Prologue

The Fortress of Solitude was his home away from home. It also served as a tribute to a fallen people. As comfortable as it was for him, Superman knew that changes had to be made. The frigid cold of the Arctic and the lack of furniture and décor did not bother him in the least. However, for a human being, the conditions were not survivable. That had to change if he was going to bring Lois there to visit. He couldn't just have a relationship with her and not share this part of his life. Work had to be done to make this place more comfortable for her.

This trip to the Fortress had him bringing the remains of Brainiac. This wasn't necessarily a trophy to be displayed; he wanted to make sure that Brainiac stayed on ice. Using his heat ray vision, he melted a six foot compartment in the icy wall. After putting the two pieces of the android inside the compartment, he used his icy breath to encase them in ice. The final result was a see through section in the ice-wall where the body was displayed standing up. "Welcome to your new home."

A bright red beam appeared out of nowhere, and hit him in the back, throwing him into the icy wall where his face was implanted through the ice. Before his mind was even able to comprehend what was happening, a massive hand grabbed him by the shoulder and threw him to the other side of the Fortress. His back slammed into the wall, but even after taking such a hard blow to his back, he remained on his feet. This gave him the benefit to gather his senses and see who had invaded his Fortress and was attacking him at full force.

Standing across the Fortress was a massive alien; with skin of gray-stone. He was even more massive than Superman, standing probably about seven or eight feet tall. His biceps were almost twice the size of his own; it was almost a sight to behold. His stone head had some kind of blue helmet the covered most of his head except for his face. His glowing red eyes smoked as he stood there with an evil grin on face. "This is not another vision, Son of Krypton; I am very real!"

"Darkseid!" There was no mistaken the voice, and now he finally had a face to put with it. Now longer was he hiding in the shadow of his visions.

"You've impressed me, Superman, I'm usually not easily impressed," His voice was deep, dark... almost god like. "You've been granted great powers by the yellow sun, but even you must realize: your powers are insignificant next to my own."

Superman leaped towards the dark lord, hoping to take the element of surprise. He nearly floated above ground as he raced towards him, bringing his right arm back in preparation of delivering a punch across his face. When the time came, he threw that punch, only to have his entire fist caught in the palm of his massive right hand. Darkseid's entire hand engulfed his fist as if his fist was the size of an infants.

Grinning, he began to clamp down on his fist. Superman screamed in agony, as the pain brought him down to his knees. Desperate to free his hand before it was crushed, he prepared to fire his heat ray vision into the dark lord's face. Sensing the attack, he released his hold on the fist and instead his gigantic hand grabbed hold of his face. His entire face was covered by the palm of his hand. When he tried to fire his heat rays, it backfired. If it caused any pain to Darkseid, he was not showing it, but as for Superman, his entire face was covered in soot, burned by his own doing.

Still grabbing onto Superman's head, he lifted him up until his body was dangling loosely over the ground. Without much effort, he tossed him like a rag doll towards the main crystal podium. He collided with it with such force, it broke into two and fell to the ground before he did.

"I've known about Earth for eternity. I know everything there is about this primitive planet. I find their religion of Judeo Christianity the most interesting." He stomped towards Superman like a monster not quite finish playing with its pray. He wrapped his fingers around his neck and hoisted him up over his head to clearly show that he was the more superior of the two. "If Judeo Christianity is the truth, then I AM the devil!"

He released his hold on Superman, dropping him down onto his feet. It was a move to clearly to demonstrate that he was not afraid of anything the Kryptonian could throw at him. He knew what Darkseid was saying, but Superman had his own message for the lord of Apokolips. He would fight with every fiber of his being until his dying breath. He lunged at him like a cornered animal defending himself. His arms became like a blurr as he through a series of punches as fast as he possible could. Each punch was aimed for his chest. He was not trying to deliver a knockout punch; he knew that it was not going to be that easy. He was sending a message that he could push back just as hard.

Darkseid got that message as the punches caused him to take a few steps backwards. His response almost made giving the message a mistake. He used his right arm to swat Superman back, and then with surprising swiftness, he kicked him in the chest. Superman's chest felt like it was on fire as he again hit the wall, cracking the thick, layer of ice upon impact.

Darkeseid walked towards him, stalking him. "Don't worry, I'm not here to kill you... yet. I could destroy you right now with my Omega beam, but then you wouldn't learn anything." He grabbed Supermans face with fierce speed, cupping his chin between his thumb and forefinger, and squeezing painfully until his lips puckered and his teeth clenched. "You have all the power in the galaxy, and have but just one weakness. That merely makes you god-like. I have no such weakness; that's what makes me a god! A demi-god, like yourself, cannot compare to an actual god. Think about that, as I force you to watch me conquer this world. When next we meet... I bring the hell of Apokolips down on this world."

The dark lord threw him up into the air behind him. He spun around and fired his Omega Beams from his glowing red eyes. The two read beams zig zagged in a unpredictable course, making it impossible for Superman to escape. The red beams made one final zag before hitting him in the chest. The impact sent Superman spiraling through the icy-crystal ceiling and roof of the Fortress, and out into the frozen and blizzard-like tundra of the Arctic. He hit the ground hard, nearly a quarter mile away from the Fortress.

On the cusp of slipping into unconsciousness, he looked out at the front of his Fortress. His family crest, made of Krytponian crystal and ice hung dominantly over the entrance. In an instant, he watched as explosion after explosion rocked the Fortress, sending out fire and sparks in all direction. The Family Crest, the giant 'S' incased in a diamond, disintegrated into several large pieces as it collapsed and shattered. The Fortress began to crumble like a house of cards. The commotion and the explosions caused the ice to melt, and whatever remained of the Fortress after the explosions sank to an icy grave. There was nothing left of the Fortress of Solitude, and after watching it sink, Superman found himself swept away into unconsciousness.

...TO BE CONTINUED

COMING APRIL 2012: Superman: The Man of Tomorrow (The climactic conclusion to the Superman Trilogy)