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
12
"Flash," Batman growled as he absorbed what was being said, and not said. "Alert all planetary authorities. We may have to consider this an invasion."
"No," another voice cut in on the League signal. "It's much worse."
"Who are you," Batman growled. "How did you…..?"
The burst of static almost deafened them as their transponders all failed in the same instant.
"What was that," Wally complained, pulling out his own transceiver to glare at the device.
"We're deaf and dumb," Captain Atom spat, pounding a fist on the console he stood over. "Something just shut down all our gear. We can't call anyone."
"Teleporters are down, too," a man in green, carrying a high-tech bow in one hand grumbled. "No one is leaving this tub that way."
"We only have three javelins online," Batman spat. "Not enough to carry all our people down."
"I'll work on the transporters," J'onn J'onzz told him as he seemed to melt through the hull just then, rising to solidify before the heroes as he nodded at Batman. "Everyone else, get to the Javelins, and begin preparing for evacuation. This station may be a target once that….invader gets close enough."
"All right," Batman nodded. "Everyone into life support suits. Now. And begin evac. J'onn, did the Kryptonian have any idea what we're facing?"
"Never mind the flying planet," Wally exclaimed, pointing outside at a glowing figure rising toward them even as they stared out the main ports.
"He's flying through space," Diana murmured.
"He's headed for the main airlock," Captain Atom told Batman. "Do we let him in?"
"Yes," Batman nodded. "I've the feeling he's the one that tapped in on our frequency. Let's find out what…."
"More company," Wally pointed as a familiar red cape appeared as the Kryptonian flew up to join the glowing, green figure, and then flew alongside him to the airlock.
"Apparently, they are….acquainted," Captain Atom murmured.
"Let them in," Diana agreed.
A few minutes later, the more colorfully clad hero walked onto the main control bridge with a man dressed in green and black, with a curious sigil across his chest.
"Who are you supposed to be," Wally asked with a smirk. "Spinach Man?"
"He's the Green Lantern for this galactic sector," Kal-El cut in when the dark-haired man scowled behind his mask, jaw clenching, and his eyes glittering with a telltale green reflecting the power now manifesting within in. "They're a group of galactic peace keepers sponsored by the immortal Guardians of Oa. And he has information on this threat. You should listen."
"Cosmic cops, huh," Wally snipped. "Looks pretty human to me."
"I am, Flash," Green Lantern told him, not mentioning he had only been on the job a month, and three of those four weeks had been on Oa learning just how his life had changed after that ring popped up, and declared he had been chosen.
"Even the Kryptonians knew, and respected the Lantern Corps," Kal-El cut in when he saw Batman's scowl deepen. "You should trust him."
"And listen to me. What's coming isn't just an invasion. It's the end of the world."
"Again," Wally moaned.
No one laughed.
"That planet is called Warworld. It's a roving coliseum filed with the meanest, toughest, and deadliest vermin in the galaxy led by someone even worse," the masked Lantern told them, holding up his fist as the ring projected a huge, emerald hologram of a bald, muscled humanoid that looked as if he liked to rip off arms for fun.
"He's green, too," Wally frowned.
"He's yellow," Hal said uneasily. "The ring doesn't do colors. Listen," he turned to the others around him. "Warworld is more than a traveling circus. That planet-ship uses a lot of fuel, and resources. He'll strip this world of everything. Literally everything. People included. Provided he leaves any alive."
"You have a plan," Batman asked somberly, realizing he was out of his depth here, and sinking fast. Crime and villains were one thing. Galactic gladiators were something entirely different. Not that he would ever admit it.
"The obvious one. Warworld has a reputation. So does its leader. We challenge Mongul. Present a champion, and hope he, or she," he added, eyeing Diana, "Can beat him. If he is beaten at his own game, Mongul's warrior honor will force him to abide by any terms set for the contest."
"Which, obviously, would be to get lost," Wally suggested.
"Obviously."
"So, who will be our champion," Captain Atom asked the Green Lantern. "You?"
"No. Powerful as this ring makes me, I would be at a…..disadvantage here. That's why I approached Superman."
"Kal-El," he told him quietly.
"Superman fits," Hal told him just as blandly. "So, can we count on you? Can you fight this gladiator for Earth's survival?"
Every hero on the bridge stared at him, and even Batman finally gave a faint, curt nod.
