Chapter I

Lex Luthor clamored through his secret laboratory, resisting the urge to sprint in a panic. Even in times such as these he had to keep a level head. The idea was ingenious, the hero known as the Batman-with all of his resources and weapons-pitted against the false demigod, the Superman. The only problem was that he had trusted another man to do his work for him. It was one of the rare mistakes that even Lex Luthor could make, but it was a critical one to make. Even in times such as these he had to keep a level head.

The body of the invading Kryptonian's corpse was prepped for the mutagenic experiment; an experiment that he had hoped to improve upon before executing.

"If man cannot kill God, then maybe the Devil will do it." Luthor whispered, his lip trembling. He was painfully aware of the truly superhuman abilities of his adversary, and he had little doubt that "Clark Kent" could pick out his voice despite the miles of noise between them. He secretly wished that-even if only for a moment-Superman had heard and felt a twinge of fear and uncertainty. A silent wish, that maybe even the Superman who had been born with everything could be defeated on this powerless, backwater planet. With a few key commands, the body of General Zod was lowered into a carefully prepared liquid solution. Luthor gasped in pain as he clamped a pinprick on his thumb, giving an essential source of DNA to the machine. Several screens of unfiltered data flowed into Lex's vision, but his prolific brain only needed a few precious moments to make sense of it. With a start, he realized that he had enough material to make up to three of his monsters.

If you could call any part of Luthor's plan sane to begin with, then it certainly wasn't sane to split an already unstable experiment into three unknown parts. A mere man taking on the Superman is already a gamble, Luthor's thoughts raced, so I might as well go all in. He typed in the commands and executed the Doomsday project. The Doomsday was obviously based on a Kryptonian body, so as to be on par with Superman from the outset, but with a very human twist. Superman was born with every advantage, but the Doomsday was built to be a survivor-a true monster that could adapt to any attack used against it. With three successful copies, Lex posited that the monsters could buy enough time to overcome the initial disadvantage in strength, before they adapted to surpass the man of steel. Other than the radioactive stone from Supes' home planet, (a scarce resource that Lex no longer possessed) his only weakness would be his pride and naivete. Even against his own people, Superman deigned to attempt mercy, so Lex was sure that he could use that hubris for his monsters' advantage. A distant crash told Lex that his opponent was approaching, and he dared to crack a small smirk.

Lex could hear his creations being birthed from the primordial goop of his own design, but he kept his back to them as he faced the peals of destruction that grew louder with every passing second. The grandiose speech specially made for Superman was cocked and loaded on Lex Luthor's lips, but when the figure emerged from the smoke and debris Lex could only stare in silence. A raven haired warrior woman in garish American red and blue "armor" (or perhaps war swimsuit would be a more fitting description) stepped towards the genius, armed with a sword and shield.

"I'm sorry, I confess that I was expecting someone else." Luthor regained his composure in front of Wonder Woman quickly, as only an experienced veteran or an experienced narcissist could. Unfortunately for him, she was the experienced veteran in this exchange. For a few more precious seconds of life, Luthor barely felt the sword that flashed through his body: from nape to pelvis. He had previously assumed that his last thoughts and words would be ones of great significance; but as it turned out Lex Luthor's last thoughts were ones of disbelief and his last words were something he had heard just moments previously.

"...Martha"

???

Princess Diana was a hero, but in the Hellenistic tradition. A hero in the comfortable New World of the modern age would choose the path of mercy for an unarmed and unpowered opponent, but for the hero of Themyscira it was only natural to choose death for one so wicked. This was the justification that Diana chose to use, but her decades-long stay in the USA had made her a touch more willing to abstain from such brutality. In truth, she would have spared the megalomaniac had she not seen the horrifying monsters that he had created.

As a seasoned warrior of the highest caliber, Diana could simulate a battle before it occurred; with a mere glimpse of her environment and opponents, and an intimate understanding of her own prowess. She knew that certainty was oft the enemy of victory in battle, but it was hard not to be assured in most situations when your powers were nothing short of legendary. It was from years of this comfortable assurance that Diana was surprised by an emotion she once knew well: fear. The creatures that emerged from Luthor's pit were smaller than the colossus Talos, smaller than the monster Typhon; in fact they were barely larger than men-more akin to Frankenstein's monster of the modern era. However, with a mere glimpse, Diana could see that the monsters of Luthor's creation wielded a strength and potential of mythical proportions. A single lunge, a single slash, a single Martha. She couldn't afford to leave the monsters a general as devious as Luthor, and she hoped to end them just as decisively. Another lunge, another slash, another cry.

???

Creating a brain for a new creation was never an easy task to undergo. It was not so simple as reviving a dead brain, nor was it so simple as cloning from a living brain. Creating a human brain would have been a herculean task-insurmountable even for science up to that point-and that would be with the help of billions of examples and thousands of years of history to draw from. Lex Luthor was the only one who could conceive of and create the conscious brain of a new breed of monster, because Luthor was singularly intelligent and delusional. Luthor lacked natural emotions such as caution and doubt, because he was devoid of them. He was certain that he could create a suitable opponent to Superman, so when Wayne failed he was certain that his monsters would be the opponent. With a combination of Zod's body, the scavenged Kryptonian technology, billions of dollars worth of resources, 18 months, and Luthor's insanely indomitable will: Superman's Doomsday was created. Three of them.

