Action Comics #3: "Endgame"

Jar Kell, Green Lantern answerable only to Ganthet, Guardian of the Universe, stands beside a man whose evil nature creeps over him like maggots over rotting meat. He can smell the malevolence that the man exudes, the threat that this man could bring a kind of evil to the world unlike anything that human beings have ever suffered.

Lex Luthor.

The man who saved his life.

He shakes his fist, angered that he allowed himself to be absorbed into the fetid flesh of the creature that stands against him now, he shakes his fist because he’s indebted to the man beside him, and he shakes his fist because he feels he must end that very mans life…

Lois Lane shakes her head, and looks over to Perry, whose face seems tired and worn. This is unlike anything she’d ever seen of the man, the editor who pushed her to the truth, pushed her so she would get her story, so she would never let a trail go cold…

He looks over to her, a weak smile on his lips, trying to reassure, to calm… But she saw the weakness behind his armour…

She smiled back and they hurried back to the Daily Planet, people flooding the streets of Metropolis trying to see what Superman was doing. Lois knows better, and desperately needs to get back to her computer, to type the story that could get her a Pulitzer…

Superman stares at his opponent, the monstrosity known only as the Black Zero. The thousands of eyes that cover its main body stare back, and they battle with their gaze, neither throwing a punch, but a battle of wills, of inner strength.

“You will not touch these people.”

“You could not stop me, son of Jor – El.”

Superman cracks his neck, and rolls his shoulders. “You’re just a sentient being with a God complex. You don’t scare me, and you couldn’t stop me stopping you…”

An eerie laugh floats across the city, and the creature continues to shrink until it’s the size of Superman, and in a shape that resembles him. “What’s this then?”

“This is your father, Kal – El.” The man smiles, and Clark recognises his biological parent that now floats in front of him.

“Is this supposed to shake me? ‘Oh no, not a distorted vision of my father…’” he punches the man straight in the jaw, but it doesn’t faze him, and Superman is sent flying back, his hand broken, seventy five pieces of bone floating in his hand.

He doesn’t grimace, he doesn’t moan, he looks at the man, and smiles. “My size, your mass. Interesting.” Superman smiles again, thinking about what to do next, when he’s struck by a strange feeling. Dread… But not emanating from this weird creature. Something is happening that concerns him, something that is connected to him down in Metropolis… But he can’t leave this battlefield for a new one, not yet…

“I will feed on your city, a small appetiser for the feast that shall be your universe!”

Superman looks down at his city, then looks back up. “I don’t think so.”

“What?” The Black Zero seems to stutter at the impudence of Superman’s comment, and he begins to vibrate and glow until a massive purple light fills the sky, and Superman vanishes in the terrible glory of the power.

“You were lucky I could reach you. My armour wasn’t able to pop through the bubble but when Superman broke it open… Much easier.” He seems to be gloating, but Jar can’t tell. He doesn’t like it. “Who are you, may I ask?”

“I am Kell of the Green Lantern Corps.” Jar looks down on the bald man in his green armour. “You wear the colour of will power. Of good… Yet all I see is yellow.”

Lex frowns slightly, confused. “I don’t understand you. Heh… Are you high?”

“I am not ‘high’, Alexander Luthor. I am perfectly fine. But we must aid Superman in his battle…”

Lex grimaces at the words, and then looks over to where Superman floats, but then turns away as an explosion of purple light fills the sky, and doesn’t fade or relent.

“I think it might be too late for that, Kell! I imagine we should get out of here!”

Jar turns to the human and shakes his head, and with a thought, propels the man into the city limits. He turns and looks at the purple light, and attempts to analyse it with his ring, but he can’t get a reading, the purple energy overpowering his will power.

“Eurgh… Not yellow… Death. The colour of death…”

He turns and retreats into the city of Metropolis, and when he lands he creates a new bubble, this time one of his own will power, to escape the unbearable stench of evil that lingers in his nostrils.

Steel swings his hammer into another of the creature’s chest, and finds himself flung head first into a building, another one of the grey beings using his own weapon against him.

