Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Bits o' Legionnaire Business Superboy & the Legion of Superheroes! A fanfic!

Superboy & the Legion of Superheroes!
Written by Scott Kruger
Pencils & inks by Jim Dufrese; touch-ups & color by Scott Kruger; background by Brandon Herren


Chapter 1: School daze

First it was the strength and invulnerability… then came the speed. Luckily he wasn’t at school when it happened. If he’d have been in PE, during track & field, there would have been no hiding it. He was on summer vacation when, from the corn field, his father called for him. Next thing he knew he was somewhere in New Mexico. It was after accidentally discovering that he could sprint 300 miles in less than 5 seconds that his parents finally confided in him.

He already knew that he was adopted & his amazing strength was strange enough. Well, maybe not by Smallville standards. Since the meteor shower over fourteen years ago, Smallville had been an odd place to live. Cows with multiple heads and odd lights in the skies at night were commonplace in Smallville. Now he finds out that not only was he adopted, his parents, were more than likely not even from Earth. Not exactly an easy thing to cope with when you’re a 17 year old boy.

Clark Kent’s life had become very complicated. Now to top it all off he was seeing things. Rather, he was seeing through things. He was almost afraid to ask ‘what’s next?’, for fear that the term his father used to say, regarding the ‘lighting of a fire under his tail’ could possibly come true.

He and his parents, instead of having the ‘birds & bee’s’ talk that most parents had with their children, had the “don’t tell anyone about your abilities or bad things could happen” talk. Not that he’d complain at all about his parents, they were the two greatest people he had ever known. He just felt lonely.

He had friends, but still, he couldn’t tell them anything. His best friend Pete just thought Clark was strange, in a rather normal way. Lana, the girl next door, had a crush on Clark since they met in Mrs. Schmidt’s pre-school class. Then there was Chloe, the only person in Smallville that, although normal by human standards, was stranger than anyone else. Always the conspiracy theorist and not afraid to tell anyone her odd theories about the world. She was also the only person Clark knew that actually understood what was going on in the ‘X-Files’. Maybe she wasn’t human either.

With all that weighing on his shoulders, Clark had one other hurdle to leap over… The first day of his senior year in high school.

~

Monday, September 12th, 1994, a.k.a. the first day of school,

“Earth to Clark… Anyone home?” Pete Ross waived his hand in front of Clark’s eyes. The both of them sat in ‘homeroom’ awaiting dismissal to the first period of the day. Clark had been resting his head on the desk in front of him, staring blankly forward as the homeroom ‘teacher’ went over the first weekly bulletin. Pete, as usual, talked to Clark through the entire bulletin about the fishing trip he’d taken with Susan Sweeny and something about second base.

“Huh? Oh, sorry Pete. I was thinking…” Clark replied.

“Yeah, well don’t strain yourself, it’s not your strong suit!” Pete quipped as he playfully punched Clark in the shoulder. “Ow!” Pete shouted disrupting Mr. Samuel’s droning voice.

“Mr. Ross, Mr. Kent, is there a problem?” Mr. Samuel’s asked looking over his reading glasses.

“No sir,” both replied to the sound of giggling girls.

“Very good. Now, tryouts for the girl’s soccer…” Mr. Samuel’s continued undaunted.

“What the Hell Kent?” Pete whispered, while rubbing his knuckles. Clark just shrugged.

In the far corner of the classroom sat three teenagers. A girl and two boys sat staring at each other. Not saying a word, but glancing, on occasion, from one to the other as if in conversation. All three nodded in unison and turned to stare at the back of Clark’s head as he laid it back down on the desk before him.

~

Martha Kent was going about her routine day doing chores around the house. Jonathan had gone into town to fetch a few supplies, so she passed the time doing laundry. She couldn’t believe how tall her boy had gotten over the summer as she picked up a pair of his well-worn jeans. Usually the major growth spurts end around the age of 15 or so, but Clark was anything but usual.

The day she & Jonathan found young Clark in Sutter’s field had been the most frightening, yet happiest day of her life. The day the town was hit by the meteor shower. The shower she thanked God for every waking moment of her life since it had brought them their only son.

