Chapter Ten

Kal-El struggled to move as the green force field gripped him tighter, binding his arms firmly behind him and keeping him on his knees.

"Now what do we do with him?" Hal Jordan asked as he and the other Green Lanterns continued to channel the beams of energy from their rings into the force field.

Bruce had managed to pull himself up into a sitting position, but he still couldn't feel his legs. "We need to call in the mystics," he said. "Kal has a vulnerability to magic. Call Dr. Fate, Zatanna, Jason Blood…"

"I say we just send him to that damn Phantom Zone that he sent the people of Pokolistan to," Guy Gardner said. "He don't deserve no better'n what he did to them."

Diana knelt down next to Bart Allen, holding his hand in hers as she tried to soothe him, his super-speed convulsions only now beginning to slow. "It doesn't have to come to that, Guy," Diana quickly replied to Gardner's suggestion.

Gardner snorted. "You would say that. Look, Diana, just because you two were-"

She shot him a glare that shut him up before he could finish the thought. "Hold your tongue, Guy Gardner, if you know what's good for you."

"Guy may have a point, as much as I hate to admit it," replied John Stewart. "Kal has proven himself to be unstable, dangerous. We can't take any risks. He's far too powerful to take any chances with. Either the Phantom Zone or execution by kryptonite may be our best options."

Diana stood. "I can't believe I'm hearing this! You would be willing to kill him!"

"Go ahead and do it, then!" Kal snarled. "If you've got the guts, then kill me! It's what you're going to have to do, because if I get the chance, I'm going to kill every single one of you!"

*Be quiet, Kal-El. Calm yourself.* A voice, within his mind, that no one else could hear. The Martian. He was in his head, trying to silence his thoughts.

*Get the hell out of my head, J'onn!* Kal screamed back in his mind, fighting the intrusion.

J'onn J'onzz, The Martian Manhunter, stepped forward from behind the group of Green Lanterns. "His mind is a turmoil of rage. I have never seen anything like it," he said. "I am trying to quell his anger, but it is of no use. It is too strong."

"Please," Diana said. "There must be some option that we can agree on other than killing him."

"I side with Diana," Bruce said, using a pile of debris to pull himself to his feet. He still couldn't feel his legs, but he'd be damned before he'd remain seated for a debate such as this. "The mystics should be able to strip him of his powers. Then he'll just be an ordinary man, and no longer dangerous."

"How can we be sure of that?" Stewart replied. "What if the mystics fail, or if he finds some way to get his powers back? I'm not convinced that he wouldn't still be a threat, and it's not a chance I'm willing to take."

"I agree with John Stewart," Hal said. "I don't like it, but I don't believe we can safely keep Kal-El alive. It's either the Phantom Zone, or execution by kryptonite." Several of the other Lanterns nodded in agreement.

"Then you're just as bad as he is," Bruce said. "You're willing to commit the same acts that you've condemned him for."

"No, Bruce," Hal said. "He sent innocent men, women and children to a fate worse than death. Innocent people who had nothing to do with that terrorist attack, who were minding their own business, living their lives in Pokolistan. We're talking about the difference between what he did to innocent civilians, and what we should do to rid the world of a dangerous threat. It's not the same at all."

Diana stood in front of Kal.

"If you want to kill him… then you'll have to kill me, too."

The Green Lanterns all exchanged glances.

"Diana, stand down," Stewart barked.

"You do not command me, John Stewart. I am Diana of Themyscira, Princess of the Amazons, and I answer to no one."

"Careful, Wonder Woman," Guy Gardner scoffed. "You're starting to sound like Kal."

Diana's eyes narrowed and she clenched her fists.

"J'onn," Hal said. "Remove Diana please."

J'onn lifted up off the ground and floated across the room to Diana, and gently waved his hand across her face. *Sleep, child,* he thought, his quiet command slipping into her unconscious thoughts. She fought it, but not hard enough. She fell limp into J'onn's arms. He picked her up and carried her towards the door.

"Contact Ted Kord," Hal added. "We'll need his scientific expertise to help us figure out how to operate the Phantom Zone Projector."

