Chapter Ten: First Encounter
"Jor-El! I know you were behind what happened to Lois!" Clark yelled into the frozen wasteland of the Fortress of Solitude. "I do not believe it merely coincidence that this "great threat" and all the strange happenings are occuring now! Where are you?!"
"I am here," answered a cold, simplistic voice. "And no, they are not coincidental. Your intuitions serve you well, Kal-El. But be cautious. You have many foes around you, but be not afraid, for you have more friends around than you realize."
I wish he would stop speaking in riddles! "Please, who is after me?"
"I am," came a voice behind him. Clark turned to see a man standing near the entrance to the Fortress. He appeared to be a machine, yet also quite human. "I am Metallo! Servant of Darkseid! You will bow down before me!"
"Uh, somehow I doubt that."
"So be it," Metallo said. He charged at Clark, who supersped out of the way, only Metallo caught him and threw him fifty feet across the Fortress, into an icy wall. Clark fell to the floor in a heap. Damn! This guy can really do some damage! No matter. I'll show him the big guns!
Clark sped to Metallo and punched him clear across the Fortress, out into the snow. When he pursued, he found that Metallo was nowhere to be seen. He had fled.
Out of nowhere, Clark felt something warm in his mouth. He put his hand on the spot and when he pulled it out, was surprised to see blood on it. So his suspicions had been right. Metallo was laced with kryptonite. Clark was lucky he had been able to throw him. Damn! Whatever he was, Clark knew he needed help to stop him… and fast.