“Mother o-”

He hits the abandoned warehouse with an almighty crash, a half dozen of the creatures leaping into the dusty rubble with him. He smashes them away with his gauntlets, his hammer lost in the rubble. He tries to scramble away, a hand reaching out for the weapon just out of reach… He head butts another, and the creature’s nose crumbles off, leaving a disgusting void in its face, and then he follows through with another punch, an uppercut that sends the creature flying into his brethren.

“You stupid freaks! You are not killing me! I have too much to live for!” He leaps up and tackles another into a wall, and then he smashes down with fists that can break through concrete, till nothing is left of the creature but scattered limbs and grey matter being blown away by the power of the blows. “Kill you!” He spins around, fixed in his rage, and is punched squarely in the faceplate, sending him flying back out of the warehouse and next to the waters edge, away from Sawyer and her squad.

{System failure.}

“What?! NOT NOW!” He tries to move but the servos work against him, holding him to the floor, pinning him to the waterfront and to his certain death, as more and more of the creatures creep towards him.

{System reboot.}

“Too slow…” John Henry stares upward as a creature holding his own indestructible hammer raises it above his head with deadly intent, and when he’s about to slam it down-

Steel is amazed to see the creature about to murder him be catapulted up into the air with such force that he reaches the green barrier and is absorbed, his body being crushed with green power. His armour buzzes back online and he grabs the falling hammer with precision, then looks up to see his saviour, a man with white hair and a strange uniform resembling something familiar… Green Lantern, a name that clings to his memory… A tale told by his father, before his death… He grimaces, but knows this man is good.

“You’re Green Lantern, right?” He readies himself, a dozen or so Bizarro’s circling round the duo.

“I’m a Green Lantern. Plural. You are…?” Jar raises his ring, and waits for the Bizarro creatures to make a move.

“John Henry. But I’m thinking of coming up with a superhero dress up name like you have. Steel. The Steel Man. Black Steel. Something like that…”

“Steel is a good one, but I do not understand this ‘Black Steel’ idea you have…”

“If it’s good enough for Black Lightning… GE’DOWN!” He spins around and smashes a Bizarro in the face, and the two are once more engulfed by the creatures. “I’m getting mighty sick of all this!” Steel swings his hammer once more, and catches two of the beings in the chest, cracking them in two.

“I’m getting mighty sick of this city! First time I’ve really had a chance to visit your sector and this is what I get? Beaten up, left for dead and absorbed by an ancient God! Not what I call fun…”

“Dude, you’ve got more problems than I have… And I’ve had to deal with a Luthor…”

Jar turns at these words. “I dealt with a Luthor.” He shrugs his shoulders. “Past tense.”

John Henry pauses at the words, mouthing the word ‘Dead?’ to himself and then resuming his battle, only to look up when something triggers his external radar.

“Hell, what is that?” He looks up in the sky and sees a flash of green and purple, and then a massive explosion echoes throughout the harbour, Jar Kell vanishing in an explosion of Bizarro matter and debris. Steel swears to himself and continues fighting.

Abruptly, above the sewers and streets and buildings, the bright light in the Phantom Zone sky fades, and a voice speaks out as the green dome fades into nothingness.

"I have been known as many things Kal-El. You couldn't begin to imagine half of them, but for now I shall take the role of-"

“Shut up.” Superman slowly lands on the dusty floor, and the ash scatters around him, dancing in the wind. “You’ll take the roll of listener, because I’m sick of your ramblings.”

“Silence!”

Superman’s eyes glow red. “NO, YOU!” He takes a breath, and smiles. “You’re no God, Black Zero. You’re nothing. A relic of a past age. You claim to be omnipotent, but you’ve been trapped in this place for DECADES!” He nods slowly. “And before that, stuck on a planet without anything, doing nothing… Alone.”

“I manipulated the events of an entire planet, you claim that that is nothing, how deluded you are, small Kryptonian fleshling. Speck of dust.”

