Soon after the presidential election, the economy crashed as the stock market began a massive sell off that could not be explained by any of the economists. President-elect Luthor was quick to assign blame to the previous administration and promoted his new economic plan to the nation. Although never reported in the news media, Russian and Chinese military defenses had totally collapsed. The two nations kept their defense problems classified so as to not reveal their weaknesses to the world.

Within a few weeks after his inauguration, President Luthor was considered a hero for saving the American capitalist market. His popularity continued to soar when he began negotiations to limit nuclear arms; a proposal Russia and China were eager to sign as they had lost control of their nuclear missile silos.

Finally the day came when Superman regained consciousness. Kara was asleep in the lab at the time after working long hours into the night. The computer system alerted Kara as Superman began to move in his tank. With a sudden punch, Superman's tank shattered sending the Kryptonian to the ground in a heap.

Kara immediately knelt down at his side. "Kal-El, can you hear me?" she asked.

"Yes, Lois is that you?" Superman asked unable to see straight.

"No, it is Kara, daughter of Zor-El," she said.

Superman shook his head not recognizing the name. "I am your cousin Kal-El; I nursed you back to health. You were dead, but I brought you back to life."

"That monster! Is the Earth safe?" he asked alarmed.

"The creature was thrown into the sun. The planet is safe," Kara assured him.

Superman struggled to get to his feet and then looked at Kara with clear vision. "How did you bring me back?" he asked.

"With the help of some Kryptonian technology and a piece of my brain," Kara smiled pointing to her head.

"How long have I been out?"

"About five of this planet's years," Kara said.

"Five years…," Superman muttered. "I need to be caught up to speed."

Lex Luthor then entered the laboratory and saw Superman revived. "So, it finally worked," Lex said pleased.

"Lex Luthor," Superman said in a accusing tone.

"That's President Luthor now," Lex smirked.

"What has happened while I've been gone," Superman asked of Kara.

"After your death, Kara came to Earth looking for you. We've had a very beneficial partnership ever since," Lex explained.

"You should be in jail," Superman said angrily.

"When you died, Kara and I took your place as saviors of this planet. We did what you were unwilling to do," Lex said and then activated the computer monitor.

"Since you've been gone, Kara has overthrown every dictatorship in world, the UN has virtually been replaced with whatever Kara desires. With Kara's knowledge, Lex Corp. was able to become the most profitable company on the planet. You should be so proud of her," Lex said.

Superman stared at the computer as he saw images of what Kara had done over the last five years. "This wasn't how it was supposed to be. You've twisted everything I have tried to do," Superman said.

"Your approach was too weak Superman. With no one to stop us, we now have the entire world at our fingertips. With a simple punch of a button, I can deactivate the weapon systems of every nation on the planet," Lex argued.

"Humanity will never learn to make the right choice through force. I am going to expose you Luthor for the criminal you are. You will be impeached and thrown into jail," Superman said forcefully.

"You may have some difficulty with that Superman," Lex said as he opened a lead box containing radioactive Kryptonite.

Superman immediately backed away from Lex and fell to his knees in pain. Kara also looked a little sick as she experienced the deadly radiation. Still, she was handling it better than Superman due to grueling training sessions under Kryptonite radiation. She wasn't immune, but she was not crippled by it either.

As his strength began to fade, Superman rushed Lex with the intention of apprehending him. The Kryptonite fell from Lex's hands and bounced a few times on the floor. Kara immediately separated Superman from Lex and with a powerful double kick blasted Superman out of the lab and through Lex Corp.'s skyscraper. A stunned Lex simply stared as Kara flew out of the lab to confront her cousin.

Free of the Kryptonite and experiencing the sun's rays once more, Superman felt his strength returning to him. Kara turned off her hologram and appeared in the sky with him. The people of Metropolis stopped what they were doing and stared up into the sky.

"What is Lex Luthor to you? Don't you know who he is?" Superman asked.

"I know all about his crimes, but I also know that he is the most intelligent human on this planet. And I don't need your approval about us Kal-El," Supergirl replied.

"This isn't just business, the two of you are….together?" Superman wondered.

Supergirl blushed slightly but regained her composure. "I am your older cousin Kal-El, when you came to this planet I was supposed to be your mentor and guardian. You will not lecture me on who I can associate with."

"You may have been born before me, but you're still younger than me. You're acting like an immature teenager," Superman said angrily.

"The world is different now. Deal with it," Supergirl snapped at him.

Jimmy saw the two Kryptonians hovering overhead near to the Lex Corp. skyscraper. Upon realizing Superman had been revived, he saw his chance to help Lois. "Superman, she has Miss Lane imprisoned," he shouted.

Superman and Supergirl heard Jimmy perfectly despite the distance and background noise. "What have you done?" Superman demanded.

"She was asking too many questions. She would have exposed us and then you would never have been revived," Supergirl said unrepentant.

"Where is she?" Superman demanded.

"She's in the Fortress of Solitude and in perfect hibernation. She is perfectly fine," Supergirl answered.

Superman immediately knew what Supergirl was taking about, the chamber he had designed in case other enemies like the three Kryptonians showed up. "You don't know what that would do to her," he said gritting his teeth in anger.

"It was a chance I was willing to take," Supergirl said defensively.

