Chapter 10: The War's Strategic Climax...
(Part 2 of 3)
Hundreds of vans clog the highways leading into Smallville like a cholesterol- encoated blood vessel. Everette had done his job; the entire town of Smallville had been evacuated. Now they only people left are Kal's army, Darkseid's army, the Kent Farmhouse, the impending military choppers flying above the empty Smallville buildings, and the news reporters invading the empty streets of Smallville.
Inside one of these vans sits a young woman, around 25, who sits next to her cameraman. He is currently working on his camera, getting ready to take video footage of the fiasco about to rip Smallville to pieces.
"What have we got, Johnston?" The young woman asks, impatient about being so late to the scene of the incident.
"Well, here are the facts, Mrs. Lane: The sky has turned blood red, and lightning has turned blue. It has started to rain blood for half an hour now, and there are reports of something crash landing in a field about five miles from here. Something alien." Johnston states, disbelieving his own words.
"That's a bunch of crap, Johnston. There has to be another explanation." Lois states.
"Like what, a unmanned, unregistered foreign sattellite crash lands in a small, rural town? Not to mention the sattellite is emmitting a bizarre wave that is making weather in this county very unusual? Personnally, I like the first version."
"Your insane, Johnston."
"I prefer the term, 'eccentric.' "
"Well, I think you watch entirely too many 'X-Files' episodes."
"True, but I know something fishy is going to happen."
"Is that your "cameraman sense" going off? All I think this is, is the makings of a good story."
The van suddenly moves off the highway. It moves straight into the cornfields. Hundreds of stalks of corn break apart in the path of the van. The driver speeds up, hitting several hilly bumps, knocking back Lois and Johnston. The van suddenly stops.
"Oh my god, look at that!" The driver yells.
Lois and Johnston open the door, and tumble out. About two hundred feet ahead of them, stand a group of kids, no more than 17, standing in front of some kind af monster, hidden beneath a huge, thick animal skin cloak. Behind him are what look like an army of giant, rock ogre monsters with fire for faces.
ATTACK KAL-EL'S ARMY, AND CLAIM THIS WORLD FOR US! Yelled the cloaked monster, when, the mosters suddenly run at the group of kids.
"Steve! Run the film! We need this!" Lois yells.
The leader of the kids, a dark haired, blue eyed young man, suddenly lunges at one of the rock ogres.
"ATTACK!" He yells, and the group reacts, voraciously attacking the monsters. Two women, who look exactly like each other, double team one of the monsters, one of them teleportingthe other into the shoulders of one of the monsters. At the same time, another young man, covered in what seems like a metal skin, grabs onto one of the legs of another monster, and started cutting it with his swords, but doesn't seem to do any damage. The ogre quickly kicks the man off of his leg, throwing him into what seems like an ice field, but gets up easily.
KILL THEM ALL, MY PETS, KILL THEM ALL! The cloaked monster screams.
Suddenly, a brown, shaggy dog superspeed slams into the cloaked monster, flinging him back twenty-five feet back, backslashing him into a pine tree, breaking it down. The monster gets up, uninjured, and superspeeds at the dog. The leader of the kids, the one called Kal suddenly looks over to the impending doom.
"KRYPTO!" The young man screams, slamming the ogre in the face, and superspeeds to the cloaked monster, slamming him into his chest, flinging back the monster again, but this time, straight into the line of the van. Lois and Steve get out of the way, but the driver isn't so lucky. Kal and the monster slam straight into the van, flipping it upside down, and shooting it backwards into the cornfields.
Krypto runs over to the metal man, now being ganged upon two of the ogres, and the man runs at one of them, picking it up, and flinging it around by it's left leg. Krypto, has slammed the other ogre into it's chest, and starts ripping out it's throat, each bite, ripping out pounds and pounds of burning rock and debris.
On the other side of the battlefield, Cara shoots her heat vision at an ogre, who is trying to catch the Alicia, who seems to teleport every time it tries to grab her. The heat vision has no effect on the ogre, when Shane runs over to where the ogre is. He grabs it by the leg, and Alicia teleports off of it. At the same time, Shane picks up the ogre, and jumps, lifting the megaton giant 800 feet into the air. He jumps onto the back of the creature, flipping it face down, and starts to push him downward, accepting gravity as a source of power. The monster falls, and speeds up continuously, until it slams into the ground, creating an earthquake, and breaking the monster to pieces. Shane runs up to the monster's head, and rips it of of it's shoulders. He puts it on the ground, and starts to stomp onto it continuously, and screams triumphantly.
Alicia runs over to the Shane, and hugs him.
"You saved me, Shane."
"I wasn't about to let some messed up ogre hurt you, Alicia. I love you a lot, and I won't ever let anyone hurt you. Ever."
Lois and Steve run across the battlefield, hundreds of ogre pieces littering the ground, and suddenly, another ogre, about three feet taller than the others, runs at Lois and Steve. Adam runs in front of them. He projects a stream of purple fire from his eyes, engulfing the large ogre. The ogre screams in pain, and while holding his hands in front of his eyes, the man snaps his fingers. At the same time, the ogre explodes, and as the pieces fall to the ground, Kara flys over the ground, picking up a still smoking hand of one of the ogres. Only five ogres are left, and Kara flies at one of them, slamming its head off of its shoulders, and, while screaming the whole time, slams another one into the ground.
