DC Comics Presents: Killing Roy Harper
Chapter 13: Dominus and I…Vampire
By: Christopher W. Blaine
e-mail: darth_yoshi@yahoo.com
DISCLAIMER: Dominus™, I…Vampire™ and all other related characters and situations found in this story are ©2002 by DC Comics Inc. and are used herein without permission for fan-related, non-profit entertainment purposes only. This original work of fiction is ©2002 by Christopher W. Blaine and may not be reproduced in part or as a whole without the express permission of the author.
"I don't think the boss would like it if I let you in," the thug said. Neither of the two men in front of him recognized the man, but that was not surprising. Limbo and its associated dimensions was a hodge-podge of has-beens, could-be's and infinite possibilities. For all either man knew, the person in front of them was an alternate version of themselves.
The man in the suit of red armor pointed a finger. "I am Dominus! I alone penetrated the Fortress of Solitude and weaved an intricate plan that caused the Man of Steel to destroy the Earth!" It was a true statement to a certain point. Indeed, Dominus has put together such a scheme, but the Earth-1 Superman had been accidentally thrown an hour into the future where he witnessed the Earth's demise. Going back in time, he managed to defuse the situation and capture Dominus, who turned out to be his old sparring partner, Lex Luthor.
The thug scratched his head. "Uh, the general is busy now."
The other man, dressed in attire that was fashionable in the 17th century, gave a slight bow, his long dark ponytail bouncing. "Please forgive my friend, it is just we are anxious to join in the fighting. We too wish to escape this place."
"Uh…"
Dominus roared and punched the man, knocking him flat on his back. "That was satisfying!"
Andrew Bennett regarded Dominus for a moment, considering going back to Hal Jordan and telling him that there was no way he could work with such a vile man. He sighed and started to follow Dominus through the barrier between Limbo and the Phantom Zone. Being a vampire, Andrew was used to having his physical state altered, but to actually become a phantom was something new. He chuckled to himself, enjoying the fact that even after 400 years, some sensations and experiences could still be new.
"You know, in a way, I admire this Time-Guardian fellow," Dominus said as they floated along. Andrew noted that he seemed to have almost an obsession with speaking aloud. "My plan was to destroy me Earth and then travel to a parallel dimension where I would rule."
"I'm sure you would have been a most benevolent ruler," Andrew commented, sighting the doorway into the House of Mystery dimension. They were to get in there and rescue Abel, who was supposed to tell them (hopefully) of the location of Limbo's most powerful denizen. Andrew wondered exactly how "power" was measured in a place where the natural laws of both the natural and supernatural worlds did not apply.
Dominus suspected that the vampire was coddling him and moved to change the subject. "You know all of this Crisis talk is malarkey. Sure, the Crisis started time over again and maybe, maybe dimension barriers are a little more fragile, but it's still all the same multiverse."
Andrew shrugged. Time and dimensions meant nothing to a man who only wished to see the sun rise again over the horizon. He understood the basics of the Crisis; nearly everyone in Limbo did now since Zod started his war. He had sent his agents throughout the non-dimension, preaching the knowledge he had gleaned. How he had come by this information was still a mystery; perhaps he simply put the clues together. "Does it matter, in the end?"
Dominus laughed. "Of course it does. If I don't understand the physics of this new universe, how can I rule it? I'm only agreeing to this because I don't want Zod sitting on the throne meant for Dominus."
They reached the doorway and Dominus pressed a button on his gauntlet. A shimmering yellow field surrounded the two of them, returning them to a solid state. "We must hurry," he said, glancing at the chronometer on his wrist. "The field drains my armor so I've built in a failsafe that shuts it off in 30 seconds."
"Then why do we waste time?" Andrew said as he leapt through the doorway. Immediately a feeling of dread and hopelessness fell over him and he found himself in front of an old house, built in a style he found oddly familiar.
Dominus appeared next to him. "This used to be somewhere on my home Earth."
"It was my home as well, criminal," Andrew said, beginning to stalk towards the home.
"Then you must want to hear my other theories," he called.
Andrew stopped and turned around. His eyes glowed slightly crimson as he spoke. "I am of the mind that life is a gamble and that most people take it for granted. The Crisis happened; Limbo happened; some people died. I don't relish the thought of entire universes being destroyed, but it happened. There was much death at that time and much sadness. Believe me, however, when I state that there are some things worse than death."
