It had been a relatively quiet afternoon and last few weeks all things considered. Harry, Alex, Chloe, and Lana joined Lena to meet her for lunch.
"So, you're free?" Harry asked Lena.
"Yes," Lena agreed. "I'm free for the rest of the afternoon."
"It's weird," Chloe said. "After the incident with the Angel of Vengeance a few weeks ago, everything has calmed down Mannheim hasn't even made another move."
"Oh, but he will sooner than later," Alex said. "Seriously though, I would enjoy the downtime while we can."
Lana nodded in agreement. Ever since the trip to Europe, she had been trying to dial it back, take it as easy as possible. Of course, that was not as easy as possible.
"Our high school days were a constant rollercoaster ride," Lana said. "Maybe things slow down, maybe things mellow with age."
"Maybe," Harry said. "Or the problems get far worse when we age."
"Well, that's a very pragmatic, if not realistic way to look at things," Lena said. "Shall the five of us head off for lunch. I actually have a couple of ideas to run by you, Harry. And I wouldn't mind having the rest of to give your perspective on..."
The elevator door opened up. A woman with auburn hair appeared. Her face was unfamiliar, but there was something off about her eyes.
"Lena, we need to talk," she said.
"And…."
The woman held up half of a broken necklace to Lena. Lena eyed it for a long minute, and Harry noticed it contained a fractured half of a picture. Two young children, younger versions of Lex and Lena, had been put in the picture. The third individual, was Lillian Luthor, at least how she was during her death.
"Lillian," Harry muttered.
"She...she changed herself again?"Alex asked.
This statement put all of the girls on their guard. And none were more guarded than Lena, who approached the situation as calmly and cooly as possible.
"So, you've finally come out of the shadows," Lena said.
"So, it is her?" Chloe asked. "For sure."
"She might have changed her appearance," Harry said. "But, yes this is Lillian Luthor. The real question is what do you want?"
"I have information which even you might find interesting, Kal-El."
Harry's curiosity had been piqued ever so slightly. Lillian looked a bit smug, a bit superior, in the fact she dangled this information over their head. But despite the mask, Harry sensed something else. A crippling, frustrating worry which she would.
"Spill it," Alex warned her.
"Much like your father, you never knew how to leave well enough alone," Lillian said.
Chloe and Lana put their hands on Alex's shoulders, to ensure that she did not do anything. Alex's eyes narrowed briefly at the statement regarding her late father. However, Lena cleared her throat and got them back to the conversation at hand.
"What?"
"Milton Fine once worked with Cadmus. And he was present at the facility with the alien ship. And he studied it up close."
It clicked in Harry's head. Fine might not be Fine. Brainiac either co-opted Fine's body and mind or replaced him. Regardless, the real Milton Fine was no more. Harry took a couple of seconds to consider what she was saying.
"Lex is in danger," Lillian said. "Fine might be Fine anymore. In fact, he's not Fine."
"How do you know?" Lena asked. "What proof do you have?"
"Half of Cadmus's weapons have gone missing," Lillian said. "They were created to stop him."
Lillian extended a finger towards Harry, who said nothing.
"But, they could just as easily destroy Earth, if we put the weapons in the hands of a ruthless machine. And that's what Fine is right now, if he's been infected by Brainiac."
"Well, it was your hand who created the weapons," Lena said. "Your obsession got the better of you. You're no different than Lionel. It doesn't matter how many lives you ruin…"
"I'm nothing like Lionel. I only want what's best..."
"And you're using the same justification that he is!"
The conversation got heated between Lillian and Lena. Suddenly, a loud bang echoed and someone crashed through the wall, like they were the Kool-Aid Man. An old face, which Harry did a double-take, because he could not believe who he saw.
"Braverman?"
Kenny Braverman, former douchebag Quarterback of Smallville High School, dressed in a Kryptonite power suit. Harry did not feel a tingle.
"I knew you were cheating!" Kenny bellowed. "It was because you were an alien. You took everything from me, but I'm going to take everything back. Mandy will have no choice but to come back to me now that I'm dead."
"Dude, let it go," Alex muttered.
"How did this idiot get his hands on that?" Lena asked.
"The battle suit was created to combat the traveler, due to our relief that the meteor's may effect him…."
Kenny raised his hands to blast anyone, including the women out of his way. Harry dove in and smashed Kenny right through the set of windows leading down to the parking lot from below.
"You have a problem with me? Let's take this outside."
