Chapter 2
In his quest for the ultimate conquest Kang has been frustrated many times. The ultimate conquest being the seizing of all timelines under his control. Then he can play with them in anyway he desires...but before he was always stopped just short of achieving it by so many groups across so many varying timelines.
Especially by those blasted Avengers.
Well this time they're not here to stop him. There is no-one left to stop him.
How long has he been forming this plan?
A long time. Since the first moment he felt the rupture, watched it form a new universe by merging two into one, he thought about could he harness these energies for himself. Problem was he didn't know how to harness them nor how to breach the Time Lock to get to them.
The answer came to him while he studied the new world, as best he could despite the Apocalypse of that timeline's interference. He watched and waited...and saw how Kal-El could be the key to his victory. More precisely Kal-El's unique biology. Just how to manipulate the boy into helping him was the next stage of the plan to form.
The fact Kang chose a moment when the boy was emotionally vulnerable after being transformed into a Horseman...well any conqueror will tell you to strike when your enemy is at their weakest.
And now his final victory is only moments away.
"Hey, Kang," Clark calls out, floating/lying there, helpless.
"You have final words, Kal-El?" Kang queries, guessing that is what this must be.
"Got a question, actually," Clark corrects.
"Then let your final act be myself satisfying your curiosity," Kang offers to agree to answer it. He has a few minutes to spare.
"Was any of this story you sold me true? Was the Multiverse actually in danger?" Clark really wants to know...because with his hand inside his jacket he's just remembered he may have a way to stop Kang.
Kang chuckles. "I'm afraid you will never learn to understand as I do...and before you criticise me our 3 friends here," indicating the 3 frozen in time Legionnaires, "were no more honest than I was. All they wanted to prevent was the creation of your reality, to preserve what they deemed to be the correct shape of reality. They have so little understanding of the truth they are like infants," Kang insults them.
Clark frowns. "Do I have time to ask why they thought this?"
"Because you do not measure up, in their view, to what a Superman should be."
"What? Like the version of me you showed?"
"Your recent experiences, your darker in nature reality has forever contaminated you by darkness...in their opinion."
"Or that taint, if you want to call it that, can be used to make yourself stronger," Clark argues.
"Exactly," Kang agrees. "It's a shame you must be erased Kal-El," he almost regrets it. "I can see we would have something in common. We don't give in to adversary. We conquer it."
"Uh huh," Clark remarks sceptically of that claim. "So basically you were all lying to me from the start," he summarises. "Good. That clears up all I needed to know," he says.
"Which means what?" Kang asks.
"That now I know the truth I'm going to stop you."
Kang laughs loudly. "You?" he questions that derisively. "I've drained your body of all its stored energy. You can barely move."
"Yet I will win and you will lose."
Kang frowns...very slightly. That's a strangely confident tone. He doesn't understand it. If their roles were reversed and it was him saying the words then yes, it would be understandable but that's not the case. He raises his hand and using the many functions of his suit levitates Kal-El to in front of him. He eyes the alien teen carefully.
Clark actually smiles disarmingly.
"You're bluffing. Trying to distract me for some reason," Kang reasons.
Clark shakes his head. "Nope. You've already done what I wanted," he says with a smirk...the fraction of a second before his eyes burn bright and produce what is more akin to a blinding flare.
Kang grasps at his eyes...before he is sent staggering back by something cutting into his chest followed by hard kick to his chest.
The armour adjusts, restoring his vision...and he looks down, shocked by what what is deep cut into his armour...right through his armour, slicing into his chest, blood leaking from the wound.
Kang looks up to find Kal-El standing, a decorative knife in the boy's hands. "Palak," he recognises the weapon. The knife given to the Kawatche.
"I took it out of storage when you and the Legion were fighting in my Fortress," Clark explains. He just had a feeling it might come in handy...or it was War's influence on him. In either case when he stuck his hand in his jacket he found it still resting there in the inside pocket. Since he found Palak he has had time to study it. While it can grant certain humans a copy of his abilities, when he uses it it can recharge his powers...like right now say, when they were taken from him.
Kang rises straight, his armour self-repairing and nanites working on his wound.
"This ends now, Kang," Clark declares.
Kang's eyes narrow. "You want to fight me?" he asks, his tone now much, much angrier than it has been before.
