The next day, in Smallville, Kansas.
The sky was blue, the weather clear, without a cloud for miles.
Several migrating birds flapped their wings and swept over the town, landing on a withered treetop. They preened their feathers with sharp beaks and stared down below.
The townspeople had long since been evacuated elsewhere. Only the stationed troops and the superheroes who had come here remained.
"Why aren't they here yet?"
Green Lantern Hal turned to look behind Sam Lane. Rows of steel machines gleamed coldly, their gun barrels thick with the smell of gunpowder.
He frowned and wrinkled his nose, feeling somewhat anxious.
Today was the agreed date for negotiations with the Kryptonians. Whatever the outcome, they would be going to all-out war with them afterward.
However...
Superman and Supergirl, aboard the Kryptonian Spaceship, were the most important part of the plan. Their choices would determine the survival of the entire Earth.
General Sam Lane stood atop an armored command vehicle. His olive-green uniform accentuated his straight-backed figure, but there was not a trace of ease on his face.
He raised his hand to check his watch and said gravely, "Be patient, Green Lantern. Kryptonian technology is far beyond ours. When they want to appear, they'll appear before us."
Beside him, Lois Lane gripped her voice recorder, her slightly worried eyes sweeping across the blue sky.
As a Daily Planet reporter and Sam Lane's daughter, she was the only member of the press allowed into the negotiation site.
Nearby, Batwoman leaned against a building. Her custom-made black Batsuit hugged her figure, outlining her voluptuous curves.
She gripped her grappling gun, all the Batarangs on her utility belt ready. Then she raised her head, her blue eyes beneath the cowl full of vigilance as she stared fixedly at the sky.
After