beside him.
"Biggest day of my life and along comes a damn headache."
"Mr. Luthor…Lex…are you sure you can do this? The world can wait a while longer to hear from Lex Luthor…" Mercy Graves asked as she sat across from him, concerned for her employer.
"Nonsense Mercy, nothing will keep me from enjoying this day. Is my suit ready?"
"Yes Mr. Luthor, it has been designed to meet your specifications, but surely there is no need to put it on today…"
"One must always look his best Mercy, especially when destiny awaits."
Moments later, Lex was receiving a message from his secretary, informing him that the time was drawing near. Lex allowed himself a brief smile. The world would fall at his feet and then…then they would crumble into dust.
1938 Sullivan Lane:
"You know Lois, you could help…"
"Why? You're the one with the super strength remember? Besides, you're the one who's moving not me…I'm…supervising."
Lois watched as Clark seemed to struggle with the heavy boxes as he lifted them through the door to his new home. The reality of course, was that Clark could have lifted them with ease, but he knew he couldn't risk showing his super strength in public and there was also a part of him that enjoyed doing things 'the human way.'
It was a new beginning for Clark. His cousin, Kara had decided to live at the Fortress, wanting to use the technology there to search for possible survivors from Krypton and Argo as well as other colonies that she hoped had survived Brainiac's extermination of their race. It had given Clark a chance to move up in the world, after a little push from Lois and now he was moving into a new place.
Things had been strange between Lois and Clark. They had become closer following Clark's revelation about his identity, but Lois couldn't help but feel a little jealous every time her boyfriend flew off to save someone, but she knew that it came with the territory. Clark would tell her that he understood, that it was ok for her to have those feelings but Lois still felt guilty.
As Clark dropped the last box on the floor of his new home, he went to the front door and closed it. Turning, he smiled briefly at Lois before taking off at speed, removing items from their boxes and placing them where he wanted them in record time.
Lois watched as the cardboard boxes gradually emptied, the contents filling up the rooms and in no time at all, as Clark dropped out of super speed, everything was unpacked and in its rightful place.
"I used to do this all the time back home, but Dad would always say – Son, you have great powers…but it's not about how fast you can get the job done, it's about taking the time to do it right…and he wasn't wrong, there's something satisfying about doing things like everyone else…but sometimes it's nice to just cut loose, especially when it gives us more time to do…other things."
Walking across the room, Clark lifted Lois off her feet and kissed her. For Clark, things had never been better. The threat of Brainiac was gone, Lois knew and accepted who he really was…it was a new beginning, the next chapter in the life of Clark Kent.
LexCorp:
Lex Luthor placed an aspirin in his mouth, taking a drink of water and swallowing. He was in the middle of the most important day of his life, yet his thoughts were concentrated solely on the headache that had been plaguing him all day. His behaviour had been erratic lately. Dr. Hamilton had put it down to the strain of the download of information from Brainiac's memory module into his brain.
But as he sat in the control room, screen displaying satellite link ups to the United Nations, showing images that would be broadcast across the planet, he forgot about the pain. The final systems check had come back positive, everything was ready.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the United Nations, and those watching around the world. I'll keep this brief…I've already made my speeches so with your permission, let's flip the switch…"
Lex waited, watching the screen as delegates of the United Nations voted, until finally, the Secretary-General appeared on the screen, talking directly to Luthor.
"Mr. Luthor, we have voted unanimously in favour of activation…you may proceed…good luck."
"Luck is for the delusional…final check is complete, we are go for activation."
The control room was buzzing as engineers monitored the grid, calling out numbers and watching maps on screen as the kryptonite core underneath LexCorp glowed brightly, releasing pure energy.
"I wan progress updates…"
"Yes Mr. Luthor…core is stable and at 100 capacity, conversion emitters are functioning well within safety parameters…we ready to switch over sir…"
Lex nodded to the engineer and soon the giant map overhead began to light up, showing national grids across the planet switching circuits to the LexCorp relays.
"…East Coast…West Coast…Australia…Ireland…France…China…Russia…Central European…"
Lex listened as the engineer confirmed that the grids across the world were now operating through LexCorp. It had been the largest project ever attempted by human beings. Costing billions of dollars, connecting the entire planet to one international grid had seemed impossible, but as the final power relays switched over, the delegates at the United Nations were applauding and cheering.