Dominus threw his head back and laughed. "You sound as bad as that angel Zauriel, trying to throw a religious tone to a purely scientific event!"
"You dare to mock an angel of God? Are you mad? It is through that angel's efforts that you and I are being given the chance at redemption!" Andrew could not believe the arrogance of the man in the red armor. He knew, of course, who Lex Luthor was. Andrew had lived well into the twentieth century on Earth-1 and Luthor's criminal genius was almost as mythical as vampires. He never suspected that Luthor was possessed of such anger.
Then, he rationalized, that was all he was seeing of late. Zauriel had briefed them after Hal Jordan had contacted them. The two had learned of the Time-Guardian and throughout the explanation, Dominus had chuckled. He now realized what kindred spirits the Time-Guardian and Dominus were. Both had been left to die during the Crisis, but so had everyone else. Andrew was too well versed in the ways of the supernatural to put in credence in the Time-Guardian's argument of Earth-1 heroes being used as "templates" for the new universe.
He couldn't believe it because that could mean that there was the potential for a new Andrew Bennet. A new vampire.
It was something that he prayed almost constantly would not be true.
"I am a god; I am Dominus, destroyer of worlds!" came the proclamation.
Andrew began to suspect something of the man behind the red helmet. Lex Luthor had assumed many identities in his long war against Superman, his childhood friend. Perhaps, in an effort to finally defeat the Man of Steel, he began to fully immerse himself in his chosen roles. "Whatever you say, Mr. Destroyer," he added dryly.
Andrew had not needed convincing in order to join the cause of the Order in this war. Though he was a vampire, Andrew loathed his existence, hated the fact that he needed to survive on blood in order to survive. Limbo had been a blessing, for here he had no cravings and he spent his days in careful contemplation of the universe and its mysteries.
He was not like his brethren; he was not a mindless killer and human life was still precious to him. He had never met Zod, but he knew his type. Andrew's battles with the vampire organization Blood Red Moon had introduced him to the worst creation had to offer.
They approached the walk to the front porch of the house and somewhere in the distance a wolf howled. Several bats flew by as well and Andrew could have sworn he heard a female voice yell out "jinkies". Dominus broke the mood. "My sensors indicate that there is nobody here."
"Perhaps your sensors are worthless in this area of the Limbonic Plane?"
"Ha! Jordan recruited me specifically because I'm the only person in all of Limbo who has the brains to figure out how to cross every little neighborhood. Even our matter changes when we cross borders and only my advanced science can keep us whole." Dominus then started to turn in a circle and Andrew's enhanced hearing picked up a high-pitched whine. Dominus stopped turning and pointed out to a swamp. "There's somebody out there. Preliminary analysis indicates one of them is our quarry."
Andrew nodded, knowing it was time for him to fulfill his part of the mission. Dominus was to get them here, while Andrew was to rescue Abel. Andrew started to run in the direction Dominus was pointing in and suddenly his form began to change.
Within five strides, Andrew had become a wolf and was running at a much faster pace into the swamp gases that surrounded the swamp.
"Your powers are at nearly 80%," Alexi Luthor stated in triumph. "You should be back up to normal levels by the end of the week."
The Time-Guardian nodded his approval and hopped off the table. He grabbed his red shirt and pulled it on. His wife, Donna, stood off in the corner, smiling. He noted that her stomach was getting larger and it only served to deepen his suspicions.
Enough of his senses had returned to allow him to perceive the Time-Trapper's shield around this universe. Even at his current level, he could penetrate it, but he was holding off, trying to answer another question. He had been pleased to find out that Donna was with child, but he had the feeling that the fetus was drawing power off of him. Of course, he regenerated that power, but it made him wonder what had he and his precious Donna created?
Whatever the child was, it would certainly be better than the creature his counterpart had created with the villainous Jade. The thought of sleeping with the enemy almost made him vomit right there.
He briefly reflected on Donna, his wife and dream girl. She was the product of magic and time thrown awry just as he was. Her beginnings had been thoroughly ravaged by so many beings and cosmic entities that he wasn't exactly sure where it was that she came from. All that he was sure of was that on any world, the first moment that any Roy Harper first gazed upon her, they fell in love almost immediately.
Her current origins suggested that she was the magically created "clone" of Wonder Woman, a twin who was then used as a pawn in a scheme against Queen Hypolyta of the Amazons. The little girl who would become Donna Troy was split into an infinite number of Hypertime duplicates, each one destined to live and die in misery. That curse had been eventually broken…allegedly.
