Hi, first of all, thank you for all of your reviews. I really appreciate them.
Second of all, sorry it took me this long to update - I had a busy week. Plus, I finally started reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series - and Percabeth is life. Finished all 5 books in 4 days. Just started reading The Heroes of Olympus, and I gotta say, it's not so bad. Though I don't like Jason much. Alright, sorry, I got a little sidetracked :D
Third of all (:D), I still feel like shit, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. School is taking its toll on me, and I'm just a freshman.. and I barely study. Ehm.
By the way, we finally reached 80 000+ words. Damn.
Anyway, here is the new chapter! :D
Disclaimer: I don't own Superman. Unfortunately.
Chapter 32 - Circe
„Guardians, how do you propose we fix this problem?" asked Green Lantern of Sector 2814, Kyle Rayner.
Kyle stood in front of 5 Guardians of the Universe – an immortal race of super powerful beings, and the creators of the Green Lantern Corps – an intergalactic peacekeeping military force, powered by one of the most powerful weapons in the universe – the Green Lantern ring.
The Guardians started talking to each other calmly.
„Doomsday has already killed dozens of our most experienced Lanterns. Even if it's hard to admit, we need help. The beast is one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Even Darkseid prefers to stay out of its way," said Appa Ali Appsa.
There was a murmur of agreement from the other Lanterns.
„Indeed, Appa Ali Apsa. I agree. But who should we ask? Even the New Gods aren't powerful enough to defeat it. Their weapons would be effective at first, but the longer the fight, the tougher the beast gets," said Scar – a female Guardian whose name was derived from a burn scar running from the corner of her right temple down to her chin.
Kyle knew very well what was Scar talking about. Doomsday, a failed ancient (well, to Earth, anyway) Kryptonian experiment – its body is a defensive structure, capable of arming itself the more it's damaged. And it was damaged a lot.
Kyle suddenly remembered an article from the Daily Planet he read a few weeks ago, when he was still on Earth.
„There is a living Kryptonian on Earth."
The room got so quiet that, as you would say on Earth, you could hear a pin drop.
„A living Kryptonian? How is that possible?" exclaimed Ganthet, his voice full of surprise.
Ganthet was one of the more human-like Guardians – at least, personality wise.
„I don't know how. He revealed himself to the world two months ago, if I remember correctly. The public dubbed him Superman. I don't know how his powers work, but I know that he is very powerful," answered Kyle.
„Kryptonians evolved under a red supergiant known as Rao, and their species is almost as old as ours," mused Appa Ali Appsa.
„Earth orbits a G-type main sequence star, if I remember it correctly. Been a long time since high school," said Kyle, „it's also often referred to as a yellow dwarf."
Kyle could have sworn he heard a few sharp intakes of breath.
„What?" he asked.
It was Scar who answered him, much to his surprise.
„As mentioned earlier, Green Lantern of Sector 2814, Krypton orbited a red supergiant, which energy was very faint in comparison to the yellow dwarf of Earth. Kryptonians' DNA, molecular structure and density evolved under the red supergiant. It was speculated that were a Kryptonian be under a star younger than their own, their bodies would start absorbing its radiation and metabolize it – giving them abilities beyond anything we've ever seen."
Kyle's eyes widened a little after each word the Guardian said.
„Scar is indeed right, Kyle Rayner. Kryptonians were born through a Birthing Matrix, which would modify their DNA. A scientist from the House of El, Jor-El, speculated, that if a Kryptonian were to born by natural birth, it would be a next step in Kryptonian evolving. If the Kryptonian living on Earth was conceived naturally. . . he is exceptionally powerful," added Appa Ali Apsa.
„Exceptionally powerful?" asked Kyle.
„Darkseid level powerful, maybe even more, if he's been under the yellow dwarf for a long time," supplied Scar.
„How do you know so much about them? About Jor-El? About their history?" asked Kyle then. It's been bugging him for longer than he'd like to admit.
„We know of every old and every powerful race. Kryptonians were both. We developed almost side by side. Their scientific achievement was something unbelievable, even to us. They were on the verge of godhood," answered Ganthet.
