EXT. SPACE – THE VOID – MINUTES LATER
Superman waits on the hull of the Ventarus as the alliance fleet takes up escort positions, like dim candles arranged in a ring against the oppressive night. His comm crackles.
JANEWAY (COMMS)
"Mr. Zod, return to Voyager. We have a developing situation."
Superman nods instinctively before remembering she can't see him. "On my way."
He pushes off lightly and activates the thrusters. The suit's guidance system, a crude instrument he's still mastering, corrects his drift as Voyager's golden hull grows larger ahead of him.
INT. AIRLOCK – U.S.S. VOYAGER
The doors hiss open. 7 of 9 is waiting again, already scanning his suit.
7 OF 9 greets him, "Your oxygen reserves dropped below optimal safety."
Superman shrugs as he steps out. "Good thing you called me back then."
7 of 9 pauses. "…That was another attempt at humor."
"I liked it again," Superman responds with a lopsided grin.
Her eyebrow lifts one millimeter. "Promising."
INT. BRIDGE – MOMENTS LATER
Superman enters to see a tense standoff on the viewscreen: a new ship, sleek and predatory, is blocking their path. The coalition ships tighten their formation around Voyager.
Janeway indicates the man on the screen as Superman comes to stand beside her, "We've just been contacted by General Koritus. He commands a fleet on the far side of the Void. They've survived by raiding every newcomer."
"He demands we dissolve our alliance and surrender half our resources," Tuvok clarifies the situation.
Harry Kim speaks while operating his post's computers, "And he says… if we don't cooperate, he's prepared to make an example of one of us."
Superman folds his arms. "He wants a fight."
Janeway shakes her head, "Nothing so simple, he wants control."
Another message cuts through the tension.
Koritus on screen, "Captain Janeway. I know you've formed your… little coalition. Disband it, or I will destroy the Ventarus. You have five minutes."
Superman stiffens. "They won't survive another hit."
"No. They won't. And neither will the alliance if we back down." Janeway turns to Superman.
"I'm not asking you to attack his fleet alone."
Superman answers immediately, "I wouldn't win."
The honesty is quiet, humble. It impresses her. "But with the alliance? With all of us together?"
She looks around the bridge. Everyone knows the answer.
Tuvok alerts Janeway, "Captain. The coalition ships report readiness."
PARIS smiles as he looks up from navigation, "Looks like everyone's tired of being prey."
Janeway straightens her uniform. "Hail, Koritus."
The predator appears on screen, cold, calculating. "General. I'm afraid your way of doing things is over."
"You can't fight me."
"We can. Together, "In a single motion, Janeway cuts the channel.
EXT. SPACE – THE VOID
The coalition moves as one.
Voyager at the center, shield frequencies synchronized across twelve distinct races—something no one in this region has ever seen. The raider fleet surges forward, but they strike a coordinated wall of overlapping shields.
Kim reports, "They can't break through the combined harmonics!"
TORRES can't believe her eyes, "This is actually working!"
Superman stands in Voyager's launch bay airlock, helmet held under one arm, waiting.
Janeway's voice comes through comms, "Not yet, Mr. Zod. Stay ready. I may need your help with debris or shielding."
He nods. "Call me when you're ready."
INT. BRIDGE – U.S.S. VOYAGER
The battle intensifies. Koritus's ships cluster into a wedge formation, firing repeated volleys.
Ever steady, Turok speaks, "They are concentrating fire on the Ventarus. Attempting to collapse the weakest link."
Janeway hits the comm. "Zod, get to the Ventarus now. Brace her hull if necessary."
EXT. SPACE – THE VOID
Superman launches in his suit again, streaking across the dark. The Ventarus buckles under fire, hull plating peeling like bark from a dying tree.
Superman lands hard against a section threatening to shear away entirely. He plants his boots, braces both hands, and holds. Every muscle strains. "Voyager, she's holding but not for long!"
"Torres to Superman, I'm rebalancing structural integrity fields, keep that section steady!"
Superman shouts back over the comm, not in fear but in effort. "Doing my best!"
The plating trembles. A plasma strike hits nearby, rattling him violently. Koritus' flagship closes in.
INT. BRIDGE – KORITUS' FLAGSHIP
Koritus sneers as he watches Superman holding the Ventarus together. "That creature… what is he?"
His lieutenant replies, "A humanoid of unusual strength."
Koritus slams a fist onto his armrest, "Then crush him. All power, on him!"
EXT. SPACE – CONTINUOUS
A focused plasma lance fires directly at Superman.
He barely has time to duck behind the hull segment he's holding; its metal vaporizes, shockwaves rattling him as his suit alarms scream.
COMPUTER (SUIT): Warning. Shield grid at fourteen percent.
Superman grits his teeth, "Torres, shields won't take another hit!"
A dozen alliance ships swing into position, absorbing fire with synchronized shields. It forms a protective cocoon around him and the Ventarus.
CAPTAIN OF THE VENTARUS (V.O.): "Zod, we've got you!"
Superman looks up, surprised—almost moved.
INT. BRIDGE – U.S.S. VOYAGER
Janeway sees an opening, "Tuvok, target Koritus' weapon emitters. Full spread."
"Acknowledged."
Photon torpedoes streak out, bypassing Koritus' weakened shielding. The flagship shudders. Its primary weapons die. The rest of his fleet begins to scatter.
Kim barely contains his glee, "They're retreating!"
Paris, now relieved, releases his breath, "I can't believe it—we beat them!"
EXT. SPACE – FINAL MOVEMENTS
The alliance surrounds Koritus' damaged vessel.
Superman, still holding the Ventarus hull together, watches as the predator who ruled the Void now drifts powerless.
JANEWAY (V.O.): "All ships, stand down. Secure the wounded. And welcome home… to all of you."
The phrase welcome home echoes strangely in a place with no stars.
INT. ENGINEERING – HOURS LATER
Repairs are underway. Torres supervises a dozen alien engineers, all working together.
Superman hands her a stabilizer beam like it's a toolbox. She smirks, "You know… this alliance thing? Might work."
Superman glances around the room, at the mingled species, helping each other.
"It already is."
INT. BRIDGE – U.S.S. VOYAGER
The alliance fleet forms into a convoy. Ahead of them, faintly, almost impossible to detect, a turbulence in the darkness.
Cautious, Kim reports, "Captain… I think we found it. A way out."
Paris, somewhat stoic, "Looks like a subspace exit aperture, forming ahead."
Janeway smiles softly, "Set course, Mr. Paris. One-quarter impulse."
The coalition follows. Every ship that refused to prey on the weak. Every ship that chose hope over desperation.
Superman stands at the rear of the bridge, hands folded behind him, watching as the aperture's faint glow washes over Voyager.
For the first time since entering the Void… there is light.
Voyager moves forward, as do the alliance vessels.
Superman whispers, barely audible: "Where there's life… there's hope."
Janeway glances back at him, understanding completely.
Voyager enters the aperture and disappears into the light.