Metropolis was known as one of the greatest cities in the world. Thanks to the efforts of Lex Luthor, the city had become almost a perfect recreation of the city depicted in Fritz Lang's masterpiece. Its size and stunning appearance was enough to rival some of the other major cities—New York, Chicago, Tokyo, London—in many ways, Metropolis had them all beat.

For someone like Lana Lang, who grew up in rural Smallville, Kansas, walking around the streets of Metropolis was still a wonder in and of itself. It's not that Lana was sheltered from the world. Quite the opposite, in fact. Her ex-husband, Pete Ross, was both Vice-President and later, President of the United States, which gave Lana plenty of opportunities to see the world.

Now, all that had changed.

"So I gotta ask..." The words were spoken by the young man by her side as the two of them exited a restaurant in Metropolis Square. "Why'd you decide to move to Metropolis? I mean, after..."

Lana smiled. "You don't have to tiptoe, Jimmy. After Pete and I divorced, right?"

Jimmy Olsen blushed a little and it was obvious the photographer felt a tinge of embarrassment. "Yeah. Why Metropolis? I mean, I thought you would've gone back to Smallville."

"I thought about it," said Lana. "But it seems that every time my life is about to change direction, I go running back home. I'm sick of avoiding that change, Jimmy. I needed to embrace it for once."

"So it's not because of Clark?" he asked.

"Smallville's a great place to raise a kid, but I'm sure growing up in a city has its advantages, too."

"I wasn't talking about your son," said Jimmy.

"Clark's my best friend. I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, but he's stood by me through all of them. But despite what we had, Clark is just that—a friend. Both of us have moved on. And the last thing I'd ever do is make a move on a man who just lost his wife—especially when that man is Clark Kent."

Jimmy was about to open his mouth to respond. He never got the chance. The sound of screaming interrupted him and both he and Lana were almost caught in a stampede of people running towards them. Jimmy quickly pulled Lana away from the mass and tried to crane his neck over the crowd to get a glimpse of what they were running from. A car flew through the air towards the pair. Instinctively, Jimmy stood between it and Lana in a futile attempt to protect her.

The car never struck.

When Jimmy finally gathered the nerve to look, he saw the car lying on its side in front of him. He looked forward and saw Superman flying towards the reason he and Lana were almost hit by a car. It was a large hulk of a man with gray skin and white hair and dressed in the tatters of a black suit.

"Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday..." it said.

Clark Kent stepped into the gate of the Kansas City International Airport from the jetway. He was dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a polo shirt with his Smallville High letter jacket over and a duffel bag hanging from his shoulder.

His eyes scanned around the gate and he saw a young man with short, dark hair and sunglasses sitting in one of the chairs. The resemblance between the two men was uncanny and one might think at first glance that they were father and son.

"Conner!" he called out. The young man looked towards him and lowered his sunglasses a bit. He grinned when he saw Clark walk towards him and stood from his chair.

"’Bout time you got here," said Conner Kent. "I was fallin’ asleep."

"Where’s Ma and Pa?" asked Clark.

"Dad’s running the store and Mom wanted to make sure everything was set for your big homecoming, so they had me pick you up," said Conner. The two young men started to walk through the airport terminal towards the parking lot. "How was the flight?"

"It was nice."

"Hah!"

"What was that for?" asked Clark.

"C’mon, don’t bullshit me," said Conner.

"Language…"

Conner rolled his eyes. When he next spoke, he lowered his voice. "Going by plane’s gotta suck when you’re used to flying at the speed of light. Must be like crawling."

"Actually it’s not that bad," said Clark. "It’s relaxing."

"You gotta miss it, though," said Conner.

Clark nodded. "I miss flying the most. But it’s also been nice to throw myself into the role of Clark Kent twenty-four/seven. And it’s not like Metropolis has been without a Superman."

"Yeah… about that…" said Conner. "What the hell happened?"

Clark sighed. They walked out of the airport and entered the parking lot. Conner led the way to an old truck.

"No one really knows," said Clark. He climbed into the passenger side and Conner took the driver’s seat. "The JLA has run some tests, but no one has any real answers. Closest anyone can tell, all that solar energy I absorbed combined with breaking through the time barrier somehow split me into two beings: Superman and Clark Kent."

"Kinda like that red and blue thing you had going on for awhile?" asked Conner.

"I think this is a little different," said Clark. "How are things with you?"

"Can’t complain," said Conner.

"Adjusting okay to living a normal life?" asked Clark.

"Yeah, little by little," said Conner.

"And the Teen Titans?"

"So far so good," said Conner. Like Clark once did, Conner led a double life. He was cloned from the combined DNA of both Clark and Lex Luthor. Before he took on the names Conner Kent or Kon-El, he was known simply as Superboy.

The two remained quiet for the first several minutes of the drive from the airport to Smallville. Conner hesitated to ask what he was really wondering about. He didn’t want to bring Clark down at all, but he felt it was something he should ask.

"So… how are you doing?" he finally said.

"Okay," said Clark. "Like I said, it’s kind of a relief to take a break from being Superman."

"Nah, I didn’t mean that… I meant…" Conner stopped. He was afraid to even mention her name.

"Lois."

"Yeah."

Clark sighed. "It can be difficult. But I’m coping."

