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****Chapter 17: Pride****
"Alright, Steel," Superman said as he finished attaching the last bit of housing to the overhanging command tower that held the environmental controls for the room. "I think that does it. Good job."
"No problem, Superman," Steel said. "I think you have a visitor, though."
"A what?" Superman asked, welding the final seam on the command tower. He turned to look as he floated down. "Caliwone," Superman said, smiling. "Welcome back to the Watch Tower.
"I see you have improved my training room," Caliwone said, walking around the large open room then looked up at the tower. "Will it still be able to handle my intensity?"
"Of course," Superman said, cocking an eye at the 'my training room' but ignoring it as a quirk of Caliwone's. "Even before the upgrade it handled my session's just fine."
Caliwone's tail slowly unwrapped itself from around his waist as he continued to walk. "I see," Caliwone said, eyeing Superman carefully.
Steel looked between Caliwone and Superman and slowly eased himself toward the door.
"New reinforced plating with his resistant to particle wear, added layer of steel hull, and larger variety of scenery," Superman said with a smile. "I'm sure you would love some of the environments."
"Show me."
"I'll do it," Steel said, moving more quickly toward the door. "Any requests?"
"Wasteland," Caliwone said.
Superman frowned. "Wasteland? That's not very scenic."
"It is not intended to be, Kal-El," Caliwone said, allowing the slightest grin to cross his face. "It is intended to be a place with no distractions; a perfect battleground."
Superman's frown deepened. "Alright," he said, not feeling entirely happy about Caliwone walking in and effectively booting him out with permission. "I will let you get to it then."
"Where do you think you are going, Kal-El?" Caliwone asked, the glee now clear in his voice as he turned to look at Superman. All around them, the air shimmered, wavering as if intense heat bounced off of desert sand. Blue skies painted themselves above them, not a cloud in the sky. The ground beneath their feet cracked slightly and spread outward for miles as cracked and parched ground replaced the white ground. Few and far between, cacti sprouted up, their needles glistening sharply in the crisp air as the heat of the desert settled in around them.
"I told you long ago, Kal-El, that I would challenge you once more, to retake the pride that you stole from me," Caliwone said. He lifted his arms as if to indicate the world now around them. "Now is that time. No excuse from you will get you out of this."
Superman looked at Caliwone, emotionless. "I thought that we were past all of that animosity," he asked, sounded disappointed.
"Animosity has nothing to do with this," Caliwone said. "It's a matter of pride, Kal-El. Respect from one warrior to another is what will make you accept this fight."
Superman glanced back at the door, his super hearing alerting him to the pounded footsteps that indicated that Steel had already alerted most of the League of the rematch, and then turned to fully face Caliwone. "Alright, Caliwone. A friendly rematch."
Caliwone's grin widened, a shadow of his former dark self as his mind settled into combat mode, his sense's stretching out unconsciously to encompass the area around him. "Sure, Kal-El. Whatever you say."
Superman gave a great exhale and settled himself into a ready stance. An awkward stance, Caliwone thought, reminding him that Superman was not a martial artist. Once upon a time, Kal-El may have been able to overcome his talent and technique with sheer power, but that was long ago and Caliwone was even further a cut above the rest now. He thought back to his last engagement with the Man of Steel, building his strategy.
The air around Caliwone trembled as he raised his power level. A gold haze hung around Caliwone as fissures spread out from his feet and his black hair lifted upwards. With a roar, Caliwone fully transformed, his Super Saiyan aura blazing around him; his ice blue eyes glinting.
"Alright, Kal-El," Caliwone said, his muscles relaxing as he halted the increase. "I am not the same man you fought when we first met."
"I know," Superman said. "That much I saw when you destroyed those Sentinels."
Caliwone breathed out, relaxing himself. "Then there will be no surprise when I beat you this time."
Diana pushed herself forward through the crowd of League members and the occasional maintenance crew to get herself to the front and the large windows that looked down on the training room from the command tower. With one last forceful push, she succeeded and found herself looking into a wasteland. On the top of the viewport, statistics and status bars fluctuated, telling her the temperature in the room was in the upper eighties, zero moisture, and no wind to speak of.
"Not even Themyscira had conditions this rough for training," she said idly to Vixen who was standing next to her.
"I wouldn't know," Vixen said. "All I know is that it has to be unbearably hot in there."
Diana nodded silently; half wishing that Shayera was next to her instead. She glanced around slightly and saw Shayera down the glass a ways, watching intently as the battle was about to start. At least she would appreciate the situation better than Vixen. "It'll be hard for them both to breath or keep cool. Extreme conditions."