The battle suit might have been powerful, but the fool running it, had been mentally weak. Harry smashed him around and slammed him down. Kenny tried to fight back. His beams had been dodged by Harry, before Harry sent several uppercut punches to the suit at strategic points. He flipped high into the air and rammed one shot, before he ripped the suit open and threw Kenny off to the side like a sack of garbage.
Kenny took a step, but collapsed to the ground.
"Cold, so cold," Kenny groaned.
Kenny Braverman never had been the brightest bulb in the box. He allowed himself to be put in this suit, which constantly exposed him to deadly radiation.
Down the stairs, Lena rushed, followed by Alex.
"See if you can do anything for this clown," Harry said.
"And I'll have the suit disposed of."
In the hands of a smarter man, the suit might have been effective. However, a smarter man would not put himself in such a suit, so that was the catch right now.
Harry heard something, garbled in his ear.
"Soon, the people of Earth will face their new leader. The age of humans are over. Krypton will rise ago. All of them, they will kneel before Zod. They will know that life on other planets exist, and they will bow before them. Including you, Son of Jor-El, you kneel before Zod.
Out of the corner of Harry's eye, he saw Kara show up.
"You've heard that right?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Kara said. "But, Zod's been stripped of his body."
"He was trying to get mine. He could have…."
The plan hit Harry suddenly. They had to get to Lex, although it might have been much too late. Harry listened closely for any peculiar signals, especially since he was certain that he and Kara could be the only ones who could hear them.
Lionel Luthor sat down for a nice long rest in his prison cell just about a half of an hour ago. Two men in suits showed up and walked him out of the prison. The guards said nothing when they did so, quite peculiar to be honest. Lionel had walked up the steps, and right to a large machine. Lex stood with his back towards Lionel.
"I wanted you to see this before you died."
Lex turned to face Lionel. Lionel sensed something about his son.
"Lex, you're not yourself," Lionel said. "You're not well. And you're being set up to be used in his scheme. You're a pawn."
"Oh, Lionel, you're wrong, I'm very well."
Lex moved with super speed across the room. He punched a cinderblock into dust. Then he lit several candles with heat vision.
"I'm the best that I could ever be. But that disappoints you. Because, now with this strength, I'm no longer underneath your thumb."
"My hand, was gentle and firm, this hand will crush you," Lionel argued.
A few footsteps appeared. Lionel narrowed his eyes. Doctor Milton Fine appeared on the steps. The two guards grabbed Lionel more tightly, to prevent him from acting. Not that Lionel could do much of anything. Fine had not been the man he used to and in a matter of a seconds.
"The tower is ready," Fine said. "Are you ready to put the key in?"
"Yes."
"You're opening a Pandora's box."
"The world can't rely on a savior from the stars forever," Lex said. "Even gods can fall. But, a strong mind, it will live forever."
Lex walked up to the top of the tower.
"And Earth needs saving from people like you."
"If you do it!" Lionel yelled. "You will have lost."
Lex slid the final crystal into the array. A portal flashed open briefly, a shadow appeared, and an array of energy bombarded Lex. Lex's eyes flooded, and they shifted, looking a bit more sunken in.
Fine walked up the steps and stared Lex in the eyes.
"General?"
"Yes, Brainiac, I have arrived. And it's time to bring my exiled troops to Earth and build a brand new Krypton. And I will crush the Son of Jor-El for the previous time."
Lex-Zod descended down the steps and looked towards Lionel. Lionel stared him down.
"Who is this human?"
"He's disposable. Now that he's served his purpose."
Zod moved in to deliver a deadly blow, only for a blur to pull him out of the way. The General's eyes shifted off to the other direction.
"So, we meet again, Kal-El."
Harry and Kara flew closer and closer to the source of the signal. Several more Kryptonians joined them. Astra, Faora, and Kay followed them behind them.
"There, that tower," Astra said.
"That looks bad," Kay said. "The Phantom Zone is on the other side."
They saw the riffs, briefly, and they close. But, the crystals were gaining power. Kara In-Ze had been feared.
"Be careful as we get there," Harry warned them. "The last thing we need is to get there."
All of them could agree with that. They spent time in the Phantom Zone, some more than others. Harry hovered around and managed to isolate the signal further.
"We'll follow your lead."
"So, Zod or Brainiac?" Kara inquired.
"Either," Astra said. "If Zod has infected Luthor, you know what has to be done."
