Chapter Twenty: Kal vs Kal
Waking up in space, slightly drifting away, is an odd sensation. For a moment you feel that you're dead. You're weightless, cold and very confused. The lack of air is scary. You choke, but for Clark it was for only a moment, this was not the first time that he had woken up in space.
Looking at the sun, Superman felt its warmth. His body felt alive again. Energy seeped into him, like water into a water ballon. But unlike the balloon, Superman wouldn't explode from the intake. He felt alive, and he felt right. Then he heard it. Or rather, sensed it. The back breaking through a telepathic connection he didn't know he made with Superboy. And he didn't realise that was the case, either. He could feel Superboy's back breaking. The sound he heard in his head was jarring, and Superman turned to see Emmet tossing Superboy far away. He was not in the Himalayas, he was in the Pacific. Superman's eyes filled with red. The Justice League had failed. They had all failed.
So how could he win?
He'd lost already. He couldn't do this.
Not by doing it the way he had so far.
The only way to beat Emmet was to give it everything, to try and kill him. But not to kill him, no. Because if he did that, then he was as bad as Emmet, as Luthor and any other criminal he has had to fight. By killing Emmet, he would become Emmet, and then it wouldn't matter which copy won, as they would truly be the same. That meant that Superman would have to try and make sure that he held off the last punch. But Superman wasn't like Batman, would he truly know when the punch wold be the final blow? And could he really bring himself to fight himself? An errant self, sure, but still himself.
Until that point, adrenaline and the support of the Justice League had suffocated this question. But here, now, alone and in a moment of respite, it came crashing down upon him. This was himself, his own self. Not a recently made copy of himself, not a copy as a consequence of probability, but his own person, him. Was this him?
But it wasn't. Emmet was just a super powered Kryptonian. Just like Zod. Just like Faora. They were bad people. They were evil. And Superman had to defend his planet, whatever the cost might be, he would defend his planet from anyone wishing to take control of it.
He was the only one left to do so.
Soaking one last bit of sun, he turned around and flew downwards. The heat of entering the atmosphere was extreme and at one with the anger that Superman felt. For the first time in a long time, he allowed himself to feel the full extent of his rage, and didn't stifle it, but let it flow and energise him.
He flew down to Emmet, who hadn't taken his eyes off Superman. They were standing on an island no larger than a hundred square feet. It was small and completely devoid of plants. There was a rock where Emmet was standing. And Emmet put his hand on the rock. A light glowed from the rock and Superman could feel the air become alive. Far away on the horizon, he saw a dome form. It encased a large area and extended high up into the sky, and down into the water.
"What are you doing?" asked Superman, his fists clenched.
"I have decided to make our battle more private. No more interruptions. I have defeated them. They know their place now and will serve me without question, like all broken beasts. But as long as you live free to do as you please I will not be able to make a heaven of this planet. I tried, brother, I tried to make you see my point of you. I have given you more time to ask and debate the issue with me than I have given any other person. I really thought you would be more like me, more sensible. But you are not, and I will not let you stand in the way of this planet's happiness. You will die."
"Happiness? You mean enslavement. And I am not about to let that happen."
"Then you will need to kill me. This technology, courtesy of Lexcorp, monitors our life signatures. Unless one of them ends, the dome will stay up. And you will not break it, no one can. It feeds off energy. Each blow will only strengthen it."
"So I'm supposed to kill you?"
"No. You are supposed to die!"
Superman felt a heavy weight fall on him. Emmet was using telekinesis. Emmet's eyes were a crimson red. He was prepared to kill. To do what he deemed necessary. Superman had to match that ferocity if he wanted to live. To save this planet, he may have to forget everything his parents have taught him. He may even need to forfeit his soul
Superman sent a short blast of heat vision at Emmet. The distraction was enough for Emmet to lose focus and stop using his telekinesis on Superman, which meant Superman was able to fly and land a punch right on Emmet's face. Superman had learnt a lot from Batman. These fights were not for television, standing in a cool pose after a punch is idiotic. You press your attack. This fight was not going to be pretty in any sense. Superman punched a second and third time, the fourth time was blocked and he was sent upwards with a devastating uppercut. The sea line had receded from the island as each blow sent water further and further back due to the force. Doomsday, Darkseid, Brainiac... None compared to this fight. Doomsday was an unthinking monster, and not as powerful as Superman. Darkseid was a god, you couldn't really kill him anyway. But this? This was fighting himself, it was like punishing himself for mistakes he'd made, but knowing that it wasn't the answer.
