This is an unusual telling of Superman's story. I have been hard at work for a while let me know what you think of it!
A woman sat in a chair in front of a window overlooking the city on a news set, she had dark brown hair and her nametag read “Lois Lane” she smiled into the camera “Who is he? This hero of our times, a man we all owe so much to? He has done much for the world, but who exactly is the man behind the legend? He is said to stand for truth justice and the American way. We are here with him today, so without further ado, here he is. He has been called many things, a hero, a savior, the Man of Tomorrow, he is Lex Luthor!” the studio audience clapped as the camera focused on the face of a bald man in a suit who smiled back at Lois “Thank you for coming Mr. Luthor.”
He flashed an award winning smile “Thank you for having me Miss Lane, and please call me Lex.” She pulled out a note card “Alright, Lex. I suppose the first thing the people want to know is where did you come from and how did you become what you are today, the world’s richest man, and fixing to be named Time Magazines ‘Man of the Year’ for a third consecutive year, that alone is unprecedented. But you told me earlier that it wasn’t always like that was it?”
He smiled and shook his head “No my dear miss Lane it wasn’t. When I was a child my parents lived in a small one room apartment in the heart of Suicide Slums, I remember going to bed every night wondering where my next meal would come from. We were poor, and the city was so corrupt at the time that none of the Welfare money ever made its way into the slums. We did the best we could, until one night when I was about thirteen I went and stayed at a friend of mines house, a friend I still have to this day.”
Lois interrupted him “And this friend would be?”
“John Corbin, who is now head of Lexcorp security.” He said as he continued “As I was saying I was staying at John’s home, which wasn’t much better than mine, but at least he had a TV. Anyway some kids in the neighborhood started a fire in a nearby building, the fire spread taking out a quarter of the Slums, thousands died, including my parents. And John’s as well. I was distraught and I bounced around the foster system for a while until I turned sixteen, when the money I inherited from my parents life insurance policy came, I invested it in the stock market, got enough money to star my own company, where I began developing technology for the military, and the rest is history. Now my biggest concern is making sure my head doesn’t reflect on camera.” Lois laughed lightly and faced the camera
“An inspirational story. When we return we will discuss Lex Luthor’s various humanitarian efforts over the years, stay tuned.” Lois held her smile for a moment until the light went off on the camera and someone said “That’s a wrap. Alright people we’ll pick up in five.”
“Thank God.” Lois muttered as she walked over to a table and poured a cup of coffee as she lit up a cigarette, as Lex walked offstage on his cell phone. She saw a young man with a camera around his neck standing off stage and she motioned him towards her “Hey Jimmy, tell Perry that I’ve had enough of this crap. I want to get back to the paper, I hate doing these shows, I mean there isn’t even a real audience! It’s a soundtrack. I hate doing this, I feel like I’m just a piece of meat, not the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist that I am.” Jimmy laughed “Sure Lois, Perry said you can come back as soon as you learn to spell. And when did you win a Pulitzer?” She sighed and looked at Jimmy “Oh come on, he still isn’t over that? I told him I was sorry I meant “bag” not “fag” and he should have proofread it better! And I haven’t won one, yet.” She said pointing at him as she grabbed a pastry from the table, Jimmy looked at her skeptically “Well Lois all I can say is that the only way Perry will let you back on the paper is if you get some breakthrough and earth shattering story.” She looked at him with a smile “What did he think of my series on that mystery hero that’s been running around Metropolis, the one they say is faster than a speeding bullet?” Jimmy sighed “Lois I think part of the reason Perry put you here is so you would stop annoying him with the urban legends about some superhero.” She sat the pastry down and sighed “I know that there is a real story behind this, one that can get me back on top. How are things going at the Planet? Pretty dull without me I bet.” She said with a smile, he thought for a moment “No. everything has been busy. Perry just hired a guy to take you place, what was his name… Clark Kent. Seems like a nice guy.” Lois slammed her cup down “Replace me?!?! He thinks he can replace me?” Jimmy backed up “Now Lois, I didn’t mean it like that, I’m sure that Perry didn’t either. I just meant…” he trailed off as the director came over “Come on Lane, try and make it through the rest of the show without any more of your screw ups. Try and stick to the script.” She said as she shook her head.
Lois sat listening to Lex drone on about his various ventures and plans for the future, she was absentmindedly scribbling on her notebook as Lex continued “You see the green radioactive meteor fragments can be used to harness enough energy to power a city for years, and all it would take is a chunk about the size of a fist.” Lois cut her eyes towards her scripted notes, which she set down “But couldn’t this technology be used as weapons?” the question caught Lex by surprise, but he recovered quickly “Well anything can be considered a weapon all it takes is a-“ he was cut off as the wall to the studio’s right wall exploded. Lois and Lex were knocked from their chairs, and the force of the blast was enough to cause the window behind them to shatter. Lois looked up through the smoke as the wind whipped her hair into her eyes, a problem Lex didn’t need to worry about as he wiped dust from his eyes. They saw seven masked men armed with guns rush into the room, a security guard rushed towards him, as he did one of the men shot him in the head, Lois screamed as the dead man hit the ground. Two men grabbed Lex and drug him over to the others, one man who was apparently the leader spoke “Waste the rest, we don’t need any witnesses.” One man walked up to Lois and aimed his gun at her, she closed her eyes as she heard several gunshots and then a thud. She opened her eyes to see a man in a blue costume, a red cape and red boots standing over her, at his feet lay the gunman and two pieces of what used to be an automatic rifle. She looked on as he moved in the blink of an eye into the other men taking them out as well, Lois felt a hand on her arm, and suddenly she was dragged to the broken window, the leader of the gang had grabbed her. The man in blue had just taken out the two men guarding Lex and turned to see Lois being dangled out the window “Let her go, nice and gently.” He commanded, the criminal shrugged “Whatever you say.” He said as he shoved Lois out the window, she screamed as she fell to what she thought was her death. The man in the cape rushed to the window as he dove out the window he shoved the fleeing criminal, sending the man through a wall. The man in the cape flew quickly towards the ground alongside the skyscraper trying to catch Lois, he reached out and touched her, and they began to slow until they lightly touched the ground. Lois had he arms wrapped around her savior and looked up at him as he held her in his arms “Going up?” he smiled as they began to rise through the air back towards the studio. He sat Lois down gently in the studio as the building’s security swarmed into the room and began binding up the criminals “I hope that wasn’t too rough on you ma’am, not everyone takes to flying the first time. I hope this doesn’t turn you against flying, it is still the safest way to travel statistically. Well, good bye.” He said as he turned to the window “Wait!” she said, he turned to her as she continued “You’re, you are real, aren’t you?” He looked at her and laughed lightly “Of course, I’m as real as you and anyone else here.” He said as he flew out of the broken window. Lex walked up and looked out broken window “Who was that?” he said as his eyes narrowed, Lois was still looking out the window “A superman.” Jimmy ran up to her “Lois! Are you alright?” “Sure Jimmy, Perry will never believe this.” Jimmy smiled “He just might. I have a picture.” He said motioning to his camera, and Lois smiled.
The next morning the Daily Planet headline read “SUPERMAN!”
Over the next few days Superman was spotted doing dozens of heroic deeds and made a series of headlines.
The form of Superman shot across the Metropolis skies, he flew towards the expressway until he came up behind a high speed police chase. The police were following a black mustang, whose occupants were firing guns at the police behind them, the shots flying off into traffic. Superman swooped down low flew just above the road, as he did he reached his arm under the car, and pulled out the rear axle, the car flipped into the air, as it did he caught it and sat it down gently upside down in the median. He nodded to the cops as they pulled up “Hope I was able to help officers.” He said as he flew away into the sky.
