After developing super-hearing and hearing everyone in the city crying for help, Clark runs himself ragged helping everyone and soon becomes sleep deprived and weakened. When Vicki Vale arrives to cover his activities, Lois is starstruck to meet her, only to be disappointed when Vale runs a biased story defaming Superman as a menace, caring more about ratings and money than the truth. Superman saves an invisible Mist from being hit by a truck, but accidentally causes a crash, turning public opinion against him. Mist says Siobhan was kidnapped by Task Force X and Superman offers to rescue her, only to be led into a trap. Task Force X, including Wilson and new recruits Heat Wave, Siobhan, Rough House, Willis, and Ivo in an upgraded Parasite armor, who are all controlled by shock collars, attack him. Though he is able to hold his own despite his weakened state, Superman is eventually knocked out by Ivo. The General stops Ivo from killing him as he wants to interrogate Superman. Mist regrets luring Superman into the trap as Lois and Jimmy rush to the scene, but arrive to see the group carry Superman away.