"Jordan!" Bruce hissed. "We are not all in agreement on this!"

"Relax, Bruce," Hal said. "We just need to be prepared, should that option arise. No one is saying that's what we're definitely going to do. But we can't just stand around here debating this forever, either."

Kal had stopped struggling against his force field restraints. Instead, he watched his captors intently. Hal stood poised, authoritative. John was focused, never taking his gaze off of Kal. Guy had a smirk that wouldn't leave his lips; he was enjoying every minute of this. The only one that seemed distracted was Kyle Rayner. The youngest of the Lanterns. He kept looking over at Bart, to see if he was all right. Kyle and Bart had been good friends ever since they joined the League, and the sight of the young Flash bleeding and convulsing on the ground was more than Kyle could handle.

"Oh, no," Kal said.

Everyone stopped their arguing, and looked at Kal. There was something in his voice they had not heard in a long time. It sounded like concern. It gave them pause.

"What is it, Kal?" Hal Jordan asked cautiously.

"It's Bart. He… he's fading fast. I can hear it, it's his heart. It's about to give out. The seizures... his heart can't take much more of them. He's going to die any second now."

Kyle flinched. "Bart..." he whispered his good friend's name. The beam emanating from his ring flickered.

It was all Kal needed. In that split second, the force field weakened, just enough for him to let loose a blast of heat vision from his eyes. The powerful rays tore through the force field and blew Kyle's hand right off. He screamed and fell to the ground, clutching the stump where his hand had been moments before.

The other Green Lanterns panicked. The only two who managed to stay focused were Hal Jordan and John Stewart, but their willpower was not enough to sustain the force field against Kal's anger. In a fit of rage, Kal burst into the air, flying across the room and plowing into the dozen or so men that had been imprisoning him. His eyes glowed red as he fired off more blasts of his heat vision, slicing the ring fingers off of each of the Green Lanterns. They screamed as their fingers, rings and all, fell to the ground.

The Lanterns were on their knees as Kal towered over them. Some groped around on the floor, trying to find their lost rings.

"Looking for these?" Kal asked. He raised his hands to reveal that he now sported a Green Lantern ring on each and every finger. He clenched his fists and green energy sizzled and crackled around his hands. He let out a primal scream and released a blast of energy that tore through the room, ripping several of the Green Lanterns in half. He shot forth another bolt that tore the head off of Guy Gardner. Another sliced John Stewart in two. Another punched a hole through Hal Jordan's stomach.

"Kal, stop it!" Bruce yelled. "You're killing your own teammates!"

"Bruce," Kal said, reining in the bolts of energy. The aura around his hands sparked and fizzled. "Thanks for sticking up for me. Trying to convince them not to kill me." He slowly crossed the room, until he was right next to Bruce, who was still struggling to keep himself propped up with his hands. "You always were a real… 'stand-up' guy." He gave Bruce a slight shove, and he fell to the ground, his deception giving way.

"Burn, alien," Bruce hissed. He ripped two small explosives from his belt, and hurled them right into Kal's face. They blew up, releasing a green gas. More Kryptonite. Kal gasped and coughed, trying to fan the poison gas away from his face.

Kal-El poured out another blast from his hands, frying Bruce where he lay.

Kal fell to his knees, coughing and spitting out blood, fanning the kryptonite gas away from his face. He managed to use the rings to dispel most of the gas quickly.

Then, he heard it. A faint whistling in the distance, at first. He could feel it almost as soon as he heard it. He thought it was still the gas at first, but that was almost completely gone already. No, this was much worse. They had really done it this time.

He slowly rose to his feet. His vision powers confirmed what he already knew. He couldn't help but laugh, in spite of himself. The bastards. So this was how far they were willing to go.

. . . . . . . .

Washington DC. The White House. A few minutes later.

President Luthor stood behind his Oval Office desk, pouring himself a glass of brandy. Dressed in a white suit, he wore a single black glove on his right hand. He took a slow sip as he waited for the news to come.

There was a knock at the door, and the Vice President stuck his head in the room.

