Night has fallen on Metropolis. In the top floor of the Lexcorp tower the light was still on. After Ms. Clark downed half a bottle of vodka and he didn't get any interesting or useful information from her Lex sent her to her room. That was hours ago, now she was sitting across from him again. Lex placed three large bottles of Russian vodka on the table and smiled.

"Very impressive, Ms. Clark. I don't know many women who can finish a glass of vodka let alone half a bottle."

"Maybe you're hanging out with the wrong girls, Mr. Luthor."

"Why don't we drop the formalities, Joanna?" He rolled her name slowly in his mouth.

"Why not really, Lex?" She shot his name out of her mouth.

"You don't really like me, hmm?"

"What's not to like? Are you going to pour, or will I manage myself?" Lex poured her a generous shot of vodka into a glass and handed it to her.

"As someone who carries so many secrets, you rush to get drunk." She smiled and gulped down all the vodka in one go as if it were a glass of water.

"It's been years since I've had good vodka, since I've gotten really drunk."

"And your husband has nothing to say about it? If you were my wife and you disappeared, I would start to worry and still no one has filed a missing person's complaint with your name."

"I thought we were trying to get drunk together. Are you trying to get me into bed? Not pretty, Lex, what would Miss Luthor say?" Lex poured her another glass of vodka. She waited this time for him to pour himself and drink before she drank hers.

"Joanna, my dear, what man in his right mind would let you disappear on him?"

"So, it's my husband you're interested in! Got it. Not married, Lex, never married. Next question?"

"But you're wearing a wedding ring."

"I thought you were the smartest man in the world." She smiled and took another sip of her vodka, finishing half a glass. "It's to keep suitors away, Lexi."

"Oh?" Lois drained her glass and stood up, not even rocking to her feet. She poured herself another glass of vodka and went over to the huge aquarium where sharks and barricades swam.

"Miss Luthor, what's her name by the way?" She knocked on the glass.

"Lana."

"Nice name. Does she resemble her name?"

"What do you mean?" Lex poured himself another glass, "And please, don't knock on the glass."

"Does that upset the sharks?" Lois turned to him with a smile and drained her glass of vodka. "Your wife, is she as beautiful as her name?"

"Oh, yes." He grabbed the picture on the table and turned it so Lois could see.

"She looks like a porcelain doll or maybe she's like a tropical orchid or white oleander." Lois went back to the table and poured herself another glass of vodka. Lex couldn't help but notice that her hand wasn't even shaking. "Although to be honest, I didn't think you were the type of person to have family photos on your desk." She was about to drink again when Lex grabbed her hand forcefully.

"No one hurts my family!" Lois looked at him as if he had fallen from the moon.

"Who said anything about hurting your family?" Lex slammed his glass on the table.

"Enough with the games! I want answers!"

"You didn't ask anything." Lex straightened up and looked at her, going over the last few minutes in his head. Lois giggled, "You asked about my husband, I told you I was never married. You asked about the ring, I answered that too."

"What were you doing in Montana?"

"I visited Perry White. But you know that. We talked about it at lunch." Lois emptied the glass and poured herself what was left of the first bottle.

"You and J'onn J'onzz."

"Yes." She giggled, "And you still think he's an alien. And where exactly did he come from? The Horsehead Nebula?"

"Mars, actually."

"Really?" She opened her eyes wide. "I always thought the aliens from Mars would be red with three arms like in that movie, like in the Orson Welles flick, what's it called?"

"War of Worlds." Lex said through gritted teeth.

"Yes, the invasion from Mars." Lois giggled again and then stopped and put a hand over her mouth, "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot. You're one of those people who really believes in an alien invasion." She swallowed all the vodka in the glass in one go and opened the second bottle, "pour you?" Lex nodded and held out his glass. "So, tell me, Lexi, is this Kal El from Mars too? Can we see him?"

"He's not from Mars. He's from another planet."

"Which one? Saturn? You must admit your invasion theory isn't very convincing. Not even after a bottle of vodka."

"Do you think I'm wrong?" He smiled like one of the sharks in the aquarium.

"No, I think you're lying."

"Why would I lie about something like that?"

"Well, maybe you're not lying, just twisting the truth a bit."

"I use all my capital to fight these aliens, Joanna." Lex drained his glass, poured himself a new one and drained it too. "To make my world and yours safer."

"I was kidnapped from an alley in Star City by people with flamethrowers. How does that make the world safer?"

"When making an omelet, you have to break a few eggs." Lex shrugged and poured them both another glass. Lois brought the glass to her mouth with a smile and looked at him, his eyes were a little glassy.

"You need to sit down, Lexi."

"I'm fine."

"It seems to me that you are more of a liqueur and port type than vodka."

