Superman: New Heights
Chapter Five
"Are you serious, Lane?!" bellowed Perry from inside his office. The door barely muffled anything, and it seemed as if the entire bullpen turned to face his office.
"What'd she do this time?" asked one of the workers.
"No idea, but apparently she and Clark were up to something," replied Jimmy. "Speaking of which, where is Clark? He's never this late," he remarked, looking around to see if Clark was blending somewhere in the environment.
"He'd only be three minutes late if he walks in right now," replied the worker.
"Exactly!" protested Jimmy.
Meanwhile, inside the office, Lois groaned and rolled her eyes as she continued to bear Perry's lecture.
"That was completely irresponsible on your part, though that seems to be your middle name!" raged Perry, provoking a scoff from Lois.
"Is something funny?" he asked, fuming. Lois opened up her purse and slammed a file on his desk. "You wanted evidence? Here it is," she replied, sliding it over to him.
"It's a certificate for a Rudy Jones? Is this supposed to mean something?" asked Perry.
"It's a death certificate. It proves that Rudy Jones was a scientist at Lexcorp. And when Smallv- I mean Clark, asked Luthor about Jones, he denied ever even having Jones at Lexcorp," replied Lois.
Perry pinched his eyebrows. "Lois, I can barely remember the Olsen kid's name. And Luthor runs a massive company, you can't expect to keep track of every single one of his employees," he countered.
"Perry, Jones was supposed to be the lead scientist for some experimental technology, the same technology that caused the explosion at Lexcorp the other day. I doubt Lex would hire any forgettable employee for that position," reasoned Lois.
"Even then, your argument is more or less just conjecture. We need evidence that Jones worked at Lexcorp, and also evidence for whatever experiment he was working on. Is your source reliable?" questioned Perry. Lois bit her lip.
"It's technically Clark's source…" started Lois. This time it was Perry's turn to groan, and he buried his face in his palms, propping his elbows on the desk.
"Kent's an intern, for Christ's sake! You're telling me that you're basing this whole theory on an intern's source?" asked Perry, in disbelief.
"He knows more than he's letting on, that's for sure. He was the one who brought up Jones, and Luthor definitely seemed irked by it," reasoned Lois. Perry sighed and got his hands off of the desk.
"Okay, and where is Kent right now?" he asked.
"Truth be told, I have no idea," replied Lois, bluntly.
Superman opened his eyes, only to find himself staring at a wooden roof, as he lay on a bed of what seemed like fur. Next to him was a pile of logs in a fireplace.
He reached his hand out to the fire, letting the warmth of the flame blanket him from the cold.
"So, you are awake?" asked a voice. Superman woke up and turned around, and saw a woman wearing a fuzzy jacket and a stick, with a bowl of soup in one hand.
"The boys found you next to the Ice Castle. They said that God crashed from Heaven in front of it," chuckled the lady.
Superman smiled as he took a sip of the soup.
"I'm no God," he chuckled.
"I know. You are a man, and yet like no other," she said. Superman smiled as he got back to his feet, his sides still aching.
He finished the bowl of soup and held onto the side of the roof for support, before walking out of the door.
Despite the frigidness of the Arctic, the rays of the sun reached out to Clark, as he felt the strength returning to his bones. He looked to his left and saw a group of kids playing with a ball, all of them stunned as they saw him step out.
"Hello," said a small child, holding a small stone in his hand. Superman smiled as he knelt down and held the stone, cold to the touch. The boy smiled and seemed to be grinning with excitement.
"The others are saying you are God. Are you?" asked the child. Clark smiled as he put his hand on the boy's shoulder.
"I'm not God. But, I promise to do everything I can to keep you and your friends safe, okay?" assured Clark. The boy instinctively hugged him.
"And call me Clark," continued Superman, smiling as he walked away and shot off into the sky, leaving the boy in wonder.
He found it hard to maintain his altitude, as he scanned the tundra for the Fortress of Solitude.
"There it is," said Superman, eyeing the crystal structure as he landed haphazardly in front of it.
Massaging his side, he entered the massive structure, ready to get answers to the hundreds of questions swirling in his head.
"Jor?" called out Clark, pressing the key into its chamber.
Just then, Jor-El materialized in front of Clark, a solemn look on his face.
"I have questions," said Clark.
"I think I know what you have questions about," replied Jor.
