1Metropolis, Chez Joey's
13:31 2013
Among the many restaurants that populated the city of Metropolis one stood out above the rest. Chez Joey's was an upscale dining establishment that catered to the upper class of society.
Throughout the city, it was known as the home of the signature sixteen-ounce filet mignon served, in front of you on a five hundred-degree plate. Fresh seafood was also a feature, as well as excellent Desserts by Shari, which Joey's ships worldwide. Another thing Chez Joey's was famous for was its generous servings and a fabulous open kitchen that allows guests to watch their dinner being prepared. The restaurant also features Metropolis's most comprehensive wine cellar, with over two hundred labels in stock.
Within the upscale restaurant, two men sat at a booth next to the large window. These two were good friends who forged a bond that bound them together. One of them was the newly promoted Colonel Steve Rockwell Trevor. The once young army captain became a grizzled high ranking A.R.G.U.S agent. He was no longer a soldier on the front line, his time as a hard charger had ended. It wasn't his choice, it was just the natural course of the world.
The guy who sat across from him was none other than the infamous Clark Kent aka Superman. Instead of his normal appearance, Clark decided to don a disguise. With a beard and curly hair, he assumed the identity known as Chaz Donen. The two good friends looked into their menu as the waiter hovered over them.
"Are you ready to order, gentlemen?" She asked kindly.
Clark looked up from his menu. "Ah, could I have the sesame oven roast with red pepper sauce? No onions, please."
She turned to the older gentleman."And for you sir?"
"Just the steak, thanks. Medium rare," said Trevor. He handed her the burgundy menu book. With their order, completed the waitress took the table d'hôte from the both of them
"Thank you, gentlemen, your orders should be here shortly," the waitress muttered before she returned to the kitchen.
With the unwanted third party gone, Steve looked at his fellow patron. "Listen, I'm sorry about the view Clark. The geniuses who organized my schedule never stopped to think about where they're sitting us for lunch." He turned to the large window that flanked their table. "I just hope watching them rebuild Metropolis doesn't bring the whole parasite incidents back for you."
Clark remained silent as he thought about the event. The parasite incident was a battle that pitted Superman against the creature's dubbed parasite. Originally a S.T.A.R. Labs patient by the name of
Raymond Jensen. Their testing transformed him into a malformed creature that was always hungry. Once he escaped, Parasite started a gruesome killing spree as he absorbed people's life force through physical contact. What remained of his victims were their molded skeletons.
After the death of twenty-one confirmed victims, Superman intercepted the meta-human serial killer. The two battled and destroyed the Luthor monument in the process. Eventually, the fight was moved to Stryker Island, an abandoned prison facility located on a small island between Metropolis and Gotham. With no humans around Superman went all-in on Parasite, defeating the monster in three minutes. Once incapacitated parasite was taken into A.R.G.U.S custody. Not long after the conflict, the prolific newspaper publishing firm and rival to the Daily planet the Daily star continued its smear campaign against the man of steel.
"Believe it or not I hardly give it a second thought these days. Colonel Trevor." he lied.
"Geez, Smallville you don't have to be formal. I get that enough as is." Steve replied.
"Okay Steve, how's it been?"
"Well, Lois and the kids are doing good. Ever since the promotion I've been trying to relocate them further west but I was outvoted three to one."
"Alright, how are you enjoying the new job? Doesn't being in charge of homeland security get a little daunting when you're sitting in the big chair?"
Steve chuckled. "Heading A.R.G.U.S is like being the pope, the queen and the president of the united states all rolled into one. It's insane."
"I believe you," Clark pointed his thumb towards the patrons and staff in the restaurant. "Like how half these diners are highly-decorated undercover agents. And that the food you ordered is being tested by the company bacteriologists."
"That's not even half of it. All my clothes are bugged. All my conversations are recorded. Taking this position was like volunteering for a career as a paranoid schizophrenic. I can see why Waller retired."
"Next time I see you'll have more grey hairs." Clark teased.
Steve ran his hand across his hair. Then he looked at the Kryptonian who shook his head gingerly. "Son of a gun"
The two shared a heartfelt laugh. Both men had come a long way from their first encounter in kahndaq. When Steve and his squad were prisoners of the terrorist cult Onslaught. While the teenage Clark kent was sent to the war-torn country by the president to rescue the soldiers. Since then the two became inseparable, the alien was even made a member of the Trevor family. Like with all things life took a turn and it forced the two to come at odds with one another. Since then they had little to no contact with each other, until now.
