Chapter 20

Metropolis

Downtown

Thursday

Destruction all around them Chris and Zod were in a heated battle with the older Kryptonian having the upper hand. He had Chris pinned in the rubble of a fallen building. His hands wrapped tightly around Chris neck as he tried to suck the very life out of him. He didn't care if this was his flesh and blood. Lor-Zod or Chris Kent as he goes by his human name now no longer meant anything to him.

"Any last words?" announced Zod as he tightened his hold. He could feel his hands crushing against his sons bones. It wouldn't be much longer now.

Chris gripped his hands around Zods wrist trying to loosen his grip, but Zod was proving to be just too powerful. He could feel himself going away and just when he thought this was the end something happened. He felt this energy flow through him. It was power he had never felt before. It was unbelievable. It frightened him at first and he fought against it, as if he knew something wasn't right. But the more he fought against this energy taking over him the more it fought him to the point where he ran out of energy and gave in. …...'Forgive me.'

Zod was too caught up in the moment of his own sons demise that he didn't notice a dark smoke like cloud swoop inside Chris. "Goodbye my son!" he exclaimed, but to his surprise Chris grabbed a hold of both his arms ripping them away. Zod was beside himself. He couldn't believe it. "What? How did you do that?" Zod demanded as he faced his son who was now back on his feet.

"It was very simple actually," Chris responded confidently, but there was something different about his voice then Zod remembered. There was something sinister about it something more cold. "I knew it would have been a fight for this vessel to accept me, but when just so happened to cross paths with the younger version of this vessel. It was all too easy."

And that's when it his Zod. He was no longer talking with his son. He was talking to something far worst. "Darkseid," Zod announced as he stepped back a few feet. The last thing he had expected was for Darkseid to show up. "What are you doing here? I told you that I would handle things here, as you can see I've nearly won. Soon Kal-El and his comrades will be dead."

"Yes, I can see that," answered Darkseid as he stepped forward. His haunting eyes glaring right at Zod. "And then the earth will be yours for the taking."

"Yes...I mean no, it'll be yours."

"No," Darkseid shook his head. "I think you had it right the first time." He got right into Zods face. They were neck to neck. "Don't take me for a fool Zod. I've been around a lot longer then you. Where do you think deception first came from?" Darkseid was no fool. He had known from the very beginning that he couldn't trust Zod. He knew full well that Zod would turn against him.

"Well then I guess there will be no hard feelings when I kill you," Zod answered with a smug smile.

Darkseid laughed. "I must admit I admire your confidence. Hadn't it been for your strong will mind you would have made for the perfect vessel."

"I would never give myself over to you."

"Lucky for me your boy didn't share your will," hissed Darkseid. "But I am sure some part of him will enjoy seeing the life sucked out of you."

"If you think your going to kill me then you have seriously underestimated what I am capable of!" exclaimed Zod.

"It is you who has underestimated me. Not even Kal-El could kill me. I always come back as long as there is darkness in the universe I can never die."

"We'll just see about that!" announced Zod as he super-sped Darkseid-Chris into brick wall. He then went on a punching spree punching him non-stop in the face blood spattering everywhere. After several long minutes Zod had to stop to catch his breath. He looked into the eyes of his son now controlled by Darkseid expecting to see a wounded spirit, but his bloody blows didn't even seem to faze the Dark Lord.

"I am older then time itself," declared Darkseid. "It is going to take more then a few blows to slow me down!"

Angry Zod clenched his fist tightly winding up his arm for the hardest punch ever. He punched his sons face so hard that if he were a mortal man his head would have been torn off. After the heavy blow all Zod could was laughter, a laugh so hideous that it was enough to bring fear into a man who claimed to have none.

"Mine turn!" exclaimed Darkseid. He grabbed a hold Zods shoulder kicking him several times in the shin before swinging him around by his arm setting him loose towards the sky. He flew up towards Zod and hammered him with his fist back towards the ground.

The impact was so massive that it created a hole in the road. Darkseid landed in front of Zod who was slowly pulling himself out of the hole. He watched as Zod collapsed on the ground. Zod was badly hurt. His face bloody. His clothes torn.

