Ultimately, the interrogation of Wonder Woman did not continue.
After Clark revealed that Brainiac was behind everything, Adrian released Wonder Woman from the Lasso of Truth.
They also learned from Kara that Green Lantern was not truly gone. After Adrian had crushed his throat, the Green Lantern's innate ability to resurrect activated, transforming him briefly into a swarm of vampire bats. Though Adrian eradicated most of them, one bat clung to Kara and was carried away with her. Now, though not dead, Green Lantern lay in a hospital bed incapacitated, uncertain when he might awaken.
"The boy from Brainiac's lab… which hospital is he in?"
As Adrian and Clark prepared to depart, Batman suddenly appeared behind them and asked Clark.
Batman's plan was clear: Brainiac's virus might have roots in the boy's body, and locating him could lead to an antidote. After Adrian saw Clark's skeptical look, Batman explained his reasoning more fully.
After Adrian gave him the hospital's location, Batman fired his grapnel and vanished into the night without another word.
Once Batman was gone, Adrian turned to Clark.
"Do you know anything about the boy you saved?" Adrian asked quietly.
Clark looked uncertain. "He was very weak. While unconscious he kept murmuring one word over and over — 'Zan.'"
Clark frowned. "I don't know what it means. Maybe a name, maybe a signifier."
"Zan," Adrian repeated, lowering his gaze. It was Jena's brother, Zan — one of the Wonder Twins from Smallville continuity. Earlier, Jena had sensed her brother's presence among the vampires, and Adrian had wondered if the vampire virus was somehow linked to Zan's blood all along.
Adrian paused, the gears of thought turning. Was Brainiac the one who used Zan's blood to create the virus?
After a moment of contemplation, he asked Clark, "When did you learn to fly? Was it during your battle with Brainiac? I don't see any other reason you could defeat him."
Adrian's tone held a trace of suspicion as he watched Clark's expression.
"It's true," Clark replied. "I learned it in the fight against Brainiac. But I also owe part of it to the Star Scepter you gave me. If you hadn't given it to me, I wouldn't have held on."
"Don't thank me," Adrian replied with blunt honesty. "You did it yourself. If you always credit something external for your growth, you'll never own your victories."
Now the two stood on the rooftop of the Daily Planet building in Metropolis, night breeze brushing around them as the city lights flickered below.
Clark looked out over the skyline and exhaled deeply.
"I had a dream while I was unconscious," Clark said, voice soft yet sincere. "In the dream, I saw two little boys falling off a cliff. The memory wasn't clear, but some details stayed with me."
"Adrian," Clark continued after a pause, hesitant yet earnest, "I'm not sure why I feel this, but I believe one of those boys in the dream might have been you. Whether it was true memory or something implanted, it left a strong impression. It helped me understand responsibility — not as a burden, but as something that gives hope. Whether it was rescuing a cat stuck in a tree or spending time with an unhappy child, that's part of what Superman is. I want to be someone who lifts people up, not someone weighed down by what could go wrong."
At Clark's mention of the two boys falling from a cliff, Adrian's expression flickered subtly, and he looked away.
"I want some time alone, Clark," Adrian said quietly, deliberately turning his face away. "You have your own responsibilities. You should keep an eye on Batman in the hospital. Don't let him throw himself at every mystery like it's a challenge to be conquered. His obsession with the unknown makes Lex Luthor look cautious."
"Alright," Clark said gently, sensing the emotional undercurrent. He didn't push. Adrian nodded once, then launched himself into the sky, vanishing into the horizon with a powerful burst.
Swish!
After Clark disappeared, the Star Scepter rose into the air and flew directly toward Adrian. He caught it, lowering his head to observe the faint golden glow of the Staff in his hand.
A conduit to the spiritual world. A source of creation. Clark had used the Scepter to delve into Adrian's memory?
Adrian's mind stirred, memories flooding up in a torrent.
He wasn't an orphan in his previous life — not completely alone.
