Author's Note: Here's my very first Justice League story, folks!

As the title suggests, this story is a treatment of the 2016 DC Extended Universe film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, though this story is more-heavily based on both the Superman: TAS three-part crossover episode World's Finest and MortalAmongGods' story The World's Finest.

Anyways, this story functions as my way of depicting Superman and Batman's first encounter with each other in my Dimension One (Coolsville Central) series, a series that also contains my modern-day reboot of Scooby-Doo.

Long story short, this series basically consists of a shared universe between the world of Hanna-Barbera and the DC Universe with a darker and realistic portrayal of the former.

That being said, I have no intention of writing a Coolsville Central treatment of each DC hero's origin, namely because I'll be sticking with the mainstream, Post-Crisis and pre-New 52 origin stories for those heroes.

Of course, the main difference between this series and the mainstream DC Universe is that I'll be sticking to a specific timeframe for the events of the stories, namely the idea of Superman making his debut in Metropolis in the year 2003, six years after the Dark Knight did so in Gotham City.

I don't own any DC Comics characters. DC Comics, Warner Bros. and Time Warner does.

Chapter 1: Nighttime thoughts and origins

September 5, 2006

"You are nothing other than a disgrace, Kal-El." General Zod's voice continued to echo in his mind as Clark Kent tries to get some sleep that night in his Metropolis apartment. "A disgrace to our race! A traitor to the planet Krypton!"

Clark tossed and turned, but the visions of the ruins of Metropolis that resulted from his brutal battle with Zod continued to haunt him, which made it difficult for him to get the sleep he needs.

"You don't deserve to call yourself a Kryptonian, Kal-El!" Zod's voice echoed. "Kal-El, son of Jor-El. A weakling just like those pathetic inhabitants of this planet Earth!"

Zod's voice continued to echo in his mind until Clark couldn't take it anymore.

He flung his blanket off, hopped off his bed and made his way to the washroom, where he turned on the lights and walked to the sink.

As he splashed water in his face, Clark looked at his reflection on the mirror as his memories began to replay in his mind.

Since he finished his university studies and settled into Metropolis two years ago, becoming a reporter for the Daily Planet, life in Metropolis has been filled with surprises and unexpected adventures.

His Kryptonian heritage resulted in him possessing powers no ordinary living being on Earth has, such as flight, x-ray vision (Though lead can block it), heat vision, near-invulnerability, super strength, super speed and super hearing.

As Clark Kent began settling in Metropolis, Delaware, a new vigilante known as the "Blur", due to his super speed and his ability to avoid getting captured on camera, began appearing in the City of Tomorrow helping the police take down criminals.

A chance rescue of a doomed flight hijacked by terrorists determined to repeat the September 11 attacks resulted in a clear photo of him getting captured, and it was then that a certain Daily Planet reporter named Lois Lane coined the term "Superman" after noting the giant "S" on his outfit.

Over time, Superman came to adapt to his celebrity status in the city and became more acquainted with officials, which includes Metropolis Police Commissioner David Corporon, who came to regard his help as useful and has at times contacted him directly or indirectly through Captain Dan Turpin of the Major Crimes Unit and Deputy Inspector William Henderson of the Detective Bureau for assistance.

As Superman's work receives increased attention from the press and citizens, he has gradually became a popular figure in the City of Tomorrow with many boys looking up to him as a role model.

However, all of this affection and trust towards him was overshadowed by the terrorist attack he foiled that led to his receiving the mokier "Superman" from the press.

The captured terrorists were found to be private military intelligence operatives, who, following a series of questionings, revealed that it was meant to be a false flag attack to justify further military action in Kaznia.

The trail in the investigations eventually led Clark Kent to LexCorp, whose owner was none other than the charismatic, highly-intelligent billionaire Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor, who is also one of the most-powerful figures in the City of Tomorrow.

With humble beginnings, Luthor founded LexCorp in 1984 with aid from the insurance policy of his late father Lionel, who was an alcoholic and have beaten the young Lex on a frequent basis before his succumbing to heart failure when Lex was in his early-teens.

His genius in engineering, entrepreneurship and business management enabled him to transform LexCorp from a small mechanical engineering firm into a giant corporation that became Metropolis' largest employer in the private sector within a period of five years.