"I would have joined you all the same. If you think this….contest will spare us unnecessary casualties, I will do whatever I must."
"Good. Then the first thing we do is meet with Mongul. That's the easy part," Hal admitted. "Getting him to accept our terms might be….tricky. We have to reach him first."
Captain Atom stepped forward, and told him, "Leave that to me."
"I shall accompany him," J'onn told them.
Hal seemed to look at him for the first time, and frowned. "Aren't you extinct?"
"I am the last of my race," J'onn told him somberly. "Is that a problem?"
Hal shook his head, and looked around again.
"We'll need a fifth member. These things always require an envoy of five. Don't know why. Haven't figured out all the alien protocols out there as yet. No offense," he said, eyeing J'onn.
"None taken. I've yet to figure out humans either."
"Let me know when you do," Hal told him with a crooked smirk. "We'll write a book."
"I'll go with you," Diana told them when the few others merely eyed Batman.
"You," Hal echoed. "No offense, but…."
"Amazons are born warriors," Diana fairly growled at him. "And I am more than I appear."
Hal wisely did not respond to that as Kal-El simply nodded at her, and declared, "We would be honored to have you at our side, Princess Diana."
"Princess?"
"She is Queen Hippolyta of Themyscira's daughter and heir," Kal-El told him. "As well as a proven, and powerful warrior in her own right," he added, recalling her daring lead in holding back the Doomsday clone almost single-handedly. "I did some research since our first meeting," he told Diana who only stared at him.
"How did you learn of my mother. Or find Themyscira," she asked bluntly as everyone else just backed away. They all knew Diana could be beyond sensitive about any man finding, or approaching her homeland. Not that many could find it at all, since it was cloaked by magic.
"I did not it," he admitted honestly. "I merely listened, and extrapolated from my studies based on what little was known of you. The rest, naturally, was speculative logic based on myth and legend that have obviously been confirmed in your presence here."
"Dude," Wally smirked. "You're starting to sound a little like Bats here."
"Don't call me Bats," the detective growled.
More than a few eyes rolled among the League members.
"Enough," Kal-El cut in. "I suggest, since time is obviously not a luxury in this matter, that we get underway at once."
"How," Wally asked. "I mean, some of you guys might fly through space like taking a walk, but our birds can't get out that far, and even Diana couldn't….."
"I'll carry her," Hal told them. "In fact, it might look best if I carry everyone as we approach Warworld."
"You must have some arms," Wally quipped.
Hal responded by holding up his ring.
"I'll just form a platform with an airtight bubble. I can carry you with ease that way. Are we ready?"
"Yes," Kal-El answered without hesitation.
"Let's go," Diana agreed.
"I'll keep you informed with a telepathic link," J'onn told Batman. "Meanwhile, you might still wish to ready Earth for what is transpiring."
"I doubt you'll need to do anything," Hal replied. "The Guardians' record indicate Mongul has quite the ego. He won't do anything until he makes a….public service announcement."
"Which will incite panic and hysteria across the globe," Batman predicted. "We definitely need to get back down to the planet. We may be needed in the worst case scenarios if flare-ups the authorities are unable to handle rise out of any resulting chaos."
"Agreed," Wally nodded, thinking of his own family down in Keystone City.
"Go prep the javelins, and let's get everyone down. With our comms down, we can't do much from here."
Wally was gone in an instant.
"We should be going, too," Hal said, and led the others back down the corridor to the airlock. The three League members followed without hesitation. As did Kal-El.
"So, what do you guys call your team?"
"The League," Hal was told by Captain Atom. "We were a covert operation for handling and containing metas too powerful to manage until a few days ago when our cover was blown."
"I saw the news. Big and ugly really gone," he asked, eyeing Kal-El.
"He is. His…..bigger and uglier twin isn't," the Kryptonian admitted. "I've been trying to track him down, along with whoever sent that clone. So far, to no avail."
"If we don't handle Warworld, that will hardly matter," Captain Atom said as a green haze filled his vision, just before his own unique senses assessed and catalogued the emerald energy used and shaped by the Lantern's willpower. Even he was surprised at the sheer power in that simple device as the hatch opened, and Green Lantern lifted, and carried them out into space without any discernible effort in the large bubble he had formed around the four of them.
"True. Still, as troubling as this…..gladiator is, I am still concerned with Doomsday. He is more of a threat than you realize."