He had once lived in a small rural village, not in China as myth sometimes said, but on a remote Earth settlement where his family once had stability. He had a younger brother, Simone, and a peaceful life until the night everything changed.
One evening their mother, driven by unknown desperation, took him and Simone up a distant mountain, tied them with cloth, and threw them into a ravine. Thankfully, both boys were caught by dead branches part‑way down the cliff, sparing them from immediate death. But Simone was badly injured. To save himself, Adrian had made the agonizing choice to untie Simone so he could cling higher — and Simone fell into the abyss.
Afterward, Adrian was discovered and sent to an orphanage, his life shattered. The woman who had brought them to that spot never returned.
The memory replayed over and over, viscous and unforgettable. In waking hours, Adrian would still see Simone's face, hear his laughter echo through the quiet.
Adrian shook his head, brushing away the rising emotion, then turned and rocketed into the sky.
Boom!
He cut through the stormclouds with a blast of wind, rising ever higher until the city lay below him like scattered stardust under the night.
One Week Later
Meli, the state government official who had survived the command center collapse, gently pushed open the hospital room door.
General Lane rested on his hospital bed, propped on pillows, clothed in a gown. As Meli entered, his eyes met hers in a slight nod.
Lois, sitting beside his bed, rose and greeted Meli before leaving the room.
"This is my daughter, Lois," General Lane said with a faint grin, his voice lighter than before. "Usually she's critiquing my every move, but today she's quiet. She hardly ever sits still in a hospital."
Meli, nodding with professional courtesy, replied, "Yes, I've heard about her. Very driven."
She took a breath before continuing.
"General, do you remember anything about what happened in the command center? The operation against Adrian Kent? The battle?"
Meli and General Lane had been rescued from the site by fire crews, but video recordings showing Adrian's overwhelming power had been deleted or corrupted. No evidence remained.
Lane exhaled deeply.
"I'm sorry," he said gently. "My head injury may have wiped those memories. You might try asking others who were there."
"Our mayor claims it was an anti‑terrorist operation and says all data was erased. Someone doesn't want the truth in sight."
"You're not a journalist, Miss Meli," General Lane continued with caution, "and you shouldn't fall into the same trap as my daughter did. Chasing truth without regard for consequences only breeds anxiety."
Meli paused, absorbing his words. After a heavy moment, she nodded.
"I understand," she said with quiet resolve.
She exited the room, turning back briefly to see General Lane lighting a cigar, deep in thoughtful silence.
"Amnesia?" she whispered to herself, shaking her head before walking out of the hospital.
Thanks to Lex's intervention, Adrian was cleared of suspicion and formally reinstated at school. Batman had developed an antidote to the vampire virus and administered it to all the affected patients. The cure had side effects — occasional amnesia, muscle spasms, lingering tremors — but it eradicated the infection.
When Adrian walked onto campus, many students stared at him with a strange mixture of awe and apprehension. He paid them no mind, accustomed to being observed.
In his classroom, he noticed a newly posted flyer on the desk in front of him.
"Adrian Kent Fan Club?" he muttered, brow furrowing as he read.
"Recruiting Adrian Kent Fan Club Members and Supporters. Requirements: Must be a loyal reader of his work 'Cthulhu,' understand the pursuit of hidden knowledge, embrace skepticism of religion, and possess an unusual fascination with darkness and blood."
Adrian raised an eyebrow, his expression blank for a moment.
What was this? Students were forming a club around him?
Before he could reflect further, his phone buzzed. He answered.
"Mom?"
"Adrian, your father made a decision," Martha said with hesitation. "I wasn't sure when to tell you, but I think both you and Clark should know."
"What is it, Mom?"
"Jonathan has decided to run for State Councilor."
Adrian's eyes narrowed — Jonathan Kent, an embodiment of moral resolve from Smallville canon who once ran for state senate, not councilor, but still with a political legacy consistent with Smallville's portrayal of him as a community leader and moral man — was stepping into political life once more.
Jonathan Kent's political journey once lifted Clark's world and shaped his understanding of responsibility. Now that legacy was reaching forward again.
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