By the end of the 1990s, LexCorp has expanded overseas with offices in Toronto, Montreal, London, Paris, Sydney, Berlin, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo and Auckland, and its portfolios has diversified with technological and weapons research and development, engineering, construction and real estate management among the major field of operations.

It was also during this time that Lex Luthor has established a number of charities under his name and has used his philanthropy to donate to a number of causes.

However, as Clark Kent and Lois Lane later found, behind the facade of a charismatic Lex Luthor was a power-hungry man who viewed Metropolis as the centre of his empire with the thirst for more wealth and power.

While investigating the terrorist attack foiled by Superman, both journalists discovered photos of Luthor meeting with someone in the U.S. Army that had supplied the terrorists the weapons they needed to carry out the attack.

The man that supplied the weapons to the terrorists was none other than U.S. Army First Sergeant John Corben, who is the quartermaster of the Second Army Advanced Technology Division based in Fort Siegal, which is the garrison of the U.S. Advanced Forces and Material Command and located in the outskirts of Metropolis.

Their investigations eventually led them into a collision course with Corben, who admitted to not being satisfied by the ceasefire brokered by the U.S. between Serbia and Kaznia and suggested that the U.S. should be teaching Kaznia a lesson the same way the country is teaching Iraq a lesson following the 2003 invasion.

The whole case led to Superman and Lois Lane becoming convinced that Luthor arranged the attacks in order to be able to sell more arms, especially since the ceasefire that ended the conflict in Kaznia and Serbia led to the U.S. Army cancelling a major weapons order from LexCorp.

Of course, the idea was mere speculation on their parts, and even after Clark confronted Luthor as Superman following his defeat of Corben, they were unable to find concrete evidence that Luthor was involved in the failed terrorist attack.

This very first case will eventually clear the way for more conflicts between the Man of Steel and Luthor in the months that followed.

As the months went by, in addition to his on-and-off conflicts with Luthor, Superman began encountering a number of rogues such as Toyman, Parasite, a vengeful John Corben (Who used his Special Forces training to his tactical advantage and has been a handful for Superman, who always ends up finding a way to turn the tables against the disgraced former first sergeant) and Livewire.

However, none of these rogues have the capability of throwing his life in Metropolis into turmoil compared to a certain trio who had managed to survive the destruction of his home world Krypton.

That trio was none other than the trio of Kryptonian war criminals consisting of General Zod, Non and Ursa, who together with the residents of the Phantom Zone, represented the worst of the worst of Kryptonians.

At the height of his career, Zod was the supreme commander of Krypton's military forces with Non and Ursa as his chief lieutenants.

His brilliancy in military tactics and exploits in defending the planet from its enemies earned him the trust of the Science Council, who subsequently appointed him as the chief of staff of the military forces after he successfully rallied the troops in repelling a powerful invasion force.

However, as the years went by and following a series of crisis, Krypton began to experience a decline with the people living under an environment of paranoid and fear, a decline which the supreme commander of the military forces attributes to the Science Council becoming too weak, inefficient and tied up in layers of bureaucracy.

Believing that drastic action needs to be taken in order to reverse the decline and make Krypton great again, Zod, Non and Ursa began their plot to overthrow the Science Council and impose their style of rule over the planet.

The trio met frequently to go over plans, gaining the support from some sympathetic to the cause in the process.

Reviewing the plans over and over again, the trio were confident that their plan can hatch flawlessly and nothing can go wrong.

Unfortunately for them, even the best-laid plans can end up of mice and men, which is exactly what happened with Zod's attempted coup to overthrow the Science Council.

The coup attempt was stopped by a young scientist, who managed to gather a militia of troops loyal to the council and fought back, after getting tipped off by someone with knowledge of Zod's plot, and the coup plotters were summarily arrested and placed on trial for the insurrection.

The scientist's testimony led to the jury of the planet's high court finding the defendants guilty of treason, whereupon the plotters were sentenced to life imprisonment in the Phantom Zone.

The young scientist who not only stopped the coup but also delivered crucial testimony in court that led to Zod and his minions' getting sentenced to life imprisonment in the Phantom Zone: Jor-El, the father of Kal-El.

