Metropolis

Superboy took the initiative, attempting to barrel straight into General Zod. The Kryptonian warlord twisted at the last moment and held the Boy of Steel in his grip. He drove his knee into Superboy’s face and tossed him to the side.

Supergirl moved in for the next strike. Her name was Kara Zor-El. She was not supposed to exist in this reality, yet here she was. She knew of General Zod, but she knew of him from a different time. But what she had seen so far was enough to prove to her that one Zod was just as bad as another.

Unlike Superboy, she decided to try a different tactic with the General. Brute strength alone probably wouldn’t do the job, so instead she opened her eyes as wide as possible and unleashed the full brunt of her heat vision.

Zod was at first taken aback by it, but he quickly countered with his own heat vision, the two engaged in a standoff. His slowly started to overpower her own, forcing her stream of crimson energy to grow shorter as his grew longer. Supergirl could feel the strain on her eyes as she focused with as much intensity as possible.

Beneath his helmet, Zod simply smiled. The assault pressed on as he flew closer to his opponent. Supergirl began to falter, trying with all her might to stay on task. But his vision overpowered hers, forcing it back with a bright burst of energy that momentarily blinded the Maid of Might.

Superboy wasn’t out of the fight just yet. He rocketed back towards Zod, wrapping his arms around the despot as he flew towards the earth. Superboy extended his telekinetic field around himself, but avoided doing the same for Zod and drove Zod into the ground, resulting in a massive crater.

"Ready to call it quits?" asked Superboy. "’Cause let’s face it, you can’t stand up to—URK!"

Zod’s hand wrapped around Superboy’s throat. He hovered above the crater, looking Superboy in the eyes. Superboy could see Zod’s own dark eyes through the slits of his helmet.

"You bear the insignia of the House of El," said Zod. "What is your name, child?"

"K-Kon-El," said Superboy.

"Your ancestor was my jailer," said Zod. "Tell me, why should I not kill you for his transgressions?"

"’Cause I’m a good dancer," said Superboy.

"Hmph, the bravado of youth, very amusing," said Zod. "If you will kneel and swear allegiance to Zod, you will be allowed to live."

Superboy balled up a good bit of saliva in his mouth and then spit into Zod’s eyehole. Zod’s eye closed in reaction and Superboy smiled. "Suck on that, tall, dark and gruesome."

"As you wish," said Zod. His eyes opened wide and right before Superboy lost consciousness, he saw Zod’s pupils turn a bright red.

Watchtower

High above the Earth, on the surface of the moon, stood the base of operations for the Justice League. Martian, Kryptonian, New Genesis, and Earth technology combined to create the Watchtower.

And presently, the base was shut down from all outside contact by the computer entity called Brainiac. The Eradicator, a piece of Kryptonian technology designed to preserve Krypton’s history and culture, was corrupted by Brainiac and overtaken by him.

Using this Kryptonian technology, Brainiac was able to free General Zod from the Phantom Zone as well as take control of NORAD and the Watchtower. The Justice League was trapped inside.

One of the Outsiders approached the Watchtower, surrounded by a field of green energy. Born Jennie-Lynn Hayden, she was the daughter of Alan Scott, the first known Green Lantern on Earth. Since then, she had taken on a new name, that of Jade.

She attempted to breach the Watchtower’s defenses, and actually succeeded for the most part. With some concentration, she pierced through the Watchtower’s outer wall and entered the airlock.

"You are not welcome here."

The voice that boomed through the Watchtower’s intercom was cold and mechanical. The voice of Brainiac.

"Let my friends go, or there’s going to be trouble," said Jade.

"I highly doubt your ability to back up such a threat."

"Come on out and let me prove it."

A thick, black viscous substance oozed from the vents above and dripped down to the ground. As soon as it formed into a puddle, a figure began to rise from it. It took the shape of a well-built man with a bald head, green skin, and three diodes on his brow. His eyes were a bright red and his facial structure seemed to resemble Superman’s.

