Issue #17 – THE RETURN
Atlantic Ocean – 10 Miles outside Metropolis:
It was an ordinary day for the crew of the fishing trawler, Athena. They sailed under clear blue skies, looking for the big catch. It had been a profitable season for those sailing on the Athena. Nets were dragged under the water, picking up fish, that would later be cleaned and sold at Metropolis' dockside markets. The fishermen had families and every season they would leave their loved ones for a life on the seas. This was the last day of the run and the trawler was making one last round before returning to port for a crew changeover.
"Hey Captain, cut the engines, the net's being strained. Must be caught on something."
Jack Reilly moved to the back of the boat, unhooking the nets, finding that something was dragging the net down. At first he thought it had been snagged on a rock or something but as he investigated he found that something heavy had been caught in it.
"What do you think? Big fish?"
"There's no sharks in these waters Jack, it's probably just a big rock or an old boot or something."
Jack and fellow fisherman Michael Byrne laughed as they began hauling the nets out of the water and onto the deck. Hundreds of fish poured out of the net, revealing the heavy object they had been covering.
"What the hell? Hey that looks like…"
Jack didn't get to finish his sentence as a strong arm rose up and struck him, crushing his skull. Michael grabbed a spear from the hold and tried to slice through the threat, only to find that it snapped in two against the being's skin and found himself being thrown off the boat into the cold waters.
Captain Dennis Williams watched horrified from the cabin as his crew were battling the creature and being killed with ease. He turned back in, picking up the radio, trying to drown out the screams behind him as he called for help.
"Athena to Coastguard…Coastguard, this is the trawler Athena, mayday…"
The captain was stunned into silence as a large fist came down on the radio, destroying it. Dennis staggered backwards, trying to escape but it was futile as the being's hand caught him and wrapped around his throat, lifting him off his feet. Its eyes were full of menace and it's voice sent terror through the captain.
"Where is Superman?"
Dennis didn't answer, he couldn't. Even if the hand around his throat wasn't preventing him from speaking, he was paralysed with fear. The creature let him drop to the floor, preparing to deliver a deathblow. As the being's fist pulled back and came down to kill him, Dennis uttered a final word before his death.
"Doomsday…"
Supergirl had picked up the sound of a mayday call and immediately took off towards the scene. As she flew over the ocean, her eyes focussed ahead, zooming in on a fishing trawler adrift in the water. Reaching the boat, Kara was shocked at what she found.
The deck was awash with blood. Bodies of the crew were scattered all over the ship along with hundreds of dead fish. In the cabin, Kara found the captain, his body torn apart, his head caved in on itself. Supergirl couldn't believe what she was seeing. There was nothing alive on the boat except for a couple of fish taking their last gasps.
Saddened, Supergirl moved behind the boat and began to push it into port as she tried to figure out what had happened. On the seabed below, Doomsday walked, the intense pressure not affecting him, the lack of oxygen not seeming to matter as he walked under the water towards Metropolis.
Daily Planet:
Jimmy Olsen snapped pictures of Perry White's office, capturing the familiar scene of Lois and Perry arguing over a story. It had been six months since Clark Kent had disappeared but Lois refused to accept that he was dead. It wasn't in her nature to give up.
"…Listen Lois, you have to stop this. Clark is gone, you need to move on."
"I don't believe that Chief, I know he's out there somewhere. We can't stop looking."
"Lois, we've looked everywhere. You can't keep dwelling on it. Look, your father has been working with Military Intelligence to try to track him down. If Clark is alive, Sam will find him. Now I want you to go down to the docks and check out this fisherman story."
"Get someone else to do it. If you won't help me then I'll find Clark on my own."
"Lois stop it. You can't keep doing this to yourself."
Lois dropped her press pass on Perry's desk and stormed out of the office. Perry followed after her, followed by Jimmy Olsen who had been eavesdropping on the conversation.
"Lois get back here now," Perry shouted. "Lois please don't make me suspend you…"
Lois turned around and looked around the room. Everyone was staring at her but she didn't care.
"No need Chief…I quit."
Lois Lane walked out of the Daily Planet building, leaving the people inside stunned into silence. As she walked along the streets of Metropolis, she struggled to hold back her tears, not knowing where to go or what to do.
LexCorp:
Lex Luthor sat in his office going over the details of the energy grid. Things were progressing quickly. Luthor had secured contracts to align 70 of the world's grids and connect them to his kryptonite reactor core.