"You don't need to knock, Pete," Lex said, trying to force a smile.

"Sir, we've just received word," Vice President Pete Ross replied, his tone grim. "The mission was a failure. The target survived."

Lex closed his eyes. "How?" he asked, his voice completely devoid of emotion. "How did he survive a nuclear missile laced with kryptonite?"

"Our satellites show that some kind of a green force field appeared around his fortress, just moments before impact. We believe he may have acquired one or more Green Lantern rings and used them to construct a barrier."

Lex sighed and rubbed his forehead. He sat down at his desk, wearily, and leaned back in his chair. "You know what this means, don't you?" he said, at last.

"Sir?"

"Pete. Do you remember that day, years ago, in Smallville, when I saved your life? An agent working for my father was about to beat you to death, because he was trying to get to Clark through you."

"Of course I remember, Lex," Pete said. "I'd be dead if you hadn't showed up and stopped him."

"I told you that day that, when the time came, you would be able to repay me," Lex said. "Well, today is the day. I want you to take my wife, get in the helicopter and get her as far away from here as possible."

"But, Lex, I…"

"Pete, please. Just do it. If he really survived, then he'll be here any minute now. I know what he'll do to me. I just want to know that she'll be safe. Please, just take care of Lois."

Pete nodded. "Of course, Lex."

A sonic boom rang out in the distance.

"Go now, Pete," Lex said. As Pete hurried out of the room, Lex closed his eyes again and folded his hands in front of him. Nothing to do now but wait for the inevitable.

Another sonic boom, this one much closer. A third, which shook the White House like a clap of thunder.

Cracks started running up the walls of the Oval Office and across the ceiling. Bits of plaster and cement fell onto Lex's desk. He didn't bother brushing them off. There was a loud creaking sound as the ceiling was literally lifted up off of the walls, tipping back as if it were the lid on a hinged box. As the ceiling rose up from the wall, Kal-El was revealed, fire burning in his eyes and green energy crackling from his hands. Rain poured down around him and showered into the Oval Office.

Lex just stared at Kal-El, silently, letting the rain wash over his face.

Kal savagely threw back the roof, flipping it wide open. Then he leapt down into the room, landing right beside Lex. He hoisted the President up by the lapels of his suit jacket.

"Hello, Clark," Lex said, dryly.

"You know that isn't my name any more."

"Fine. If you insist, Kal-El. I know you're here to kill me. Let me just say one thing first. I know you remember the legend of Naman and Sageeth. The legend that the Kawache people told for generations. They believed that you were the great Naman, their savior, and that the evil Sageeth would turn against you and try to destroy you."

The energy around Kal's hands began to radiate outward and wrap itself around Lex Luthor. Kal let go of Lex's lapels and let the swirling green energy raise Lex up off the ground all on its own.

"I remember the legend," Kal said.

"Do you also remember the night that I came to your loft, in Smallville, and told you my interpretation of it? I said that someone as powerful as Naman could try to rule the world if he wasn't kept in check, and that anyone who would dare to oppose him would be the real hero. I believed that Sageeth was the hero of the story."

A tendril of green energy wrapped itself around Lex's throat.

"Get to the point," Kal said.

"Look at yourself, Clark! Look what you've become! You are the villain of the story, not the savior! My interpretation of the legend was right!"

"So you're the hero, Lex?" Kal-El asked, bitterly. "The nuclear warhead you sent to kill me just wiped out everyone in Metropolis. That doesn't sound very heroic to me, Sageeth."

With a gesture of his hand, Kal tightened the green noose around Lex's neck. He began to cough and gag.

"I should just kill you right now," Kal said. "But I'm going to give you one last chance. Join me, Lex Luthor. With your brains and my brawn, we could rule this world so easily. No one would stand a chance against us."

Lex spat at Kal-El. "Never," he managed to choke out.

With a wave of his hand, Kal snapped Lex's neck. Lex Luthor crumpled to the ground, dead.

Kal stood there for a few minutes, watching as the rain poured down onto the body of the man he had once called his friend. Then, somberly, he ascended into the sky once more.