She stood over the kitchen table folding the freshly laundered socks, humming a tune, when the doorbell rang. She stopped what she was doing and walked to the front door. A young woman in her early twenties with red hair and a tall dark man with a goatee & mustache in black suits and dark sunglasses stood on the other side of the door.

“Can… can I help you?” Martha asked warily.

“Yes, I hope so Mrs. Kent,” the young woman introduced herself. “I am Agent Aries & this is my partner Agent King. We are with the D.E.O. and we have a few questions regarding your son, Kal, er, excuse me, Clark. May we come in?”

Panic suddenly struck Martha Kent. She had heard, as had everyone, tales of the mysterious D.E.O., “Is Clark alright… what’s wrong?” she blurted.

“Nothing, nothing at all, may we come in?” replied agent Aries in a very soothing tone.

Her words eased the fear from Martha, and she opened the door wide and stepped back. “Yes, of course, please come in…”

Agent Aries & Agent King followed Martha inside the house, with a smile, Agent King turned and closed the door behind them.

~

Clark Kent, had gone about the first half of his day in a fog. Usually he enjoyed going back to school, but the summers revelations were still weighing heavily on his mind. He paid no attention during his trigonometry class and even less in his English class. Even during lunch, he just sat there with his friends, half-listening to what was being said. Pete had been telling lewd jokes to Chloe and Lana for the past 10 minutes. Chloe cackled & snorted with every punch line, but Lana, as usual, gave a half hearted giggle and continued to quietly pine over the oblivious Clark.

“Hey, Clark…” Pete said as he threw a tater tot at his best friends head, “man, wake up. What’s with you today? I’d rather not be at school either, but at least I’m trying to make the best out of it… did someone tip your favorite cow?”

“Pete Ross!” Lana barked.

“What?” Pete shouted back, “He’s my best friend, I have a right to be unusually cruel to him! What’s going on Clark?

“Nothing… it’s just…” Clark began, “Have you ever had a secret that you weren’t supposed to… Never mind.” He stopped when he realized Pete wasn’t paying attention. Pete had seen the new blonde girl enter the cafeteria.

“That girl, Clark… she’s been in every one of our classes and she’s been watching you.” Pete explained as he nudged Clark in the shoulder.

“That is so typical of you Pete… always thinking with another part of your body. Can’t you see Clark’s worried about something.” Lana scolded, her face turned almost as red as her hair when she realized Clark’s attention had been drawn away by the girl as well.

She was beautiful. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a pony-tail showing her long neck and an odd set of earrings shaped like Saturn. She wore dark blue jeans and a tight black top. She smiled in Clark’s direction and walked confidently in his direction.

“Oh, man, she’s coming over to talk to you!” Pete teased. Lana quietly fumed and Chloe just sat there basking in the strained silence since she alone knew of Lana’s obsession… felt like the tension between Mulder & Scully. She fiddled with her camera, trying to look oblivious.

“Hello, Kal El, my name is Imra,” the girl said smiling as she stood before Clark, “can I speak with you?”

Clark was taken aback by the girls forwardness, Pete and Chloe just laughed over the obvious case of mistaken identity. “Um, no, I’m sorry, my name is Clark Kent, you must have the wrong person.”

Lana looked at the girl with sheer fury in her eyes. Skank.

Imra glanced quickly at Lana with a quizzical look. Then stood there for a moment, silent. She closed her eyes for a moment, and everyone at the table stared at her like her head was going to explode.

Her eyes opened suddenly and she blushed, “of course, I’m sorry, Clark. You just look so much like him… Please forgive my interruption.” She turned and walked away.

Pete broke the awkward silence with a whistle followed by a crashing noise. “Crash & burn Clark! That had to be the shortest romance in the history of all romances.”

Clark watched as the girl walked towards the cafeteria door where she joined two boys. One was shorter than her with black hair & the other was a little taller than her with bright red hair. All turned to regard Clark, then exited the cafeteria, except Imra. She smiled at him again… her smile was intoxicating… and followed the other two.

