A/N: Yay for exposition! We have a villain! I'm playing with things here some, Supes purists. I'm taking Smallville from the view that it is a reworking of the Superman mythos, so elements of the mythos, like the villain introduced in this chapter are different. I don't want to say too much, because you'll find out more about our baddie in the next interlude. This chapter is short, but don't worry, the next one isn't
Multiverse
Interlude
It didn't know where it was, but it was no longer where it was before. It didn't know who it was, but it was not whole. It didn't know why it came to be here, but it knew what it wanted.
Strength.
That was all that mattered. It didn't know why, but it knew that much. It had a deep need to be the top of the food chain. That was it's natural place. All other beings were inferior.
But, it felt weak. It must find a shelter. A strong shelter.
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Kyle Jefferies was at the top of the world. Or at least, the highest he'd ever been. In the past he felt as if he lacked direction, but not anymore.
He came from a middle class home from the suburbs of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex: mom, dad, older sister. However, he always felt like it didn't fit. He left when he was 18, moving out on his own. He tried several careers over the past 2 years, but he couldn't settle on anything. Nothing was right unless he was fighting. He was good at it, good enough that he'd made an underground Ultimate Fighting tournament on his first try. An extra $500 cash in his pocket every time he won.
Tonight was the first real night to fight: a street fight rally in Downtown Dallas. He knew today was his lucky day: His fighting name wasn't Reno for nothing. He parked his car in a parking lot not far from the abandoned warehouse the fight would be held at. He hated that he had to go downtown for this, he always got lost in situations like this. Was it one block or two then a left?
As Kyle walked, he heard something crash behind a dumpster. He narrowed his eyes and looked. Something hissed softly. Eyes and a flash of something moved, faster than Kyle could see. It hit him square in the chest, digging into his skin, burrowing. He reached to pull the.. Thing… off, screaming. He fell back and the world around him went black.
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The Phantom stood, dusting off the arms of it's new body. It was not as strong as his old one, but he could fix that. It was a fighting body, that was good enough for now. It could access a few of the body's memories: his host was on it's way to a battle of strength. The Phantom walked, awkwardly at first then with conviction toward the battle. This would be a good chance to test this body's limits and begin his quest.
He could remember why it was important to be the strongest. He must find the strongest being on this planet and defeat it. That was how you survived.
The Phantom arrived at the battle arena. Two warriors were already engaged. He would prove himself stronger than either of them. He started toward the arena when a hand pressed against his chest.
One of the meat-bags that occupied this planet had stopped him. It was speaking in a mouthy language. Using a little of the hosts memories, the phantom deciphered the maggot wanted his name. It called him some other name.
In a harsh voice, the phantom grunted, "Not Reno." It pulled it's lips back in a feral smile, "They call me Doomsday.