"Brainiac online." Brainiacs cold monotone voice says as Brainiac boots back up.
"Brainiac, what happened?" Superman asks.
"Kal-El, you've returned." Brainiac acknowledges.
"Yes, but Lex, America, what is going on?" Superman asks.
"Prior to the election, Lois Lane released an article in the Daily Planet exposing years of Lex Luthor's dirty deeds." Brainiac says.
"Lois?! Where is she, is she alright?" Superman asks, worried.
"Unknown." Brainiac says.
"But, the Justice League, where are they?" Superman asks.
"Lex Luthor systematically took each of them out." Brainiac says.
"So they're all dead?" Superman asks.
"Unknown." Brainiac says.
"What about my mother?" Superman asks.
"Unknown." Brainiac says.
"What do you know?" Superman asks.
"Lex Luthor has taken over America, renamed it Lexor. He has robotic armies policing the country-
"Okay, okay, that's all I need to know." Superman says.
"What will you do now?" Brainiac asks.
"Fight back." Superman says.
Superman heads to his closet. He removes the tattered remains of his lead suit and puts on the dark blue kryptonian suit that Jax-Ur gifted him.
"Your suit, it looks more kryptonian." Brainiac notices.
"It was a gift." Superman says.
"Where are you heading now?" Brainiac asks.
"Metropolis." Superman says.
The robotic armies march through the streets of Metropolis. There are very few citizens on the streets. It was the middle of the day. Everyone was expected to be at work or at home until their shift began. Jimmy was out on the street. The Daily Planet had been temporarily shut down, as Lex controlled the news now. Still, Jimmy was trying to investigate things on his own. Clark was gone, as was Lois, he figured he owed it to them. Jimmy hides behind a dumpster in an ally way. His camera in his hand. He sneaks around the corner and points his lens. A robot walks into his shot. Jimmy snaps the picture. The robot stops. Jimmy hides behind the dumpster. His heart begins to race. The robot heads in his direction. Jimmy tries to not make a sound. The robot turns back around. Jimmy sighs in relief. Suddenly the dumpster is smashed out of the way. Jimmy is right in the robot's path.
"Ahh!" Jimmy yells as he tries to run back.
But Jimmy is in an ally, and there is no where to go. The robot slowly makes his way towards Jimmy. It raises the cannon in its arm and aims.
"Someone help!" Jimmy yells out, as he closes his eyes.
Suddenly a fist blasts its way through the chest of the robot. The robot collapses as Jimmy opens his eyes. He can't believe what he sees.
"Superman!" Jimmy exclaims.
"Jimmy, are you okay?" Superman asks.
"Uh, yeah, I am now." Jimmy says.
"Come on, I'm taking you home." Superman says.
Superman flies off and takes Jimmy to his apartment. Superman begins to ask Jimmy about what has been happening the last few months.
"Lex has shut down the Daily Planet. All of its employees are told to stay home until Lex finds us new jobs." Jimmy says.
"What about Lois?" Superman asks.
"Miss Lane? I don't know what happened to her. She left the city a few weeks ago, and I haven't heard from her since." Jimmy says.
This worried Superman even more. He wanted to see her so bad. Now, he didn't even know if she was safe. He wanted to see him mother as well. But he doesn't know how much Lex knows, or if Lex can track his movements. He figures that for now, it's probably best to keep his distance. Then Superman realizes that he may have put Jimmy at risk.
"Jimmy, you can't stay here." Superman says.
"Why not?" Jimmy asks.
"If Lex knows I helped you, you're not safe. Can you go to Perry's?" Superman asks.
"Mr. White? I don't know if he'd just welcome me to his door." Jimmy says.
"Tell him Superman sent you." Superman says.
"O-okay." Jimmy says.
Superman looks out the window and sees Lex's bots marching the streets. Superman flies out the window and right into the center of the robots. All of the robots stop their marching and turn their attention to Superman. They raise their cannons and aim. Superman speeds around and begins to dismantle the bots. He rips and smashes through them. He aims his heat vision at them and slices the bots up. In a few moments, Superman is standing in a heap of metallic scrap. The people begin to come out of their homes. They see Superman and begin to cheer.
"Superman! Superman!" They cheer.
Superman flies up.
