TITLE: A Different Kind of Hiro

AUTHOR: William Rayne

EMAIL: knytmareyahoo.com

RATING: PG-13

SPOILERS: Talisman

DISTRIBUTION: FanFiction.net, email me

DISCLAIMER someone else owns 'em, I'm just taking them out to play. Don't sue me, I have no money

FEEDBACK: Desired like none other.

A/N: I'm interpreting the meanings of the traditional Superman symbol and the Smallville (Jor-El branded) symbol to mean whatever fits my stories best…I apologize for confusion b/c I'm lazy. Plus, AU, I think I have some leeway to fudge a bit. Krypton is a Matriarchy in this universe. Waverider is explained, to those who don't know the name from the DC universe, at the end notes.

As always: bold italics for stressed, italics for thoughts or voice-over, and underlines for sarcasm or disgust. 

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A Different Kind of Hero

Chapter 5

Undisclosed Hospital, March 2023

"What the…" Hiro said when he noticed the temporal change.

"Hello Hiro," said a male voice.

Turning towards the source, Hiro asked, "Who are you?" to the man dressed in gold and black spandex whose face was obscured by the shadows. "Come out where I can see you."

"As you wish, but don't let my appearance alarm you," the mystery man said as he stepped into the light. Hiro held back a gasp as he saw the man's golden face and matching flaming golden 'hair'.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? What do you want?" Hiro asked as his eyes glanced at the door to the hall and his mind calculated the best plan of escape. I'm fully healed now, if I can find a way to distract him…I can make it out the door. Take the fight out of the hospital if it comes to it.

The man chuckled slightly and said, "Good questions. Some of which you should be asking yourself. However, to answer your questions, I was once Matthew Ryder. Now I am known simply as 'Waverider' and I've come from the future to help you."

"Right, Arnold," Hiro said as the speech reminded him of an old movie Chloe once made him watch.

"I don't blame you for having reservations," Waverider said, "I'd say the same if I were in your position."

Hiro grunted, not noticing that the man had moved beside his bedside.

"Perhaps the best way to convince you is to show you," the visitor stated and reached out to touch Hiro.

Hiro didn't have time to avoid the touch and upon contact saw a great many things. Hiro saw things he has done that no one knew about, losing his virginity to Lara when he was 14, as well as things he had never witnessed personally, the destruction of Krypton, Clark's arrival on earth, his birth, Lex and Lionel fighting over some knife as it crumbles at their touch, his recent battle against his own brother, Lois holding the still body of Superman, a shaman painting the legend of Naman on the cave wall, himself above the corpse of Zod and one image too terrible to describe.

"Ok, I believe you. Well, I believe that you know things that you shouldn't," Hiro said, "I don't know why I should trust you."

Waverider shrugged, "You don't have to trust me when I say that you will save your brother from death. Plus you're still alive. If I meant to harm you, you'd be dead."

"Perhaps, perhaps not," Hiro retorted defiantly.

"I have given you a glimpse of what was and what is to come," Waverider stated, "what you do is up to you. Because of Kryptonian technology, you have the ability to make a difference. The question you should be asking is 'will you use it?' We will meet again. I can not interfere any more than I have."

Upon stating that, he vanished, leaving Hiro to his own thoughts. Hiro didn't need long to think. Given what he knew from Naman's memory archive and what Waverider shown him, his decision was made. He got out of the hospital bed, peered into the hallway and noticed that time was still stopped. Not wanting to push his luck, he made his way towards the Kawatche cave. All the way, he mentally programmed the nanobots that inhibited his body to do what he needed them to do.

Upon reaching the caves, he reached out towards the wall that had the octagonal indentation and a white light struck his palm. He searched for Jor-El's original avatar. Come on, where is it? Nothing is ever truly deleted with Earth computers, I hope it's the same with Kryptonian computers. Ah, there you are. Now time to restore you and on to phase two of my plan.

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Antarctica, 1 hour later

Zod stood before Superman in a scene that reminded him of Lara-El on Krypton. Zod wore the same uniform from that event at this moment as well. The green glow within the golden, metallic room testified how this situation came to be. It had taken the better part of the hour to lure the Man of Steel into the room but it was worth it. Smiling triumphantly, Zod said coolly as he held a Kryptonian force-lance before his prey, "You will die like your bitch of a mother."

