Plummeting toward the grey strip of steel and macadam The Man Of Steel perceived a deadly spider web of cracks spreading across the Metropolis Harbour Bridge. The dull groan of the steel girders beneath was now completely drowned out by the cries of sheer terror and panic. Superman banked his body, soaring around in an arc, his speed decreasing dramatically.

Let them see me. Give them hope. Stop them from panicking.

He hovered there for the briefest of moments, his incredible senses taking in the extent of the damage, his mind scrambling to formulate a plan. His cape blew resplendently in the wind and the hero was gratified by the shouts and whispers that crept into his ears.

"Look, look there."

"Holy-"

"Told you he was real!"

"Quick, quick, get me my camera!"

"I'll be damned."

"Oh thank God, just thank God!"

As he watched The Man of Steel felt a welcome sense of calm wash over the passengers below. He would have to move quickly before it dissipated.
He swooped under the bridge, roughly calculating its centre of balance, and flattened his body against the uneven surface, trying to cover as large a surface area as possible. His powerful hands sunk into the asphalt above and he enjoyed the tactile pleasure as his fingers bit into the tough surface as though it were soft clay. Pushing upwards with all his might he focused his gaze on the epicentre of the cracks, curious as to what could have caused such an unlikely disturbance.

He had a nasty feeling that it was no natural occurrence.

There was a sudden jolt from above reminding the Kryptonian of the urgency of his predicament. He would make the asphalt soft and pliable with his heat vision, reform it as super speed and reset it with his Arctic breath. It would be a temporary solution at best but the only hope for the innocents above. He narrowed his eyes, his vision becoming reddish and shimmering as the super heated rays spilled forth from his eyes.

Suddenly he registered a series of muffled popping sounds, like popcorn bursting in the microwave, and within a moment chunks of asphalt were raining down into the turgid waters below.

The Man of Steel's mind reeled as he stared impotently at the falling debris?

Must be some kind of minor explosive charges that were set off by my heat vision. But who could-? How? Why?

In his mind's eye the hero envisaged dozens of screaming innocent men women and children, clawing frenziedly at their seatbelts as they plummeted to a watery grave, their vehicles becoming rusted metal tombs in the salty water.

That could not happen.

He closed his eyes, spending a valuable second focusing his little remaining energy into a single concentrated burst.

There would be no second chance. Nearly fifty people would die if he failed now.

When his eyes snapped open time had stood still. Jagged chunks of masonry were suspended in the air. Birds were frozen in the sky, immobile. The scene above was a motionless tableau of terror and chaos. Superman's mind and body moved with such speed that each second seemed to stretch into infinity. When me moved the air seemed to ripple around him, the laws of scientific possibility stretched to their very limit.

He was moving at super speed.

He weaved amongst the cars an unstoppable force. He ripped off the roofs of the vehicles as though they were candy bar wrappers, scooping their terrified passengers up in his arms and flying them safely to land, pitching them as gently as the fast depleting time and his current velocity would allow.

He repeated this process again and again. Every time there was a little less bridge, every time the threat of failure seemed that much more palpable. Soon he was tearing through vehicles as they fell downward, shredding steel with his bare hands, catching their delicate cargo in his arms as he went.

Just one more car to go. You can do this Clark. You can do this!

By the time he reached the final car the very tip of its bonnet was touching the water, the pregnant woman and her infant daughter pressed against the windshield. Their faces frozen into masks of abject terror. Sheer force of will propelled the hero toward the vehicle and its trapped passengers. He grabbed the rear bumper, gouging his fingers into the metal, concentrating solely on flying upward with his cargo.

Ordinarily the weight of the vehicle would be a minor challenge to his Herculean strength but Superman's exertions had left him almost physically and mentally spent.

He strained, arching his back and shoulders, heaving his body upwards, his efforts solely concentrated on lifting the car from the icy, deadly embrace of the water below. Resultantly he phased out of super speed and the laws of physics wasted no time in catching up with him. Huge chunks of asphalt and steel plummeted downward, churning the water all about him. A falling concrete lane divider glanced off the back of Superman's skull, drawing blood.

Blood was bad. Blood meant that the unique powers that the yellow sun of this system afforded him were dwindling. Blood took the Super out of Superman.

Leaving just…

A man.

As the crimson fluid trickled down his cheek Lois' words from earlier that day rang in his ear, a grimly resonant reminder of his own fallibility;

"Kryptonian physiology aside, you're only human honey."

The threat of failure hung upon his shoulders, compounded by the frantic screams of the woman and child within the car.

With terror The Man Of Steel realised that he and the car were sinking. The front tyres and half of the bonnet were now submerged in the turbulent water. Eyes screwed shut, teeth clenched together, Superman pulled with all his might but the dead weight of the vehicle just seemed to be getting heavier.

A small voice, perfect and beautiful in its pre-school innocence was heard from the car.

"Mommy, is Superman hurt?"

The response, older, more jaded muffled by tears of desperation and despair.

"I don't know darling. I can't… he has to…"

"He's going to save us though right?"

"I…. I don't know if he can."

"Of course he can!"

The voice of a child young enough to have faith in belief called up to The Man Of Steel.

"You can do it Superman!"

Something in that voice, in that faith gave him new strength. He shrugged off the dark mantle of failure. Focusing on the car's rear window he used a weak, stuttering ray of heat vision to cut a hole large enough for a heavily pregnant adult to climb through. He called down trying to sound bolder and more confident than he felt;

" I can't carry the car ma'am, but I can carry you and your daughter. I just need you to climb up."