"People of Metropolis, you have been oppressed for far too long. I have been gone for a while and I am sorry. I promise I will stop Lex Luthor and his evil scheme, but until then, be safe and stay indoors." Superman says.
Just then, Superman is blasted in the back and smacks into the pavement. The crowd begins to scream in panic as they head back inside.
Superman tries to shake it off, unsure of what just hit him. He looks up and sees Kara, Red Daughter.
"Who?" Superman asks.
Red Daughter flies down and blasts Superman back again. Superman gets back to his feet. Red Daughter charges at him again. This time, Superman catches her. He gets her in a headlock.
"Stop, who are you?" Superman asks.
Red Daughter flies backwards and smashes Superman into a brick wall. Red Daughter then punches Superman square in the face. She swings again, but this time, Superman blocks. With an open palm, Superman hits Red Daughter in the chest and pushes her way back. This time Red Daughter smacks through a brick wall. Superman flies close. Red Daughter rises to her feet. Superman takes a look at her. She is wearing a black suit not unlike his own. She had an "L" symbol on her chest and a pendant around her neck. The jewel inside almost looked like kryptonite, but it was red.
"Rahh!" Red Daughter shrieks as she flies up towards Superman.
Red Daughter punches at Superman and blasts him into the sky. Superman is trying to get up in the sky and out of the city, away from civilians. As Red Daughter flies towards Superman again, Superman grabs her arm and tosses her away from the city. Red Daughter is able to stop herself in midair. She turns back around and charges at Superman again. Superman charges directly at her. The two collide, sending a shockwave through the sky. Both are rattled from the collision. Red Daughter shakes it off first and flies towards Superman. Superman is able to fly out of the way, and shove Red Daughter forward. Superman didn't look at where he was sending her, and Red Daughter collides with the globe atop the Daily Planet. The globe comes loose and begins to roll off the side of the building.
"NO!" Superman yells out.
In a hurry, Superman flies forward and catches the globe. He uses his heat vision to warm up the metal on the roof. He then sets the globe down and tries to weld it back together. As he does this, Red Daughter recovers. She flies up and blasts Superman with her own heat vision. She then flies forward and tackles Superman off the roof of the Planet. The two hurdle towards the ground. Superman claps Red Daughter's head between his hands.
"Ahh!" She screams out.
He sees the pendant dangling from her neck. He grabs it and rips it off just as the two smack into the concrete. The dust begins to settle. Superman looks at the pendant. He crushes it in his hand. Then he looks over at the girl. She is on the ground, crying.
"Are you okay?" He asks.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She says.
"I could see it all. I didn't want to do it, but I couldn't stop myself. That red rock, it did something to me." She continues.
"Whatever it was, it was Luthor, not you. Where did you come from?" Superman asks.
"I came from Krypton, same as you." She says.
"How do you know that?" Superman asks.
"That symbol, that was my families crest." She says.
"Your… family? Who are you?" Superman asks.
"My name is Kara, Kara Zor-El." She says.
"I'm Kal-El." Superman says.
"Kal- you were my baby cousin." Kara says.
"I always thought I was alone, to know I have another family member out there." Superman says.
Superman walks forward and hugs his cousin.
"We need to get you somewhere safe." Superman says.
"Like where?" Kara asks.
Superman takes Kara to Happy Harbor. The mountain that serves as the Justice League headquarters. He gives her a superman T-shirt and jeans to change into and he makes her some hot chocolate.
"This is good, it reminds me of heated amber on Krypton." Kara says.
"I'm glad you like it." Superman says.
Superman heads over to the computer. He tries to find out where any of the other heroes are. Kara comes over and looks too.
"I don't think she is going to want to see me." Kara says, as she points at Wonder Woman.
"You've met?" Superman asks.
"I fought her, on Lex's behalf." Kara says.
"Do you know where she went?" Superman asks.
"No, I don't." Kara says.
"Let's see if we can find her." Superman says.
Superman hits a red button. It's a distress signal to all the league members. Aquaman receives it in Atlantis. Wonder Woman receives it on Themiscarya. Miss Martian receives it for her Uncle J'onn. Dick Grayson receives it for Bruce. Even some non-league members get it. Such as Billy Batson in Philadelphia. Green Arrow receives it in Star City. Cyborg receives it in San Francisco.
"It's time to take things back." Superman says.