"Superman will be fine," Captain Atom said from just behind her. She turned back slightly to give him a questioning eye even as she noticed how everyone was trying to give space to the atomic man. "Remember he is no ordinary person. This kind of thing shouldn't be anything at all to him. Beside," he pointed up higher into the 'sky' toward the sun that raged down. "That ball of light is not there just for looks. That is a yellow sun that emits yellow sun energy which means it helps strengthen Superman as oppose to red sun energy that weakens him."
"I see," Diana said looking back down. "So Superman actually has the advantage here."
"I wouldn't go that far," Captain Atom said. "It doesn't emit that much."
"Here they go," Vixen said quietly.
Caliwone vanished from his starting place, moving fast to one side instead of going directly for Superman. If he remembered correctly, Kal-El could see through Earth and debris so attempting to blind him by breaking the ground would be futile if he expected it. However, it has to take at least some time to switch from one vision to the next. Something to remember. Right now, how was the best way to approach Kal-El?
His feet glided over the ground in his sideways motion, before touching back down and dashing forward with incredible speed. Superman saw him coming of course and raised an arm to counter attack but Caliwone darted sideways a few yards shy of Superman, circling around him, then launching forward again.
Superman was ready this time, rushing forward himself, anticipating Caliwone's timing. Caliwone's knee drilled into Superman's stomach almost before he could register the fact that Caliwone had increased his speed substantially, using his own anticipation against him.
Superman hurtled backwards, the knee hitting much harder than he ever expected, a testament to his training. Superman caught himself in the air and landed heavily on the ground. Somewhere in his backwards flight, Caliwone had vanished from sight again. He looked left, then right. No sign of Caliwone. If there had been enough time before Caliwone's booted foot caught him under the chin to sigh, Superman would have groaned. It was his favorite physical technique, after all.
As Superman's head snapped back and lifted him off the ground, Caliwone rolled onto his hands and toes and threw his body into a back flip, bringing his right leg around to smash Superman back down to the ground.
Caliwone moved quickly away from the cloud of dirt, wary of an attack under the cover. He was right. Twin beams of red light lanced out from the smoke toward him. Side stepping quickly, Caliwone was able to avoid them, firing a blast of energy at where he Superman should be.
"I almost forgot for a moment that you can't sense me," Kal-El said from the smoke cloud. The dust settled, revealing Superman standing tall a few feet to the side of where Caliwone expected him to be. "You can only sense those who have a strong energy presence, right?"
Caliwone glared over at Superman. "Yes," Caliwone admitted. "You have next to nothing to sense. That is the same problem I had with you last time."
"I see," Superman said. "We all have our flaws."
Caliwone glared slightly then rushed forward. Superman moved almost as quickly, darting to one side, Superman arced his path away from the Saiyan and taking in a deep breath. Landing, he exhaled. Ice blew outwards as Caliwone, in hot pursuit, flashed forward, vanishing and reappearing repeatedly as he closed in, managing to avoid the blow of ice.
Superman jerked back as Caliwone closed the gap and swung his fist through Superman's head, harmless. His moment of shock passed as the Caliwone vanished like a ghost or after image as Caliwone slid in on the ground behind and between Superman's feet unnoticed. Caliwone grabbed Superman's ankles as he slid by and pulled Superman's feet from under him, slamming him on his back. Before Caliwone let go of his feet, he flipped backwards, his knees landing square into Superman's stomach.
Superman barely had time to gag before Caliwone hurled him upwards, launching a heavy salvo of rapid fire energy attacks at him. Caliwone crouched slightly but then relaxed as he let Superman regain his balance. Patience, among other things, was what he had learned to Other World, a useful trait when dealing with more resilient opponents. As was evident in their last encounter, Kal-El was far tougher than he had given him credit for and in so doing, had led to his downfall.
Superman hovered in the air for a moment as the bluish cloud rolled away from him, noting Caliwone's change in tactics. His cape billowed outwards as he floated down to land on the wasteland ground, the 'S' on his chest highlighted by the sun's golden light.
"I can see this isn't going to be as easy as last time," Superman said.
"Easy, huh. Tell me when it starts to get hard for you." Caliwone sneered, mostly friendly but it lacked the hatred of their first encounter, at least. Caliwone leapt forward, skimming the ground as Superman's eyes flashed red, shattering the ground before Caliwone in large chunks, forcing the agile Saiyan to flip over them to avoid colliding into or through them. Superman flew forward and just as Caliwone completed his flip and looked up at Superman, he reached forward with his hands to grasp Caliwone's throat. Superman groaned inwardly as his hands went through Caliwone's throat. Superman almost swore but Caliwone's white booted foot drove into the back of Superman's head.