"You seem to know much of him," Captain Atom remarked as he studied the admittedly impressive alien standing next to him in primary colors that didn't look garish at all in spite of initial impressions.
"He was, originally, Kryptonian, too. He was….spawned by a group of very unethical scientists during Krypton's early days of clone experimentations."
"Much like Cadmus," Diana suggested.
"Too much like Cadmus," Kal-El told them. "Even I could not believe some of what I found in their labs. It is….troubling."
"Without Dr. Luthor, I would think that Cadmus would soon be history," Captain Atom asked suggestively.
"There is always another Luthor," Diana spat.
"And he was not the head of the group," Kal-El added, surprising the silver hero. "Someone with more power and money was backing him from the start. It is true, Dr. Luthor's own pride and ambition had him rising to exploit those resources, but he was not the head of that particular snake."
"Are you still looking for that head, then," Nathaniel asked him probingly.
"Cadmus no longer has my DNA. That makes them a human concern. As I said, my attention is focused on more immediate threats. As human authorities have made it clear they do not always wish my intervention, I have decided to focus only on matters that threaten my adopted home on a global scale."
"Adopted home," Diana asked.
"I'm sure by now my biography, limited as it was, has been read by everyone on the planet. Your people do seem to worship celebrity's, whatever their status. The simple truth is, I am an orphan sent from a dying world, and I'm as much a Terran now as anyone born here. The Earth is now the only home I have left. I would rather unscrupulous, or blind men did not destroy it, too."
"I'd rather not have anyone destroy it," Hal quipped.
"Indeed," J'onn replied evenly.
"That thing is….big," Diana gasped, seeing the growing dot in the darkness around them.
"And faster than I would have expected," J'onn admitted, eyeing the huge planetoid coming toward them even as they flew toward it.
"I'm going to try to initiate contact, guys," the Green Lantern told them now, his voice carrying through the narrow tendril connecting them to his protective aura. "So don't mind me if I ignore you while I focus on this."
"I could telepathically….."
"I don't think that's necessary," Kal-El informed them needlessly as a small fleet of apparent fighters rose from the planetoid, headed directly toward them.
"I don't need telepathy to know they're not the welcoming sort," Diana said, looking at the seemingly fragile bubble holding them with obvious unease.
"We're being escorted to the ruler of Warworld. He was apparently expecting us," Hal told them just then as the fighters flew around them, banked, and bracketed them as some flew close enough for Diana to see that not all of them were humanoid. Or even close.
"Did you present our offer and terms," Kal-El asked the Lantern.
"Trust me, Superman. I didn't have to say a thing. Just showing up as we did pretty much indicates we're here to fight. Now we just need to manage the details."
Kal-El said nothing to that as they approached Warworld, and began to descend.
"Rao," he rasped, staring down at the surprisingly overpopulated world that looked more like one huge ghetto than the technological marvel that allowed a planet to move through space at the whim of its master.
"Tyrants can be found anywhere," J'onn told him somberly, reading his mood even without needing to read his thoughts. "Even Mars had its own troubles before my people passed from this realm."
"Why don't they just rebel," Diana asked.
"That sounds funny coming from royalty," Hal quipped as they began to descend toward a massive, semi-domed structure that would have put the biggest stadiums on Earth to shame.
"Don't judge what you do not understand," Diana spat. "Themyscira has lived in peace and harmony for thousands of years because we left Man's example behind us long ago."
"Touchy," the Lantern muttered. "Then why did you leave your….paradise," he asked.
Diana frowned.
"It's complicated."
"And hardly the issue," Kal-El spoke up just as they landed in front of the huge coliseum, and the population made up of hundreds of different races stood and gaped at them as Green Lantern lowered the bubble only after they reached the ground.
"Don't worry. The air is safe enough here. Most of the species on the planet need oxygen within tolerable limits, too," he told them.
Kal-El merely nodded as they stared around them.
"So, all these species are from….conquered worlds," Captain Atom asked, eyeing the surprising diversity around him.
Yet, to his eyes, they were all…..human. He could touch their energetic essences. Their souls, some might say. And they all felt the same. They all radiated….misery.
"Likely," Green Lantern nodded, and then turned as a lanky, gray sentient in blue robes approached them.
It was more than obvious he had some status here as the crowd all but stomped over their own to avoid even touching the newcomer.
"You are the Green Lantern for this sector? We heard that Lantern was deceased."