Darksied kicked Zod over placing his foot on his chest. His eyes dangling towards Zods who looked to be trying to make sense of things. "You see Zod you turn against me and you will always pay."

Zod could barely make out anything. It was all a blur. His head was spinning in ways he never thought it could. His body hurt in ways that had never hurt even back when he didn't have powers. This was not the way he planned on dying. He was a warrior. This wasn't a warriors death.

"Lor-Zod if your still in there you must fight him. You're stronger then he is..."

Darkseid laughing finding Zod pleas to his son amusing. Ironic even. The abusive father begging his son to stop. "Lor-Zod isn't home right now," announced Darkseid pressing his foot into Zod chest causing the once mighty general to scream in agony. "And even if he could hear you. Do you really thing he would listen to you? Why do you think it was so easy for him to let me in? He wants you dead even more then I do..."

Metropolis

Condemned Building

Thursday

"If Darkseid took over little Chris does that mean that big Chris is no longer Chris?"

His words echoed inside everyone's mind. It was bad enough having a mini evil super-powered Kryptonian, but having a full grown one would be disastrous. Darkseid would be unstoppable. He would be the most powerful being on the planet. More powerful then Superman. It could very well be the end of their futures as they know it.

"You just had to say it, didn't you!" exclaimed the teenage girl turning to the teenage boy.

"Just pointing out the obvious," he answered. It wasn't like he was trying to make matters worse then they already were. Darkseid had always wanted a Kryptonian vessel he had tried numerous times over the years trying to gain control. The first had been Kara, but she proved to be too strong willed and pure heart for him to gain control. The second had been Clark who hadn't it been for Kara he would have likely gained control of. When Darkseid tried a second time to gain control of Clark he found that the young Kryptonian had found a way to repel the darkness.

Now thanks to time travel Darkseid found a way into Chris. He knew the young son of Zod would be vulnerable and more susceptible as a boy then as a man before he gained the family he had always wanted. Perhaps that had been his plan all along.

"Jon what are we going to do?" asked the teenage boy.

"You let me worry about Chris," Jon answered. "You two head to the Fortress, tell Jor-El what's going on."

"You're going to face Darkseid on your own?" exclaimed the young girl as she crossed her arms against her chest. "I'm not missing my date just so you can get your ass kicked. Let junior go to the Fortress and we'll handle him together."

"A minute and half!" exclaimed the boy as he threw a dirty look at his sister.

"Actually it was a minute and forty five seconds," she remarked with a smirky smile. "Sweetie."

"Whatever," he answered rolling his eyes.

Oh crap! Lois muttered to herself. She could just see her father laughing now and even Chloe given how the two young teenager relationship seemed to mirror one she knew all too well. She was about to say something to break up the bickering when...

"That's enough!" Jon exclaimed looking them both in the eye. "Neither one of you is come with me. You go to the Fortress together, I'm going to need one of the crystals to send Darkseid back to the hole he crawled out of once I've freed Chris." That wasn't the only reason he wanted to send them away. He also wanted to keep them as safe as he could. They were still young and while they both learned the fly long before he did they still didn't have strength it took to fight Darkseid. ...No matter how much his sister thought she did.

Jon's sister looked him hard in the eyes. She didn't like his plan at all, but she would go along with it. Hadn't it been for the crisis they were in she would have fought him on it. "Fine," she reluctantly agreed. "Come on, let's go."

"Becareful," Jon little brother told him.

"You too." Jon said as he watched them zip out of the building.

"So, I guess stubbornness runs in the family," said Lois.

Jon with his back still to her smiled. He knew that it was only a matter of time before she figured it all out. Anyone that knew them could have easily guessed the identity of the twins. "Well it could be worst," he turned to her with a grin. "We could all be terrible cooks."

"Very funny," remarked Lois crossing her arms against her chest. "I have a comedian for a son."