„That is not the point, Ganthet. The Kryptonian is possibly our only chance in defeating Doomsday. We need to approach him. We shall send Kilowog, Kyle Rayner and Abin-Sur," decided Scar.
„Scar. . . do not forget that Abin Sur is no longer. He died while perfoming his duty. We shall send Hal Jordan," corrected Ganthet. There was sadness in his eyes, and Kyle knew why.
Abin Sur was one of the best Green Lanterns to ever exist. Powerful. Kind. Selfless. The epitome of a Green Lantern.
„Very well," said Scar. „You may go, Kyle Rayner. Bring the Kryptonian to Oa, where we'll discuss everything."
Kyle nodded. „Yes, ma'am."
He turned around and left.
The trip to Earth will take us at least a few days. Better find Hal now. He's ought to be here somewhere, he thought.
„Clark?"
„Hmm?"
„Is a single lump of abdominal muscle called an ab?"
Clark looked at Sarah, then, who was lying on top of him. His eyes were full of amusement. „What?"
„You heard. Is it called an ab? You know, since you have abs, and there are more than one, is a single lump of the muscle called an ab?"
Clark chuckled then. „How.. why.. what?"
Sarah suddenly had the urge to kiss his confused face. „Answer the question."
„Alright, alright," he said after a few seconds. „First, you gotta answer mine. How did that thought occur to you?"
She rolled her eyes. „Since my head was basically on your abs a few seconds ago," she said, „and don't think even for a second that I don't feel them – you could crack a wallnut between them – it kinda came into mind. You know how I am."
Clark's eyes shone with adoration now, though there was still a fair trace of amusement. She looked at them, and not for the first time, she marveled. His eyes were probably her favorite part of him – well, except for his mouth – they were inhumane shade of blue, and if you looked closely, you could see some freckles or another inhumane blue color, though a little bit darker.
His expression then turned into one of confusion. „What?" he asked.
Sarah chuckled a little. „Your eyes."
At his expression, she wanted to kiss him. And she did just that. His lips felt soft as always, and she nibbed on his lower lip for a second – she knew he loved it when she did that.
„What about my eyes?" he asked her then, though he was smiling. He knew she loved them.
„You already know, Kent. They are. . . beautiful. Otherworldly. That's the only word to describe them," she said.
„Well, I am an alien," he chuckled. She let out an unlady-like snort.
„Yeah, but they are incredible."
„My mother, Lara, had the same eyes," he said eventually, after a few seconds.
„Tell me about them. Your biological parents."
She didn't know why she said it, and regretted almost immediately after she did, but she knew she couldn't take it back.
The amusement in his eyes faltered, and it was replaced by pain. She knew very well, that even though he never knew Krypton, he still grieved. Even though he thought of Jonathan and Martha as his parents, she knew that he missed his biological parents every day. He didn't say it, but she could read him basically as good as he could read her.
„I-I'm sorry, Clark. I understand if you don't want to talk about it," she stammered a little.
He sighed. „No, no. It's.. okay, actually. I used to talk about them to Ma and Pa a lot. Their names were Lara Lor-Van and Jor-El. They.. they were good people," he said as she scooped up a little and laid her head on his chest. He immediately wrapped his arms around her.
„I used to have an A.I. of them. In the ship that brought. . . that brought me to Earth. For a short time, I had both sets of my parents with me – guiding me, helping me. I felt whole, you know?" he said, and she noticed that he held her a little tighter than before. „They not only helped me with my powers and-and taught me basically everything about my Kryptonian heritage. . . they told me stories. I know, weird, right? A.I.'s telling stories. They told me how they met."
She looked up at him them, and saw that his eyes were full of unshed tears. Clark was the strongest person he knew, but she knew that he took deaths harder than anyone else. She saw how he dealt with the deaths after the Takeover. She promised herself that she would try to protect him from it all, even though she knew she couldn't.
„You don't have to continue, Clark," she said softly. He blinked a few times, and one of the tears escaped. She wiped it away with her thumb.