Harry knew what had to be done, if there was no hope. But, he hoped that they could not go out. The energy riff in the air floated.
"Get to the top, take it out!" Harry called for them. "I'll have to deal with Brainiac."
Kara, Kay, Astra, and Faora nodded and headed to the top of the tower. For if it charged completely, then they would have invaders from the Phantom Zone, here on Earth.
The pulse of energy had been positively blinding. Harry caught sight of Lex, who was not Lex, He descended the steps with Milton Fine, the human shell which contained the master computer known as Brainiac. Harry held himself back and in a blink of an eye, he popped through the window.
Just seconds before Lex-Zod was going to kill Lionel, Harry grabbed him and pulled Lionel out of harm's way. Not out of any pity for the man, but merely just to get Zod(and maybe Lex's" attention.
"So we meet again, Kal-El!"
Harry dropped down and fought Lex-Zod.
"So you found a body you could cling onto?" Harry asked. "You're still nothing but a glorified parasite."
"You must have seen the problems, and the weaknesses, with this pathetic planet," Lex-Zod told him. "We can fix it. All you have to do is kneel before Zod."
Instead, Harry punched Lex-Zod right in the face. A beam of heat vision shot out of Lex's eyes, and Harry fired back. The two beams connected with each other.
Lex-Zod flipped high into the air and grabbed Harry. He flung Harry up into the air and send him crashing down to the ground.
"Get off my tower."
A grenade hurled at Harry and blasted him. Red solar radiation soaked into every inch of Harry's body and blocked his powers. Lex-Zod did not give him a chance to attack. A gust of super breath sent Harry flying over the edge of the tower and he fell.
Suddenly, Kara caught him before he hit the ground. The two dropped down to the ground.
They looked up, to see Lex-Zod standing at the top of the building. Beams of light sent, Faora, Kay, and Astra dropping to the ground.
"Rao save us, it's happening."
The beams opened up, and several Phantom Zone prisoners appeared at the tower. Non had been among them, along with others.
"A strategic retreat would be beneficial," Astra suggested.
"Until my powers return, yes," Harry said.
"Magic?" Kara asked him urgently.
Harry caused a fireball to flicker in his hand before it blew out. Magic had been wonky somehow. Brainiac must have modified with the grenade to mess with all of his powers. It just increased the urgency that they needed to shut this situation down.
Lionel had been taken along with them, at least until they regroup.
"In a shocking turn of news, aliens have arrived. And Lex Luthor has lead their attack on Earth. We have no idea what their ultimate plan is, but we will give you the news as it comes, for as long as we are allowed to."
Harry laid on the table, yellow solar lamps bombarding him. With Raya's help, Lena amplified the shields in Horizon. It should protect them, at least for now.
"Safest place," Lena said.
"Other than the Fortress or the Farm," Kara said. "Harry, you have to rest. Let the yellow solar lamps take their effect and let them heal your body."
"I need to stop him," Harry said.
"Which, you can't without your powers," Kara argued. "Oh, you're not useless without them, but Brainiac's found a way to amplify Zod's powers, while taking yours away, at least temporarily."
"You faked your death. You left him mentally broken."
"Oh, and I suppose your tests on him were any better. You wanted to mold Lex in your own image. And that was when you cared enough to take care of him. But, you were fixated on the Traveler, and what he could do."
"Yes, because protecting the Earth is a bad thing."
"Fine job you did, given that you left your son open for Fine's manipulation and Brainiac's attack…"
"Yes, and who handed Brainiac the technology to depower the only hope Earth had?"
Lillian and Lionel reunited and needless to say, it had not been the fuzzy, happy reunion type. Obviously both of them had some strong opinions.
Suddenly, Lionel almosts collapsed. He held onto the table, clutched a chair, pulled out a handkerchief and started hacking blood into it. Lionel's eyes shifted back and looked rather yellow for a second.
"My number's up," Lionel breathed. "But, Earth will be."
Harry's power levels had been back up to a decent enough level. Although not strong enough. Lena, who had been deep in thought, had an idea.
"The Kawatche knife," Lena said. "It was never meant to take you down. It would take Zod down, if he was the one in the legend."
"You kill him, Lex dies as well," Lillian said. "I won't permit that."
"Because, your vote counts in the matter," Lionel snapped spitefully. "Sacrifices have to be mad.e Do what needs to be done, but arguing solves nothing. Every minute we waste, is another minute any small hope that Zod will relinquish control of Lex's mind. Providing his mind was not already destroyed in the process."