Every power station on the planet was now drawing energy from the kryptonite core at LexCorp, but as engineers congratulated themselves on a job well done, Lex Luthor sat in the centre of the control room, his head in his hands as he struggled to fight off the pain he was feeling until he was snapped out of it by the Secretary-General of the UN.
"Mr. Luthor…congratulations…this is a great day for us all. Well done."
"Thank you…but do not celebrate yet. First we have to make sure that there are no problems."
Luthor looked around the room, then up at Mercy Graves who had stood by his side throughout. He saw faces. Employees overjoyed that the project was proving to be a success. Then it changed. The joyous faces turned into visions of despair. His mind played out events from a hundred different worlds in turmoil. He felt the agony of billions of strange alien beings crying out in horror.
"…Lex…Lex can you hear me…Lex…"
Luthor opened his eyes to see Mercy crouching down beside him. He was on the floor, dazed for a moment as he tried to stand. He knew everything that Brainiac knew…the AI's memories and experiences now existed within his mind.
"What happened?"
"You passed out…are you alright?"
"I'm fine…I saw…it doesn't matter."
As Lex sat back up in his chair, he looked around the room again. Some had noticed that he had collapsed but they knew better than to stare at their boss and continued monitoring the grid. Lex had total recall now, he could easily remember and understand things that no human being could even fathom. Turning to Mercy, he smiled, knowing the time had come to implement the final stage of his plan…or was it Brainiac's plan? Lex didn't care…he wanted power and he was determined to get it.
"Mercy…clear the room and get the UN back online…this grid was designed by Brainiac. Apparently he…he believed that it would allow him to infect every electronics system on the planet…"
"Is that even possible?"
"Let's find out…"
As Mercy cleared the control room of all personnel, Lex opened a compartment on the armrest of his chair, revealing a small control panel, just as the UN General Assembly appeared on a screen in front of him.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am happy to report that the grid is working perfectly…however we do have a small problem…I'm too greedy. This grid is under my control and at this very moment I am using it to infect military installations across the planet. I can launch every missile, nuclear or otherwise at the touch of a button. Power stations can be remotely set to overload…one simple command and the world will be plunged into chaos…you can avoid this by handing control of this world over to me."
"That's not funny Luthor…"
"I'm not joking…"
Luthor's hand moved to the control panel, entering a command. Soon, the United Nations building along with the rest of New York was without power. Delegates at the UN began arguing amongst themselves, debating what to do. Lex wasn't about to wait for an answer though. Restoring power to the United Nations, he made one final threat.
"The world is about to witness hell ladies and gentlemen…the chaos will end when you stop debating and hand power over to me."
Lex cut the transmission and began inputting commands into the control panel. In silo's form Colorado to Moscow, missiles began launch countdowns, aimed at random targets across the globe. Power stations began to overload, hospitals lost power, relying on back-up generators.
In Japan, electric trains began to speed up, moving at speeds far beyond safety parameters, major cities around the world suffered total power losses, citing riots as people began taking to the streets, looting and fighting.
Traffic lights shut down, causing car pile-ups, prison cells opened, releasing the most violent criminals imaginable. The only place that didn't seem to be affected was Metropolis.
Sullivan Lane:
Clark watched the TV as reports began coming in from across the planet. He had to act. Changing quickly into his familiar blue suit, Clark kissed Lois briefly before flying out through the window and up into the air.
Lois sat back, her eyes now glued to the television. The reporters didn't seem to have any idea why the world was in chaos and as more news came in about the events happening across the planet, she feared that Clark would be overwhelmed.
High above, in the upper atmosphere, Superman hovered, listening to cries from across the planet. He was soon joined by his cousin who had been monitoring the situation at the Fortress.
"Kal-El…what are we going to do? There is no way we can help everybody, there's too much…"
"Calm down Kara…we're not alone in this. There are protectors…heroes all across the planet…but there are things that only we can help with. We must deal with the most urgent emergencies first."
"But…but how do I choose where to go and what to ignore?"
"Have faith in humanity. Their various emergency services can handle most problems…we deal with the rest…now go, we have to hurry."
Japan:
Travelling over 300mph, the JR-Maglev train was operating well within safety parameters, but when Luthor tapped into the new remote access system, it began to move at even greater speeds…400…500…the train began to shake uncontrollably as it roared along the track.
