Hiding herself away in a hotel room, Lenaria lay on top of the bed contemplating everything that had just happened. Her hand kept touching her waist where Clark had stabbed her, though there was no wound there anymore. That damn boy! It had been a mistake, leaving him alive at The Fortress. She'd thought she was safe, thought she had him completely at her mercy, and now he had done this. She'd wanted him alive as long as possible so that she could make him suffer, but that didn't matter now. Oh, she would still make him weep if she could, but more important to kill him and have done with it.

Standing in her way was the Manhunter from Mars. She was fairly sure the creature was not dead, regardless of the condition she had left it in. Martians could regenerate from almost anything. It would have been very beneficial for her to steal his powers, but the Martian was perhaps hundreds of years old, and his mind could well overwhelm her. Too risky. He would have to be dealt with though. Surrounding the bed were an array of candles she had brought and lit, regardless of the hotel's policy on such things. Even those tiny flames were enough to stop the Manhunter. In her pocket, she also carried Kryptonite. She had let herself be exposed to far too much danger since absorbing Clark's powers; she would no longer take even the smallest of chances.

She couldn't forget Brainiac either; he was still out there somewhere, and he had no obvious weakness. Although she'd beaten two of his constructs, she knew that in terms of intellect she was outmatched. When she had announced to the humans that she would defeat him, she had of course not meant that she would face him head-on – Lenaria would not look for a fight she could not be sure to dominate. At first she'd planned to control Clark and use him to defeat the machine, but now Clark was protected by the Manhunter. Still, Clark would go after Brainiac anyway. The best thing she could do now was remain hidden until one side destroyed the other. It might even be possible for her to assist Clark anyway – from afar, of course. Lenaria would be nowhere close when the actual battle took place.

There was always Raya too, though the fact that she hadn't appeared with Clark and J'onn meant there was a chance she had died of her wounds. Dangerous to assume that though. There were too many enemies around for her liking. In truth, were she still able to she would have fled the Earth at this point and found somewhere where she had no equal. Then again, she had promised her husband she would lead his planet to greatness. A memory of him rose to the surface, one they had shared together, and she saw them lying naked under the bed sheets, bodies entangled. They had made love and talked through the night. Lenaria had grown smitten with him by then, and told him of her time with Mongul. She had spent time as a slave before she managed to get on his good side (good being a relative term) and become an agent of Warworld, bringing specimens to him in return for payment… and her continued freedom. Freedom also being a relative term, of course. Twenty years of her life had been wasted under his control.

"I will kill him for you," Edward had said, gently nibbling at her ear. She had laughed.

"Bullets would only bounce from his body, dear boy."

"I didn't say I would shoot him – I said I would kill him. I will find a way. I will kill all of your enemies for you."

And though she had not realised it at first, that was when she had went from being merely smitten to falling in love with him. He had truly believed what he was saying. He was the bravest person she had ever met, someone who would willingly lay their life down for her just as her parents had. Edward had courage that she had never possessed, and she had admired that in him greatly. But one day, she would show him, she knew. She would be brave, and make him proud of her.

Just not yet, of course. Brainiac may well have superior intellect, but the only one smart enough to survive what lay ahead would be Lenaria.

888

"Clark, are you really sure about this?"

Brainiac was waiting impatiently off to the side, but Clark barely noticed him. Lana had been crying, though she claimed not to know why. Clark held her against him, not saying anything at first. Thanks to Lois and The General, they were camped with the military. They were going to be stashed away safely. Or so he hoped. Sending J'onn away had been a risky move, since Lenaria would be able to move openly against them. Still, she should have no way of knowing where they were. Besides, Brainiac had brought the armour, which he now wore under his shirt. The next time he faced Lenaria, she'd find herself without her powers.

"I have to get the ship. We know that Metropolis and London are safe in The Fortress, but Brainiac still has Gotham. We're the only ones who can get it back and stop him from taking any more."