He closed his eyes. „I-I know. I don't know, it used to be much easier to talk about them. I think it was because I still had the A.I.'s, and it felt that I had them with me. But now. . . only now do I realize that they are truly gone. And that I'll probably never see them again."
This time, it was her who held him a little tighter. „B-Both of them were scientists. The best on the planet," there was a hint of pride in his voice, which made her smile. Now she knew the reason he was so intelligent. „You know how I told you that Kryptonians were born through the Birthing Matrix?"
She nodded – she did remember that.
„They believed that the Matrix held them back. A natural evolution. They believed that if a Kryptonian were to born naturally, the individual would be smarter and stronger than Kryptonians born in the Birthing Matrix," he said.
She couldn't help but be curious. Sarah was in Clark's fortress a few times, where she started learning Kryptonese, but she didn't know much about Krypton itself. „Did it work?"
She could hear the smile in his voice. „Yeah, it did."
It dawned on her not even a second later. Her head whipped up. And she was right – he had a smile on his face. Though it was a sad smile. The kind of smile you have when you try to be reassuring even though you know you can't help anyone.
„You were born naturally, weren't you?" she asked.
His eyes, while still full of sadness, now also twinkled with barely contained excitement she loved – he was going to talk scientific.
„I don't know if I told you, but Kryptonians had 5 guilds – The Warrior Guild, The Thinker Guild, The Laborer Guild, The Artisan Guild and The Mediator Guild," he said. She urged him to continue, as she watched that the sadness was slowly being replaced by child-like excitement and pride.
„The parents would put their DNA into the Matrix, where the Matrix would merge it. The Matrix would then scan the unborn's DNA and automatically asign the unborn into one of the Guilds based on his or her genetics. It would then modify the DNA so that the genetics would fit exactly into the guild," he said, and she noted that his grip on her loosened a little bit. He was calm again. Well, not calm. Excited.
„As I told you before, my parents believed that the Matrix held something back – a natural evolution, so to speak. Natural birth, however, was strictly forbidden, but they knew Krypton was already doomed. And they always wanted to have a child. And so, here I am. And they were right. It worked," he said.
„How different are you from an average Kryptonian?" she asked as she felt her own excitement building within her.
„Well, I would say that I am alive, but that would be too dark," he said, „I am smarter, for example. My memory is better. Usually, Kryptonians had eidetic memory, but not as good as mine. I can recall anything. I can tell you what I was doing on Septemeber 7th 2007 at 3:40 PM, for example."
„What were you doing on March 7th 2007 at 3:40 PM?" she asked amusedly.
„I was watching Phineas and Ferb."
She started laughing at that. „Hey! It was a good show!" he said, feigning hurt.
Sarah rolled her eyes. „Obviously. Perry was awesome, but we're sidetracking."
„Oh, right. Anyway, it is speculated that my body is able to absorb solar energy more efficiently. Plus my body already adapted to Earth's sun and atmosphere. Ma said that I had trouble breathing when I was a toddler," he said.
„You were adjusting to our air?" she asked.
„Yeah. I mean, it's not like air on Earth and Krypton were exactly the same in composition and ratio, right? My body had to adapt. Luckily, the solar energy helped me a lot with that. The air on Krypton would kill a normal human. And I'm not even talking about gravity. It was a lot higher than that of Earth," he said.
„How much?"
„Uh. . . Well, on Earth, the gravity is approximately 9,81 G, right?"
She nodded.
„Krypton's gravity was around 200 G, I think. It would crush a normal human," he said. Sarah's jaw was on the floor by the time he finished the sentence.
„200 G. . . Oh my God, Clark!" she exclaimed. He chuckled. „The evolution! Kryptonian muscles must have genetically adapt to the greater resistance, which means your muscles are already adapted to it because you're a Kryptonian, which means that even wihout solar energy, you'd most likely have super—„ she was cut off by Clark with a kiss.
And what a kiss it was. The immediately responded and kissed him back, effectively deepening the kiss. She was in heaven. But air was important, too.
„You were rambling," he said after she broke the kiss for the much needed air.