“You’re lying. Relic. I call you a relic, remembered by some, forgotten by others, and an inspiration to a select few. Relic.” Superman rolls his neck back. “You claim that all my people, my ancestors, the people who lived on Krypton were all evil. Liar. A relic and a liar. I’ve seen my home, I’ve experienced the lives of people through the matrix that brought me to Earth. My father, my mother, they were good people. They risked everything to get their son to safety, and sacrificed their own lives for the betterment of one person. Zod, Faora, even my damn’d half brother Kru, they were cosmic blobs, little spanners in the works. There is evil in everyone, and good in everything… Even you, even though it is a shrivelled black thing in your ‘omnipotent’ body. A screw loose.”

“I created Zod, I… I am Zod…”

Superman laughs. “You’re grasping at straws. You claim to be a God yet you can’t defeat one ‘small Kryptonian fleshling’… You claim to need to absorb the life forces of a city to reach my own home reality, but you’re not going to make it. You couldn’t, and won’t. I’m going to stop you, even if I have to kill you. You’re in your death throws. Lashing out like an hurt child…”

“N-Now you are the liar, Kal-El.”

“Your voice is shaking! You realising I speak the truth… You expunged the evil side of me with that black rock of yours, yet even my that copy couldn’t stop me. You’ve spasming outwards, throwing out everything you had left. RELIC. A relic of a time of false Gods.” Superman taps his leg slowly. “But ok, I’ll give you a chance. If you are truly a God, smite me.” He opens up his arms and leans backwards, looking up at the sky.

SKRA – TOOM!

Lightning strikes the spot where Superman stood, and the ground erupts in dust and flame, leaving a scorched mark where he stood. Kal looks up from the spot, smoking slowly, and he smiles. “Failed…” He shakes his head. “You are not going to kill anything else, so no more from you.”

“How dare… How dare you, Kal-El…”

“How dare YOU! You are obselete now!”

“If I have no purpose but the one placed on me by the Guardians of the Universe…”

“You’ve allowed your enmity of these… These Guardians to hide the fact that you have no reason to be here. Do yourself a favour and just vanish, please. End it. End your own suffering.”

“I… I…”

Black Zero, the light in the sky, flickers like a fading light bulb, to extremes of brightness to dim, nothingness. Superman watches as the light fades to black, but then suddenly explodes like a supernova, shockwaves being sent out throughout the Phantom Zone, the weaker ghosts and ghouls evaporating with a pop, the stronger beings flung into ash and dust as The Black Zero extinguishes its last power reserves. Superman sighs and is about to head back to Metropolis when his head explodes with pain, and he hears the final words of Black Zero claw into his soul.

“Gone… Never forgotten…”

“Whatever…”

The body of the Zero dissolves into darkness and are scattered to fifteen corners of The Phantom Zone, the dying embers of a powerful creature lighting up the abysmal skies until at last the threat is over, over and done.

A crack of light emerges through the sky, the purple sky cracking like glass… Light streaks through the city as the purple shards vanish and decay, and at last, Metropolis is back in its proper realm, blue skies and green grass surrounding the proud city.

The dust settles on Metropolis, sunlight finally touching the buildings and inhabitants of the city. The waterfront is a mess, rubble and debris floating in the harbour, damaged police property scattered among the warehouses. Maggie Sawyer stands beside John Henry Irons, the man called Steel, who’s face mask is upturned, his bearded face feeling the gentle sea breeze cooling him off.

“Something happened to him…”

“Yeah.” Maggie nods in agreement, brushing off the dirt and dust covering her clothes. “Something has. The dome is gone… What does that mean? What did Superman do?” Maggie goes over to her squad, the men and women scattered around the harbour, all looking up and taking in the skyline. “John… If it passes with the Mayor, then hell yes, we’ll accept your tech. After an event like this, it just goes to show that in an age of gods and monsters… We lowly mortals have to team up to get up.”

John nods.

“If you want to come down to the steel mill whenever, it’s all ready for inspection.”

Maggie smiles. “Thanks.”

