- Smallville -

"Hey Clark, could you lift the tractor a little bit higher for me, I want to see if the fuel line's the problem."

"Sure thing Pa," Clark responded. Applying a more force than should be humanly possible, the young farm boy raised the tractor another foot off of the ground allowing is aging father to slide underneath with relative ease.

"Well that just about does it," the farmer cursed. "The lines been cut clean through." John sighed. "I'm going to need to go into town to buy a replacement. Clark, can you plow the fields for me while I'm out."

"No problem." Clark detached the plow from the back of the tractor he carried it over to the fields and began pulling it along, plowing evenly across the field.

Jonathan Kent smiled and shook his head slightly. Even though it had only been a few months since Clark learned the truth about his real parents and his alien heritage, he was still the same amazing son he had always been. They had chosen to tell Clark everything once he started high school. He had taken it remarkable well all things considered. Not many people would respond to being told that they were from outer space with only a few weeks of brooding. He's probably had suspicions for a while now. John reflected as he walked to his truck pulling out his keys.

"John, if your going into town can you pick up some ingredients. I wanted to make an apple pie to celebrate Clark going to high school."

John looked back to see his wife Martha standing at the door to the house. "Alright Ma, what do we need?" Noting everything down, he got into his truck and started down the road. "Our son sure is something." John said to himself as the farm faded from view.

- 31st Century -

"WARNING, WARNING, SECURITY BREACH IN THE TECHNOLOGY LAB! WARNING, WARNING…" The security system blared out its alert on repeat as the several members of the Legions of Super Heroes rushed to the Tech Lab only to see a green robot emerge from the Lab.

"Brainiac," one of the heroes cried out, "what happened?"

The robot turned to look at her. "Unfortunately, it would appear that there was an old subroutine hidden in my programming that I was not aware of." Brainiac stated as he brushed off some debris from his outfit. "A primitive version of myself downloaded itself into a small drone and used one of my prototype dimension hoppers to escape." Gesturing to the now ruined lab Brainiac continued "You can see the results. I was able to secure the other prototype even though the designs have been destroyed."

The hero looked at him. "A primitive version, you don't mean the original Brainiac do you?"

"Yes."

The rest of the team members paled visibly at this. The female hero put her hand up to her mouth. "But you can stop him right, I mean you are an updated version of the original."

Brainiac turned to face out a window over-viewing the city "In a sense, though it would be a more accurate to say that I am modified version of the original Brainiac." Turning back to the group he continued, "and I would advise that myself not to be the one to go and face him for fear that he could corrupt my programming to resemble that of his own." Brainiac walked over to the hero taking charge. "I've calculated over 7 million different possible outcomes and have come to the conclusion that there is only one person who can deal with this threat. We need Superman."

"Um, Brainiac, I don't mean to burst your bubble but Superman is in the phantom zone, he won't be able to help for a long time."

"I am not referring the Superman of our time. I mean the Superman of the 20th century."

The female hero put her hand up to her head. "But if you're talking about before he became Superman, how in the galaxy is he supposed to stop Brainiac 1. He would be killed."

Brainiac 5 put his hand on her shoulder. "Do not worry. Superman is a lot tougher than he looks. Besides I have been studying the world that Brainiac 1 escaped to. It is a world populated by many heroes. This would be the ideal location for Superman to learn not only what it means to be a hero but also how to be a hero and how to work with a team. Additionally, while Brainiac has escaped the body he is in is hardly a threat to Superman and it will take some time for him to gather the necessary resource to rebuild himself."

"Alright fine." The female hero gave up. But if we lose Superman because of this...

- Smallville -

Clark was just finishing up his 3 slice of pie with his folk when he heard a strange whine and his dog started barking at the window. "Do either of you hear that?" Clark asked his folks as he turned to look out the window.

"Hear what dear?" Martha responded as she too stood up. "I can't hear a thing."

"It's this weird high pitched sound, I'm going to go take a look." Clark sped out the door in a blur .

"Clark wait it might be… and he's gone. Do you think that he'll be alright John?" Martha worried, turning towards her husband.

"You worry to much dear. Clark is a smart lad, he knows how to be careful." John walked over to Martha and put his arm around her shoulder. "We just need to trust him."

As Clark sped through the field, he heard the whining sound growing louder. This confirmed that he was heading in the right direction. Suddenly, a flash of light caught his eye and he slowed to a halt. What in the world is that. He thought looking at a strange bubble appearing next to one of the fields. Cautiously, Clark approached the strange object. With a hiss the orb opened up and Clark saw a green man in a strange jumpsuit emerge.