Commuters on the train huddled in their seats, panicking as the train moved faster and faster, threatening to fly straight off the track. Moving alongside the train, Superman analysed the situation, knowing that forcing it to stop suddenly could kill the passengers.
Spinning underneath, Superman began studying the power relays that gave the track its electromagnetic charge, going to find a way to disconnect the power. Finding the right cables, he tore them apart, shutting down the magnetic field. However the train had used the field to hover just above the track and now, without power, it was grinding along, threatening to flip over.
Quickly moving to the front of the train, Superman began to push back on it, trying to gradually stop its momentum and slow it down. The passengers cheered as Superman exerted more strength, finally bringing the train to a grinding halt at the next platform.
England:
Sellafield had been one of the nuclear stations that was to serve as a relay for the energy output from LexCorp, and after switching to the grid, engineers were beginning to shutdown the reactor.
Supergirl arrived on the scene however to find that the reactor was in fact set to overload after Luthor had taken control. Ensuring that everyone had evacuated the facility, she made her way towards the reactor, entering the core, hoping to shut it down manually.
When she got there however, Kara found that it was too late to shut it down. Thinking quickly, Supergirl raced outside, severing the connection between the facility and the main grid before tunnelling underground. Onlookers felt the ground begin to shake and watched on, amazed as the nuclear plant broke from its foundations and began to rise into the air.
Underneath, Supergirl had her arms raised, balancing the facility on her palms as she flew into the air, going higher and higher, the pull of gravity not effecting her as she flew out into space, throwing the large building away from the planet, watching as it finally reached critical and exploded.
Sydney:
A bright flash of light in the horizon that lit up the night sky. A nuclear missile had plunged into the ocean and exploded. Now, as Superman stood on the beach, in the distance he could see a massive tidal wave approaching, having been created by the blast.
After taking a deep breath, Superman began to blow into the water, stirring up hurricane-force winds, as the tides seem to flow backwards. The water level was rising and Superman was now speeding along the beach, building up a wall of sand.
Clark knew he didn't have much time as the tidal wave got closer and closer to the city. His eyes burned as he released an intense blast of heat along the sand-wall, turning it to glass before summoning up strength and smashing straight through it.
The shockwave created another giant wave, this time heading out to sea. Superman followed behind it, blowing in the water, forcing the wave to get bigger and bigger as it travelled on a collision course with the first wave, until they finally impacted together, the wave created by Superman consuming the first wave before eventually settling until the waters were calm again.
Swiss Alps:
A cruise missile crashed into the mountainside, causing an avalanche of snow and rock, sliding down the mountain and building momentum, threatening to crush the small ski-resort below. The impact of the missile had also caused the cable cars to stop working and now, as the snow rolled down the slopes, a group of snowboarders, trapped in one of the cars, high above the ground, prayed for a miracle as the cable started to tear itself apart.
Supergirl flew up the mountain, igniting her heat vision and turning the snow to water, and then steam, before blowing it back up the slopes. Her ears picked up the sound of a cable snapping and she turned to see the car plummeting towards jagged rocks on the mountainside.
Acting quickly, Kara flew at speed, grabbing the cable car and slowing its rate of descent before letting it down gently while she used her heat vision to incinerate any pieces of rock falling down the mountain.
New Zealand:
The lights were out. High above Wellington, planes circled in darkness, running low on fuel. There was nothing to guide them in, no runway lights, no beacons to signal where the airport even was. Pilots had considered landing on the freeway, but every light within a hundred miles was out. They couldn't see anything below them.
Warning sounds flashed, indicating that the fuel in one of the planes was going o run out. Some of them were now flying on just two engines to conserve fuel but it was clear that this tactic wouldn't last long.
Suddenly, something flew past one of the jets, a shadow in the darkness that was about to light up the sky. Superman was there, his enhanced vision enabling him to see through the darkness.
He began flying over the airport, igniting his heat vision along the tarmac, creating long lines of fire over each runway, giving the pilots something to see to help them land.
As the planes touched down one by one, Superman prepared to leave, only to pick up the sound of an engine failing. Looking behind him, he saw one of the planes, obviously out of fuel, beginning to fall out of the sky.
He acted immediately, flying underneath the plane and grabbing the nosecone, trying desperately to slow it down and keep it steady, being careful not to use too much force. Adjusting his weight, Superman tilted the plane until it was resting on the runway.