~

Jonathan Kent pulled up to the house in his Ford truck, loaded down with the feed he set out to purchase that morning. He walked into the house, calling out for Martha, but when she didn’t answer, he grabbed his gloves and went back to the truck to begin unloading.

She must have driven to town to pick Clark up after school, maybe I should wait until he gets home. Naw, must be getting lazy in my old age.

He began to stack the bails of hay when he noticed that Martha’s car was parked in the open garage. He decided to look in the barn. He walked up to the barn & slid the door open and found Martha unconscious, tied to the rafters. Her face and clothes had blackened burn marks on them.

“Martha!!!” He shouted as he searched for a ladder, “Hang on honey, I’ll get you down!”

Finding the ladder, he quickly set it up, under her. “Hang on baby, I’ll get you down.” When he was under her he realized she was tied up with metal rebar. “What the devil?”

“No Mr. Kent, not the devil.” Came a man’s voice. He turned to see a man in a black suit standing at the base of the ladder. “You may call me Mr. King!”

The ladder suddenly sprang to life and bucked Jonathan off. He landed flat on his back, with the wind knocked out of him. The feet of the ladder pinned Jonathan by his neck as he struggled to get free.

“If you hurt her, by God, I swear…” Jonathan spat.

“Now now Mr. Kent,” came a female’s soothing voice, as agent Aries stepped into view, “there’s no need for threats. We’re just here for your son. Once we have him, you and Martha will be free to go.”

“NO!” Came the third voice from above. “It is best not to lie to them. Always be honest with your victims, have I taught you two nothing? No, they will most certainly die. Kal El will watch them die right before we kill him.”

~

Imra sat on the bleachers by the football field with her two friends, Rokk and Garth. To anyone gathered nearby, they looked like 3 ordinary teenagers, strangely sitting in silence, watching a gym class running laps. These, however, were not your ordinary teenagers. They sat in silence as Imra held the telepathic link between them.

Garth: {The girl called you a what?}

Imra: {It doesn’t matter… It was fascinating just looking into his eyes. He’s amazing.}

Garth: {Hrmpf! He didn’t look so special to me, maybe the history pads were wrong. You sure we found the right guy?}

Imra: {Not a chance Garth! That was him. But, M’onel was right, he is very secretive about his identity. When I looked into his mind and…}

“Imra! You looked into his mind?” Rokk interrupted their silent exchange. He quickly realized he was shouting and continued telepathically, {The greatest hero in the history of the universe & you violated his mind?}

Imra: {We had to know Rokk! It’s been a thousand years… how are we to know that history wasn’t distorted through time. He’s going by a secret identity, I didn’t want to come out & ask him if he was Superman…so I looked into his mind. This is cute, his parents told him not to tell anyone. It’s really bothering him though. I guess his powers are just now manifesting…}

Garth just rolled his eyes.

Imra: {WHAT??? Is there a problem?}

Garth held up his hands in a defensive posture.

Rokk: {SPROCK IT! That means Brainy was right (as usual). He’s more vulnerable at this age. We shouldn’t have let him out of our sight.}

~

After school, Clark met Pete, Lana and Chloe in the parking lot next to Pete’s new car (actually, it was his mom’s station wagon, but he had a new paint job & rims put on it so as not to look too un-cool).

“Come on Clark, we’re going to the Talon, come with us! I’ll give you a ride home afterwards, I promise!” Pete implored as he referred to the time the year before when he & Chloe left Clark at the Talon as a practical joke.

“No, you guys go ahead, I’m going to walk home.” Clark said, “but thanks anyway.”

“Clark, do you want me to come with you?” asked Lana

“No thanks Lana, I’m good.”

“Suit yourself Clarkey!” Chloe shouted, snapping a picture of him as Pete floored it. His car sputtered and slowly lurched forward, before rolling away casually.

Clark casually strolled along Shuster Way toward his home until he was sure no one was in sight. He took off at super speed and in a split second he was home. He walked in the open front door and set his bag down on the entryway table.

