When 1999 rolled over into 2000, the world waited nervously for the dreaded Y2K crash. In Metropolis, Y2K led to a very different kind of crisis.

Brainiac 2.5 returned to Earth, taking advantage of Luthor's own computer programs to open a conduit into the future and download a future version of itself. But the download process spiraled out of Brainiac's control, leading to the arrival from the distant future of Brainiac-13. At the same time, every piece of machinery and technology in Metropolis fell victim to the B13 programming, upgrading itself and turning Metropolis into a true City of Tomorrow.

Unfortunately for the world, Brainiac-13 wasn't content with merely upgrading Metropolis. It set its sights on every piece of technology in the world. Superman and the Justice League moved to try to stop Brainiac-13, and so did Lex Luthor.

Luthor's infant daughter Lena had become an unwilling host to the Brainiac 2.5 program, which communicated to Luthor Brainiac-13's intentions, as well as making Luthor aware of Brainiac-13's blind spot for Kryptonian technology. Taking advantage of this weakness, Brainiac and Luthor used a warsuit Luthor had stolen from the ruins of Superman's Fortress of Solitude to mount an attack on Brainiac-13. But as Luthor prepared to strike the killing blow, Brainiac-13 struck a deal: it would give Luthor complete mastery over the B13 technology which was by that time limited to Metropolis, in exchange for the Brainiac 2.5 program--and its human host, Lena. Luthor took the deal, trading his precious daughter for the technological mastery Brainiac-13 promised.

Luthor moved swiftly to cover the disappearance of his daughter, claiming her a casualty of the B13 upgrade. Superman, suspecting the truth, swore to recover Lena one day and return her to her father.

Later that summer, Lex Luthor announced that he would be running for President of the United States. He selected Pete Ross, Clark Kent's childhood friend and ex-Senator from Kansas, as his running mate, and chose Talia Head, daughter of Ra's al Ghul, as his successor as CEO of Lexcorp. Lex Luthor won the election in a landslide.