Defender
It was a beautiful summer day in China. Victor Stone gazed out at the trees surrounding his Shaolin temple where he had been studying for a year. In the distance he recognized Lana Lang. He waved to her, happy to see his old friend again. Lana smiled and waved back.

Lana called the day before telling Victor that she needed to speak to him in person about something urgent. When she got there she told him about an ancient artifact she found. She said she was told by scientists that the artifact appeared to be alien in origin, and that it might have the potential to heal people suffering from untreatable illnesses. Lana believed that Victor, with his unique technical abilities as a cyborg, was her best hope for activating the device. She asked him to travel with her to
Macau, China.

Victor wanted to go with Lana, but he knew that if he left his training now it would be an insult to his Shaolin masters and to his fellow students. He would be dishonored among his peers, and would be politely asked to never return.

But Victor had not forgotten how Lana and Clark had taken him in when he was being pursued by the lab that had experimented on him. He also remembered how Lana had been injured by his pursuers.

The next day Victor presented himself to his Shaolin masters and told them of his intention to leave. In response they replied that if he left he would have to follow the Shaolin path on his own, and that he would be welcome back when his training was complete.

To Victor this was like telling him that he could never return. Victor had no idea how to complete his training. It was his dream to learn the mysteries of Shaolin kung fu.

As Victor left the temple he tried to hide his disappointment from Lana who had been waiting outside. Lana was a true friend. He would never want her to feel like a burden.