Full of Grace

by hazel6016

The redemption of Clark Luther

4. Chapter 4

Warning: strong language!

"I don't understand that, Bruce."
"Join the club."
"How many murders since October?"
"More than thirty, all small criminals."
"Damn it."
"It's getting worse." Lois looked at him, what could be worse? "Rumor has it it's Ultraman."
"He's not come out of the fort in the last three years, Bruce. We know that."
"It's assuming you trust John Jones and Jor El."
"The league doesn't trust Jones?"
"People are starting to doubt Jor El's promises and Jordan never liked the compromise we reached."
"Is he causing trouble again?"
"He never stopped. And the fact that we found dozens of bodies in the field where the spacecraft landed does not help."
"I'll talk to J'ones."
"I'm not sure that will be enough this time."
Lois' office door was open, and her assistant burst in.
"Mrs. Queen!"
"Jeff, I asked not to be disturbed."
"You must see the news."
Lois turned on the TV right in the middle of a special flash that reported a giant monster that appeared in Minnesota and started killing anything that moved. She had just crossed the border into Iowa from a police car that was trying to block her way. Bruce tensed all over.
"God forbid."
"Some Justice League members have already confronted him." Jeff said, "There are conflicting reports. They say Blue Beatle a dead and something on Booster Gold."
"Pery White ..."
"He said to tell you he sent Vicky Vale there."
"Okay, great choice. Jeff, I want regular updates on what's going on. Check out these reports about the league."
"Immediately, Mrs. Queen." Bruce got up and left immediately after Jeff without adding a word.
Lois picked up the phone and called J'ohn J'ones. There was no answer. She hung up the phone and almost had a heart attack when J'ohn appeared through the wall. She stood up.
"Lois."
"J'ones, promise me one thing. Clark is still in the fortress, and he is not responsible for the chain of murders."
"This creature is responsible for them." He pointed his head in the direction of the TV.
"What?"
"He's been on Earth since Kal El arrived, hitchhiking like a parasite on Kal El's spaceship. He's destroying the worlds, Doomsday."
"But how did this creature manage to move around without anyone noticing? He's a little conspicuous, isn't he?"
"He was disguised, impersonating a man named Davis Bloom. These murders were the final stage in his development. He is a lab creature."
"Will the league be able to stop him?"
"He's Kryptonian." Lois sank into a chair. "Not of the same race as Kal El. His race became extinct a few hundred thousand years ago."
"How?"
"The ancient Kryptonians were deadly, territorial, barbaric. The whole galaxy feared them. There was even talk of destroying the planet, but they destroyed Doomsday's race and shut themselves in. Killed each other until the first Kryptonian from House of El managed to restore order. He just killed Anyone who opposed him, but he was the founder of the Kryptonian society, set rules, laws, moral codes and retired from power, transfers control to the High Council of Krypton. House of El has since been considered the Krypton aristocracy, something like the Kennedy family here. Jor El was considered a prodigy and there were high hopes for Kal El."
"Speaking of which. Will he be able to stop this creature?"
"I do not know."
"I need to talk to Jur Al."
"Are you sure this is a good idea? Humans will get it back at all?"
"We have no other choice."
"Lois, since I brought you the disk, I have not entered the fort."
"But all your reports ..."
"I communicate with Jor El and I made a telepathic contact with Kal El when Jor El allows it, usually when he is asleep."
"So, he hasn't contacted anyone since?"
"I do not know how sane he is."

