Lois arrives home to her apartment. She looks at her phone. Martha had called her again. Now doubt wondering if she had heard anything from Clark. She hadn't. Nor did she have time to think about that right now. It was the Wednesday before election day. And as Lex inched closer to the White House, the story of the masked man, Bane, breaking the Batman was dominating the headlines. Lois was unsure of what her role here was. She was one of the few people that knew Batman's true identity is Bruce Wayne. She had sent flowers to Wayne Manor but beyond that felt powerless. Superman was gone, now Batman was gone. But she heard someone in her apartment.
"Hello Miss Lane." The voice of J'onn J'onzz says.
Lois backs away, startled for a moment.
"J'onn?! What are you doing here?" Lois asks.
"My assistant is dead, murdered." J'onn says.
"I'm uh- I'm sorry to hear that." Lois says.
"As was I to discover it." J'onn says.
"Do you have any leads as to who might have done this?" Lois asks.
"I know exactly who did it." J'onn says.
"Who?" Lois asks.
"It was Luthor." J'onn says.
"Lex? Are you sure?" Lois asks.
"I am." J'onn says, confidently.
"How can you be so sure?" Lois asks.
"He was investigating Lex, trying to unturn all of his past dealings." J'onn says.
"Did he find something?" Lois asks.
"He found tons." J'onn says.
"And Lex, had him killed?" Lois asks.
"He did." J'onn says.
"Did Lex get the files?" Lois asks.
"Yes." J'onn says.
Lois's heart sinks. For a moment she thought she might be on to something to take down Luthor.
"Or at least he got a copy of the files." J'onn says.
"A copy?" Lois asks.
J'onn pulls out a manila folder packed to the brim with papers.
"Don't let anyone see these except maybe Perry." J'onn says.
Lois looks around her apartment to ensure that all the windows are closed and covered. She then opens the folder on her kitchen counter. Her eyes weren't prepared for what she saw. Years of files of Lex's shadier dealings. She finds that Lex was the one that rigged the incident with Leslie Willis, turning her into Livewire. Lex funded the creation of Metallo. He rigged the shuttle to Mars to explode when he was on trial. He even hired Garfield Lynns, A.K.A Firefly, to burn down the apartment building he then bought and turned into a LexCorp factory. But his villainy goes back much further than that. The most damning piece in here was about the explosion that killed Lex's parents. Lex himself was responsible for it.
Lois begins to lose her breath.
"I have to get this out, and I have to get this out now!" Lois says."
"Are you sure Miss Lane?" J'onn asks.
"Yes, don't you see. There isn't much time before the election. And if I wait a day, it will reek of a Friday news dump." Lois explains.
"But, your safety." J'onn warns.
"J'onn, I am very sorry about what happened to your assistant, truly, but this is information the people have a right to know." Lois says.
Lois picks up her phone.
"Chief, its Lane. Have you put the paper to bed yet?" Lois asks.
Lois and J'onn head to the Daily Planet. J'onn morphs his appearance to look like Clark. He had been masquerading as Clark for months now. They arrive and head to Perry's office.
"This better be good Lois, Alice doesn't like having dinner interrupted." Perry says.
"I think you'll be quite pleased with what we have." Lois says as she plops the folder on Perry's desk.
"What's this?" Perry asks.
"Look at it." Lois says.
Perry opens the folder and begins sifting through it. His eyes widen.
"Is this all true?" Perry asks.
"All of it." Lois says.
"Where did you get all of this?" Perry asks.
"A private investigator out of Chicago. He gave his life for this. Just the latest of Lex's many, many crimes." Lois says.
Perry sits back for a moment. He is salivating at the thought of releasing this story. But he also has to think about the fallout.
"I'm worried about you. If this story goes out tomorrow, Lex will be coming for you. With Superman M.I.A, he's arguably the most powerful man in the world." Perry says.
"I can take care of her chief." Clark says, or rather J'onn posing as Clark.