“Mom! Dad! Hello! Anyone home?” He called out, but there was no answer.

He made his way into the living room. A man with slicked back, white hair wearing a black suit and sunglasses sat in his fathers chair.

“Welcome home, Kal El”, the man said mockingly with his arms outstretched, the air around him seemed to ignite with electricity.

{RUN!} Came a girls voice an instant before the house around Clark violently exploded.

To be continued...

Superboy & the Legion of Superheroes!

Chapter 2: Sutter’s Field

Mekt Ranzz stood over the unconscious body of Clark Kent amazed. He had just pumped over 150,000 volts of raw electricity into Clark before the house exploded. He had heard the legends of Superman before, but was still amazed that someone could survive that. He had given Ultra Boy a good jolt in the past and even M’onel couldn’t handle more than 80,000 volts before blacking out.

“How is it possible that he is still alive?” Eve Aries, the Saturn Queen asked, she had shed the black suit and now wore her ‘battle gear’ as she liked to call it.

“Very little remains in the history databanks regarding Kryptonian biology… apparently, he’s tougher than a Daxamite.” Mekt replied as he threw off the tattered rags of black clothing, revealing his Lightning Lord uniform.

“I suppose we do this the old fashioned way.” Boasted Cosmic King as he looked at a computer pad. “There is a valley about 20 miles from here that’s ripe with Kryptonite. Let’s get rid of him and claim this world.”

As Cosmic King reached down to pick up Clark, he was suddenly struck in the chest with a thousand volts of electricity, sending him flying backwards.

“Not if we have anything to say about it!” called Rokk as he, Garth & Imra floated down onto the ground between Clark & his attackers.

Imra: {Kal El, WAKE UP!}

“Aaahhh!” Clark shouted as he was suddenly jolted back to consciousness. Imra bent down to help him as Rokk & Garth stood side by side, ready for a fight.

“Hello dear brother, does mommy know you’re so far from home?” Mekt taunted his younger brother Garth.

{NOT Now} Saturn Queen telepathically shouted, {I can’t keep the Kent’s down & fight Saturn Girl, she’s too strong. Go to plan B.}

“Plan B it is then.” Mekt shouted as he unleashed an erratic barrage of lightning on the gathered teens. Garth stepped forward and used his own lightning abilities to absorb much of Mekt’s attack, but the distraction was enough for the villains to make their escape.

~

Clark Kent sat on the ground beside the smoldering ruin of his family farm. Saturn Girl, knelt next to him, helping him stay upright. In the distance, the sound of sirens, as the Smallville Fire Department responded to a 911 call placed by the Lang’s.

“Imra?” Clark asked as he looked up into her bright blue eyes, “What happened?”

“You were attacked by a villain from the future…” Imra began.

“The future? Why did he attack me… where are my parents?” He asked as panic started to set in.

“Relax,” Saturn Girl telepathically soothed him, as she brushed rubble from Clarks’ hair.

“Saturn Girl, can I have a word with you? PRIVATELY?” Rokk asked.

Imra: {What?}

Rokk: {This was not part of our mission. The less he knows, the better. As it is, you’ve endangered the mission by speaking to him. We were supposed to make sure he was safe & take the…}

Imra: {I know the parameters of the mission… and I also know how Mekt thinks, remember? I’ve been in his head. I knew he wouldn’t directly attack Kal-El at first…}

As the silent argument continued, Clark stood up and began surveying the damage. The Smallville Fire Department pulled up and began unraveling their hoses. Lana’s father had come over and began to explain what he had seen to the fire chief. No one seemed to notice that Clark was standing there, or that he was with 3 very oddly dressed teenagers. The girl, Imra, was wearing a pink and white body suit… made of what looked like leather, but not quite… with a yellow Saturn shape planet on her breast. The tall red head was wearing the same type of fabric, but it was a deep blue and white, with a pair of lightning bolts that met in a point on his chest. She shorter dark haired teen, their leader, was wearing black and a very light purple, with two metal disks on either side of his chest. All of them wore belts with utility pouches with a round buckle that had an “L*” in the center.

