I do not own any DC Characters used herein, and am only employing them in a story meant for entertainment purposes only.
Man Of Steel
Original Story By Twisted-Wun & LJ58
Edited and Reposted (With Permission) by LJ58
10
Kal-El stood in the monitoring room of the fortress, his mind divided as he worked on several issues before him.
There was the Phantom Zone. Did he truly want people learning of it? Did he dare risk offering it to the humans, even if it would more humanely solve the issues of overcrowded and ineffectual prisons? There was Connor, who decided that as a mostly human clone, he needed to find his own way in the world, and his own place.
Bizarro, who in his own childlike way, just wanted a place of his own, too, had left the planet, and was seeking his own place in a greater cosmos.
It was ironic, that he, the last of his race, should find two brothers, only to lose them in the same instant.
Still, he didn't second-guess his decisions.
Connor, young as he was remained technically and legally a free being in his eyes. He respected the young man's wish to find his own way. Just as he respected Bizarro's need to seek his own destiny out in the stars. A part of him hated to see him go. Another part was rather glad he wouldn't be around to get into any trouble, because he could see just how easily misunderstandings could arise around the contrary creature.
Even as he watched the monitors that exploited the humans' satellites, he tensed as his super senses suddenly tuned in on a new presence. One that shouldn't be there.
"Hello, Kal-El. Or do you prefer Superman?"
Kal-El turned to stare at the tall, muscular green Martian in a surprisingly Spartan costume that consisted of skintight pants, boots, and a cape that flowed over broad shoulders. The expanse of his hairless, green chest was bare, and yet added to the somber presence of the seemingly inexpressive visage of the fellow alien.
"You're the Martian," Kal-El murmured with a nod. "And I prefer Kal-El."
"I prefer J'onn J'onzz. Interesting place you have here," the dark eyes swept the fortress, and took in the monitoring room where they stood.
"What is interesting is how you managed to circumvent my security, and get in here," he remarked.
"I'm able to adjust my molecular density on a subatomic level until I can render myself intangible."
"Handy."
"Sometimes," he agreed. "I know you are wondering why I am here, as much as anything else."
"There is that," Kal-El agreed, but simply eyed the Martian patiently as he seemed to be a reasonable being.
"I represent a…..covert gathering of certain metas who don't care for the current vision of the world leaders on this world. We would like you to meet with us. Possibly even join our league."
"I'm not much for groups these days."
"I quite understand your wariness, Kal-El," he nodded. "I have been a guest of the authorities myself when I first arrived here."
"With your flair for entrances," Kal-El asked with a faint smile.
"I chose to remain simply to learn all I could of them. Unlike you, I was an adult when I arrived, and only knew what I had absorbed from radio and television transmissions to guide me here."
"I rather doubt you learned much in captivity."
Now the Martian smiled.
"You might be surprised," he said, and turned into a literal copy of the Kryptonian, down to his colorful cape. "In the right place, you can learn a great deal about people if you simply look like you belong, and listen."
"Very clever," he nodded. "Of course, I knew Martians were shape-shifters. And telepaths. The intangibility was a surprise, though. It wasn't mentioned in my father's archives."
"It's a rare gift even among my kind. Not that there are any more. Still, I'm surprised to see a live Kryptonian here. Even we Martians knew of your race's fabled xenophobia. Most of us thought your species died out when your planet exploded, knowing you refused to leave even when you must have known you were in danger."
"According to my father's archives, the Council did refuse to leave, but they didn't think the danger was that extreme. They felt it would pass, and life would go on. They were, of course, wrong. Which was why he took the unprecedented action of sending me away."
"And here you are."
"Here I am."
"I assure you, we are not trying to dupe you. We think you would be a very good addition to our ranks."
"We?"
"As I said, a group of like-minded metas. And even some very gifted, but hardly ordinary humans who feel the same way. We try to help when even the usual authorities won't. Or can't. Much like you were starting to try in Metropolis."
"Just….covertly," Kal-El remarked dryly.
"Can you imagine the reaction if the world thought an army of super-powered entities were watching them, and acting on their own?"
"I can imagine how they will react if your secret inevitably gets out. It would be better to operate openly if your mandate is truly just, and allow the people to know you are with them, rather than seeking to somehow crush them the way they fear their own government is doing at times."
"Ironically, an argument I've made several times. Unfortunately, our senior members feel otherwise. Perhaps, however, a new, and logical voice might add to that debate?"
Kal-El studied the fellow alien for a moment, and finally nodded.
"I will meet with you. I will not, however, promise anything. I've my own concerns to address as yet, and they will not wait."
"We all have other lives, Kal-El," he told him. "We only come together when a threat grave enough to require us rises."
Kal-El nodded.
"As I said. I'll meet. I won't make any other decision until we talk, though. Frankly, the very idea of a covert group like you describe is….troubling. I've already enough trust issues with the local government."
"I quite understand. Just activate this," J'onn told him, handing him a small transceiver, "And we'll pick you up when you're ready to talk."
