Once they knew the ship was preparing for something, both Clark and Brainiac were forced to put Clark's hastily crafted plan into action. It's potential success counted on one thing: their opponents not knowing where the initial attack was going to come from. After the initial confusion died down, any advantage they had would be lost. Really, it would all depend on numbers.

Lucky for Clark that the ship was stored in an isolated building on route to the Templo Mayor, or his secret would have been exposed for certain. Brainiac allowed Clark to take his position before walking in straight through the front door. He was unsurprised to find himself looking at three identical copies of his own image. They stood protectively in front of the ship, which was currently giving off an incredible amount of energy. Yet it was still grounded. Not that this made himself or Clark much safer.

"Well, this is a touching reunion," said one of his adversaries. "But you'll forgive us if we don't welcome you home with open arms."

"I take it young Mr Kent will be joining us?" asked another. "And what trick might he have up his sleeve, I wonder?"

Brainiac allowed Clark to reply personally. The constructs had taken the time to observe the kryptonian closely, something the persona of Milton Fine had proven useful for. They'd carefully gauged his strength and the development of his powers. They had known that he hadn't yet developed the ability to fly.

Except now he had. Clark's reply was to send a rain of fire down from above, tearing through the roof with ridiculous ease and catching all three of his targets off guard. Only two of them were actually hit, but that didn't matter; the air assault was more about creating an opening, which Brainiac promptly took. Smoothly slipping the Kryptonian dagger into his hand, he drove it viciously between the eyes of the one construct left standing. It's body shook for a moment, contempt in it's eyes, before it vanished. Brainiac caught the dagger as it fell, turning in one quick movement and driving it into the chest of a downed opponent. The other was back on his feet in an instant, but immediately found himself pinned down as Clark continued his attack from above.

As the two remaining Brainiacs stared each other down, a trickle of a thick black liquid ran down the back of the ship. Brainiac had been expecting it. Three more of his brethren took shape from the substance. And now the element of surprise had been lost. As Brainiac readied his weapon, a bright light grew around the ship.

"Kal-El, look out!" he shouted. Clark was a long way above him, but he knew he would hear him anyway. Unfortunately the warning was too little too late, as the ship fired a concentrated beam of energy towards Clark. The next thing he knew Clark had fallen through what little of the roof remained, landing hard. The Kandorian armour had absorbed some of the damage, but Clark was clearly still hurting. As Clark winced with pain and tried to struggle to his feet, the ship slowly began to open up.

The figure that emerged did not look like he did, but despite wearing the appearance of General Zod, Brainiac could not be deceived by the form the construct had taken. It was still just a Brainiac, the same as himself. It was a perfect likeness though. It had been a long time since he had seen Zod like this, given his body had been destroyed before being sent into the Phantom Zone. Unlike Preus, the last body Zod had inhabited, Zod had dark hair and a goatee beard. And although Preus' eyes had been cold, Zod's were colder.

"You're not Zod," said Brainiac, smiling. He found the situation almost… exciting. The odds were against himself and Kal-El, and that was a situation he had rarely found himself in. Always he had planned carefully, moving openly only when the circumstances were to his advantage.

"You should remain silent," said the machine posing as Zod. "Your purpose has been corrupted, and therefore your existence is no longer validated."

As Clark got up, obviously still hurting, 'Zod' turned his attentions to the Kryptonian. Clark made to strike before noticing the city in the machine's hands. Gotham city. All of the others were safely stored in the Fortress, but that one presented a big problem.

"You have lost, Kal-El. Make any move against me and this city will be destroyed. And even if that doesn't dissuade you, the ship can produce dozens more constructs. I think you will find that the deck is completely stacked in my favour."

888

Lana supposed being in the middle of a military camp was supposed to make her feel safe, but if anything she felt slightly intimidated by the show of force around her. It didn't help to know that General Lane was apparently camped here in Smallville trying to find any unusual activity. He would most assuredly find some, and if it happened to be Lenaria, they were all dead. Hopefully though The Empireth was a long way away.

Lois of course, was perfectly at home, and was probably the only person in the camp who had any pretensions of cheerfulness. Although she was only slightly older than Lana herself, Lois seemed to be trying to take the role of mother to them all, at least temporarily. Even Chloe seemed worn down.

"I should call Lex," said Lana. "Everything's been so crazy since I got back from Kandor, and I've only really had time to worry about Clark and Nell, but I need to see if he's all right."

"Wait a minute," said Chloe, sipping a cup of coffee Pete had fetched. He and Lois were talking on the other side of the tent, so they were able to talk about Clark freely. Although given their location, discretion was still wise. If anyone from the military overheard about Clark… "Everything's been crazy since you got BACK from an alien world? Okay, now I really know how screwed up all this is."