"You? Look Kent I know you've got that rugged farm boy thing, but Clark Kent is no match for Lex Luthor." Perry says.
"Chief, whatever the cost, this story has to get out." Lois says.
Perry sighs.
"Get to your computer and start writing. I'll see if I can set up a security detail for you." Perry says.
"Right away chief." Lois responds.
In San Francisco, Dick Grayson packs his bags. He is taking a break from the Titans to go back to Gotham and help Bruce. He feels guilty for what happened. He can't shake the feeling that if he was there, maybe things could have been different. Starfire walks in. Dick can tell something is up with her.
"Kori, what is it?" Dick asks.
"I have just gotten word from my home planet of Tamaran." Starfire says.
"Yeah, and?" Dick asks, impatiently.
"My sister is entering union with Glardsklechhh." Starfire says.
"Gla- gar- gla- what?" Dick staggers to say.
"Glardsklechhh." Starfire says.
"Isn't your sister in prison?" Dick asks.
"She has been released and arranged into this union. It is meant to broker peace between Tamaran and Drenthax IV." Starfire explains.
"I'm sorry I can't go with you." Dick says.
"You were not invited." Starfire says.
"Um, right." Dick says.
"I am sorry you have to leave to look after your father." Starfire says.
"He's not really my father." Dick says.
"But he has taken care of you since you were a boy, has he not?" Starfire asks.
"Yes, he has." Dick says.
"Some Earth customs are still foreign to me, if you do not call that a father, what word do you use?" Starfire asks.
Dick doesn't answer.
"Come on, let's go talk to the team." He says.
The Titans meet. Their ranks include: Dick, Starfire, Superboy (Conner Kent), Miss Martian, Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy, and Terra.
"Starfire and I have to go away for a while." Dick says.
"When will you be back?" Terra asks.
"I don't know." Dick says.
"We have seen all of you grow in our time together. I am sure you will be capable without us." Starfire says.
"Actually, Conner and I are taking a leave too." Miss Martian says.
"Where are you going?" Dick asks.
"Lois Lane called and asked if I could come to Metropolis." Superboy explains.
"And I figured since my Uncle J'onn was there too, now would be a good time to go see him." Miss Martian adds. Miss Martian and Superboy had become close in the months since they first came here.
Dick hesitates for a moment; he didn't know the Titans would be so short staffed without him.
"Cyborg, can you take care of things while we're gone?" Dick asks.
"Oh yeah, it'll be a breeze." Cyborg says.
A space ship arrives to take Starfire away. Dick heads to the airport to catch his flight. Miss Martian and Superboy have a ship of their own to fly.
"You know, you could come with us." Miss Martian says to Dick.
"Thanks, but I could use the time alone." Dick says.
The Titans all head off.
"Alright, what do you say we order some pizzas and make it a Gamestation night!" Cyborg says.
"I'm down!" Beast Boy responds.
"I think I'm just going to go to my room and meditate." Raven says.
"Come on Terra, we could team together." Beast Boy says.
"Thanks, but not now. I've got some stuff to do too." Terra says.
Cyborg types something into his arm to make a phone call.
"Hello, Pizza Castle, I'd like to order an extra-large pizza with extra pepperoni, extra mushrooms, and extra anchovies." Cyborg says.
"Dude, come on, vegetarian options." Beast Boy says.
"And one extra-large ultimate vegetable pizza." Cyborg says.
Terra heads to her room and pulls up her computer. She opens up to a blank black screen and simply type in two words.
It's time. The screen reads.
She sits there for a moment as her cursor just blinks.
Copy that. A message back reads.
Thursday comes and the Daily Planet hits the news racks. The Beginning of the End. The title reads as the exposé of Lex Luthor hits the stands. Lois Lane's name is on the byline. Word of this article spreads fast all the way to the desk of Lex Luthor.
Lex crumples the paper up and tears it. He stands up from his desk, enraged. But then, a sudden calm comes over him.
"It doesn't matter, it's too late for them to stop me." Lex says.