“Thank you for calling the fire department, Mr. Lang,” Clark said as he stepped before Lana’s father. The man just stared at the fire, shaking his head, paying no attention to Clark. “Sir?” Clark asked again as he waived his hand in front of Mr. Lang’s eyes.

Imra: {They can’t see you Kal-El, I’m shielding us from their minds.}

“Get out of my mind!” Clark snapped and Imra recoiled.

“Kal-El, my name is Cosmic Boy, I’m the leader of the Legion of Superheroes.” Rokk said, taking the initiative. “This is Lightning Lad, and you’ve met Imra, we call her Saturn Girl. A group of terrorists from this planets future have come back in time to destroy you.”

“Me? The future? What do they want with me? Where did they take my parents?” Clark shouted towering over Rokk.

“You’re going to be the greatest hero this planet will ever know. You inspire others to take up the fight for truth & justice… You and a few others will create a team of super-heroes that will inspire others in the future. If it wouldn’t have been for you the Legion would not exist.” Imra said, laying everything on the line.

“What are you talking about?” Clark said as he backed away. “I’m just a kid on a farm in Kansas.”

Garth stepped between Rokk & Clark and jabbed a finger into Clark’s chest. “No, you’re Superman… so why don’t you start acting like it. Help us find your parents and save your sprocking butt so we can go home!”

Garth turned and walked away pushing past Rokk & scowling at Imra.

“Superman?” Clark asked bewildered.

“Well, right now, more like Superboy,” Imra said with a smile, “but yes, in about five or six years.”

“Do you know where I’m from? How I can do these things?”

“Yes, we do, but that’s not important right now. Lightning Lord and the others took your parents as bait. They’re trying to lure you out into the open so they can kill you. Can you fly yet?” Rokk asked.

“I’ll be able to fly?”

“Alright, that’s a no,” Rokk said as he reached into his utility belt pouch, pulling out a small gold ring. “This is a flight ring, you’ll be able to use it to communicate with us & fly… Let’s go get your parents.”

“Welcome to the Legion of Superheroes, Superboy.” Imra said as they took to the sky.

~

Mekt Ranzz floated above the lake north of Sutter’s field as Saturn Queen & Cosmic King trudged the lakebed searching for Kryptonite. The temperature had decreased significantly when the sun went down… the light breeze that blew threw his hair reminded him of Winath. Yet, the climate was the only resemblance to Winath… this flat parcel of land known as “Kansas” repulsed him. Earth… stupid backwater planet. His lip curled triumphantly at the thought that when he returned to the 30th century, he would be the ruler of Winath and Earth.

The Kent’s sat on the ground, back to back, bound & gagged. Both were unsure of what was happening, but knew that Clark was in grave danger.

“MEKT!” shouted Saturn Queen, breaking his train of thought, “there has got to be a better way to do this…”

“I’ve got it!” Cosmic King shouted as he surfaced from the murky depths.

“Are you sure?” Mekt asked warningly.

“Well, it’s green and it glows, so yes….”

Mekt looked down at his two captives, “Well then… Jonathan, Martha… don’t worry, it’ll all be over soon.”

~

Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl and Clark flew in the direction of Sutter’s field, when suddenly Clark became violently ill. Losing control over the flight ring he crashed, head first into the dirt road, just outside the field.

“Kal El!” Saturn Girl shouted as she flew down towards him. Cosmic Boy & Lightning Lad, followed her down.

“It’s… the field… I’ve never… been able to … come near.” Clark stuttered as Cosmic Boy reached into his utility belt, pulling out a small computer pad.

“It’s Kryptonite… buried all over the field. The strongest concentration is in a small body of water just beyond this corn field.” Cosmic boy explained.

“Cos… that’s the perfect place to trap ‘im” Lightning Lad suggested motioning to Clark. “Bet you 50 creds, that’s where we’ll find ‘em.”

“Imra, take Kal El away from this field, Garth & I are going to take care of this.” Cosmic Boy ordered as he & Garth once again took to the sky.

