Clark arrived at the Fortress. It was familiar, but at the same time it looked a lot more hostile. On the outside his own Fortress was an ice monolith; modern, rather progressive and minimalist but nonetheless senile in design.
But this Fortress looked like a medieval ice castle with crystalline teeth. He spoke the Kryptonian phrase, and he found himself surprised when his body was enveloped in the blue teleportation field that would transport him inside.
He swivelled his head and looked around, trying to tell what differences lied on the inside. Listening for anyone he heard two heartbeats quickly approaching. Only one was familiar, he had memorised it a long time ago. Her heartbeat was one he would never fail to recognise.
He saw them, and they saw him. She was wearing a gold headpiece instead of the tiara, and her armour too was gold instead of the red and blue. It was more aggressive in design, but she had her sword in its usual place at her side, she was still and forever will be Wonder Woman.
He…he had the Kryptonian armour too, but it looked more menacing and overpowering. The insignia was black and red and there were large shoulder blades where the cape met the pentagonal shield. Gone was the joy associated in the blue and gold of his uniform, everything was darker and less hopeful.
Confusion ran through their collective minds before the High Councillor dashed to put his hand around Clark's throat.
"Who are you!" he gritted.
Clark forcefully shoved him off, losing all calm, "You know who I am!"
Kal got up, "You will answer me!"
It was then Clark felt his power sap out of him, he knew the feeling."Magic." he uttered to himself in distaste. Wonder Woman' lariat was wrapped about him, glowing as it subdued him to its coils.
"You are bound by the Lasso's coils. It burns away all deceit. Now, you will tell us who you are." she ordered.
Clark looked up at her and gave her the trademark lopsided smile as he ceased his struggles, the lasso reducing him to his true nature, "You were always good at tying me up in this."
Diana pulled tighter on her lasso, confident that if this imposter somehow had the power to resist it would soon be burnt away.
Clark grimaced as the High Councillor walked up to him, "I won't ask again. Who are you?"
Clark looked at his double in the eye, red and blue. "I am Clark Kent of Smallville, Kal-El of Krypton, and Superman of the planet Earth." He turned to the man's colleague, "Always nice to see you, Diana."
Diana gasped quietly, she felt the truth through the lasso she was holding. He looked like the Kal of ages ago. She never thought she would never see this again. There was the sea blue of his uniform that matched his eyes. The red that billowed like the colour of his own blood that he'd freely shed if it meant saving another life. There was the sea of gold around the insignia that always reminded her of the Sun that gave Kal his powers; as well as the same source that granted Gaea her light.
"This man is who he says he is." she whispered. It was him. Superman, Kal, Clark, it was all of him.
"Are you sure?" the High Councillor needed explicit confirmation.
"Yes."
Kal-El quickly moved to operate the teleporter. Clark and Diana were enveloped in the energy field and materialised in what looked like one of the Fortress' training rooms.
"You can let me go, I won't do anything." Clark said to Diana.
"You will only speak when spoken to." she rasped.
Clark smirked, "Jeez, even here you enjoy being bossy."
"Silence!" she asserted. Suddenly the whole room lit up red, and Clark felt the remainder of his strength reserves leak out. Diana eased the lasso on him when she was sure he was depowered enough but still kept it around him.
The High Councillor entered the room and walked up to Clark, "Tell me how you got here, and what have you done since then?"
His counterpart's voice was utterly serious, as if he was going to strike him down for any slight. "I don't know how I got here," Clark said, "but I only did what I had to do."
"You impersonated me in front of my officers." Kal said in a low growl. "Keep it around him, Diana."
"I can handle him." she assured.
"Your 'officers'? You mean that bunch of killers?" Clark shot back.
Kal grew angrier as he explained, "They're enforcers of justice and law, and you…I don't know where you came from but you're under my jurisdiction now, and you'll be subject to the same laws as anyone else."
"Enforcers of 'justice'…" Clark scoffed mockingly. "Your 'laws' are as judicial as a pile of bullshit."
"Keep it up and you might just get a fast track trial." Diana quipped threateningly.
"Ah, of course, have to keep the citizens in line, right? At all costs, including the the freedom of speech you and I valued." he said back.
