Superman: The Ark of Krypton
Chapter 33
By
Jason Richard
Superman and the Parasite flew as fast as they could. Parasite had gotten his flight from a strange creature resembling a giant bacteria covered in a bubble of green slime with a tentacle protruding from it. It had been gross touching it, but he had wanted as much power as possible, and this creature could levitate in the air.
He had also noticed that any time he stepped outside of the cages the creatures were kept in he felt stronger, as if something inside the cages suppressed their full strength, but out in the open he could feel their power in full. Between the flying from that creature and the massive strength, speed, and fire breathing from the dragon-like creature, he pretty much had as much power as he'd need to take on Superman..
Before their fight began, however, Superman detected another object flying towards him. It was his pod, and as it flew next to him, matching his speed, he heard JLAI 13 speak.
"A word of caution sir," said the AI. "Skin contact will result in him draining your power. Might I suggest a pair of gloves? They're similar in construction to your suit, and should suffice."
The pod opened and revealed a pair of long red gloves, which Superman took and put on. He probably wouldn't wear them most of the time, but for this fight they would probably help.
"Thanks," said Superman as the pod retreated. Parasite, flying next to them and seeing this happen, didn't mind if he couldn't get Superman's powers. One of the vague memories he retained from Superman was his weakness to that green crystal, something he would rather not take a chance on.
When they were far enough away from the ship, over a some large rock formations, they stopped, and stared at each other while hovering in the air. Superman, in his red and blue suit and cape, clenched his fists in anticipation. Parasite, in his stolen flight uniform and purple skin, grinned in anticipation and cracked his knuckles.
Then they flew at each other to attack.
Superman took the lead in the fight quickly, using his heat vision to blind the Parasite and punch him in the chest, making a sound like thunder as the villain was knocked through the air and smashed into the sands, making a small crater.
As a dazed Parasite stood up he turned back to Superman with an angry look. Parasite then flew up, attempting to blast Superman with the fire breath he'd gotten from the dragon like creature, which was hot enough to melt steel. Superman responded with his ice breath, cold enough to make steel shatter.
As their elements clashed Parasite closed the distance, but Superman flew out of the way at the last moment, aiming a punch at the back of Parasite's head. The Parasite, however, just caught Superman's wrist before the blow landed. He then yanked Superman forward and punched him in the chest, sending him flying, shattering a rock formation to dust and making another crater in the sand.
As Superman stood up he felt a pain in his gut, something he didn't feel often. Parasite, meanwhile, didn't seem too fazed by the punch Superman gave him a moment ago. Superman realized the difference between him and the Parasite now was like the difference between a man and an animal. The combined strength of the kryptonian wildlife made this villain a deadly foe, and the Parasite knew it as he grinned in delight while levitating high above.
Parasite then dive bombed, and Superman caught Parasite's hands with his own, but the force of Parasite's flight sent him backwards, his feet kicking up sand as he went. Superman quickly twisted around, letting Parasite fly past him. Parasite tried to turn around, but Superman flew quickly around him, punching him in the back and sending him flying.
Parasite tried to get his bearings and get his eyes on Superman, but Superman, using his incredible speed, managed to get behind Parasite again and punch him with a sound like thunder. For a few moments Superman attacked like this, flying at intense speed, zigzagging through the air, and hitting Parasite from an angle he didn't expect. With the constant blows from such a strong being, anyone nearby might have thought it was thunder if the sky wasn't so cloudless.
Tired of getting knocked through the air like this, Parasite thought of another ability from one of the animals, a sort of yellow hound that apparently had the ability to telepathically track it's prey. Seeing where Superman intended to attack him, Parasite whipped around and kicked Superman in the face, sending him flying backwards.
As Superman reoriented himself it was Parasite's turn to zigzag around in the air. Superman tried to do the same, but Parasite, reading Superman's mind, was able to predict his every move. Just when Superman thought he was attacking from Parasite's blind spot, the Parasite would whip around and send him flying with a powerful punch. Parasite wound up in Superman's blind spot more often than not, and with the fight happening at close to the speed of sound not even Superman's hearing could clearly keep track of him.
Now it was Superman's turn to get annoyed at being constantly knocked around. It was strange, he thought as he was knocked around. Superman had Parasite on the defensive just moments ago, and now it was like Parasite could read his mind. Then again, Superman didn't know the abilities of the animals. Maybe one of them did have telepathy. If so, he might have a way to reverse the situation again.
One particularly powerful blow send Superman crashing through the sand. As Superman stood on, feeling stiff from the hit, he saw Parasite flying straight for him. Hoping he was right about the telepathy he pictured a scene that would really upset the Parasite's alter ego Rudy Jones.
He pictured Lex Luthor, atop the sky high Lexcorp tower, laughing at a lowly Rudy Jones, sweeping garbage of the sidewalk.
A look of shock blew across Parasite's purple face, and his hesitation gave Superman the opportunity he needed to blast Parasite with his heat vision, sending him flying backwards. The Parasite tried to brace himself, but the sands gave away against his feet as he continued to be pushed backwards by the force of the blast.
Superman didn't let up. He flew forward and hit the Parasite in the chest with a barrage of punches, pushing the villain back and ripping the front of the man's jumpsuit to shreds. The Parasite clenched his muscles, hoping to endure the blows, but could feel pain starting to form in his chest as he continued to slide across the sand.
He then considered another animal he had seen. It was a bird that was made entirely of crystal, completely see through so that it's crystal skeleton and crystal organs were visible. Up to this point Parasite hadn't considered trying to use powers like claws or poisonous fangs; things that would require him to change his form. The powers he could use just kind of came to him usually, and that crystal form hadn't. However, perhaps if he concentrated…
Superman felt like he was winning. Even with all Parasite's stolen strength even he couldn't withstand this forever. Superman took Parasite's grimace as a good sign…
Until one of the punches hurt.
Superman immediately flew back, rubbing his hand in pain. As he landed he looked up at Parasite, whose body underwent a strange transformation. With Parasite's jumpsuit pretty much in tatters he could see everything, and Parasite's body was now crystalline in appearance. He was also completely see through as a crystal skeleton, crystal blood veins, and crystal organs appeared.
Superman knew diamonds were the hardest substance on earth, so even though he had no idea what kind of crystal this was, something told him he wouldn't be able to break it easily.
Parasite knew it too, as he looked up at Superman and grinned in satisfaction.