Krypton I can barely stand. I've lost too much blood. His blades penetraded deep. It's shape is strange to me, but I can't exactly take a look at it when it's halfway in my chest. If I pull it out, that will only make it worse. It might even kill me. Where did he come from? And Princess Diana, there is something different about her. She's stronger, and faster. We should have known this would happen...
--
24 hours earlier...Superman flew through the sky, still awed by his home planet's beauty. The wind and the cool air...there was something special about it. He knew that no other place in the universe could make him feel better. But he had to escape it. He hated it, but understood why; the Council meeting would begin soon. His mother wished to see him there; she always loved young Kal-El's company. And Kal-El loved her for that. He couldn't let her down.
Distracted by these thoughts as he flew, he was unprepared for a thunderous CRASH! The deafening explosion caught him off guard. Using his ring, he saw it came from the Armory.
Who would be foolish enough to attack a base full of weapons, and expect to survive? It has to be another android attack. That's the third one this week! Something's wrong, I can feel it.He floated inside through an open window, and found a group of Kryptonian soldiers fighting for their lives. A horde of droids where charging them; trying to overwhelm them. Their android brains made them terribly fast; he had only seconds to act. He created a wall with his ring and used it so smash the droids back. Some were crushed, some were reduced to fragments; but three survived.
The three droids circled Superman and came at him. He struck the first with a ring-fueled kick, damaging it's motion circuits. When he turned to the second, he jabbed its head hard, destroying it's heat sensors. The final one was used it's tactical programming; while Superman was focused on the other two droids, it shot a blast of yellow energy at him. He leapt over the beam, and, aiming carefully, returned fire with an emerald bolt. He knew he could not destroy it's yellow power source, but he could disconnect it from the robot's body.
When Superman turned back to the soldiers, they had their guns pointed at him. "HE MUST BE THE ONE BEHIND THIS ATTACK!” One of them shouted. “GET HIM!"
Superman almost laughed at the absurdity of the idea. Almost. But he could see their wide eyes, the sweat on their faces; perhaps the droids had fear emitters as well.
He wrapped a green ball of energy around the troopers; they fired uselessly into it.
"Don't jump to conclusions yet. If I wanted to kill you, I could have. Instead I saved you from the android attackers--"
A door opened and behind it were several more soldiers, armed with more powerful weapons from the depths of the Armory.
"FIRE!"
Saddened and frustrated, Superman flew out of the line of fire. He escaped out the same window he had entered.
Why don't they know I'm on their side? Have they forgotten what happned on Theymscria? Or did Zod turn the against me? Or...maybe not Zod. Maybe it was father. Brooding over these thoughts, he flew home. Entering his own room through. As he left his own room, he was startled to see his mother; she was looking at him with knowing eyes.
"I can explain--"
"You don't need to,
Superman."
Kal-El was shocked. Did she see him change? How long has she known?
"How did you--"
"I'd be careful if I were you; hide that ring of yours."
"Mom, I--"
"Don't worry Kal-El; I support what you are doing." She smiled. "I always knew my son would do something great."
"But. I'm an enemy to my own father! Does he know?"
"Your father doesn't know Kal-El. He doesn't even pay any attention to the either of us, you know that. He will never notice the ring you wear. Do not worry, this stays between us."
She walked away, smiling as if nothing was wrong. But Kal-El was stunned.
What just happened?For one thing, he was pretty sure that his father
did know, or at least suspected. That went double for Zod. And why was his mother just so serenely accepting of the whole thing? No, something else was going on....
--
Themyscria, 9 hours later...The Amazons were not happy following the orders of...of A MAN. They could not, and would not except this...this MAN. They were forced to follow him, because Wonder Woman had commanded it. They did not want to list to his pretentious, arrogant speech on why they must work together, work with HIM, a MAN. Why they must not fail. They know they must not fail; what does he, or any other MAN, have anything to say on the subject of their success or failure?
