Beyond faster than a speeding bullet, The Man of Steel races across the skies at speeds that defy human comprehension. But even though he keeps telling himself that everything will be alright, that he'll manage to arrive just in time to divert whatever sort of implemented disaster has hit his hometown this time, his compassionate heart still skips a beat at the thought of the alternative. Smallville had helped define the man that both Clark Kent and Superman eventually became, and yet throughout the years, it seemed to see no shortage of supervillain attacks, alien invasions, and natural disasters try and break it at it's very foundations. It were as if the world were trying to send Krypton's last son a message the entire time - wherever he was sure to go, danger was always going to follow.
There. I can see it in the distance. The cornfields...
"Argh! Me feel pain! Bad men try to hurt me!"
On the other side of the small farming community, an entirely different but equally as desperate battle was waged as the hulking brute known only as Superman's twisted mirror image began to ravage everything in sight. The town's sheriff and the entirety of his staff were firing entire rounds at point blank range, but Bizarro only felt them tickle at his brittle skin like a flock of knats trying to protect some precious garbage. Stomping on the ground and creating a spiderweb crack through the solid concrete, he peeled a section of street out from beneath his boots and levitated into the air, holding the massive chunk of asphalt above his head in a menacing gesture.
"You try to hurt Bizarro, that means you am criminals! Me punish evildoers! Bizarro will bring justice to vile cesspool!"
With a delightful grin on his face, Bizarro brought the debris smashing down onto the squad cars, flattening the hoods in an instant and watching as the gas lines severed. The sheriff and his deputy threw their guns aside and scattered, realizing that the threat was too much for them to contain. Bizarro lowered himself onto the street, watching as they ran and headed deeper into town.
"That show criminals! Bizarro protect Smallville now!"
Stepping into some fresh gasoline, the brute gazed down and followed the trail coming from the cars with his eyes. Without so much as a pause, he stopped to inhale, before unleashing his fiery breath upon the vaporizing liquid. It ignited in and instant and spiraled out of control, leading directly into the tank. Before all five cars simultaneously exploded. The blaze flew high and covered most of the area, but Bizarro stepped through it all as if he were leisurely walking through the streets, unscathed as the fire lick at him.
"Me am good hero. Bizarro scare away criminals. Citizens am never been safer."
Great Scott! What was that?!
Descending out of the clouds after seeing the massive explosion ripple through the business district of town, Superman landed just in time to see the entirety of Smallville's local sheriff's department running for their lives. Seeing that the Sheriff himself was trailing behind him, The Man of Steel stepped over to have a word with the exhausted, but clearly horrified man. Holding out his hand to stop him as he ran, the Sheriff only managed to collect his wits long enough to acknowledge who was infront of him.
"Oh, Jesus! It's you! Thank god you're here, Superman!"
"Where are you all running to? What's happened?"
"He's unstoppable! We can't hit him with anything! All of our bullets, our... our best weapons! Even our highest caliber rounds can't pierce his..."
Superman placed both hands on the distraught Sheriff's shoulders.
"Relax, sir, you're going to be fine. Now just calm down and tell me what's happening."
"Car am parked in wrong section! Me move car! Bizarro am going to tolerate evildoers anymore!"
Oh, no.
"P-Please. You've got to do something! I was just on my way to call in the National Guard, and..."
With a reassuring smile, Superman gave him a firm pat on the shoulder as he walked past.
"Don't trouble yourself with that, I can handle this. He's relatively harmless once you reason with him."
As Superman levitated into the air and slowly began to drift towards the source of this new disturbance, the Sheriff watched him leave and raised a highly skeptical eyebrow.
"...'Harmless'?!"
"Bizarro, I don't know what you've gotten into your head this time, so I'll put this in terms that even you can understand. You need to sit up."
