- Superman: Any minute now Brainiac will explode. And guess what - you're going with him.
- [Darkseid reaches for his Boom-Tube generator, but Superman destroys it with his heat vision]
- Superman: No, Darkseid, to get off this rock, you'll have to go through me.
- Darkseid: You really are a glutton for punishment. Time and again I've beaten you, humbled you. What makes you think today's outcome will be any different?
- Superman: Because this time, I won't stop until you're just a greasy smear on my fist. Let's go.
- Batman: [studying Darkseid's computer] Cover me.
- J'onn J'onzz: [uses the blaster from a damaged Braniac clone to destroy another] My pleasure.
- Brainiac: Welcome, Kal-El. Once, I offered you the chance to join me in carrying on the legacy of Krypton. Today, I renew that offer.
- Superman: You must be joking.
- Brainiac: Why do you reject your great heritage?
- [showing him pictures of Krypton, including Jor-El and Lara]
- Brainiac: The entire history of your planet, its knowledge and splendor, its awe and mystery, are encoded within me.
- Hawkgirl: Superman, don't...
- Brainiac: [Superman holds up a hand to silence her] I *am* Krypton.
- Superman: You're a perversion, dishonoring the very memory of my father and all my people.
- Brainiac: And this is your final decision?
- Superman: Read my lips: go to...
- Brainiac: Unfortunate... but predictable.
- Orion: As long as Darkseid is in power, there can be no real peace.
- Highfather: There is truth in what you say.
- Orion: Then give the order.
- Highfather: No! Though I love you like a son, you are too young to remember the endless bloodshed we endured. Before making such a terrible decision, I must commune with the Source. You will await my verdict.
- Wonder Woman: Those people we met down below, who are they?
- Orion: They're not important. Just bugs.
- Batman: [seeing him suiting up] And where are you going?
- Orion: To face Darkseid.
- Wonder Woman: But Highfather ordered you to wait. Why are you so eager to fight?
- Orion: I have my reasons. Now stand aside.
- Wonder Woman: We can't let you go.
- Orion: [opening a boom tube] Try to stop me.
- Highfather: [after evacuating New Genesis] How did you survive?
- Sera: He found us and hid us in his hive until the storm blew over.
- Highfather: [Forager steps forward] You did this?
- Forager: [kneeling] Forgive my presumption, Highfather.
- Highfather: No. Forgive me, for forgetting that everything has a purpose... and a place. Today, here at our side, you have found your place.
- J'onn J'onzz: [nearby with Hawkgirl] Perhaps someday, you will find yours, as well.
- Hawkgirl: Someday.
- Brainiac: Darkseid, I calculate that this reaction will soon reach critical mass. If you don't release me, there will be no stopping it.
- Darkseid: Precisely.
- Hawkgirl: Then I guess it's up to us.
- [she strikes Darkseid with her mace]
- Darkseid: Brainiac, stop them!
- Brainiac: I have no desire to save you, but I am compelled to obey.
- Darkseid: Remember the terms of our bargain. In exchange for Superman, you promised to spare my planet.
- Brainiac: Agreed.
- Darkseid: But I still can't fathom why you need him. Surely not for simple revenge.
- Brainiac: It is quite elementary. Observe.
- [restraining Superman in a metallic contraption]
- Brainiac: Over the years, I have roamed the universe, collecting data. As my appetite grew, I changed and evolved into what you see today. From this central core, I can send countless drones to the farthest corners of the galaxy to gather more data for my collection, but it is not enough. I have reached the limits of my programmed functions. To evolve to the next level, I must extract living DNA from the last Kryptonian. Now I become a true life form, the likes of which this universe has never seen.
- [Darkseid surreptitiously plugs a device into the computer]
- Brainiac: Wait. What have you done?
- Darkseid: Just a minor modification to override your control circuits. You are now the instrument of my will.
- Superman: Why are you doing this?
- Darkseid: Before, Brainiac had the power to devour planets. Now he can consume an entire universe. He is my solution to the ultimate problem: the Anti-Life Equation.
- Superman: But why?
- Darkseid: You of all people should know, the universe is filled with chaos, confusion, and uncertainty. I will tear it down to nothing and then rebuild it, bringing order and discipline at last. Think of it, Superman: a new universe created in my image.
- Orion: I have urgent news from Apokolips.
- Highfather: [glancing at Batman and Diana] Indeed.
- Batman: We're friends of Superman.
- Wonder Woman: He sent us to warn you that Darkseid is under attack on Apokolips.
- Highfather: Do not speak that name in front of the children. You'll frighten them.
- Orion: They should be afraid. For too long, the shadow of Apokolips has threatened New Genesis.
- Highfather: Come with me. Would you excuse us, children?
- Orion: [outside the garden gate] Well, let me mount an army. While Darkseid is under siege, we will attack and end his reign of terror once and for all.
- Wonder Woman: Superman asked for your help. He doesn't want to start a war.
- Orion: Don't be so sure.
- Highfather: You forget. In the name of peace, we swore not to interfere on Apokolips. We made a pact.
- J'onn J'onzz: All these worlds that Brainiac has visited. Somewhere in here, there might be information about Thanagar.
- Hawkgirl: There's no time to think about that. Superman needs us.