Harry looked outside, deep in thought. Lena walked up towards him.
"Whatever tough choice you have to make, I'll back it. Until the end."
Lena wrapped her arms around Harry, encouraging, before she pulled out. Harry knew what he had to do.
Several citizens had been rounded up by Lex-Zod and his forces at a subway station. Among them, had been Lois Lane, who cursed her knack at being in the wrong place, at the wrong time.
"They will serve as an example," Lex-Zod commented.
Lois almost reached for her phone to summon help. Lex-Zod saw her and grabbed it.
"You are going to chronicle my triumph?" he asked her. "Well, I'm certain I can give you the benefit of being the one to transcribe what is about to happen next before I send you to oblivion Ms…"
"Lane, Lois Lane, and you're not going to get away with this."
"Oh, I'm sure you think someone will stop you. But, there's no one to stop me. The Earth's greatest hope to stop me is depowered, weak, and I will track him down and crush him. Along with everyone he loves first, leaving him for last. That coward will crumble at Zod's feet. We could have done so much good, but it doesn't matter. Soon, only the best and the brightest of all humans will be kept as breeding stock for our new Krypton. We will not hide in the shadows. We will become a force. There will be one battle and the leader will be Zod."
"Boy, you really have some big plans," Lois said. "But, do you really think the people of Earth are going to stand for this? We don't like backing down."
"Oh, you will be crushed like an insect underneath my boot. In fact I…"
The sound of a crash and several of Zod's troops on the outside falling caused Lex-Zod to stop midstatement. His eyes narrowed for a mere instant.
"General, would you care to step outside?"
Harry appeared, in the modified version of the super suit Lena made him. It had a few enhancements, align with the symbol of the house of El, a shield with an "S in it. Everyone, Lois included, looked at him in awe.
"So, you're not a coward," Lex-Zod said. "Merely an idiot."
"The real coward uses all of these people as shields," Harry said. "So, General, let's finish this."
"So be it!"
Lex-Zod and Harry crashed through the subways, and out of sight. The remainder of Zod's forces in the tunnel looked completely insane. When suddenly, three shields flung at them. They stop to their clothes and caused deadly radiation to be pulled into their bodies like a magnet.
Kay, Kara, Faora, and Astra moved in. Kay and Kara cleared the hostages out of the tunnel, while Faor and Astra engaged with Zod's troops.
One of the larger ones rushed towards Astra. Astra blocked the punch and nailed him with a repeated series of punches. Another one rushed him, but a pair of figures slammed down. Another shield slapped on him which caused the Kryptonite overload to happen.
Alex had a cannon fashioned from Braverman's Kryptonite battle suit and had been blasting at them. Andrea moved in and went hand to hand.
Kara went toe to toe with a particularly nasty Kryptonian. He had not been part of Zod's army, but he had been a mercenary who killed over thirty confirmed people, and had been suspected with the death of others. Currently, he wielded a knife and he lunged at Kara.
A lasso wrapped around the man's arm and pulled him back. A figure rushed in and dropkicked him down to the ground. Another punch brought him down.
A woman dressed in battle armor, with bracelets and a headband appeared. Another one charged her, and this mysterious woman hoisted the man up above her head and slammed him down to the ground.
"Who are you?" Kara asked.
"My name is Diana. I heard about the attacks, and if these people threatened Earth, I figured I could help."
The Amazon Warrior rushed towards the attacker, and smashed him down to the ground.
Some of the attackers moved outside. Kara and Kay gave chase and took them both down with a double assault, in a blink of an eye.
They looked skyward, with Harry and Lex-Zod flying back. They disappeared, going out of sight.
The two flew into Smallville, with Lex-Zod making an attempt to strangle Harry. Harry flung him off, and the two created a cyclone which sent them flying into the Kawatche caves. The moment they landed into the caves, a time warp opened up and took them all the way to the other side.
Hundreds of years in the past, at the height of the Kawatche settlement, a group of natives noticed Harry drop down from the heavens. His eyes glowed, as something about going through the caves amplified his powers.
"You trusted that Lex Luthor would be your friend. He's nothing but a betrayer. A backstabber, like all Luthors. I did you service by taking over his body."
Oh, Lex-Zod returned.
"Lex always wished to rise above his father's expectations. Taking you out would be the end game. You were never friends, and now I will be your destruction. The world will know who rules over them."