"Seems to be the case, yes," Clark says cheerily...deliberately so to be annoying. Of course he doesn't need to win this fight. Just keep Kang away from the rapidly approaching Apocalypse.
Like back in the Fortress Kang opens portals either side...only they don't quite form. They do for a moment before fizzling out.
"Performance anxiety related issues?" Clark quips.
Kang frowns deeply. He forgot for a moment. They're in a bubble of paradoxical time. His normal ability to access varying timelines and his command over time won't work here. Not that it matters. He is still more than capable of teaching the boy a lesson...and if he wants to play with knives...
Kang pulls his own dagger out of his boot and takes up the stance. He so rarely gets a challenge that he can't refuse one now despite all that is at stake for him.
As his name, Conqueror, implies he tends to be the one who goes on the offensive...and he does, pressing his assault, slashing, thrusting, parrying and hacking, his blade moving almost like liquid metal in perfect execution...but none of it works.
Why?
The very reason he sought out Kal-El in the first place. That Kryptonian biology that allows him to move with immense speed and he blocks or dodges every attack...not with the most skill Kang has ever seen.
Far from it but it is sufficient.
Of course what Clark is trying not to show is how barely sufficient it is. Logan may teach about the use of weapons, for defence naturally but knife fights is not something Clark practices very often. What he can say is that he can't be sure how long Palak can power him and there are no yellow suns where he is right now, plus how long he can actually go toe to toe like this with Kang is questionable at best.
So switch it, take the offensive...and remember he just has to distract Kang until after Apocalypse arrives. It's a delaying game. Clark doesn't have to actually win to win.
The offensive sorta works. He has Kang on the defensive but able to block his attacks with what is clearly not him being desperate.
Honestly Clark isn't even sure just how much this knife powers him up. He's pretty certain he's a long way short of 100%.
And he's pretty sure Kang has just turned the momentum around against him.
He tries a sweep-kick...and yes technically they are in space...but it's weird space. There is gravity. The Source Wall would be Clark's guess for the source. It's sheer mass would give it a massive gravitational field.
It actually works and Clark tries to pounce on the man. He's pretty...fairly sure he's stronger, if he can just get his hands on Kang.
Sadly the dictator can move surprisingly swiftly when he wants to...or maybe that's some function of the amour he wears as he moves out of the way while spinning a kick round that knock Palak from Clark's hand.
Oh bummer.
Kang follows that up with another kick, a hard one to Clark's side sending him tumbling across the space.
When he rights himself he finds Palak coming flying at him, clearly thrown by Kang.
In a move that amazes himself Clark catches it perfectly by the handle and moves as fast as he can in a charge at Kang, hoping to surprise the man.
It doesn't really work as Kang grabs him by the shoulders and flips him into the air where he then proceeds to essentially fly at him, knife in hand.
Clark blocks it...barely. They struggle against each other...Clark blows out some freeze-breath directly into Kang's face.
In return he gets blasted by a green energy beam from Kang's gauntlets..
Oh that green...kryptonite green.
Clark feels it instantly as he tumbles back through the void.
Kang doesn't hesitate a moment more as he slams punches and kicks into Clark, that same green energy glow around gauntlets and boots.
Once last kick...and by the way Clark really feels it, makes blood fly from his mouth. He floats/lies there...like he said weird space.
Kang places his hands behind his back. "Exhilarating," he comments. "Thank you, Kal-El. It has been some time since I had to exert myself in such a manner," he strangely thanks the alien teen. "But as you can see I was more than prepared for you," he says in relation to his armour able to replicate kryptonite radiation.
Clark breathes...a little painfully. He can see Apocalypse's vessel...it must be a minute maybe 2 away now. So close.
"Any last words now?" Kang wonders.
"More a thought actually. If the time related functions in your amour aren't really working it has to occur to me to ask how well those time rings would work here and how long will they keep them frozen?"
Kang stares at him...and then it drops. Kal-El's right! How could he be so...
He never gets to finish that thought as lightning slams into his form hard courtesy of Lightning Lad...aka Garth, the cheeky redhead. "They stopped working about 30 seconds ago!" Garth announces as he charges in to follow up his assault with Rokk aiding him.
Imra glides to aid Kal. "Are you ok?"