Clark knew a lot about Steve Trevor. He knew the man's favorite football team, his favorite movie, and even his future retirement spot. When he schedules a dinner date with someone nine times out of ten it was about something big."So, what did you want to talk about?"
"Two things, one personal and one favor." the colonel sigh "What would you say if I told you that the president just authorized a hundred and fifty-two billion dollars into the US defense budget with plans to reinstate Superman as America's poster boy again?"
Not much phased the man of steel but those words alone took him off guard. Clark did a double-take."I'd say you were lying," he answered.
"What are you talking about? Superman," Steve tilted his head towards Clark, as to point to him without his fingers."Saved the world and uncovered the alien tech which jumped our tech by a few hundred years, right?"
Then the head of A.R.G.U.S drew a brown portfolio from under his seat. He placed in the middle of the table. Across the cover of the portfolio, the words top secret were branded on it. Clark looked down at the folder then back to his friend.
"I also caused thousands of dollars of damage. Indirectly hurt and killed hundreds. Let's not forget I threatened the US government and committed treason." Clark rebuttal. He adjusted his glasses for dramatic effect."Why would anyone in their right mind invest a nickel in me after what I did to the city recently."
"True, if you were anyone else you would have been killed or imprisoned..mostly killed but because we're living in crazy times and you're a god-like being we decided to overlook those details." He countered."As you have noticed first-hand crime is becoming super crime. Terrorism is becoming super terrorism. Even the fattest, most stupid politicians on capital hill realized that fancy missile defense systems are going to be useless against the kind of problems America's facing out there."
The Kryptonian grabbed the folder and started to skim through it. First, he sped read past the worded documentation until he came across his file. It contained hardly anything new just records of his feats that he had pulled off. They described his strength as off the charts, this drew a smile off his face. Then he turned the page to see another profile. This time it was on the Gotham City vigilante Batman. Clark raised a confused eyebrow.
'That was odd' he thought to himself. He turned the next page and saw a familiar face. Diana Prince aka wonder woman. She was like him in more ways than one. The two shared a unique moment. Before he could get lost in her photo, Clark looked up from the record jacket. Seconds before he could utter a word Steve spoke.
"Read all of it,"
Clark did just that. He continued and saw four more extraordinary people. Next was a green-clad man with a ring, the same one who was rumored to be from space. This information drew Clark's attention. Then there was Central city's residential hero the flash. Superman didn't think must of the kid other than he was a bit immature. On the following page, it showed the Eco-terrorist dubbed the Aquaman. Clark had a run-in with ocean dweller in the past, the fight between them was left unresolved. The last member was a former college football star turned into a modern Frankenstein. All he could do was shake his head at the young man's blight.
Once he went through it everything started to make sense. These seven were selected to become a government-funded defense organization hand-picked because they're the only choices. Which made sense since each member was competent in their abilities. It wasn't like they were going to come together and form a team anytime soon.
"Seriously?" Clark questioned.
"Serious enough that the president wants to take seven state-sponsored super people, to begin with. Downsizing conventional numbers and reinvesting in a small, superhuman unit for twenty-first-century problems." Steve placed his elbows on the table and leaned forward. "So are you in?"
"I'll think about it," the man of steel replied. The colonel held his breath. It wasn't a no and it wasn't a yes either. He could work with that. "So with that out of the way what's this favor you wanted?"
The Excalibur Space station
Over fifty-two days in orbit.
Over recent years, space exploration has changed what was once funded by the government is now funded by private companies to extract precious metals from asteroids or minor planets. These metals are used by the earth's ever-growing needs for new technology which these private companies are spearheading. Unlike other missions Excalibur's current operation was different. instead of mining, they were on salvage assignment.
A couple of months ago a contingent of alien ships was present outside of orbit. They were believed to be the first wave of an invasion party. The aliens sent a fighter or two to earth but they were intercepted by a green light. That same green light engaged the invasion party and wiped them out. The remains floated around the earth as a debris field. Among the wreckage of the failed invasion, the group of astronauts continued to scavage for valuable technologies.