"It's not good, is it?" asked Lana. She knew Chloe was kidding, but she wasn't able to laugh right now.

"Listen though, Lana. Before you call Lex… I mean, I know the two of you are friends and everything, but you need to tread carefully. You know Lex is suspicious of Clark. If he ever found out the truth…"

"I know, Chloe, but I'm not going to let that happen. Clark told me about how Lex found out before."

"Or about how Lex didn't find out before. The whole changing the past thing is pretty definite about what did and didn't happen."

"The point is, I know how careful I have to be. Chloe, if I'm going to marry Clark I can't just cut Lex out of my life. He'll know right away that I know the truth about Clark. But I can't worry about any of that right now. I just want to know he's okay. I need to know SOMEBODY'S okay."

888

Lenaria watched Lex carefully as he tried to take in what she'd told him. His reaction was difficult to read. She half-expected him to tell her that it was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard.

"What proof do you have?" asked Lex quietly instead. He appeared much too calm on the outside, she thought. Much too calm.

"I do wonder just how much proof you need, Lex. The boy comes back from the dead, has alien symbols burned onto his barn, appears constantly in times of crisis and never gets a scratch on him… There is something I might show you, however. There is a kind of a… monument to his home planet hidden in the Arctic. I can give you it's exact location. Inside, you will find knowledge that your race would kill to possess."

"And in return for it's location? What is it you want from me?"

"From you? I wish only to earn your trust. I am not the monster you think I am, Lex. I care deeply for your people. I was even married to one of you, though I believe you have seen what happened at my base. He was a victim of that attack, killed by one of the monsters."

While she spoke, her superhearing picked up the sound of Mikhail's voice, the merest whisper. He commanded her to stop moving. Lenaria had to use a great deal of willpower, not to resist the command, but to stop herself from striking the youth dead. She had controlled a good deal of people through the years with her abilities, but she had never been controlled herself. And she never would be. That the boy had presumed to…! She would not forget that. She could do nothing now; she wanted Lex on her side, and willingly if possible. Later, however, would be a different story.

Lex's cell-phone, placed on his desk, lit up and began to ring. Lex didn't look at it, did not remove his eyes from Lenaria, but she did. She recognised the name instantly, reading it with her telescopic vision. Lana. Well now, that was interesting, wasn't it?

"Give me the location," said Lex finally. Lenaria smiled. Lex would find much there that would aid him, but it was what would aid her that mattered. She gave him the co-ordinates, waiting patiently by the fire as Lex tried to pinpoint the location on a map. It's presence comforted her. Without it, she would be constantly worrying about The Manhunter appearing from nowhere and phasing his hand through her head or something.

"Do you know what Brainiac's done with the missing cities?" asked Lex as he looked over the map.

"I have some idea. There may be something we can do for them. You'll know more soon, I promise. I'm afraid I won't be able to join you on the trip," said Lenaria. "We'll talk again, once you've seen what's in The Fortress. Don't worry, Lex. Working together, we can eliminate those who threaten this world."

She sped from the room, a show of her potential force as much as anything. Using her superhearing, she listened in for any information that might be useful, and to ensure Lex was going to do as she wanted. If he didn't, she would have to subtly adjust his way of thinking.

"I don't trust her," said Mikhail. "Though what she says about Kent… that part at least may be true."

"It may just be," said Lex non-commitally. His phone was ringing again, and this time she heard him answer it. Lenaria recognised the voice on the other end at once.

"Lex?"

"Lana? Thank God you're alright. I thought you'd disappeared along with the rest of Metropolis."

"No, I'm alright. I wanted to see if you were safe. I haven't had a chance to get in touch sooner."

"It's okay. Listen to me. I may know something about what's going on. I need to see you. Let me know where you are and I'll be right there." He paused for a moment. "Is Clark there with you?"

"No, but Chloe, Pete and Lois are. Clark's alright though, he's going to join up with us as soon as he can."

Lenaria twirled her hair contentedly as Lana told Lex where she was. Oh dear, Clarky, she thought. Maybe you shouldn't have been so quick to be a hero. It would be a terrible tragedy if something happened to your friends while you were away.

Of course, Lenaria would not be going there personally. Oh no; Clark's absence did not indicate the absence of The Manhunter or even Raya. And while she held the weaknesses of both, it was an unnecessary risk. Lenaria had absorbed many abilities from Clark, but the ability to charge into potential danger like a brain-dead moron was not among them. No, she had something else in mind.

It seemed appropriate. She had returned from her absence to find her knights dead; Clark would return to find his friends and lover gone. He would know her pain.

He would know her fury.