"I can drink all I want."

"Whatever you say. And who is supposed to eat this omelet for which you are willing to break a few eggs?"

"Me, of course, my family."

"What about everyone else?"

"Who?" Lex grinned maliciously.

"And you won't get bored without people to look down on, without people to serve you, without challenges?"

"Oh, sure, we'll keep some people. Someone's got to do the dirty work anyway. What do you say, Joanna? Want to join the family? I'm always looking for another mistress."

"Tempting," Lois said, draining her glass, "I'll have to think about it."

Before she could do anything else, Lex pushed her against the wall opposite the aquarium. His mouth aggressively attacks hers and his hands slide under her shirt. Lois wanted more than anything to kick him between the legs, but she couldn't do it, she had to bide her time and so, even though it was against all her instincts she pretended to be dead. Lex didn't feel any resistance and therefore continued his rough touches but even under the heavy cloud of alcohol that surrounded his mind he felt the lack of any response from her, and he slowly pulled away from her. He pulled away from her, his hands still holding her in place. There was no emotion in her hazel eyes. Neither passion nor loathing just indifference.

An alarm sounded from his computer, interrupting any other thoughts. He rushed to the table and pressed the intercom button.

"It's Lex Luthor! What's going on there?"

"That's not clear, Mr. Luthor!" Someone shouted over the din of alarms, "Several fire alarms went off at the same time and several alarms on different floors of the building. Jeremy claimed he saw a man floating in the air, but the cameras didn't pick him up."

"I want a picture and now! Mr. Jarvis, I want a status update right now!"

Still standing by the wall, Lois began straightening her clothes. She returned and sat down on the chair with a smile. She picked up the glass that had fallen from the floor and poured herself a vodka, completely calm. Video clips from the security cameras began to appear on the aquarium. Lois didn't even look.

"Why don't you ask your domesticated alien for help?" Lex glared at her.

"You are responsible for all this!"

"How can I be? I've been your 'guest' for almost twenty-four hours."

Lex walked up to her with a few quick steps and grabbed her by the neck lifting her into the air. Lois dropped the glass and grabbed his hand, trying to break free. Lex gave commands to the computer and the video cameras in his office began broadcasting what was happening in the office to the entire building.

"I want this attack to stop immediately!" His voice thundered, "Or Joanna Clark will feed my sharks!"

But this move did not work as he thought. The cameras were hit with electric currents until they shorted out and smoke came out of them. Lex kicked Lois off him and then another voice came over the building's security system. The voice was deep, low, and sent a shiver down Lex's spine.

"So, you're in your office. Very well, I won't have to look for you too much. Don't move, Lex, I'll be right there."

Lex rushed to the desk and pulled a silver Beretta pistol from a drawer. He lifted Lois up by her arm and pressed the gun to her temple. Lois tried to resist but she still hadn't recovered from the choke hold from earlier and was struggling to breathe. Lex dragged her in front of him as a human shield but before he could take more than a few steps the office door opened and a tall figure in black walked in. The man in the black mask threw something into the room, Lex didn't take his eyes off the intruder. Smoke began to fill the office.

"Who the hell are you?" Lex screamed. Lois kicked his knee, and he released her. She kicked him in a spin, but he managed to stand up and grab her leg. Lois didn't give up and jumped in the air, kicking his chin, and breaking free from him.

"I'm Batman." says the man in black.

He threw another Batarang towards the wall where the door was and then grabbed Lois, steadying her. A man in metal armor that covered his whole body, and a huge steel mallet entered the room. Using the mallet, he hit the aquarium and water poured into the room along with the animals inside. One of the sharks fell on Lex and in reflex grabbed his palm and refused to leave. Lex screamed in pain. Batman smiled. A moment later a black man with a T-shaped mask on his face entered the room. Round balls floated around him. Lex managed to free his mangled hand from the shark.

"Ouch, nasty. They're probably going to have to cut that hand off." said the black man without an iota of sympathy. "Is the party over?"

"Not exactly. Take care of the computers. Steel, will the window work as an exit?"

"No problem!" said the deep bass voice. Steel walked up to the huge window and hit it with the mallet, one hit and the whole window crashed.

"I'm done." said the black man with the orbs.

"Ms. Clarke and I have to wait for our shuttle. You and Steel hit the road."

Steel jumped out and jet engines were fired in the soles of his steel shoes. The black man used his orbs and floated out.

"Transportation?" Lois asked. Batman smiled at her. They advanced towards the window as Batman manages to step on Lex's uninjured hand and break it.

"Do you trust me?"

"I have a choice?" Batman grabbed her and they jumped out right into a black bat-shaped stealth plane. "You really have an obsession with this creature, huh?" Still smiling, Bruce shifted the gear lever, and the plane was gone.