„Yeah, I know, I know, sorry. I just got excited. You know how much I love Biology," she said. He chuckled.
„Yeah, I do. I have a question for you this time," he said.
„Shoot."
„Why the sudden interest in Kryptonians?" he asked.
„Because I want to understand you better," she said without missing a beat. Apparently, that was a good answer, because he gave her the biggest grin she's ever seen on his face and kissed her again. She didn't complain.
„Alright, I have one last question for you," she said after the kiss ended.
„Yeah?"
„What does Kal-El mean?"
Clark looked at her as if she had 2 heads. „It's my birthname," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
She rolled her eyes. „I know that. I meant, what does it mean in Kryptonese?"
„Oh, right," he said. For a superior lifeform with a hyperindexed IQ, he sure could be a dork sometimes. Scratch it. Always. „It means Star-Child. Pretty fitting, huh?" he smiled.
She smiled back at him and put her head on his chest. He still had his arms wrapped around her, but he tightened his hold on her a little bit. „Yeah. It definitely is," she said as she looked at her tattoo. Through the hardships to the stars.
Clark's Justice League comm link, which was on the nightstand next to his bed, buzzed.
„Yeah?" he said after he put it in his ear and activated it.
„Yo, big blue. An emergency in Metropolis. Some evil sorceress. Wonder Woman's already on it, but she needs back-up. You free?" came the voice of Wally West.
„Sure, Wally. Give me the coordinates, I'll be there in a few."
„Oh, Supes, you won't need coordinates. Just follow the path of death and destruction."
„I hope you're kidding about the death part."
„Of course I am! Do you think I'd be in this mood if anyone died out there? No way. See you there."
Clark sighed and rolled his eyes. He untangled herself from Sarah, who was still sleeping beside him. After their little conversation about Kryptonians, they talked about books for a few minutes (or hours, doesn't matter). Luckily, it was Saturday, which meant he wasn't needed anywhere and his monitor duty on the Watchtower would start in the evening. He checked the clock. 3:27 PM.
She stirred in her sleep. He didn't want to wake her, but based on her uneven breathing, he knew she was already up.
„Morning, sleepyhead," he whispered.
She bolted upright. „Morning?" she exlaimed. She checked the clock while Clark burst out laughing.
She grumbled something incoherent and laid back down. She then turned around and looked at him. „Where are you going?"
„An emergency in Metropolis. Wonder Woman needs back-up," he said. He didn't tell her any of the identities of the League members, and she understood that. He was glad.
„Alright, then. Good luck. And please, be careful," she said. He took off his shirt and made his way over to his suit, which was on a chair in front of his table. The suit was already assembled, as he attempted to clean it after his not-so-clean trip to a volcano in Hawaii.
And he did clean it. It looked as clean as the first time he wore it.
Oh, how glad I am I made the suit from a material that's easy to wash, the thought.
Before he put it on, he didn't fail to notice Sarah checking him up and down. For an unknown reason, it made him blush and smirk at the same time.
„See something you like?" he teased.
When he looked at her, her face was a shade of deep crimson, but he just smiled at her.
„I'll see you tonight, alright?"
She nodded. He smiled at her one last time before he put the suit on, and in a flash, even though that's Wally's line, he was out the window, flying into the direction of Metropolis, leaving a sonic boom in his wake.
Sarah went downstairs to the Kents, who after hearing the sonic boom, decided to go into the living room and turn on the LIVE news.
„This is Cat Grant from DCTV, we're currently LIVE in Metropolis, where Wonder Woman and The Flash are currently fighting a sorceress known as Circe. According to our source, Sirce is an old enemy of Wonder Woman's Amazon mother, Queen Hippolyta, and is, in fact, not a metahuman, as many people are led to believe.
Wonder Woman seems to be struggling against Circe's magic, while The Flash is trying to transport people in the area out of danger."
Martha noticed Sarah looking at the TV. She smiled at her and motioned for her to sit next to her on the couch. Sarah smiled and sat down.
„Clark's already on his way, isn't he?" asked Martha.