Hank Henshaw, was many things a courageous explorer, loving husband, and even a Superman fanboy. He listened to the stories of the people who Superman had helped. How he saved their lives without a need for gratitude or reward. It didn't matter what the newspaper, politicians or the world said about him. They did not define who the big blue boy scout was. Eventually, people will realize the truth but until then the last son of krypton would continue the good fight. Henshaw remained in his head until he heard the voice of his beloved wife.
"Hank, "Terry called as he tried to get his attention. "Get on
the line, it's important."
The astronaut had a bad habit of spacing out on assignments. Some found it annoying but terry she found it adorable. She chalked it up as his childlike wonder to the great unknown, whatever that meant. Either way, he loved her and she loved him that's all that mattered.
He complained to her request. He tapped the button on his wrist.
"Hankshaw here, what's up?"
"nothing much boss man just wanted to inform you that you guys got thirty-five minutes until return to the station."
"Understood Jim the shopping cart is almost full," He replied as he placed another piece of tech into his containment bag.
"The cargo bay is nearing maximum anything large for the next group, Okay."
"Confirm," hank muttered. He turned to his wife who was also grabbing anything that looked valuable. " Hey, hun do you remember our pre-launch briefing?"
"Which session? The briefing lasted about a week."
"The one with the head of homeland security," he answered. Henshaw spotted a damaged alien rifle. He snatched the weapon and started to pose with it as if he was a space hero, like flash Gordon. "How pleased do you think the government will be if we bring back a working ray gun?"
She watched him as he played with the weapon as if it was a toy. Apart of her wanted to lecture him about the danger of alien technology. instead, terry just giggled at her husband's goofiness. Before she could properly reply to his question something caught her attention. A large object crashed into the alien debris field.
"Terry! What happened?"
"I'm not sure," she answered. "I saw something move."
"Hank, Terry yall alright out there?" Jims voiced echoed through their com device. " Answer me."
"Were okay just pair of large debris chunks collided," he remarked as a wide smile appeared. "On my way to investigate."
"I'm coming with you," His wife asserted.
His smile instantly faded as it was replaced with a frown."No, Get back to the ship."
" Honey, I'm a qualified astronaut too remember,"
"I know, I know its just," he paused for a moment. "I don't want anything to happen to you."
"How do you think ill feel if I let go out there and get hurt or killed?" she quired.
Henshaw thought about it for a second. Terry's logic was sound, either way, they sliced it one would be worried about the other. "Hey Jim, Terry and I are going to check it out, well be back in no time."
"Whatever, tell us what you see," he responded.
with the aid of their manned maneuvering unit, the Henshaws made their way to investigate the wreckage. They passed through the corridors of the destroyed ships. A sense of foreboding washed over the two. on instinct, they held each other's hand. Once they made it through the corridors they spotted movement. Before they knew it they saw the cause of the crash. Out from the wreckage was a huge hulking beast. a gray, hulking humanoid with tiny bone protrusions
that covered its body.
"Oh hell," Hank whispered.
The Arctic
21:26 PM
Amongst the northern polar waste resided a vessel of extraterrestrial origin. The Kryptonian scout ship rested on the snow-covered surface. Clark's fortress of solitude was his new home, a place of solace away from civilization. The vessel's main entrance opened to the frozen environment. The last son of krypton dressed in a shirt and jeans stepped out of his home and scanned the area. He had looked at the frozen expanse hundreds of times but the one thing that he enjoyed was alone.
When he first became a hero he did it out of a sense of duty. the feelings of happiness and warmth fueled his passion to help others. He revealed in the admiration and respect that was given to him. Clark's wish to be involved in the human world came true but at a price. His reality was shattered and his innocents become a shadow of what it once was. Superman
happiness and affection were turned into bitterness and despair. At times the alien wonders if he should seek out sympathy from those who understood him. The irony of that was that he was forced to murder the only other Kryptonian, his family, his brother. From his perspective, Clark felt content to suffer alone as he endured the suffering.
The man of steel ventured through the polar waste on foot. His unique biology enabled him to be unaffected by the frozen temperature. Superman remained in his thoughts as he continued to lament about his his fancy was soothed with dreams of virtue, of fame, and enjoyment. Clark was nourished with high thoughts of honor and devotion.