The Amazon:
The native tribes deep in the Amazon jungle didn't know what was happening in the outside world. All they knew was that a huge fire was spreading, burning down trees and killing the local wildlife. All they could do was run, while high above, emergency helicopters flew in, dropping water, hoping to put out the flames.
As the fire raged, the wind carried it further and increasing the danger, not only to the tribes within the jungle, but to the towns and cities on the outskirts, it seemed that not even al the water in the Amazon river would be enough to stop it.
Descending like an angel from the skies above, Supergirl began flying around the jungle at breakneck speed, creating strong gusts of wind to put out the fore as the people below cheered in amazement.
Emptying out a silo at the edge of the jungle, Kara flew towards the river, filling it with water to pour on the flames, not leaving until she was sure that the danger had passed.
New York:
Two missiles had been launched, one heading towards San Francisco, the other heading towards New York. Superman had crossed paths with his cousin and while she flew to catch up with the missile in California, Superman sped through the atmosphere, making his way into the city just in time to see the missile crash into the spire of the Empire State Building, only to keep going, threatening to blow up in the street.
Faced with an impossible choice, Superman struggled for a moment, trying to decide whether to catch the falling spire or to chase after the missile. The choice was taken away from him though as he saw a familiar face flying towards the Empire State Building.
Wonder Woman was there, her hands grabbing the spire and lifting it back up towards the top of the building, allowing Superman to fly after the missile, twisting underneath it and pushing it out to sea. After watching it explode, Superman returned to the Empire State Building, welding the spire back into place with his heat vision as Wonder Woman held it steady.
"This is crazy…it just won't stop. Central City's power went out and if it wasn't for the Flash, the whole state would have erupted in a mass riot, there's two Green Lanterns flying around and even they can't seem to get things under control. We stop one disaster then another one springs up."
"We have to keep going Diana, it's who we are, what we do…we need to stay strong until we can figure out the source of all this."
"The source? Try LexCorp. I was at the UN when the grid went online…then Lex Luthor started making demands and all hell broke loose."
"Luthor? I should have known…but are you sure?"
"I'm the ambassador for Themyscira Superman, and although my sisters and I declined Luthor's offer of establishing a relay station on the island, I still had to be at the UN for the activation."
Superman thought for a moment. He knew Lex Luthor had an insatiable lust for power, but he never thought that Luthor would cause Armageddon to get it.
"Diana listen to me…you're strong, don't give up. I'm going to Metropolis to shut down the grid and stop Luthor."
"It's alright, a squadron of fighters are on their way their right now to destroy the LexCorp building."
"What? Lex may not be innocent, but there are a lot of civilians in and around LexCorp that could get hurt."
"I'm sorry Superman, but it's the only way. If we don't stop him now, millions could die."
Metropolis:
Lex Luthor owned many buildings in Metropolis, each dedicated to the various projects in development by the company. Each building also had its own defence system, controlled by the central hub at the LexCorp headquarters in the heart of the city.
Each weapons platform was not targeting the fighters approaching the city. Bullets flew through the air, slicing through the metal hulls of the attack planes, forcing the pilots to eject as the fighters exploded in the air.
The people of Metropolis ran in fear, trying to get off the streets as burning debris rained down on top of them. Sidewinder missiles rocketed through the city, approaching the LexCorp building only to be shot down by the air defence installation on the roof of the building.
As the remaining fighters flew out of their city, forced to retreat under a sustained barrage of fire, Lex Luthor watched from his office, knowing that there was one thing left to take care of before he could be sure of victory. The pain he was feeling had grown worse throughout the day, but he refused to let it overcome him even as he struggled to think in agony.
Mercy Graves entered the room, concerned for her employer. It wasn't like Lex to declare war against the entire planet, it was a bold move and one that seemed to be paying off, but Mercy knew that it wasn't Luthor's style to attack directly. But Lex was her boss and she knew better than to question him.
"Lex…you should go down to the infirmary and get your head checked out."
"I don't have time for that Mercy…get the suit."
"The suit? Sir, it hasn't been tested yet, we don't know if there are any faults."
"Don't argue with me Mercy. I know my own technology. Besides…he's coming."
"Who…Superman? Are you sure?"
"Oh yes…the blue boy will fly here to stop me…and I will destroy him."
As Mercy left, Luthor poured some water into a glass, drinking it as he swallowed a couple of painkillers. Outside, fire fighters struggled to put out the fires caused by the exploding fighter jets, unaware that Superman was on his way, determined to stop the destruction and chaos once and for all.
