Solitude
Superman interrupted the AI as it started to list his options.
"I have no options Kalex. I killed 1,234 innocent people. The UN's warrant for my arrest is valid. How can I not turn myself in?"
"It was an accident Kal. Think of all the lives you've saved in the past 10 years. You were severely weakened from your fight with Lobo. He fought you around the world for 3 days - purposely keeping you in the dark half of the planet to deplete your stored energy reserves."
Ignoring the reassuring comment, Kal went on.
"They thought I was a God. That when I made a promise it was fact. That I would not kill again - after having killed Zod. I never claimed to be perfect, to be a God, but I did not do enough to make them realize that." Tears streamed down Superman's face.
Kal was a broken man. He stooped as he stood before the AI. His 6' 4" frame reduced by inches. His muscular body was now emaciated from lack of solar radiation. The cape was gone - ripped from his suit by Lobo and taken as a trophy. The suit showed tears and wrinkles as did his face - facial wrinkles not there a week ago. A sign of the beginning of accelerated aging due to a sustained lack of solar radiation.
The AI continued, "I am programmed to list your options in crisis situations."
"And I am able to override," ...cough.., "your programming." With that Kal said, "Override survival options."
"What do you want from me then, Kal?" the AI asked.
"Honesty, brutal as it my be. Not what I can do, but what I should do."
The AI scanned Superman's body. "Your injuries aren't healing, Kal. You are sick, dying. You've spent 12 hours in the solar bath - there must be a malfunction with the unit."
"I disabled it - permanently."
"The ambient solar light in the Fortress is not enough to heal you. Why did you do this Kal?"
"Fear. Fear that I am maybe the monster Luthor has said I am and that, with my powers re-charged, I would try to flee Earth. Fear that I might break my promise to turn myself over to the UN."
"Kal, you need solar energy. You are starving yourself."
"You've done the calculations Kalex - it would take 6 months of total solar radiation deprivation to "starve" me to death. I assure you the trial and ..exec..," Kal stopped himself, "... punishment will be over with well before then."
"You need energy to face what awaits you at the UN and trial."
"Luthor has had access to CADMUS records for years it turns out. He knows my need for solar radiation - maybe he let Lobo know too. Or maybe someone at CADMUS told Lobo. Either way, Lobo knew exactly how to defeat me. More and more people do. Luthor has been waiting for my trial before humanity for a decade - he will make sure I survive long enough to be found guilty."
"You will let Luthor win, without a fight?"
"Its not about Luthor or which one of us buries the other Kalex. So many people have betrayed me these past few years. It goes far beyond Luthor."
"Lois?"
"I couldn't marry her. Or any human. It was too dangerous for anyone to be that close to me. Dr. Hamilton reaffirmed what you found - that Kryptonians and humans are biologically incompatible. I could never consummate a marriage with any human woman without possibly killing her. Lois refused to believe that. She thought I was seeing Lana behind her back. And now? Lois wears a necklace with a small piece of kryptonite encased in it. As does Lana. They don't want me near them."
"But she didn't reveal your secret."
"That was to protect my mother and the extended Kent family. It wasn't about me."
"Kalex, you have not answered my question. What would Jor-El say, what would my mother say?" Superman continued.
"You are Kal-El, Last Son of Krypton. You have made a horrible error. As a member of the House of El you must face your fate, whatever form it takes, without fear and knowing that truth is what makes you Kryptonian and hope is the meaning of the family crest you wear on your chest."
"Even if it means my execution - the end of the House of El?
"Yes."
"Thank you Kalex."
The Fortress swayed a bit as Superman and Kalex spoke. Low rumbling sounds could be heard in the distance though Superman and the AI ignored them.
"Sir, I must give you the possible outcomes of your choice."
"Go ahead, but I think I know." Superman said somberly.
"The UN has asked you to turn over the access device to the Phantom Zone portal. The intention, if you are found guilty, is to banish you to the Zone for a period of time - probably a very long period. The likelihood is that you'll be convicted and sentenced to the Zone for a century or more - 85%."
Kalex stopped.
"And, and - please continue." Kal prompted.
"Luthor, elements in government and others want the "Superman problem" permanently taken care of. They will attempt to kill you outright before any sentence to the Zone is carried out. Likelihood they succeed - 98%.
"Yes, I am under no illusions. I will not be coming back. I have made too many enemies and too many mistakes. They know almost all my secrets. Their mega-weapons are more and more dangerous to me. On top of which they have kryptonite. But it's not them, it's me - I failed humanity. I have been a disruption to the natural evolution of the planet. I cannot repair the damage I've done. No one can. My time here is over."