"But you don't even know what you're up against. Even one Brainiac has all your powers; you don't know how many are going to be waiting for you," said Lana.

"It doesn't matter how many there are, I'll find a way," said Clark. "Trust me – you're not getting rid of me so easily."

"I love you so much," said Lana, giving him a kiss that was short but oh so sweet.

"I love you too, Lana."

Brainiac made to speak as Clark left her, but Clark waved him aside and tracked down Chloe, Lois and Pete. Lois didn't quite get his initial hint that she should make herself scarce; fortunately Chloe managed to get rid of her.

"You didn't come to say goodbye, did you Clark?" asked Chloe. "Because, um, you never say goodbye. So if you said goodbye right now, we'd you know, start to worry. A little."

"It's not goodbye Chloe. It's never goodbye. I intend to survive this."

"Like they say, Clark, dying is easy, comedy is hard. You come back safe," said Pete, slapping his back.

"Pete, there's something I've been meaning to ask you. I know you might not want to, since you've been away and everything, but…"

"But what?" asked Pete.

"Pete would be delighted to be your best man, Clark," said Chloe.

"Geez, you psychic or something? Lyla ain't in there is she?" asked Pete, peering closely at Chloe's ear.

"So what do you say, Pete?"

"Like my spokesperson over here says, I'd be delighted," said Pete.

"We'll see you soon, Clark."

"You bet," said Clark, though his smile faltered slightly. "Once this is all settled, I'm taking the four of us out to dinner in Metropolis, on me."

"Oh that is so sweet, Smallville," said Lois.

"By four of us, I meant me, Pete, Lana and Chloe," said Clark, gritting his teeth. "Oh, what the hell. You can come too. I'll catch up with all of you later."

"Wait, where are you going? We're about to be escorted to…"

Clark never heard the rest as he ran back to find Brainiac. For a machine, his patience seemed less than limitless.

"If you're quite ready?" Brainaic asked.

"I'm ready. You didn't hurt Lex, did you?"

"He never felt a thing as I knocked him unconscious," said Brainiac. "I cannot disobey a direct order. I also informed Lex that we were aborting the mission. He most likely will try and go ahead with it anyway, but I gave him a false location, so any move he makes will be in the wrong place."

"How many do you think we'll be up against?"

"We should be prepared for anything, Kal-El. I still say it was a mistake, not including 33.1. We could have assessed their numbers before we entered the battle ourselves."

Clark shook his head. He wasn't going to send people to die like that. That said, out of he and Brainiac, one of them was expendable. Only Brainic could control the ship and restore the cities. If Clark had to, he would have to give his life to make sure Brainiac succeeded.

888

As Lex picked himself up, he struggled to recall what had happened. Fine had turned up and informed Lex that the mission was to be aborted. Lex had outwardly agreed, before calling in Mikhail Mxyzptlk. While Mikhail was not among the strongest specimens of Level 33.1, he was the one who held perhaps the most potential since recovering his ability. Mikhail had the ability to make someone do whatever he wanted. Or, as the case was nowadays, whatever Lex Luthor wanted.

"Stop," Mikhail had told Fine. And Fine had smiled.

"Mr Mxyzptlk," Fine had said. Lex hadn't been sure what stunned Mikhail more: the fact that Fine had effortlessly resisted his control, or the perfect pronunciation of his name. "Oh Lex, you thought I was going to tell you everything I knew? I can assure you, that would take more time than you have, my friend."

He didn't remember anything after that. Of Mikhail and Fine, there was no sign.

Yet there was a woman standing admiring his office. He didn't recognise her at first, not until she turned round to look at him. He recognised the face at once, though he'd only seen it on TV. The large mole on her cheek was unmistakable. Lenaria. His hand went instinctively to his chest, feeling for the armour that would protect him from her abilities. And found it wasn't there. The armour was very light, and he'd worn it so long it had felt like a second skin. Until he'd tried to touch it, he hadn't realised it wasn't there.

"Hello, Lex. I am God."