Superboy: The Series...Continues
Superboy and all related characters and indicia are trademarks of DC Comics. I'm not quite sure who owns Superboy: The Series. Viacom originally owned it but Warner Bros. were the ones who took it off the air.
**************************************************************************** ******* Does anyone out there remember this show? It was brilliant. As a matter of a fact, I'd call it my favourite Superman show, next to Smallville. It starred Gerard Christopher as Superboy and Stacy Haiduk as Lana Lang. Most people prefer Lois & Clark because it was about SuperMAN but this show will always be my favourite because it made more use of Lex Luthor, the flying scenes were more realistic, and it wasn't supposed to be a love story like Lois & Clark was. This is the first episode of my own mini-series that shows how (TV's) Superboy finally becomes Superman. I'll go easy on the continuity if you just remember that this is based on a TV show. NOT a comic book. So don't blame me if it seems a bit far-off. And I know that this show was originally meant to tie into the Superman movies, but when you think about it, there were so many bloopers that suggested that the movies had nothing to do with anything, so it probably would have paved its own path. Be original is what I say!
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO AREN"T FAMILIAR WITH THE TV SHOW:
Clark and Lana attended Shuster University in Siegelville for three years (where Clark started his career as Superboy)
Lex Luthor looks a lot older than he is because he got plastic surgery to make him look like someone else In "Road's Not Taken" Superboy travelled to another dimension where he met Sovereign a cruel alternate of Superboy who ruled earth.
Superboy's face always goes green when he is exposed to kryptonite (like in the original Superboy comics)
Lana and Clark live in Capital City in Florida where they are currently working as interns for the Bureau For Extranormal Matters to finish their education at Shuster (I know this was never in the comics, but the show was still pretty damn good!)
This story is set in early 1993 **************************************************************************** *******
CHAPTER 1: The Iron Fist Of The Sovereign
Far outside of Capitol City, was Florida State Penitentiary. It was a dim and gloomy building, surrounded by barbed wires and laser-alarms, so that criminals could not escape, and their henchmen could not get in.
But Lex Luthor did not have henchmen. Maybe that was why he was why he thought himself as 'The Greatest Criminal Mind' of our time. All his life he could not understand why people did not appreciate such a mind. His brilliance oversaw many devious schemes. Once he tried to take over the world in an alternate dimension, another time, he tried to exterminate all life on the world with dirty bombs that he had stolen from the government. This was the longest time he had spent in jail without plotting an escape, or trying to kill someone.
Lex sat alone in his cell, staring at the wall, frowning angrily. He thought back to all of his schemes. In college, he had looked almost twenty years younger. He was able to keep his crimes under wraps for a while. Then, something got in his way... and he had to go on the run. He had altered his face with plastic surgery to make himself look exactly like the famous inventor Warren Eckworth. He then killed Eckworth and stole his invention to kill his greatest enemy. Superboy. The boy who could fly, the boy of steel, the boy of tomorrow, Lex had heard them all before. Superboy was the one who had imprisoned Lex time and time again. If not for Superboy, Lex would well be on his way to total, world domination, or perhaps, total world annihilation. If not for Superboy, Lex would still have a head full of hair; instead of the crappy toupee he wore. If not for Superboy, Lex would be free. But soon, Lex would be free. Soon, Lex would be the ruler of the planet. Soon, Lex would be more powerful than Superboy. And Superboy, would most certainly, be dead.
The supervisor stared long and hard down at the readings. No he thought. It's impossible. He looked across the room and saw a massive red button covered in a container. He opened the container and slammed on the button.
All around the plant, an alarm sounded. Raucous sounds of screaming and panicking filled the entire power plant. Workers ran in every direction trying to find a quicker way out, following their impulses as opposed to their common sense. A man grabbed a fire extinguisher and broke open a window. He jumped out without any second thoughts. Luckily he only broke his two legs on a car below.
The people continued scurrying around the vast, metallic power plant. Even though the power plant would explode anyway, wiping out a chunk of the entire landmass of China, the people still drove to get out of the building, before matters got worse.
The containment chamber had somehow broken, and the substances inside became treated to dangerous chemicals, causing a fire. The fire had soon spread and the entire country let alone the nuclear plant, was in danger. The screams penetrated even the massive walls of the plant, so far that the civilians of Beijing could hear them.
"...will easily destroy most of China." The newsreader explained. "The fire has grown and fire fighters are unable to fight it."
The small office section known as the Bureau For Extranormal Matters watched the television mournfully. In the small section, computers flooded the place, but there was no one to operate them. The entire set of employees were watching the television, hoping to god for some kind of miracle.
A whooshing noise came from the skies of Beijing, growing louder and louder the closer the blue blur approached the city. The civilians did not question what was trying to save them; they knew exactly what was going on. That blue blur, was a gift given from the heavens, a second messiah, a Superboy.
Superboy streaked through the windows of the main building of the power plant. He ran quickly through the course of the building at super speed, with screaming people of Chinese origin all around him.
He made his way to the containment chamber again at blurring speed. Once there, he saw where the fire was based. The containment chamber was flooded with flames. Superboy took in a colossal breath and let fly an icy cold gust of wind. The wind blew around the room like wildfire, ending the wrath of the intimidating flames. He then took the plutonium rods from the broken containment chamber and sealed the chamber back together with his heat vision. A job well done.
Superboy ran down to the cafeteria of the power plant, where many workers were running around screaming. Superboy slammed his fist through the wall of the cafeteria, creating a safe exit that the workers could climb through. Superboy then flew back into the sky amidst a shower of cheers.
He quickened his flight, until the sound barrier broke behind him.
Clark quickly entered a room of relieved co-workers.
"There you are!" Lana Lang smiled. "Where have you been all morning?"
"The bus was late." Clark answered. "Why's everyone so happy?"
"Superboy just saved China from irradiation!" Lana laughed.
Meanwhile, back in the penitentiary, Lex was hard at work working on his latest invention. He had to break out of prison if he wanted to go ahead with his plan. He held a strange remote device in his hands. A guard walked up to him.
