Superman launched at him and the force of the impact created
a shockwave that rippled through the whole of the island. Deeply rooted trees were ripped from the
ground near the impact point, and anything not nailed down or rooted for a mile
wide went flying. They grappled with
each other like titans, their raw strength and power pushing them into the
ground, cracking the crust of the earth.
Superman ducked underneath Nuclear Man and launched upward with a sonic
boom that took them both into the air. As
they scorched the atmosphere breaking escape velocity Nuclear Man pummeled the
man of steel’s back. Finally kicking
Superman away, Nuclear Man charged at him.
Superman moved to the side at the last second and grabbed him around the
neck in a choke hold and the pair plummeted to the Earth. Seconds before hitting the ocean, Superman
kicked free of Nuclear Man in and the impact sent a towering recoil of water
around him. Superman unleashed his
freezing breath creating a pillar of ice to entomb the mad titan.
The pillar exploded and Nuclear Man roared, severe cracks
forming in his skin as radiation poured out.
“I will kill you ALL!!!” he bellowed.
The sea around him churned and rose up like two massive hands and
clapped around him, squeezing down with what appeared to be immense
pressure. I looked out and off the coast
sat a U.S. Navy vessel and, on the flight deck was a blonde man in odd armor
with green, scaly pants. I would later
know him to be Aquaman, but right then and there he just looked weird. But his hand movements matched what the water
was doing, so…Aquaman seems to fit. He
called out “Superman! Freeze him now!”
Superman, I realized now, held onto the device that brought
us back from the future and he activated it, throwing it into the ball of
water. He then unleashed his freezing
breath again, sealing Nuclear Man inside.
He grabbed hold of the ball of ice and tore through the sky into
space. Deep inside the ball of ice,
Nuclear Man began to glow, Superman put on more speed, even though the friction
of escaping the atmosphere was weakening the ball from inside. Finally somewhere between here and the moon,
he spun and launched the ball into the black void. Nuclear Man exploded again, but his energy
wave caught the device and triggered it.
The sky filled up with a flash of light and Nuclear Man was gone.
Superman was caught in the wake of the blast. He found himself adrift, a castaway in the
fourth dimension. He could see alternate
realities, some were so distant they appeared monochromatic. As they got closer to his own reality they
became clearer. He saw himself fighting
a version of himself, battling Zod, Ursa, and Non, the Nuclear Man in his first
appearance. Then he saw a version of
himself, younger, and larger, breaking Zod’s neck as he threatened
families. Other versions spilled out,
varying in age. Some were younger,
wearing a version of his uniform, one did not, but wore a jacket that called
back to his red cape. He looked at his
hands and he could feel his atoms destabilizing. Nuclear Man was there too, also destabilizing,
and glowing with rage. He flew towards
Superman, but a red clad arm reached out and caught Superman around the waist,
pulling him free of limbo.
I was holding my breath for dear life. Wonder Woman managed to fly me to the upper atmosphere
and throw me into the light. I vibrated
my molecules at just the right frequencies to break free of mater, and grabbed
Superman. Now I hung there in space, unconscious
and dying.
I awoke in S.T.A.R. Labs, Superman in a plaid shirt and
jeans standing next to me. Jason was there too, as was Lois and Diana, who tried
to hide herself in a human disguise. “He’s
awake!” Jason cried as I came to.
Harrison was monitoring my vitals.
“Good good…” he said looking at me with a smile “He’s going to be
fine. We’re pushing some serious
nourishment into him, but he should be up to snuff in no time.
“Quite a risk you took there, son.” Superman said. “Totally worth it…” I think I said back, but
my head was pounding so hard that it was hard to tell what I was saying.
“Alright alright, you had your moment guys.” Wells interjected. “He’s still recovering, you can play super friends later. He needs to rest.”
A week later I was standing at an abandoned building. There was Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Superman,
and myself, all in costume. “I’ve come
to a realization…” Superman said. We are
all committed to the same cause, to protect this world. But we can’t do that on our own. Not one of us is capable of handling all the
threats alone. I am proposing a united
force against evil. A league dedicated
to justice, to fight for freedom of all sentient beings who call Earth home.
Aquaman scratched his beard “I don’t know.” He said “Atlantis
has been handling things on the ocean floor just fine by itself.”
Wonder Woman stepped forward “Amazon is its own state…” I shook my head.
They started to argue about who had the greater responsibility
before I cut in “Guys!” they stopped and looked at me. “Look, none of us work
on a team, none of us know what kind of dynamic this is going to be. But we have to look at the bigger picture
here. Nuclear Man was just one threat,
and word on the street more and more villains are teaming up. Soon we may have an actual factual crisis on
our hands. Do we really want to face unknown
odds alone?”
“No.” Aquaman conceded.
“So how do we make this work? As
Flash pointed out, none of us have much team experience, including you,
Superman.”
Superman nodded “You’re right. I don’t.
But I know someone who does.”
From the shadows emerged a dark figure with pointed ears.