Lois entered the fortress, J'ohn J'ones remained outside. The fortress was as beautiful as ever and Lois could not help noticing that the place looked less sad than she remembered. As she got closer to the center of the fortress, she noticed someone singing.
" We haven't seen the sun for weeks ... far from home ... solid ground ..." She came out of the crystals and saw Clark doing something complex with the crystals. He was still wearing the same clothes she had seen him in recently. At least he cleaned the blood, she thought. " Oh, darkness I feel like letting go."
"I would start with this song." She said with a smile. The crystal in his hand fell to the ground and froze in place. "Sarah McLachlin is a little too depressing and I always thought of you as a man of Nirvana or Metallica." He turned to her and straightened up. "Maybe the Rolling Stones."
"Sympathy for the devil?" He raised an eyebrow. She giggled. "What are you doing here?"
"We need your help."
"We?" She nodded. "And what can I the insane killer do for you?"
"Are you not up to date with what's going on outside?"
"No, but if he let you in maybe he would agree to update me." He bent down to pick up the crystal.
"So, you know he declared the fortress out of bounds?"
"I guessed." He shrugged and put the crystal in the console in front of him. "Jor El?"
A circle of light appeared on the ground some distance away and Clark approached and stood on it, a cylinder of light surrounding him. Lois looked with her mouth open at the pictures and symbols that appeared in the light, moving too fast for her to recognize them. After a few minutes the lights disappeared, and Clark stood in front of her looking at the blue ring. Lois waited.
"It's your decision, son." Said Jor El. Clark looked up and looked at her.
"Ok." He took off the ring and handed it to Lois. "Keep it for me?" She nodded and then looked sideways sharply as a crystal rose from the ground. Lois gripped the ring tightly.
"What is that?" Clark touched the crystal and it opened, revealing something black inside.
"Solar suit." Clark took the suit off the crystal and looked at Lois. "I'll need any advantage against Doomsday." Lois stood next to him and looked at the black suit and then looked at him. He gave her a crooked smile.
"It will look good on you."
"You need to go back."
"But..."
"I better find Doomsday alone, away from people."
"We think he's in Nebraska."
"Excellent, a lot of empty plains. But start clearing Metropolis."
"Why?"
"He's looking for me." He looked down at her.
"Why?"
"A long story and we do not have the time."
She looked at him, really looked at him. The last time they met he was full of self-loathing, pain, and despair now he looked much more stable, less bitter and there was something in his eyes that reminded her of the Clark from the other world. Without realizing she was doing it before she did it, she pulled ends of hair from his face. The blue eyes looked at her in surprise.
"Stay alive, I want to hear this story!" She turned quickly and hurried outside the fort. He watched her walk away and smiled.

Despite all of Clark's efforts and attempts they reached the outskirts of Metropolis. He did his best to stop Doomsday along Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and half of Kansas and now, Doomsday was grunting effortlessly crushing the road sign that marked 2 miles to Metropolis. Clark stood between him and the city, panting, trying to decide what his next move would be. In Wyoming, Doomsday spotted the news helicopter following them and decided he did not want to be photographed, in an attempt to prevent him from dropping the helicopter Clark drowned him in the salt lake near Salt Lake City. It held him in place for about two hours. Their battlefield was so unpredictable that people did not have time to evacuate their homes. Clark stopped the fight several times to save people along the way as heroes from the League distracted Doomsday. After Doomsday managed to get another hero into the hospital in critical condition, Clark shouted at them to let Doomsday destroy everything in its path. He has not made many friends in this way, but it seems to him much more important to save lives than to protect their damaged pride or property. But now it was just him in front of the monster.
He heard someone land behind him but did not bother to turn around.
"How many fucking times do I have to tell you to get the hell out of the area?"
"I only obey instructions sometimes and that too only when I have no choice." Said a female voice behind him.
"And when they say, please?" He heard a warm laugh. He was about to turn his head back when Doomsday suddenly punched the road, causing the bridge between him and Clark to shake. "Damn! I can't stop everything to take you to the hospital so just stay away from here!" The woman behind him suddenly took off into the air. The relief he felt was replaced by worry and anger as she flew towards Doomsday.
Doomsday looked at the woman approaching him like a missile, his mouth open and he roared. In front of Clark's stunned eyes, she flipped in the air so that her legs were towards Doomsday and then landed forcefully on his chest, causing Doomsday to retreat about ten yards back. Clark did not intend to let Doomsday recover; he flew very fast straight in his direction pushing him back so hard that Doomsday was buried to his waist in the hard ground on the side of the road. Angry, Doomsday tried to extricate himself from the pit. The black-haired woman approached him and intended to kick him, but Doomsday hit her in the arm, tossing her on a support post on the suspension bridge. Clark wasted no time worrying about her, he jumped in the air to a height of a few hundred yards and then landed forcefully on Doomsday, burying him even deeper. He began to pound hard on Doomsday's head burying him more and more until Doomsday threw his arms up, tossing Clark away from him into a row of trees that had fallen like dominoes. By the time Clark got up, Doomsday had already managed to extricate himself from the pit.
The woman reappeared above him, and Clark looked in astonishment as she used a golden lasso to force Doomsday and then began to pull it in a circular motion in the air.
"What are you doing?" Shouted Clark. The woman suddenly released the lasso and Doomsday flew far away at a right angle to the bridge. Clark sighed and flew towards her. "Thank you, really, it helped a lot. Now until I find him, he will be in town."
"You do not play well with others, eh?"
"No, not really." He turned to fly away. She put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.
"If you fight him alone, he will kill you."
"Exactly. Everyone else had the mind to get away."
"I do not leave people alone on the battlefield."
"What wrong with all of you? The goal here is to survive after your enemy has been eliminated, not to sit down and have a cup of tea with him!" He enters her personal space, blue eyes colliding with blue eyes.
"Exactly. It's just that you do not think about your survival, do you?" She answered in a calm voice. He recoiled in surprise. "Together we can stop him."
"That was my mistake." He said without further explanation and flew away from her so fast he just disappeared.
"Hades!" She hurried after him. I just had to open my big mouth.