"I do have my moments," he answered. His smiled faded and his face became very serious, as much as he like to stay here and talk with her about everything. He couldn't. He had to save his brother. The future was still at risk. It was up to him to handle Darkseid, while Superman, Superboy and likely Booster stop Doomsday. "You know I have to go now."

"I'm coming with you," Lois announced firmly.

Had it been any other time he would have probably had listened, but things were different now. This wasn't home. Home was twenty some years into the future. "That's just not going to happen. You're safer here."

"I can take care of myself!"

"Believe me I know," replied Jon. He knew all to well that Loin Lane was perfectly capable of handling anything that was thrown at her. "But you're still not coming..." He started backing away.

"Hey don't you walk away from me-"

"You're not the boss of me yet..." without another word Jon super-sped out of the building.

"Boss my ass," remarked Lois cross her arms against her chest.

-..-

Metropolis

Downtown

Thursday

It was taking everything Clark had within him to keep his head clear and focused on defeating Doomsday, but he couldn't stopping thinking that something horrible had happened to Jon. He knew how powerful Darkseid was. It had taken everything he had and more for him to defeat Darkseid the first time around. Jon was only half-Kryptonian and while he knew his future son would be up one hell of a fight he feared that it wouldn't be enough. He would never forgive himself.

"Clark!" he heard Conner scream his name, but it was too late. Clark found him faced with Doomsday fist. The hard punch knocked the wind out of him sending him flying. Clark thought for sure he was going to crash into one of the buildings, but that didn't happen. Something or someone had prevented him.

"You know you're supposed to duck, right?"

Clark turned his head to find that it had been Booster Gold who had come to his rescue. "Booster?"

"Sorry about missing your funeral, but something kind of came up."

"I don't think he was aware that he died yet..."

"Oh right, sorry," Booster announced after seeing the dumbfounded look on Clark's face. "Sorry. I guess this would be a bad time to tell you that you owe me five hundred dollars." Booster could tell he wasn't going to get anywhere with Clark. "Right. ….We should probably go help the kid with mutant rock thing."

"Right," Clark answered as he pushed himself off of Booster and headed back towards Conner and Doomsday.

"I'm not going to get that five hundred dollars back am I?"

"I would say no..."

"Oh well the ladies are going to have to settle for night in of pizza," said Booster as he powered up his suit and flew down towards the battle that was taking place below. "Duty calls."

Clark and Conner were punching Doomsday from all sides doing anything and everything they could do to wear the beast down, but their punches could only do so much. Their vision seemed to have some effect, but with Clark not being at his fullest he wasn't able to use the maximum of his heat vision.

"My turn boys!" they heard Booster shout above them.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Clark asked knowing exacly what Booster was planing on doing.

"You have any better ideas?" asked Conner.

Clark sighed heavily knowing Conner was right. They needed a large enough explosion to take down Doomsday and right now Booster was their best option. "Alright. Once the blasts has made contact were going to fly back in and take Doomsday straight towards the sun."

"Wont that make him more powerful?"

"Yes."

"Are you crazy?" exclaimed Conner as both he and Clark continued to dodge Doomsday heavy blows. "Why the hell would you want him to be more powerful then he already is?"

"I have a theory that that much energy maybe too much for him to handle. It would destroy him," Clark explained. He was never one to take a life, but Doomsday wasn't a man. He was beast, a monster. The part of him that had been human had died a long time ago. There was nothing human about him. Davis was gone. All that was left was the beastly monster who would stop at nothing to destroy their home.

"You will to risk the world lives on that theory?"

"We don't have a choice," answered Clark. He knew it was a risk, a very big risk. If he turned out to be wrong and he doomed the planet he would never forgive himself, but he was running out of options. Doomsday had to be stopped so that he could never hurt anyone ever again. "Are you with me?"

Conner didn't like it, but he knew that Clark was right. They were running out of options. Even they had a limit to how much they could withstand. This was their only option for taking Doomsday out. All he could so was pray that Clark's plan would work. "I'm with you," he answered. "All the way."

Together they grabbed a hold of Doomsday by his arms slamming him against a building crumbling it to piece as they tried to bury him as much as they could. "Now Booster!" shouted Clark as he and Conner flew out of the way.

