2
Author's notes: So this is a New 52 based story. You could call Earth Prime the current state of DC. What could possibly go wrong with the other golden boy who they bent over backwards to make exist. Been on a true crimes bender so I know all that pressure isn't good for a growing boy. Especially when they try to make people like him, like they do he's mother. Growing up in that house with that mother… Oh serial killer in the making… On a less cynical note, this story takes place on Earth 52 after Clark died. He has returned to his Earth and his Wonder Woman, but he isn't the same. What happened to him, where he's been, what he's seen… He's a changed man. For the better… Only time will tell. All he knows is that he came back for Diana.
Present day on Universe 52, near the sun
Alone in space a flare broke away from a solar storm on the sun's surface. As the flare decimated away from the sun a fringe branch extended further out into space. Gradually a humanlike skeleton took shape from the lingering remnants of the molten flare. Outward from the flare a constant pulse sent solar radiation into the skeletal form forming a naked body. Muscles and flesh gradually formed over the bare bones until it looked like a man. Alone in space the man floated taking in the last remnants of the solar flare into his body. As the flare finally broke off into the ether of space the man suddenly opened his eyes. He gasped as he took in his first breath. The man's face was panicked. He turned his gaze in all directions. He was looking for someone. The man moved his mouth to speak but nothing came out. In his frustration, his eyes turned from a soothing yellow to a crimson red as a scream left the man's mouth.
"DIANA!"
His voice echoes throughout the universe but he heard no reply. Panic spread across the nude man's face. The fire in his eyes slowly began to bellow outwards from his eyes illuminating the space about him. A flare of solar energy reached out towards him. It touched him, fueling his rage. His body began to radiate a red halo about him.
Out of nowhere a space suit appeared near the nake man. He floated closer to the naked man. He called out to the man but the nude man couldn't hear him. The red flames about the nude man grew hotter and extended out further.
"I'm going in…." a male voice said from the space suite.
The man in the space suit extended his hand out to the naked man. The man held a piece of glowing green rock in one of his hands. The naked man immediately floated away from the man in the space suit. The man found his breath harder to catch as he stared at the person floating in front of him.
"It's going to be ok Clark," the man said calmly as he lowered the green rock in his hand. "I just want to bring you in…"
"Where's Diana?" the naked man asked with the sun beamed behind him.
The man in the suit reached for his ear. He seemingly pressed a button.
"J'onzz link Wonder Woman in…."
"Kal..."
The nude man tilted his head slightly as he heard her voice in the ether. He seemed to calm down slightly at the sound of her voice.
"Hit it now…" the man in the suit said.
Before the nude man could react he felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck.
"Sorry Big Blue," a second male voice said as the nude man's body suddenly fell limp.
"Big is the operative word,"a third man laughed.
The first man shook his head as he watched the others grab hold of the nude man.
"Damnit Jordan," the second man hissed. "Now I'm looking at his dick…"
A green light emanated from one of the men in the space suits. It went outwards towards the nude man and wrapped itself around him.
"You didn't notice it before?" the third man laughed.
"I was told to drug him not to stare at his junk Jordan," the second man snapped back.
"Barry you're going to tell me you just now noticed…."
"You boys done," the first man said, interjecting himself in their conversation. "Or are you going to keep him out here until he wakes back up with you both still staring at his dick?"
The other two men shook their heads as they floated over towards the first man.
"Sorry Bruce…" the two men answered in unison.
The first man rolled his eyes as he watched both men carry the cloaked nude man back to their rendezvous point.
"We've got him Diana," the first man said coldly. "... He was looking for you… I know… We'll be in medbay 2."
The first man floated towards the other three men. Once he reached them he reached out and touched the shoulder of the covered nude man.
"Welcome back Clark…" he said softly.
Above the Earth, The Watchtower
"Kal…"
"... Hit him…"
A woman with raven hair paced back and forth down a long glass filled hallway. Her body was tense as she held a piece of red cloth between her fingers.
"Diana you're going to burn a hole through the damn floor if you keep pacing like that," a man in a suit said with a hint of joy in his voice.
The woman stopped and looked at a man in a black suit standing in front of her.
"How long was he out there?" she asked.
The man in black took a step towards her and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"J'onzz said he picked up his signal over two days ago," the man answered as he gave her shoulder a tight squeeze.
"Two days?!" she asked as she looked into the glass shielded medbay.
"J'onzz thinks it took him a week to rematerialize as much as he did before we got to him," the man replied. "God only knows how long he was out there Diana."
The man's words didn't seem to comfort her. She muttered something under her breath. It piqued the man's interest enough for him to walk closer to her.
"I'm sure he's going to pull through," he said rather coldly.