Imra pulled Clark up on his feet and began to walk him away from Sutter’s field. Clark slowly began to regain he strength when intense lightning began erupting from the field.

“Imra, I’ve got to get over there… my parents…” Clark began.

“You can’t, Kal El… that field will kill you if you stay near it too long. You saw what happened when you just got within range.” Imra explained.

“I can’t just stand here and let them die… I can stop them, I… I know I can.” Fear began to take hold of him at the thought of losing the two people that meant the most to him.

“Calm…” Imra said as she telepathically soothed the fear from his mind, “they will be allright Kal El.”

“Clark…” he looked into her eyes and she felt her face flush, “call me Clark.”

The moment was interrupted by a large explosion in Sutter’s field. Imra put her fingers on her temples and telepathically called out for her teammates.

{Cos, Garth… can you hear me?}

No response came. What should she do? She couldn’t take Clark in there… but he’d be vulnerable if she left him… She saw 3 shapes take to the sky, heading towards downtown Smallville.

“Clark, stay here… They’ve left… I need to get Rokk & Garth.”

“What about my parents?” Clark pleaded.

Imra closed her eyes, “They’re still alive, but they’re worried about you… hang on, I’ll be right back.” She took to the sky to save Garth & Rokk.

Clark stood there leaning against a tree. His emotions were going wild. He needed to save his parents… he needed to get the Hell away from this field. His speed… He could run North, away from the field, to Highway 70 and double back down 135 to Main St. At his speed, he could actually beat them there… Clark took off at a sprint, breaking the sound barrier instantly. He didn’t notice the female standing behind him as he ran.

“He took the bait… he’ll be there any second.” Saturn Queen said into her communicator.

To be concluded...

Chapter 3: Superboy

Saturn Girl landed next to Sutter’s lake to find unconscious Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lad floating face down in the lake.

“GARTH!!!” She shouted as she plunged into the lake, She rolled him onto his back & pulled him from the lake. Once she had him on the ground she began performing CPR. “Dammit! Don’t you die on me Garth Ranzz!”

The sound of a sonic boom startled her as she realized Clark was most likely gone. The sound also jolted Cosmic Boy out of his unconscious stupor. “Imra!” Rokk shouted, “Where’s Kal El?”

“I think he followed them.” She responded as she began mouth-to-mouth on Garth.

“What do you mean, you think?”

{SHUT THE SPROCK UP ROKK! DO YOU WANT GARTH TO DIE HERE???}

The force of her telepathic shout knocked Rokk back down on his butt. She counted to 4 again and put her mouth to Garth’s, blowing air into his lungs. He began to cough, spitting out water.

“Garth, thank the Gods!” she shouted as she took him into her arms.

“Hey… *cough*… babe… if you wanted a kiss, all you …*cough* … all you had to do was ask.”

~

Clark stopped dead in his tracks when he entered Smallville town limits. Town hall had been leveled and the Talon was on fire. The water tower had burst, spilling its contents in the street. The people of the town were running in all direction trying to get away from the sudden madness. Driver-less cars chased after them. Clark saw Pete, Chloe & Lana running in the street towards him, a large tractor barreling down on them. He rushed forward and punched the tractor sending it flying into a set of trucks that were chasing down his high school principal.

His friends stared at him in shock. “Clark!” Chloe shouted, reaching for her camera, “How’d you do that?”

“I don’t have time… the people that are causing this, where are they?” Clark asked.

“They burst into the Talon and this guy… he had electricity…” Pete started.

“Clark, they’ve got your parents!” Lana interjected, and Clark took off at a super speed sprint into the Talon.

~

Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad & Saturn Girl rushed towards the town as fast as their flight rings could take them. They had definitely seen better days. Garth had difficulty breathing and Cos had to fight to stay conscious. Imra was the only one fit to fight. And Clark needed all the help he could get if the LSV had Kryptonite.

Her mind on Clark and Garth, Imra did not sense their attacker until it was too late. Garth was thrown to the ground below as Rokk was hit by a telekinetic blast.