Superman crashed down skidded to a stop on his stomach. "Alright, what is that?" he asked, pushing himself to his hands and knees. "You've done that twice now. Are you a ghost or something?"
Caliwone grinned darkly. "It is called the After Image technique. One of several new abilities I learned while I was in Other World."
"You're going to have to teach me that one," Superman said, standing upright and rubbing his chin where it had impacted the ground.
"Ha," Caliwone said, smiling wider. "It is not a technique that someone like yourself can learn. The ability requires precise control over your energy, which you do not possess, and the ability to move very quickly. A very basic technique for someone like me."
"It is effective, at the very least," he said, setting his stance once more.
"What do you say we cut the games, Kal-El?" Caliwone asked, folding his arms. "Do you believe that it has been so long that I have forgotten how fast you truly are?"
Superman smiled sheepishly. "You noticed that, huh?"
Caliwone dropped into his own stance. "It worked for a decent warm up. Now the true battle starts."
Caliwone leaped forward, his aura bursting wildly around him as he closed in on Superman. His first right hand punch missed as Kal-El shifted to his left, then ducked as Caliwone twisted to his left and hook kicked with his left foot. Kal-El grabbed the foot as it passed by with his right and shoved it back the way it had come, throwing Caliwone off balance.
As Superman drew back with his left hand to punch Caliwone, the Saiyan fired a blast underneath him as he fell that shot him into the air to avoid Superman's punch and hurled his one-time signature Sphere of Destruction down onto the Kryptonian.
The room was temporarily blinded with red light that blew away the cacti and caused the ground to cave in but the walls of the Watch Tower took the hit with barely a tremble, the hard light that made up the shielding in the room equal to the task.
The light faded and Caliwone and Superman were locked in combat, both punching, dodging, and taking hits until Caliwone caught both of Superman's incoming fists. Leaning backwards, Caliwone drove both booted feet into Superman's face. Superman flew back toward the ground, doing his best to keep his eyes on Caliwone and so, saw the Saiyan rush toward him. Regaining his balance just above the ground and just in time, he threw his hand forward and caught the surprised Saiyan by the face and slammed him hard onto his back.
Caliwone immediately kicked Superman's head, forcing the Man of Steel off of himself, flipping back to his feet in the process only to be punched hard in the stomach then face. He landed on his feet and stumbled back, slightly dazed by the blow but his instincts still forced him to duck Superman's haymaker punch and then sweep his opponents feet from under him.
Superman caught himself mid fall and rushed forward, trying not to give Caliwone time to reset himself. He threw a punch that Caliwone caught off balance with his right hand across his body and punched with his left, which Superman caught with his free hand. Caliwone pushed forward, in so doing regaining his balance in the process until the two came to a standstill, struggling for supremacy as they flexed and pushed one another, each trying to gain the upper hand.
Caliwone ground his teeth in effort, but a grin spread across his face after seeing the strain on Kal-El's face as well. "What's wrong, Kal-El?" Caliwone asked, his voice strained. "You seem to be having trouble."
"What can I say?" Superman answered. "It got hard."
Caliwone laughed. "It just got even harder." With a roar, Caliwone let his aura blaze to full power. Electricity sparked around him and into the ground as his power increased and his muscles bulged slightly. Superman ground his teeth as Caliwone suddenly began pushing harder, slowly taking the advantage.
Caliwone grinned, excited at the prospect of finally out doing his long time rival who had humiliated him so long ago.
Superman strained, holding him off for a few more moments then released Caliwone's left fist and grabbed him by the shirt-front. Caliwone's look of shocked surprise lasted only a few moments before he was slammed down to the ground. Caliwone released Superman's other hand reflexively and Superman pounded it back down hard. After a few slams of his powerful fists, he grabbed Caliwone again and threw him.
Caliwone slammed into the ground and skipped a few times before coming to an ungraceful stop on his back. He stood up, his aura blazing around him unabated as Superman faced him again. The two Super-men locked gazes, each daring the other to make the next move. Caliwone, never the one for long stare downs, moved first.
He fired a blast of yellow energy at Superman who took the brunt of the blast and flew through it. Caliwone rocketed skyward with Superman right on his heels. Reversing his flight, Caliwone punched at Superman. Superman took the hit and caught Caliwone's arm and spun him to put him in a choke hold.
Caliwone struggled a bit before blowing energy outwards in all directions, knocking Superman back, but he rushed forward again. He swung a fist hard as Caliwone turned around to look back but it passed right through his after image and Caliwone, flipping forward from in front of Superman, drove both his feet again into the Man of Steel's face. Superman crashed down to the ground again but stood up quickly as Caliwone fired down a blast.