As much intelligence as one could credit to the mind of Lex Luthor, even he had his weaknesses. For instance, if Luthor wanted to create perfect killing machines then he could have installed machine-like programming into the body of Zod, armed with a lead covered Kryptonite gun. The discrepancy could technically be attributed to a lack of mindfulness, but the truth was closer to a simple fact. Luthor didn't want to kill Superman: Luthor wanted to prove that he was the super-man. If the Batman had killed Superman, then Luthor would have been the successful manipulator. If the Doomsdays killed Superman, then Luthor would have been the true Prometheus of a stronger man. If a machine had killed Superman, then Luthor would have just been a weapons manufacturer. It was for this reason that Lex Luthor didn't program Doomsday, he created a program to raise Doomsday. Each Doomsday was taught English at a blistering pace and were taught to obey Luthor himself, and not much else. True to Wonder Woman's intuition, Luthor had planned to lead the Doomsdays himself, as if he was a cartoonish warlord. Now the Doomsdays were left leaderless.

It may be safe to assume that the Doomsdays were identical at this juncture, but there were several key differences between them. Firstly, the three brains were initially created under the same key principles, but they were not developed using the exact same processes nor were they created simultaneously. The first brain, let's call it Doomsday I, was created first with the most robotic pieces: a true combination of flesh and machine. Using a logical assemblage, Doomsday I was given ample time to assimilate a knowledge of the world, and was then set to be guided by a pure machine-like logic. The second brain, let's call it Doomsday II, was made purely of flesh. Though accelerated, one could claim that Doomsday II's development was similar to that of a child raised by Lex Luthor in a concealed box: with all of the problems that may entail. The third brain, Doomsday III (who wishes to go by the title of Professor Doomsday), was developed in a much more interesting fashion. Luthor's donation of blood a few moments prior to the awakening of the Doomsday bodies-did absolutely nothing. However, unbeknownst to him, the Kryptonian-human hybrid computer had already sampled and sequenced Luthor's DNA months prior. The Doomsday I brain had nearly 18 months to develop, the Doomsday II had nearly 16 months, but the Doomsday III brain only had 7 months to develop. In order to accelerate Doomsday III's brain development at such an accelerated pace, the K-H computer utilized Luthor's own brain as a schematic, and unlocked some of the information restrictions placed on the other brains. While Doomsday I and II were learning from a regimented Lexcorp approved program, Doomsday III was learning from the likes of Harvard lectures, nihilist theses, and wikipedia. At age 6 months, Doomsday III became a guest lecturer for a video lecture on necrocapitalism. From that moment on Doomsday III assumed the name Professor Doomsday forevermore.

The second major difference between the Doomsdays, let's call them the Doomsday brothers (Lex had made them all male as an extension of his own narcissism and subconscious misogyny), were their bodies. Since the physics and chemistry at work in the world of Frankenstein do not apply to reality, Zod's body could not be reanimated. Cloning also wouldn't work, because Luthor didn't have decades to spend raising Kryptonians. Out of these restrictions came a very unique process. The brain "data" for the brothers was created in a closed system (with the slight exception of Professor Doomsday), and later "downloaded" into the literal flesh and machine brains constructed in the machine. After the brains, the most care was put into the making of the nervous system. In a natural organism, the nervous system develops concurrently with the rest of the body. However, in the case of the Doomsday project, the "internal" brain had to be adapted to the "external" nervous system, so a complete nervous system had to be made apart from the mind and the bodies of the Doomsdays. Then the bodies of each of the Doomsday Brothers were created afterwards.

???

A rare moment of fear had prevented Diana from preemptively striking the emerging monsters, so she instead adopted a slightly more defensive stance. A very bulky upper body unceremoniously gripped the edge of the birthing pit, similarly to how a child might exit a pool. In contrast, a body with a much thinner countenance rose steadily from the middle of the pool. She realized with a start that the monster had the same flying capability as Superman. Both of the monsters looked like caricatures hewn from rock, with grey and uneven textured skin: one overly large and the other overly thin. The first stared with obsidian eyes unblinkingly at Diana, while the other made small loops in the air. In a leap, Diana ricocheted off the wall and swung her sword in a wide arc towards the flying opponent. It was caught mostly unawares, but a speeding chunk of rubble interrupted her swing. She had hoped to take out the monster with more mobility first, but the larger monster was clearly more focused. In midair, Diana caught the flyer with her shield, and twisted to face the bulky one while she landed.