The elevators opened at the Daily Planet and Lois Lane walked confidently towards a desk which had a pile of files and pictures on it, and a man with glasses down staring at the computer screen typing. “Excuse me?” she said, he didn’t look up at her “You’re excused.” He said. She stood behind him for a moment, tapping her foot impatiently, she sighed, reached over and raked all of the files and everything off the desk and onto the floor, the man turned to her “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” Lois looked at him with an acid smile “I’m about to ask you the same thing, this is my desk, see the name plate it says…Clark Kent.” She said confidently, then she paused for a second and looked at the plate again “Clark Kent?” the man nodded and picked up a cracked picture frame from the floor “Yeah, that’s the name. Awe, you broke the glass. You owe me a new frame and explanation for this.” He said as he sat the cracked frame back on the desk, it was a picture of an older woman on a farm. Lois frowned “I don’t owe you anything, in fact I’m going to be nice and give you ten minutes to clear your stuff out of my desk while I talk to Perry White, the editor, about getting you moved to another department or fired.” Clark leaned back and put his feet on the desk and smiled a smug smile at Lois “Good luck with that.” Lois turned in a huff and walked off, as she did Clark’s smile softened as he watched her go and he adjusted his glasses and chuckled to himself lightly.
Lex stood in the top secret R&D section deep underground, beneath his Lexcorp Tower. He flicked his gaze to the blonde woman standing silently in a corner of the room as he went back to his work. He was looking at a 3-d hologram of a piece of metal that a laser was scanning on a table in front of him. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as a door opened behind him and a man, who was dressed casually, walked in with a worried and determined look on his face
“Lex, we know who attacked you. They were a team of mercenaries hired by the Middle Eastern nation of Qurac.”
Lex nodded, still looking at the readout “I figured as much, I seem to recall their displeasure that I wouldn’t build them a bomb a few months back. Can you imagine John, them wanting me to sell out my own country like that?”
John Corbin shook his head “Lex. Don’t act all patriotic to me, I know your secrets, we’ve sold illegal weapons to dozens of enemies of the US.”
Lex nodded “its good business sense. We sell weapons to a bunch of the little third world countries, and they pick a fight with their neighbor, and then another and so on until the good old US of A steps in to quiet them down. And to do it the US will need weapons, and lots of them, and where do they turn?” He said with a smile as he looked at Corbin, who replied with a smile
“To us.”
Lex nodded and turned back to the monitor “Exactly. What have you been able to dig up about this ‘Superman’ that the news is talking about?”
John shook his head “Nothing, there have been rumors for months about some Good Samaritan saving people putting out fires, stuff like that, and now it’s all being attributed to him.”
The blonde woman spoke up suddenly in a voice as smooth as silk “The people should know that you have done more for them than anyone. They owe you their respect. But now this Boy Scout stands in your way.” She said confidently
Lex snorted as he smiled “Perhaps Mercy, perhaps. The people are like sheep. They flock to whoever is in the news, whoever has the biggest toys, or in his case powers.”
Corbin nodded “You should hear some of the rumors about him. Some say he is a government experiment to create the perfect human. Or he is the Messiah, or Elvis.” Lex looked at him skeptically at this one.
Mercy shrugged “Hey, the king did like capes. What do you think he is Lex?”
Lex held up a magnifier to the metal, which brought up another hologram “If I’m right, and I usually am. I think he is not of this world. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if he was related to the capsule.” Corbin looked at him in shock as Lex continued “The capsule is obvious extraterrestrial in origin. Made of an indestructible unknown metal that is not on the periodic table. In fact this is a sheet of an alloy I reversed engineered from it. It is unbelievably strong, yet exceptionally light. I plan on using it in our prototype cyborbiotics project. I call it Metallo.”
Corbin looked at the scan thoughtfully “Got a nice ring to it Lex. I like it.”
Lois stood in the office of Perry White, editor of the Daily Planet,
She was pleading with him to get rid of Clark Kent “Come on Chief! The guy is deadweight, cut him loose or he’ll drag us all down. And he’s an ass!” Perry looked at her with a raised eyebrow as he moved pieces of type around setting up the next day’s headline “Lane you’ve been back at the Planet for less than a day and you already made enemies with the new guy. Kent is like a Godsend. He is diligent.”
“I am too.” Lois piped in as Perry continued “Knows how to root out a story.”
“No one’s better than me.”
“He knows how to treat an editor.”
“Perry, you’re like a father to me.” She said batting her eyes at him, to which he countered “He can spell.”
Lois blew a piece of hair out of her face “Damn it.”
Perry sat down in his desk “Sorry Lane, you’re just going to have to learn to share, Kent is a damn good reporter, one of the best I’ve seen in years, honest, but in a good way mind you. Maybe it’s the rural background.” Lois rolled her eyes and walked out of the office towards her desk to see that Clark had moved his files to one side “See, I compromised.”
Lois narrowed her eyes and sat her bag on the clear area on the desk “Fine. I’ll give it a try, for now. But let’s get this straight I don’t share bylines. This won’t the adventures of Lois and Clark, I work alone. Solo. Kay?” she said with a smirk.
He stood up and shrugged walking to the elevator. “Fine I have to be at the docks for an exclusive unveiling of Lexcorp’s newest weapon anyway.” Lois’s eyes perked up “That’s a big story.” She muttered “Hey Karl! Wait up a minute.” She said as she grabbed her coat and bag from the desk and followed Clark to the elevator. Clark smiled to himself as she rushed into the elevator as the door closed, she turned to him “You know… Clark. Maybe we could give working together a try.”
Clark sat in the passenger seat of Lois’s convertible, holding on for dear life as she drove them through the bust streets of Metropolis, if you could call it driving. She cut across three lanes of traffic as she looked at him “So you’re from a little town called ‘Smallville’?” Clark nodded as she cut in front of a tractor trailer and got on the ramp to the expressway, he looked at her as she let go of the wheel and looked in her purse “Uh. Lois…shouldn’t you be watching where you’re going!?!?” He said as they almost crashed into the rail as she pulled out a makeup kit “Oh relax Smallville, I’m an old army brat, I grew up driving tanks, I’ll be fine.” Clark closed his eyes for a moment “Well, this isn’t a tank!” she looked at him with a devilish smile “Come on Clark, you need to enjoy yourself some more, live a little, what did you do for fun back in Smallville?” Clark smiled a little to himself as he thought back.
Smallville ten years earlier:
A rustic two story farmhouse is seen near a barn an older woman walks from the house to the barn “Jonathan?” She called out as she entered the dusty barn, she heard a small crash as a tool chest fell into view and an older man walked into view “What is it Martha?” She smiled and shook her head at her husband “Where is Clark? He was supposed to be home an hour ago.” Jonathan smiled and wiped his greasy hands on a much worn handkerchief “oh Martha He is a growing boy, besides what trouble could he get into in Kansas?”
A young Clark Kent sat next to an attractive redheaded girl on top of a large silo looking out at the Kansas sunset. The girl looked down in sorrow then turned to Clark “DO your parents know yet?” She asked sadly as Clark put his arm around her and pulled her closer “No Lana. What am I going to tell them? The ghost of my alien father has told me to leave everything I know so I can train to use my powers? How do you think they would react to that?” Lana Lang sighed and absentmindedly rubbed fingers through Clark’s hair, twisting a small section in the front into a small curl “I like it when your hair is like that, heroic.” She said as she brought her face closer to his as Clark stood up and walked to edge of the silo deep in thought, Lana sighed in frustration “You know Clark, for a guy with about twenty different kinds of visions, you’re pretty blind.” Clark looked back at Lana in surprise as she lay back on the roof of the silo ad looked at him with a raised brow as he began to blush slightly. She stood and walked to him and wrapped her arms around him “Clark, I know you, whatever you do it will be the right choice. You’re special.”
Clark flew through the air later that night with Lana in his arms. He landed them silently on the roof of her home. She smiled at him and kissed him passionately. She turned away and grabbed onto the lattice and climbed into her window, leaving Clark with a smile as he flew home.
All three of the Kent’s sat together in the kitchen of the family home looking at each other from across the table in silence. Silence until Jonathan spoke up “Son, your mother and I knew this day would come. You were sent here for bigger things than carrying the tractor back when it is broke down in the field. You have a destiny, a greater calling than we can even begin to imagine. You can be an inspiration to others in the world. Go son, and know we are proud of you.”