The Time-Guardian considered the possibility that giving birth to a child so powerful might actually kill his Donna. That had happened in an alternate timeline before, where Donna had bore the villain Lord Chaos into the world. He pitied her because he could not love her.
Love was gone now; he had lived far too long to even consider love anything more than a moral justification for lust. That was all Donna was to him, a piece of meat (albeit a pretty one!) to satisfy the urges he still retained from his youth. That reminded him of something. "Alexi, have you seen Shyla anywhere?"
The red-haired scientist shrugged. "What do I care about your Kryptonian…" he saw Donna's eyes raise and decided to rephrase his criticism. "No, I have not seen her. She was supposed to help me out with some of this equipment," he said as he swept his hand through the laboratory. "She is a scientist, or so she claims."
Finished putting on his costume, the Time-Guardian surveyed the array of computers, tubes and gadgets. He never was very mechanically inclined and was often forced to beg for answers from Luthor. It was the only was to keep the man placated. "What is all of this for?"
He smacked his hands together and rubbed his palms. "This is just the beginning! Obviously you want to get back to the Prime Universe to stake your claim as the real Roy Harper…"
Eyes flashed with blue lightning. "I am the real Roy Harper…"
Luthor bowed his head. "Of course, of course! What I'm saying, though, is that I've been looking into this whole Hypertime/Crisis/Multiverse issue. My theory is that nothing has changed, only the method of travel. If you don't do it correctly, then you get the merging of dimensions and so forth."
"There once was a man named Krona who tried the same thing," the Time-Guardian warned. Krona had been a member of the same species as the Guardians of the Universe, creators of the Manhunters and Green Lantern Corps. He had been a scientist that had craved to unlock the secrets of the galaxy and built a device that would let him see the actual beginnings of the universe. When his screen showed a giant hand cradling stars and galaxies, it exploded and everything that would cause the Crisis began from there.
"Bah! Krona was a blue-skinned fool!" Luthor said with a dismissive wave.
"I take it you wish to become a temporal conqueror as well?"
Luthor smiled. "Actually, I just want one universe all to myself. A universe free of Kryptonians!"
The Time-Guardian retrieved his bow and quiver. "Let's just focus on the matters at hand. Are there any more Justice Society members left?"
"Only Jay Garrick, your Flash-lackey, survived the slaughter. Without your guidance, all of the heroes lost faith. The world belongs to the Legion of Doom!"
The Time-Guardian did not actually believe that, but he let Luthor live in his dream world. When it became apparent that his powers were temporarily "displaced", he had realized the potential for the heroes of this world that had been created to rally against him. He pulled out his trump card, setting the Legion of Doom on the world's heroes before they could find a leader. Luckily, Superman's brain was about half-fried anyway.
There still left the problem of the odd super-heroes that had been plaguing him of late, heroes that didn't have a place in his universe. Then there was the Shyla problem and he wondered if his former lover was still angry over being passed over for Donna. "Summon the remains of the Legion. Have them meet at the old Justice Society headquarters so that we can finalize our plans."
"Roy, dear," Donna said, "the people will want an explanation about what has been happening. All that they know is that the heroes and villains have been waging a bloody war for the past few weeks."
If his powers were returned, he could…what? He already discovered, much to his chagrin that even his powers had limits. He had tried to dominate the entire Justice Society and the short-lived Justice League and was only barely able to hang on to control. The Batman had nearly severed his link between them and he had no super-powers at all!
Too many problems, not enough answers and he was beginning to see that complete domination of the world was not all it was cracked up to be. Maybe it was better to just live his life the way he wanted and leave the other concerns to someone else. Yes, he decided, that was it. He would take his place as the rightful Roy Harper and just live his life. No sense controlling everything!
"I'll hold a press conference, tell them that the heroes were really the villains…something like that. The people love a good scandal."
Donna did not look pleased and she nearly said something. He had relinquished control over her as well, but she had not rebelled against him. That could have been for many reasons, including fear of what would happen once his powers returned. In the end, she said nothing and fell in behind him as they walked away, rubbing her stomach.
"You want to hear my theory of the universe?" Dominus asked an owl sitting in a tree. "Crap happens."
The owl did nothing except preen itself and Dominus turned up the audio collectors in his helmet. He could make out the footfalls of the wolf/vampire as it made its way through the slop that served as ground in the swamp. He tried to relax, but couldn't, desperately wanting to be in on the action. He could afford to be patient, though.