Kal-El took the device, and studied it for a moment.
"A locator beacon?"
"It helps when we need to transport someone to, or from trouble," J'onn informed him as he showed no surprise that Kal-El had discerned the secondary use for the transceiver so swiftly. "Not all of our members have the raw power, or invulnerability of some of our real powerhouses."
Kal-El only nodded, and set the device aside.
"Anything else," Kal-El asked him bluntly.
"You don't need to worry that I'm reading your mind. It's considered impolite among my people, and even if I am the last Martian in this cosmos, I would never trespass like that against a fellow sentient."
"Not without cause?"
J'onn smiled thinly.
"And certainly not against an ally," he stressed.
"And if I chose to walk away, and not join your band?"
"I would respect that. I will admit, we have a few more….paranoid members that might want more assurances that you wouldn't become a threat yourself."
"I would think they would be more concerned with their own leaders, then."
"Ba…. One of our members is already concerned about your….confrontation with Dr. Luthor. While we know he is hardly a pinnacle of righteousness, he is still a human being. One that vanished soon after you…..visited Cadmus Labs."
"Did he," Kal-El murmured.
"I won't ask. I simply felt I should forewarn you that others might."
"My secrets keep themselves," Kal-El told him somberly. "Even from telepaths."
J'onn only smiled now.
"Batman will love you."
"Batman? So, that urban legend is real?"
"You've heard of him?"
"Only what I have overheard on the streets. Frankly, I've never been concerned with local matters. I favored facing those threats that directly impacted those who could not hope to manage them."
"Admirable."
"This is my world now, too," Kal-El told him more somberly now. "I would favor not having another planet destroyed when I can do something to stop it."
"That, Kal-El, is why we formed our league. We do more than stop rogues or common criminals. Earth is still facing hostile invaders at times. Or extra dimensional threats. Asteroids, natural disasters, and then, too, metas that aren't as….ethically guided as others. Those are the things we face when the authorities cannot."
"An admirable mandate," he nodded to him. "Still, I feel that being more open about your existence and goals would be as effective as your actual actions. Did some of those….misguided metas know that someone waited to stop them, it might….."
"You haven't studied human nature very long. Have you? There are some, my friend," the Martian said as he shook his head, "That would only rise to the challenge, and become more daring."
"Perhaps. But I feel that there would still be a greater percent that might reconsider their actions, or even be guided by a more admirable example."
"Considering your past, I am genuinely astonished that you are so….altruistic."
"I won't deny I have some…..issues with the American military. They are, I have found, hardly representative of the entire race. I have met some very fine men and women since I left the military's care. Far more than I expected."
"As have I. I must go now," he said, cocking his head as if listening to something only he could hear. "As I said, just activate the transceiver when….."
"Do you require assistance," he asked, having heard that static burst in the Martian's ear where he wore his own small transceiver.
"I won't turn it down. You never know what you are going to face when some of these missions call you up."
"Lead the way," Kal-El nodded, and rose from the ground, his own transceiver already placed into his belt for the time being.
J'onn rose up after him, but even as they left the fortress, and arched down across the globe to the trouble spot that Watchtower had pinpointed, he knew Kal-El was actually slowing to let him pace him, which implied he might be just as fast as the Flash.
Perhaps faster.
That, he felt, was intriguing.
MoS
"Hold it back," the colorfully clad Amazon shouted as a crimson streak dug a deep trench into the earth as the shrieking, fleeing population of the once lush tropical island fled the smoldering volcano that had not erupted, but was spewing lava in an alarming rate that was covering the island with molten rock that threatened to outstrip their efforts to evacuate the inhabitants in time.
She gave a Herculean grunt, and lifted the bridge that had started to fall even as several overloaded buses hesitantly crossed the trembling span as a cloaked figured in black and gray impatiently gestured for them to move faster.
"Doing my best, Wonder Doll," the insolent teen that could literally move faster than the eye could blink quipped. "But my trenches just aren't deep enough, or long enough to do more than divert a tenth of the flow. And my boots are starting to melt!"
"Flash," she growled, dropping the bridge after the last bus was across. "We still need time to get these people on boats, and out of the area. We can't…."
The sonic boom was followed almost instantly by a minor quake as something slammed into the earth not far from them. Then, before their eyes rock and earth flew even as the heroes who had been forced to make a public appearance to save the islanders found themselves gaping at the massive trench that now ran west to east, diverting a larger part of the lava flow out to sea even as a colorful figure rose from the far end of the trench to hover over the lava flow before them.
One moment they had all been sweltering in the heat of the encroaching lava that added to the tropical heat, and then an arctic chill filled the air as obviously powerful lungs blew across the lava, cooling it almost instantly to help form a crust to further slows its inexorable flow.
Then the virtual demigod turned to face Diana, princess of Themyscira, and said, "That should buy some more time, but it won't take long for the flow to overrun even my barrier. What else can I do to help?"
