"So, are you willing to tell the people what your powers are?" Lois asked with a smile, her tone light but probing.
"Nope," David replied without hesitation. "I don't want Luthor trying to clone me or something like that. Well, I should get back to work."
With that, he turned and walked off, making it clear he had no real interest in entertaining the interview any further. Still, as he left, the question lingered in his mind, sparking a thought—something for the future.
***
Well, time passed. Of course, Luthor was locked away… but a man like him never truly stayed down for long. He had money, and with money came influence, power, and the best lawyers money could buy. By the looks of it, once his trial was finally over, he would only be forced to spend a few days in prison before walking free again. Even behind bars, Luthor was already making moves, setting things in place to rule as if he were a king. The man was practically untouchable, unless someone decided to kill him outright.
As for David, his life was very different. He was currently out with Superman, sitting back at a café, the two of them enjoying a the moment of peace. After the events surrounding the rift, their bond had grown closer and closer. They had fought side by side, trusted one another, and now their friendship had reached the point where they weren't just allies anymore—they were best friends.
"I can't say it enough… but thanks for talking to Kara," Superman said, his voice sincere as he took a hearty bite from the slice of pizza in his hand.
"Really? Even though she hates my guts?" David replied, leaning back casually on just two legs of his chair. He lifted the bottle of Fanta in his hand and took a slow, lazy sip, as if the subject didn't bother him in the slightest.
After the whole rift incident, Superman had invited David to the Fortress of Solitude. It was there that David first encountered the true owner of Krypto—the one and only Supergirl, Kara Zor-El. She was a girl burdened with grief, weighed down by the loss of everything she once held dear. To numb the pain, she drifted between planets under yellow suns, drinking away the sorrow that never truly left her.
A small flashback to two days earlier.
"Thanks, bitch!" Kara said cheerfully while turning to leave with Krypto at her side. The powerful dog had just slammed her to the ground over and over, but Kara had only laughed it off as if it were nothing. Krypto was wild, unruly, and difficult to control, but that was hardly his fault. His behavior came from Kara herself, who had set no boundaries for him at all.
"You're not going to say anything?" David asked, his voice directed at Superman, who stood ready to step into the full glow of the sun's light.
Superman let out a long sigh, his shoulders heavy. He looked down, clearly uncertain of how to respond. What could he possibly say to his cousin, someone who had lost everything that mattered to her? No words felt like enough.
"Yes, what?" Kara asked suddenly, her tone edged with confusion as she turned to look back and forth between David and Superman.
"Nothing… just that your actions are sad and cowardly," David said softly. His words cut through the air like a blade, heavy enough to make the atmosphere drop instantly. No one present had expected something so blunt to come from his mouth.
Slowly, David reached up and removed his blindfold, his piercing eyes locking directly onto Kara's. This wasn't a conversation he wanted to have hidden behind cloth. He wanted her to see his eyes as he spoke.
"Escaping into alcohol as a way to avoid the pain you're too scared to face—that's pathetic," David continued calmly, his tone steady but unyielding. "Drowning yourself in it isn't going to fix anything. All it will do is make you weaker, more dependent, clinging to the bottle every time the hurt comes back."
Kara stood in silence, listening. But her silence wasn't an agreement. Her eyes narrowed sharply, rage causing her eyes to glow red.
"What do you know about losing anything?" Kara snapped, her voice overflowing with anger and the pain of loss. Her whole family was gone, the world she knew was gone, and now she had nothing but her pet and cousin.
"A lot," David replied lightly, his tone calm despite the weight behind his words. "The only person I had in my life was crushed before my eyes—saving me."
Kara froze mid-step, her anger faltering as his words sank in. She hadn't expected that answer, not from him. For a moment, she paused, caught off guard by the quiet truth in his voice.
Superman had tried countless times to talk to her, to reach her, but it had never mattered. Coming from him, from someone who couldn't truly understand what she was going through, the words always rang hollow. David's, however, did not.
"I wake up every day questioning why she saved someone like me," David said calmly, his voice low but steady as he walked toward Kara.
"She was so young… she had such a bright future ahead of her. And yet she threw it all away to save me." He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "But I get out of bed every morning to make her sacrifice worth something. That's the only reason I play hero."
His gaze hardened as it settled on Kara. "But then I see you… and your very existence bugs me."
Kara's fists clenched at his words, her knuckles white, but David continued, his tone softening with pain rather than anger.
"When I look at you, I see a possible future. A future of how my daughter might have turned out if I had somehow prevented her from saving me. Wouldn't my death have been meaningless at that point?" He drew in a slow breath, his voice trembling faintly. "All I would have wanted for her was to live her life to the fullest, to be happy, not to end up doing whatever it is you're doing now."
His words carried the weight of a father swallowed by grief, speaking to a reflection of what he had lost. And really, what father would ever want that?
"Shut up!" Kara suddenly screamed, her voice breaking as she snapped under the weight of his words. She couldn't bear the gaze David was giving her—those piercing blue eyes. They were the same shade as her father's, yet there was a difference. David's eyes carried a beauty that made them even harder to look at, because they reflected truths she didn't want to face.
Unable to stand it, she turned on her heel and ran, fleeing the conversation and leaving David behind in silence.
David scratched the back of his head, letting out a small sigh as the realization hit him. He had made a mistake. His daughter had always appreciated the straightforward way of speaking, even when it hurt—but clearly, not everyone shared that preference. Some truths, no matter how honest, weren't so easily accepted.
Flashback End
"That's what you think?" Superman said with a faint smile. "Because of you, she now has an identity… and tomorrow, she's starting college."
David eyebrow raised at the words, caught completely off guard, before a small, light smile tugged at his lips.
"She's trying her best to fit in," Superman continued warmly. "I asked her to hold back from playing hero for now, and she agreed. "
"I'm shocked she didn't draw some unwanted attention to Earth, with how often she was coming and going," David said softly, his tone thoughtful.
"What do you mean?" Superman asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.
"Space is endless. Who knows what kind of madman is out there, conquering planets or destroying them…" David said with a bored yawn, his voice carrying a casual weight despite the words. "I wouldn't be surprised if one of them was shocked to suddenly find a member of your race still alive and kicking."
Superman froze at that, his body going rigid. For a brief moment, it felt as if unseen eyes were suddenly watching him, studying him from far beyond Earth.
"David Woods?" Light-years away, in the cold depths of outer space, a massive, skull-shaped vessel drifted in silence. Within, countless tentacles connected Brainiac to his ship's core, his mind linked to every system at once. Before him floated countless projected scenes, each one showing the same figure—David.