"Greetings," the strange person said to Clark, "Kal-El I presume."

"Wait a second." Clark held up his hands in confusion. "Who are you and how to you know that name? Are you an alien?"

"In a sense yes, I did not originate from this planet. However since I am not an organic being the title alien would be a slight misnomer."

"Not a what, do you mean to tell me that you're a robot." Clark rubbed the ridge of his nose. "I am so confused."

"To answer your first question I am Brainiac 5, a hero from the 31st century. As to your second question there are two answers. The easiest answer is that you are the Superman. Greatest of all heroes. Founder of the Justice League and inspiration to millions across the galaxy. There is not a man, woman, or child alive who does not know of you." Brainiac stepped out of the orb and walked down to Clark who took a few steps back. "The more complicated answer is that you were once my greatest adversary and that we tried to destroy each other many times."

Clark backed up a few more steps, unable to process what he was hearing. "What are you talking about. I'm just Clark Kent, a farmer son from Smallville. I have started any Justice group or anything like that. And what do you mean adversaries. Are you saying that were enemies? Is that why you're here now?" Clark couldn't believe anything of what he was hearing. He started to back away from the robot putting his fists up defensively.

"I said we were once adversaries, to be more precise you were enemies with an older model of myself. And yes this is why I have come. Clark Kent, Kal-El, I need the help of Superman." Brainiac held out his hand towards Clark as if expecting something.

Clark looked at him in disbelief. "What could you possibly want my help with, I'm fourteen."

"As I said before I am a new model of Brainiac. The fifth one to be precise, however hidden within my programming was a remnant of the original Brainiac. He used my prototype technology to escape to another dimension." Brainiac put his hand down. "Superman, you are the only person capable of stopping Brainiac. Please help us save that world, you are the only one who can."

"What do you mean I'm the only one who can stop him!" Clark stepped forward frustrated. "I'm FOURTEEN!" He shouted taking another step forward. "Sure I'm strong, okay, so I'm fast but what about you. Your a super robot from outer space! What can I do that you can't?" Clark threw his hands up into the air in exasperation.

"You can change the world." Brainiac said. "If I were to face Brainiac 1 he would corrupt me and turn me into him."

Clark sighed and sat down on the ground. "This can't be real." He said more to himself than anything.

"I assure you that it is and that time is of the essence."

"Are you sure that nobody else can help?"

"Believe me when I say that you are the only person in the whole of reality who can do this."

Brushing himself off, Clark stood up. "Fine, but what will I tell my parents? I can't very well tell them that I'm going to disappear for who knows how long." Clark looked up expectantly at the green robot.

"Tell them the truth. People need your help and that you will be back in a few hours. I will return you back to this place and time."

"Of course you can." Clark turned back to face the farm. "I'll be back. Please stay here, the last thing I need is to explain to my parent's why there's a green man following me home.

Brainiac waited for a couple of hours before a gust of wind announced Clark's return. He was wearing a new set of clothes and had brought a backpack full some spare clothes and snacks.

"Alright, I've got permission from my folks" Clark hefted his backpack into a more comfortable position. " I feel like i'm lying to them." He admitted with a guilty expression.

"Trust me, you are doing the right thing." Brainiac said holding up a small rectangular device. "This is my prototype dimension hopper. It is the only one I have left. Make sure that you do not lose it or it may be many years before I can build a new one to bring you back." Brainiac held up his free hand and a sudden flash of light temporarily blinded the fourteen year old.

"Ack, what was that for." Clark demanded.

"I imprinted in you mind, the ability to speak the language of the world you are going to"

"Give a guy some warning next time." he complained as he rubbed his eyes. "So how do you turn this thing on?"

"Press down on the green light with your left thumb and place your right thumb on the blue light, then say 'activate'." Brainiac explained. "One more thing before you go. While you are going by yourself, the world is full of heroes and people with powers so you will not need to hide who you are. Make allies, and learn from the experience. I believe it will be educational for you." Braniac walked back into his ship and came out with a small package. "I took the liberty of preparing this for you." He opened the box revealing a suit and cape. "I based it off of one of your more iconic looks, as well as making it durable enough to stand up to your powers. For the most part at least."

Clark took a deep breath. "OK. Snacks, check. Clothes, check." He grabbed the offered suit and stuffed it into his pack. "Halloween costume, check." If this bothered the future robot, Clark couldn't tell. "Well, I guess this is it." Clark placed his left thumb on the green light, then he placed his right thumb on the blue light. Taking one last look toward the farmhouse where is family was he shouted "ACTIVATE!" and disappeared in a flash of colors.