"You were warned," said Brainiac. He extended his hand and an energy blast emitted, throwing Jade back against the wall. "Now you must pay the price for your interference."

Steelworks

"I think it’s working," said the Cyborg. "I think I’ve found a backdoor through Brainiac’s firewall."

[I’m going in right now,] said Oracle.

"What about the kid?" asked Steel. "We can’t just leave him to fight Zod on his own."

"He’s not alone," said Wonder Girl. "Someone calling herself Supergirl is there, too."

Steel looked at the monitor and saw Kara battling Zod. He noticed the difference in costume as well as a different face from the Supergirl he knew. Not to mention the different powers.

"That’s not Matrix…" he said.

"Whoever she is, she’s kickin’ butt," said Kid Flash.

Robin focused intently on the screen, watching Zod’s movements. "Something’s up…" he said.

"What do you mean?" asked Steel.

"Zod’s been in the Phantom Zone for years, right?" asked Robin. Steel nodded. "So that means he hasn’t had any exposure to Earth’s sun until he was released here."

"Yeah, so…?" asked Kid Flash.

"So it took Superman years before he soaked up enough solar energy to reach his full level of powers," said Robin. "And Kon only recently started to display Kryptonian abilities."

"You’re saying Zod shouldn’t have reached this level of power so fast," said Steel.

"Right," said Robin. "And I think I know why…"

He pointed at the screen, specifically at the black armor which covered General Zod from head to toe.

Metropolis

The Batplane touched down on the outskirts of the city and Lex Luthor and the Batman emerged from the cockpit. In Luthor’s hand was the red crystal, and it pulsed brightly.

"This is it," said Luthor. "Superman is this way."

He started to proceed into a sewer opening, with the Batman following close behind. "Do you know what’s down this way?" he asked.

"One of many secret LexCorps labs that dot Metropolis," said Luthor. "I built quite a few during my tenure, and I imagine Brainiac would want a large portion of Kryptonite to keep Superman immobilized."

"Which you just happen to have stockpiled," said the Batman.

"Not quite stockpiled, there’s only so much of it," he said. "But I have a sufficient amount."

"Of course you do," said the Batman. The crystal was the only source of light in the tunnel, until the lights suddenly blazed with an influx of power. The pair were blinded at first, but quickly regained their sight and met their opposition.

"Well, well, isn’t this a pleasant surprise?" asked the leader, wielding a sword that had a slight emerald glow to it. "It has been too long, Detective."

"Not long enough, Ra’s," said the Batman.

Ra’s al Ghul stood before him, with half a dozen of his minions from the League of Assassins.

"Get ready to run," said the Batman.

"What?" asked Luthor.

"You heard me." The Batman hurled several smoke bombs at the ground and they exploded, obscuring the vision of Ra’s and the League. The Batman leapt into action and quickly disabled two of the assassins. Luthor took the chance and moved quickly past the fray, the crystal guiding his way.

The Batman hurled a batarang at another assassin, taking him out of the fight, and he slammed the edge of his palm against the nose of a fourth, fracturing it. He leapt into the air and gripped onto a pipe, swinging from it and connecting his feet with the jaws of the remaining two.

He flipped in the air and landed before Ra’s al Ghul, slowly rising with his cloak falling naturally over his body.

"Impressive, as always," said Ra’s al Ghul. He raised his sword. "But are you prepared to fight me?"

The Batman readied his fists. "Always."

Ra’s al Ghul charged forward and brought his sword in a large arc. The Batman blocked with his gauntlets, the wings on the end serving as an effecting defense against the blade.

Supergirl tore a lamppost free from its grounding and swung it like a bat at Zod. He braced himself for the strike and grabbed the lamp before it struck, pulling as well and they tore the post in half.

The two foes dueled with the lampposts as their weapons. They loudly clanged together with each strike. Neither one was able to effectively strike the other. Zod pulled back, hovering into the air and used his heat vision to tear part of the tip off, turning it into a large javelin. He hurled it with all his strength at Supergirl and it crumpled as it struck her, but not before it caused her to fall back to the ground.