Back at the van, Darkseid gets up from the sudden attack, and looks down at his opponent. His eyes are closed, and just as Darkseid reaches to grab him, Kal opens his eyes, and fires his heat vision directly at Darkseid's heart, scorching his cloak, and burning off his hood. Darkseid doesn't even feel his pain, but Kal kicks him straight in the gut, knocking Darkseid back towards Steve and Lois. Cara immedietly flies at Darkseid, knocking him straight upwards, away from the news team. Kal jumps to his feet, and flies off towards Darkseid. Cara follows, while Kara, Krypto, and the rest of the group destroy the last remaining ogres.
"Steve! Did you get that footage! These people can fly!"
"No kidding, Lois. After this, I quit, 'cause this is freaking nuts!"
In midair, Kal and Cara fly at Darkseid. Darkseid suddenly turns around, and lunges at Kal. Cara tries to interfere, but Darkseid easily pushes her away. Kal tries his heat vision again, but Darkseid grabs Kal by the head, his giant hand engulfing his neck. Still in midair, Kal tries to speak.
"You lost...Darkseid. We... stopped your army..."
Did you, Kal-El? I think not. The war has just begun.
With that statement, Darkseid lunges Kal straight into one of the still opened lava cracks.
Darkseid throws his axe into the now molten, rising lava, and the entire town of Smallville shakes as the ground rips open again, this time releasing hundreds upon thousands of now molten lava and rock ogres rise from the depths of hell.
"Oh man, more rock ogres! Jesus, I'm gonna be sore in the morning."
Cara screams as Darkseid leaps at her. Kara shoots straight up into the sky, and punches Darkseid in his jaw, sending him backwards into the lava. Cara looks at Kara, and tears fall from her eyes.
"Cara-Lo, what's wrong?"
Cara points to the spot where Kal fell into the lava.
"Kal was thrown into the lava. He was going too fast for me to catch him. I was too late."
The now hundreds of rock and molten lava ogres roam the streets, and countrysides of Smallville. A low whirring sound starts to rumble in the distance as hundreds of SWAT chopperscut through the air. One of the leading helicopters opens fire on one of the ogres. The bullets do nothing to the beast, and it jumps straight into one of the helicopters, exploding it to pieces. Hundreds of acres of corn now have been reduced to ash and brimestone.
"This is Lois Lane, and we are here at the site of what seems like an war of biblical proportions. An army of rock ogres have been terrorizing Lowell County, and it seems that the leader of what seems like superhuman warriors has been plunged into the molten lava. The leader of the ogres has also been sent into the lava, and now we have footage of this war escalating to more damage as SWAT and military vehicles have now arrived. Stay tuned for more footage of the impending doom that is surrounding Smallville."
The ogres now have been encouraged to attack the several hundred military tanks and choppers that have invaded their territory. Kara flies over to one of the molten rock ogres and begins punching and kicking it, sending it backwards, until it gained its ground.
You'll never win, Kara-El. As I speak, your leader Kal-El, is dying, and you know it. The ogre says telepathically.
"Your wrong! Kal-El will live!" Kara screams as she plunges into the ogre, ripping its flaming heart apart with her bare hands. The molten ogre litterally falls apart into a molten pool of magma. The rest of the group begins attacking the ogres, punching, kicking, screaming, reducing rock ogres to piles of rock, and lava ogres to their original pools of lava.
Shane and Alicia team up, teleporting into one of the helicopters, while shne holds down a rock ogre, Alicia begins pummeling it with bullets, and with concussion missles. Shane rips off another ogres arm, and begins slamming other ogres with it. Adam runs over to a now broken down tank, and enfuses it with his destructive fire, picks it up, and lunges it at three rock ogres. The ogres catch it, but not until Adam snaps his fingers, blowing it to smitherines. The ogres immedietly fall apart, and about fifty feet away from Lois and about 178 feet down, lies the body of Kal-El. He is covered with bruises, and most of his clothes have been scorched off, all but his underwear that he arrived in. Kal-El is unconsious, and the millions of tons of lava roll around him, throwing his body around like a toy.
Hello, Kal-El. Is the heat to much for you? You should get out of the lava if you can't handle it. In a few minutes, I will rise out, and kill your family, starting with that damn dog of yours. Then I'll kill your army one by one, and execute the leaders, Kara and your precious Cara-Lo. Then I'll kill you, if you haven't already died from the exposure to the magma. The War will end when your blood is spilled, Kal-El.
Darkseid's body floats nearby Kal's, around 130 feet away. Kal opens his eyes, undisturbed by the millions of tons of magma slowly rising up. Kal heard every word Darkseid said to him, and slowly, Kal swims through the magma, towards Darkseid. Kal can hear the war between his troops, and Darkseid's army of ogres up above, the thundering of the ogres' feet loudly echoing through the ground and the magma. Kal approaches Darkseid's body, but isn't fooled when his body isn't moving. Just as Kal reaches to grab Darkseid, The magma begins to pull him down. Immedietly, Kal grabs Darkseid's leg, and darkseid is pulled down with him.