Conner nodded. Silence once more descended upon the truck. Finally growing tired of it, Conner turned on the radio and started flipping through stations.

"Y’know, we could’ve been there by now if you’d just had me fly you in."

"I like the drive," said Clark.

"Right…" said Conner in a hushed voice. "That makes one of us."

Metropolis

"Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday!"

The statement came from the lips of the zombie-like creature who was once a man named Cyrus Gold over a century ago. He was murdered and left in Slaughter Swamp. Decades later, he rose after a failed transformation into a plant elemental left him in this state. His massive fist connected with Superman’s jaw and the hero reeled from the blow. Grundy descended upon him again, raining down punches.

"Christened on a stark and stormy Tuesday!" He continued the famous nursery rhyme he had taken his new name from. He lifted Superman by the neck and slammed him down into the pavement. "Married on a gray and grisly Wednesday!"

He picked up the Man of Steel and hurled him at one of the many buildings which lined Metropolis Square.

"Took ill on a mild and mellow Thursday," said Grundy. He lurched towards Superman, who lay on the pavement, seemingly unconscious. He pulled back his fist and brought it down upon Superman’s head.

The Last Son of Krypton gripped the monster’s fist in his own hands. He opened his eyes and looked up at his enemy. "Grew worse on a bright and breezy Friday," said Superman. He shoved forward, hurling Grundy in the center of the square. He picked up a parked car with one hand and threw it at Grundy. "Died on a gay and glorious Saturday."

Grundy lifted his arms in a futile attempt to protect himself from the sports utility vehicle that slammed into his body, flattening him against the ground.

Off to the side, Jimmy Olsen pulled out his digital camera and started snapping photographs of the battle. As a photojournalist, his first goal was to try and capture whatever he witnessed on film. And many photos of Superman had been taken by him. Lana stood by his side.

"Get to cover!" said Jimmy.

"And miss this? Not on your life," said Lana.

Superman flew towards Grundy and pulled the creature from the wreckage of the car. His fingers were wrapped around the clothes Grundy wore and Superman hefted him in the air, hovering above the streets of Metropolis Square.

"Buried on a baking, blistering Sunday," said the Kryptonian. From the ground, Jimmy zoomed in on Superman and he could see that the Man of Tomorrow’s eyes were glowing a bright red.

"He’s not…" said Jimmy. "He wouldn’t…"

A wave of heat vision exploded from Superman’s eyes, engulfing Solomon Grundy, bathing the creature in the searing red inferno. Jimmy and Lana could vaguely hear what could almost be described as a scream as Superman seared the plantlike substance Grundy was made of from his skeleton, reducing the creature to ashes.

"That was the end of Solomon Grundy," he said, completing the rhyme. With Grundy defeated, Superman took to the skies and flew off into the night, leaving a streak of blue and red in his wake.

Jimmy scrolled through the photographs he had snapped and he looked at the ones of Superman destroying Grundy with shock in his eyes. Lana put a hand on his shoulder and Jimmy looked at her.

"Did you see him?" he asked. Lana nodded. "It wasn’t him," Jimmy continued. "That look… that coldness… that wasn’t Superman."

"I know," said Lana. In her mind, she kept thinking that she had to speak to Clark. And soon.

Smallville

Jonathan and Martha Kent both sat on the couch, their eyes fixed on the television set. Conner sat in a chair nearby, leaning forward towards the television in a similar state of shock. Clark stood behind the couch. He held a cordless phone to his ear.

"I know, Lana. We just saw it on the news," he said. "I really don’t know what I’m going to do. I have some other people I have to talk with. Yeah, I know. We’ll talk soon, okay? Alright, bye."

He hung up the phone and took an empty chair. Jonathan, Martha and Conner all turned their attention to him.

"What’s it mean?" asked Jonathan.

"I don’t know," said Clark. "But it looks like this Superman may pose more harm than good. First there was that incident at the bank and now this fight with Grundy. I’m worried about what may follow."

"So what are you going to do?" asked Martha.

"Well, I’ll tell you what I’m gonna do," said Conner. "I’m flying to Metropolis and putting a stop to this."

"No you’re not," said Clark. "Kon, whatever this Superman is, he isn’t me. He almost killed those members of Intergang and he vaporized Solomon Grundy. You just watched him do it. He’s not going to hold back."

"Then I get the rest of the Titans," said Conner.

"No," said Clark.

"What about the Justice League?" asked Jonathan. "Or that new Supergirl?"

"No one’s been able to locate Kara at all since I defeated the Clock King," said Clark. "Wherever she is, she’s staying under the radar. As far as the League goes, they might be the best bet…"

"I’m waiting for the ‘but’," said Jonathan.

"But I was able to hold my own against the League," said Clark.

"And since this guy’s got all your powers and doesn’t seem to care about hurting someone else, that makes him more dangerous," said Jonathan.

"Exactly," said Clark.

"Clark, you’re not thinking of going after him alone, are you?" asked Martha.

"This is my responsibility, Ma. I have to do something," said Clark. He turned to Conner. "I need to get to the Watchtower. Can you fly me to John Henry’s workshop?"

Conner removed his glasses and overshirt, revealing the black t-shirt with the red shield on the chest that symbolized the House of El.

"When do we leave?"