Now: Metropolis Docks
Clark stood next to Lois as Lex Luthor stood up on the stage with a large object covered in a tarp and a large American flag behind him as he gave his speech “The Lexcorp T-101 battle suit will ensure that our boys overseas are protected by the best. I will personally be donating one hundred and fifty of these battle suits to the military at no cost to them. Any questions?” Before Clark could do anything Lois raised her hands and called over the rest of the reporters “How much do one of those cost?” Lex rubbed his chin and looked off into space as if adding up figures “About twelve million.” The crowd of reporters fell silent at that amount, they then began murmuring amongst themselves. Lois nudged Clark with her elbow “No wonder he can’t afford hair pieces.” Clark chuckled softly as Lex motioned for the tarp to be removed revealing a fifteen foot tall metal killing machine.
It had missile pods on each side of the cockpit and deadly looking guns mounted on each arm. It had what appeared to be boosters of some sort mounted underneath it. Lex stood before it beaming with obvious pride. “What do you think? This will have the terrorists running for their caves!” He said as the machine started up, he then looked at it in shock as its guns were brought to bear on the crowd “What are you doing! Pilot respond!” He shouted at the top of his lungs, suddenly a heavily accented voice spoke through the mech’s speakers “Sorry Mr. Luthor, but I cannot allow you to place another weapon in the hands of these murderous Americans.” It said as it opened fire at Lex, who barely dodged out of the way.
The reporters ran from the area as missiles rained down around them. Lois looked about “Clark? CLARK!” she called as the crowd pushed her away. Suddenly something shot across the sky above her, it was Superman! Superman snatched Lex from the ground and deposited him a safe distance away. He then turned and flew back towards the machine as it began to hum and fire came from to boosters on its back as it shot high into the air. Superman followed it up into the skies above Metropolis. The mech turned towards Superman and began firing its missiles and guns at Superman and it flew backwards amongst the tall buildings. Superman punched the missiles away while the gunfire impacted harmlessly against his chest as he flew towards it. The mech turned around to see that it was about to impact with an office building. It sped up and to Superman’s horror tore through the side of the building. It shot through offices and walls until it shot through the other side of the building, and directly into Superman. The mech impacted into him with tremendous force and the metal warped around the man. And then the wrecked remains of the mech dropped towards the city below, only to be caught by Superman, before impacting the street below. Superman sat the suit down gently on the street and pulled off the remains of the cockpit and pulled out a cut and bleeding Middle Eastern man. Superman turned to see a stunned police man looking at him “Officer, I believe you know what to do with this man.” He said as he dropped the terrorist to the ground and flew away.
John Corbin sat with Lex in his limo in the aftermath of the attack, trying to console the angry Luthor “That idiot! He blew a hundred million dollar deal for me, and he totaled the damn suit!” Corbin shook his head “Look Lex we can smooth things over with the Arabs, they will understand…”
Lex looked at him coldly “They will understand? Oh well that’s good. Now all I have to worry about is honoring my commitment to deliver one hundred and fifty of the twelve million dollar suits, and I have to pay the company that fool flew the suit into and I have to worry if that idiot Qrac sent will talk. I have nothing to worry about.” He said with obvious sarcasm before continuing “The only reason I was holding this press conference was for them to steal it, forcing to US military to buy the more advanced Personal Battle Suit Mark I’s” Corbin nodded “yeah the PBS’s are more compact, but how are you going to power them, the T-101 was so large because it had to accommodate the power system.”
Lex smiled “Meteor rocks. Which reminds me I am having some of the rocks smuggled into the city next week, I want you there to personally oversee the pickup.” Corbin nodded as Lex looked towards Mercy who was in the driver’s seat “Drive.” He commanded as Mercy began to drive away. Up above them on a rooftop was Superman “meteor rocks?” He muttered as he watched Luthor and Corbin drive away.
That night John Corbin walked into his home, a modest two story in the suburbs outside of town. He was sitting eating dinner with his wife and their two young children, a boy and a girl. Corbin smiled at his family as someone watched them from an outside window. He then excused himself and walked to the backdoor and opened it “Be right back honey, just going to get something out of the car.” He said as the door closed and he walked over to the deck overlooking the rest of the neighborhood “Come on out. I know you’re there.” He said as turned around and saw Superman standing on the roof of his house with his arms crossed “Not exactly where I’d expect the head of security for the world’s largest weapons manufacturer to live.” Corbin looked around “I like the openness of it, very serene and green.”
“Why did Luthor let the suit get stolen? And why is he having those rocks illegally shipped in?” Superman demanded quietly. Corbin shrugged “Strait to the point. I have no idea what you are talking about.”
Superman stood there “I heard what he said. It was all a set up, so the US would buy his newer weapon.” Corbin smiled “Sounds interesting, but not true.” Superman hovered into the air “I’ve seen your record. You served in the SEALS, were decorated. Why are you working with someone like Luthor?” Corbin sighed and looked down “Lex isn’t perfect. But he is my friend. You understand, we have been friends since we were both kids in Suicide Slum. He woke me up the night the Slums burned down. He pulled me out of the burning wreckage of my room and dragged me to safety. I owe him everything. But he would never betray his country. He loves America and only wants to make it stronger.”
Superman was silent for a moment “Just remember I’m keeping an eye on you.” He said as he flew off into the night.
The next day the Daily Planet ran the headline “SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL” it also had a picture of the mech suit warping around him as it impacted into him. Lois looked up from her paper as Clark came into the office “Hey Smallville, what happened to you yesterday? Get scared by the big bad robot? You need to grow a pair if you are going to be a reporter.” She said as she laid the paper on the desk and walked away. Jimmy walked up and handed Clark a cup of coffee “I think she is starting to like you.” Clark laughed lightly “That. Or she’s going to kill me.” Jimmy nodded as he and Clark walked over to Clark’s desk and sat down “Hey Clark, Perry told me that he wants you to talk to him later about an assignment. I wonder what it could be.” Clark adjusted his glasses “Is he busy now?” Jimmy looked towards Perry’s office “Uh… yeah he is meeting with Lois.” Jimmy turned to see Clark walking towards Perry’s office “This will be interesting.” He muttered as he saw Clark enter the office.
Clark entered Perry’s office to see him shaking his head at Lois “Look Lois, I don’t care who you are. You won’t be able to get an interview with Superman. So I don’t want you to put yourself in danger.” She looked at Perry “Oh come on I can take care of myself.” He looked at her with a raised brow and then turned to Clark “Why don’t we tell him your bright idea. Lane here has the great idea of putting herself in a boat and setting it adrift in the sea. And Superman will miraculously save her and give her a personal interview.” Clark was genuinely surprised “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Besides why would he talk to the press?” Lois sighed “This isn’t Smallville Clark, where everyone knows everything about everyone. This is the big city. People aren’t going to trust him until they know something about him.”
That night Lois stood on her balcony at her apartment smoking a cigarette, she looked out at the city below her. She jumped when she heard a voice say “You know smoking is bad for your health.” She turned to see Superman standing behind her “Good evening Miss Lane.” She tried to catch her breath for a moment before replying “Goo- good evening… Superman.” He smiled “I know that people want to know more about me, so I thought that I would give you the exclusive interview. If you’re not too busy or mind that is.” Lois seemed to be considering it for a moment “No I can’t think of anything more important than this.”
Superman nodded “Good. Good, well do you want to get something to write with or…” He trailed off, until she jumped with realization “Oh of course let me get my recorder.” She said as she went inside the apartment and grabbed a notebook and digital recorder from a table “Okay I’m ready.” Superman nodded “So what do you want to know?” Lois laughed “Everything. Who you are, what you are, why you are here.”
Superman laughed lightly “Everything. Well I guess I will start at the beginning. I was born Kal-El. I am the last son of Krypton.”
“Krypton?” she asked.
He nodded and pointed at a spot in space “It is or was a planet about five million light years from your solar system.”
“You say it was a planet. What happened to it?”