But now his infamy has degraded the alien beneath the heel of humanity. No guilt, no harm, no resentment, no grief, was comparable to his blight.
Superman looked up in the air, where he saw an aurora dancing in the sky. When he thought back to the horrific actions he committed for the government, Clark couldn't believe that he was the same child whose thoughts were once filled with patriotism. The embodiment of truth and justice. But that wasn't the case from the beginning.
They held him up as a beacon of hope until they brought him down. A menace, a pariah they were unable to get rid of. Until they changed their minds once again. Clark shook his head at his odd twist of fate. Was he forced to live a cycle of being beloved one moment then hated the next?
A.R.G.U.S headquarters
Washington, DC
07:26 AM
Colonel Trevor and his agent gazed at the monitor. From their display, they saw the man of steel gazing right through them. A sense of uneasiness washed over them. It wasn't every day someone was capable of spotting their billion-dollar satellite from the earth's surface.
"I guess he doesn't appreciate the orbital super weapon overhead. Huh" said Sasha Bordeaux A.R.G.U.S deputy director.
"It's not that he just takes his privacy very seriously. agent Bordeaux," he countered. Steve pressed a button on his terminal. "A good evening to you too. Are you ready to get this show on the road?"
"What you got for me Steve?" Superman asked as he took off into the air.
"We picked up some kind of disturbance in the wreckage belt. Look into it. We don't need a chain reaction raining debris on the homeland. You copy?"
Superman gave an audible grunt. "Roger," Clark increased his flight speed by a margin. Then a miniature shock wave erupted as he took off towards orbit. Suddenly the collar of his armor started to stretch upward. Then a form-fitted pressure helmet formed around Clark's head.
"While you're up there give any salvage crews you spot a flyby. Show them your back in business. And Clark."
"Yeah," he responded.
"Bring us the most interesting thing you can find."
"Hank, Terry, what have you found?"
" We found one of them, it's alive," Terry whispered in her helmet.
"Let's get out of here," he said as they began to retreat. Then the alien's eye opened. Its fiery red pupil looked directly at them. Their hearts almost jumped out of their chest. Hank turned his head and saw an amazing sight. As if his prayers were answered, Superman has come to save them. Superman pointed towards the space shuttle. Without missing a beat the two astronauts used their traversal pack and made their way back to the Excalibur.
"Open the airlock, Jim it's superman he's got this."
Clark analyzed the grey creature. It was huge compared to him, at its full height he estimated that it stood about twelve feet tall."Okay what are you?" he murdered as he floated towards the creature. The monster watched him carefully, it looked him over too as if to size him up. Then its eyes landed on his chest. Suddenly a look of recognition appeared in its eyes.
Once he got close enough the alien lunged at him like a wild animal. Its speed in the vacuum of space took superman by surprise. The creature's enormous hand wrapped around superman's entire skull. His head fitted in the monster's hand as if it was a ball. With its tremendous strength, it tossed him away. Clark spun out of control in the wreckage belt as he hit every piece of debris in his path.
On the space station, the astronauts scrambled around as they prepared the shuttle for launch. Jim was on the line trying to get into contact with base control. After a few minutes, he finally tried again."Excalibur to flight control permission to prepare reentry vehicle for evacuation." He closed his eyes as he waited for a response.
"Permission granted,"
"Good," said Stephen. "Initiate primary thrusters now."
"What about that thing out there?" Terry asked her husband.
Hank turned to his worried wife."Don't worry honey superman right out there if anything hell save-"
Suddenly the man of steel came crashing through the space station. Everyone turned their heads at the source of the noise and saw superman on the floor with his hand on his head. Then their eyes looked towards the breach in their space station. Before anyone could utter a single word the vacuum began to suck up everything inside and toss it in space. The mighty force dragged both Stephen and Jim into the black void, hank held on to one of the chairs with both arms. Then a thought occurred to him.
"Terry!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. Henshaw turned to see his wife begin dragged out like everyone else. At that moment he felt powerless and weak. She continued to scream until a man in a blue-clad suit grabbed her by the arm. Superman held the woman by the arm in an attempt to save her. For a second a sense of relief washed over them until the sound of terry screaming echoed once more. All of a sudden her arm came apart, with most over dragged into the void of space. "Terry no!"