By the time Clark found Doomsday the monster had found another bridge. Clark stood on the other side of the bridge. Doomsday showed no sign of noticing but right on the edge of the bridge he jumped towards Clark. Clark jumped too. They met in the middle, managed to exchange blows in the air before the much larger mass od Doomsday caused them to fall on the bridge. The bridge collapsed like a house of cards.
Doomsday grips Clark with a bear hug leaping up and landing on the road on the Metropolis side. He tightened his hug and Clark gritted his teeth in pain, he had trouble breathing. Under the red fog he suddenly struck hard with both hands on Doomsday's shoulders. Armored concrete would have broken in two from the force of the blow. Doomsday screamed furiously, Clark felt like he had broken all the bones in his palms, but the blow worked, Doomsday released him. Ignoring the pain in his hands Clark started punching Doomsday but Doomsday was bigger, stronger, and made of stone. Clark knew he was being pushed deeper into Metropolis, somewhere in the bustle of battle he managed to spot stores out of the corner of his eye. It just spurred him to do more, to hit harder. Out of nowhere someone collided from the side on Doomsday and the creature flew through the building to the other side. Clark looked panting at the woman from before.
"Are you okay?"
"Are you crazy?"
"Not the last time I checked."
"What are you trying to do?"
"Keep you alive!"
"Who asked you ?"
"You need to recharge yourself! I'll take care of him, fly up and charge from the sun!"
"He's my problem!"
"That's an order, Kal El!"
"Who are you to give me orders?"
"Wonder Woman, head of the Justice League. Go!" She turned away from him following Doomsday. He looked at her in shock. "Do not stand there with your mouth open. Move!" She called out to him. Grating teeth Clark took off.
The hot yellow sun caressed his whole body, he felt the energy flowing in his body. The problem was that it gave him time to think. He did not want to think. He did not want to imagine the memories of the last two days, the faces of the people who looked at him as if he were the rescue they wished for, as if he were a hero. He did not want to think about it because then he would have to admit that he loved it, loved it much more than the fear his name had aroused in the past in people. He swallowed and looked at the sun. There was no way to stop Doomsday. He knew that from the moment he left the circle of light in the fortress. If he doesn't give everything he has ... he turned sharply and flew back to the metropolis. Contrary to what this Wonder Woman thought if he thought about his survival Doomsday would win.
He landed moments later in Centennial Park in Metropolis. Wonder Woman lay bleeding at his feet. He leaned over and checked her pulse and closed his eyes in relief for a moment when he felt a weak pulse. He straightened up, noticing Doomsday among the ancient trees in the park. He straightened his shoulders, preparing himself. He noticed Lois out of the corner of his eye, she was standing protected in the doorway of the Daily Planet. He looked up at the gilded globe at the top of the building and then at the Luthercorp tower that towered above it. He looked at the sun, at the glass towers. The city was cleaner, more beautiful, well-kept. He saw all the green, the shiny cars on the street and could not help but compare to what was in the past when Linole ruled everything. He preferred the present. His eyes found Doomsday again. He took everything away from his mind and walked slowly, resolutely towards the monster that was about to destroy this world if he did not stop it.
Lois' heart jumped when he appeared from the sky. She followed him with her eyes. People around him murmured unhappy when he seemed to be wasting time looking at the landscape. Only when he started walking towards Doomsday did she realize what he was doing. He is separated from everything. He did not intend to survive this battle. It took time and struggle with the cops to be able to free herself from the masses and run to Wonder Woman who began to recover.
"What happened?"
"Clark is back." Diana looked sharply in the direction of the center of the park from which the sounds of battle began to be heard.
"And he went in there alone ?" She looked at Lois. "Did he go crazy?"
"He has no plans to survive." Diana took off from the reclining position. "Diana! You're bleeding! Wait!"
"No time!" She flew in the direction of the battle.
Lois hurried after her. She barely reached the plaza when the ground shook beneath her and she saw Clark flying a few feet away. Diana hurried to him.
"Let me help you." He smiled.
"It's okay, appreciate the offer but not necessary."
"Kal El, you don't have to sacrifice your life like that."
"So, who will you sacrifice?" He got up.
"No one should die today."
"Very well, that's exactly the thinking I expected of you." Then Lois looked in shock as he patted Wonder Woman on the forehead, and she collapsed unconscious to the ground.
"Clark!" Lois shouted at him.
"I'm a heartless sadist, remember?" He shrugged, "Remind her of this when she wakes up."
"Why are you doing this? Please, don't!"
"Bye, Lois." He returned to the battle. Doomsday he roared at him defiantly and did not look back even once.
Lois hurried to Diana and cradled her head in her lap. She could not take her eyes off the battle.