As Lex crunched the numbers, he felt the room begin to shake; in fact the entire building seemed to be suffering from a localised earthquake. Lex was unmoved as furnishing toppled to the ground. The phone began to ring and as Luthor picked up, he heard the familiar voice of his limo driver and bodyguard, Mercy, on the other end.
"What is it Mercy?"
"It's…Doomsday Mr. Luthor…"
"What? That's impossible. Stop him."
Lex could hear screams in the background just before the phone went dead. He remained seated as he heard bullets ring out from outside his office. Then there was silence. Lex watched the door and waited. Cracks began to appear on the walls, then the wooden door was blown apart as the beast walked in, it's eyes focussed on Luthor.
"You…you work with Brainiac…"
Lex remained silent, sitting back in his chair and thinking about how to handle the situation. One wrong word and Doomsday would break him in half. Lex knew though that if he played it right, he would survive and perhaps even get the creature to work for him though Lex knew it was a long shot.
"Answer me Luthor…"
"Sorry…I'm just surprised to hear you speak. I was under the impression that you were a mindless beast."
"Don't mock me…I have a mind. A mind that was trapped under the control of Brainiac but now I am free of anyone's control."
Lex stood up and walked towards the window, facing away from the alien creature, looking out over Metropolis.
"Do you know what they call you…the people of this world? Doomsday…the destroyer…the beast."
"Doomsday? This day will be your doom Luthor."
Luthor turned around to find Doomsday in front of him, reaching out and grabbing his throat, lifting him off the ground.
"If you wish to live, tell me…where is Superman?"
"Superman? He's…he's dead."
"You lie…where is Superman?" Doomsday squeezed tighter.
"Alright, alright…let me down and I'll tell you."
Doomsday released Luthor who fell to the floor. Recovering, Lex stood up and walked to his desk, sitting down. His hand reached under the desk, pressing a button that activated the security system. Wall panels opened up revealing weapons turrets that released steady blasts of kryptonite energy at Doomsday.
The beast just stood there and smiled as the energy blasts had no effect on him. Luthor sat back, surprised, wondering how to get out of the situation he was in.
"You are a fool Luthor. You're kryptonite weapons may have defeated me once before but I have evolved since then. I can't be destroyed. Now tell me where Superman is or I will crush you for your deception."
"Superman is dead…I assure you. If you don't believe me, see for yourself."
Lex walked back to the window and pointed towards Centennial Park. Doomsday pushed past Luthor and jumped through the window, falling to the ground below and landing heavily on a passing car. Lex smiled to himself as he watched the beast begin to walk towards the park.
"This should be interesting…"
Centennial Park:
Lois Lane stood before the tomb of Superman, staring up at the statue as tears flowed down her face. There were two men in her life that made Lois smile and believe everything was ok, but those men were gone.
"I wish you could hear me Superman…why did you have to leave me? Listen to me, even now I'm being selfish…I just don't know what to do anymore…you're gone and Clark is…I don't know…"
Lois stopped speaking for a moment as she heard sounds coming from the Financial District. She could hear loud bangs, bullets…screams. Lois started to make a move towards the scene but stopped suddenly. She had quit her job. She wasn't a reporter anymore and she had no reason to go and investigate. That thought sent a chill through her. Lois loved being a journalist but she had thrown that away. Her heart just wasn't in it. Lois turned back to the tomb to talk to Superman, even though she knew that he couldn't hear her.
"You were always there to save me, but not anymore. I can't even turn to Clark. If you were here I know you could find him, but you both left me. It's almost as if Clark is…wait a minute…Superman dies and Clark disappears…what if Clark is Super…no…no don't be so ridiculous Lois, that's impossible. Lois Lane you're losing your mind. Clark is out there somewhere, I know it…"
Downtown:
Supergirl and Doomsday faced each other, throwing punches and kicks as they battled ferociously while police fired round after round at the beast. Doomsday grabbed Kara's hair and forced her down, bringing his knee up to her face hard, drawing blood before slamming her into the ground.
"Do not interfere girl, you cannot win. If Superman is dead then I will destroy his body and all hope that you cling to."
"I don't know how you survived, but I won't let you touch Superman."