The whole ordeal with Roy Harper had opened a world of possibilities to the man in the red armor. He got the basic grasp of Hypertime and its differences from the multiverse, but in the end, it was the same cake with different icing. He could even understand the concept of Limbo; a place where Hypertime duplicates went when they didn't actually have to die. It was where the line between fact and fiction blurred.
Being connected to the Phantom Zone, now that was a notion he had never considered, but in his mind's eye, he started to see a general layout of the universe. He saw opportunity everywhere, places where a resourceful man could carve out an Empire! Certainly, with his newfound knowledge, he could escape Limbo at any time. His armor was more than adequate for the task, but he had not known where to go.
No, he decided, this mission was important if only because it would eliminate the competition! If the real Roy Harper was placed back in the Prime Universe, than the Time-Guardian was screwed, based on Luthor's First Law: any plan that fails once will fail again. The Time-Guardian would never be able to pull off the same stunt again and that meant the Prime Universe would be safe and the Time-Guardian would be moot. He would be a temperamental temporal villain.
Someone or something tried to scream, but was cut off abruptly. Dominus adjusted his lenses, trying to see through the dense fog, but it did no good. The marsh and its gases were magical in nature and his science was useless against it.
There was another rumble in the brush and Dominus sat down to listen.
"I am Zod," the man said just before his neck was snapped. The other man looked down at him and shook his head. "No, you are dead."
Andrew resumed human form in a wisp of smoke, his eyes surveying the scene of carnage about him. Normally, he was loath to kill so indiscriminately, but there was no time for moral outrage today. The large man clutching the book to his chest gave Andrew a wry look. "Good day to you my friend; I do hope you have been sent to rescue me!"
Andrew bowed slightly. "I have been sent as an agent of the Order to prevent you and your vital information from falling into the hands of General Zod."
Abel tapped his chin. "Zod…Zod…doesn't sound familiar…"
Andrew was confused now. "Did he not send the people here that attacked you?"
Abel laughed, holding his large belly with one hand, the book in another. "My dear boy, I'm a certified coward! I will surrender to whomever deems it necessary. They could have been bill collectors for all I know!"
"Are you not the same Abel that cares for the House of Mystery?"
"Actually, I'm just watching it for my brother, Cain."
Andrew rolled his blood-filled eyes. "Heaven help me! Cain and Abel?"
"Ironic, isn't it?"
Andrew motioned with his thumb behind him indicating they had to go back through the swamp. "In case you haven't noticed, there is a war going on and we need to get back to Dominus before more of Zod's forces arrive."
Abel nodded and moved slowly, his nose buried in his book. When Andrew tried to look inside it, the rotund caretaker slammed it shut. "Dear boy, I am assuming by your appearance that you are one of the undead, specifically a vampire."
Andrew confirmed his suspicions and Abel winked at him. "I have encountered your type a time or two; I am thankful you are of the more pleasant disposition. However, let me warn you, my friend, that peering into this tome in my hand, regardless of your current status as a spawn of hell, could lead to disastrous consequences."
The vampire assumed that Abel was telling him not to look in the book, which he agreed to do so long as the two of them kept moving. As a wolf, it had taken hardly any time at all for Andrew to cover the distance, but now the relatively slow pace they had to walk irritated him. Abel was simply too heavy to keep a rapid pace, and often times they had to stop so he could free himself from the muck of the swamp.
As they walked, Abel rambled on. "…for years now ever since that incident with the big anti-matter wave…"
"I believe it was called the Crisis," Andrew responded, reaching down to grab a poisonous snake and tossing it before it could bite his companion.
"Yes…yes…I read that somewhere in here," he said as he pushed pages aside, oblivious to the path they were walking. Andrew would occasionally guide the other man back onto the trail, sensing they were going in the correct direction by maintaining his vampiric senses on Dominus. It was akin to finding the kitchen by sniffing out dinner.
"Then you must know about the changes in time that have been going on," Andrew told him.
"Time isn't changing, good vampire, but something is. Time has remained the same for no matter what the Time-Guardian attempts, or does, or schemes he cannot change what is." Abel turned a page. "All of his posturing and protesting and cursing will avail him not because once time is started in a certain direction, in that direction it must continue. You can only change it at the beginning."
It made no sense to Andrew, but he noted that Abel was starting to pick up the pace a little, so he kept talking. "Let us concern ourselves with the problem at hand, shall we. General Zod…"
"Is quite dead," Abel told him matter-of-factly. "He was nothing more than a pawn of the true mastermind, the whipped pup has become a junkyard dog you might say!"