"I was attacked by someone…from Krypton," said Clark. "And you said I was the only survivor,"
"What you faced off against, is an ancient weapon of Krypton's creation. Not a who, but a what," replied Jor, walking deeper into the Fortress. Superman followed, eager for an answer.
"It's part of a line of warrior androids created by ancient Kryptonians. They're called, 'Eradicators,'" replied Jor, as an image of the Eradicator materialized in front of him and Superman.
"You said Krypton was a planet that followed science. So why create an army of killer drones?" asked Clark.
"Centuries ago, Krypton wasn't a planet of primarily scientists. It was a planet of warmongers, conquering various planets they came across during expeditions," replied Jor, as the image switched to one of an army of Kryptonians invading a planet.
Clark took a sharp breath when he saw the image.
"Eventually, they realized that it would be more efficient to have a robot do all the hard work for them. So they would scout out weak planets, and send an Eradicator along with an activator beacon to the planet," explained Jor.
"Once that signal was activated, the Eradicator would come online and begin to…terraform the planet, in order to make it suitable for Kryptonian living conditions," said Jor.
"So who sent the Eradicator to Earth right now then?" asked Clark.
"No one. As far as records go, the Eradicator was sent millennia ago. Back when reptilian creatures roamed the Earth. Earth was not as advanced as it is now, so it made it easy for Krypton to attack," replied Jor.
"Then a meteor shower happened to hit Earth around the time the Eradicator was scheduled to land on Earth. As a result, both it and the activator beacon were knocked off course, landing on Earth and being buried under thousands of years of sediment," he continued, gesturing to another materialized sculpture of the meteor shower.
"This activator beacon is the crystal that I touched, right? And what brought me to the Fortress?" asked Clark. Jor-El nodded.
"This Fortress was meant for the Eradicator. For it to learn all of Krypton's history, to make the new planet suitable for us," said Jor.
"So when I touched the crystal, I activated the Eradicator?" asked Clark, worriedly.
Jor shook his head. "The crystal has to be activated by radiation, not by Kryptonian DNA," answered Jor.
"Radiation that I bet Rudy Jones was using during his experiments on the crystal," muttered Clark.
"The Eradicator is also adaptive, to learn the optimum method of destroying the planet and its population. By now it would have learned every language on the planet, and most of the planet's history," added Jor.
An idea began to form in Clark's head.
"Can the Eradicator feel emotion?" he asked.
"Versions of the Eradicator had been given comprehensive artificial intelligence, which also involved processing responses to external stimuli, in forms of emotion," explained Jor.
"So it can? Okay," said Superman, turning around, an idea forming in his head.
"You cannot best the Eradicator in a head-on fight, Kal," said Jor, suddenly showing up in front of Superman.
"I don't plan to. If I can reach out to him, I can prove to him that Earth isn't worth destroying anymore. Especially since Krypton is gone," explained Superman.
"You can't rely on that, Kal. It was programmed for one specific purpose, to destroy Earth," said Jor.
"None of us are "programmed" to do anything, android or not," said Superman, before zooming out of the Fortress.
Rudy trembled as he stepped into the Lexcorp lobby, a full-sleeve jacket and sweater covering his entire upper body, trying his best to hide his purplish skin. He quickly rushed past the receptionist and towards the elevator.
"Hey, excuse me!" called out the receptionist, running after him. Rudy hand began to twitch as he pressed the button ten times, trying to get the elevator doors to open.
"Hello, you didn't check in," said the receptionist, turning him around. Rudy kept his head down.
"I need to…speak with Lex Luthor…" he said, his voice muffled by the scarf around his face. He seemed to have grown taller, almost a whole foot.
"Mr Luthor is extremely busy right now, I'll let you know when he's free, but it will mostly be tomorrow morning," said the receptionist, trying to pull Rudy away as the elevator doors opened. In doing so, she accidentally tugged on his scarf.
"NO!" shouted Rudy, breaking free of the receptionist and diving into the elevator. Before the doors could close, he turned around and yanked his scarf from her.
The receptionist's eyes went wide as she saw Rudy's face: A grotesque blend of purple and yellow, with skin that looked like it was melting off of his face. She let out a shrill shriek as the doors closed shut.
Rudy panted heavily, wrapping the scarf around his face. The elevator went all the way up to the top floor, to Lex Luthor's office. He trudged out of the elevator towards his office door, knocking heavily.
Lex was sitting inside, adjusting his tie in front of a mirror when he heard the knock. Before he could even respond, the door came crashing down. In front of Lex stood a man with all the winter wear in the world, and barely a glimpse of skin visible.