Kara charged at Doomsday, igniting her heat vision and burning through the bones on his arm, causing him to call out in pain and anger. Doomsday retaliated by lifting a phone booth and throwing it at Supergirl. She dodged easily but found herself being thrown against a news van and punched in the stomach. Kara collapsed on the ground, trying to catch her breath as Doomsday turned away and continued to move towards the park.
Doomsday swung his arms, hitting anything and anyone who stood in his way. Cars and people went flying as Doomsday laid a path of destruction leading to Centennial Park. The iron gates at the entrance were bent and broken effortlessly, as Doomsday walked straight through.
Lois Lane turned around to see Doomsday approaching. She couldn't believe it. She didn't know how he was alive…it was like a nightmare. Doomsday moved faster, charging at her. His fist came down to strike Lois, stopping just inches from her face. Doomsday found himself being forced backwards, crashing against the perimeter wall of the park.
Lois looked up to find Supergirl hovering above her, her cape dropping down behind her, watching Doomsday recover before turning back to face Lois.
"Get out of here."
"How is he alive?"
"I don't know…what I do know is that he's here for Superman's body."
"No, Supergirl you can't let that happen."
"Don't worry, I won't…now go."
Lois hid behind Superman's tomb, watching as Supergirl and Doomsday went head to head. Kara knew she couldn't win. She hadn't fully matured yet and she hadn't reached her maximum strength. She just hoped she could hold the beast off until she could figure out what to do.
Kara ducked under a vicious swing and retaliated by flipping upside down and spinning, almost like a tornado, delivering a barrage of fast kicks to Doomsday's deformed face. Then moving upright, she landed a severe uppercut knocking the monster off his feet and sending him sliding along the grass. Kara didn't wait for him to recover and she flew after him, lifting him up by his legs and tossing him into the large pond.
When Doomsday emerged from the water, Kara was above him. Wrapping her legs around his neck and flipping him back across the park. Supergirl took off, flying directly at Doomsday. The beast sensed her approached and turned, swinging violently with his fist and connecting with the young Kryptonian, the bones coming from his skin cutting across her face, drawing blood from her cheek.
Doomsday then caught Kara by her hair, dragging her across the park, slamming her head into trees and rocks before delivering a couple of heavy blows to her stomach. Doomsday tuned to look at the tomb, seeing the statue of Superman. He smiled as he threw Kara like a spear through the air, aiming at the tomb.
As she sped through the air, Supergirl tried to control herself and avoid collision with the tomb but she knew there was no way she could stop in time. She felt something grab her and slow her down, until eventually she was stopped. Looking up to see who or what had caught her, Kara saw a woman's face. She had long black hair and a tiara on her head, an Amazon princess…Wonder Woman.
"It's alright…we're here to help."
Kara focussed on the word "we" and looked around. In the sky above, she saw Green Lantern hovering, his ring charged and ready for action, while a strong wind blew up, caused by someone approaching at great speed. It could only be The Flash. In the distance, Supergirl saw Hawkman and Green Arrow along with many others, helping to evacuate the tall buildings in downtown Metropolis. As Flash stopped by her side, Kara looked at him and then back at Wonder Woman, stunned.
"But how?"
"Take a look around," Flash replied, "there are news vans and helicopters everywhere. The whole world is watching. We won't let Doomsday get anywhere near Superman's body."
Kara smiled as she saw the world's heroes come to honour Superman and defend his body. As Lantern covered Doomsday in a force field, Wonder Woman spoke to Supergirl again.
"Green Lantern cannot hold him for long. Hurry, tell us how Superman defeated him before."
"He…he didn't. Lex Luthor destroyed them both with a kryptonite weapon."
"Kryptonite?" Flash cut in.
"Radioactive material from the planet Krypton…it's fatal to…forget it, I'll explain later. We don't have time talk. Keep Doomsday busy for as long as you can. I'll be back."
Kara didn't waste any time, taking off and flying towards LexCorp as behind her, some of Earth's greatest heroes battled the alien monster in the name of Superman. Kara flew across the park, crashing through the window of Lex Luthor's office, who stood up from his desk, stunned.
"Supergirl? Shouldn't you be fighting Doomsday? It hardly seems fair on Metropolis for you to abandon them just to pay me a visit though I must say this is a pleasant surprise. I assume you intend to pay for the window…"
"Save it Luthor. I don't have time for your games. The weapon that uses kryptonite…give it to me."
"You intend to use it destroy that beast? Don't bother it won't work."
"You're lying," replied Kara angrily as she grabbed Luthor and shoved him against the wall.
