Brainiac

Lois turned to see a muscular man with green-skin, strange metal sockets protruding from his bald head. He wore a tight-fitting one-piece garment, black and with strange ridges like armor; bits of it glowed.

"Brainiac," she breathed, staring at the alien computer.

"Indeed." He did not make a move to threaten her, but the irises in his eyes shifted rapidly, mechanically, as if scanning every inch of her with a minimum of movement. "It is fortunate you have come, Lois Lane. As you see, we have an opening."

"If you think for one minute you're going to **** me into your experiments..."

"No," the green-skinned humanoid said. "There will be no ****. I am a twelfth-level intellect, Lois Lane. If I wished to **** you, that would already be accomplished. Yet I have already run the probabilities of your appearance here. You will agree to help us. It is the only way to save those you came here for."

"What?" Lois looked confused. Maria looked downcast.

"Listen to what I have to say, earth woman!" The humanoid computer insisted. "Using my intellect, a process was developed to rapidly re-write DNA, using a genetically engineered retrovirus. When exposed to a catalyst, the new DNA caused spontaneous mutation—physical alterations beyond the capabilities of your primitive science. Genders can be changed. Aging can be reversed."

The green eyes almost seemed to glow, such was the intensity of his gaze. "The initial results of the experimentation were successful, but unpredictable, unstable. We were **** to use repeated exposures to the catalyst to unlock the correct transformations that the subjects desired. The rapid mutations had unfortunate consequences."

He paused.

In the silence, Maria said softly. "I'm dying. We all are."

"Correct," the inhuman humanoid said, his tone flat and without affect. "Yet there is a solution. Their DNA may be stabilized. The process, however, requires another subject to undergo the procedure. The meta-stable DNA can then be introduced, to prevent their own genetic code from unraveling. This is where you come in, Lois Lane."

Lois gulped. "You could be lying. Maria, he's a villain! An...an alien computer from another planet! This whole thing could be a trap!" She took a breath. "Look, let me take you to S.T.A.R. Labs, or Superman, we can find another way..."

"There is no time, Lois Lane." Brainiac said. "The genetic degeneration process will become irreversible in a few hours. The cell mutations will lead to cancers throughout their systems. They must be saved now. However, I have foreseen your lack of trust in this issue...and your complete compliance is required. My twelfth-level intellect has devised a solution: you require a way out. There is the door."

Brainiac rose one green hand to point to the open doorway through which Lois and Maria had come. "You may leave now, or at any time. I will not stop you. However, if you wish to save the women—and Maria—you will lay on the empty bed."

He paused and waited for her decision.