"Do I know you?" asked Lex, trying his best to seem indifferent to the stranger's presence.
"I need your help. Please," replied Rudy, his voice muffled through his scarf. Lex walked up to the bar and poured himself a glass of whiskey.
"How about you take off the winter apparel so I can get a look at who I'm speaking to?" asked Lex. Begrudgingly, Rudy took off his scarf and beanie, revealing his face.
Lex raised his eyebrows in response, and took a sip of his drink. "Well, I don't know if I can recommend any plastic surgeons to help, but I can drop a few references," he replied, in a deadpan fashion. Rudy clenched his fists.
"This happened to me because of you and Superman. Lexcorp has what I need to fix myself," replied Rudy.
"This is the scientist Kent was talking about," thought Lex. He cleared his throat and put his glass down.
"Who are you again?" he asked. Rudy seemed to get flustered, and his drooping eye began to twitch.
"I can't remember my name. It's as if the more I absorb, the more I forget. But I worked here, with some crystal. I remember…you made me do experiments on it. Then Superman came in, and then…" trailed off Rudy, one tooth of his hanging from his lower lip.
"Superman was there? What did he do?" asked Lex.
"He touched the crystal…and then everything went white. Then I woke up and…killed that doctor," replied Rudy.
"Superman was involved in the explosion, he touched it? Is that what could have caused it?" thought Lex, trying not to look at Rudy's face.
"Okay, Jones, I need you to remember as much as you can about that day. Are you sure Superman was there?" interrogated Lex.
"Jones…is that me?" asked Rudy, his voice trailing off as his eyes focused on the large window, which overlooked the sprawling city of Metropolis.
"I can feel all the energy. So much, it hurts…" groaned Rudy. "No no no, not again! NOT AGAIN!" he screamed, clutching his stomach and falling to his knees.
"Dammit Jones, try and remember! If you do, I will fix you!" negotiated Lex, desperately. Rudy's neck snapped to the right, facing Lex. His pupils had disappeared from his eyes, and all that was left was a yolk yellow. His teeth began to fall as his jaw dislocated itself.
He groaned as he stood up, a whole 7 feet now. Lex took a few steps back, before Rudy grunted and lunged at him.
Lex dove over the conference table and to the other side of the room. Rudy pounced onto the table as Lex heard Rudy's spine snap out of place. And yet, he was towering over him. Lex made a break for the bar, narrowly dodging a swipe from Rudy.
Lex grabbed a glass and threw it at Rudy's face, distracting him just long enough to rush to the table and hit a panic button underneath the table. However, Rudy grabbed Lex and slammed him on the table.
"You…said you'd help me…liar," growled Rudy, saliva dripping near Lex's face. He tried kicking away, but Rudy was too strong.
"You…weren't even a decent scientist…all you did was drain Lexcorp's resources, you parasite!" shouted Lex, as if trying to hurt Rudy with words so he would let him go.
"Parasite…" growled Rudy, picking up Lex and throwing him through the window, out into the skyline of Metropolis.
Just then, Lexcorp security stormed the room, guns trained on the creature that stood in front of them. Rudy Jones was almost unrecognizable at that point, as he let out a roar at them.
The guards opened fire, ripping holes into Rudy. However, it seemed as if the more he got shot, the larger he got.
"What the hell is this thing?" asked one guard, terrified as he ran out of bullets. Rudy snarled as he grabbed the guard's head and lifted him up, ripping his head from his body and throwing him to the ground.
"PARASITE!" he growled, and in one swift move, he swiped the conference table towards them, crushing the guards between the table and the door. That's when he heard something outside the shattered window, what sound like a cape swooshing with the wind.
"You…" groaned Parasite, staring in disgust at the man clad in red and blue.
"Lex Luthor is safe on the ground, much to your dismay-" started Clark, but he stopped mid-sentence once he saw the bodies on the ground.
Parasite growled as he lunged at Clark, tackling him in the air.
"You have…energy…" said Parasite, grasping at Clark's chest and sticking his hands directly on his emblem. Superman began to feel breathless and dizzy, as if he was in space with no air.
He quickly backhanded Parasite away, who began to fall to the ground.
"No!" shouted Superman, diving towards the ground and grabbing Parasite at the last minute and preventing him from hitting the ground. However, Parasite wriggled himself out of Superman's grip.