'Awright Luthor," He began, "Lights out!"
"Since you said so!" Lex grinned.
He pulled a lever on his remote, and suddenly all the lights in the prison went out.
"Wha?" The guard was confused.
"Electromagnetic pulse!" Lex smiled.
"Very funny Luthor," the guard said as he reached in to take the device from Luthor.
Lex pressed a red button on his remote, and suddenly, a stream of electro- energy shot out from the gun. It hit into the guard, frying him to a crisp.
Lex took the guard's keys and made his way out.
Seconds later, Lex was climbing over the barbed wire ridden fence, wearing protective gloves, laughing gleefully.
Back in Capital City, was Shuster University. This University was one that held the precious secret of whom Superboy really was. For it was here that Clark Kent attended University, and began his career as the boy of steel. This university was well-respected and had many laboratories used by famous scientists across its campus.
One of these scientists was a man b y the name of John Winger. For years he had been researching the multi-dimensional theory. The theory that there was billions of different worlds and that ours was just one. That every time a decision was or was not made, a whole new world was created. Worlds where people and history could be slightly or completely different.
After twelve years of research, Winger had finally succeeded in realizing his full ambition. To build a device that could enable the user to travel to one of these other worlds. An inter-dimensional portal. Unfortunately, the criminal Lex Luthor misused his work, and Superboy had to destroy it. But unbeknownst to Superboy, Winger still had also been working on a special device, a mini-portal remote. It would work the same way as the full sized version except it was activated in one's hand.
The angry crowd continued running after their Sovereign. Why had they put up with his rule for all these years. The man known as Lex Luthor led the crowd angrily. Unlike his other alternate versions, this Lex Luthor was a hero. A freedom fighter. He believed in freedom and democracy and was totally against what the Sovereign stood for. Ever since the Sovereign had murdered Lex's love, Lana Lang, Lex vowed that he would get vengeance and that he would get it at any cost, even by paying with his life.
The crowd held strange glowing green rocks in their hands that were having a strange effect on Sovereign. His face had turned a shade of bright green and it was obvious that he was in pain. But luckily, he was far enough away from these deadly rocks that he was able to limp away from the angry crowd carrying them. Bu the crowd were getting closer and closer and Sovereign was slowing down with every step. Suddenly, a jeep sped up and parked in front of Sovereign. In the jeep was a short, stout man, with neatly cut hair and a lab coat. He wore an armband that represented the S shield that Sovereign wore proudly on his chest.
"Get in!" The man ordered Sovereign.
Sovereign obeyed the man's orders as the man whipped out a machine gun from his dashboard. He sprayed a steady line of bullets at the angry crowd following them. A stray bullet whacked into the chest of Lex Luthor, knocking him back into a crowd of scurrying people.
"Are you all right?" Dr Winger asked Sovereign.
"The effects are wearing off." Sovereign said while the evil green colour disappeared from his face.
"You can't stay here!" Winger said sadly. "This situation is getting worse. They won't even accept you as their ruler anymore! I am one of the few left who does!"
"No!" Sovereign barked, his strength completely renewed. "I will not step down from my seat of power! I was meant to rule! And I will!"
"Sovereign," Dr Winger started "You are forgetting something!"
"What is that?" Sovereign asked as though Winger had stated something incredibly stupid.
"Why rule here?" Winger smiled, "When there is are billions of other worlds that are in dire need of rule?"
Sovereign smiled wickedly.
The two returned to Dr Winger's lab where Winger handed Sovereign a remote object.
"We need to set the coordinates to 299867." Winger explained. "I've been monitoring that world for some time. In that world you are known as Superboy. You are a hero of the free people."
"I can't even picture such a waste of power!" Sovereign frowned. "We must defeat this 'Superboy'! Then I will rule that timid world and no one will be able to stop me!"
"I can't wait Sovereign!" Winger smiled enthusiastically.
"About that," Sovereign grinned evilly. "You're not coming!"
He grasped his ally's neck and choked the scientist until all of the air had left his body.
He pushed the correct coordinates that Winger had suggested and in a flash of light, Sovereign was flying through a zone of flying colours and light.
Superboy flew through the sky, patrolling Capitol City, bathing it in his telescopic vision. He helped many people that night. He did not ask for any reward. That was why the people regarded him as a hero. As he was heading home, his super-hearing caught up the sound of someone screaming. Superboy whirled around and headed in the direction of the scream.
Lana whacked the mugger in the face with her purse. It did not have much effect, but it distracted him enough so that she could whack him in the stomach. But unfortunately, the mugger was pretty quick on his feet also. He whipped out a knife from his pocket and threatened her with it. He pushed her to the ground and was about to stab her, when he felt a stinging pain on his hand. There was a red beam piercing into his hand. He followed the beam all the way up to the figure of a hovering young man. A boy. Superboy.
The man howled in pain as he staggered back away from Lana. Superboy hovered down and grabbed the man by the scruff of his neck.
"Don't ever let me see you here again!" Superboy ordered.
The punk ran for his life as Superboy tended to Lana.
"Thanks." Lana said coldly.
Superboy knew that Lana did not always like being the damsel in distress and that sometimes it made her feel useless.
"Are you all right?" Superboy asked.
"I guess so," Lana said, rubbing the back of her neck, which was bruised after she had taken her fall.
Suddenly there was a huge flash of light from the sky, followed by a crackling noise. The figure of a young man hovered down toward them, smirking. He wore a costume similar to Superboy's, except that it was much more of a shade of grey than blue and the cape was much longer and was more of a wine-red colour.
"Sovereign?" Superboy exclaimed in disbelief. "But the kryptonite bomb and the-"
"Since I have no idea what you are talking about, you are probably talking about an alternate version of myself. One that has been defeated. But not me."
"What are you doing here?" Superboy asked.
"I am here to rule! And no one will stop me!" Sovereign laughed.
"Go!" Superboy told Lana.
Lana started running, when a hand grabbed her and lifted her into the air. Sovereign captured Lana in a strangle hold and continued taunting Superboy.
"I remember this one!" Sovereign grinned. "On my world I killed her. Obviously not the case here. I'll soon see to that!"