{HELLO IMRA!} Saturn Queens voice filled Imra’s mind before she could throw a telepathic barrier up. Imra grabbed her head as she was bombarded with images and sounds of chaos. Saturn Queens psychic attack tapped into the consciousness of Smallville’s people, flooding Imra’s mind with all of their panic & fear. Being the stronger of the two telepaths, Imra could have easily beaten Saturn Queen, but without the chance to prepare for the assault, she didn’t stand a chance.

Saturn Queen cackled with glee as she intensified the assault and Imra dropped like a stone to the ground below.

~

Clark stood in the entrance of the Talon, the flames that surrounded him burned his shirt, but left his skin untouched. He did not choke as he breathed the smoke filled air. Atop the bar stood Lightning Lord with his parents bound & gagged at his feet, the flames dangerously close.

“Let them go!” Clark demanded.

“Uh… no.” Mekt replied with a smile as he unleashed a barrage of lightning at Clark. Clark leaned into it as his body just seemed to absorb it. Clarks parents looked on, horrified, as they struggled to free themselves from their bonds.

“You’ll have to do better than that.” Clark shouted.

“Very well…” Mekt hit Clark with the same voltage that he hit him with earlier in the night.

“AAARRRGGGHHH!!!” Clark screamed as it hit him. But he dug his heels into the ground and started advancing on Mekt.

“NOW!” Mekt shouted and stopped his lightning assault.

Clark stumbled forward landing on his stomach as the Cosmic King struck. He stabbed Clark in the back with the sharpened rock of Kryptonite. Clark was instantaneously weakened below that of a normal human being. Being near Kryptonite would render him weak… to have it touch his skin would be fatal, to have it imbedded in his skin would kill him within minutes. Clark writhed on the ground but could not find the strength to pull it from his back. His parents just watched helplessly, tears streaming from his mothers eyes.

~

Saturn Queen stood over the fallen body of Saturn Girl. Imra, had stopped screaming after about five minutes, the pain was so intense she just lay, eyes open, tears streaming. Saturn Queen knelt down beside Imra’s head and started brushed the hair off of her face.

“Don’t cry Saturn Girl…” she taunted, “as soon as Kal El is dead, you will cease to exist. All your pain will disappear…”

“Hey!” Garth shouted. Saturn Queen looked up as he shocked her with an intense lightning bolt. “Get your hands off my girl, skank!”

Saturn Queen flew over 20 yards away and hit the ground unconscious. Garth rushed to Imra’s side, as she opened her eyes.

“Imra, you OK?” he asked as he held her head up and wiped the tears from her cheek.

“Not really,” she replied, “and I’m not your girl.”

“Maybe not yet…” He said.

“Enough chatter people, we need to get to Clark.” Rokk barked as he stumbled towards them.

~

Clarks skin had turned a sickly pale gray. The flames that weren’t touching him before were now searing his skin. The acrid stench of burnt flesh was filled the air. Cosmic King strode over to Clark & kicked him in the head.

“Not so tough now, are you? Cosmic King taunted the defenseless Clark. “Kal El… the mighty Superman… the last Kryptonian.”

“Stop!” shouted Mekt. “Let the Kryptonite run its course… I want to see him die slowly.”

Clarks eyes burned from the smoke. His mighty hands had begun to shrivel and the Legion flight ring fell from his finger.

Mekt walked over to Clark’s parents and turned both of their heads towards their dying son. Electricity crackled from his fingers singeing his parents skin, “You can’t miss this either… the death of the greatest hero the world would have…. NNNYYYAAARRRGGHHH!!!” Mekt screamed and held his head as all the thoughts & fears of Smallville’s residents flooded his mind.

“How about a taste of your own sick medicine, Mekt?” Shouted Saturn Girl as she flew through the Talon’s entrance.

Before he could react, Cosmic King was struck upside the head by a manhole cover flung by Cosmic Boy. Lightning Lad leapt onto Clark and unceremoniously wrenched the Kryptonite shard from his bare back. Garth flew out of the Talon at best possible speed. Clark immediately felt his strength return. The wounds he had sustained began to heal as he charged with all of his fury focused on the Lightning Lord. Clark’s eyes bore a hole through Mekt’s shoulder as he launched himself into the air, grabbing Mekt and forcing him through the wall. Up into the air Clark climbed holding Mekt by the throat until he hovered above the burning Talon.

