Chapter 45
Q appears behind Superman. He is wearing the white uniform of an Imperial Grand Admiral. Andi sees him appear out of thin air and a startled gasp escapes her lips. Superman turns around to face Q.
Q(applauding): "Bravo, Kal. But I think it's time for you to go home now."
Superman: "What do you mean?"
Q: "You've meddled with the history of this universe quite enough. When you saved the Wookiee that was one thing. But then you had to go and save her." (points at Andi)
"Do you realize how many more bad holovids she's going to make now?"
Andi: "Hey!"
Superman: "You expect me to just stand by and allow someone to be killed because you don't like their films?"
Q: "Films. Such an archaic term. And I was just kidding about that. But I really must insist that you depart this universe now. Besides I think you're urgently needed back in Metropolis."
Superman: "What's happening in Metropolis?"
Q: "An old foe of yours is on a rampage."
Superman: "Who?"
Q: "A very large, equally ugly monster with bony spikes. His name escapes me at the moment."
Superman: "Doomsday."
Q: "Yes, that's it. I'm sure you'll want to return home so I'll send you on your way."
Q claps his hands once and Superman vanishes.
Andi: "Who are you?"
Q: "I'm Q of the Q Continuum."
Andi: "The what?"
Q: "Nevermind. BTW, I got rid of those pirates for you. Sent them back to their ships and sent their ships back to their base."
Andi: "Thanks."
Q: "No problem. Just don't think I'm going to make a habit of it."
Q disappears.
Chapter 46
Jaina Solo is visiting her parents. Her mother and Threepio are in the kitchen preparing dinner. Jaina is in the living area with her father and Chewbacca. Han and Chewie are telling a story that they've told many times over the last several years.
Jaina: "Dad, do you really believe that a man can fly?"
Han: "I know what I saw, sweetheart."
Chewie: "Rrrhhhggg!"
Jaina: "Don't get so excited. I was just asking. I wish I had seen it."
On board Green Lantern's energy construct starship, Tahiri Veila is experiencing a strange mental phenomenon. She feels like she now has two sets of memories. Her original memories and some alternate memories. She realizes that Superman must have succeeded in saving Chewbacca because while she still remembers him having been killed by the falling moon, she also remembers him not being killed. She tries to search this alternate set of memories to decipher if what they've done so far has had an effect on Anakin Solo's fate, but it's unclear.
When Superman misses his scheduled rendezvous with the Fantastic Four, they begin to wonder about his whereabouts. Mr. Fantastic tries to contact him using the communication system onboard the Fantasticship. He had given Superman a communicator so they could contact him. All Reed gets when attempting to contact Superman is static. So then Sue suggests that they try to contact Green Lantern.
They succeed in contacting Green Lantern without any difficulty. Reed tells Hal that they have been unable to contact Superman. Hal wills his ring to find Superman and give him a visual. A few minutes later, an image appears in Hal's ring. Hal wills the ring to project the image so he, Spider-Man, and Tahiri can view it more easily. Then he wills the ring to duplicate the image onto the Fantasticship's communications video screen.
At first, all that they can see is a gray blur and a red/blue blur against a white background. Hal wills his ring to slow the image down so they're viewing it in slow motion. Then they see that Superman is engaged in a brutal fight against a savage creature in an arctic environment. Presumably, Antarctica. Hal identifies the creature as an alien monster called Doomsday, which had been created a quarter of a million years ago by Kryptonian scientists. Doomsday stands about 7 foot tall and weighs approximately 600 pounds. He has red eyes, gray skin, white hair, and white bonelike spikes on his face, arms, and back.
Chapter 47
(initial setting: Antarctica)
Superman and Doomsday are battering each other with powerful punches. They are fighting at such a high speed that each punch causes a sonic boom. They fight like this for several minutes. Neither combatant is able to knock the other off his feet.
Suddenly, Superman wraps Doomsday in a bear hug, temporarily pinning the monster's arms at his side. Due to the enormous pressure he must apply in order to keep Doomsday's arms pinned, he lacerates his own arms. First Doomsdays bonelike spikes shred the sleeves of Superman's costume, and then they tear into his flesh.
Superman flies straight up until he has left Earth's atmosphere. Then traveling at multiples of the speed of light, he flies to an uninhabited, rocky planet located in an adjacent solar system. When he lands on the planet's surface, Superman releases Doomsday from the bearhug.
Doomsday then connects with a punch to Superman's jaw which knocks him back 200 feet. Superman crashes into the side of a mountain. The resulting impact causes the mountain to crumble on top of him. When Superman emerges from the rubble, he lifts a large chunk of the mountain and throws it at Doomsday. The immense rock knocks Doomsday down, but he immediately gets back up.
Next Superman attacks Doomsday with a fiery blast of heat vision. To most of those watching the fight--except Hal Jordan who knew how resilient Doomsday was--it seemed that the monster would be incinerated. But when the smoke and flame cleared, Doomsday was still standing. He was charred black in a few places but otherwise appeared to be unscathed.
Superman flies towards Doomsday at superspeed and hits him in the midsection with a flying dropkick. Doomsday is sent flying backwards 150 feet and lands on his back. Superman flies up into the sky until he's a mile directly above Doomsday's prone body and then flies down at the speed of light driving his knee into Doomsday's chest. The impact creates a impact crater that is 55 miles in diameter.
Superman stands up and starts to fly away. Doomsday grabs his ankle and hitches a ride out of the crater. Superman tries to kick him off, but Doomsday holds on and Superman eventually crashes to the ground. Doomsday manages to land on his feet. Superman starts to get up. Doomsday grabs Superman by the throat and lifts him above his head. Then he slams Superman to the ground. Doomsday roars.
Superman slowly starts to get up again. Doomsday throws a punch aimed at Superman's left temple. Superman raises his left hand and catches Doomsday's fist. Then with his right hand, Superman punches Doomsday under his chin. The powerful uppercut sends Doomsday flying through the air. Doomsday lands on the summit of an active volcano, at the lip of the crater.
Superman flies over there. When Superman lands at the lip of the crater, Doomsday is already halfway up to his feet. Doomsday smashes his right fist into Superman's sternum. Superman gasps for air as the wind is knocked out of him. Then, using the same arm, Doomsday elbows Superman in the face. The jagged stalactite of Doomsday's elbow cuts Superman's face. Superman's face was already badly bruised, but--with the exception of when Superman had lacerated his own arms while restraining Doomsday--this was the first blood drawn in the fight.
The momentum of the blow staggers Superman and he struggles to maintain his balance at the edge of the crater. Doomsday reaches back with his left arm and hits Superman in the side of his head. This shatters Superman's right eardrum and causes him to fall into the volcano, landing in the lava below.