With his eye wide open Superman held the rest of her severed arm in his hand. He looked over to the grieving husband as he started to ball his eyes out. Before he said the words I'm sorry, the entire station erupted in an explosion. Pieces of the shuttle scattered all over the black canvas.
The explosion sent Clark reeling back but this time he managed to spot himself. He looked around and saw nothing but death. The astronauts' corpses floated lifeless in the endless expanse.
"Dammit," he grunted to himself. Clark never liked it when innocents died in his presence. With all the power he possessed, he should've been able to save them all. As he proceeded to mentally beat himself up, something caught his attention. He spotted a survivor, they were in their spacesuit although moving around like a drowning person but alive nonetheless.
Just as he was about to save the individual. A huge mass of flesh blindsided him. It was the creature from before. The monster tackled the Kryptonian towards the earth. As they exchanged blows the two of them counted as they entered the earth's atmosphere. Both combatants screamed as they felt the heat of the atmosphere around them.
Mumbai, India
08:45 AM
Mumbai was a densely populated city on the west coast of India. As a financial center, it was the largest city in the region. With a population that exceeds 20 million people, Mumbai remained a relatively safe place for tourists and expatriates. The chances of being a victim of a traffic accident remain more viable than being a victim of a crime. Suddenly a large ball of flame struck the downtown district of the city. Everything within the radius was obliterated.
At ground zero the grey behemoth stood over superman. It looked down at the defeated superhero with disdain. The monster reached out to grab the Kryptonian. Before it could touch him Clark woke up and held the beast arm at bay. Then superman performed a hip toss on the alien creature, planting its face-first into the crater.
The man of steel hovered over his opponent. He needed to keep his distance from the monster's large reach. Clark watched as the creature recovered from the attack. It turned towards the blue-clad hero. Then it did something Clark didn't expect.
"You are strong like me," it said with a raspy voice.
Superman did a double-take. "Wait you speak Kryptonian?"
"I do, son of house El," it answered. "I am-".The creature grabbed its head as it reeled back in pain.
"You look to be in pain. let me help you. If you are truly like me I can."
"Superman? superman, do you read?" Steve's voice echoed through his com device.
"I'm here," He answered. "Just a little occupied at the second."
"Were getting interference on your commlink,"
"Colonel comm traffic coming out of Lexcorp flight control just went beehive." said one of the technicians. "They're trying to raise the Excalibur but there's no reply."
"What the hell happened up there?" the Colonel question. "And why are you in In-"
Before he could finish, a live feed of superman and the creature appeared on his display. Trevors' eyes opened wide and his jaw hung open. What he saw answered his question.
"Now if you don't mind, I'll handle this," he responded as he looked back to the hulking alien. "Okay, where were-"
"No!" the grey monster roared as It punched the hero across the jaw. Superman crashed into a fancy shopping mall in the middle of the city. Clark landed in the center of the mall."They will...come..must kill you!."
"Kill me, was this guy here to assassinate him?" Superman thought to himself as he rested on his knee. The world as he knew it continued to spin he tried to regain his equilibrium. Clark couldn't recall the last time someone or something hit him this hard. This thing was stronger, possibly stronger than him. Clark instantly shook that notion from his mind.
"Clark, you alright over there?" Trevor asked.
"Peachy," he shot back. Clark levitated back on his feet and stabilized himself. He noticed terrified people nearby. Some parts of superman wanted to get them out of there but the monster was faster than he looked. If he took his attention off his opponent he would be as good as dead. So he looked at them and made a showing motion with his hands. Thankfully they understood the gesture.
"Well heads up that thing is coming your way."
Superman looked up and the monster was bearing towards him, Superman took up a low stance with his fist arched back. Once the creature came in range, Clark delivered a mighty uppercut into its jaw. A miniature shockwave erupted from the blow, causing the nearby glass to shatter into millions of pieces. The grey goliath flew upward and into an elevator, knocking off its shaft. "Oh no."
Superman flew and caught the cable just before it crashed down on the bottom level. He held so people could get out. The alien recovered from the blow with its jaw slightly dislocated. When the elevator was empty he turned to me the beasts next charge. Clark swung the elevator on its cable like a bolo and smashed it into the beast. The monster staggered from the blow. Then without a moment hesitation, superman followed up with struck it hard enough the creature went down.