Below the people of Smallville stared up at Clark as he held his captive by the throat. Pete, Lana & Chloe stood side by side by side mouth agape. Chloe’s camera flashed continuously.

~

“YOU MONSTER!!!” Clark screamed at Mekt who just hung there cowering before the burning red eyes of the boy that would be Superman. Fury engulfed the boy of steel as he tightened his grip on Mekt’s throat. Mekt gasped for air and a single tear rolled down his cheek.

“Clark…” Imra’s voice came up from below, “let him go… your parents are safe.”

“HE almost killed them!” Clark raged.

“You’re right big guy,” Garth said, “he almost killed them.”

“Superman doesn’t kill…” Rokk soothed, “you would become the same kind of monster that Mekt is. You’re better than that.”

Clark looked into Mekt’s eyes, then down at his wounded shoulder. Did he do that? He looked at his right hand, the flight ring was gone. He was flying on his own. It was all true. He loosened his grip on Mekt’s neck and gently glided back to the ground. Mekt whimpered as he held his wounded arm. Clarks heat vision burned completely through it.

“Clark!” His parents shouted in unison as they ran to him. Jonathan & Martha wrapped their arms around him as he began to cry. They were safe at last.

The townspeople gathered around the oddly dressed collection of teenagers. Clark’s and his parents approached the Legion and showered them with hugs and handshakes.

Imra took Clark by the hand and lead him away from his parents for a brief moment. “Clark… we have to go.”

“I understand.” Clark replied looking down at the ground. “Thank you for everything, if it hadn’t been for you and the guys, I don’t know what would have happened.”

She smiled and leaned into him, kissing him passionately.

~

The alarm clock went off waking Clark & his parents. It was time to start rebuilding after the tornado that struck the night before. Luckily the Smallville Inn had been spared, or they would have slept in the truck. The Talon, city hall and their home was luckily all that the tornado hit. Astonishingly, no one was killed when it struck, only Clark had suffered a wound. Somehow, something was so sharp that it actually pierced his skin, leaving a small scratch like scar on his back. Otherwise, he was fine.

He began to think about the day before… before the tornado hit. The doubt, confusion & loneliness that consumed him were gone. In its place, confidence and an odd feeling that everything would be fine.

“Clark?” his mom interrupted his train of thought. “I found this on the dresser, is it yours?”

She held up a small gold ring with an L* carved into its center.

“Yeah,” he said confused as he looked at it. “Someone gave it to me… but I can’t remember who.”

~

Chloe Sullivan sat in the darkroom waiting for her pictures to develop. Being a self-professed journalist, she carried her camera with her everywhere she went. Luckily she had it when the tornado struck and was sure she got a few great shots of it!

In the red-lit room she began to see the images take shape before her. Clark & Pete in the quad, Clark looking gloomy… Clark & Lana at lunch… Clark looking gloomy, again. Clark standing there as the car drove away… looking gloomy, yet again. Did the guy ever smile anymore?

She looked in to the next pan… Clark… flying? Holding someone by his throat. Clark and three kids in strange costumes, flying. Clark kissing the girl…

The memory flooded back. It was no tornado. A name came to her, something she had over-heard…

“Superman”

The end.

Let me know what you think! And, if you have a chance, check out my other writings on:

Legendsofdc.proboards38.com

I write:
Legends of Aquaman
Legends of the Green Lantern Corps
& the upcoming
JSA: A Legends End

Scott

Happy birthday, Lantern Lad...just one question, is your fan-fiction based on the "Smallville" TV series, coz i never heard of a Chloe Sullivan in the comics.

I've actually stolen from all aspects of Clark... and though I mostly despise the Smallville show... Chloe Sullivan is 'borrowed' from it.

Terrific story LL! Interesting twist to the first meeting of Kal and the Legion.

Thank you very much! Please tell a friend!