Perry is already back at the Daily Planet, shouting at his employees to get moving, the weakness and exhaustion hidden from the people who did not see it first hand, but Lois was there, Lois saw her friend and mentor weaken… She smiles to herself.

“I will be damned sure angry if we don’t get our paper out first after this damned crisis!”

Superman lands in the office and Perry turns, Lois closing the office door behind her.

“Superman! Good to have you back! Time for an exclusive interview?”

“Not now… things have to be cleared up first. I’m trying to figure out why you two were of the few that weren’t affected by The Black Zero Effect…” He holds out Lois’ hand, and looks into it, and nods. “You’re skin… There’s something in it, something old and strange…”

Lois takes back her hand and frowns.

“Excuse me?”

Superman looks up and sighs to himself. “I’m sorry Lois… I just don’t feel quite right. I apologise. Your hand, there’s something that’s become connected to your skin, and I think… yes, all over your body…” He nods. “Metallo. You still have traces of Metallo in your body. Remember Metallo?”

“The… Oh.” Lois remembers, but forces the memory back. Bad mojo. “So this Metallo…”

“It stopped the psychological effects of the Black Zero affecting you… You probably got off lighter than everyone else, a shortened version of the affects. You had a light at the end of the tunnel you could say… ” Lois remembers her cousin. Her light at the end of the tunnel. “I’m sorry about all of this, it’s all my fault.”

“It’s not like it was you who started all this, son.” Perry steps forward and pats him on the shoulder. “It was that other one, the naked guy. Didn’t get a look at his face though… Heh…” Perry laughs loudly. “What about me then, Superman. Why didn’t it infect me? Black Zero effect?” Superman laughs and X-Ray’s Perry’s skull. His smile fades in confusion.

“Nothing. Absolutely no physical reasoning that could explain why you weren’t affected… Could be something physochological… Force of will?”

Perry nods slowly. “Something’s don’t need answering, Superman.” He laughs. “Alright then. Some things should just never be found out, eh?” Perry smiles and turns to Lois. “Now where’s the story you were writing?! AND WHERE THE HELL IS KENT?”

“My stories… Yup, plural… My stories are on your desk, ready. Kent is… I dunno. Probably cleaning himself up at home because of the Black Zero. Heh. Big farm boy not ready for the big bad city evil alien gods… Whatever, something like that…” She gasps and smiles.

“Lois, I need to take you somewhere.” Superman smiles slightly and Lois nods.

“Sure.”

Superman returns to Clark Kent’s apartment, and looks in the mirror, and sighing. He remembers everything that Black Zero had made him feel. All the bad feelings, all the evil, and he shakes his head. This… Had made him reassess everything. Made him look deeper inside himself than ever before. He looks over to his CD player and presses a button, resuming the album he was listening to last.

Lex Luthor sits in the lab. LexCore was a failure. He lost some of his most prized assets, but has gained something more valuable than the entire crew of that station.

A ring. A single green jewelled ring.

He doesn’t know how to work it like that Kell alien did, but he will find out. He doesn’t know if its voice activated, DNA activated, something… A higher calling activating it… He doesn’t know. But he will find out, because he is Lex Luthor. And he always gets his way.

After three hours of her father worrying over her and making sure she was alright, Lois Lane returns home and is relived to collapse on her bed. Her story can wait till she’s had some rest and just had time to… to cleanse herself of the day’s events. She takes off her jacket and checks her messages with the touch of a button.

“You have. One. New message.”

“First. New message.”

BEEP.

<<Hey, Lois… It’s Clark Kent… I’m taking some time off to go through a few things… I don’t know when I’ll be back… But… I’m sorry I ran out on you. Something big came up that I couldn’t get out of, but even then… I’m sorry. I’ll talk to you later, when I get back. If I… Bye.>>

“Clark…” Lois runs her hand through her hair and looks out the window, a wave or realisation flooding over her. He eyes open wide, and her jaw drops.

“CLARK!” She smiles to herself and slaps her forehead, everything clicking into place.

“Wait.” She puts her finger to her chin and pauses.

“Nah.”