"I've been better," Clark comments. "But considering my last few days I can certainly say I've been worse."
Imra smiles sympathetically. She does know what he's been through lately...plus you know she's psychic.
"We need to keep him away from the impact zone," Clark says with a groan as he rights himself.
"We need to stop the vessel," Imra argues. "Remember."
Yeah, Clark remembers. He's just not certain that anyone here is either his ally nor is speaking the entire truth. He narrows his eyes and considers carefully what it is he has to do. "We need...actually, no. We need to do the opposite," he says cryptically as an idea suddenly hits him. One of those crazy, never going to work ideas.
"I don't understand," Imra says.
"Imra...I need you to trust me? Can you do that? I promise I can end this," he says earnestly.
Imra's brow furrows. His mind is so...distorted by Apocalypse's manipulations he's hard to get a read of...but those pleading blue eyes in that face? Who could say no to that? "What can I do to help?" she offers.
"Can you distract Kang at all?"
"I can try another psychic illusion but he has a very powerful mind," she cautions that she can't guarantee a repeat success of what she did in the Fortress.
"Give it a shot," Clark asks of her.
Imra closes her eyes and concentrates while Clark tries to summon what energy he can from Palak into his body.
Meanwhile Kang blasts both Rokk and Garth away with energy blasts from his gaunlets. "You will not stop me, Cosmic Boy!" he proclaims to Rokk.
He turns as he spots Kal-El out the corner of his eye. He fires another blast...only to see it pass right through. "An illusion," he realises...too late as powerful arms grab him from behind, twisting his own arms back and then they manoeuvre him right in the path of Apocalypse's rapidly approaching vessel.
Kang's eyes go wide. "You fool! You'll destroy us all!" he shouts, calculating the only possible outcome of such an impact upon them.
"Yes," Clark says through gritted teeth at the effort of restraining the 41st century warlord. "Including the vessel...which is what I was here to do after all wasn't it?"
"Release me!" Kang demands.
"No. Whatever it takes I'm ending this!" Clark shouts in Kang's ear.
"Whoo! Way to go boyo!" War cheers...now standing there in Clark's sight. "See what happens when you embrace me, Clark? Victory is ours!"
Yeah, only War would see killing themselves as a victory as long as it takes their enemy with them.
Here it comes...
...and now it's close Clark can see how it's phasing in and out, must be that flittering between realities Kang mentioned...and it phases just at the right moment to pass right through the two of them and impacts the Wall.
There is a massive explosion as the Source Wall is ruptured...blinding all.
The all being the 3 Legionnaires who look on in horror.
"We've failed," Imra swallows something unpleasant at the scene.
Rokk just stares. She's right. They have. It's over. The thing they came to prevent has happened. "We need to go," he orders before the unleashed energies destroy them.
They are about to when Garth spots something silhouetted against the light. "Look! There!" he yells and points.
The 3 Legionnaires glide over and find...
"It's Kal!" Imra says in amazement. He was alive...battered certainly but alive.
"Where's Kang?" Rokk asks looking around but not seeing any sign of the Warlord.
"Don't know and we don't have time!" Garth shouts urgently.
Rokk agrees with Kal as the energy spills out toward them. They grab Kal and using their rings, which also allow flight head for the barrier of this time bubble. They manage to smash right back through the hole they made when entering it and then come to a stop.
Truth is they're not sure what to do now. They had a mission and they failed...and they don't see any way they can go back and try again. This was a one-shot.
"Did we win?" Clark asks as he cracks an eye open and spots the grim expressions. "From your faces I'm going to go with you don't think so."
"We failed. Apocalypse breached the wall," Rokk informs him.
"Good," Clark declares it.
Rokk's face goes dark. "What do you mean good?" he asks. "We told you..."
"A pack of lies," Clark accuses them. "Kang told me the truth...and funnily I believe him. This was never about a threat to all reality was it? This was about you deciding my reality was wrong in some fashion."
"It's not that simple," Imra pleads.
Clark has had enough. Enough of being used. Enough of being lied to. Just enough. "You have about 3 seconds to tell me the truth because otherwise, no matter how beat up I am, I'll demonstrate the rare moment of what happens when I lose my temper!" he snaps...in an eerily calm tone of voice.
