The Pentagon serves as the center of America’s defensive operations. From there, the United States government coordinates military operations and also monitors other nations which may pose a potential threat.

On one day, one of those nations proved its ability to pose a threat.

North Korea, long considered hostile to U.S. interests, recently developed their own atomic bomb. At first, tensions were high, but discussions were opened and the possibility of threat seemed diminished. Until the day in question, when a missile was launched from one of North Korea’s bases. A missile that potentially possessed a nuclear warhead.

Pentagon officials immediately sent word to the White House and the President. It was not long before word leaked out to the media that North Korea had launched a missile, headed towards the west coast.

Meanwhile, millions of miles away, on Earth’s moon, the Justice League Watchtower also picks up the launch of the ballistic missile. John Stewart, the Green Lantern assigned to protect Earth and the currently the League’s only active Lantern, sat on monitor duty that day. He immediately sent out a signal to the League member he knew who could best combat the threat.

In Metropolis, Clark Kent stood in his kitchen wearing a dress shirt and tie with slacks. His suit jacket hung over the back of a chair at a nearby table, with his glasses resting on the counter by his side. He held a skillet in his hand, and his eyes glowed bright red while the eggs on the skillet cooked with the aid of his heat vision. He heard the signal go off and left the eggs, turning his attention to a communication with the Watchtower.

{{We’ve got a situation,}} said the Green Lantern. {{A ballistic missile is headed towards the west coast right this mome—}}

Before the Lantern’s statement was finished, Clark ran towards his balcony, pulling his shirt open as he did so and revealing a giant red and yellow S emblazoned over the blue, skintight clothing he wore beneath his suit. In those few seconds it would have taken the Green Lantern to finish his statement, Clark Kent was gone and Superman rocketed at the speed of light from one end of the country to the other.

With his telescopic vision, Superman was able to see the missile clearly while he was still miles away. He pushed his incredible speed to its limit, the landscape below him nothing more than a blur at this point. The missile was the only thing that mattered anymore.

Superman stopped in midair and simply hovered there. The missile came closer and closer, but he stood his figurative ground. He prepared himself and as soon as it was within reach, he caught a ride on the end of it. With his vaunted strength, the Man of Steel redirected the missile, turning its trajectory towards the heavens. The flames which provided thrust for it caused him no pain or even annoyance. It flew from Earth’s atmosphere and Superman watched it fly harmlessly out of sight with a smile.

"Superman to Watchtower," he said into the communicator. "Situation diffused."

Metropolis

Clark Kent emerged from a train station a few blocks away from the Daily Planet’s building. It was the route he was used to taking every morning. He would fly there as Superman and then quickly change then emerge from the station with the rest of the commuting crowds in his secret identity as a mild mannered reporter.

He made the rest of his morning commute on foot. Although he loved the thrill of flying through the clouds, a part of him did miss the morning commute he made during his brief period when he was powerless.

Thoughts raced through his head about the missile he stopped earlier that morning. According to the Green Lantern, its point of origin was North Korea, which caused some form of concern. One of the things that bothered him was that he had the power to disarm the world, yet that would be interfering too much in the affairs of mankind. As Superman, he tried to make an effort to only become involved in those situations the human race could not solve on their own.

As he approached the Planet, he heard a familiar voice call out to him. He recognized the voice instantly and saw Jimmy Olsen running towards him. Clark offered a smile in greeting.

"Did you hear what happened?" asked Jimmy.

Clark feigned ignorance. "About what?"

"Superman stopped a missile from hitting the west coast this morning!" said Jimmy. "People are saying it’s the beginning of an attack!"

"Attack from who?" asked Clark.

"Dunno, I only just caught it on the news before I left," said Jimmy.

Clark looked at the Planet. "Well, maybe Perry will have a better idea of what’s going on?"

"Yeah, maybe," said Jimmy.

The two men made their way inside the building and climbed into the elevator with the rest of the crowd. Clark turned to his friend and said, "by the way, good job on that Superman story."

"Oh, thanks," said Jimmy, slightly blushing. "I felt a little bad about writing it, though."

"Why?"

"Well, the Superman beat is usually Lois’ territory," said Jimmy. He looked down at his shoes and paused for a second. "I mean… before."

"Yeah," said Clark. He knew Jimmy was treading carefully over the issue of Lois’ death, apparent resurrection, and then death again.

"Either way, you did a good job," said Clark. "Your first front-page story."

"You think Superman read it?"

"I’m not sure," said Clark.

"He was acting pretty weird for a little, wasn’t he?" asked Jimmy.

Clark shrugged. "I dunno, I guess so. I—this is embarrassing. I really wasn’t paying a lot of attention."

"Same old Clark," said Jimmy with a grin. "You always were a bit oblivious when it came to Supes."

The elevator arrived at the newsroom floor and Clark and Jimmy walked through the glass doors. Everyone on the floor was fixated on the television screens around the office. Perry stood nearby with a Styrofoam cup in his hand. He noticed Clark and Jimmy walk in and walked towards his office. The Planet’s editor in chief motioned for them to follow him.

"Oh man… now I’m worried," said Jimmy.

"Why? I mean, at least he’s not shouting," said Clark.

"That’s why I’m worried."

Inside the office, Perry sat behind his desk and Clark and Jimmy entered.

"Olsen, good job on the Superman story," said Perry. "Nice to see you back too, Kent. Feeling better?"

"Much, thanks," said Clark.

"So what’s the story, Chief?" asked Jimmy.

"You hear about the missile?" asked Perry. The pair nodded. "Good. The government has issued a statement that it came from North Korea. But the Koreans, they say they never intended to launch it. Blamed it on some sort of computer glitch."