Lex painfully moved from the window and headed for the front door of his office. On the wall where the last Batarang was thrown was formed the Kryptonian symbol of the house of El. The shield with the letter S was brilliantly emblazoned on the wall and below it the slogan 'Truth, Justice, Freedom.'

"Ok." said Clark standing in the middle of the jungle with Mr. Wells by his side. "This does not bode well." Wells just stared ahead with his mouth open.

Half a kilometer away from them stood a huge skull the size of a building. All the hundreds of meters that separated the two hidden in the thicket of the jungle and the giant skull swarm with metallic creatures that flowed on the ground and armed humans whose eyes were completely white.

"What is that?" Wells whispered.

"The skull? It's Brainiac's spaceship. Everything else? His soldiers. It works a bit like a swarm of insects. They have limited ability to function independently, but he has complete control over them."

"Maybe it's worth calling the others? We'll need help getting through them." Clark looked at him with a smile.

"You're not coming with me."

"You need help. How will you find her in there?"

"I already found her." Wells looked at him sharply, "I can hear her heartbeat. It's very slow, she's in a coma."

"Did you think maybe Brainiac was spreading illusions of her everywhere?"

"Yeah, there's about ten different illusions of her in there right now. It's not just heartbeats, I feel the frequency of her brain. She's the only human being inside that Brainiac hasn't taken over, although there's something weird about her brain but maybe it's because she's in a coma."

"You can't go in there alone."

"Mr. Wells, you have no way to defend yourself."

"I..."

"I appreciate all your help so far but it's best that you stay here. Once I neutralize Brainiac all the humans under his control will break free and it will be a complete mess. Besides, it's a good idea to have some backup. Why don't you call the rest?"

"Yes exactly." Wells turned to take the satellite phone out of his pocket and when he looked up Superman was no longer there.

"Lois... Lois..." the man in her mind whispered and Lois woke up in this strange space where they always met.

"I'm here."

"The point of no return is approaching, Lois. You better wake up."

"No!"

"I have to go anyway."

"No! Don't leave me alone!"

"You're not alone," she heard the smile in his voice, "You'll never be alone."

"But..."

"He's coming for you, Lois. And if you don't start waking up now, he'll never be able to wake you up. He fought Milton Fine's army for you, are you going to let him fight in vain?"

"But I don't know how!"

"You know I'm here until you wake up. Come on, Lois, you can do it."

Clark managed to get half the distance before the swarm below spotted him and then suddenly, he was surrounded. Brainiac was ready for him but Kal El that escaped from the Lexcorp labs was not the Clark now fighting the army. He was stronger, much more aware of his abilities and much more determined. He flew higher and managed to keep all the creatures away from him, for now, until Brainiac made them change and adapt. In the last few meters, he stopped and touched a point in the air and felt the resistance. The force field did not surprise him. Clark began to vibrate in the air and then put his hand through the force field. He changed the frequency at which he vibrated, and it hurt almost like kryptonite, but he managed to cause the force field to collapse. He knew it wouldn't last more than a few seconds so still recovering from the pain he pushed himself forward and in through one of the eye sockets into the skull.

He was expecting more soldiers inside, so they didn't surprise him. He fought them and passed them, a part of his mind still monitoring Lois' condition, but he didn't turn in her direction. He deliberately headed in the direction of one of Brainiac's illusions. Brainiac expected him to go directly to Lois, but he knew that Lois was fine, she was alive, and Brainiac somehow hadn't been able to hurt her until now, but the place was surrounded by people that Brainiac had taken over and Clark couldn't leave them like that. Even before he entered, he knew he was going for Brainiac first. Now he was going to activate one of Brainiac's traps in hopes of pulling him out.

He looked at Lois' illusion and had to admit that Brainiac knew him and knew exactly which buttons to push. This Lois looked younger than the Lois he knew, the Lois from the other world. She was almost a teenager, as if time had not passed for her, and she had tubes attached to her. She looked like a part from a horror movie. Clark ripped off one of the pipes and as he expected the illusion disappeared and the room itself began to attack him.

Batman got out of the black plane and approached Wells with Wonder Woman already standing next to him. More heroes kept coming.

"How did we let something like this develop without supervision?" Diana whispered worriedly looking at the swarm of Brainiac's slave soldiers streaming and running around the giant metal skull.

"And he went in there alone?" Bruce asked.

"Yes. It was very difficult for him to get in and from what he said the mechanical creatures learn and adapt themselves to the situation."

"So, they are designed for a Kryptonian attack."

"Yes." Wells looked at Bruce who didn't say anything, the black mask didn't allow much to be understood about the mind behind it, "You can't leave him alone there!"