Andrew stopped them. "I don't understand. If Zod is dead, then the war is over. Besides, you said you hadn't heard of Zod."
Abel pointed into his open book. "I hadn't until you mentioned him. So, I looked him up and there he was, among the dead. You see it's clean-up time at the Hypertime Hotel. All of these loose dimensions…their time has come, which is why the Time-Guardian's, heh, heh, timing is so unique!"
The vampire's knowledge of space and time had not been enhanced very much since his turning, so he instead concentrated on what he knew best. "Dominus is getting fidgety, I can smell his sweat from here. We should hurry."
"I can't seem to find him in my book; that is odd. Tell me, where did you leave him?" Abel asked with some slight concern.
"We felt it best not to remain on the grounds of the House of Mystery proper and instead moved to the vacant field across the way," Andrew offered.
"Oh, my," Abel said, his face suddenly ashen. "Your friend is in great danger!"
Abel surprised Andrew with the sudden burst of speed he put on, hopping over toads and frogs, sidestepping snakes and insects the vampire had never seen before. He supposed it was a coward's reflex, giving him the extra strength required to pump his short little legs to give him speed. Andrew considered changing to bat form and flying ahead, but he could not leave the little man on his own.
It was obvious that the book that he carried, his "storybook" as he put it, contained information of the highest value. It had to be protected at all costs. It also explained why Jordan had sent an undead creature after the book; he couldn't be killed except by the most extreme means. It was always possible to die in Limbo, but it had become easier over the past few days.
It was then that Andrew noted, as he trailed slightly behind Abel, that he could not sense Dominus anymore.
All that was left of the man who had once wanted to destroy his own world to kill one enemy was his armor, a pile of scientific garbage that meant nothing to either the caretaker of haunted houses or to the 400 year old vampire. "What has happened? I sense no blood, no heat from battle, just nothingness."
An owl landed on Abel's shoulder and hooted. "This ground we stand upon, it is the site of my home, the House of Secrets. I keep it hidden when I'm not in it; like I said, I was watching my brother's home. If your friend had the technological ability to see it or tried to, perhaps he caught the attention of something…"
"Such as? Tell me man, we might still rescue him!" Andrew said, grasping Abel by the shirt collar.
The little man soiled himself. "I don't know. I only care for the house; I don't control it or pretend to understand it. It is a nexus of magic and Hypertime! Anything could have happened!"
Andrew pointed to the book. "Then read and tell me!" he said, flashing his sharpened canines.
Abel nodded and Andrew dropped him. After a few minutes, Abel sighed. "I can't tell you."
"Why?"
"I can't even tell you why. I'm sorry, but that is the nature of my job…"
"Bah! Foolish little man!" Andrew turned and stomped into the darkness of the swamp. There he spent two hours letting loose the fury that had built up in him.
Three hours later both Abel and Andrew were sitting in the Tea Room of the House of Mystery. The House constantly creaked and moaned, and the sounds of chains rattling sometimes interrupted their conversation, but they were making due.
Because the Dominus armor was designed to work with a living being's thought patterns, there was no way Andrew could put it on and hope to transverse through the Phantom Zone, or at least the Pre-Crisis Phantom Zone. "You see, most of these little leftover dimensions are being absorbed into the new ones, survival of the fittest," Abel explained.
"It is too confusing to me," Andrew remarked.
"Ah, my friend, you will have time enough to concentrate on the issue, for it is here were are to remain throughout eternity it would seem." Abel was not at all displeased with the notion of having a companion in order to tell his tales to.
"Is that why Zod was so intent on waging this war so quickly? With the hole there, if he had kept quiet he could have bided his time," Andrew asked.
Abel offered him a cookie, one made with fresh blood. "Indeed, as far as I can tell from my readings, the universe is slowly eating up all of the flotsam and jetsam that the Crisis did not get at first. That includes places like the Phantom Zone. There is a new one, of course, probably expanding as the old one shrinks. Your General Zod understood this and was trying to get out."
"But he knew that Earth's heroes would stop him…"
"And he wanted me to find for him the most powerful person in these loosely knitted dimensions called Limbo," Abel said as he glanced down at his book. "Yes, yes, it is all here. Too bad we can't tell Jordan. The normal doorway between here and Limbo proper is being guarded by the Grundy."