The little girl wasted no time at all in unbuckling herself and clambering over the front seat, her mother following suit, pushing the child up through the hole in the glass. The child was a good climber, had probably already scaled some trees in her few years. Small arms encircled Superman's neck and, not for the first time the hero's heart ached with yearning for the parenthood that would forever be denied him.

"Hi Superman, my name's Ellie!"

Her smile was enough to assure Superman that helping people was exactly what he wanted to do with his life.

"I'm six!"

She informed him as she swung herself around, perching herself upon his back the way she probably did when her father had given her piggyback rides.

The mother was climbing up now, mouth agape with fear and awe. The image of her daughter smiling excitedly down at her reflected in a tear filled eye.

"Just grab my arm ma'am, and I'll get you both to safety."

The terrified woman complied, the only thought in her mind gratitude for little Ellie's safety. When he was sure of the woman's grip Superman let go of the vehicle, floating steadily (if not effortlessly) upward.

It was the most gruelling flight of his life, the relatively tiny weight of the woman and child seemed an unbearable load to the exhausted hero. Only the little girl's gleeful words of encouragement spurred him on.

It was with great relief that Superman gently set the two down on the fractured bridge. Sagging with exhaustion he cast his eyes over the scene. Just over a dozen people lay injured and groaning on the asphalt, nursing oozing head gashes and damaged limbs. Dazed, confused, devastated. Better than the alternative, certainly, but the hero bore even these minor injuries of the people he had sworn to protect heavily. The Man of Steel concentrated on slowing his breathing, regaining control of his senses. Within moments his ears were filled with groans, tearful whimpers and mumbled curses. As the numbness of shock subsided the collective forgot their fear and bewilderment and noticed only their pain. It was a pain that Superman shared.

"Is everyone alright?"

There were a few tentative nods amongst the few who looked up from their scuffs and bruises. A fair skinned read haired woman was already weaving her way amongst the small crowd, flexing wrists and muttering words of comfort. She cast the blue clad hero a weary smile.

"It's alright Superman I'm a-"

"Doctor Benning from Metropolis General," he said with a smile remembering the surgeon's face. "We met a few weeks ago."

"That's right, you brought in that cat burglar with the fractured coccyx. Wow I-" she flushed slightly that Superman of all people had taken the time to remember her name. "I didn't think you'd have remembered me. Anyway I don't think anyone's too badly injured. I'm sure we'll all be just fine so you can-"

"Fine? FINE? Fine my pimpled ass!"

A short middle aged man wearing a fake designer business suit and equally fake cologne hobbled over with an exaggerated limp.

"Do you have any idea how much my car was worth? I've got a sales meeting with some very important clients in Keystone City tomorrow."

He prodded Superman in the chest with a pudgy finger.

"You'd damn well better be piggy backing me over there Big Blue 'cause there ain't no way I'm catching a goddamned Greyhound bus!"

The salesman's concern for his car after coming so close to a watery grave was bemusing to the point of hilarity yet the hero managed to keep a straight face and look vaguely concerned.

"You'll be hearing from my lawyers about this. You know I'm pretty sure I've got a fractured tribula."

"Tibia." Dr. Benning corrected.

"Whatever. Between that and the damage to my car. I'm goddamned well entitled to some goddamned compensation. I'm going to sue those pansy red underpants right off of you, boy!"

Drawing himself to his full height Superman peered down at the irate salesman determined not to be driven to anger, biting back the urge to respond with some cutting remark.

You're better than that Clark.

Lois' voice in his head reminded him.

"I'm sorry you feel that way sir. But I'm sure your insurance will cover any damage to your vehicle. Now if you'll excuse me…"

He turned and took a few sure-footed steps away from the agog crowd, tipping his head slightly so that nobody would see the neat gash cloven into his skull by the falling debris. The hero's refusal to rise to the bait was misconstrued as weakness by the salesman and he took a step forward, mentally preparing another verbal assault.

Deftly assessing the situation Dr Benning wove between the two placing herself in the path of the shorter man and taking him tenderly by the arm.

"Sir, I think you're in shock, you've suffered an incredibly traumatic incident."

"Well I… yes I!"

"Of course you have. Now if you'd just like to take a seat here with these people who've suffered an equally traumatic incident and we'll see what we can do about that fractured tibia."

Smiling to himself Superman mentally thanked the doctor as he gathered his few remaining reserves of energy to launch himself into the air. His takeoff was a little shaky but he was sure that the observers were too busy dealing with their own shock and pain to notice. Wheeling around in an arc he waved smiling at the doctor and the injured civilians to whom she was attending. A few waved back, returning him smile with sincere gratitude. Little Ellie blew him a kiss.

As he soared toward the centre Metropolis through a sky tinted amber by the setting sun he decided that the best thing to do with a bad day like today was end it. He would take Lois to a nice restaurant and get to bed early. By the time he awoke with dawn's first light in true farm boy style his wound would have healed and he'd have regained some much needed strength.

Half a mile away the gaunt man in the trench coat watched without the aid of binoculars. His enemy's take off was faltering, weak.

Depleting Superman's seemingly infinite energy reserves had proved no mean feat. It was now time to implement the next phase of his plan.

The net had been cast. It was time to tighten it.

Right on cue a cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He spoke into it in a voice that still boomed richly with authority belying his bedraggled appearance.

"The apartment?"

"On standby sir." The obedient voice of one of his subordinates.

"Do it."

Eyes that were once blue burned violet with psychotic hatred. As he snapped the cell phone shut his thin lips drew back over greyed gums and blackened teeth in a schizophrenic snarl of a smile. He had orchestrated the events leading to this moment with military precision. He had turned a petty gang of the planet's indigenous vermin into a skilled army, loyal to him unto death.

His revenge was almost complete.

The ruination of Kal El was at hand.