Superman: The Ark of Krypton
Chapter 35
By
Jason Richard
Superman and the Parasite screamed in pain as the pod exposed its kryptonite power source to them. The flash of electric energy that normally accompanied Parasite's power drain turned green as the kryptonite interfered with it. Superman went from trying to pry Parasite's purple hands off his face to holding them down so the villain would get as much of the kryptonite weakness as possible.
Parasite, unable to fight the pain and pull his hands away, instead grasped Superman's head and squeezed as hard as he could, making Superman clench his eyes and scream louder.
"Give up Superman!" cried Parasite, also grimacing from pain. "You're losing power by the second. I'll crush your head long before I go down! Then maybe I'll pay a visit to those parents I'm seeing in your mind and tell them what I think of you while I'm crushing their skulls in!"
Superman clenched his fists, but he didn't try to pull Parasite's hands away.
"That's where you're wrong." he shouted defiantly, even though he felt like his body was melting from the inside out. "You're losing the power you had before, meaning you're losing what you got from Lex Luthor, like his ambition and drive to succeed, things you never took the time to get. For the sake of those I love, and anyone else you might harm, I'll never give up. But you, Rudy Jones, will do what you always do when things get hard. For you own sake, you'll give up."
Superman was right. The Parasite could feel his will to keep fighting slipping away with every passing moment. He kept thinking he had to fight, but was that him talking, or Luthor? How long could he hold out? The pain! The pain!
He tried to crush Superman's head harder, and both of them screamed, each determined not to be the one who succumbed to the kryptonite first. Superman felt like his skull could start cracking at any moment, but he kept the Parasite's hands in place all the same. The screamed at the top of their lungs for a few more moments, and then…
"Alright!" cried Parasite. "Alright! I give! Just make it stop!"
"Close the hatch!" cried Superman.
"I cannot!" cried the AI from the pod. "He has not finish overloading! If I close the hatch now he will retain the power he has stolen!"
Neither of them was going to last much longer, Superman realized. He thought through the pain and screamed, "Rudy! Look up and focus your power in your eyes!"
Rudy obeyed, and soon a torrent of heat vision poured from the twin organs in his head, filling the sky with a bright red light. After a moment the light flared brightly, turning green, but after a few moments of this the torrent stopped, and the Parasyte fell back, lying in the sands unconscious. Superman took a few deep breaths, finally free of the pain...mostly. His head was pounding like nothing he'd ever felt before, but that was better than having his skull crushed.
"You got him to deplete his solar energy," said the AI. "Well done. It seems that triggered the overload as well. This individual has no power left, though that didn't stop him from harming you. It seems you have suffered a few cranial fractures. They should heal quickly though, as you energy replenishes."
"I hope so," said Superman, shaking his head. "I felt like he was going to crush my skull."
"He almost did," said the AI. "It is fortunate that the Kryptonite seemed to slow his power to absorb your strength. Even with that in consideration, it would only have him a few more seconds for him to kill you."
As terrifying as that reality was, Superman had to laugh, "Lucky he broke first, huh?"
"Indeed," said the AI. "You're power should return soon, long before he regains conciousness.."
"Good," said Superman, standing up. "I think I've had enough of this guy to last a lifetime. Hmm…" he rubbed his chin. "I wonder how things are going back at the ship?"
…
"For every fifteen minutes that Mr. Luthor remains missing someone will be FIRED!" shouted Mercy into her cell as she strolled through the camp. Mercy couldn't fathom who could have done this. Mr. Luthor was missing from his tent, and the men guarding him were unconscious. She couldn't fathom what was going on, but she wasn't going to sit around when Lex needed her.
She got another call and answered. "What. They're starting negotiations when?! That's all we need! We…"
She couldn't finish. She stared open mouthed as she saw Superman flying down from the sky carrying Lex Luthor over his shoulder. Superman lay him down gently, only for Luthor to groan.
"Mrs. Graves I assume?" said Superman, pleasantly, as if he didn't already know. "Rudy Jones got to your boss here. He'll be fine in a little while, but I figured you'd want to take care of him yourself."
Though I'd rather have evidence to get him arrested, thought Superman, realizing that Lois must be rubbing off on him.
"Um...thank you," said Mercy. "I...I'll take it from here."
Superman nodded and flew off, leaving Mercy to look confused for a moment before shrugging, calling for stretcher for Lex Luthor.
…
When Superman turned over an unconscious Rudy Jones to the military, they agreed to take him into custody, giving that he had assaulted Lex Luthor and had temporarily gained power comparable to Superman's. General Lane, the man in charge of this particular military operation, agreed to let Superman in on the negotiations concerning what the world would do with the ship.
First, however, Superman had a promise to keep. He owed Lois Lane that exclusive interview.