Harry smashed Lex-Zod in the face with a huge punch. He had not been in the mood for a monologue. The two circled each other, with Lex-Zod and Harry sending fire through their eyes at each other.
Harry entered Lex-Zod's mind and saw a small fractured part of Lex clinging in.
"You should do what you always do. For the good of humanity. Zod cannot be allowed to thrive."
Lex-Zod broke the attack and grabbed Harry by the throat.
"Time for you to kneel."
"You first."
Harry whipped out the knife and stabbed Lex's body straight through the heart. The shock of it launched Zod from Lex's body, as blood spurted out. The Phantom staggered out and Harry pulled the knife from Lex and then threw it at Zod. The impact of the knife hitting him caused Zod's phantom to turn to crystal and crack into little dust particles with a loud scream of agony fading off into the window.
Zod, had been defeated. Harry leaned down and did the best he could to repair the wounds. But, Lex's body had been thrashed, the strain of holding Zod had been too much, even with Brainiac's enhancements.
Lex looked up, eyes very faint, as he struggled to draw in another last breath.
"Congratulations. You saved the world."
Then, the last life left Lex Luthor. He was dead. Harry closed his eyes and mourned the loss.
A flash of light appeared and Imra showed up behind him.
"So, you got the ring fixed?" Harry asked.
"I'm a bit further from the future," Imra said. "But you have to get back to preserve it for Brainiac's still at threat."
Harry levitated Lex's body, and Imra took Harry by the hand. The two passed through the portal in a blink of an eye.
Much like many men, they had been lost without leadership. Once their General left, Zod's army had been thrashed left and right. Astra watched, in awe of the Amazon who had shown up. She had been particular salivating over Diana's combat skills.
Suddenly, up the sky, he appeared.
"Look, it's Superman!" Lois yelled from the building which they had all been ushered in.
Everyone pointed and looked at their savior. For some reason, Harry had felt that name it stuck.
"Your General's gone," Harry said. "And it's time for all of you to return to the Phantom Zone."
Non roared and broke free of Kay's grip. He tried to punch this pretender in the face. One solid uppercut punch brought him down to the ground.
"Hello," Diana said.
"I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you," Harry said.
"Princess Diana of Themyscira," she said.
"Kal-El of Krypton. I have another name but..."
One of the soldiers rushed Harry with an axe. He dodged the attack and hit him with a couple of punches.
"Perhaps, we should save the conversation for when Earth is not in danger," Harry said.
"Yes, we should," Diana replied.
Harry bound the Kryptonians together as they fell. Proof which Harry's magical powers are back. Diana and Harry, along with the others, took down the Phantom Zone prisoners. One brute fell to the ground, and a skilled fighter dropped to the ground as well.
"Kal-El, I know you can hear me. And you might think you have hope. Even if you return them all to the Phantom Zone, Earth will suffer one way or another."
Imra appeared and used her telepathy to drop two of them to the ground when they came close to her. She pulled out a crystal and handed it to Harry.
"One shot, make it count."
Imra kissed him.
"See you later. Well past-me will anyway. I'll see you much later."
Imra disappeared back into the time stream, which gave Harry a chance to look at the crystal. One shot, he better make it count.
Oh, he would make it count.
Harry, Faora, and Kara returned to where it all started. Brainiac had been at the top of the tower. He did not have the human shell anymore, but rather a enhanced body, which caused large, jagged robotic limbs to grab onto them from the tower.
"We have to reach the core! Nothing else matters!"
Kara and Faora used their heat vision to keep the attacks away from Harry. A red solar grenade shot into the tower. This time Harry had been prepared for it.
Harry flipped into the tower, to face Brainiac. His greenish body, with a purple shell, and three dots in the form of a triangle flashed onto his head. The drones rose up. Harry used a pulse of magic to rupture them. Until Brainiac blasted Harry with a mental attack, bringing him down.
"Your secrets will be mine to take. I'm almost done draining the planet of it's information. And I will leave it a broke, empty shell beyond what it used to be so I can…"
Harry's body flickered into dust, which surprised Brainiac. Then, the real Harry stabbed him with the crystal and injected Brainiac with a crippling virus.
Many things happened at once. Mainly, all of the prisoners from the Phantom Zone injected in their position. And the barrier between Earth and the Phantom Zone had been restored when the last prisoner had been brought.