Mwa ha ha ha ha! Kal-El, how long do you think you can live down here, without any air? I think not for long. You are powered by the sun, and the sun isn't down here. You will get weaker and weaker the more we desend.
You won't win, Darkseid. I won't let you. You will die, and I will be the one to kill you.
Let us see who will last the longest.
Kal is still being pulled down by the invisible magma hand, when he begins to force his way up. Darkseid tries to stop Kal, but with all his strength, Kal flys through the magma, leaving Darkseid to contend with the lava. Kal continues to fly through the lava, and light starts to eminate from the surface.
Back on the surface, Cara, Kara and Justin are killing more ogres, Justin picks up a smaller ogre, and slams it into the other ogres, smashing them to chunks of rock and debris. Several military tanks shoot more missles at the ogres, blasting the rock ones, but the lava ogres feel no pain. They heal quickly, sucking up molten rock to rebuild their bodies. Shane and Alicia teleport to a broken telephone pole.
Shane superspeeds over and rips off one of the phone lines, about 8 feet long, and they teleport onto the shoulders of one of the rock ogres. Shane throws one end of the telephone line to Alicia, while the ogre roars, they slip the rope around the ogre's neck. Alicia throws her end to Shane, and Shane pulls with all of his strength, the sound of crackling rock, and finally breaks its neck. The body of the ogre falls to the now semi molten ground. On impact, the ogre's body breaks apart, and pieces fly everywhere.
Justin continues to slam ogre after ogre, but with little success. His whole body has now been transformed to his metal suit. After slamming his fists and swords into the bodies of the various ogres, another one slams his gigantic fist into his back.
"AHHHHH!" Justin screams in his cyborg voice.
Immedietly, Shane superspeeds onto the back on one of the ogres back, and starts punching it over and over again. Lava streams out of the gashes that Shane is making in the ogres back, when another one punches Shane. The ogre's fist slams into Shane's side, sending him flying off the other ogres' back. Alicia grabs hold of Adam, and teleports onto the badly damaged ogre. Adam shoots his fire, engulfing the ogre. Justin then snaps his fingers as Alicia teleports him away, blasting the ogre to molten chunks of lava.
Alicia's destination was directly in front of Shane, who is now unconcious. A group of ogres run at them, shaking the earth as each foot slams the earth. They reach out to grab Alicia, Adam and Shane, when the ground cracks open right in front of them. A brilliant whit light shoots out from the crack, and the ogres stop their advance. Out of the light, a form appears. Cara flies over to where Alicia is, and so does the rest of the group. Kara flies over, carrying the injured Krypto, and they settle to the ground, where she checks the unconsious members for any injuries.
The ogres have now surrounded the remaining group, Kailey is now holding down an ogre, pinning his left arm behind his back, when another ogre smacks her off his companion, knocking her unconcious. Adam runs over, and picks her up, then runs back to the group. Lois and Steve have now hidden behind the broken down pine tree, and are still rolling their camera. The man-sized form suddenly shoots up above the entirety of Darkseid's army, a million ogres surrounding the group, and still more crawl out of the lava. The white light continues to shine out of the gultch in the ground, when the form suddenly starts to lower. It still lowers, until it stands with the group. The light fades from the form, and it is Kal, covered in molten rock. All of his clothes have been burned away, except for his metallic shorts.
Kal walks over to the unconsious members, and looks up at the blood-red sky. It still rains blood, and Kal concentrates. He pulls from the pockets of his shorts, the octagonal disc, protected by Kal's body force field. It glows red, yellow, and blue.
What am I to do, Father? We can't beat Darkseid's army alone. We need more power.
The only true power there is, Kal-El, is in yourself. You must find it. That is the key to winning this war.
How am I supposed to Harness this power, Father?
That is for you to discover. Good luck, Kal-El. The whole entirety of Earth is in dire need of you.
Suddenly, the gultch that Kal came through rips open. A volcanic fountain of fire ignites from the crack, and from inside the fire, Darkseid climbs out of the gultch. His eyes now scream revenge, and the ogres break apart, allowing for Darkseid to walk to the group.
GRAB THEM! Darkseid screams to his troops.
Several of the ogres run over, and grab Justin, Kara, and Krypto. Kal tries to run and save his freinds and family, but is ambushed by five ogres who hold him down. Others pick up the rest of the group, and the last one picks up Cara.
"Kal-El, Help us! Please! Don't let them hurt us!"
The only one left is Eric, who stands, still holding the blue container. Darkseid walks up to him, standing a good five feet taller than Eric, and stares at him.
WHAT IS IN THIS CONTAINER, HUMAN!
"None of your damn business." Eric states, smiling.
OPEN IT, AND BOW TO ME!
"Kiss my ass. I bow to no one."
GRAB HIM!
One of the empty-handed ogres grabs Eric, and he drops the box. The lid falls off, revealing a strange green and red glow...
TO BE CONTINUED...