"You're coming with me to revive her and answer for what you've done," Superman told her.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Superman sped towards Supergirl to apprehend her, but she fired twin lasers from her eyes that instantly stunned him. Supergirl took the offensive and side kicked Superman hard throwing him through the air into a building. Superman shook his head as he climbed out of the rubble around him. That kick was as hard as one of the criminal Kryptonians.

Supergirl went into a fighting stance in the air. "I have waited a long time to try these powers out on a real opponent," she said almost giddy.

Superman got back to his feet and flew towards her. The two Kryptonians hit at the fists creating a shock wave in the busy street. Windows shattered and people fell to the ground from the impact. Supergirl smiled as she got in a few quick punches to the chest and then an upper cut to the jaw. Superman hesitated to strike Supergirl just as he had difficulty fighting Ursula. Supergirl kicked him hard to the gut knocking the wind out of him.

"You're not even trying," Supergirl said disappointed.

Superman glared at her. "This isn't a game."

He suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind Supergirl. Placing her in a tight hug, Superman held Supergirl in a firm grip in mid-air. Supergirl struggled with Superman's grip but found herself unable to move her arms. Finally she elbowed him hard to the ribs forcing him to release her. She then side kicked him throwing him into a building.

Superman quickly recovered and tore through the building; the two circled each other in the air. "For the last five years, I have learned to use these powers to their maximum level," Supergirl said confidently.

Superman gave her a determined expression and suddenly became three Supermans. "What the?" Supergirl wondered.

All three Supermans flew at her; Supergirl punched at one but it faded before she could impact. She then kicked at the other one but it also faded. The real Superman took both fists and smacked her hard to the ground. There was an explosion as Supergirl hit a store collapsing it. An annoyed looking Supergirl walked out of the store as Superman landed on the ground and walked steadily towards her.

She glared at him angrily and flew a few feet above the ground towards him, but before she got close enough she was blasted with an intense wind and that threw her back. She cried out as she bounced across the asphalt and finally slammed into a large truck. Superman then used his laser vision to cause the truck to explode.

Supergirl cried out as she was hit by the powerful gas explosion. "Give it up," Superman told her.

Supergirl tossed the pieces of wreckage off her and looked around. The people of Metropolis were gathering around Superman forming an effective human shield around him. Many of them were ignoring her completely and cheering for Superman's return. Supergirl burned with envy as the people rooted for Superman against her.

"Go back to your homes," Supergirl ordered the crowd.

They merely jeered back at her and gave her defiant stares. "It's over," Superman told her.

"I said go back to your homes!" Supergirl shouted angrily and then slammed her hands together creating a shock wave. The crowd was immediately hit and fell to the ground stunned. Superman was about to subdue her when he heard fighter jets approaching Metropolis.

"He didn't," Superman muttered.

Supergirl smirked as the fighter jet squadron entered Metropolis airspace. Superman shot up into the air and flew rapidly away from city. The fighter jets targeted him and armed their missiles. Lex Luthor walked up to Supergirl as Superman disappeared.

"Are you alright?" Lex asked.

"I'm fine. Was it really necessary to send them?" she asked referring to the fighter jets.

"Being Commander in Chief has its perks," Lex said amused.

"This is not how I planned our first meeting," Supergirl lamented.

"He must be made to see reason. In time he will come to accept our vision for the world," Lex said.

"His powers are equal to mine. I cannot defeat him," Supergirl admitted.

"Then we will have to outsmart him," Lex said taking out a lead canister.

Supergirl eyed the lead canister knowing the contents inside. "He will go to the Fortress of Solitude. Should I follow him?" Supergirl asked.

"No, give him time to cool off," Lex suggested.


The fighter jets sprayed the air with bullets as they attempted to lock onto Superman. When that failed, they launched missiles at Superman. The Kryptonian was hit by one of the missiles causing an explosion in the air. A stunned but relatively unharmed Superman continued his evasive flying maneuvers. Another missile locked onto Superman but this time he struck the missile with his bare hands. The missile exploded from the impact leaving Superman unaffected.

Superman went on the offensive as one the fighter jets was about to launch a missile. He tore through the fighter jet's wing and immediately the plane went into a spin towards the ground. The pilot ejected out of the fighter jet before it sank into the ocean. Another fighter hit Superman point blank with machine gun fire but the bullets merely bounced off his suit. Superman fired at the fighter with his laser vision slicing a wing off. The pilot also ejected out of his plane before it exploded in mid-air. The fighter jet squadron then withdrew from Superman for a coordinated attack. Superman refused to give them that opportunity and sped away before the fighters could lock onto him.

Superman flew north towards the Fortress of Solitude and found it exactly as he had left it five years ago. Once inside, he noticed a few changes. There were crystallized statues of Kryptonite leaders including his own father Jor-El. He also noticed some changes with the crystal controls, all of the crystals were gone. Looking around he finally spotted the prison. To his horror he saw Lois Lane's frightened face frozen in the crystals. With his fists he tore the crystals apart and freed Lois.

She was unconscious and still very cold. Superman used his laser vision to warm her body to normal temperature and then waited for any results. Lois stirred and then opened her eyes. "Superman?" she asked confused.

"It's me Lois. I'm back."