The days spent in the Phantom Zone hardened Zod's hatred towards the House of El, and prior to getting projected into the Phantom Zone, Zod warned Jor-El, who was among the people sent to witness the projection, that he will find a way to seek revenge on those that wronged him.

"Mark my words, Jor-El." Zod warned the young scientist, who appeared unnerved by his words, as he come face-to-face with him. "I will find my way out and when I do, you'll be the first to kneel before me!"

"Sure, Zod." Jor-El rolled his eyes in response. "I'm sure it'll happen sometime."

Anyways, long story short, not long after the coup plotters were sentenced to the Phantom Zone, Jor-El's research lead him to evidence that determined that not only man-controlled weather systems were having an adverse effect on the planet's climate, but also long-time fracking sanctioned by the Science Council was the leading cause of the frequent earthquakes that has rattled the planet for the past several months.

And the evidence lead him to a conclusion: Krypton is doomed to blow up into bits in the next 48 hours.

Jor-El's warnings on his findings fell onto deaf ears on the Science Council, and members of the council were further displeased by his plan to project everyone into the Phantom Zone and then have everyone released onto a suitable planet.

Truth be told, Jor-El was never thought of lightly in Krypton's scientific community. Many found him to be arrogant and could never be wrong.

In fact, his own father-in-law Sul-Van has once said that his ego was the size of Argos when Jor-El told him of his findings on the cause of the earthquakes and the severe climate change, warning him that unless the planet's supercomputer Brainiac sides with him on the issue, Jor-El can consider his career to be over.

As things turned out, after the Council turned to Brainiac for his opinion on Jor-El's findings, the supercomputer dismissed the findings and added that the earthquakes were only a sign of the planet undergoing a temporary orbital shift.

Jor-El will eventually found that Brainiac deliberately lied to the Council in order to give himself enough time to download himself onto a satellite before making his escape, and he took advantage of Jor-El's hesitation to destroy him to call in security, forcing the scientist to flee.

After managing to arrive home, Jor-El turned to his backup plan, where he will launch a small spaceship containing his baby son Kal-El, though with the police hot on his trail, Jor-El knew that he will have to do something to distract them while his wife Lana launches the spaceship, even though it'll take a longer time for her to do so as she isn't as skilled in launching space vehicles like her husband.

Fortunately for them, while Jor-El was gone testifying at the Science Council, Sul-Van took the time to go over his research and ultimately became convinced that his theory on Krypton's immediate doom was sound.

However, by that point, the explosion was imminent and with Jor-El wanted by police, they have little time left to execute Jor-El's backup plan to save Kal-El.

In a show of faith, Sul-Van volunteered to distract the police so Jor-El and Lana can do their work in launching the spaceship containing Kal-El.

Kal-El's spaceship will eventually launch into space moments before one final earthquake led to the entire planet blowing up into pieces, and after travelling through a wormhole in warp speed, the spaceship eventually landed in the outskirts of Smallville, Kansas on June 18, 1978.

The baby was found by Jonathan and Martha Kent, who eventually adopted the baby as their son and named him Clark.

As the years went by, Clark began to develop some strange superhuman powers, and it was following his rescue of a family from a burning house and emerging unscratched from the flames during his sophomore year in high school that led to his parents tell him the true story behind his adoption.

With his parents showcasing the spaceship he was found in, Clark soon learned of his Kryptonian heritage and the reason behind the strange superhuman powers he has developed over the years.

However, the revelation was overwhelming for Clark, who furiously ran off before managing to calm down when he discovered his flight abilities.

Graduating from Smallville High School in 1996, Clark attended Kansas State University in Manhattan and obtained his bachelors degree in journalism four years later.

His experience editing the university newspaper and interning at various newspaper publication companies came in handy when he arrived in Metropolis a year after completing his masters degree in the subject, where his news articles have gained the attention of a certain Perry White, the editor-in-chief of the City of Tomorrow's largest newspaper company The Daily Planet.

Anyways, two years after Clark settled in Metropolis and began fighting crime as Superman, the testing of a powerful hydrogen bomb by China led to the weakening of the separation between the dimension of the main universe and the Phantom Zone.

The result of the weakening of the separation was that the inmates of the prison dimension were freed, and the first thing General Zod and his minions did was to seek vengeance on the man responsible for their imprisonment.