Superboy had told Lana of Sovereign in the past. He was exactly as she had pictured him. With those cruel eyes she could easily tell the difference between him and her hero.
"No!" Superboy said, flying into the sky.
He fired twin beams of heat in Sovereign's direction, hitting him in the face. Sovereign dropped Lana during his stumble, leaving Superboy able to grab her.
He set her down on the ground and flew back up to fight his enemy. He punched the dazed Sovereign in the face and knocked him to the ground below. Superboy heard a crunching sound under Sovereign. He x-rayed the alternate and saw a smashed portal-remote under him.
"You have assured that I stay on this world!" Sovereign smirked weakly.
He closed his eyes and fell unconscious. Superboy gently hovered down to pick him up, when he was met by a massive heat-vision blast. Superboy was knocked backward into a wall, leaving Sovereign free to roam the night sky.
"Superboy? Superboy!?" Lana shook the unconscious Superboy furiously.
"What?" Superboy sprang back to life confusedly. "Did he get away?"
She nodded.
Superboy leaned his head back against the wall behind him.
"How did this happen?" He asked stressfully.
The next morning, Clark woke up with aching limbs. He had not had time to get much sleep lately because of all the crazy things that were happening in Capitol City at the moment. He got up out of his bed and made his way toward the kitchen section of his apartment. He poured himself some cereal and switched the television on.
"...Has escaped from Florida State Penitentiary." The newsreader read.
Beside the newsreader was a mug shot of Lex Luthor. Clark looked at the screen in horror.
"Not him. Not now!"
Suddenly, the screen fizzled and crackled and the signal disappeared. Clark tapped the set confusedly. Seconds later, a new signal came on. This time, Sovereign was looking at the camera.
"Greetings people of earth." He addressed. "I am the Sovereign. Your Sovereign. Unless I am announced total ruler of earth within twenty four hours, I will break the jails of this city, setting free the most powerful criminals on this planet. That is all."
Miles away, Lex Luthor smiled at the screen in front of him.
"Good." He thought. "He can soften it up before I strike!"
Sovereign was sitting in a warehouse miles out of the city. Around him were cameras and computer equipment that he had used to hack into the Capitol News Network. He sat in a huge armchair, while two strange looking fellows, a Goth and a computer geek, ran around with equipment.
"Great job Sovereign!" The Goth said delightedly, crossing his two arms across his chest in worship to the dictator of steel.
Sovereign nodded to the Goth. The Goth wore a leather jacket and had long stringy black hair. His lip was pierced along with one of his ears and one of his eyebrows. He wore bleak eye shadow underneath his eyes also.
"You'll be in power soon," the geek shouted from across the room whilst he fumbled around with his equipment. "I can feel it!" The geek wore a tight shirt and a bow tie. He had broken coke-bottle glasses that were taped up and his trousers were a bit short for him.
Superboy was searching frantically through the skies, looking for Sovereign. He was travelling at such a speed that he was tuned into the frequencies of television signals flying everywhere. He saw interesting colours and patterns flying in every direction. He continued flying until he came to a signal that was abstract from a television station. He used his telescopic vision to see that the pirate signal was coming from a warehouse just outside Capitol City. There was a makeshift satellite attached to the warehouse. A quick x-ray saw Sovereign seated inside alongside a pair of cronies.
The SWAT team truck moved in closer, a field team beside them with guns at the ready. Superboy hovered behind them, alert and ready, should things get out of control.
Just as Superboy had anticipated, Sovereign knew exactly what was going on thanks to his super-hearing. He feigned ignorance in front of his two cohorts. It would be fun to toy with the SWAT team.
The team broke through to the warehouse.
"Everybody freeze!" The SWAT commander ordered.
The Goth and the computer geek obeyed and put their hands up.
Sovereign simply walked casually toward the men and looked around the room for a moment.
"Don't move!" The commander yelled.
Sovereign sighed. He took in a deep breath and started blowing against the team gently. What started out, as a small blow became a gale force wind, which eventually rivalled a small hurricane.
The SWAT team were pressed against the wall under the mighty force of the wind. But Superboy was forced to wait outside because of the nature of the SWAT team's plan.
The SWAT commander was struggling to open a leaden box, which housed the key to Sovereign's defeat. But unfortunately Sovereign's blow was currently too strong. Sovereign's face grew redder and redder, until finally, his strength gave out and he stopped blowing for a moment to catch his breath.
The SWAT team fell to the ground painfully. The commander ran over to Sovereign and opened the leaden box. The evil glow of kryptonian radioactivity poured out on Sovereign. His face grew a bright shade of green and he fell to the ground.
"No!" He gasped. "I will not be defeated!"
Later, Sovereign was handed over to STAR Labs in Metropolis for study. Superboy decided it best to go and check up on him.
The so-called "Big Apricot" was a vast city of beauty. Much more friendly and welcoming than Capitol City, Superboy could easily see himself living here in the future.
He came to a reasonably large compound called STAR Labs. He x-rayed the place and saw Sovereign sitting in a cell surrounded by kryptonite-charged bars.
"There you are!" A bearded scientist ran up to Superboy as he landed. "I've been wanting to meet you!"
He shook Superboy's hand in delight.
"It's nice to meet you too Professor-"
"Hamilton!" The professor smiled hyperactively. "Emil Hamilton!"
Hamilton continued smiling at him in awe until eventually; he managed to blurt out,
"Of course! You want to see Sovereign don't you?"
"Yes. If it's all right," Superboy answered.
'Of course!"
They went into a room with a massive cell in the middle of it. Computers surrounded the cell and wires connected to it from all directions. Inside the cell, Sovereign sat alone with his arms around his legs. He did not want to go near those bars again.
Superboy moved toward the cell when he heard a familiar voice.
"Superboy!"
Superboy spun around to face Dr Winger. He was a short and stout man with a greasy ponytail. Under his lab coat, he wore a white tee shirt with a black ring on it.
"Dr Winger!" Superboy said happily. "What are you doing here?"
"Dr Hamilton brought me here so that we could work on a new portal."