The force-lance glowed brighter and before the deathblow could be delivered, a sword came down from the air and cut through the tip of the lance. Zod looked towards the source of the disruption and saw Hiro floating in a black suit that bore the same Kryptonian symbol for outcast, a 'x' within a circle, in silver. His voice boomed within the 30 foot room, "Zod-Ur, Son of Gaz and Zim-Ur, hear me. I, Hiram Robert Kent, son of Martha and Jonathan Kent, challenge you for the title of General of the Kryptonian Royal Forces. The blade shall bleed the truth."

Zod sneered, "You have no right. Our technology may flow within your veins but not the blood of Krypton."

Hiro smirked as he touched down, "By that logic, you have no rights as well. Would you dishonor your lineage by refusing my challenge? The souls of your ancestors will freeze in the bowels of Cythonna."

Zod's face changed to a look of pure hatred and as he threw down the force-lance, he responded, "I don't need powers to defeat you in trial by combat." Picking up the sword that sliced his force-lance, he intoned, "The sword shall bear witness to justice."

Kal-El gasped, "Hiro, no," but both combatants concentrated on the battle at hand and didn't hear. If they did, it was ignored.

As they circled each other patiently, Zod remarked, "I had wondered where the ancestors' blades had been hidden. They are so much better than the ones I remember using. Too bad that technology was lost until now. I should thank you for giving me such a powerful tool. They say that it could cut through a god if the need arose."

"You talk too much, Zod," Hiro said and they exchanged a quick series of feigns and parries. Hiro, impressively, held up well but not well enough. First blood was drawn by Zod and as blood flowed down Hiro's cheek, Zod remarked, "I learned from Lara-El that patience and controlling my impulses are a virtue. Pity, you have access to my memories, yet you made the same mistake. You humans are quite pitiful to think that you can repeat something and expect a different result."

Hiro just smirked, "Horseshoes and hand-grenades." He deflected a diagonal slash from Zod and attempted to throw a punch into Zod's opened guard. Unfortunately, Zod had the same idea and connected first. Hiro rolled with the punch using his left shoulder, extending his right heel which connected with Zod's chin. Planting his left hand on the ground, he cart-wheeled to his feet only to find Zod in a kippup to meet the next attack.

"Impressive, lucky, but impressive."

"You haven't seen anything yet," Hiro said arrogantly.

Hiro pressed the fight. Zod deflected the blows and was spun around with his back exposed to Hiro. Hiro jumped to deliver what he believed to be the final blow only to find Zod's blade pierce an inch below his heart. Zod pulled his blade and spun to behead Hiro. Hiro was barely able to deflect the fatal strike.

As his opponent clutched his wound, Zod smiled and pressed his advantage. Hiro was forced to defend and each consecutive strike brought Zod closer to victory. Zod went for the final thrust in his attack, only to find that Hiro didn't deflect the initial feign as he expected. Instead, Hiro side-stepped, spun on his left foot and brought his blade under the pit of his own arm to deliver a strike to Zod's heart. Hiro heard the warrior's sword clatter to the ground and looked over his left shoulder to see the look of surprise on Zod's face. "Impossible," the dying General gasped.

Hiro said in the barest whisper, "Vanity, Zod, vanity. That was your weakness." Forgive me God. Forgive me Clark. Hiro spun out from his position, ripping the blade through Zod's body and brought the full momentum of the spin to bear on the neck of Zod. The head flew through the air, the death mask of Zod changing into the face of Lionel Luthor.

 Sheathing the swords, Hiro hobbled towards his brother and carried him out from the room. Once away from the Kryptonite and on the icy surface of Antarctica, Hiro retched.

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A/N: Waverider is a part of the Linear Men, a group dedicated to the preservation of the timestream. Something like that, that whole arc will be resolved in the next story. Suffice it to say that he's a time traveler that's not supposed to interfere but occasionally does. There's an epilogue after this chapter, I'll probably write both and then publish, dunno yet. The blades come from my take on Krypton's first expeditions here. I still have to finish that too.

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