"I have no intention of doing that but I'm also not going to bother him by having to get us out of trouble. Wonder Woman, do you think you'll be able to free the controlled people with your lasso?"

"I can try. What are you planning?"

"From the little I know him, Superman will probably go fight Brainiac directly, he will continue to follow what happens to Lois Lane, but he will look for a confrontation with Brainiac. If Brainiac is neutralized his swarm won't be a risk to anyone anymore. I am not sure how much Brainiac will cooperate with him, but He knows how to improvise, he'll be fine. If we go right in like he did, there's no doubt we'll be in trouble, and he'll have to stop everything to help us. He can't avoid it and Brainiac will use it against him."

"So instead of distracting Superman," Wonder Woman had a malicious grin on her face, "we'll distract Brainiac."

"Exactly. I want us to surround this swarm and start pushing it in towards the skull. Not killing the humans, they are victims here."

"Obviously." Heroes around him began to disperse, forming a perimeter, each using their own abilities to push back the swarm.

"Mr. Wells," said Batman, "it would be a good idea to step away for now."

Batman advanced towards the swarming swarm throwing batarangs. He kept eye contact with the heroes next to him, ready to go to their aid.

Superman was able to find Brainiac twice, but the creature slipped away from him at the last moment, each time more damaged. Superman gritted his teeth and fought Brainiac's slave soldiers trying to find him again. His heart froze when he realized that Lois was no longer in a coma, in fact her heartbeat was much faster. She was scared but not panicking. Crushing the brains of another mechanical creature, Superman recognized that Brainiac was nearby. He stopped messing with the slave soldiers or minding the winding corridors of the spaceship and started moving around the place as fast as a drill. He created a direct path for himself to the space that Lois and Brainiac were standing in.

Brainiac stood sweaty and pale in the center of the room, holding Lois in the air by her neck. She for her part looked at him with fury, trying to break free. Superman stood straight and looked directly at Brainiac trying to ignore the predicament Lois was in. She was alive and fighting and that was more than he expected.

"Kal El."

"Brainiac. Defying the inevitable again."

"There is nothing here that is inevitable."

"I thought you didn't like the meat, that the human race was draining you and here you are again hiding behind a human woman."

"This is no ordinary human woman, and you know it." Superman shrugged.

"I have no idea who that is."

"This is Lois Lane."

"Okay. So? Is that supposed to tell me something?" Brainiac pulled Lois to him, his fingers loosening slightly on her neck. Lois tried to kick him, and Brainiac pushed her away from him again.

"She..."

"Another victim of yours and from what I can see giving you more trouble than all the others put together." Brainiac bared his teeth in a snarl. "It seems to me that she is very important to you."

"She is unimportant to me."

"Then why haven't you broken her neck yet?" Lois's eyes widened in surprise and then narrowed. Brainiac looked between the two. "Unsuccessful, eh? Have you developed human feelings?"

"I am incapable of emotions; I am above emotions."

"Really? Because I know fear when I see it."

"I'm not afraid of you! I still remember your sobs, your pleas for mercy! They were like music to my ears!"

"Aren't you afraid of me? Then why did you run away from me twice? I was at your mercy for a year and a half, why didn't you kill me then? You thought you would use her, an innocent girl, to make me bring destruction on humanity. It didn't work the first round why do you think it'll work now?"

"Then you didn't know about her! You didn't know what she meant in your life!" Brainiac must have felt he had the upper hand.

"I still don't know."

"That's a lie, Kal El. Lex Luthor already got Joanna Clark," Brainiac almost spat the name, Lois's eyes widened in fear for a moment, but Kal El was unmoved and that reassured her for some reason, "It won't take him long to find out who is she. Tell me, Kal Al, where did you find her? In the future?"

"Joanna Clark?" Superman seemed to think, "You mean the underground operative the resistance released last night?" Brainiac looked at him in shock, "I take it you didn't read the planet today." And Superman punched Brainiac in the face with heat rays.

Brainiac screamed in pain and released Lois who fell to her feet and stood up quickly. Superman continued to rapidly strike with his fists and heat rays. Lois in a smooth and quick movement kicked Brainiac's legs and he fell to the ground. Superman, using heat rays and his cold breath alternatively on Brainiac, took out a walkie-talkie and activated it.

"Batman, I need someone here to neutralize Brainiac for good, someone with control over metals or electromagnetic energy."

"Coming soon." Superman removed the device. Lois looked at him with narrowed eyes, her hands on her hips.

"Why haven't you broken her neck yet? Seriously? You're going to pay for this, Jack." Kal Al just gave her a huge stupid smile that Lois couldn't help but return.