From the cell, Sovereign started shouting.
"No! No!" He ranted. "You're never sending me back there! Never!" He rose up and walked over to the bars. He grabbed them tightly. "Do you hear me? Never!"
Kryptonite energy crackled in Sovereign's hands and rose up his body as Superboy felt a slight twinge in his back. Sovereign fell to the ground unconscious as smoke rose up from his singed body. His uniform was tattered and burnt now, and his bulging muscles were revealed for all of the world to see.
"Nice touch I have to say!" Superboy complimented Professor Hamilton.
"Thank you!" Dr Hamilton smiled.
"Anyway look," Superboy fumbled around in the pouch in his cape as he talked to them, "if you've got any problems with him," he handed them a bulky remote control device. "Press that red button. It sends out an ultrasonic signal. I should be able to hear it from Capitol City."
He walked out the door and rose gracefully into the sky. The two doctors watched, as the speeding figure became a stretching blur that stretched across the sky like a rainbow.
Meanwhile, miles away from Metropolis, in Smallville Kansas, inside a barn that belonged to the Kents, underneath a trap door, a green crystal glowed with all of the might of the planet of Krypton. Jor-El had implanted his mind here two decades ago. And now 'he' knew it was time to reach out to his son. It was time for his son to fulfil his destiny. It was time for his son to become a Superman.
Superboy continued flying back toward Capitol City, when he felt a small twinge in his head. It was like some sort of signal beckoning him somewhere. It went out without a moments notice, and Superboy chose to ignore it, heading on to Capitol City.
Superboy changed into his pyjamas and collapsed on his bed. The second his head hit the pillow, he knew something was wrong. He felt unusually tired, as though he were about to faint. He tried to get up again, but his legs would not listen. His eyes drooped down and closed gently and he went to sleep.
All around him was blackness. But at the end of his room, hidden under a trap door, was his destiny. He continued walking toward the trap door, until finally, he punched through it, and grabbed the bounty inside.
The crystal looked similar to kryptonite, it was the same colour, but it was different. Instead of pain flowing through his veins, Superboy felt power and knowledge. The crystal started glowing harder then. As though it were trying to say something. Superboy could hear it say:
"It is time, my son...It is time..."
He clenched onto the crystal and closed his eyes, savouring the awesome feel of the power flowing through his fingertips.
Lex picked the lock carefully. He did not want any trouble from the security guards.
"I hate to say it," Lex thought to himself, "but this was much easier with Darla around."
Darla had been Lex's accomplice. She was in love with him, but he simply regarded her as an idiot. A nincompoop that was in no way worthy of his intellectual prowess.
Darla left Lex after he tried to destroy the world with his dirty bombs. Lex had learned that his sister Lena had died in a crash. Lena had been the only thing that Lex ever loved. After she died, Lex saw no reason to live, and saw no reason to let the world live either. Superboy stopped him in time and Lex soon found out that his sister had faked her death, but Darla felt very different about Lex now. She left him without looking back. Now Lex was alone. As he would be for the rest of his life.
Lex passed by the padlock, now he came up to the back door. There was a computerised lock attached to the door and a password was required. Lex took out his electro-magnetic pulse ray and shot at the lock, and pushed the door open.
Sovereign sat in his cell whimpering. He had attempted another escape, but to no avail. Why did such a puny substance as kryptonite defy his power?
Sovereign could hear the sound of footsteps walking toward him.
"Who's there?" He asked. "Do you hear me? Who are you?" He bellowed.
The stranger moved over to the cell and pressed a button on a remote device he had in his hands. The computers beside the cell shut themselves down and the bars were obviously free of their kryptonite power. Sovereign looked suspiciously at the bars and then grabbed them with his hands. Expecting pain, he squinted his eyes and stood back. But nothing happened. The bars were no longer charged with kryptonite energy. Sovereign easily ripped away the bars and laughed gleefully. The mysterious man stood smiling at the free prisoner.
"Thank you," Sovereign said coolly. "But you have served your purpose, and I can't afford to owe any favours." Sovereign's eyes began to go red, but the stranger simply opened the back of his remote and took out its power source.
It was a glowing green rock in the shape of a battery. Sovereign whimpered in pain as his face turned a bright shade of green.
"I don't think so!" The stranger smiled. He left the kryptonite on the table and ran out of the building as fast as he could.
Clark woke dripping in sweat, and panting. He rubbed his brow and got up. He felt another twinge in his head and his head spun around to face the wall. He x-rayed the wall but only saw pipes and an electricity scheme. What was going on? Why was he being so paranoid?
Sovereign was hidden out in his previous hideout, the warehouse. He was putting the finishing touches to his new uniform. His old one had been ruined and he would need a new one. He did not plan on staying here for very long. Eventually Superboy would find him, and there would be more kryptonite attacks. He shuddered at the thought. Sovereign put on his new costume and was about to rise up into the air when suddenly; something whacked him on the back of the head. Sovereign fell to the ground as his face turned green again. Lex smiled above him, with a glowing rock of kryptonite in his hands.
Lex placed Sovereign on an operating table he had set up and made a small incision in Sovereign's temple with a crude scalpel Luthor had carved out of kryptonite. Once the incision was made, Luthor placed a small microchip in the fallen dictator's temple. Lex took the kryptonite away from Sovereign and watched as the incision healed over itself.
Sovereign's eyes darted open and he saw the stranger looking at him again.
"You!" Sovereign screamed. "You were the one who attacked me! I'll kill you!"
Sovereign rose up to strangle Lex, but Lex simply pressed a button on a small remote, and Sovereign's expression went blank.
"Now let's see if this works," Lex smiled. "Stand up," He ordered.
Sovereign obeyed and stood up, his expression still lifeless.
"See that window over there?" Lex asked Sovereign.
Sovereign nodded.
"I want you to melt it."
Sovereign activated his heat vision and twin beams of heat shot from his eyes at the grubby window. The glass melted under the pressure as Lex laughed in delight.
"I've always wanted my own super-slave!" He smiled.
