When Doves Cry Part 2 Chp 12

The fifth Brainiac wasn't sure what he was expecting to happen when he would encounter the alternate version of his ancestor but being ignored certainly wasn't one of them. Even Lord Batman acknowledged Brainy's presence in the barn more then the original Brainiac and all the dark knight did was glance over his shoulder at the small Coluan on occasion before going straight back to work.

For the most part Brainy was still rather ill and could not assist his alternate ancestor or the Justice Lord, turned jailor, in building a new portal to get him home but that didn't stop him from being as close as he could get to it, without being in the way. Part of him wanted to open a panel and crawl into what would become the portal, in a sort of embrace until it took him away from this nightmare. The rest of him was stubbornly refusing to pass out from fever.

He was thankful that Mr. Kent understood that and had Brainiac bring down an old couch from the barn loft for Brainy to sit on as he watched the portal slowly take shape. Mrs. Kent also brought him some chicken noodle in a mug to sip, along with another blanket in pillow in case he wanted it.

Time went by slowly; the only words spoken in the barn were when Lord Batman ordered Brainiac to retrieve more materials for the portal. Brainiac, for his part, never questioned or made suggestions, not even a snide side comment; he simply followed orders which was somehow more nerve wracking then threats of deletion.

At some point Brainy must have dozed off because he awoke when the barn shook. The shaking was too much to be from any sort of normal breeze; it was more like something flying at super speeds had flown in too close to the barn. It reminded Brainy of when snow flew into his hiding space during his escape and he went cold again.

"Stay here," Lord Batman pointed at Brainy and headed for the barn door with Brainiac following close behind.

Brainy waited a moment, and then followed. While they went outside, Brainy stayed at the door and peeked out, almost running away from it when he did.

Standing between the barn and the house was Lord Superman, dripping wet and panted raggedly, holding Brainy's crush belt in his fist.

The belt most have run out of power before it could finish its job; finishing Lord Superman. Now it had doomed Brainy and possibly everyone else here to share its fate.

"I obviously didn't break enough bones for you to be standing again so soon Bruce," Lord Superman's voice barely kept from being a growl, holding no warmth that using his fellow Lord's name should indicate. "I shouldn't have left you breathing."

"No, you shouldn't have," Lord Batman agreed, voice calm and even. "You really want to do this Clark; on your parent's farm?"

"They buried me," Lord Superman seethed.

"You buried yourself," Lord Batman shook his head. "We all did when we decided that we knew better then the rest of the world. Especially you; keeping the person you claimed to love as a prisoner and then doing it again to another version f him who has never known you; a child."

"Brainiac Five is mine," Lord Superman shouted, his voice actually causing a burst of wind, shaking the barn again and cracking the ground beneath his feet.

"The first one may have been, at one time when he gave himself to you freely but you lost that when you took him," Lord Batman didn't flinch. "I'm not going to let you touch this Brainiac Five, or any other Brainiac Five, ever again."

"Is that so?" Lord Superman growled, eyes glowing red.

"That statement would be incorrect," Brainy actually touched his own lips to make sure those words did not come from his own mouth until he spotted someone behind Lord Superman, whom the others had also turned to look.

There, just standing there as if he had come out of thin air was Brainy but not Brainy. This Brainiac Five was older, an adult like Lord Superman but smaller than him, not as muscular as the Kryptonian but with hard earned strength in his lithe frame. He was completely organic as well, just as Lord Superman had described, shorter hair and a different version of his Legion uniform. On his hands were some sort of gauntlets with small generators on them but the Brainy in the barn could not tell what they were for at that distance.

Though Brainy could not see Lord Superman's face anymore, with the Krpytonian turned to look at the older Brainiac Five, Brainy could hear a strange softness in his voice when he spoke.

"Brainy, you came back to me."

"No," Brainiac Five's voice held no warmth as he activated the gauntlets. "I'm here to ensure that Lord Batman's declaration becomes a reality."

Tossing aside the crushed force field belt, Lord Superman's voice became hard again, "You will come back to me."

"At the end of this day there will be a dead body on the ground," Brainiac Five moved into a fighting stance. "I would prefer it to be yours."