Emmet followed the uppercut with a kick to the stomach. Superman caught the foot and lifted Emmet over his head like a sledgehammer and smashed him head first on the other side. Blood trickled from Emmet's lip. Heat vision erupted from Emmet's hand. Superman didn't even know to expect that. He got it square in the face, and it hurt. Terribly. Superman couldn't see, the sting from the blast was still hurting him. He heard a whooshing sound of a cape. Emmet was slightly above him by the sound of the cape and his heartbeat.
"How...?" asked Superman, hoping to stall for time to regain his sight.
"You have such a narrow vision of your powers. Your sight is able to generate a concentrated beam of heat, but you have that same capability in every cell in your body. But you never dared to push yourself, to test your limits. Never!" Emmet's heel smashed into Superman's nose, hitting just a millisecond after Superman was able to see properly again. The crunch of a broken nose did not escape either combatants. Emmet hit Superman in the face as Superman raised his head in reaction to the kick. It knocked Superman sideways. Emmet went for a cross punch, but Superman dodged it and went for a kidney punch. Batman had told him once that punches to the face are all well and good, but it can easily be the body shots that will defeat an enemy. He never liked listening to Batman or Wonder Woman explain how to defeat enemies, but he was glad some of it did sink in. The shot had an effect, and Superman followed it with a punch to the stomach and a head-butt to Emmet's nose. Now both of them had a bleeding nose.
Emmet smiled a sly, malicious smile. Superman was trying not to think. He knew what would happen if he did.
"You don't have to do this, Emmet. You can decide to leave."
"No I cannot!" yelled Emmet and punched Superman in the stomach, another uppercut and a kick to the side of the leg, "life is not all blue skies and rainbows. It is not a fairytale," said Emmet as his punch to Superman's face was blocked and Superman punched Emmet's teeth, "it is not pretty. It is harsh. Grotesque. Filled with evil! Filled with violence!"
"Maybe. But it is also filled with hope!" said Superman as he kicked Emmet's exposed ribs.
"Why are you so naive? Evil must be crushed at all cost!"
"I'm not. I had great parents who taught me the value of life and respect for freedom."
"You are me, but naive."
"Why are you so cruel?"
"I am not cruel!" said Emmet, as air rushed out of him when Superman punched him in the ribs again, "I am not cruel, luckily I was raised by strong people, who showed me how to make a planet prosper."
"I am sorry to tell you, but you were raised by evil parents."
"Not everyone gets a Ma and Pa Kent!" said Emmet as he flew at Superman. Superman dodged and used Emmet's cape to pull him back and he went to punch him but instead got blasted with heat vision from the oncoming Emmet, and then what felt like a huge weight pushed him to the ground.
"Not everyone gets to grow up with loving and honourable parents. But sadly you did. You got a childhood protected from evil, and therefore you cannot see it," said Emmet as Superman struggled to get on his knees, struggled against the invisible weight that was on top of him, "you fight something that you do not understand. Your parents shielded you, and now you try and shield others. You are pathetic. Why shield a city when you can destroy the attackers? Ma and pa Kent… idiotic! You idolise fools!"
"You may think so, but you're just as bad as the evil you fight. I'd rather be a fool fighting for goodness than a hypocrite creating what I wish to destroy!" With that Superman got up and shoulder charged Emmet, this sent Emmet clear off what remained of the island. Superman was hot on his trail, landing a punch on Emmet's face when Emmet looked to see where Superman was. Superman came to land another blow but got kicked away. Emmet flew up and dived down at Superman, who was flying up to meet him. Each one punched the other. The force was so great, that the water underneath them moved, and one could see the ocean bed. They both went sprawling away. Superman went down under water and Emmet smacked against the forcefield he created.
Shaking off the pain of the impact, Emmet surveyed the area, looking for Superman. The few islands around the area were deserted, and the water seemed to be still without a living organism in them. But he wasn't dead, that was for certain. Reaching out with his mind, he searched.
"Aaarghhhnn!" Cried Emmet, and fell to the water. Gripping his head for dear life.
"Do you really think that would work on me again?" asked Superman.
Emmet opened his eyes, he was hunched over mid-air, and his eyes were staring right at Superman's feet. Red armour boots shining from being bathed in the water of the Pacific Ocean. Emmet looked up and a fist crashed into him. He was able to stay where he was, but it hurt. A lot. His nose was shattered, and he may have fractured a cheek bone.