END OF CHAPTER ONE
Next: "The New World Order"
Superboy and all related characters and indicia are trademarks of DC Comics. I'm not quite sure who owns Superboy: The Series. Viacom originally owned it but Warner Bros. were the ones who took it off the air.
**************************************************************************** ******* Does anyone out there remember this show? It was brilliant. As a matter of a fact, I'd call it my favourite Superman show, next to Smallville. It starred Gerard Christopher as Superboy and Stacy Haiduk as Lana Lang. Most people prefer Lois & Clark because it was about SuperMAN but this show will always be my favourite because it made more use of Lex Luthor, the flying scenes were more realistic, and it wasn't supposed to be a love story like Lois & Clark was. This is the first episode of my own mini-series that shows how (TV's) Superboy finally becomes Superman. I'll go easy on the continuity if you just remember that this is based on a TV show. NOT a comic book. So don't blame me if it seems a bit far-off. And I know that this show was originally meant to tie into the Superman movies, but when you think about it, there were so many bloopers that suggested that the movies had nothing to do with anything, so it probably would have paved its own path. Be original is what I say!
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO AREN"T FAMILIAR WITH THE TV SHOW:
Clark and Lana attended Shuster University in Siegelville for three years (where Clark started his career as Superboy)
Lex Luthor looks a lot older than he is because he got plastic surgery to make him look like someone else In "Road's Not Taken" Superboy travelled to another dimension where he met Sovereign a cruel alternate of Superboy who ruled earth.
Superboy's face always goes green when he is exposed to kryptonite (like in the original Superboy comics)
Lana and Clark live in Capital City in Florida where they are currently working as interns for the Bureau For Extranormal Matters to finish their education at Shuster (I know this was never in the comics, but the show was still pretty damn good!)
This story is set in early 1993 **************************************************************************** *******
CHAPTER 1: The Iron Fist Of The Sovereign
Far outside of Capitol City, was Florida State Penitentiary. It was a dim and gloomy building, surrounded by barbed wires and laser-alarms, so that criminals could not escape, and their henchmen could not get in.
But Lex Luthor did not have henchmen. Maybe that was why he was why he thought himself as 'The Greatest Criminal Mind' of our time. All his life he could not understand why people did not appreciate such a mind. His brilliance oversaw many devious schemes. Once he tried to take over the world in an alternate dimension, another time, he tried to exterminate all life on the world with dirty bombs that he had stolen from the government. This was the longest time he had spent in jail without plotting an escape, or trying to kill someone.
Lex sat alone in his cell, staring at the wall, frowning angrily. He thought back to all of his schemes. In college, he had looked almost twenty years younger. He was able to keep his crimes under wraps for a while. Then, something got in his way... and he had to go on the run. He had altered his face with plastic surgery to make himself look exactly like the famous inventor Warren Eckworth. He then killed Eckworth and stole his invention to kill his greatest enemy. Superboy. The boy who could fly, the boy of steel, the boy of tomorrow, Lex had heard them all before. Superboy was the one who had imprisoned Lex time and time again. If not for Superboy, Lex would well be on his way to total, world domination, or perhaps, total world annihilation. If not for Superboy, Lex would still have a head full of hair; instead of the crappy toupee he wore. If not for Superboy, Lex would be free. But soon, Lex would be free. Soon, Lex would be the ruler of the planet. Soon, Lex would be more powerful than Superboy. And Superboy, would most certainly, be dead.
The supervisor stared long and hard down at the readings. No he thought. It's impossible. He looked across the room and saw a massive red button covered in a container. He opened the container and slammed on the button.
All around the plant, an alarm sounded. Raucous sounds of screaming and panicking filled the entire power plant. Workers ran in every direction trying to find a quicker way out, following their impulses as opposed to their common sense. A man grabbed a fire extinguisher and broke open a window. He jumped out without any second thoughts. Luckily he only broke his two legs on a car below.
The people continued scurrying around the vast, metallic power plant. Even though the power plant would explode anyway, wiping out a chunk of the entire landmass of China, the people still drove to get out of the building, before matters got worse.
The containment chamber had somehow broken, and the substances inside became treated to dangerous chemicals, causing a fire. The fire had soon spread and the entire country let alone the nuclear plant, was in danger. The screams penetrated even the massive walls of the plant, so far that the civilians of Beijing could hear them.
"...will easily destroy most of China." The newsreader explained. "The fire has grown and fire fighters are unable to fight it."
The small office section known as the Bureau For Extranormal Matters watched the television mournfully. In the small section, computers flooded the place, but there was no one to operate them. The entire set of employees were watching the television, hoping to god for some kind of miracle.
A whooshing noise came from the skies of Beijing, growing louder and louder the closer the blue blur approached the city. The civilians did not question what was trying to save them; they knew exactly what was going on. That blue blur, was a gift given from the heavens, a second messiah, a Superboy.
Superboy streaked through the windows of the main building of the power plant. He ran quickly through the course of the building at super speed, with screaming people of Chinese origin all around him.
He made his way to the containment chamber again at blurring speed. Once there, he saw where the fire was based. The containment chamber was flooded with flames. Superboy took in a colossal breath and let fly an icy cold gust of wind. The wind blew around the room like wildfire, ending the wrath of the intimidating flames. He then took the plutonium rods from the broken containment chamber and sealed the chamber back together with his heat vision. A job well done.
Superboy ran down to the cafeteria of the power plant, where many workers were running around screaming. Superboy slammed his fist through the wall of the cafeteria, creating a safe exit that the workers could climb through. Superboy then flew back into the sky amidst a shower of cheers.
He quickened his flight, until the sound barrier broke behind him.
Clark quickly entered a room of relieved co-workers.
"There you are!" Lana Lang smiled. "Where have you been all morning?"
"The bus was late." Clark answered. "Why's everyone so happy?"
"Superboy just saved China from irradiation!" Lana laughed.
Meanwhile, back in the penitentiary, Lex was hard at work working on his latest invention. He had to break out of prison if he wanted to go ahead with his plan. He held a strange remote device in his hands. A guard walked up to him.
'Awright Luthor," He began, "Lights out!"