He looked at the stars for a moment “It was destroyed.”
Krypton: Many years ago.
The planet of Krypton is shown from above. It is a thriving planet full of industry and highly advanced technology. The largest building is in the capital city of Kandor. In that building the council of the elders sit addressing a calm man in long robes emblazoned with an S shield. One of the council members looked at the man “I am sorry Jor-El. But the council does not accept your findings as credible. Our top scientists were unable to find any conclusive evidence that supports your theories. And furthermore Brainiac was able to disprove your theories.”
A loud mechanized voice spoke through the speaker system “Indeed. The seismic trembling are merely the volcanic island located one hundred and twenty kilicks east of Argo preparing to erupt in approximately 17.5 days. Jor-El’s data has allowed us to determine the exact time of the eruption and will allow us to evacuate the area saving millions of lives.” Jor-El shook his head “Don’t you understand! In eighteen days there won’t be a Krypton! And with all due respect to Brainiac, I honestly don’t think it is wise listening to the brain waves of a long dead Coluan explorer that crashed on this planet centuries ago.”
A female council member cut him off “Brainiac has served Krypton faithfully since he crashed delivering us the knowledge of the invasion of Krypton. If it hadn’t been for him uploading his mind into our central database which allowed him to coordinate our attack, Krypton would have been destroyed. He has served us faithfully ever since.”
Jor-El tightened his fist in frustration “That is beside the point.”
“And what is your point Jor-El?” another councilor asked.
“My point is that the civil war our people waged against the criminal known as former general Dru Zod devastated out planet. Weapons research that involved tunneling through Krypton’s mantel to its core for rare minerals has left the planet sick and dying! And all of this was done at the suggestion of Brainiac.”
The head council member replied “if it wasn’t for Brainiac, we would not be where we are today. Krypton owes you much as well Jor-El, you were the one who stopped General Zod’s rampage on Krypton by imprisoning him and his colleagues in the Phantom Zone. But that gratitude we owe you does not allow you to go about Krypton spreading outrageous lies about the planet exploding. Your request is denied. Furthermore you are not allowed to speak of this to no one. Nor are you allowed to continue your research into deep space travel. If you are caught conducting anymore such research you will be arrested.”
Jor-El looked down in sorrow; he then looked up towards a council member wearing the same crest as well. Jor-El spoke with a voice filled with sorrow, “And you brother, what does Zor-El have to say? What have you to say about my theories? What of your daughter Kara? Will you condemn her as you are me, Lara and baby Kal-El? As you are the entire world of Krypton?”
Zor-El looked at Jor-El for a long moment “Brother. I am a simple man. I do what I can for the people of Argo. I consider myself a scientist, but I am hardly your equal. As much as it pains me to say, I am forced to side with the council on this matter. I am sorry, for all of us. Rao forgive me.”
Jor-El nodded sadly “May he forgive us all.”
Several Days later: Kryptonian Science Center, 100 miles east of Kandor.
Jor-El quietly walked through the halls of the science building carrying something in a case towards a heavily secured room. He opened it revealing the main processing terminal for all data on Krypton “Hello Brainiac.” He spoke aloud as the door sealed behind him.
“Hello Jor- El. Why are you here?”
Jor-El crossed his arms “I just want to know why? Why did you deceive the council?”
A holographic image of Brainiac appeared before Jor-El. Brainiac was depicted as a bald humanoid with three large diodes on his head “The answer to that question is simple. Self preservation.”
Jor-El looked at him in suspicion “What do you mean?”
“As we speak I am currently downloading all of my data, as well as that of all of Krypton. It is being transferred to a ship deep beneath Kandor.”
Jor-El looked at him in anger “WHY!” he shouted
“Your findings, while impressive for someone of your species limited intellect, were slightly off. I estimate that the planet of Krypton will begin the final stages of its destruction in a matter of hours. If I had confirmed your findings the council would have forced me to find a way to prevent the catastrophe, leaving me unable to save myself and the knowledge of Krypton. In a mere matter of minutes I will remove Kandor from Krypton and make my escape. Good Bye Jor-El.”
Jor-El rushed from the chamber and ran through the halls of the building until he stood in the courtyard. He saw a bright light where he knew Kandor to be and then suddenly there was a large explosion which rocked the planet, knocking him to the ground. When Jor-El looked back towards Kandor he saw a massive ship in the sky leaving Krypton’s atmosphere. Jor-El rushed towards his hover car and sped off.
He arrived at his estate as the sky darkened and the winds tore ferociously through the landscape.
He had to swerve to avoid a large chunk of rock as a massive earthquake sent it flying through the air. He jumped out of the hover car near the front of his mansion as the wind blew the vehicle away. He fought against the wind to enter his home. He secured the heavy door behind him as a lovely woman with long blonde hair and crystal blue eyes rushed towards him “Jor-El! What’s happening?” Jor-El grabbed her and rushed down a hall while he explained “Hurry Lara. The planet is ripping itself apart as we speak! I don’t have enough time to finish the ship for ourselves. You and Kal-El must go without me.” He said as he entered a nursery and handed Lara the crying baby Kal-El, as well as some red and blue blankets from the crib, and led them down the hall towards a large metal door which rose as he approached it, revealing a massive laboratory and in the center was a small rocket that had enough room for two. Jor-El motioned for Lara to go but she stood firm “I will not leave you husband. I made up my mind many years ago that I would live and die, by your side. Send our son, so that he may have a chance to live.” Jor-El looked at his wife as she held their young son, who had by now silenced, Jor-El nodded and opened the small rocket revealing a cramped interior. Lara gently sat the young child in the area as Jor-El removed two long crystals from the bag he had been carrying he opened a compartment and slid one of them into the rockets storage area while he held the other one up to his face and spoke into it.
“My son one of these crystals contain the amassed knowledge of our entire civilization, I hope it will aid you in your life on this new world. This crystal contains knowledge and wisdom that your mother and I prepared in case of an event such as this. Know that you will always have our undying love. You will be unique among them Kal-El. You will defy their gravity. You must learn to use you gifts wisely. Live as one of them, Kal-El, to discover where your strength and your power are needed. Always hold in your heart the pride of your special heritage. They can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you... my only son.”
He finished as he slid the crystal in the chamber which closed around it. Lara kissed Kal-El Gently on the head and then stood near Jor-El “You are sure this is the only way?” she asked sadly. Jor-El nodded “This is how it must be. Earth is a place where he can live and grow. We are similar enough to them so he will not be turned away. It is the only chance we can give him.” Jor-El said as he hit a button on a console and the rocket flared to life and shot out of an opening in the roof. Jor-El held on to Lara tightly and kissed her passionately as the world collapsed around them.
Kal- El’s rocket clear Krypton’s atmosphere and activated a warp drive just as the planet exploded. The ship and millions of fragments of the planet shot through space.
Now.
Lois looked at him with sympathy “I’m sorry. So what do you plan to do now?”
Superman pointed at the city “I will try and use my powers to help others. I will fight for truth justice, and the American way. I want to help the people of Earth. I want to protect them. Do you have any more questions?”
Lois thought for a moment while absentmindedly chewing on the back of pencil
“Do you do things that normal humans do?”
Superman looked at her with a raised brow “Like what?”
Lois shrugged and looked about anxiously “You know. Do you eat? Sleep? …Love?”
Superman laughed “I eat when I am hungry, and sleep when I need to, and the last all depends on the girl.”
Lois nodded as she wrote something in her book “Are you seeing anyone at the moment?”
“No.”
Lois nodded “where do you live at?”
Superman shrugged “An apartment.” Lois looked surprised at this, as Superman continued “I also have a place hidden far from the world where I can think and be at peace.”
Lois nodded “A… Fortress of Solitude. What kind of girls do you like?”
Superman smiled “Different kinds.”
Lois blushed slightly and tried to light a cigarette, but her lighter wouldn’t work “Allow me.”Superman said as he narrowed his eyes and heat rippled through the air, causing the tip of the cigarette to ignite.
Lois jumped back “Whoa, heat vision too?”