"I'm his replacement," Hal told him. "And we've come to negotiate with Mongul."
"If you know of Great Mongul," the being cut him off. "Then you know there is no negotiating with the inevitable before you. This planet will soon add to Lord Mongul's power and wealth, and any survivors shall help spread his fame as they bewail his power and….."
"Enough," Green Lantern surprised several of his own even as the crowd shrank back from his obvious anger. "We are here to speak to Mongul himself. Not lackeys. My words are not for those too unimportant to hear, or understand them."
The wiry, gaunt creature tittered, and drawled, "You have fire. We shall test that fire in the arena. If you survive the preliminaries," he said, and abruptly pulled and fired a small silver device at Hal's chest.
The beam struck him pointblank, and ricocheted into the crowd to put half those in the immediate vicinity to sleep.
The alien frowned, shook his head, and drawled, "Well, this is unexpected."
"Allow me," J'onn said, and stepped forward, eyed the being, and then dropped a hard fist on his skull, rendering him unconscious.
"I could have done that," Hal muttered.
"True," J'onn nodded in agreement. "But I read his mind first. Mongul is inside. Watching. This was a test. We have several more….gauntlets to pass before we can stand before him. I suggest we be on our guard. We are now in mortal danger."
"Goes without saying," Captain Atom remarked as he looked around the milling crowd that grew ugly at having some of their own so easily put down.
Not that it stopped some from surging forward to exploit their unconscious compatriots, stripping them of anything of value before they woke.
"This way," J'onn told them, and took the lead as they were led not to the main doors of that massive stadium, but to a side door near what seemed a small booth.
MoS
"Nothing," Lois muttered. "It's been almost a week since that monster almost tore up that island, and no one has seen one trace of Superman," she complained.
"Well, it's not like the military made him feel very welcome," Jimmy pointed out.
Lois, thinking of her own father's show of concern that masked his attempt to debrief her, didn't argue. Sam Lane was still looking for both Luthor, and Superman. He was beyond furious that they had both escaped him. Meanwhile, there was heavy pressure coming down on the Planet to keep anything about Cadmus from being published, whatever the source.
A lot of that pressure was obviously federal.
To his credit, Perry was doing his best to ignore it.
"Maybe he got hurt, and…. You know, had to go rest, or something?"
"Superman," Lois frowned. "Somehow, I don't think that's likely," Lois told her new shadow who had become her official photographer after that Bizarro incident.
While she still favored being solo, she had to admit that Jimmy's pictures had finally helped prove Bruno Mannheim's connections to Intergang, and help her expose the thug in Armani was still just a thug.
Even if he was showing up with some seriously high-tech weapons lately that made it hard for the cops to even touch him, or his gang. She was hoping to get Superman to help, but he was on hiatus, or something, and had not shown up in Metropolis since…
She sighed, and found herself remembering Clark Kent again.
She didn't really like the guy. He had been smug, backbiting, and stole more stories from under her nose than anyone else in her life. Yet he had not deserved to die like that. Damn Luthor anyway. She had little doubt he was to blame. Which meant her father was to blame. Even she probably couldn't count all the bodies those two had buried over the years.
Only where Luthor was a garden variety megalomaniac, her father had the backing of an entire nation as he performed what he deemed 'his duty.'
Hypocritical jerk.
No wonder her mother had bailed on him.
She grumbled, and looked around as she realized everyone was looking at the sky. A very dark sky considering it was supposed to be ten in the morning.
"What's going on," she frowned as she got up from her desk, and walked toward the window.
No one had a clue.
MoS
Mongul, they could see, was massive. Well over six foot, his body looked hard as steel, and his yellow pigmentation made him look positively ominous.
His low, growl of a voice when he spoke was hardly a surprise to them when he all but sneered down at them when they finally passed through several 'tests' to reach the throne set up before the wide, sandy arena with more than a few suspiciously dark stains on that packed surface.
"So, you're the mudball's best representatives? I'm unimpressed."
"We're here to offer you a challenge," Green Lantern spoke first.
"Oh, that much is obvious, human," Mongul sneered. "The question is, are any of you up to the challenge? I will not waste my time with inferior beings. So, let you each face a champion of my choosing. I will judge you, and select the champion I feel worthy enough to face me."
"And when we win," Green Lantern stated confidently, "You will leave this sector, and its peoples, in peace."
Mongul's throne groaned under the slap he dropped on arm as he rose, roaring with laughter as he did so.