"Since you said so!" Lex grinned.
He pulled a lever on his remote, and suddenly all the lights in the prison went out.
"Wha?" The guard was confused.
"Electromagnetic pulse!" Lex smiled.
"Very funny Luthor," the guard said as he reached in to take the device from Luthor.
Lex pressed a red button on his remote, and suddenly, a stream of electro- energy shot out from the gun. It hit into the guard, frying him to a crisp.
Lex took the guard's keys and made his way out.
Seconds later, Lex was climbing over the barbed wire ridden fence, wearing protective gloves, laughing gleefully.
Back in Capital City, was Shuster University. This University was one that held the precious secret of whom Superboy really was. For it was here that Clark Kent attended University, and began his career as the boy of steel. This university was well-respected and had many laboratories used by famous scientists across its campus.
One of these scientists was a man b y the name of John Winger. For years he had been researching the multi-dimensional theory. The theory that there was billions of different worlds and that ours was just one. That every time a decision was or was not made, a whole new world was created. Worlds where people and history could be slightly or completely different.
After twelve years of research, Winger had finally succeeded in realizing his full ambition. To build a device that could enable the user to travel to one of these other worlds. An inter-dimensional portal. Unfortunately, the criminal Lex Luthor misused his work, and Superboy had to destroy it. But unbeknownst to Superboy, Winger still had also been working on a special device, a mini-portal remote. It would work the same way as the full sized version except it was activated in one's hand.
The angry crowd continued running after their Sovereign. Why had they put up with his rule for all these years. The man known as Lex Luthor led the crowd angrily. Unlike his other alternate versions, this Lex Luthor was a hero. A freedom fighter. He believed in freedom and democracy and was totally against what the Sovereign stood for. Ever since the Sovereign had murdered Lex's love, Lana Lang, Lex vowed that he would get vengeance and that he would get it at any cost, even by paying with his life.
The crowd held strange glowing green rocks in their hands that were having a strange effect on Sovereign. His face had turned a shade of bright green and it was obvious that he was in pain. But luckily, he was far enough away from these deadly rocks that he was able to limp away from the angry crowd carrying them. Bu the crowd were getting closer and closer and Sovereign was slowing down with every step. Suddenly, a jeep sped up and parked in front of Sovereign. In the jeep was a short, stout man, with neatly cut hair and a lab coat. He wore an armband that represented the S shield that Sovereign wore proudly on his chest.
"Get in!" The man ordered Sovereign.
Sovereign obeyed the man's orders as the man whipped out a machine gun from his dashboard. He sprayed a steady line of bullets at the angry crowd following them. A stray bullet whacked into the chest of Lex Luthor, knocking him back into a crowd of scurrying people.
"Are you all right?" Dr Winger asked Sovereign.
"The effects are wearing off." Sovereign said while the evil green colour disappeared from his face.
"You can't stay here!" Winger said sadly. "This situation is getting worse. They won't even accept you as their ruler anymore! I am one of the few left who does!"
"No!" Sovereign barked, his strength completely renewed. "I will not step down from my seat of power! I was meant to rule! And I will!"
"Sovereign," Dr Winger started "You are forgetting something!"
"What is that?" Sovereign asked as though Winger had stated something incredibly stupid.
"Why rule here?" Winger smiled, "When there is are billions of other worlds that are in dire need of rule?"
Sovereign smiled wickedly.
The two returned to Dr Winger's lab where Winger handed Sovereign a remote object.
"We need to set the coordinates to 299867." Winger explained. "I've been monitoring that world for some time. In that world you are known as Superboy. You are a hero of the free people."
"I can't even picture such a waste of power!" Sovereign frowned. "We must defeat this 'Superboy'! Then I will rule that timid world and no one will be able to stop me!"
"I can't wait Sovereign!" Winger smiled enthusiastically.
"About that," Sovereign grinned evilly. "You're not coming!"
He grasped his ally's neck and choked the scientist until all of the air had left his body.
He pushed the correct coordinates that Winger had suggested and in a flash of light, Sovereign was flying through a zone of flying colours and light.
Superboy flew through the sky, patrolling Capitol City, bathing it in his telescopic vision. He helped many people that night. He did not ask for any reward. That was why the people regarded him as a hero. As he was heading home, his super-hearing caught up the sound of someone screaming. Superboy whirled around and headed in the direction of the scream.
Lana whacked the mugger in the face with her purse. It did not have much effect, but it distracted him enough so that she could whack him in the stomach. But unfortunately, the mugger was pretty quick on his feet also. He whipped out a knife from his pocket and threatened her with it. He pushed her to the ground and was about to stab her, when he felt a stinging pain on his hand. There was a red beam piercing into his hand. He followed the beam all the way up to the figure of a hovering young man. A boy. Superboy.
The man howled in pain as he staggered back away from Lana. Superboy hovered down and grabbed the man by the scruff of his neck.
"Don't ever let me see you here again!" Superboy ordered.
The punk ran for his life as Superboy tended to Lana.
"Thanks." Lana said coldly.
Superboy knew that Lana did not always like being the damsel in distress and that sometimes it made her feel useless.
"Are you all right?" Superboy asked.
"I guess so," Lana said, rubbing the back of her neck, which was bruised after she had taken her fall.
Suddenly there was a huge flash of light from the sky, followed by a crackling noise. The figure of a young man hovered down toward them, smirking. He wore a costume similar to Superboy's, except that it was much more of a shade of grey than blue and the cape was much longer and was more of a wine-red colour.
"Sovereign?" Superboy exclaimed in disbelief. "But the kryptonite bomb and the-"
"Since I have no idea what you are talking about, you are probably talking about an alternate version of myself. One that has been defeated. But not me."
"What are you doing here?" Superboy asked.
"I am here to rule! And no one will stop me!" Sovereign laughed.
"Go!" Superboy told Lana.
Lana started running, when a hand grabbed her and lifted her into the air. Sovereign captured Lana in a strangle hold and continued taunting Superboy.
"I remember this one!" Sovereign grinned. "On my world I killed her. Obviously not the case here. I'll soon see to that!"