San Francisco:
The second missile had impacted against the Golden Gate Bridge. Support cables snapped, cars were hanging on the edge of the bridge, threatening to fall into the river below as passengers, afraid for their lives tried to escape without making the cars tip over.
Supergirl arrived on the scene, flying low under the bridge, rising up and pushing the cars back onto the bridge. Cables, stretched to their limits, broke apart, forcing the bridge to tilt over as cars and buses began to slide dangerously towards the edge.
Studying the layout of the bridge, Kara began flying from one end to the other, lifting the loose cables and welding them back into place with her heat vision. As she flew back and forth, lifting up the metal cables, Kara noticed a small truck on the other side of the bridge falling over the edge.
She moved at super speed, dropping under the bridge and flying just above the water as she stretched out her arms, catching the truck just before it plunged into the river. Inside, the driver breathed a sigh of relief as Supergirl carried the truck up into the air, laying it down in the centre of the bridge.
Metropolis:
Superman entered the city, dropping out of super sonic speed, slowing down as he landed hard on the roof of LexCorp. Staring back at him, Lex Luthor stood confidently, covered in strange metallic armour.
"Welcome Superman, have you come to stop me?"
"It's over Lex…you need to shut the grid down before more people get hurt."
Lex didn't respond, instead choosing to laugh as he walked to the ledge and looked down on the city below. Contemplating the situation for a moment, Lex grinned as he turned back to Superman, walking to face him. They stood face to face, staring at each other for a moment before Lex struck out with a strong punch to Superman's chest.
Kal-El found himself flying backwards off the roof, clutching his chest in pain. Taking control, Superman stopped moving backwards and landed back down on the roof, taken aback by Luthor's apparent strength.
"Surprised? This suit gives me strength comparable to yours. It increases my agility and speed…and it delivers a few other surprises. I've been waiting for this day Superman."
"You don't have the technology…"
"No but Brainiac did."
"Lex what have you done?"
"I have become a whole lot smarter. When you destroyed Brainiac's ship, all that was left among the debris was a small memory module containing his program. Everything he knew was downloaded into my brain…to put it simply…I am a god."
"Gods are immortal Lex…and you're not. You're insane. What did you think would happen when decided to hold the world to ransom?"
"The line between insanity and genius is a thin one. The world will resist…but not for long…now are we done with the clichéd banter…can I kill you know."
"You can try…"
Lex Luthor activated a switch on the wrist of his armoured-suit, causing it to extend over the top of his head before charging at Superman, throwing a quick punch towards the Man of steel's face.
Superman ducked and twisted his body, bringing his own fist around to strike a powerful blow to Luthor's side, forcing him back, sliding along the rooftop. Small jets in Luthor's boots ignited, sending him into the air, with Superman taking off and following behind.
They circled each other, extending their arms and punching viciously as they hovered above LexCorp. Superman swung hard only to find Luthor tilting his head to avoid being hit, spinning his body around and kicking Superman in the chest, sending him tumbling through the air, crashing against a nearby skyscraper.
Adjusting his body, Superman took off again, charging into Lex, grabbing a hold of him and throwing him back down to the LexCorp roof. Looking up, Lex saw his enemy dropping down at speed and narrowly managed to roll out of the way and stand up as Superman's knee slammed against the roof, causing the entire building to shake.
As Superman stood up, he found himself having to quickly dodge as a beam of energy streaked across the rooftop. Looking up, Kal-El noticed a small weapon on Lex's arm, raising up from Lex's suit.
"What are you…Robocop?"
Lex laughed as he fired another blast forcing Superman to roll out of the way again before retaliating with a blast of heat vision, melting away the mounted weapon, forcing Lex to tear it off.
"Damn fool, do you think I need that weapon to defeat you?"
Lex charged the rocket jets on his boots and raced across the roof, pushing into Superman with his fists extended, knocking the Man of Steel off his feet. As Superman tried to stand he found his strength draining away from him. Looking up, he saw Lex standing over him, a small green rock in his hand.
"Kryptonite…"
"Sorry Superman, as much as I'd like to have a good battle with you and destroy you piece by piece, I know better than to keep this going longer than necessary. That's the thing with "bad guys," they go up against you, have the chance to destroy, only to waste time talking and punching…but I'm quite happy to shove this kryptonite down your throat and just let you die."