"You've audacity, human. I'll give you that," he crowed. "For that, I allow you the honor of going first. Understand, you must fight alone," he said, pointing at the center of the arena. "If any aid you, you forfeit the match, and my good will."
"Then you accept," Kal-El asked firmly. "Our victory means you leave here in peace?"
"If you win, human," Mongul called him, obviously not aware he was not a Terran. "If."
"We will win," Kal-El nodded. "Bring on your challengers. But in the end, I will face you."
"Arrogance aside, human," Mongul sneered, "You have yet to earn….."
"I am not human," Kal-El chose to state bluntly now as several obvious sentries appeared, ready to guide, or assist. If not attack. "I am Kryptonian."
Mongul stared. Hard.
"Are you now," he finally murmured. "We shall see. We shall see."
"You. Lapdog of Oa, Turn and face your foe," Mongul demanded as the dais, and his throne, rose on a hidden platform that carried him above the arena floor, leaving him looking down at them.
"You will await your turn for a glorious death for Lord Mongul's entertainment within," one of the sentries told the group as Hal turned, and gaped at the nine foot, yellow robot.
He glowered, but did not waver.
"Lantern," Kal-El murmured. "Machines of any world cannot move well if hampered by sand in their workings," he advised as he passed Hal on his way to join the others in the recessed alcove just under Mongul's now elevated throne as the throngs began to fill the few empty seats in the huge arena as news of newcomers, and fresh blood reached them.
"Bread and circuses," Captain Atom murmured, staring out at the scene before him. "I wonder if any civilization ever truly advances beyond this stage."
"Krypton did. As did Mars," Kal-El told him. "Unfortunately, there are always other endings awaiting even the most advanced species," he said, watching as Hal stepped forward to face the yellow giant with huge fists bunching for a killing blow even as he approached.
"What did you tell him," Diana asked as Captain Atom simply frowned at Kal-El's words. Whatever Wade Eiling had told him of X-1, it didn't seem to fit. The man had a natural dignity about him, but even more, he seemed to carry himself not as invader, rogue, or even a vindictive fugitive, but rather as a man who watched the world with a depth of melancholy that surprised him. As if the Kryptonian were able to see the faults in those around him, yet was willing to let them make their mistakes even though it saddened him.
"That the best machines don't work well when clogged with sand," Kal-El replied softly, mindful of their guards.
Diana allowed a faint smile as Hal dodged, and lifted his ring.
"Clever," she said, even as Hal's ring formed a row of giant fans that stirred the loose dust in the arena floor that was meant to cover the bloodstains, and formed a dust cloud that remained swirling around the lumbering giant that swung ineffectual fists at the dodging and weaving human that chose to run back and forth around it.
Eventually, in an almost anticlimactic end, the machine-man ground to an audible halt, and stood frozen with both fists raised over the Green Lantern who now rose from the ground to hover before the yellow robot. His ring flashed again, the fans vanishing even as a large hand formed to lift and fling the robot across the arena, landing in a clattering heap near the wall where Mongul's throne was located.
The crowd actually booed, not seeing the expected carnage as Hal turned and walked back toward the other heroes watching.
"My friends," Mongul's voice boomed over the arena as he rose to speak, his displeasure obvious as he glared down at the Lantern. "That was just the warm up. The comedy portion of today's show. Next, let us show these interlopers how we deal with unwarranted arrogance. The next would-be champion from the humans will be the silver gladiator. Let us see how he fares against the Tonquul!"
The crowd erupted again as Kal-El frowned.
"What is it," Diana asked as Captain Atom frowned.
"A tonquul is a living energy siphon," he told them. "It literally feeds on energy by sucking in anything it finds for its energies. It isn't nicknamed a sun-eater without cause. They are even known to drain the life from stars if they are allowed to grow massive enough to need such nourishment."
"Captain," J'onn murmured uneasily. "If it consumes energy….."
"I've actually faced one before," he said, stepping out of the alcove as Hal nodded at him as they passed. "Of course," he added, pausing to see a seething, mass of am orphic flesh oozing out of a now open door across the arena. "It was much smaller."
"How did you beat it," Diana asked, staring in horror at the fleshy thing that seemed to test the air with two, large tentacles equipped with large, oval suckers like an octopus might possess.
"I overfed it," he said, and again strode forward with grim determination.
Continued…..