"We have a floundering ship blocking the harbor's main exit," Diana told him, forcing herself not to stare. "Can you help…..?"
"Diana," J'onn appeared with a faintly smug expression. "Meet Kal-El, the Metropolis Superman," he said as the man flew off as soon as she spoke. Just that quickly, the floundering ship she mentioned was rising into the air, and was being carried toward another nearby island port.
"He's more powerful than indicated," Batman growled, watching the ship depart. "This could be….troubling if he can't be guided."
"Let's give him a fair hearing before we condemn him. I'd rather not face another Vandal Savage," Diana cut in.
"Ditto on that one," Wally West agreed as the Speedster appeared next to the Amazon, actually breathing a little hard after his own efforts. "Because he sure did help us out here," he said, noting that the bubbling lava was flowing along that deeper, wider trench to pour out into the ocean.
Still, even he could see that the cooled lava was already being fed by a fresh surge of molten rock that would eventually overwhelm even that trench.
"What's your take on him," the grim hero asked J'onn.
"I haven't read his mind. Still, from our initial conversation, I believe he is inclined to be helpful. If we do not make the mistake of alienating him. He is, I should tell you, a little uncertain about operating clandestinely."
"Like we can keep that up after today," Wally quipped, eyeing the crowds still surging for space on the boats that were still arriving to help evacuate the panicked islanders. "There's as much media here as there is in a political convention during an election year!"
Batman glared at him, but said nothing.
He favored shadows, and secrecy, and everyone that actually knew him knew he hated being out in the daylight. Still, this was a job that didn't cater to preferences. Not if they were going to save the people being threatened.
"And now the Navy shows," Wally muttered as a fleet of ships appeared on the horizon. "After all the hard work is done."
"It's not over," Kal-El told him, appearing as abruptly as he departed as he landed to stand with the heroes.
"What is it," J'onn asked as the others just stared at the admittedly impressive Kryptonian that stood before them.
"On our way in, I took the time to examine the volcano to ascertain the reason for this flow. There's something inside the cone that forcing its way up. That's what is causing this flow."
"Something? Can't be more specific than that, can you, Supes?"
"Don't call me that," Kal-El grumbled as he eyed the younger hero.
"I'm just saying…."
"What did you see," Batman fairly demanded of his, his hooded gaze assessing the alien before him.
"I can't be sure. There are just enough trace elements like lead that block, or obscure my vision. Still, there is something under that cone that is moving. And it's coming right up out of the magma chamber."
"Then this could be just a prelude to something worse," the Martian realized.
"Yes," Kal-El nodded. "I suggest that you….."
"You're not even a member of this league as yet," Batman cut him off. "Until you are, you will follow our direction."
"Don't be obtuse," Diana cut him off. "Superman…."
"I prefer Kal-El."
"And I prefer donuts with my French fries, but shouldn't we be focusing on the matter at hand," Wally asked, pointing at the volcano where as a fresh surge of molten rock now suggested something big was not only pushing its way up, as Kal-El said, but that it was very close to appearing.
"Point taken," Kal-El told him. "The fact is, I can withstand the heat out there," he told them. "You cannot. Stay here and aid the evacuees. If necessary, you may be needed as a secondary line of defense. I'm going to investigate this…..object firsthand."
"I'll go with you," J'onn told him.
"Into a volcano," Wally asked him pointedly.
"I won't actually be going down into it. Only close," J'onn told him with a grave tone. "So long as I'm intangible, I should be fine."
"Something wrong with you following me," Kal-El asked him even as they rose into the air, and headed for the swelling cone.
"Martians don't deal well with fire in general," J'onn admitted. "Mars is a much cooler world, recall, and we didn't have so much…..heat. In extreme circumstances, I have learned it can sometimes be….debilitating."
"Then hang back, and let me ascertain what we're actually facing," he told him as he flew ahead, and then banked down into the molten flow near one of the growing cracks in the edge of the cone.
J'onn didn't argue.
Hovering over the unyielding flow of molten rock that continued to bubble up out of the fracturing cone, he watched as Kal-El fearlessly flung himself into that primordial inferno, and vanished into the haze rising off the lava.
An instant later, a muted thunder sounded just before Kal-El was literally flung out of the center of the cone, and hurled across the sky to slam into one of the arriving naval ships. Even as J'onn turned from tracking the hero's fall, he turned to hear a monstrous roar rising up even as a massive humanoid shape pushed and clawed its way out of the lava to stand on the side of the volcano's crumbling cone.
He found he had absolutely nothing to say as the massive thing with spikes adorning virtually every inch of his body looked up at him, and again roared its wordless challenge.
Even as far away as he was, Wally could tell something bad had just happened when he looked toward the sound of that vicious snarling roar, and commented, "Well, that doesn't sound good."
Diana and Batman, still admitted stunned at seeing the seemingly unstoppable Kryptonian flung away like a child's toy by whatever was out there, merely shared a grim expression, and tried to speed up the evacuation all the more.
Continued…