One thing to note was that with their imprisonment in the Phantom Zone, the inmates are rendered into a phantom-like state that enables them to observe, but not interact with, elements in the dimension of the main universe.

It was through that state that enabled General Zod to learn that Krypton was destroyed and survive that destruction.

Anyways, the escaped prisoners soon found themselves developing superhuman powers as a result of their exposure to the Earth's yellow sun, and seeing the Earth as a suitable planet of what remained of life from Krypton, Zod and company began their plan to colonize the planet.

Scouts were dispatched to the planet, where the ones dispatched to Metropolis reported that the City of Tomorrow is being protected by the Man of Steel.

In further observations, Zod and company recognized the "S" shield on Superman's chest. It was the crest of the House of El, which also meant that the Superman protecting Metropolis is the son of their jailer - Jor-El.

What followed was Zod coming to Superman, presenting himself as an ally and hoped that he will join his cause to rebuild Krypton.

However, Superman, upon consulting an orb containing all information on Krypton, which he obtained following his first defeat of Brainiac when he learned that the supercomputer was responsible for tarnishing his father's name, learned of Zod's tanglement with his father Jor-El and came to denounce Zod's cause to rebuild Krypton by colonizing Earth.

What followed was a major confrontation between Superman and Zod's army of exiled Kryptonians that escalated into a giant battle that involved troops from the Delaware National Guard, the Army 12th Division and the 7th Marine Division from Fort Siegal, a giant battle that came to be known as the Battle of Metropolis.

The battle consisting of dozens of super-powered Kryptonians facing off with the Man of Steel resulted on collateral damage to the city's infrastructure, not to mention the thousands of lives lost as the city's Central Business District was completely demolished in the battle.

Of all the days for Hurricane Katrina to strike and devastate New Orleans in the summer of 2005, it has to strike the Gulf Coast that late August in the same time as the Battle of Metropolis winds up.

Superman eventually succeeded in banishing the invaders back to the Phantom Zone, but his victory wasn't without any price attached.

For one thing: Disaster relief was a disaster itself. Metropolis City Hall and the White House in Washington D.C. were both caught flat-footed by the devastation caused by the Battle of Metropolis, and for the latter, it all came down as the administration faced severe criticism for its response to the aftermath of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

In fact, the summer of 2005 will eventually gain the name "Summer of the Double Storms", namely because of the devastation in Metropolis from the Kryptonian invasion and the devastation of New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina resulted in the loss of thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars worth in damage, all of which occurred in a single summer.

However, the victory itself has taken a toll on the Man of Steel himself.

His interactions with Zod and the Kryptonian prisoners drove him to harbour strong doubts about himself.

Was he supposed to be helping his people, the Kryptonians, in rebuilding their home, their society and live normal lives on the planet Earth, or was he supposed to help defend his adoptive home from the people that came from his destroyed home world.

Torn between the two worlds, Clark Kent even found himself having to take a leave of absence from the Daily Planet under the cover story of getting caught in the crossfire in the Battle of Metropolis, was subsequently diagnosed for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result, and return to Smallville to clear his mind.

The Battle of Metropolis also helped Lex Luthor reinforce his suspicions towards the Man of Steel, considering him an alien who harbours a sinister agenda that includes the destruction of the planet Earth as its inhabitants know it.

Superman also became a controversial figure following the Battle, and views of him became polarized.

One camp consider him as a hero and are sympathetic towards the dilemma faced by the Man of Steel, reasoning that even with his powers and responsibilities, he is still human and can find himself stuck between a rock and a hard place.

The other camp supports Luthor's growing suspicion towards Superman, viewing him as the very reason those Kryptonians decided to invade Earth in the first place, even helping the invaders with their plans to colonize the planet and that the only reason why the invaders were repelled was due to the timed arrival of troops and Superman's last-minute decision to switch sides, a decision that was viewed by the camp as too little too late.

And that's how, one year after the Battle of Metropolis, in spite of returning to his normal life as Clark Kent, Superman still find himself having troubling memories of the battle and Zod's taunts in their fight.

Clark sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror for one more time before turning off the bathroom lights and returned to his bed.

Please read and review!