Superman nodded and said “You really shouldn’t smoke.”
Lois looked at him “Will I get lung cancer if I do?” He looked at her for a moment “Not yet.” She narrowed her eyes at him “So you fly, are super strong, indestructible and can shoot heat beams from your eyes. Anything else?”
Superman thought for a moment “I can see through solid objects.” Lois jumped at this and moved to the side a bit, to which Superman laughed “I would never do that to anyone. But if it bothers you, you can move behind that planter there. It has lead in it.” She moved over there and looked at him “You can’t see through lead?” he shook his head as she asked “Anything else?”
He pointed to his ear “I can hear things from far distances. And if I may say so myself, I am a skilled dancer.” Lois laughed at this “I may have to see that for myself sometime.” Superman shook his head “Not tonight I’m afraid. I have someplace very important to be. Good night Miss Lane.” He said as he flew away. Lois looked after him and whispered “Call me Lois.”
Superman flew over the night sky of Metropolis and swooped down towards the street below.
He flew down a darker street and grabbed two men who were attempting to break into a building “Forget your keys?” He asked as he flew them high into the air. He sat them down outside the nearest police precinct and nodded to the officers standing outside as he flew into the air.
The next day Clark sat at his desk looking at his computer when a newspaper with the headline “SUPERMAN TELLS ALL” written on it, he looked up to see a smiling Lois “Well what do you think?” She demanded as he looked back at the paper “Going to rain tomorrow.” He said commenting on the weather forecast just below her article. Lois smiled smugly “Oh fine be like that. Not every reporter can get a one on one interview with Superman.” Clark smiled at her “I’m glad for you Lois, really. That is amazing.” Lois nodded “Damn right it is.” Jimmy walked up “Hey Lois, congratulations. So what was he like?” She smiled at him and looked at Clark, who was busy typing “Well Jimmy he was truly out of this world. It was amazing.”
“Damn right it is!” said the voice of Perry as he walked up to them “Lane I don’t know how I ever doubted you. You singlehandedly got the biggest interview since God talked to Moses!” Lois smiled at Perry and then looked back at Clark and said “Thanks Chief, so does this mean I can get my desk back?” Perry smiled at her “Lois you are wonderful and I look forward to more amazing articles from you… But you are still sharing with Kent.” He said as he walked into his office. Lois looked at Clark who smiled “Hey sorry about that. Why don’t I take you to lunch later to make up for it?” Lois looked at him for a moment “Fine, but I pick what restaurant.”
Clark and Lois sat at a table outside of a small café that specialized in what it advertized as the world’s best chili cheese dog, one of which Lois was enjoying at that moment “Mmm. Clark you will thank me for the rest of your life for bringing you here.” She said as she swallowed a large bite of the hotdog and reached for her cup of soda. Clark sat there with a simple cheeseburger “Yeah, sure Lois. I have to tell you I would have never thought of you eating at a place like this.” Lois shrugged nonchalantly and looked around her at the restaurant “Well Bibbo is a good guy, and an old friend. And he cooks one hell of a chili dog.” Clark nodded and was about to lift his burger to his mouth when he stopped and heard something, an explosion that no one seemed to notice. Clark jumped to his feet and launched across the table throwing Lois to the ground “CLARK!” She shouted as they hit the pavement just before a loud blast rippled through the causing all of the glass in the area to shatter and the ground to buckle. Clark looked around him to see if anyone was hurt and to see what caused the blast, and then he saw it. It was a ten foot humanoid robot with glowing green eyes and a strange weapon attached to one arm, the other arm had a mace like weapon. Clark saw that Lois was unconscious so he ran down the street and ducked unnoticed into an alley. Superman shot out of the alley towards the robot at full speed.
The robot scanned the area and saw Superman speeding towards it, it raised the arm with the unusual weapon and fired at Superman. A ripple of energy shot through the air and struck Superman with enough force to send him flying backwards into a building. Superman shook his head and shot through the hole in the side of the building towards the robot once again. The robot fired its sonic weapon once again, as it did Superman put both of his fist before him and increased the speed. The sonic blast parted as he went through it and slammed into the robots arm. Superman grasped the arm and pulled the robot to the ground. Superman then stomped the sonic cannon with all of his might, causing the robot to explode!
As the smoke and debris cleared Superman was standing over the remains of the robot, he moved a piece of metal and a strange glowing green rock rolled out from under it. Superman fell to his knees instantly as the rocked rolled near him, he tried to move it but was too weak.
Lois ran over “Superman! What’s wrong?” he weakly pointed to the rock, Lois looked at it before realization dawned on her. She kicked the rock as hard as she could sending it flying several yards away. Superman struggled to regain his feet as he heard a gruff voice behind him “Alright back away people, you to lady.” Superman saw an older man with a badge pinned on the front of his jacket pull Lois away as police pushed the crowds back. The man looked at Superman coldly
“Name’s Lt. Dan Turpin, this is now my crime scene. Do you have any idea what that… thing was?” He asked bluntly, Superman shook his head “No officer it was just attacking the city, so I.”
“Attacked the thing without knowing what it was? Real bright boy scout.” Turpin said with disgust as he shook his head “Damn superheroes. You’re all alike. Most people don’t remember the old days, but I do. I remember back when your ilk was running things, the Justice Society, the Legion, all claiming to help, while screwing us over. Makin it to where an honest cop like me couldn’t get any work. If your kind wants to help do like a normal person would, wear a badge!” Turpin finished in disgust as he walked off shaking his head “Alright people I want a containment team in here ASAP! MOVE!” he shouted as a team of Metropolis PD wearing hazmat suits moved towards the wreckage. As he left he turned to Superman “The heroes from the 50’s screwed up things and died out. You will too, and I’ll be here to pick up the pieces, as always.”
Superman stood among the wreckage for a moment before walking off, as he did he was barraged by questions from the crowd of reporters that had gathered. He ignored the questions and prepared to fly off when a piece of paper was slipped into his hand. He looked at it for a second before flying off into the air. He landed atop the Daily Planet globe and looked at the paper, it was a note that read,
“Meet me tonight at the Metropolis Observatory at 11:00PM. LL” “Lois?” he wondered aloud.
Lex stood in a fortified bunker deep beneath the Lexcorp building looking through a sheet of protective glass at a large capsule that sat in the cavernous chamber below him. He watched as lab techs bustled about trying in vain to decode the strange markings that were emblazoned on what Lex had decide was the opening to the capsule. He felt an arm on his shoulder and looked to see Mercy standing there with a laptop under her arm “Lex this is the data and recording from the test that you requested. It was exactly as you expected.” Lex nodded as she opened the laptop and hit a button that showed the battle Superman had had with the robot in the city, the video stopped when it showed Superman falling as the meteor rock neared him. Lex smiled “Just as I thought. The rocks radiation weakens him. Perhaps he isn’t as strong as everyone thinks.” He said as Mercy shut the laptop. Lex stroked his chin thoughtfully “Call Corbin, remind him that the shipment of meteor rocks is coming in tonight. And make sure he is there at 11:00 PM. Sharp.” Mercy nodded and walked out of the lab as Lex turned back out towards the capsule. He then looked down in disgust at a newspaper headline which read “SUPERMAN: The Real Man of Tomorrow.” Lex snarled as he balled the paper up and threw it across the room “He thinks he can steal the people’s love from me. Well, I wonder how the people will view their new hero after tonight.”
Clark walked through the office at the end of his shift “Night Jimmy.” He said as the young photographer rushed to the elevator while on his cell phone, Clark then saw Lois furiously typing on her computer “Night Lois. Got any plans later?” Lois looked up at him “Hmm? Oh, no I just need to get this article in to Perry and then I’m hitting the sack. And what does mild mannered reporter Clark Kent have planned tonight?” Clark shrugged “Nothing to write home about.” Lois nodded “Well goodnight Clark.” Clark smiled at her and waved to Perry, who was in his office yelling at someone over the phone, Perry absentmindedly waved back as he continued on his tirade. Clark stood in the elevator watching Lois as the doors closed in front of him.