"Very good, Kal-El. But, without me, this crystal structure will overload. Earth will go the way of Krypton. You've lost. Two dead planets, thanks to the arrogance of the House of El. You must feel proud of your achievement. Only a Luthor could stop this due it's design and with Lex dead…"
Harry crushed Brainiac's head like a grape between his hands.
"I can stop it then," Lena said. "Fly and get me. Hurry we don't have much time."
"It's suicidal."
"Sacrifices must be made."
Lionel appeared into the tower. With yellow eyes, he looked very sickly. But, despite being at the edge of death, Lionel made strides with the determination of a much healthier man.
"The Traveler must leave to defeat the threat that I unwittingly unleashed."
"What do you mean…."
"Clear the tower."
Harry, Faora, and Kara left the tower. Lionel placed his hands one either side and activated the fail safe on the crystal.
The moment they left, the tower flashed and appeared to implode. With Lionel Luthor's last act, he appeared to have saved the world.
The night had been solemn. The shocking news of the death of both Lex and Lionel Luthor gripped so. Lena and Harry sat quietly, in front of Lex's coffin at the funeral home. Lionel had no body to place in his coffin. Neither said anything.
A woman surprised them by showing up. Lillian Luthor appeared and leaned down to kiss her son's forehead. She then turned around and eyed both Harry and Lena, both of them coldly.
"You're to be blamed for his death," Lillian said. "He was a threat to your plans and you killed him."
Lena tried to hold her tongue back. She did not want to make a scene at a funeral. Lillian almost tried to bait her into making one. Harry grabbed her hand. It had been Lillian messing with the ship which opened the door for Brainiac and thus the Cadmus technology moving.
She gave Lena and Harry one last nasty look.
"She can't accept responsibility for anything," Harry muttered.
Lena nodded. Several people came up.
"Ms. Luthor, I heard the news. And I'm sorry to hear of your loss."
"Thank you, Mr. Wayne."
Bruce Wayne, the infamous billionaire playboy, turned up at the funeral. He shook Lena's hand and turned to Harry.
"I'm afraid I haven't had the pleasure, Mr…."
"Kent. Harry Harry."
The two men shook hands. It almost appeared that Bruce studied Harry for a moment. However, he left and moved back to join a man who could only be the long time Wayne family butler, Alfred Pennyworth.
There had been much speculation, and much whispers this had been the fall of the House of Luthor. And to be honest, Lena did not know.
Lena, Tess, and Harry poured over through all of the legal documents.
"Well, they left us all sizeable parts of their company," Lena said. "And their assets. Between the three of us, we control most of the Luthor family estate."
"Of course, that's not counting the other bastard children who might come out of the woodwork for what they're entitled for," Tess said.
"Yes," Harry said. "I just...at the end, I thought I had Lionel Luthor figured out."
And he really wanted to know what Lionel meant, about unleashing some evil. This particular statement had Harry baffled.
"You saw Lillian at the funeral?" Tess asked.
"Yes," Harry said. "Not our biggest fan."
Harry decided to bring the two Luthor sisters over and talk to them.
"Lex's body had serious damage even before I stabbed him. I'm sure Zod's end game was to use me again, but he never got that far."
"But, you don't have to worry about Zod ever again," Lena said. "You destroyed his Phantom."
Yes, that was a silver lining to come out of all of this. Zod had been defeated. One of the greatest menaces of the universe had been gone.
"Imra didn't tell you how we fixed her ring, did she?" Lena asked.
"No, but she made it back," Harry said. "And you wouldn't want the easy way."
Lena just smiled. No she would not. She returned her focus to the entire Lillian situation. Oh, boy was this a mess and a half. She and Harry had to keep her eyes open. Lillian disappeared, all of the Cadmus facilities had been moved and cleared out. It had been like playing a shell game.
Harry invited Diana to breakfast at the Kent Farm, which she accepted.
"Thank you for the lovely meal, Mrs. Kent," Diana said.
"Oh, it was no trouble at all," Martha said. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I talked to Kara earlier and she spoke very highly of you."
"And rightfully so," Harry said.
"I'd like to go for a walk, to see more of this lovely farm you have," Diana said. "Care to join me?"
"Wouldn't mind if I did."
Martha smiled. Well her son always had impressive taste, she would give Harry that. Very impressive. Diana looked amazing, even in the casual jeans and tank top she had been wearing.
The two stepped out into the farmhouse fields, and walked around. Harry and Diana circled around a couple of times.
"So, Harry or Kal?" Diana asked. "Or Superman?"
"Depends, do I get to call you Wonder Woman?" Harry asked.