Zod was upon her once again and he flew down into him, driving his fist into her perfect face. He pummeled her into the ground before lifting her up and delivering another blow, this one powerful enough to send her through a building.

The General flew after her and the two found themselves locked on a collision course. Zod took a deep breath and unleashed it, generating massive winds that kept her at bay. Still she pushed through, even as objects flew past her. She opened her mouth and blew as well, trying to serve as a counter force and barrel through. It didn’t seem to work so instead she changed tactics and the moisture in the path of her winds froze as she unleashed her freeze breath.

Icicles formed on Zod’s armor, slowing him down and she drove towards him and slammed her fist against his helmet. He rocked from the blow and when she tried to strike again, he grabbed her fist and twisted her arm behind her back.

"No more," he said. He twisted further and Kara bit her lip to avoid screaming as Zod broke her arm.

Luthor entered a dimly-lit room, immediately noticing the Kryptonite-lined bars of the cell. Lying in a corner of the cell was a sight he had longed to see: Superman on the ground, doubled over in pain, barely able to move.

Lex slowly approached and looked down at the Man of Steel. "What a perfect scene. And me without my camera."

Superman looked up at him and opened his mouth. "L-Luthor…"

"That’s right," said Luthor. He kneeled down outside the bars. "It’s your old pal, Lex. How have you been? I’m guessing you’ve seen better days."

Superman muttered something but it was so low and his voice so weak that Luthor couldn’t even make it out. Luthor opened the cell door and walked over to his nemesis. He grabbed Superman by the hair, forcefully pulling his face up to meet Luthor’s gaze.

"You have no idea how long I have waited for this moment," he hissed. "And it would be so easy to just end your miserable existence right here, right now."

He slammed Superman’s face against the ground.

"But no, I can’t do that," he said. "You see, there’s an alien menace out there threatening to take over the world as the first step in a plot of world conquest. And we can’t have that happening. Unfortunately, it seems like Earth’s heroes aren’t up to the challenge. So irony of ironies, we must turn to an alien to stop an alien."

Luthor stood, still looking down at Superman.

"But the real irony? If it weren’t for you, Zod wouldn’t even be here!"

Luthor accentuated that last part of his sentence by kicking Superman in the chest.

"It’s pathetic how much we rely on you," he said. "But, I think I’ve said too much. Time, as they say, is money. And the time has come for you to get back into the game."

Luthor held the red crystal up for Superman to look at it. "So what will it be, Superman? This time, you don’t have to save us from ourselves. Instead, you have to save us from yourself."

"I’m… nothing… like Zod," said Superman.

"Maybe not, but the threat of you turning into him will always be there," said Luthor. "So I’m going to help you. Because no one but me should have the honor of killing you. And I will kill you, make no mistake about that."

"Never… was a fan… of your speeches, Lex…"

"Of course you’re not," said Luthor. "That’s the problem with you, Superman. You have no sense of style."

Luthor plunged the crystal into Superman’s chest and he cried out in pain.

Daily Planet

General Zod crashed into the newsroom of the Daily Planet. Specifically, the office of Perry White. In his hand, he held a limp Supergirl by her long, blonde hair. The General pointed a finger at Perry.

"This is said to be the greatest news source on this miserable planet," said Zod. "Are you the one in charge?"

"What’s it to ya?" asked Perry.

Zod threw Supergirl’s limp body on Perry’s desk. "Report this: I, General Zod, have defeated all descendents of the House of El. None of your heroes could match my great might. It is time for this world to swear allegiance to me."

There was a loud whoosh sound from outside, followed by a commanding voice: "General…"

Zod turned to view the dead man who would dare speak to him in such a tone. What he saw, however, was a surprise to him. A man in the prime of his life and in perfect health. Short, black hair and bright blue eyes. Dressed in a costume of blue, red and yellow. His arms were crossed over the red and yellow shield he wore on his broad chest, and his red cape fluttered in the wind as he hovered before Zod.

Superman finished his sentence: "Would you care to step outside?"