Bizarro turned, a car already lifted over his shoulders, to see as Superman looked down at him disapprovingly from above. Obviously, "sit up" meant to "stand down", but Bizarro didn't seem willing to comply. Superman braced himself for the worst. Grinning to his frequent enemy, Bizarro tossed the car away and paid it no further attention as it smashed into a nearby shop window. Flying up to the same level as his oppressor, the brute outstretched both arms
"Goodbye, Superman! Me am sad to see you!"
The Man of Steel was not amused, narrowing his eyes.
"Bizarro, what did I tell you the last time that you tried to destroy Smallville? You can't try and hurt innocent people."
Bizarro paused, wondering aloud if this was true.
"Me no remember. Bizarro am never been to Smallville before."
"That's right. You have, and you swore to me that you wouldn't cause another disturbance."
Bizarro shook his head.
"Superman am got it right! Bizarro am here to help fine citizens of Smallville!"
"Not like this, you're not."
"But me am hero now! Me look for own city to protect, and me am done protecting Metropoliz. Bizarro want to help Smallville now."
Superman's head cocked in bewilderment, wondering if he understood that right. Bizarro wanted to help Metropolis? If it were truly backwards speak, wasn't he admitting that he was trying to hurt Metropolis? Had he intentionally come here to hurt people in Smallville? And if so, why in heaven's name would he take on such a misguided outlook after so many attempts to reconfigure his attitude? He had even tried to join The Teen Titans, a couple of years back.
"Bizarro... I don't understand. Why would you want to hurt these people?"
And that was when the unexpected happened. Flying forwards, Bizarro grabbed at Superman and locked his hands around the hero's neck. Struggling for air, Superman tried to claw his way to freedom, but Bizarro was too strong to fight off. The monster looked down at him with a monotonous expression, unbecoming of his usually cheerful demeanor, and began to focus his eyes into a bright green beam. Superman immediately realized something was off as he began to weaken under the intensity of the beam, something similar to what had happened with...
Metallus. The green energy. Not kryptonite, but similar in nature.
Breaking the grip with his forearms, Superman and Bizarro tumbled through the skies as The Man of Steel began to fight back.
"Y-You! I've faced your kind before, and just recently! Whatever you really are, you're not Bizarro!"
"Bizarro" then smiled, sadistically pleased.
"You are only half correct, son of Krypton."
Superman's eyes widened. He knew that tone of voice all too well.
Brainiac!
As if on cue with the realization, Brainiac lashed out at Superman through Bizarro's sheer strength, sending him flying through the streets of the relatively smaller landscape of Smallville.
"No doubt that you have realized my true nature, Kal-El. And to that, I say that you are welcome."
Superman slid along the streets, gaining leverage enough to retort as Bizarro's body barrelled towards him with malicious intent. Raising his arms, The Man of Steel grabbed at Bizarro's wrists and stopped him in place, cracking a few of the nearby windshields with the force of the grab. Superman's eyes began to glow red, constrasting against Brainiac's own green.
"Welcome?! What could you possibly have done to warrant my thanks?!"
Bizarro brought Superman to his knees, watching with satisfaction as he buckled under the pressure.
"By eliminating you here, in this form, I will finally negate these primitive trappings and give you a fitting farewell. You have passed my tests, and have provided all of the data nessecary to complete my study of the planet Earth."
"What in... *ngh*...Rao's name are you talking about now?"
"You still do not grasp the gravity of the situation, Kal-El. Allow me to explain."
Lifting Superman by the cape, Bizarro's form became even more menacing as the cracks of his skin began to secrete an emerald glow under Brainiac's corruption. Looking up as Superman struggled, Brainiac mimicked a cracked smile through Bizarro's lips.
"As a result of our last encounter, it regrets me to tell you that I am dying. And if I am to complete my quest to collect all knowledge of the universe before that time has passed, then it is imperative that you be the first to be eliminated!"
Tossing him into the air, Brainiac coldly and calculatedly watched as Superman spuns towards the heavens.
And with enough force to shatter everything around him, took off after his hated enemy.