Both of them landed on the ground, and Clark got a good look at the creature he was fighting. His super-vision kicked in high gear.
"Oh my God, Rudy Jones? Is that you?" asked Superman. Parasite growled in response and charged toward Superman, who dodged at the last second.
Parasite picked up a lamppost and smashed his hand into the lightbulb filament, absorbing the energy from it.
"He absorbs energy…and I'm a walking solar panel," thought Superman, his eyes widening in worry. He flew toward Parasite and punched his chin upward, before zooming up behind him and hitting his back.
Parasite fell to the ground, but began to grow bigger.
He growled louder as he grabbed Superman, slamming him into the ground and preventing him from moving.
"So much energy," he growled, as he began to absorb Clark's lifeforce.
"AAAAARGHHHH!" shouted Clark, struggling to escape but to no avail. He let out a blast of heat vision directly into Parasite's chest, but it only seemed to make him stronger.
He looked around frantically, only to see his father standing afar from him. He struggled to crane his neck to see him, but Jonathan Kent just stood there, an expressionless look on his face.
"No…not like this!" grunted Superman, grabbing Parasite's palm and lifting it up, no matter how much he pushed down.
"Let's see what you do with something that saps away energy," said Superman, unleashing a gust of freeze breath directly onto Parasite's chest. Parasite reeled back as he clutched his chest and roared.
Superman blew some freeze breath on his fist, before diving toward him and punching him in the jaw, sending him flying down the street. Before he could hit the ground, Superman zoomed through the street and evacuated everyone.
Parasite tumbled across the street but managed to stagger and stand back up. Superman panted as he fell to his knees, trying to catch his breath. Parasite snarled as he backhanded Superman away into a building, before leaping out of the street and onto the roofs, disappearing from the scene.
Superman coughed as he limped onto the street, his vision beginning to blur again.
"Need…the sun…" thought Clark, realizing that it was the middle of the night. As he fell down again, he felt someone helping him up.
"Are you all right?" asked Lex Luthor, helping Superman up to his feet.
"I'll be fine, but I can't go after him right now," replied Superman.
"Thank you for saving me, I am forever indebted to you, Superman," thanked Lex. Superman nodded as he pat Lex's back.
"The pleasure's all mine," replied Superman, weakly as he took off into the sky. The smile from Lex's face disappeared, and was replaced by a mix of curiosity and scorn.
Clark landed on the roof of his apartment building, panting as his feet touched the ground. As soon as he looked across to the other building, his eyes caught something that sent a twinge of fear down his spine.
The Eradicator was standing on the roof adjacent to his, his android eyes fixated on Superman.
"Clark. Kent," he said, squinting his eyes. Superman readied himself for a fight, but the Eradicator simply hovered up and glided to his roof, landing on his feet and not breaking his stare.
"Why are you here?" asked Superman.
"The signal that activated my beacon did not originate from Krypton of Sector 2813. I come to you with this inquiry as you also descend from Kryptonian heritage. Why did they not activate my beacon?" asked Eradicator.
Superman sighed. "Krypton doesn't exist anymore. It blew up a few years ago," said Clark.
"Impossible. My archives state that I was sent here recently," replied Eradicator.
"You were sent here millions of years ago, but you were knocked off course and buried for millennia. Your beacon was activated by human intervention," replied Superman.
Eradicator's neck twitched, almost as if he was trying to process the information he just received.
"Earth of Sector 2814 must still be razed, regardless of Krypton's current state," said Eradicator, turning around. Superman quickly grabbed his arm.
"No! I mean, you don't need to," said Clark. Eradicator stared at Clark, his eyes glassy and lifeless, as if there was no soul in him. The replica suit he wore seemed faded.
"I do what I have been ordered to. My programming cannot be overridden," replied Eradicator.
"You're intelligent, you can feel emotion. And you can think for yourself. Krypton does not exist anymore, you don't need to follow your programming anymore," reasoned Superman.
Eradicator stared at him, before pushing him to the ground. Superman fell on his back but got back on his feet, ready for a fight,
"You had a choice, Clark. To be what you want to be. Not all of us have that luxury," replied Eradicator. Clark noticed his speech pattern changing, from robotic to more human.
"That right there, that's what I'm talking about. You're more than just a weapon, just please let me help you," replied Clark.
The Eradicator didn't say a single word, as he blasted off into the stratosphere, leaving a beaten and bruised Superman on the roof.