The man in the suit words seemed to stop themselves in mid thought. The woman turned away from the opaque glass and stared into the side of the man's face. She could see the wheels in the man's head turning. He was plotting something. She knew the pensive look he wore on his face all too well. She knew well enough J'onzz was the only one who would tell her the unvarnished truth. Bruce had his games he played with their lives. If the man in there was truly their Earth's Superman then it called into question whether or not he could even be killed at this point. Bruce's plans would fail to stop the most powerful man in our universe. He couldn't let that stand.
"What happened out there Bruce?" the woman finally asked, after a long moment of silence between them.
The man in front of her didn't reply. His silence made her worry as she watched him turn his attention to his watch on his arm.
"BRUCE!" she called out.
The man was startled by the slight anger in her voice.
"Nothing happened out there, I swear," the man said as he glanced up from his watch.
The woman raised her eyebrows.
"Then say it to my face Bruce," the woman hissed back.
The man turned and faced her.
"Nothing happened out there Diana," he said slowly, never taking his eyes away from hers. "He reappeared, we showed up, he woke up and we brought him here."
The woman folded her arms across her chest and let out a deep say.
"He died Bruce," the woman said softly. "You, I and the rest of the Justice League...
She unfurled her arms and held them out towards the man.
"I still can feel his flesh melting away…" her words got caught in her throat.
The man embraced the woman holding her tightly.
"I know Diana," he replied.
"How is he back Bruce?" the woman asked.
"Maybe one of your gods knows why," the man replied.
The woman shook her head, "They wouldn't help…"
Once more her words trailed off. Beside them a door opened with a green fleshed man standing in the doorway. The pair broke their embrace and looked at the green man.
"J'onzz…" the woman said as she took a step towards the man in the doorway.
"He's stable," the green man said with a smile.
The man in the suit looked stone faced at the green man.
"His ours, Bruce," the man in the doorway added with a nod. "No traces of multiverse energy on him. So you can put away the Kryptonite in your pocket."
The woman turned to face the man in the suit. She stared at him with fury in her eyes.
"You were thinking the same thing Diana," the man answered. "There are far more dangerous versions of him out there. Better safe than sorry…"
He turned away from the woman and walked away.
"Keep me posted on his mental state J'onzz," the man ordered as he walked off down the hallway.
The green man nodded towards the man in the suit before walking over towards the woman. As he reached her side he took her arm into his and beckoned her to join her in the medbay.
"Don't let him get to you Diana," the green man said as the woman took a step into the medbay. "He's glad Clark has returned to us too…. In his own way."
The woman followed the green man deeper into the medical bay. They walked through layers of metallic doorways lined with lead. Upon entering the last airlock the woman saw the nude man laying on a table with a bright light shining down on him.
"His cells are still recovering but he is back in one piece," the green man said.
The woman walked up beside the nude man's bed. She looked down at him and placed her hand on his chest. A spark of blue light appeared underneath her fingertips. They radiated outwards across his chest forming a pentagon. The woman pulled her hand away as an 'S' appeared across his chest.
"That's new…" the green man said, his voice shocked.
"It was something he was working on," she said.
The 'S' had yellow and red hue about it. It pulsed as if it was charging for something. The woman and the green man took a step back.
"Did he tell you what it did?" he asked as the pulsed began to pick up its pace.
The woman shook her head.
… Suddenly an electrical pulse emonated outwards from the 'S'. The shockwave blew the woman and the green man back up against the wall. The man on the table suddenly shot upright. His chest was heaving up and down.
"Chest paddles," the green man said with a laugh. "Clever…"
Standing to his feet he helped the woman back up. They stood side by side looking at Superman in front of them. The man turned his attention in their direction.
"Diana…. Where is Diana?"
The man kept saying over and over again.
"I'm right here," the woman replied as she stepped forwards.
She walked over the man's side. He reached out for her hand. She pulled her hand away from his flesh for it burned her.
"Diana I'm so…." the man said as he once more tried to reach out for the woman.
"You're probably still irradiated Clark," the green man said. "I wouldn't try touching her until we know what is going on completely."
The man looked over to the green man.
"What is going on?" the man in the bed asked. "The last thing I remember was becoming sick and…"
The man in the bed closed his eyes as if he was trying to remember the fantastical thing he had seen while he was out in the ether of space.
"You died," the woman said
The man's eyes shot open. He looked at the pain on the woman's face. Tears fell from her beautiful blue eyes.
"I know…." he replied.
"Who brought you back across the River Styx?" she asked him.
Once more the man closed his eyes. He saw a flash of his hand melting into a sea of particles in the air. A face. Was it his father's? No this face looked older, wiser.
"Greetings my sun," the voice called. "I am…"
"... Rao…" he replied as he reopened his eyes. "My god brought me back."
"Did he tell you why?" the woman asked.
The man on the bed looked at the woman standing in front of him. He saw her face but another was laid over top of it. There was a scar over her right eye and her hair was a pale white.
"Because you need me…"