"I am no longer needed Kalex - if I ever was. I serve no positive purpose. Fighting crime? They are quickly developing solutions to the "Superman problem" - Luthor aside. Knock-off versions of the quantum disruptor are out there - not as effective as the real deal, they still can slow me down enough to allow criminals to escape. Intergang's latest version of their "black dust" is debilitating to me within 10 minutes or so. What happens when your run-of-the-mill criminal is able to take me down?"
"Kal-El does not pity himself!" Kalex said.
"It's not pity Kalex ...," cough, cough, "... it's speaking truth to power. To my power, my powers and their place on Earth."
Just as Superman finished, the Fortress rocked as huge ice flows slid off the mountain above. Muffled noises could be heard as the armada assembled outside began pounding the once golden doors at the Fortress's entrance - doors now stained black and brown from a mix of melting ice and dirt.
It was time.
Kal looked at Kalex and said, "Kal-El is dead, the son of Jor-El is dead, Superman is no more."
With those words Superman freed Kalex from his primary directive programming to protect Superman.
Kalex went idle for a few minutes.
Superman walked over to a bank of crystals and, in Kryptonian, spoke a code. A small taser-like device appeared before him. A hand-held Phantom Zone portal device, Superman took it and attached it to his belt.
As Superman returned to where Kalex floated, the AI reactivated.
"Kalex, this is android 14. The Fortress is collapsing. Superman is dead. Before he died, Superman asked me to free you. As an AI you carry information. Too much to allow it or you to fall into the wrong hands. Delete the virtual memory in the Fortress and return to Krypton." Superman did his best to keep the tears forming in his eyes from showing.
Kalex morphed into a golf-ball sized sphere and disappeared.
Pieces of crystal began to fall from the Fortress ceiling as the military stepped up its assaults. Suddenly Superman yelled in pain as a piece of crystal hit his cheek and re-opened a wound Lobo had given him. Then a high-pitched signal filled his ears. Superman yelled again and clasped his hands over his ears.
"Superman, this is the Secretary-General. It is time to give yourself up. I don't want to have to destroy the Fortress to get to you. I am calling off the assault for 15 minutes. You have that amount of time to open the Fortress doors and turn yourself in. I personally guarantee your safety as you're transported to a holding cell and throughout your trial. Daxamite cuffs and restraints will immediately be placed on you - the one metal you can't break or bend. Unlike kryptonite, it won't cause you any pain. Once you're transported to Metropolis, you'll be placed in a CADMUS black-hole cell - eliminating the need to use kryptonite to restrain you. Finally, a special courtroom is being constructed for the trial which will be devoid of yellow solar radiation. The process will be totally painless to you. As an added reassurance, Lobo will not come after you during the trial - Luthor's team has captured and killed him. But be warned Superman, we have more kryptonite than even you can imagine and will use it against you if you resist or try to escape."
Superman pondered for a moment and caught his reflection in a part of the Fortress wall - water now streaming down it. He saw the crest of the House of El on his chest. Dirty and partially ripped off, he recalled what it meant to his family, what it had meant to Earth. "Wear that crest with humility," he recalled his father saying.
With that Superman touched his wrists together. A new nano-suit formed across his body. Rips and tears gone, cape in place. His family crest whole, bright and full of promise - as he had been all those years ago.
With that Superman spoke a single word, "Open."
Kal turned towards the entrance doors. Broken and severely injured, he slowly walked towards the now open doors. Chunks of crystal continued to fall around him, His aura now all but gone, crystal slivers tore at his suit and penetrated his skin. Yet, amid the falling debris, the family crest of the House of El on his chest remained untouched and pristine. Behind him, around him, smoke rose as Kalex destroyed most of the contents of the Fortress. A huge shard of crystal fell on the statue of Superman in the center of the Fortress - crushing it into a thousand pieces. Superman turned and looked at the pedestal that once held his statue. It stood empty - a sign, he thought to himself, that he had made the right decision and Rao was blessing it.
As Superman reached the open doors, lightning and thunder raged outside - even as the Fortress collapsed into itself. A barrage of bolts hit the doors' outer frame, but left the Man of Steel unscathed.
"It's finally over." Superman said quietly to himself as the smoke cleared from around him. Painfully, slowly, Superman straightened his back and raised his shoulders - standing at his full 6' 4". He was ready to face his fate and, for the first time in a long time, Kal-El was at peace.
...
Please review. Comments appreciated.
One-shot which pretty much stands on its own. In the "real" world a Superman would most probably be more a threat than not to humanity's equilibrium.