"Doomsday is as much a threat to me as he is to you girl, believe me, I've already tried to destroy him using that method. It seems he has developed a way to adapt to whatever means is used to defeat him and return more powerful than ever. In simple terms, he can't be destroyed by anything that has already been used to defeat him."
Kara dropped Luthor to the ground and thought for a moment. She hadn't picked up any fluctuations in Luthor's heartbeat or breathing and his eye movement didn't indicate any deception. Lex was telling the truth. As Kara tried to think of a way to beat Doomsday, her thoughts were interrupted by Luthor.
"There is nothing on Earth that can stop him…but you are not from Earth…surely an advanced race would have some way of stopping that creature."
Kara knew that Lex was right. If there was any way to beat Doomsday, there was only one place on Earth she would find it, the Fortress of Solitude. As she turned to leave, Lex called after her, smiling menacingly.
"Just one more thing…does it give you a thrill to know that every teenage boy on the planet looks your skirt when you fly past?"
"You're nothing but scum Luthor," Kara responded angrily as she ignited her heat vision, burning through Luthor's 17th century antique desk until it was nothing but a pile of ashes. She waited for a moment, watching as Luthor's smile faded, before taking off across Metropolis, heading north, away from the city.
As Supergirl flew towards the Fortress, Doomsday was fighting off some of the most powerful beings on the planet. He had broken through Green Lantern's force field and was now going blow for blow with Wonder Woman. The Amazon struck with a double blow to his head, while Flash ran straight through, knocking the beast down.
As Wonder Woman moved in to strike another blow, Doomsday reacted, catching her fist and throwing her through a group of old redwood tress. Lantern flew down to the ground and used his ring to create a large hammer, which he then used to slam into Doomsday.
As the beast rose to his feet, he found himself being caught in the middle of an updraft as Flash began running in circles around him, faster and faster, creating a twister that lifted Doomsday in to the air for Wonder Woman to collide with him and send him crashing back down.
Flash was there immediately, delivering punches to his chest. He went from ten punches every second, to twenty, to thirty, punching faster and faster until Wonder Woman came in feet first, kicking hard at Doomsday's face.
Fortress of Solitude:
Kara swam and emerged through the underwater entrance to the main cavern, being greeted by a familiar site. The main cavern was a throwback to Kryptonian Unification, the tribal wars…even as far back as the first lunar colonies. Argo didn't have structures like this. It had been created with the future in mind, while Krypton had been dedicated to preserving the legacy of it's people.
Activating the power cells, Kara waited for the Fortress to come to life. She hadn't been there since her cousin's death, any reminder being too painful for her. But this day was different. Kara didn't have time to reflect on past events, there were more urgent matters that needed attention. As the crystal control panel hummed to life, Kara immediately began searching through files, cross-referencing and indexing search keys, hoping to find a way to defeat Doomsday.
There were many crystals, each holding information on different subjects, from history, to farming, technology, there were even crystals dedicated to the mating rituals of species from a thousand different worlds. Finally she found the crystals she was looking for…weapons and alien life forms.
She tried the life crystal first, searching for any references to a being like Doomsday, hoping that there would be some sort of solution in there. But the search came up empty. So she moved on to weapons. There were design schematics of many powerful weapons created on many worlds, some references to the ring of the Green Lantern, as well as a list of Kryptonian weapons systems.
Kara knew though that these weapons could devastate the human population and even if that wasn't the case, the Fortress didn't have enough power to create them fast enough. She knew that her only option was to go back to Metropolis and rejoin the fight.
As Kara turned to leave, a flickering light source caught her attention. Attached to the main control panel was large crystal that flickered with blue, red and yellow lights. There were many crystals in the Fortress but this one was different. A crystal that had its own internal power source was a rare thing. In fact, Kara had thought that the technology was still being tested and hadn't been perfected when Krypton blew up. Curious, she picked the crystal up and began to inspect it closely.
"A memory crystal…I've never seen one this large. Must have a lot of information in it. Maybe there's something in here that will help…"
Supergirl inserted the crystal into the control panel and waited. The lights in the Fortress seemed to dim, then brighten. Surges of energy flowed through the crystal wall-conduits and in the centre of the chamber, a holographic image began to fade into view. As the image became clearer, Kara realised that it was a face and was shocked as it appeared before her.
"Kal-El?"