"Listen to me, you're making it very hard for me not to hurt you."
"Yes come to me!" it bellowed. "Show me your power."
Clark rolled his eyes before punched the monster square in the face. The creature threw a blinded haymaker but superman ducked just in time to avoid the swing. To counter the hero gave the beast a solid shot to the left rib cage. A loud pop was heard for miles. Again the creature threw another blind swing but Clark took the arm and tossed the creature out of the mall. Its massive frame smacked into a nearby moving truck.
"Did just take that thing down, in a minute flat?"
"It's not the only one with Kryptonian blood pumping through his heart, Steve," he said as he levitated out of the mall and into a huge courtyard filled with terrified people.
Suddenly the creature shot right back up to its feet. Then it reached over and grabbed Clark's right wrist and in one swift motion snapped it. Superman reeled back in pain as he held his damaged appendage. Anger surged through his body as his blue eyes. Crimson veins started to appear on his temples.
"Screw this," heat vision erupted through his eyes. The twin heated laser severed its hand clean off, amputating the beast. "As some once said you refused to offer your hand in peace now you have lost it."
In retaliation, the behemoth reached back and grabbed the damaged truck. With one arm it swung the partially destroyed vehicle down on Clark. Superman caught the improved weapon with his good hand. The man of steel held it over his head like a champ. Unexpectedly the monster kicked him square in the chest. The blow staggered him back a few feet away. Before he could recover the grey best grabbed him by the head and slammed the hero repeatedly into the street. The pavement cracked each time superman's skull hit against it. After a few more slams the monster held him up by his head. Its red eyes stared into superman's bloody and bruised face.
"Is that your best?" it questioned. The hulking monster launched Clark at the corner of a nearby building and out on the street on the other side. The creature ran straight after him. When it got there the grey monster saw its opponent leaned against a vintage green car.
Clark was beyond going easy on it. He needed to end this now. The last son of krypton held his broken limb firmly. Then without warning, he twisted it back to its original alignment, a loud yell exited the Kryptonians' lungs. The beast looked in shock at what superman had done. It wasn't sure what to think of superman at that moment.
With his enhanced speed, Superman grabbed the beast by the ankle and tripped it. The grey Goliath landed on its back with an audible thump. With his arms still around its ankle, Clark took off into the air. The man of steel veered off course as the monster continued to jerk around.
Superman Looked around his immediate vicinity. Then like a lightning bolt an idea presented itself. At the edge of the downtown district, Clark spotted an unfinished skyscraper. Kryptonians weren't invincible, enough blunt force trauma could render him unconscious. If not he could keep him in one place for a while.
"Hey steve who owns that building?" he asked. Clark catapulted the grey beast upwards towards the ozone layer. Then without missing a beat, he followed after it until he was floated above the monster.
"Wayne why?" the head of A.R.G.U.S demanded.
Superman cupped his hands together and raised them. Then he hammers the creature down with a double ax handle punch. The powerful blow sent his opponent crashing back down
towards the building. The blow drove the beast down every floor as the structure came down around it. A dark cloud covered the immediate area in a dense fog.
Even that did knock the monster out. The behemoth dug its way out of the rubble although sluggishly. the monster scanned around and saw the human flee. The police arrived and opened fire. Their weapons did not affect the creature. The gunfire only irritated the beast but before it could escape it noticed something as a shadow had formed above it. The beast looked up and saw the son of El rocketing towards him from on high. As if an earthquake hit the city everything in the five-block radius shook uncontrollably for minutes.
The unconscious remains of the hulking monster laid in the ruins of downtown Mumbai.
"Tell him to send me the bill," he answered with a smirk. A great sense of pride resonated through the alien hero. Superman retained his title as the most powerful being on the planet. Clark turned his gaze towards those he saved from the beast. Instead of cheers or cries of joy, he heard silence and cries of pain.
The people glanced at the trail of destruction caused by the two powerhouses. Sirens sounded in various places. Pedestrians helped others from damaged cars and collapsed buildings. Then it started to dawn on him what he had down. It was another repeat of Metropolis, the day was save but at what coast?