Clark wasted no energy talking to Doomsday. He gave everything he had in every blow he gave. The fighter jets with the energy weapon did not dare to fire for fear of hitting him, the two were so close to each other, moving so fast. Every punch hit the whole city, breaking glass windows in all the towers in the city center. Doomsday caught Clark by the neck and pushed him hard into a huge rock, over and over again until the rock cracked. He lifted Clark in the air and threatened to break his back on his knee. From somewhere deep inside Clark grabbed Doomsday and turned the creature over as he swung it in the air and slammed it so hard that it broke rocks and metal deep into the ground. Water erupted in the distance as a water pipe burst and then a loud explosion was heard that threw Clark meters from Lois.
"What was that?" She called out to him.
"Gas pipe."
"Clark, please! Do not do this! Wait for reinforcements!"
The ground shook again. Clark knew Doomsday was coming back. He leaned over Lois and kissed her for a long time. She looked at him in shock and her eyes filled with tears. He smiled.
"I wanted to do it from the first time I saw you." He hurried and bumped into Doomsday who had just come out of the hole, keeping him away from Lois and Diana.
"Clark !" Lois screamed.
Doomsday suddenly took a slap from the back of his hand at Clark, the protruding bones from his body cutting Clark's face.
"Son of a bitch! It hurts!" Cried Clark.
He looked closely at Doomsday and then grabbed his big palms and twisted them back. Doomsday screamed, slamming his head back. Without releasing his hands Clark kicked hard between the creature's legs and then hurled heat rays at it with the power of a nuclear reactor. Doomsday screamed again and then, his eyes turning even redder, he hit Clark with his head. Clark released him, stumbling back, seeing stars. Doomsday growled and began to work with his fists on Clark.
Bruce appeared next to Lois in his Batman attire.
"What's going on?" Lois looked at him with tears in her eyes. He was bruised and moving in pain.
"He fainted Diana."
"Doomsday?"
"Clark." Bruce smiled.
"I had a feeling it would happen. I warned her."
"It's not funny! He is being killed there!" Bruce stood up and watched the battle.
Clark managed to stabilize and kicked a fierce kick in the air that tossed Doomsday away from him. Doomsday landed on an ancient oak tree and crushed it into sawdust.
"Hey, freak! Do you have a moment?" Bruce shouted at Clark.
"A little busy right now, rich kid. Leave a message and if I have a dull moment, I will think of you."
"You can't kill him."
"I think I'm doing a good job in that direction." Clark kicked on Doomsday again, tossing it into an abandoned duck pond.
"He isn't staying dead for long!" Clark smiled.
"I know, it's all fun."
"You're really insane."
"What do you want me to do? Play polo with him?" Bruce gritted his teeth and Clark laughed. "It's actually not a bad idea." He pulled a steel power pole out of the ground and used it to hit Doomsday's head. The steel was torn to pieces. "New ideas?"
"The Phantom Zone."
Clark looked at Bruce in surprise and Doomsday took the opportunity that his mind was distracted to grab Clark by the head. With one hand he crushed his head and then started kicking him in the chest.
"Batman!" Lois screamed. Bruce did not look at her.
Roaring in rage, Clark found a reservoir of power within him, somehow, in an almost impossible act he managed to knock Doomsday back, rolling with it on the ground and then kicking it in the air to a height of hundreds of meters. He stood up effortlessly, looking up.
"You want to send him to the Phantom Zone."
"Yes."
"And how do you propose to do that? Because I'm not bringing him closer to the fortress, forget it."
"I did not see that your location means anything to Jor El." Clark took a quick look at Bruce and smiled.
"It's just me here, Jor El is not going to intervene."
"Damn you!" Shouted Bruce. "For the first time in your life give someone a chance to help you!" Clark jumped into the air and tossed Doomsday into the air again. He landed back on unstable legs and Bruce knew he was getting tired.
"I'm sorry." He looked embarrassed at Bruce. "I'm pretty much standing here for a test and shouldn't cheat."
"Clark ..."
"You're only standing thanks to a ton of drugs right now and the world would be much better without me."
"That's nonsense and you know it!"
"Look what an eight-year difference without the Luthors has made to this world." Bruce was silent. "This creature is here because of me. I'm not here, no creature. A simple equation." He glanced up. "And let's say and he will die, and I will survive. Do you think I will be accepted in this world? I don't deserve them; I will probably never be."
"Clark ..."
"And this is really not the time for a heart to heart. I'm sorry for a lot of things, especially for being such a dick when we met. Now excuse me, I need to treat a half-ton moving rock before it destroys the whole city." He flew up.
"At least throw it over the clouds!" Bruce shouted up. "Find the sun."
Lois helped Diana get up, the Amazon's head still spinning on her. The three looked up. A cloud of smoke suddenly appeared on the edge of town.
"God!" Lois whispered. Bruce pressed his ear.
"They landed on the edge of town." He said quietly. "This doesn't look good." Lois started running in that direction.
"Lois!"