"I fought telepaths. I learnt how to defend myself from such attacks." A knee smashed into Emmet's face. "You destroyed anyone who could give you opposition. Makes it hard to practice. Hard to learn how to overcome adversity." Three punches to the stomach and then a kick to the chest. "You have no friends to teach you how to fight. You figured it out all for yourself." Kick to the leg, an upper cut to the chin. "It's admirable, really." Another two punches. "But I fought Darkseid. Brainiac. Doomsday. Bizzaro and many others. I have saved this Earth many times. Saved countless of lives." He grabbed Emmet by the scruff. Superman's eyes were glowing red. Emmet's face was destroyed, his body was hurt badly. "And I will not let you take this planet!"
Knee to the face and then as many punches as he could land. The punches sent them to a different island. Emmet was being battered. Superman's rage had never been this great. He had fought people that wanted to enslave and destroy Earth before. But this was different. This was him. This was a very possible version of him that would want to enslave the Earth. It would have been too easy for Superman to pick sides in world conflicts and force his will, but there was always a chance that he would have picked the wrong side.
Punch after punch he landed on the Emmet's body, creating a great crater in the island. His vision was so blurry, so red with fury, that he barely saw what he was hitting. Emmet's blood was on his hands and face, but Superman didn't pay any attention to it.
"Superman! Enough!" It was Wonder Woman, he could barely hear her. She was so far away. But she was shouting. Superman's vision cleared. Emmet was a battered blob: face and body shattered. He was alive, but only just. Superman looked up. Beyond the barrier, there she was. She was standing there, next to Batman. She was bandaged and both her arms were in a sling. She was broken, his super vision showed him that. He looked back at Emmet. At his bloody hands.
Picking up Emmet, he flew over to the island where the machine was and set Emmet down in the crater that was once the island. He shattered the rock next to him, turning the device off. The forcefield came down and two seconds later came an ARGUS jet. Inside was a cage. A red solar cage. Superman moved to the side of the ditch and allowed the jet to land. Five men came out, guns pointing forwards. They looked at Superman, his hands were bloody. Superman's face was bruised and battered. One hand was holding his side where a couple of ribs were broken. The men walked towards the ditch and stopped short, lowering their guns. Their blank expressions did not escape Superman. They were shocked, this had not happened yet. Not with him.
"Come on people! Move it!" yelled Trevor, and the men loaded Emmet onto the jet and into the cage. He would be safe there, Superman knew that. He'd exhausted all of Emmet's suit's solar charge as well as probably most of Emmet's strength. He was going to be recovering for a while, especially given that the cell was housing a very large concentration of red solar radiation. The jet took off and Superman stayed where he was, next to a crater that was once an island, water started to fill the crater, the soft tide slowly erasing the battle that took place there. Blood stains were still visible on the ground. How could he let it get so out of control?
Wonder Woman flew over to Superman and stood beside him, they were both looking at the crater, the water beyond started to calm, the dead fish that were crushed by the force of the blows came to the shore. Bloody water everywhere.
"You had no choice. This was an enemy you couldn't subdue, couldn't defeat without crushing him completely," said Wonder Woman, her head on his shoulder.
"I was about to kill him, and I didn't even know it. I knew I had to hit him with everything I had, but I wasn't going to stop."
"Clark, you didn't have a choice," she felt him shivering. Shaking from the adrenaline. From the guilt. Superman always found another way. He would never take a life, especially not unbeknownst to himself. And here he was, a man who had lost control. A man who, if that were to happen at any other time, could end the world. End the life of the superheroes as they know it.
"I... I was so angry. Angry at him... angry at myself," said Superman, still shaking.
"Why?"
"Because he was right. In many ways he is right. If I chose a side, or chose to intervene… I could save people. I can stop all evil… But I don't. Because then I will become that same despotic evil. But how many die while I don't? How many lives have been lost because I didn't?"
"Far less than those that have hope because of you. Have an ideal to believe in. You embody hope like no one else can. You make them believe that they have a choice. If you take that away by becoming like Emmet, then you will destroy everyone's life. And when you die, because even you will die someday Clark, then there will be no good to look up to. It will all have been for nothing."
"I guess so." But the horrible fact was still there: no one could stop him. Meeting Diana and Bruce, Clark had thought there was a way to keep him in check. But now... Now he knew. There was no plan. He could do as he pleased.
"Clark," said Diana, "you can do as you please. Always. But remember: there are an infinite number of supermen, but there is only one true Clark Kent."
That made Superman smile. He hadn't killed Emmet, he had friends to make sure he hadn't. That was the point, he didn't need a physical force to keep him the way he was, it was their belief in him that made him who he is. He was just a guy. Just a man. He had no right to force his will on others, he could only protect them.