There is something about him.Wonder Woman didn't know what it was, but he was different than the other men she had met. He had such a strong sense of justice, of belief in things greater than himself. And for once, a man could understand their cause. The other Amazons did not see this, they only saw him as just another man. But he was so much more than a man, he was better than that. They didnot see, that there was something more in him. Like Diana, he was driven by a greater power.
He has seen something. I just know it. Something changed him into the man he has become today.She was right of course. But the 'something' happened long ago, on Earth. It happened in Bruce's early life, as a child...
--
Earth, 2003 The early days of the war. The Thanagarians had destroyed all satellite communications on Earth. They used a massive proton laser to annihilate major cities around the world. Survivors were transported to the Watch Tower, a recovery base on Earth's moon for families that fell victom to the Thanagarians. One family was the Waynes. The father of the family, Thomas Wayne, was a doctor in the sick bay. He was also the CEO of Wayne Enterprises. Through that company, he had created the technology for the E.U.A. (Earth's United Armies), to fight back against the Thanagarians.
Those were the days when all seemed to be coming to an end, but something made young Bruce smile every day. When his father would come back home, he would tell Bruce a story, and each day was the it was the same, word for word. But Bruce knew the story was special, because it was one his father had made up just for him, and that
always put a smile on his face.
But one day, something went wrong. The story had changed. It wasn't the story that his father would always tell him, it was one that was true. It was about a 4 year old war between the Bird men and humanity. In the story, it compared the differences between the two. The Bird men were cold blooded killers, who only fought for their own gain. But humanity were stronger, for they cared about one another. They were not simple creatures of bloodlust and greed like the Bird men.
Then came a cold, cold night. On that night the stories stopped, and Bruce was alone. He saw the bodies of his parents, lying in a pool of blood. The claw marks were cut deep into them. That night changed him forever. He finally understood the meaning of his father's story, and he wanted vengeance. On that night, he made a silent, solemn vow; that he would destroy the Thanagarian race. To the very last, they would suffer the same fate as his parents, slow and painful.
--
Krypton, 24 years ago...Kal-El had waited for his father to come back home. But it would be days before his father would return. And it would surely be years before his father would be happy again. His mother tried to put Kal-El to bed, but sleep was elusive. When he finally did sleep, he dreamed that one day his father would come home and sweep him off his feet and hug him. That his father would show him love that he hadn't felt since he was three years old. This dream did not come true. His father never seemed to have time to even acknowledge his own son.
For days, Kal-El would go without getting any acknowledgment from his father. Sadness and frustration filled him, making his eyes fill up with unshed tears. Soon he realized that his father would never even go near him; would never actually talk to him. He felt no love from his father. Eventually, his father came home and found that his son was not waiting. That was the night Jor-El would have spoken to his son. But when he got home that night, Kal-El was sleeping. And so an opportunity slipped away, lost forever.
--
Krypton, now...His mother knew his secret. Kal-El knew he must be more careful. He thought this through, over and over again.
Should I forget about it? Is she in danger of being arrested? Kal-El shook his head. He wondered, instead, about Zod's motivations.
Zod would never betray my father, unless he just wants Krypton for himself. Something isn't right. I can feel it. Zod is up to something, I just know it.His thoughts were interrupted as the ground began to shake. Every moment it got more intense. There were screams from outside. Kal-El put his ear against the wall, listening; but then it exploded! He was thrown flat. Rubble covered him; he had to dig himself out. Pain throbbed in his leg; a piece of debris had pierced his leg. He yanked it out, gritting his teeth against the pain.
Kal-El slowly stood, looking through the hole in the wall. The swirling smoke made it hard to see at first, but when it cleared....
Jets of clear plastics and other materials, almost invisible. They fired on the Kryptonian metropolis. Thousands of Themyscrian Amazons came raining down out of the sky.
Kal-El pulled out his ring and changed into his uniform.
A lone woman stood out from the crowd. "FOR THEMYSCRIA!!!!" Her voice rang loud and clear, and her Amazons cheered.
Superman quickly recognized the woman as Prince Diana. But clearly, she had changed. He knew this would be a tough battle...
TO BE CONTINUED! Let us know what you think
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