Sarah nodded. „Yeah, he got a call from the Justice League. I just hope he'll be okay. Wonder Woman is in terms of power second only to him, and is a much better fighter, and even she seems to struggle."
Martha nodded mutely as her eyes travelled back to the TV in front of her. The camera now focused on Wonder Woman fighting Circe, who seemed to have an upper hand.
„Where's Zatanna when you need her," grumbled Wonder Woman, but everyone could hear her. Circe laughed.
Suddenly, there was a sonic boom, one Sarah and the Kents knew all too well. A few seconds later, Superman was standing next to Wonder Woman. He landed on the ground so hard pavement cracked underneath.
Sarah started biting her nails. For some reason, her gut was telling her that something bad was going to happen.
„Well, well, well," purred Circe, „if it isn't our newest hero."
Clark looked at Circe. She was wearing an outfit similar to that of Wonder Woman, except that the colors were darker – a shade of purple and silver, and she had a grey warrior skirt. Clark then looked at her face. He had to admit she was beautiful, with bright purple hair and violet eyes, not unlike Lois, and she wore a silver tiara on her forehead.
„And you are Circe. I've read about you in the League database. Why are you here?" he asked.
She looked him up and down, and then into his eyes. „Well, alien," her voice was now much colder than before, „Wonder Woman has defeated me before. But now, I am more powerful than ever before! And I shall have my revenge!" she said, and with that, she attacked Clark with a spell.
Clark knew that while he was more resistant to magic than most humans, he wasn't resistant to it completely. With that thought, he supersped out ot the way of the spell, effectively dodging it.
„No man has ever been able to dodge my spell, alien. How did you do it?!" she asked, enraged.
Clark looked at Diana, and they communicated without words. Distract her. Clark nodded quickly.
Circe started moving toward him while Diana contacted Wally through the comm and started whispering quietly.
„I'm not your ordinary man, Circe," he said. His eyes started glowing deep crimson, including his sclera. Her steps faltered for a second, but then, she gave him a cheshire grin.
„You may be strong, hero," she said, „but you are still an alien. Your powers come from your physiology. Not magic. You avoided it because you knew it would hurt you, didn't you?"
His face gave away nothing while her smile got wider.
„Very well, alien. But believe me, I have a few tricks up in my sleeve," she said.
He could see Diana nodding at him encouragingly to keep distracting her from the corner of his eye. She made her way quietly behind Circe. Clark also noticed the NEWS camera with a reporter. Cat Grant? Didn't she work for the Planet?
Doesn't matter now, Kent, he thought.
„You don't have any sleeves," Clark pointed out, trying to keep her attention on him.
The only response he got was a low growl. He could see a faint purple and green energy around her hands, and he knew in that moment that she was preparing another spell. More powerful this time, something that she was sure would take him out.
Alright, reflexes, don't you dare abandon me right now, he thought dryly.
„I haven't used this curse in hundreds of years, hero. I hope it'll be worth it," she said, her voice a little strained. She must have put a lot of energy into that one curse. Clark knew that Diana would strike when she was at the weakest, therefore, he had to let her use the curse. He just hoped he'd be able to dodge it.
She started whispering something in Ancient Greek. Clark spoke Greek, but he didn't know the ancient dialect. He understood something about the goddess Hecate, ήρωας and θάνατος. Hero and death.
Shit, thought Clark. It's a killing curse.
But it was too late. Circe's entire body started glowing purple. She focused the energy into her hands, and with a cold smile, she pushed her hands forward, blasting the energy right into his direction.
Clark's brain went overdrive. The energy, or rather, curse, was moving extremely fast towards him. He could hear vaguely hear a female scream. He didn't know if it was Sarah all the way from Smallville or Diana. He hoped it was neither.
Everything around Clark slowed down – just like when he used his superspeed. He tried to superspeed out of the way, and he nearly did it, but then he noticed that the curse rapidly changed its direction and hit him right in the chest.
The last thing he remembered was the sound of metal on metal, before everything went black.
I'm a piece of shit, I know, ending a chapter with a cliffhanger. Don't worry, I'll probably write another chapter this weekend. Key word: probably.
See ya around:)