"Oh come on!" said Jimmy. "A glitch? They can do better than that."

"Yeah, it sounds far-fetched, and that’s why I want you two to work on it," said Perry.

"Us? Together?" asked Jimmy. He looked at Clark, then back at Perry. "I mean… are you sure I’m good enough to work with Clark?"

"Sure you are," said Clark.

"Kent’s right," said Perry. "I want the two of you on the next plane to D.C., find out what’s going on. The Secretary of Defense is holding a press conference later this afternoon, I want the both of you there."

"You can count on us," said Jimmy.

Pentagon

The President of the United States walked into a room with a long table surrounded by his cabinet and several prominent generals and other Pentagon officials. He sat at the end of it.

"Okay, what’s the story?" he asked.

"Since Korea’s statement, we’re not sure how to proceed, sir," said the Secretary of Defense. "But right now, we haven’t ruled out a potential retaliatory strike."

"Let’s hold off on that move," said the President. "The last thing I want is a war. Is there any credence to Korea’s claim?"

"We’re looking into the possibility of a glitch, but so far we haven’t been able to unearth any new information," said an official.

"Japan’s getting antsy about the situation, though," said the Secretary of State. "They don’t believe Korea’s statement and they want a guarantee that the U.S. will come to their aid if something else happens."

"They’ve got it," said the President. "My question is, why now? After Korea’s announcement that they have nukes, they seemed to calm down. Claimed it was only for defense. So what’s their angle?"

"That’s something else we don’t know," said a general. "One belief is that Korea might have backed off in an effort to lure us into a state false security before they decided to strike."

"And the U.N.?"

"Also worried. They stand behind our decision on this matter."

"What about Superman? What about the Justice League? Have they said anything to us?" asked the President.

"No official word yet from them," said the Secretary of State. "No matter what, I think we can agree that this is bad, Mr. President."

Jimmy tapped his fingers nervously on the armrest while he stared out the window of the plane bound for Washington. Clark took notice of his friend’s state of mind.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Hmm? Yeah, I’m fine," said Jimmy.

"You don’t look fine," said Clark. "Don’t worry, I’m sure this was all just a misunderstanding."

"No, not that," said Jimmy. "It’s… damn, I know this probably isn’t the best time to be thinking about this…"

"Thinking about what?"

"Well… it’s about Lana," said Jimmy.

"What about her?" asked Clark.

"Can I be straight with you, Clark? I mean, I know the two of you have a lot of history and all…"

Clark nodded.

"She’s… she’s great," said Jimmy. "I really like her. A lot."

"Are you two seeing each other?"

"Kind of," said Jimmy. "We’ve gone out a few times. But I dunno if it’s just us hanging out or if it’s something more. And before you say anything, I know she’s older than me. I know she’s just gone through a divorce and I know she’s got a kid."

Clark chuckled a little. "Jimmy, Lana’s my oldest friend. We’ve known each other our entire lives. She deserves to be happy and you’re one of my best friends. If you really care about her, if you want to make her happy, then you’ve got my blessing. I don’t think Lana could find a better man."

"Wow…" said Jimmy. "Thanks, that means a lot coming from you."

"But if you break her heart, I’ll have to kill you," said Clark.

At this, Jimmy started laughing. Clark raised an eyebrow. "Did I say something funny?"

"Yeah," said Jimmy. "Clark, I love you man, but c’mon. You couldn’t hurt a fly."

Clark laughed as well. "Yeah, I guess you’re right. Just those older brother instincts."

"I understand, you gotta look out for her," said Jimmy. "But you really think I stand a chance with her? I mean, her ex was the President for crying out loud. I’m just a photographer who got lucky with a story."

"Trust me, Jim. Lana doesn’t care about those things," said Clark. "And whether or not you stand a chance? I think you do, but you won’t know until you try."

{{Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We’re about to make our descent into Washington, D.C. so please lock your trays and move your seats to their upright and locked position.}}

Watchtower

On the surface of the moon, the Green Lantern and Steel stood before the computers in the monitor room. From here, the Justice League attempted to monitor most world events to try and be informed of any potential crises.

"I keep trying to get into North Korea’s defense systems, but I’m locked out," said Steel. "But something’s not right. Their systems should not be advanced enough to block out New God technology."

"How’s that possible?" asked the Green Lantern.

"That’s just it, it’s not," said Steel. "Which means that whether they know it or not, they have some outside force working their systems."

"Any thoughts on what that force could be?"

"None yet," said Steel. "But give me some time and I’m sure I can figure it out."

{{You only need to ask, ‘Man of Steel’.}}

The new voice came from the speakers. It was a digitized voice, cold and devoid of any form of humanity.

"Who’s there?" asked the Green Lantern. He clenched his fist and the power ring over his finger began to glow with the color that was his namesake. "Identify yourself now!"

{{Issuing demands will get you nowhere, Green Lantern. But I must thank both you and Steel. If not for your attempts to hack into North Korea’s computer systems, I would not have been able to enter the Watchtower’s own mainframe and bend it to my own will.}}

Steel ignored the voice, simply tried to execute commands but they all failed. Instead, all the power in the Watchtower shut down.

"What did you just do?" asked Green Lantern.

"Wasn’t me," said Steel. "But the life support systems are apparently still online. Looks like our new friend just turned out the lights."

The emergency power switched on, with low lights around the room. Slowly, the other lights activated once more. That’s when the monitors turned on again, except this time, every screen showed three, green circles arranged in the shape of an upside-down triangle.

"Who are you?" asked Green Lantern.

This time, the voice only offered one word as to its identity. Although Steel already knew who it was, for it was his insignia on every monitor in the room.

{{Brainiac.}}