In the final cycle, Brainiac had truly mastered the whole affair. He drove back the enemy at the beginning of December, a full month ahead of schedule, and the period needed to adjust and restore order took only a dozen or so days.
Around mid-December, Gotham saw its first snowfall. It snowed all night, covering everything in silver. The heavy snow snapped quite a few branches off the enormous beech tree in front of Schiller's home.
In the early morning, the temperature rose slightly. Wind blew in from the nearby lake, carrying dry, frigid air and frosting the windowpanes with a thin layer of mist. The snowplow played a soothing tune as the neighborhood sanitation worker greeted people door to door:
"Good morning, Mr. Bucky! Your little daughter's school bus will be here in five minutes, so you'd better hurry her along."
"Good morning, Mrs. Hans. Did the milkman beat me here today? Now that's unusual. It's pretty cold today—I thought he'd sleep in."
"Professor Schiller! Oh, Professor, it's rare to see you back. How are things at the university?"
Schiller took that morning's newspaper from the mailbox and greeted the sanitation worker as well. "Not bad. Nothing major happened. Tomorrow is the football game. Let's hope it goes smoothly."
"Yes, may God bless the athletes."
Schiller untied the string around the rolled-up newspaper with his sheepskin-gloved hand. After unfolding it, he sighed. "The Gotham Daily finally decided to use decent ink. Ever since I moved here, I've hardly needed to iron my newspapers. I've lost count of how many times I went to work with ink all over my hands."
"Yeah, ever since Brainiac kicked that damn newspaper boss off to a farm to feed pigs, the Daily's quality has improved by more than a little... Oh, Professor, your