Superboy had told Lana of Sovereign in the past. He was exactly as she had pictured him. With those cruel eyes she could easily tell the difference between him and her hero.
"No!" Superboy said, flying into the sky.
He fired twin beams of heat in Sovereign's direction, hitting him in the face. Sovereign dropped Lana during his stumble, leaving Superboy able to grab her.
He set her down on the ground and flew back up to fight his enemy. He punched the dazed Sovereign in the face and knocked him to the ground below. Superboy heard a crunching sound under Sovereign. He x-rayed the alternate and saw a smashed portal-remote under him.
"You have assured that I stay on this world!" Sovereign smirked weakly.
He closed his eyes and fell unconscious. Superboy gently hovered down to pick him up, when he was met by a massive heat-vision blast. Superboy was knocked backward into a wall, leaving Sovereign free to roam the night sky.
"Superboy? Superboy!?" Lana shook the unconscious Superboy furiously.
"What?" Superboy sprang back to life confusedly. "Did he get away?"
She nodded.
Superboy leaned his head back against the wall behind him.
"How did this happen?" He asked stressfully.
The next morning, Clark woke up with aching limbs. He had not had time to get much sleep lately because of all the crazy things that were happening in Capitol City at the moment. He got up out of his bed and made his way toward the kitchen section of his apartment. He poured himself some cereal and switched the television on.
"...Has escaped from Florida State Penitentiary." The newsreader read.
Beside the newsreader was a mug shot of Lex Luthor. Clark looked at the screen in horror.
"Not him. Not now!"
Suddenly, the screen fizzled and crackled and the signal disappeared. Clark tapped the set confusedly. Seconds later, a new signal came on. This time, Sovereign was looking at the camera.
"Greetings people of earth." He addressed. "I am the Sovereign. Your Sovereign. Unless I am announced total ruler of earth within twenty four hours, I will break the jails of this city, setting free the most powerful criminals on this planet. That is all."
Miles away, Lex Luthor smiled at the screen in front of him.
"Good." He thought. "He can soften it up before I strike!"
Sovereign was sitting in a warehouse miles out of the city. Around him were cameras and computer equipment that he had used to hack into the Capitol News Network. He sat in a huge armchair, while two strange looking fellows, a Goth and a computer geek, ran around with equipment.
"Great job Sovereign!" The Goth said delightedly, crossing his two arms across his chest in worship to the dictator of steel.
Sovereign nodded to the Goth. The Goth wore a leather jacket and had long stringy black hair. His lip was pierced along with one of his ears and one of his eyebrows. He wore bleak eye shadow underneath his eyes also.
"You'll be in power soon," the geek shouted from across the room whilst he fumbled around with his equipment. "I can feel it!" The geek wore a tight shirt and a bow tie. He had broken coke-bottle glasses that were taped up and his trousers were a bit short for him.
Superboy was searching frantically through the skies, looking for Sovereign. He was travelling at such a speed that he was tuned into the frequencies of television signals flying everywhere. He saw interesting colours and patterns flying in every direction. He continued flying until he came to a signal that was abstract from a television station. He used his telescopic vision to see that the pirate signal was coming from a warehouse just outside Capitol City. There was a makeshift satellite attached to the warehouse. A quick x-ray saw Sovereign seated inside alongside a pair of cronies.
The SWAT team truck moved in closer, a field team beside them with guns at the ready. Superboy hovered behind them, alert and ready, should things get out of control.
Just as Superboy had anticipated, Sovereign knew exactly what was going on thanks to his super-hearing. He feigned ignorance in front of his two cohorts. It would be fun to toy with the SWAT team.
The team broke through to the warehouse.
"Everybody freeze!" The SWAT commander ordered.
The Goth and the computer geek obeyed and put their hands up.
Sovereign simply walked casually toward the men and looked around the room for a moment.
"Don't move!" The commander yelled.
Sovereign sighed. He took in a deep breath and started blowing against the team gently. What started out, as a small blow became a gale force wind, which eventually rivalled a small hurricane.
The SWAT team were pressed against the wall under the mighty force of the wind. But Superboy was forced to wait outside because of the nature of the SWAT team's plan.
The SWAT commander was struggling to open a leaden box, which housed the key to Sovereign's defeat. But unfortunately Sovereign's blow was currently too strong. Sovereign's face grew redder and redder, until finally, his strength gave out and he stopped blowing for a moment to catch his breath.
The SWAT team fell to the ground painfully. The commander ran over to Sovereign and opened the leaden box. The evil glow of kryptonian radioactivity poured out on Sovereign. His face grew a bright shade of green and he fell to the ground.
"No!" He gasped. "I will not be defeated!"
Later, Sovereign was handed over to STAR Labs in Metropolis for study. Superboy decided it best to go and check up on him.
The so-called "Big Apricot" was a vast city of beauty. Much more friendly and welcoming than Capitol City, Superboy could easily see himself living here in the future.
He came to a reasonably large compound called STAR Labs. He x-rayed the place and saw Sovereign sitting in a cell surrounded by kryptonite-charged bars.
"There you are!" A bearded scientist ran up to Superboy as he landed. "I've been wanting to meet you!"
He shook Superboy's hand in delight.
"It's nice to meet you too Professor-"
"Hamilton!" The professor smiled hyperactively. "Emil Hamilton!"
Hamilton continued smiling at him in awe until eventually; he managed to blurt out,
"Of course! You want to see Sovereign don't you?"
"Yes. If it's all right," Superboy answered.
'Of course!"
They went into a room with a massive cell in the middle of it. Computers surrounded the cell and wires connected to it from all directions. Inside the cell, Sovereign sat alone with his arms around his legs. He did not want to go near those bars again.
Superboy moved toward the cell when he heard a familiar voice.
"Superboy!"
Superboy spun around to face Dr Winger. He was a short and stout man with a greasy ponytail. Under his lab coat, he wore a white tee shirt with a black ring on it.
"Dr Winger!" Superboy said happily. "What are you doing here?"
"Dr Hamilton brought me here so that we could work on a new portal."