John Corbin stood in his daughter’s room watching her sleep peacefully, he walked out and quietly shut the door behind him. He kissed his wife softly “I’ll be back in a few hours. I just have a few things to do at the office. If anything comes up and you can’t reach me, call Lex. I love you sweetie.” He said as he walked out of the front door.
Superman landed on the roof on the Metropolis Observatory a few minutes early and saw that the door was open. He walked down the stairs until he came to another open door and a hallway which led to a double door which had a drawn “S” taped on it. Superman opened the door and saw that he was in a dark round theater like room “LOIS!” he called out, and was met by a voice he didn’t expect “Sorry Superman, but I’m afraid it was a different LL that sent you the message.” Lex said as he walked down the aisle of seats directly across from Superman, he had some sort of control pad in his hand, he hit a key on it and the projector came to life showing images of the universe “Beautiful isn’t it? A universe full of wonder and mysteries to behold, much like yourself.” Lex said motioning for Superman to take a seat as he himself sat down and put his feet up on the seat in front of him, Superman reluctantly sat beside him.
“What is this about Luthor?” Superman asked as he looked at Luthor as he sat next to him.
Lex smiled and hit another key which caused the projector to make an effect like they were flying through space. “Superman, I don’t want anything from you, unless you are willing to go home.”
Superman glared at him “I can’t.”
Lex looked at him with mock confusion “Why not? Oh wait it was destroyed wasn’t it?” Lex said as he hit another key which caused the projector to show a planet, similar to Earth orbiting a red sun. Lex looked at him and smiled “Look familiar? The telescope is an amazing thing. You don’t see the objects as they are now, but as they were. And if you have a powerful enough telescope, which I do, you can see an object from virtually any time in its history. We are viewing your home planet of Krypton exactly one hundred years before its destruction.” Lex said with obvious satisfaction.
Superman looked upon his home world in mixed awe and sorrow before turning to Luthor “Why are you showing me this?” he asked.
“So you understand Superman, so you understand. You see, I don’t like you very much. I am a patriot.”
“Then why did you sell that battle suit to those terrorists?” Superman asked.
Lex smiled “Oh, you found out about it? Well then I also suppose that you know that the shipment of weapons grade Kryptonite I am smuggling in is being brought in tonight instead of later in the week.”
Superman bolted to his feet and moved towards the exit before turning back to Luthor “The what?” he inquired.
Luthor smiled and hit a key which showed the planet of Krypton revolving much faster as time progressed “The meteor rocks that I am having illegally shipped in. I discovered them when I was a teenager. I found them out in Arizona near a strange object in an area I had recently bought. I studied the rocks for weeks, not knowing at the time that their unusual radiation would cost me my hair. Another thing that I owe you hate for.” Luthor said as he ran his hand over his bald head.
Superman looked at him with his arms crossed “Why did you call them Kryptonite?”
Luthor held up a hand “Be patient and I will explain. As my fortune grew I built up my company on defense breakthroughs I made by analyzing the object in Arizona. I made my fortune while trying to unlock its mysteries. Then I confirmed that it was not of this world. So I began looking towards the stars for an origin. I developed a telescope that allowed me to track the meteors and the object back to its point of origin. I found it. The shattered remains of a planet. Curious, I developed technology that allowed my newer telescope to see that a little over twenty five years ago the planet exploded, and the object and countless chunks of planet where hurled through space, and through what I assume was a wormhole, to Earth. There was one other object that came from the planet, a small ship, your ship. I have spent years searching for you, and now that you are found it seems that you are out to ruin me.”
Superman looked at him in surprise and backed away a little bit in shock as the projector showed the planet of Krypton cracking and exploding in a flash.
He watched as it zoomed in on a small object, that Superman recognized to be his ship, pass through a worm hole in space, along with a large amount of meteor rocks. Luthor smiled at him “I read your interview, and I must say I would love to get my hands on that transwarp drive that brought you here. Give it to me.”
Superman looked at him in disgust “Why should I?” Luthor shrugged “Well maybe because I have found out that pieces of Kryptonite, piece of you home world, can kill you. And I will kill you unless you serve me.”
Superman’s brow furrowed in anger “I will never help a monster like you.”
Luthor leapt to his feet in anger “I’m the monster? No. You are the monster, some relic from an alien race that destroyed itself! You aren’t here to help us, or protect us, admit it. You are here to conquer us and set yourself up as ruler. Well I will see to it that you fail, even if I have to take all of the Kryptonite I am getting tonight and blow up the city with it! I will never let you rule us!”
Superman looked at him in anger “Luthor, not everyone sees things in terms of power.” Superman said as he shot through the roof and disappeared into the sky.
Luthor laughed as he heard footsteps walking towards him “What do you think Mercy, did I overplay my part?” he asked as she shook her head “No sir. I think this will send him exactly where you want him to be.” Lex nodded as he and Mercy walked out of the theater room and into a hallway. “Lex?” she asked “I wonder though, aren’t you placing Mr. Corbin in a lot of risk?” Lex shook his head “No John will be fine, he has handled worse than that Boy Scout before. And if he does have trouble, well I have a plan for that as well, I have a plan for everything.”
Corbin checked his watch as he stood by several trucks that several men were loading crates into. He looked towards the dock where the crates were being unloaded from the boat at “This is taking too long.” He muttered to himself as he leaned against a truck and pulled out a cigarette. As he lit it one of the trucks near him were hoisted into the air and then slammed upside down on the ground. Corbin’s cigarette dropped to the ground as he looked up in awe at the form of Superman hovering above them. One of Corbin’s men opened fire on Superman as Corbin leapt into the cab of the truck, which was fully loaded with the crates of Kryptonite, and sped off. Superman saw Corbin escaping out of the corner of his eye, then he saw a man aiming a rocket launcher in his direction. The man fired and Superman sped up to the point that he grabbed the rocket and through it into the boat, causing it to explode! Superman then shot off into the air after Corbin. He flew a short ways behind Corbin and shot the truck tires with his heat vision. This caused Corbin to lose control of the truck, which caused it to roll over on its side several times before coming to a rest upside down against a power pole near a loading dock. Superman landed on the ground a few yards away from the truck with a confident look on his face as he stared down the bruised and battered John Corbin. Corbin looked at Superman with a look as he unhooked his seatbelt and fell against the roof of the cab. As he hit the roof the truck exploded with a tremendous force, a force that was amplified by the raw power of its Kryptonite cargo. The force of the kryptonite exploding was powerful enough to knock even Superman back several meters, causing him to pass out.
When Superman came to, he recognized the gruff voice of Dan Turpin ordering the crowd back, he stood wearily as he noticed that men in hazmat suits were loading up the fragments of Kryptonite into lead heavy metal containers for transport. Turpin walked over to Superman “What the Hell was that? You attacked a Lexcorp shipment of meteor rocks and killed John Corbin! I knew you were bad, but I didn’t know you were this bad.” Superman looked around and saw the remnants of the truck and damage from the explosion “It was illegal!”
“It was mined! Luthor had them shipped in from a deposit he discovered in the Arctic. He was going to use it to build an energy reactor for the city! But that isn’t happening now is it?” Turpin demanded as he pulled out a pair of handcuffs.
As he did Superman scanned the remains of the truck with his x-ray vision and saw that Corbin’s body wasn’t there. “Has Corbin’s body been found?”
“No! We think it may have been blown into the bay.” He said as he slapped the cuffs around Superman’s wrists “You have the right to remain… HEY!” he cried as Superman snapped the cuffs off and flew off into the sky.
Lex stood facing a window looking out over the city of Metropolis from his office high above the city in the Lexcorp tower. Dan Turpin stood behind him with a look that conveyed hardened sympathy as he told Lex about what happened to Corbin. Lex hung his head and slammed a fist against a window pane, Turpin stood behind him in silence for a moment and then walked from the room. As Lex heard the door close behind him, the look of pain and sorrow on his face stretched into a smile. He straitened and walked to a wall and pressed it inward, a panel slid down revealing a small elevator which he entered as the panel slid closed behind him.