Rokk is the leader. He takes the responsibility of explaining. "Kal...our job doesn't stop at the boundary of our own reality. There are threats that span across many versions of reality. One day when we were monitoring the local multiverse we saw the end of two entire universes. In our position what would you do?"
"Oh I get what you were trying to do," Clark says in understanding. "Except you were asking me to destroy my world, everyone I know because you believe it wrong it existed but luckily or perhaps a curse I have a mind that works fast. My world is the merging of two others and the result of that is that there are unique people that exist nowhere else, right?"
Rokk makes a nod of his head that sort of concedes that.
"I'm not saying the choice is easy because I can plainly see it's not but you seem to have taken it upon yourselves to just decide that my world isn't worth preserving because you have decided what shape this Multiverse is suppose to take. That's a lot of power...probably too much power for anyone to have. In fact I'm struggling to see how that makes you all that much different from Kang beyond at least you weren't trying to seize the power for yourself but you were in a sense still playing God. Deciding what and what should not exist...and last but certainly not least, lets not forget that instead of just telling me the truth, of giving me enough respect to discuss what was going on, you lied. Now I don't know why. Maybe Kang was telling the truth and you see me as some sort of lesser Superman but I like to think I'm a smart guy. I try to do what I think is right and best in everything I do. I know I mess it up from time to time but who doesn't make mistakes? I've spent the last 2 years of my life being lied to, used and manipulated...and I think you know that yet you tried to do the same for what you thought the greater good. That's not how heroes act," Clark essentially lectures them.
"You nailed it Kal...but if you expect them to repent you'll be waiting a long, long time."
Clark blinks. That sounded like Garth...only it was not his mouth moving. In fact it came from behind him. He turns to find an identical version of Garth...and Rokk and Imra have appeared, floating here in space. "Oh I feel a headache coming on," he mutters.
Garth smirks...the new Garth. "Yeah, temporal mechanics has the same effect on me," he admits.
The 2 versions of the Legion square up to each other, giving each other unpleasant looks...and in the case of the 2 Saturn Girl a few telepathically sent curses at each other.
"And you are?" Clark wants to know who the new arrivals are...beyond the obvious.
"The Legion," the new Rokk answers.
"From your future, Kal," the new Imra explains.
"My future...my world's future?" Clark queries he's got that right.
"That's right," the new Garth confirms.
"And you're only appearing now?!" Clark exclaims. He could have done with their help when this all started.
"We didn't exist before," the new Rokk explains. "Not until you stopped Kang...which by the way you did," this new version of the Legion's leader confirms. "Oh he's not dead but his one chance has gone now," he can add. "And now that the creation event has played out you have confirmed and solidified our reality's existence and all possible futures it can lead to, including the one where we exist...and here we are."
"I hate temporal mechanics," Clark complains as he rubs his head trying to assuage the migraine that is forming. They didn't exist until he ensured the event that created his world happened? Nope, that's going to fry his brain for awhile. "And this lot?" he points at the original Legion. "They come from a world similar to that one Kang showed me, right?" he makes the educated guess from everything he knows so far.
The new Rokk nods, still glaring at his double. "Yes. It's almost the same, except that version of you took a bit longer to choose to use his powers to help people. He wasn't as motivated as you were by the death of your mother's baby...because if he had been it wouldn't be 2 different worlds but the same one."
"And now they're leaving to go back to it," new Garth tells them. "You're done here," he says in a severe 'you're not welcome here' tone.
"Oh yeah?" original Garth gets in his double's face.
Original Rokk places a hand on Garth's chest and holds him back. "He's right. There is nothing else to be done here," he says, being is the more reasonable one and seeing that it is over. They failed in their mission and now they have to deal with the consequences of that.
"Next time," new Rokk starts a warning. "Just remember we're here now so don't think you can just continue to interfere in our timeline as you see fit. You can't."
The 3 original Legionnaires raise their hands up, their rings flash and they disappear in a purple flash.
Imra turns to Kal. "Don't judge them too harshly," she says in respond to some of his thoughts. "They're not terrible people. Only trying to protect what they saw as right in what is a...to use a term in your time era, grey area."
"And the fact they're you doesn't mean you're bias at all?" Clark questions.