They were both exhausted. Lois arrived at the large field, where they landed creating a crater, just in time to see the two of them with the rest of their powers hitting each other at the same time. In the news helicopter that filmed everything and broadcast live to the whole world, there was silence. Clark and Doomsday were pushed in opposite directions by the force of the blows. Clark could barely stand. Doomsday remains lying, the light in his red eyes turned off.
Lois hurried to Clark grabbing him just as he collapsed. The black suit was torn, bruises and ugly cuts covered his entire body. Even after the Zoners' attack, after the fight with Titan, Clark was not so hurt.
"Please, just hold on! The medics will be here any minute!" She hugged him to her, "Please!"
"Doomsday, he ... is he ...?" She could barely hear him; his voice was so weak.
"You stopped him! You saved us all! Now only ..." All the tension disappeared from Clark's body. "No, no!" She shook him, "No!" There was no response. She hugged him tightly.
Hal Jordan moved Diana and Bruce to the scene with the help of his ring. Bruce hurried to Lois and Clark. He searched for a pulse in Clark's neck and found nothing. He took off his glove and tried again. There was no sign of life. He straightened up wearing the glove. He looked at Diana and Hal and shook his head. Diana's face fell.
"Good riddance!" Said the Hal.
With a speed that would not embarrass the flash Bruce gave Hal such a hard punch that the Green Lantern stumbled back a few steps.
"What was that for?"
"If I don't see you again until the day I die, it will be too soon!" Bruce screamed.
"He was a killer!"
"And you're a cop! And he was the one who took care of the trash for you! Go to hell!"
"I'll take Doomsday with me."
"You will not do anything of the sort." Said Diana in a quiet voice that left no room for argument. Hal passed his gaze between the two and then took off.
"You exaggerated a bit, don't you think?"
"If he had come here when we called him, that, all that, would not have happened. He could have taken Doomsday out of here without us losing a life." Diana nodded.
"I'll take care of Doomsday. I think I have a solution for him. What about Clark?" They turned to Lois.
Lois laid Clark on the ground, with trembling hands she tried to arrange the black suit without success. She used a handkerchief to clean the blood from his face.
"I don't know."
Bruce released the black cloak from his shoulders and spread it over Clark, covering his face and then hugging Lois, who was shaking from crying.