Superman flew over an ocean filled with ice until he came to an unbelievably tall metal door built into a cliff face. As he hovered before it the door slowly began to recede into the ice revealing the interior of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. Superman flew through it and down ice covered corridors until he came to a large cavernous chamber filled with various pieces of technology. In the center of the room was a statue of a man and woman holding a globe in their arms. Superman walked into a chamber just past this towards a console that filled the center of the room. Superman stood there and bowed his head before speaking “Father, I have done something wrong today. I’ve killed a man.”
As he said this, the voice of his long dead father, Jor-El, spoke “Kal-El, my son. I warned you about the ramifications of your actions. What do you believe you did wrong?” the voice said.
Superman looked down “I was showing off too much, I was enjoying it. I didn’t think I could be hurt, but I now know that there is something that can hurt me.”
Jor-El softened his voice “My son. I understand. I almost forgot how it is to be young. Your powers give you a sense of freedom that I can never know. Your actions tonight were unfortunate, but you must learn from your mistake. View everything in life as a lesson. You must remember that what you do must not be for personal gain, but for the good of all of humanity.”
Lex walked down a corridor flanked by Mercy who was reading something to him from her ever present laptop “Or men were able to recover him before the police arrived. He is in critical condition, if we had been a few minutes later he would surely have perished.” Lex nodded as they entered a pressurized airlock which cycled before allowing them into a huge state of the art lab. And on a table in the center of the lab was the charred and barely living body of John Corbin. Lex stopped near the table his dying friend lay on. He looked at the machines monitoring Corbin’s status and hung his head low. Mercy sat her computer down and put a hand on Lex’s shoulder. Lex put his hand on it and then turned quickly to face her with an odd smile on his face “Well that’s enough grieving. Now I think it is time to show that alien bastard some good old fashioned American ingenuity!” He said with gusto which surprised Mercy as he ordered a team of doctors and scientists “Get the new cyberbyotics prototype in here stat. I think it’s time for me to pull off a miracle, again.” He said with a laugh as he walked into an observation room, which he sealed after Mercy had followed him, leaving them alone.
Mercy looked at Lex “You knew this would happen.” She stated.
Lex nodded “Of course. I developed a newer version of the cyberbyotic prototype, specifically for such an event. This newer version is much more powerful, its frame is made from Metallo. It is also powered by and laced with Kryptonite. I think John will eventually be happy with the arrangement.”
Mercy shook her head “What exactly are you going to do Lex?”
He looked at her “Oh. I’m sorry. I forget that I sometimes need to restate things for the slower people. I am going to digitize John’s brainwaves and put them into the robot body I made. I am basically going to make him into a cruise missile and aim him at Superman.”
Several days later:
Dan Turpin stood on the steps of the Metropolis courthouse at a press conference “The city of Metropolis has issued an arrest warrant for the alien being known as Kal- El, aka Superman. If he turns himself in, he will be held in the county jail, until his trial date. But if we are forced to hunt him, I cannot guarantee his safety upon his apprehension, and he will be apprehended. No one is above the law. He has until 8:00PM tonight.”
Lois looked at Clark as they stood in the crowd listening “Can you believe this Smallville? Superman is a hero. I think there is more to what happened than we know, and I am going to get to the bottom of this.” She said looking up at Clark as he looked down with his eyes closed “Lois… I… never mind.” He said as he walked away into the crowd.
Martha Kent sat a fresh baked pie on the table and then sat down with her husband and Clark who had just told them what he was planning to do “I have to turn myself in. I don’t want to, but I have to, at least until I can convince everyone that I didn’t mean to kill Corbin. I just wanted to tell you this.”
Jonathan looked at Clark and smiled a sad and comforting smile “Clark. You do what’s right. And at the end of the day, you only have to answer to yourself. No matter what you do, remember we are proud of the man you’ve become.”
Martha squeezed Clark’s hand “And remember we love you, always.”
Superman landed on the front steps of the Metropolis courthouse just before eight o clock, and in front of a crowd of onlookers, including Lois. Turpin slapped a pair of handcuffs on Superman and led him down the steps through the parting crowd. Suddenly Lois ran out of the crowd and kissed Superman. They kissed for what seemed like an eternity, but was only a minute. She then slipped back into the crowd and left a surprised and smiling Superman to be led to the police car.
John Corbin opened his eyes and saw Lex standing over him “Hello John, you had me worried for a minute there. Welcome back.”
Corbin blinked, or tried to as he sat up “Lex, what’s wrong with me? I can’t feel anything, but at the same time, I feel everything.”
Lex looked at his friend sympathetically and said “John, this is going to come as a shock, but you are… different, and I hope you will come to see it as an improvement, eventually.”
Corbin stood and walked to a mirrored wall and saw his reflection. From his shoulders up, he seemed to be human, but from the shoulders down he was a hideous metal skeleton.
In the center of his chest was a round panel, he reached up to it with his hands, only to see that they were metallic as well. He also saw that each knuckle had a green piece of Kryptonite in it. He opened the panel in his chest to see a fist sized piece of Kryptonite there. He sunk to his knees, knees that clanged loudly as they struck the floor. He pounded a fist on the wall, denting it as he turned a hardened gaze towards Lex.
“You turned me into one of your GODDAMNED SCIENCE PROJECTS! How could you Lex, how could you do this to me! What about Laura and the kids? How can I face them like this?”
Lex looked at his friend in concern “John, I hate to say this, but you can’t go home… you have been declared legally dead since superman killed you. Don’t worry though, I have set up a fund for them, they will want for nothing for the rest of their lives. They will have everything.”
Corbin gripped the ground, gouging furrows into the metal floor “Everything but a father Lex. All because of Superman.”
Lex put his hand on John’s metallic shoulder “John, this isn’t permanent. I am making great breakthroughs in cloning. I’ll make you a body, I promise, and then you can be reunited with your family. But in the meantime, I can make a synthetic skin so you can move around others; I already started before you awoke. As you can see it is very lifelike.”
Corbin laughed sadly, a sound that seemed unnaturally mechanical “I’m a damn Terminator.” Corbin looked at the Kryptonite in his hands and his chest; he then looked at Lex “How strong is this body?”
Lex rubbed his chin thoughtfully “It is made entirely from Metallo, so it is virtually indestructible. You have enhanced strength.”
Corbin stood to his full height “Can it go up against Superman?”
Lex nodded “The kryptonite in your hands won’t bring him to his knees, but it can sap his strength and bring you to equal levels.”
“What about this?” Corbin said pointing to the piece revealed under the hatch on his chest.
Lex closed the hatch and secured it “that is your power source. It could hurt him, but you would be risking the only thing keeping you alive, figuratively speaking of course.”
Corbin walked back to the mirrored wall again “I’m going to make sure that bastard doesn’t kill anyone else.”
Superman sat in a large community cell on one of the large benches against a wall, while all of the other prisoners were crowded on a bench on the opposite wall. Superman was still in his costume, simply because the cops were afraid to ask him to change out of it. A guard came to the cage door “Superman. You got a visitor, a lady.” Superman stood up and walked to the door as the guard fumbled with the lock, trying to open the door. Superman held out his hand for the man to stop as he pulled out a section of the bars and walked through. He then welded the bars back in place and followed the astonished guard back to the visitor area. The rest of the inmates looked on astonished.
Superman walked into the visitor area and was surprised to see Lois sitting at a table waiting for him; he sat down besides her “So how are you doing in here?” She asked.
Superman shrugged “As well as can be expected. I’ve only been here a few days, but I’ve already heard that crime has been on the rise.”
“Your super hearing?” she inquired. He laughed lightly and shook his head “No I saw it on TV. Lois… why did you kiss me?”
Lois looked a little uneasy “Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. I didn’t know if I would see you again, so I thought I may as well let you know how I feel. Why? Did it bother you?” She asked nervously.