Kal tensed at his counterpart's rhetoric. "And who are you to take this high road of yours?"
"You know the answer to that. Could you look me in the eye and say that those laws keep everyone safe?"
"I can, and I will. Those laws have kept the peace since they were passed, and they will continue to keep the peace so long as the likes of you are kept out of the picture."
"Kept out of the picture?!" Clark repeated incredulously. "Is that what you call murder?"
"The law is the law. And it will be enforced." The High Councillor asserted.
"Yes, apparently, which includes taking the lives of those you're meant to protect." Clark said snidely.
"Peace requires sacrifice." Diana stated.
Clark looked at her in the eye. "Yes, Diana, but that's not peace out there. That's oppression and fear. You two of all people should know the difference."
Superman's anger reached a tipping point, and he backhanded his powerless counterpart into the hard floor, while a stone-faced Wonder Woman kept her hold tight on her lariat.
Clark was not surprised to find blood at the edge of his lips. Magic and red sun radiation had that effect on him, but he was surprised to find that his counterpart seemed to be immune to such weaknesses he deemed necessary for someone who had as much power as him.
"In case you're wondering, I've trained myself to process red sun radiation almost as efficiently as yellow. I'm immune to kryptonite too." the High Councillor explained.
Clark spat out the warm, salty blood on the floor. "Smart of you. Now you can murder who you want and get away with it with no fear of repercussions."
"What we do is necessary, you can take all the moral high ground you want but in the end the results speak for themselves! You have no right to judge!"
Clark fired back just as spiritedly, "And for some reason you do?! You're supposed to be a symbol of hope! Not some goddamned dictator who calls himself 'leader' because you can take a bullet for a damsel in distress!"
"Is that what you still are in your world? A symbol?" Kal-El replied with a mocking tone.
Clark didn't know what happened in this universe's past. As far as he knew the man in front of him was just another product of a different universe to his. "I wonder what Lois thought of you? Maybe she's in prison for speaking out against your ideologies like any sane reporter. She is, isn't she?"
"You are not at liberty to ask about Ms. Lane." Kal-El replied.
Clark found something weird with that sentence, almost as if it was a pre-determined response. "Then allow me to guess; you had her locked up, didn't you? I know for a fact you were once in love with her."
For some reason, Clark could see that his words got a severely adverse reaction out of the High Councillor. The blood on his face seemed to have evaporated out into whiteness, and Diana herself was speechless. Clark realised that Lois must've had something to do with all of this. What else to explain the whitewash on both their faces?
"She's dead, isn't she?" Clark prompted in a whisper.
Through the power of the lasso, Diana found the strength to answer Clark, "She died because of him."
Shocked, Clark swallowed the lump in his throat. There was no wit or sarcasm anymore in his tone as he said, "Was it worth this so called 'peace' that you keep?"
With a silent tone, the High Councillor rasped, "Fuck you, whoever you are. You have no idea what I've gone through, and you've no right to tell me what I'm supposed to be. You'll be punished for impersonating a person of authority, so enjoy your last days."
Clark's expression was unwavering, "What about Lex? Or Bruce?" He knew that Bruce in any universe wouldn't stand for any of this. Lex as well, albeit for completely different reasons. He came to a sobering conclusion. "Did they 'enjoy their last days'?"
"That's enough!" Diana finally said.
"Find out where he's from, what his world is like, and how he may have gotten here, Wonder Woman. Don't hesitate to use any methods necessary, I'll be in Metropolis." Kal said to his more than capable second in command. If he spent any more time in a room with this disrespectful bastard he'd more than likely gut his throat before they could try him.
"Gladly." she agreed, even though what she wanted to do now was to sit Kal down and talk to him, to console him about the raw pain that so obviously flashed in his eyes when the bastard imposter mentioned his dead wife's name. Just now he looked like a ghost when the subject of her was brought up. They never talked about Lois. Ever.
She would have to bring it up later.
"I'll return shortly." With that the High Councillor blurred out of the training room, leaving the Queen of Themyscira alone with this shameless copy.
TO BE CONTINUED
