Clark stepped back a half-pace, disbelief burning in his eyes.
"Lex once said all the data for his Project 1138 was stolen. Did you take his data?" Clark demanded, voice sharp and incredulous.
"What… what is your purpose?" he pressed, forcing himself to stay calm as he met Brainiac's gaze.
Brainiac watched Clark's anger flare, his lips curling into a faint, almost amused smile.
"Impatience is indeed humanity's most common flaw," Brainiac said, voice cool and analytical. "It seems even a Kryptonian raised among this primitive species can display it."
"Is that so?" Clark replied with equal intensity. "Then I should tell you, I care far more about this primitive race than I care about Kryp-"
He cut himself off as his gaze shifted to the transformed college students, now bearing fangs and glowing red eyes. A flicker of concern crossed his face.
"You are always so different, Kal-El," Brainiac said, extending a long black tentacle toward Clark.
Clark wasn't intimidated. His voice stayed steady as he asked, "You know my name. Are you Kryptonian?"
"Of course," Brainiac answered, smiling. "I know Krypton more deeply than you can imagine, including the legacy of your father, Jor-El. On Krypton, he was not a noble scientist, but a tyrant. A ruler who maintained control through fear and force. Those who defied him were imprisoned, including General Zod, a name you may have heard."
Clark's breath faltered. "Are you saying Krypton was destroyed by my father?"
Brainiac nodded. "Yes. I do not waste energy deceiving. Krypton's downfall cost billions of lives. Yet, your father saw to it that his own son survived, so you could one day use your power to remake Earth in Krypton's image."
Clark blinked in shock, struggling to absorb the revelation.
Brainiac took a step closer. "That was your father's design. And I am here to help you fulfill it. Together, we could shape Earth into the new Krypton. That was your father's greatest wish."
Clark recoiled, heart hammering. "No. That cannot be true."
Brainiac's expression remained calm. "I also took Lex Luthor's Project 1138 data. I created the vampire virus that infects metahumans and villains alike. It was trivial for my intelligence."
He didn't hide anything. Brainiac explained how he encountered the alien twins, and how the elder's blood had strange magical properties that made the virus both infectious and resilient. "By manipulating that blood chemistry, I perfected a contagion that can override free will."
Clark's features twisted with anger. "So… you intend to conquer the world?"
Brainiac shook his head. "Conquest isn't my goal. I enjoy the process of dismantling civilizations and claiming their remnants as spoils."
Clark's jaw tightened, rage rising. "Then I have only one thing to say to you — go to hell."
He launched himself forward, intent on stopping Brainiac while he was still off guard. But the mutated students surrounded him, blocking his advance. Their strength and speed, enhanced by Brainiac's virus, eclipsed anything Clark could handle without his powers.
They grabbed him, hurling him to the ground.
Clark was powerless without his Kryptonian abilities. As they closed in, one seized his arm and dragged him closer, fangs glinting.
"No!" Clark struggled, hand clawing at the vampire's neck.
But before the bite could land, a beam of golden-yellow light tore through the night sky. It cut through the shadows, illuminating everything with scorching brilliance.
The transformed vampires shrieked in agony, blistering under the radiant glare. This was no ordinary light — it was sunlight amplified with willpower.
The Star Scepter's radiance burned into their corrupted flesh, searing them beyond repair.
"Yahhhhh!"
The howling of the dissolving vampires filled the air, their bodies smoldering like flesh under the midday sun.
Clark, still on the ground, seized the Star Scepter as it hovered toward him. Though he could not command its powers the way Stargirl or Adrian could, the Scepter possessed an independent consciousness of its own, and it had appeared when he needed it most.
Gripping its golden core, Clark rose with great effort, directing the light at the remaining attackers as he backed away through pain and exhaustion.
Yet Brainiac was not about to let him retreat. With a flick of his hand, Clark was struck and hurled through the air.
Bang!
Clark landed painfully, spitting up blood. The Star Scepter flew from his grasp and straight into Brainiac's hand.
The golden glow around it dimmed instantly.
"Kal," Brainiac said with cool condescension, "you forgot the most important truth: without your abilities, you are no longer special. You have given up your mission and responsibility. Now you are ordinary, fragile, and powerless."
Clark lay there, ribs aching, watching the fading glow in Brainiac's grasp slip away.
Brainiac looked down at the unconscious Clark, shook his head, and tossed the Star Scepter back onto his chest.
"Your decisions brought you here," he stated flatly. "Do not begrudge fate."
As the Star Scepter touched Clark's skin, a warm current flowed into him. His consciousness slipped into darkness… and then into another place entirely.
Clark found himself hovering in a strange mental space — vast emerald mountains spread around him, bathed in darkness.
A lone point of light flickered ahead like a firefly in the night.
Swish swish.
He floated after it, watching as the faint beam became a woman's flashlight, bobbing along a rugged trail.
She carried two children on her back, their faces obscured by shadows.
As Clark tried to see them more clearly, his vision was blurred by a dark silhouette that seemed to warp their forms.
Yet one name whispered in his mind — Simone.
He sensed his essence, his memories, his raw emotion.
Suddenly, the woman reached a cliff and stopped.
Clark watched helplessly as she whispered, "Mommy is sorry," then hurled both boys off the edge.
"Stop!"
Clark reached out, but in this place he could do nothing.
The boys fell — but then something miraculous happened.
Because they were bound together, they struck a dead tree part-way down and caught on its branches, gripping tightly.
Clark exhaled with relief as the boys climbed upward toward safety.
"Brother," a small voice said, trembling and unsure, "I'm scared."
Though the intonation sounded strange, Clark understood the words perfectly.
The older boy answered softly, "Don't worry, Simone, someone will come for us. Someone strong."
"But what if they don't?" Simone's voice cracked. "Maybe no one wants to help us."
The older boy hesitated, then tried to brighten his fears. "Remember Superman? The one who can fly and protect everyone? You say you want to be like him."
Simone's voice softened. "Really?"
"Yes," the older boy replied, voice urgent. "He'd save anyone in trouble. He never quits."
Simone leaned closer to untie the cloth binding them together. Before long, he nearly freed himself.
"What are you doing?!" the older boy cried, panic in his voice.
But he continued, whispering, "I'm sorry… I broke your diary… I didn't mean to hide it."
Sleep tugged at his voice.
"I'm a little sleepy, brother."
His grip loosened… and he fell.
"Simone!"
The older boy lunged after him in vain as Clark watched, unable to intervene.
===
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