"The Grundy?"
Abel visibly shivered. "A creature so foul that even I won't talk about him…much. He is the killer of the Batwoman, the one who came to pull Roy Harper out of Limbo. He is a mindless, powerful beast."
"Perhaps I could…"
Abel took a sip of his tea and set the cup down to pour more. "Impossible. The Grundy is made of wood. One good strike to your heart and poof! You become a dead undead!"
Andrew thought about it for a moment. He did not want to spend the rest of eternity here, not when he had just found a new purpose. There was a whole universe of good, untainted life out there that needed protecting, even if it didn't realize it. "You said this was a nexus of Hypertime…explain, please."
The other man smiled, his fancy for weaving tales having been tickled. "The Crisis, despite all of the explanations you and I have heard, was nothing more than making the universe correct, making it the way it was supposed to be before Krona started his experiments." When he saw that Andrew had no idea who Krona was, Abel told him of the Guardians of the Universe and the renegade scientist's quest for personal power. "I know that everyone from egomaniacal time lords to soft and cuddly angels have presented their theories of the universe, and I suppose each one is correct because the universe is the home of infinite possibilities. The Crisis was only one such possibility.
"My home and my brother's home serve as one of those few points in the time stream where one can look out and see it all…if you know how to look. All dimensions, even the ones that are not accessible for whatever reason, touch here at some point."
"My God, who knows this?" Andrew asked, considering the possibilities. If this was true, then that meant his former universe was still out there. It meant that Earth-1 never died.
"You and me I suppose. Possibly my brother, but he's an odd sort," Abel said. "Nobody ever asked me." He picked up a cracker and pushed a spider off of it. "It isn't like I kept it as a secret; it's more of a mystery," he chuckled as he referenced the two homes he and his brother watched over. "I guess so much of what has happened is my fault."
Andrew regarded him. "Why is that?"
"I was bored…so I sort of opened the doors to the Time-Guardian's world, seeing what would come through." He bit into the cracker, crumbs falling into his beard. "I didn't think it would be a bunch of super-heroes. Maybe a giant monster or two…"
"And because those heroes stopped his initial plans, the feedback caused the hole in Limbo…"
Abel finished the cracker. "Oops."
The new leader of the Phantom Zone Rebellion (as it was named by the late General Zod) flexed his muscles and rolled his head, popping the bones in his neck. His enhanced eyes surveyed the troops that were now kneeling before him, and he smiled. For too long, he had suffered under the abusive hand of the Kryptonians that were trapped in the Phantom Zone with him. It was always the Kryptonians…an inferior species at best, lacking the ability to even predict the destruction of their own planet.
"I am Lar Gand, known as Mon-El to some, but I will be death to all from now on to anyone who opposes me!" he called out in a voice that needed no loudspeaker to enhance. "Before the Crisis," he said with disgust, "I was the most powerful being in the universe, mightier than Superman himself! I now stand here to claim my title as rightful ruler of this new universe!"
There was silence as none dared to look up at their new liege lord. "All of you know what is happening; the final stages of the Crisis are taking place. Those dimensions not needed in this new universe are simply being absorbed or rendered inert. In a short period of time, even this existence which has been forced upon us will cease!"
He sniffed the air, the first real air he had taken in for who knew how long. Originally he had crash-landed on Earth-1, robbed of his memory. Superboy who thought that because of their similar powers, they were brothers had found him. Fool! It made sense to him though now that he thought about it. No doubt the Kryptonians bred with their siblings; it explained their inferior nature. Lar was from the planet Daxam, a world that also orbited a red sun like Krypton, but his people were much more superior.
Lar knew, from conversations he had with other denizens of the Phantom Zone, that in the 30th century, he was freed from the Phantom Zone by the Legion of Super-Heroes and cured of his lead poisoning. Of all of the weaknesses to have! That was all moot now.
"Zod intended to lord over you, but I will rule with you! We have a small window of opportunity presented to us, a once in a lifetime chance to escape a dark fate! There are those who would stop us," he said, waving his arm to the captives behind him. Nobody looked of course, but he still enjoyed the theatrics.
"These are the so-called Justice League of America, the representatives of the galaxy we would be denied! We have defeated them! If this is the best this world has to offer, then who can stand against us?"
Off in the distance, at the very back of the crowd of soldiers, a red-haired man gritted his teeth and put a hand into the gray ground, grasping a handful of what could be dirt or could be ash. "Jerk," he whispered under his breath.