From the cell, Sovereign started shouting.
"No! No!" He ranted. "You're never sending me back there! Never!" He rose up and walked over to the bars. He grabbed them tightly. "Do you hear me? Never!"
Kryptonite energy crackled in Sovereign's hands and rose up his body as Superboy felt a slight twinge in his back. Sovereign fell to the ground unconscious as smoke rose up from his singed body. His uniform was tattered and burnt now, and his bulging muscles were revealed for all of the world to see.
"Nice touch I have to say!" Superboy complimented Professor Hamilton.
"Thank you!" Dr Hamilton smiled.
"Anyway look," Superboy fumbled around in the pouch in his cape as he talked to them, "if you've got any problems with him," he handed them a bulky remote control device. "Press that red button. It sends out an ultrasonic signal. I should be able to hear it from Capitol City."
He walked out the door and rose gracefully into the sky. The two doctors watched, as the speeding figure became a stretching blur that stretched across the sky like a rainbow.
Meanwhile, miles away from Metropolis, in Smallville Kansas, inside a barn that belonged to the Kents, underneath a trap door, a green crystal glowed with all of the might of the planet of Krypton. Jor-El had implanted his mind here two decades ago. And now 'he' knew it was time to reach out to his son. It was time for his son to fulfil his destiny. It was time for his son to become a Superman.
Superboy continued flying back toward Capitol City, when he felt a small twinge in his head. It was like some sort of signal beckoning him somewhere. It went out without a moments notice, and Superboy chose to ignore it, heading on to Capitol City.
Superboy changed into his pyjamas and collapsed on his bed. The second his head hit the pillow, he knew something was wrong. He felt unusually tired, as though he were about to faint. He tried to get up again, but his legs would not listen. His eyes drooped down and closed gently and he went to sleep.
All around him was blackness. But at the end of his room, hidden under a trap door, was his destiny. He continued walking toward the trap door, until finally, he punched through it, and grabbed the bounty inside.
The crystal looked similar to kryptonite, it was the same colour, but it was different. Instead of pain flowing through his veins, Superboy felt power and knowledge. The crystal started glowing harder then. As though it were trying to say something. Superboy could hear it say:
"It is time, my son...It is time..."
He clenched onto the crystal and closed his eyes, savouring the awesome feel of the power flowing through his fingertips.
Lex picked the lock carefully. He did not want any trouble from the security guards.
"I hate to say it," Lex thought to himself, "but this was much easier with Darla around."
Darla had been Lex's accomplice. She was in love with him, but he simply regarded her as an idiot. A nincompoop that was in no way worthy of his intellectual prowess.
Darla left Lex after he tried to destroy the world with his dirty bombs. Lex had learned that his sister Lena had died in a crash. Lena had been the only thing that Lex ever loved. After she died, Lex saw no reason to live, and saw no reason to let the world live either. Superboy stopped him in time and Lex soon found out that his sister had faked her death, but Darla felt very different about Lex now. She left him without looking back. Now Lex was alone. As he would be for the rest of his life.
Lex passed by the padlock, now he came up to the back door. There was a computerised lock attached to the door and a password was required. Lex took out his electro-magnetic pulse ray and shot at the lock, and pushed the door open.
Sovereign sat in his cell whimpering. He had attempted another escape, but to no avail. Why did such a puny substance as kryptonite defy his power?
Sovereign could hear the sound of footsteps walking toward him.
"Who's there?" He asked. "Do you hear me? Who are you?" He bellowed.
The stranger moved over to the cell and pressed a button on a remote device he had in his hands. The computers beside the cell shut themselves down and the bars were obviously free of their kryptonite power. Sovereign looked suspiciously at the bars and then grabbed them with his hands. Expecting pain, he squinted his eyes and stood back. But nothing happened. The bars were no longer charged with kryptonite energy. Sovereign easily ripped away the bars and laughed gleefully. The mysterious man stood smiling at the free prisoner.
"Thank you," Sovereign said coolly. "But you have served your purpose, and I can't afford to owe any favours." Sovereign's eyes began to go red, but the stranger simply opened the back of his remote and took out its power source.
It was a glowing green rock in the shape of a battery. Sovereign whimpered in pain as his face turned a bright shade of green.
"I don't think so!" The stranger smiled. He left the kryptonite on the table and ran out of the building as fast as he could.
Clark woke dripping in sweat, and panting. He rubbed his brow and got up. He felt another twinge in his head and his head spun around to face the wall. He x-rayed the wall but only saw pipes and an electricity scheme. What was going on? Why was he being so paranoid?
Sovereign was hidden out in his previous hideout, the warehouse. He was putting the finishing touches to his new uniform. His old one had been ruined and he would need a new one. He did not plan on staying here for very long. Eventually Superboy would find him, and there would be more kryptonite attacks. He shuddered at the thought. Sovereign put on his new costume and was about to rise up into the air when suddenly; something whacked him on the back of the head. Sovereign fell to the ground as his face turned green again. Lex smiled above him, with a glowing rock of kryptonite in his hands.
Lex placed Sovereign on an operating table he had set up and made a small incision in Sovereign's temple with a crude scalpel Luthor had carved out of kryptonite. Once the incision was made, Luthor placed a small microchip in the fallen dictator's temple. Lex took the kryptonite away from Sovereign and watched as the incision healed over itself.
Sovereign's eyes darted open and he saw the stranger looking at him again.
"You!" Sovereign screamed. "You were the one who attacked me! I'll kill you!"
Sovereign rose up to strangle Lex, but Lex simply pressed a button on a small remote, and Sovereign's expression went blank.
"Now let's see if this works," Lex smiled. "Stand up," He ordered.
Sovereign obeyed and stood up, his expression still lifeless.
"See that window over there?" Lex asked Sovereign.
Sovereign nodded.
"I want you to melt it."
Sovereign activated his heat vision and twin beams of heat shot from his eyes at the grubby window. The glass melted under the pressure as Lex laughed in delight.
"I've always wanted my own super-slave!" He smiled.
END OF CHAPTER ONE
Next: "The New World Order"