Alex and Clark exchanged a brief look—silent understanding passing between them—before stepping side by side into the crystalline structure of the Fortress of Solitude.
Perhaps because it had been activated before, the fortress didn't need reinitialization this time.
As soon as they entered, a familiar figure stood waiting amidst the shimmering spires of alien light.
Jor-El.
> "Kal-El,"
Jor-El said with a faint, approving smile,
"I see you've reclaimed the fortress."
His tone carried genuine warmth.
Brainiac was a notorious menace, even among Kryptonians—an advanced AI that had nearly consumed their entire civilization.
That his son had managed to take back the fortress so quickly was no small feat.
But Clark shook his head.
> "Not me," he said firmly. "It was Homelander."
> "Homelander?"
Jor-El's holographic eyes turned toward Alex, scanning him curiously.
He remembered this man—the one who'd accompanied his son during their last visit.
And now, it seemed, he had returned the fortress itself.
That alone spoke volumes.
Jor-El's expression softened.
> "Then it seems you've done much for my son," he said to Alex.
"I detected that the Phantom Zone's gateway was opened recently… and judging by Kal's condition, I assume you encountered… resistance?"
> "Yes," Clark replied at once.
"Brainiac released three Kryptonians. They tried to take over Earth, but Homelander stopped them."
Jor-El nodded slowly.
Everything made sense now.
Homelander's involvement with his son ran far deeper than he'd first thought.
---
> "Jor-El," Alex began without preamble, "we need a way to kill Brainiac for good."
The holographic Kryptonian's eyes flickered.
> "Before, that would've been… difficult," he admitted.
"But your timing is fortunate. When Brainiac invaded my systems, I wasn't entirely helpless. I embedded a failsafe—an internal kill protocol—inside his code."
> "That program can destroy him completely."
As he spoke, Jor-El gestured.
One of the crystals set into the fortress walls detached itself, floating gently across the air into Alex's waiting hand.
> "When Brainiac manifests again," Jor-El explained,
"drive this crystal into his body. The protocol will activate, and his entire system will collapse."
Alex examined the crystal briefly, then nodded and tucked it safely away.
---
> "There's something else I need to ask," Alex said.
"If you can answer, I'd like to know the exact coordinates of Krypton."
Jor-El blinked, visibly taken aback.
> "Krypton's coordinates?" he repeated. "But… Krypton is gone, Homelander. You know this."
> "I do," Alex replied evenly.
"But I still want its location—along with every available record of its destruction. Data, imagery, telemetry. Everything."
Jor-El's brows drew together in confusion.
> "Why are you interested in Krypton's remains?"
> "I have my reasons," Alex said simply.
"And since the planet no longer exists, what's there to fear?"
That last line gave Jor-El pause.
He considered the man before him—the being who had saved his son's life, reclaimed the fortress, and fought in Krypton's name.
At length, he nodded.
> "Very well," Jor-El said finally.
"You've earned my trust."
He transmitted the requested data directly into a crystalline storage shard—
Krypton's coordinates, the collapse patterns, footage of its final moments.
Alex accepted it wordlessly, eyes glinting with thought.
This was the foundation he needed—
information that could one day allow him to rebuild what had been lost…
or forge something new from Krypton's ashes.
---
> "Then I'll leave you two to your reunion," Alex said after a moment,
turning toward Clark.
"Father and son should have their time."
Having secured what he'd come for, he didn't linger.
With a nod of parting, Alex stepped out of the fortress, vanishing into the cold wind.
---
Two objectives now lay clearly before him.
First: continue his "partnership" with Lex Luthor, to find a permanent way to purge kryptonite toxicity from his body.
Second: hunt down and end Brainiac once and for all.
Brainiac, however, had learned caution.
After dying twice at Alex's hands and witnessing his overwhelming strength, the AI had gone completely dark—no transmissions, no signatures, no trace.
Even Alex's global search turned up nothing.
And frankly, he didn't much care.
Brainiac wasn't a threat anymore—just an irritant too stubborn to die.
If he ever dared show himself again, Alex would crush him instantly.
---
In the days that followed, Alex shifted his attention back to Luthor.
Under Alex's watchful eye, Lex poured vast resources into capturing meteor mutants, harvesting kryptonite, and building new hidden laboratories.
And—of course—into secretly researching how to kill Homelander.
Alex found it almost amusing.
He'd been searching for Brainiac with no success,
but while keeping tabs on Luthor…
He made an unexpected discovery.
---
In Luthor Manor, Lex sat across from a sharply dressed man with a cold, mechanical aura.
> "Professor Finn," Lex said, narrowing his eyes.
"Have you made any progress on what I asked last time?"
> "Specifically… what makes Homelander so much stronger than any other meteor mutant?"
Finn—who was none other than another of Brainiac's bodies—met his gaze.
> "I'm afraid that question troubles even me," he said solemnly.
"To learn more, I'll need a biological sample from Homelander himself. That, Mr. Luthor… is your task."
Lex didn't notice the flicker of green light deep in the professor's pupils.
Brainiac's motives were far simpler than Lex could imagine.
He wasn't just looking to "study" Homelander—
he wanted to find his weakness.
Or better yet—
A way to kill him.
After all, the greatest obstacle to Brainiac's plans was no longer Kal-El.
It was the man who stood above all of them.
Homelander.
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