"Bombs away!" shouted Booster as he shot large beams from his hand upon Doomsday. Blast after blast after blast until he could blast no more. Exhausted Booster Gold dropped to the ground and while both Clark and Conner were concerned for their friends well being there was no time to check to see if he was okay.

"Now Conner!" shouted Clark.

Together the two flew in pulling Doomsday from the rubble they wasted no time in flying straight towards the sun. Neither one knew if this plan would work, but they had to try. The world was counting on them to save the day.

Metropolis

Downtown

Thursday

Zod could barely stay focused as Darkseid continued to punch him over and over to the point that his whole face was covered in blood. He had tried to use his heat vision to get the Dark Lord off of him, but Darkseid reflected the beams sending them back to him causing his own eyes to burn in pain.

"Can you feel it Zod?" exclaimed Darkseid laughing. "His anger and hatred towards you."

It was then clear to Zod that this had been part of Darksied's plan all along. He had wanted to be sure that Kal-El's son and the adult Lor-Zod saw him, Ursa and the boy travel threw the portal so that they would attempt to stop them and enter the portal. Darkseid knew that Lor-Zod would go after his adopted brother and come to the past. Darkseid knew he could gain access to a full power Kryptonian through the young child.

"It was never me you wanted," Zod gasped through his heavy breaths. "You wanted my son."

"So you figured it out," answered Darkseid coyly. "It took you long enough, but look at it this way at least now your son wont be raised by your enemy." He leaned down closer to Zod locking his eyes with his. "I once had a son too. He was taken from me. and raised in the light. They turned him against me."

Orion. Was the son Darkseid was referring to. Orion had been a powerful warrior who used the Bow of Orion one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. Orion had also been one of his sons heroes. Every night before bed his son would beg him to tell him of Orion's adventures and battles, but Orion hadn't been his only hero. 'Cor-Zod...' His first born. His little boy with his mothers locks of blonde hair.

It then became clear that it was not his strong will mind that had prevented Darkseid from entering into him. It had been the little boy he had buried deep within his soul. The boy he forced himself to forget, because he couldn't let go of his anger and envy towards Jor-El. He had placed that same anger and resentment onto Kal-El, because was a reminder of everything he had lost on Kandor. But the greatest loss hadn't been his son, his wife or even the city Kandor. His greatest loss was himself. He understood that now. He had come the very thing that Cor-Zods heroes had fought against.

"You turned him against yourself," exclaimed Zod. "We both are to blame for our sons betrayals. The only difference between you and me is I allowed myself to fall to my own darkness where you have always been dark and never once felt the love of your own child. You don't know what it was like to hold him in your arms. To watch him sleep soundly in his bed. To-" Zod started choking to death.

"Silence!" roared Darkseid.

"Hey bonehead why don't you pick on someone who can give you a fair fight!" exclaimed Jon as he walked towards Darkseid empowered inside his brother body was on top of Zod holding him in a choke hold. "Unless your chicken."

"I'll get to you in a moment a half-breed," hissed Darkseid.

"Wasn't actually talking to you," remarked Jon cockily. "I was talking to my boneheaded brother who allowed you to slink on through him." He took a few steps forward. "And he said I'm the one with parental issues."

Annoyed Darkseid released his hold on Zod to face Jon. "You are very annoying," he announced. "I will enjoy peeling the skin from your bones."

"And you're breaking my heart," smirked Jon. "Now let me talk to my brother."

"Your brother is no longer in control. By combining both forms of your brother with my powers I am the one in full control of his body and mind," declared Darkseid. "Your brother is dead."

"No," Jon shook his head. "I don't buy it. He's still in there."

"If you want your brother so much, come and get him!"

Jon gulped in heavily when he saw Chris's eyes change to a dark pitch black. He knew that Chris was strong and now empowered by Darkseid it made him ten times more stronger. His heart was racing rapidly against his chest. It was going to take everything he had within him to stop Darkseid and even that may not be enough.

"You wont win!" exclaimed Jon as he super sped towards Darkseid. "I wont let you!"