Superman shook his head and smiled at her “No. I actually enjoyed it very much Lois. It was just a surprise is all. And I feel strongly for you too Lois. It’s just… we’re so different. I didn’t think this would work out, we’re from different worlds, literally.” He said with a sigh.
She smiled at him “Hey, it’s not like we are getting engaged or anything, where’d you grow up? A farm?” she said with a laugh before continuing “We just take it slow. And start from there.” She said leaning in to kiss Superman. As they were about to kiss Superman heard a crash and leapt across the table throwing Lois to the ground as a Toyota Camry came crashing through the wall.
Superman stood over Lois and looked through the hole in the wall to see a man wearing gloves, a black trench coat, black combat fatigues, and combat boots. Superman looked on stunned into the face of the man he thought he killed, John Corbin. “SUPERMAN!!!!!” he cried out in anger as he ran towards the man of steel at a surprising speed. He crashed into Superman driving him through several walls and into the main lobby of the police station. Corbin raised a fist and punched Superman in the face, splitting his lip. Superman looked in surprise at his own blood, then he saw it. One of Corbin’s gloves had ripped revealing the kryptonite in his hands. Corbin swung a left hook towards Superman at an incredible speed, Superman deftly blocked it as Corbin continued to rain a fury of blows. Superman barely blocked the blows as they increased in ferocity.
“Corbin! What are you doing?” he asked as he jumped away from Corbin, rubbing his arms, which had begun to bleed from the force of Corbin’s blows.
Corbin threw a desk at him as he shouted “John Corbin is dead! You made sure of that. Call me Metallo!” he cried as he ripped the fake skin from his face revealing a hideous metal skull, with glowing green eyes. He dove into Superman knocking them through a wall and out into the street.
People ran in terror from the two super beings, abandoning cars and possessions in the street. Corbin kicked Superman across the jaw sending him staggering backward. Superman punched Corbin in the midsection, only to here a loud clang. He looked down in surprise as Corbin grabbed his wrist and swung Superman over his shoulder. Superman flew through the air for several blocks before coming to a stop and hovering out of Metallo’s reach. Metallo grabbed a taxi cab and threw it into the air, Superman easily caught it and sent it hurtling back towards Metallo. The car impacted Metallo with a huge fireball, which ignited several nearby cars, creating a raging inferno of exploding cars. Superman hovered over the smoke, when suddenly a metallic form shot from the flames and slammed into Superman.
It hit him with enough force to send him flying into the Daily Planet globe several blocks away. Both combatants went through the globe and crashed with a tremendous impact on the streets below with enough force to crack the pavement and send nearby cars flying into the air. The dust cleared to show Metallo furiously slamming his fists into Superman’s face. Superman’s head snapped back after one powerful blow, his wounds being illuminated by the glowing Kryptonite. Metallo hit him with a staggering left, then a right. Metallo punched Superman in the stomach so hard that one the pieces of Kryptonite in his hand broke free and embedded itself in Superman’s skin. Metallo then raised both fists over his head as Superman opened his eyes, to reveal that they were glowing red. He shot Metallo with a powerful heat blast at close range, snapping his head back. Superman then grabbed is foes shoulders, raised his feet underneath Metallo and then kicked him with a tremendous force. Sending Metallo flying through the air. Superman climbed to his feet a moment later and shook his head to see a tractor trailer slamming into him. Superman was knocked back several hundred yards until he crashed into the base of a building. Superman looked down at his leg to see a piece of rebar impaled in his leg, he winced as he pulled to out of his leg, followed by the small piece of Kryptonite, and attempted to stand. He looked down to see that the wound was already beginning to heal in the direct sunlight that shown from above.
Metallo saw this too and laughed a hollow ringing sound “The sun powers you, as this powers me.” He said tapping his chest “We could be at this for a while.” He said as he rushed towards Superman at full speed, Superman rushed towards Metallo at the same speed, almost quicker than the human eye could see. They impacted with such force that the shockwave shattered every nearby window. At the last second Superman wrapped his arms around Metallo and both of them shot off into the sky.
Superman flew them through the air at incredible speeds. Metallo was able to free his arms as they passed the cloud line, he slammed Superman with both fists delivering a powerful blow that stunned the Man of Steel long enough for Metallo to open his chest compartment, exposing his Kryptonite heart. The large amount of Kryptonite weakened Superman and they began to lose altitude. As they began to fall Superman did something that surprised Metallo. Superman still had the piece of rebar from earlier. He jammed it into the Kryptonite in Metallo’s chest. Both fighters screamed in pain as Superman pried the Kryptonite from Metallo’s chest. The rock came loose and both combatants fell to the city below.
Superman landed with a powerful crash on the ground near the Daily Planet. Lois rushed towards his unconscious form as the dust cleared. She wrapped her arms around him as paramedics arrived. Lois kissed the lifeless body of Superman with closed eyes, she opened them when she felt an arm on her back. She opened her eyes to see Superman smiling up at her. The crowd cheered as Superman stood on his feet.
Across town Dan Turpin was supervising a team as they loaded the powerless form of Metallo into a van. Metallo’s face was contorted into a gruesome silent scream.
Several nights later:
Lois Lane sat at her new desk with her feet propped up on it reading a copy of the Daily Planet. She looked up with a smile as Clark walked to his desk across from her and grabbed his jacket “congrats on making the front page Smallville. This story about how that scum Luthor is behind Metallo is brilliant. I’m just glad that Superman was able to take out that thing before anyone really got hurt.”
Clark turned his back to her while he packed a briefcase “You really like him don’t you Lois?” he said with his back still turned to her as he pulled off his glasses and sighed.
Lois was still looking at the paper “What’s not to love? He is something that we all can aspire to be, he is the Man of Steel, the real Man of Tomorrow. He gives us all hope.”
Clark smiled and put his glasses back on and turned to face Lois “Goodnight Lois. I hope everything goes well for you. I really do.”
Lex Luthor sat reading a headline “IS LEXCORP CONNECTED TO METALLO?” Lex sighed and balled the paper up and threw it in the trash can. Suddenly the window behind him blew open, he turned to see Superman hovering outside of his window. Lex rolled his eyes “And what can I do for the savior of Metropolis?”
Superman hovered outside the window with crossed arms “I just wanted you to know Lex that I know what you did to Corbin. And I will be watching you from now on. You are smart and careful, but one day you will slip up and I will be there, waiting. Good night Lex.” Superman said as he flew away off into the night sky.
Lex smiled to himself as a phone rang, he picked it up “Hello?”
“Mr. Luthor, great news. The DNA sample we recovered from the battle in Metropolis is viable. You were right, we can clone Superman.”
Lex Luthor smiled as he hung the phone up. As the camera pulls away from his apartment you can hear his laughter.
Post credits:
Inside the police evidence room there is a table and on that table is a metallic form covered by a clear tarp. A guard walked by the body of Metallo and looked down at it, the eyes seemed to flicker briefly. The guard looked to his partner “Hey man, you see that?” the other guard looked at him and shrugged. The guards walked on. The camera focuses on the frozen scream on Metallo’s face, you can almost hear his scream, or can you?
Well, let me know what you think of it!
Here is a complete list of my Fan Fictions that I have done here on Comicbookmovie.com:
Here is my list of Stories I have written on CBM
DC
Justice League of America Vs the Legion of Doom parts 1-3 (Never finished)
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Batman:
Batman3: End of Days Batman 4 Darkside of the Mind Batman 5: Shadow of the Bat
Shadow of the Bat: Part 1 Shadow of the Bat Part 2 Batman 6: Knightfall
Batman Knightfall Part 1 Batman Knightfall Part 2 MARVEL:
Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD Avengers X Men 4 Castings:
I have done numerous casting on this site as well, they are very enjoyable and I put a lot of thought into them.
My Pride and Joys
330 X-Men Characters! THEHAWK Casts the ENTIRE 108 Members of the Justice League Casting the New Gods of Apokolips Flash's Rouges Batman's Rouges Gallery Killer Instict Wonder Woman's friends and foes The Endless The Marauders Secret Six X-Men 4 Cast Superman HAWK out.