"HRRRMMMM" The large monster declared in outrage. Diana observed that it had no mouth. She leapt forward, and then slid under a heavy swing by the monster. In response, she slashed its arm and regained her stance on the other side. She had hoped to cut through the arm with her full power swing (she could slice through stone after all), but the damage dealt was only a deep gash. She noticed that the thin monster was only now recovering from the shield bash, while the thick one recovered quickly from the more dire injury. Its blood was a lighter gray than the rest of its body, and it seemed to solidify very quickly from the wound. The flying monster recovered and hovered over the pit of liquid, making itself harder to hit. Finishing the fight would require backup, or a greater risk. Diana tossed aside her shield and gripped her sword with both hands. She buckled the bulky monster with a powerful kick behind the knee, and then cut off the injured arm with a two-handed swing. It jabbed her with its remaining arm from an unfavorable position, but the blow still sent a shock through her body. A well placed straight or hook could knock her out for the count, or worse. Luckily, a tempestuous blast of wind announced the arrival of her much welcomed backup. Superman descended to the ground and came face to face with the monster created to destroy him. One look at the grotesque figure, and his eyes glowed red with heat.

"STOP!" A raspy voice sputtered.

???

Professor Doomsday's unceremonious emergence from the creation pool was very reminiscent of a human birth. He rose from the pool in the arms of Doomsday II covered in goop and screaming.

"STOP!" He choked indignantly. "Do you have any ability to reason, or is your only portion violence?" Professor Doomsday rhetorically growled at the duo.

"I didn't realize you could sp-" Wonder Woman began, before she was interrupted by Doomsday II.

"That ones' mean! She hit me in the stomach and it was like-OW! And she-Ohmygod she cut off your arrmm!" Doomsday II flailed in the air towards the stoic Doomsday I. Doomsday I looked past Wonder Woman, and raised his remaining arm to point at Superman.

"HRM." He declared pointedly.

"You are in no position to be picking fights, Doomsday I!" Professor Doomsday admonished his older brother. Doomsday I's arm remained raised at Superman.

"Hrm."

"Well, this is unprecedented." Superman cheerily spoke. "Are you Luthor's work?"

"Technically-yes"

"Even more reason to destroy them." Wonder Woman said with steel in her voice.

"And I assume both of you followed perfectly in your parents' footsteps?" Professor Doomsday questioned.

"MARTHA!" Doomsday II used both of his hands to form a mock-megaphone, which caused Professor Doomsday to collapse in a heap on the ground. Everyone present took notice of Professor Doomsday's limp and lifeless legs, as he propped himself up with his arms.

"Be more careful next time, Doomsday II." Professor Doomsday admonished his slightly younger older brother. "And I believe our common objective is to end this interaction peacefully." He turned his eyes towards the two strangers, matching the red glower of the man of steel.

"We cannot let you go free." Wonder Woman narrowed her eyes in focus to compensate for her missing shield.

"Why? Because we are powerful? What level of cognitive dissonance do you operate under in order to condemn us, while remaining upright yourselves?!" Professor Doomsday grumpily snapped at her.

"Now-now we shouldn't resort to violence if it isn't necessary." Superman relaxed his laser vision and raised his arms, in as much of a placation as a super-alien-bioweapon could muster.

"And who decides the necessity of violence? The United States? The humans? You?" Professor Doomsday scratched his chin thoughtfully, fulfilling a characterization of the professor he wished to be.

"Not the most important thing right now." Doomsday II said as he lowered himself down to the ground.

"You are so right, dear brother, so here's the deal-" Professor Doomsday motioned to the two "heroes". "The three of us have been recently born unto US soil, thereby making us newly minted US citizens per the 14th amendment."

"God Bless America!" Doomsday II giggled and took back to the sky.

"Says the monsters who call themselves Doomsday." Wonder Woman replied devoid of amusement.

"You guys didn't choose your name either!" Doomsday II shot back.

"HrM." Doomsday I added knowingly.

"They do have a point." Superman shrugged, never losing confidence.

"Now, were this a case of equal standing-instead of a clear pressuring of the oppressed by those in higher standing-this would be enough-" Wonder Woman rolled her eyes as Profesor Doomsday began his spiel. "But we understand-"

"Yea! We understand!"

"HRM"

"We understand that we are grotesqueries in your eyes, that we must prove our innocence before we are even presumed guilty. For this one instance, I shall concede, because unfortunately my need for survival outweighs my need for recognition and equality. I suggest you allow us to live under a year-long probationary period, in order to prove our willingness to live in peace."

"And how do we know you will stick to this 'peace' during your probation, instead of doing your misdeeds outside of prying eyes?" Wonder Woman remained defensive, but turned to Superman instead of keeping her eyes on the brothers. Professor Doomsday glared at the warrior, albeit without the added threat of primed laser vision. Superman glanced at the paraplegic gargoyle, and began to speak when a rebuttal didn't arrive.

"There are two problems that I see here. You guys need someone to look after you, and you need somewhere to stay."

Professor Doomsday saw where this was going, and barely withheld a groan.

"And I think both problems could be solved if you stayed in my farm in Kansas!" Superman finished speaking and put his hands on his hips triumphantly. Wonder woman scowled, Doomsday I furrowed his brow, and Professor Doomsday impatiently crossed his arms.

"Wait! How are we going to pay rent?!" Doomsday II exclaimed.