The blast was large in size but lacking in power and was far too weak to hurt even a cat. The blast crashed down and Superman, blinded briefly by the energy. His sight returned and he looked everywhere but in front of him for the vanished Saiyan, and did not see Caliwone charge his Buster Rifle. The bright yellow beam of energy caught Superman point blank, sending him crashing into the wall behind him, shaking the entire Watch Tower with the force of his impact.
Caliwone lowered his hand, wiping the little bit of blood that trickled from his forehead and lip and waited for Kal-El to emerge from the cloud. He did not expect Superman to rush at him so quickly. Before he could even lift an arm to defend himself, Superman hauled back and punch with his full strength. Caliwone hit the furthest wall in an instant with explosive force that shook the Watch Tower again and caused small screams from the more timid of the League's heroes.
Superman waited, not willing to make the same mistake that Caliwone just made and remained ready. The cloud of dirt and debris started to clear revealing a bluish glow coming from inside. As the smoke cleared, Caliwone could be seen, his right hand held down and blue energy sparking and dancing wildly around him. Caliwone's face was pained and the wound on his forehead much larger now, dripping down between his eyes and into the creases and contours of his brow and making him look more ferocious than ever before.
Even the ground was being affected by the sparking energy, the hard light that played the role of ground cracked and floated upwards, simulating how the real ground would act. Superman felt unease as Caliwone continued to poor energy into whatever new attack this was. "Caliwone, enough," he shouted but Caliwone could not hear him or simply chose to ignore him.
Caliwone burst forward leaving twin streaks of gold and blue behind him as he rushed Superman with extreme speed. Superman knew that he did not have time to dodge as the Saiyan closed in and, just as Caliwone reached forward like a punch with the energy in his hand, fired his heat vision at full power squarely into Caliwone's face.
The energy in his hand vanished as the twin lasers from Superman's eyes stopped the Saiyan dead in the air and sent him crashing to the ground. He lay still for a moment as Superman bent over on his knees breathing hard. "You really were holding out on me last time, Kal-El," Caliwone said, slowly sitting up as the cheer from the command tower wafted down to them through the muffling glass. "You truly are something."
Superman waved a hand in acknowledgement as he still gasped for air. "You have come an extreme distance, Caliwone," he said.
"Not far enough, it seems," Caliwone said, standing and running a hand through his golden hair. "Would you like to continue?"
Superman smiled and lifted a hand. "No, I think that should be good enough for one day."
Caliwone snickered, glad to know that he had Kal-El in at least one area. "Very well. Until next time."
Superman nodded and walked out of the training room to cheers and congratulations from most of the League members that had come by to watch.
"You still are number one, Superman!"
"No one is more Super than you!"
Smiling and waving, Superman headed to his room to shower and change out of his tattered suit.
"Shayera?" Caliwone asked a few moments after Kal-El had left, knowing she would still be close by.
"I am here, Cal," she said through the room's speaker system.
"I need a favor of you," he said and slowly pulled out the shattered pieces of the comm.
There was a slight sigh. "I'll get you a new one," Shayera said.
"Good. I need one more favor from you," he said seriously. "I know the League here keeps track of its member's physical abilities and statistics. Do you have information on Kal-El's body toughness?"
"Yes," Shayera said, sounding slightly confused. "Why?"
"I need you to create a model of Kal-El in the middle of this room with that data," he said, turning and walking away from the center of the now much smaller room.
"Alright," Shayera said, still sounding confused but did as requested. In the center of the room, a rectangular block appeared standing straight up. Caliwone turned to face it and lowered his right hand. The blue energy of his Dragon Twister sparked and danced into existence once again. Leaping forward, Caliwone drove it squarely into the block. The block resisted Caliwone's piercing strike but slowly, the attack drove home, piercing through the block up to Caliwone's elbow. Smiling tightly, Caliwone removed his arm and walked out of the training room.
To be continued...
The fated battle finally happened and Caliwone learns he still has a ways to go to beat his rival, even if his Dragon Twister has the power to pierce Superman. And with the rising of this new threat that Slade has created, this was a good test for Caliwone's powers.
Dedicated to all the fan's of Dragon Sagas!
Thank you Kobez2.0 for bet reading for me again and I can't wait for you to release that new story I've been beta-ing for you.
Please make sure to review and to keep up tabs on my Deviant page (link is on my profile page) for updates to the Dragon Sagas the comic. I have hired a letterer now so the story will soon be 100% comic book.
Later guys,
The Dark Prince