Overcome by pain, Superman tried to get to his feet only to fall back down as Luthor stood over him, holding the kryptonite close to his face. Lex began grazing the rock over Superman's face, cutting him and forcing blood to run down over his eyes.
Confident that his enemy was sufficiently weakened, Lex balled his hand into a fist, preparing to deliver a final blow. Superman meanwhile, was struggling to see past the pain as he tried to find a strength within himself to summon up enough power to fight back.
Through the agony, Superman's ears picked up the sound of something approaching the city at speed. Managing to turn his head, he saw his cousin flying towards him, her harms extended as she charged at Lex and drove him across the rooftop.
Smiling, Lex opened up a small chamber in his left arm and placed the kryptonite inside. With a quick flick of the wrist, the armour acted as a projectile weapon, releasing the kryptonite like a bullet, sending it across the roof, smashing against Kara's chest.
Stunned, Kara fell backwards off the roof, crashing into the street below, lying unconscious as Lex moved back to Superman, looking to destroy him before he could recover. Worried about his cousin and consumed with anger, Superman grabbed a hold of Lex's fist as it came down to strike him.
Holding onto Lex's hand, crushing the armour, Superman stood up and delivered a fierce uppercut, sending Luthor skywards. Superman followed Lex into the air, catching him and diving back down towards the roof.
Superman held onto Lex, slamming him through the roof, into the building. Refusing to let go, Kal-El drove Lex straight down through the building, crashing through floor after floor, 60 storeys down below ground level, crashing down underneath the car park before emerging in the chamber that housed the grids kryptonite core.
Lex struggled to stand up, his body feeling the pain through the armoured suit. Looking up, he could see the blue skies high above through the large hole that now broke through each floor of the building.
Meanwhile, Superman was standing in front of him, forcing himself to calm down as he watched Lex stand up for a moment then collapse again.
"It's over Lex…it's time to shut it down."
Luthor looked up at Superman and began to laugh. Standing up slowly, his menacing laugh was enough to send chills through Superman who didn't know what to make of what was going on. Then as quickly as Lex had started laughing, he stopped, replacing it with an agonising scream as the pain he had been feeling all day overcame him.
He held on to his hest as he roared in pain, struggling to maintain his identity as the stabbing pain threatened to overcome him. He fell back down on his knees, still screaming.
"Lex…what's wrong?"
Superman didn't know what to think about what was happening as Lex yelled in terror, his eyes were glazed over, the sound coming from his mouth suddenly stopping as he stood up slowly in silence.
"Lex?"
Luthor's eyes were closed for a moment. When they opened, they seemed lifeless. There was no sense of expression in his face as he stared at Superman.
"Hello Kal-El…"
His voice had no emotion, it was cold, lifeless. Superman was unsure of what was happening but as Luthor stood upright, his eyes not moving, focussed on his enemy.
"You thought you had destroyed me, but thanks to Luthor, my mission will continue. Like Krypton, this world will be destroyed, it's knowledge downloaded. Then I shall move to the next world…you could have become part of my quest, but now you will die, along with all others."
"It can't be…Brainiac…?"
"You finally see. Lex thought he could suppress my program. He was wrong. This body is inefficient, this suit is crude…badly designed. Nevertheless it will suffice."
Shocked, Superman couldn't react as Luthor charged at him and punched him against the rear wall, picking him up and driving his fist into the Caped Wonder's side, cracking his ribs.
"Lex…Lex snap out of it…fight him…"
"Lex Luthor is dead. I am Brainiac."
Brainiac existed now in Luthor's body, using the advanced combat suit to hurt Superman, punching him and throwing him against the lead chamber that housed the kryptonite core.
Brainiac's threw another hard punch, only for Superman to dodge. The punch from Brainiac ended up striking the lead chamber, rupturing it, opening cracks, letting the radiation seep through.
Once again, Superman found himself struggling to stand as the kryptonite radiation began to spread around the room as Brainiac launched another attack, connecting with a powerful uppercut that sent Superman back across the room, crashing against the wall, falling down in pain.
As Brainiac walked towards Superman, the Man of Steel noticed power cables coming from the reactor. Knowing that he didn't have much time before the radiation overcame him, he ignited his heat vision, burning through the cables slicing them in two. Noticing Superman's actions, Brainiac laughed as he picked him up by his throat, slamming him against the wall.