The image remained for just a couple of seconds before the holographic projectors were forced to shut down. The entire Fortress lit up as crystal circuits began to blow apart. Electric sparks exploded from the walls, the power being drained for some unknown purpose until eventually there was nothing, only darkness. There was no power left in the Fortress of Solitude and Kara remained silent as she tried to comprehend what she had just witnessed.
Centennial Park:
By the time Supergirl flew back to Metropolis, hundreds of people had entered the park and were now standing together, between Doomsday and Superman's tomb. They were shouting at Doomsday, telling him over and over that they wouldn't let him get near the tomb.
The beast himself meanwhile, was busy crushing the hand of Green Lantern, trying to pull off the ring with one hand while he used the other to strike out at Wonder Woman who was flying around him, launching strong attacks against him. The heroes were bruised all over and as Supergirl touched down, she was confronted by Flash, who had noticed that she wasn't carrying any weapons.
"So where is it? Where's the device that will stop this monster? We're kinda getting the crap beaten out of us here.
"Sorry Flash, no big guns to stop him. We're on our own."
"Great…well back to the battlefield…"
As Flash ran towards Doomsday, Kara noticed Lois Lane calling out to her. Supergirl didn't really know Lois. They had talked after Superman's funeral but that was it really. One thing they had in common though was that they had both cared about the Man of Steel and they were both determined to make sure that Doomsday wouldn't get near his body.
"Supergirl…what's the plan?"
"You've gotta get out of here and take these people with you Miss Lane. It's not safe."
"They want to protect his body. He's a hero to them…to everyone."
"I understand that, believe me. But it's too dangerous for them to be here."
Lois had become great at reading body language in her time as a journalist and as Supergirl spoke, she noticed that the Kryptonian seemed to be distracted, as if something other than Doomsday's threat was on her mind.
"Is there something wrong? Besides the big Neanderthal over there…"
"Something happened…I…I uh…I thought I saw something…someone…but I don't know what it means…never mind. Just get these people clear…"
Supergirl was interrupted as Green Lantern flew past, crashing into the ground, followed by Flash. Wonder Woman was still fighting but even her great strength was no match for Doomsday as he connected with a strong elbow before pulling back and striking out with his fist, sending the Amazon through the air. Kara sprang into action immediately, catching her and laying her down gently before returning to the tomb. Doomsday smiled as he surveyed the scene. Supergirl stood, protecting the tomb but she was not alone. The people of Metropolis stood with her.
"Pathetic…why must you stand in my way? Why do you protect the lifeless body of a dead failure?"
"He was no failure, he was a hero." Lois Lane called back."
"You cannot defeat me. You all know this. You call me Doomsday…yet you expect to be victorious? Why do you not run and save yourselves?"
"Because of him," Kara responded, pointing to the tomb. "Because of what he stood for, because of what he did for me, these people…the entire planet. I…we…won't let you touch him."
"I will not be denied my prize."
"Then come and get it."
Doomsday clenched his fists and began to walk confidently towards the tomb. The crowd of people, now joined by Wonder Woman, Flash and Green Lantern as well as others who had come to help, waited and prepared themselves for what could be their death. But they didn't move. They didn't flee, they stood their ground as Doomsday approached.
He was preparing to destroy them all, but Doomsday's attention was drawn to the tomb as a thumping sound came from within the stone. Then another, and another and another. On and on it went. Each bang becoming more ferocious until eventually the ground began to rumble and shake around the tomb.
The entire park seemed to be engulfed in a localised earthquake. The large crowd retreated to what they hoped was a safe distance, not knowing what was going on. All eyes were on the tomb as the shaking became more violent until the tomb started to crumble and collapse in on itself before exploding outwards sending rock and metal everywhere, leaving a large dust cloud in place of the tomb.
Lois Lane focussed on the cloud, spotting a shadowy figure standing up among the rubble. The dust began to clear and everyone looked at the figure hoping to see exactly who had destroyed the tomb, fearing the worst. The park fell silent as the realisation of who was standing there hit them. Even Doomsday was stunned into silence.
He stood there, staring at Doomsday. His hair dark, his eyes blue like the suit that covered his body. He wore red boots and a long red cape that dropped down behind his back. He looked determined, focussing solely on the beast that had been terrorising Metropolis. Lois Lane looked up at the figure, trying to stop herself from collapsing in shock as she uttered a single word. A word that was on the on the lips of everyone in the park.
"Superman…"