Diana just smiled. Fair enough.
"Grandiose names aside, it was nice to meet you," Diana said. "I'm going to stick around. Although, you're not like many men I've met."
"You work in Washington, I should hope not," Harry said.
Diana nodded knowingly, as the two of them cycled around the farm.
"I would invite you back home to return the favor," Diana said. "But, given the rules of the island, i would have to appeal to the goddesses for special permission. Hera tends to be a bit leery about that, after the...Hercules incident."
Diana's statement made her voice darken slightly. Oh, Harry thought there might have been some kind of story there, but Diana was not about to go with it. Still, Diana appeared as fascinated by the farm, just as much as Harry had been fascinated with the entire island full of warrior women.
But, with Diana sticking around.
"Look up in the sky!"
"What is it? A bird? Or a plane?"
"No, it's Superman!"
The Man of Steel himself flew by, to deal with a runaway bus. From the window of the Daily Planet, Lois and Chloe both sat and watched. Lois decided to prepare her first hand account of the invasion, from her perspective, and the first official appearance of Superman.
"So, this is what I'm doing?" Lois asked.
"Hey, you have a way with words, just...you need them fine tuned in the technical sense," Chloe said.
Lois had been well aware of her weaknesses. Thankfully, Chloe was more than adept to fixing her.
"Superman really is sticking though," Chloe said. "Harry's more bemused about it more than anything."
"Well, he'll be even more popular once this story is out," Lois said. "Maybe I can get the interest for a personal interview with him. I can call it, my night with Superman."
"Oh, if that isn't a title ripe with innuendo," Chloe remarked with a grin.
"Can't believe I'm a sucker for a man in uniform," Lois commented. "Although, I'm more of a sucker for getting this particular man out of his uniform."
Chloe could not disagree. She and Lois watched Harry return, to women screaming loudly. It was louder than a Beatles concert.
"You know, I'm sure we can get that interview when he's done saving the day. And we can pump him for information."
"Read your article," Emily said. "Not too bad."
Emily, Kara, Lana, Alex, Chloe, Lois, and Harry all sat around, enjoying some downtime, before the next problem. Over a week had passed since the Luthor funeral.
"Yeah, although I can't take all of the credit," Lois said. "I had the general idea. I wrote it. Chloe ripped it apart, and made sure it looked all nice and pretty. And made sure I remained focused on the task at hand and not making sure my article qualified for Penthouse."
"Well, it still seemed kind of juicy," Lana said.
"Cat's a sucker for that sort of thing," Harry said.
"Oh, she is for sure," Chloe agreed.
"You have something to show us, don't you Emily?" Lana asked.
"Well, it's a bit of a work in progress," Emily said. "And it's perfect."
"Artists," Lois said. "Nothing ever is."
"Perfection blinds you to beauty," Emily said. "But, I think that when the subject is perfect, you're going to always pale in comparison."
She took out her phone and showed them the image of the Superman portrait she created.
"Ears are kind of funny, admittedly," Emily said. "That's my weakness. I can never get them right."
"All you need is a bit more time, "Harry said.
"Hey, Lois, damn good article!" a couple of students called.
"I would do anything to be with Superman."
"Oh, I don't know, Harry's pretty damn cute as well."
"But, he's no Superman. He's a ten. Superman's a twelve."
Alex just snickered and leaned over to Harry. She gave him a teasing kiss on the ear.
"So, you just created your own competition?" Alex asked.
Harry just smiled and pulled Alex closer to him. The two shared a soda in the process. Lois had been bombarded in the meantime with well-wishers and she could not help and feel a bit smug about it.
"So, happy sixteenth birthday."
The lovely Ms. Kara Danvers appeared in front of Harry, dressed in a button up shirt and a pair of jeans.
"It's a good birthday," Kay admitted. "Lana and Emily designed a costume for me, and Lena built it, just like you. And Kara I supposed. I'm Supergirl, I guess, if you're Superman. Which would make Kara Superwoman, or something like that?"
"Well, we'll talk about that later," Harry said.
"Yes, we will," Kay said. "But, you promised me something on my birthday. Now what is it?"
Kay tapped on her chin for a few seconds. Harry pulled her over and kissed her passionately in the process. To say this felt like magic, would be an understatement. But it did cause Kay's toes to curl.
"Let's head to your bedroom so we can do this right."
Oh, Kay was not too fussed about doing this right. As long as he did her hard and good.