Imra laughs...it's a pretty laugh which lights up her rather pretty face. "It's not that simple Kal. 52 realities with many versions of us all and not all of them grew up in benevolent environments. Some versions of yourself, you would not recognise even a glimpse of yourself in," she tries to explain it to him.
Clark sighs and then frowns. "51. It's 51 realities isn't it?" he queries because 2 worlds became one world and that leaves 51.
Rokk slips his hand into his pocket and pulls out the same golden ring they all wear with the letter L on it next to a star. "Here, put this on and we'll take you home," he explains.
Clark takes the ring and slips it on.
Enslaving it to the other 3 the Legionnaires take Clark home...almost. They appear in orbit over Earth...Clark's version of it. Rokk pulls another device out of his pocket and starts using it. "Before you go let me show you something," he says.
Like with Kang the Earth blurs until dozens of worlds spiral out.
"Count them," Rokk requests.
Clark doesn't know why but he does. "Fifty...two?" he questions with a frown. There shouldn't be that many.
"52 worlds held in perfect balance. If one reality happens to be annihilated for whatever reason...and obviously we try and prevent that most of the time, however it seems when it does occur the universe just seems to abhor the imbalance and so creates a new reality to restore order."
"Yeah...though that one isn't the nicest," Garth points at what Clark assumes is the other new reality created to restore the balance. "You call it the bearded Spock universe," he relays something from what must be future meetings with Clark.
"Bearded Spock? Know what I probably don't want to know," Clark decides. After the day, week, month...lets face it last few years he has had he has just had enough right now.
The 3 Legionnaires share a look, knowing one day he'll have no choice but to know but lets leave that until its proper moment.
"We'll leave you now, Kal," Rokk announces their intention to depart. "But we shall meet again," he promises...mostly because it's already happened from their perspective. Time travel. "In the meantime feel free to keep the ring," he offers. "If you ever wish to visit us just think 1,000years ahead and the ring will do the rest. We'll be waiting."
Imra floats over and kisses his cheek. "Just know that however hard it seems at the moment you will get through this and be stronger for the experience. Have faith in yourself," she offers some words of wisdom...and foreknowledge of what he is going through internally.
"I'll try," Clark says with a sad looking smile.
Imra floats back next to her fellow Legionnaires.
"Before you go what happened to my Apocalypse? Is this whole thing going to play out again with him breaching the Source Wall?" Clark wonders.
Rokk's lips thin. "No."
"That's all? Just, no?"
Rokk rocks his heads on his shoulder a little. "It was a fluke for that other version of Apocalypse. A random, virtually impossible chance. The Apocalypse from your world...his fate is different and I think it best I leave it there. You have to discover your future on your own Kal, not have me tell it to you."
"I make my own future," Clark declares.
Garth smirks. "Exactly!" he cheers as that is exactly the point.
"Until the next time, Kal," Rokk gives the farewell as the 3 raise their ring hands into the air...and vanish in the same purple flash of light.
Clark lets out a breath.
"She's so lying, you know," War says with a snort of derision as he manifests in space beside Clark...though it's all in Clark's head. "You won't get through this...and you know as well as I before you say it that the future is not set. Time can be and will be rewritten by me. You can't win, Clark," he promises darkly in the battle for control.
"Perhaps," Clark says. "But you're not winning today," he points out as he shoves War far into the back of his head before plunging down in the atmosphere.
Author's Note: The one downside on having Clark become a Horseman is that I ended one story with him failing to be the hero(and I do acknowledge that but still defend my choice) but when this idea struck me I realised I could have Clark act nobly or foolishly, depending on your point of view and risk his life to save the Multiverse from coming under Kang's sway. The similar universe the 1st Legion come from is suppose to be the actual, proper Smallville universe because I do want it to exist so the Clark of this story comes from something similar but different. The difference being what I had Clark do what seems like so long ago. Put on a costume, motivated in part by his guilt over the death of his mother's baby and start helping people when he was still only 16 while in Smallville we know that it takes him a few more years before he starts that. I guess I could make the same claim about the X-Men evo-verse I showed and that the real, proper one also still exists in my Multiverse and makes both available to perhaps be visited one day and the destroyed evo-verse was again only something very similar. Though what the difference was I don't know but it would be minor. And the bearded Spock universe...see my outline for a certain Earth 2. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up; Before we get to the end we catch up with certain people we haven't seen in awhile.