"Fool…did you really think that severing the cables would shut down the reactor? Living among these humans has obviously lowered your intelligence."
"You know you're right. I'm not as smart as you but you forget, you're in a human body…which means that you can feel pain."
Superman kicked out at Brainiac, striking him squarely between his legs, forcing Brainiac to let go of Kal-El's throat and cry out in agony. Not wasting anytime, Superman grabbed Brainiac and flew with him across the room, sliding along the floor until they were next to the severed power cables. Brainiac retaliated with a strong punch, rolling on top of him, trying to choke the life out of Superman.
Kal-El didn't bother trying to force Brainiac off, instead concentrating on stretching his hands to grab onto the live cables, grabbing a hold of them and forcing them up, holding them against Brainiac's head.
Electricity passed from the cables through the mind of Brainiac and the body of Lex Luthor. Brainiac shook violently as the electricity fried his brain and he collapsed on the ground, unconscious.
Superman stood up, out of breath as the kryptonite radiation continued to seep slowly through the cracks in the lead chamber. His strength was fading but he knew he had to keep going.
His fingers burned as he punched through the lead chamber, getting a strong grip and pulling it from its foundations, tearing through the cables as he lifted the core up through the building and into the air, rising through the atmosphere, trying not to pass out as he flew into space and threw the core off into the distance.
His eyes burned as he let out a stream of heat energy, forcing the kryptonite reactor to explode. The shockwave sent kryptonite energy back towards Superman, impacting against him, sending him falling back towards the planet below.
As he fell through the atmosphere, his body began to slowly recover as light from the sun penetrated his cells. He fell towards Metropolis, his eyes opening as he felt his strength return, twisting around and landing feet first in the middle of the city.
Superman ran through the city, finding Kara lying on the ground as a concerned crowd gathered around. Picking her up, Superman flew with his cousin into the air heading north out of the city.
"Kal-El…is…is it over…?"
"Yes Kara, it's over…rest now…you're going to be alright."
Fortress of Solitude – 2 days later:
"…The world is getting back to normal today after the chaotic events started by former LexCorp president, Lex Luthor, who remains in hospital today after a public battle against Superman…in related news, the United Nations is set to honour the many heroes around the world who not only stopped numerous disasters but are now helping with the re-construction process…"
Lois Lane turned off the monitor and walked towards Clark, who was helping his cousin refit the ship that had brought her to Earth. It had been a stressful time but things were slowly getting back to normal.
"Now let me get this straight, Brainiac took control of Lex Luthor's body?"
"That's right Lois, it's hard to believe."
"Is he…"
"Dead? No. But he's in a coma. The doctors say he may never wake up."
Lois pondered the situation as Clark turned to his cousin, concerned about what she was preparing to do. She had been living at the Fortress, using it's advanced trackers to search for deep space signals and before Luthor plunged the world into chaos, she had found a faint energy signature of Kryptonian origin.
"Are you sure about this Kara? You can't go out there alone…something could happen, you could get hurt."
"Kal-El the signal is real. It may be from Krypton, broadcast a thousand years ago…but what if it's not? There are colonies out there and we don't know if Brainiac destroyed them all. There may be survivors…our people may still live, somewhere…"
"It's too dangerous Kara…"
"Kal-El…Clark…you taught me everything I need to know about how to live, how to survive...I'll be ok, and if there are others out there, I'll find them."
Knowing he couldn't talk her out of it, Clark hugged his cousin before activating the control panel that opened the roof of the Fortress to allow the ship to pass through the ice.
"Be careful Kara…and if you get into trouble, turn that ship around and come on home."
"Don't worry Clark, we'll see each other again…thank you for everything…and Lois, take care of him."
"I will Kara, good luck…"
Kara smiled as the main hatched of her ship closed down around her while she set the controls to launch the ship. With a mighty blast, the Kryptonian ship took off, rising from the Fortress as Lois and Clark, protected from the rocket fire by a crystal absorption shield, looked on.
As the ship reached escape velocity and exploded out of the atmosphere and into space, Kara looked around, shedding a tear as the Earth faded from view, before activating the energy repulsors and blasting off into deep space, through a wormhole.
On Earth, Lois nudged Clark and kissed him softly, reassuring him as they prepared to fly back to Metropolis.
"She'll be alright Clark…she's Supergirl."
"I know Lois…I know…come on, let's go home."