How to Revive The Character (2)

Standing on the edge of the bustling city, is its chosen and most revered protector, the Superman. Big, bold and blue, this shining beacon of light watches over the metropolis, standing firm and ready to intervene at a moment's notice.

The Daily Planet building. Thoughts and voices and telecasts race as ears equipped with ultrasonic sensitivity and immeasurable reach, listen, trying to make sense of the cacophony that reigns below. News of a creature sighted in the Far East side of the city resonate in the reassuring silence of ears trained to recognize the faintest wisp of a leaf falling to the ground.

Faster than a speeding bullet, swifter than the four winds, he rushes into action. A giant, 20 story tall, mechanical arachnoid terrorizes the pacified inhabitants of the mega-city. Confidently, methodically, it rips apart stories of buildings as monuments of concrete crumble to the ground in a blare that shocks the air with waves of terror. Confidently, methodically, the Man of Tomorrow responds in kind; flying in the air in a blur that whirls the air around, creating a vortex around the creature of metallic alloy. Soon, the Superman proceeds as he takes the arachnoid apart at its seams with fists of pounding whose fury rivals the thundering voice of thunder.

Kraka-boom. The creature falls apart in an instant of cold, steely horror that leaves the assistance aghast, as they marvel over the work of their chosen champion: the Superman. Claps of ecstatic cheer resonate as the Man posing around the remains of the battle, looks for victims of the chaos. A woman, lying under the rubble, is limping on the ground, as she attempts to get her bearings. A quick glance of X-ray vision reveals a broken femur and small contusions around the hips. Soon, the medics arrive on the scene as the Angel of red and blue takes his leave, content with his day's work: to have saved an innocent life from certain death.

Lois waits home. Dinner is on the table, and Clark arrives, a little past four o'clock. Kal-El, the Man of Tomorrow lands on the lips of his wife, the kiss that makes her forget his uncharacteristic tardiness.

<I was held up>, he says. <Some creature in the city ...>

<I know... I saw the newscast, I have to say, you are getting sloppy. Two comatose people and three severely wounded. What gives?>

Clark shirks in hebetude, then raising his tone, he speaks:

<It's a distress signal; I received it from the Fortress. The Super-robots have alerted me. Darkseid is coming. When, I do not know but he is planning an invasion! First earth, then the galaxy and I stand in the middle of it. He has come to look for me.>

<So, you will stop him, like you have in the past. What's the connection with today's incident?>

Kal-El replies:

<I do not know. Fear and ... apprehension, I suppose. What if we can't stop him?>

<You will, trust me.>

Parademons. Their presence darkens the sky and fills the air with a stench that rivals the pits of Apokolips itself: the stench of sulfur. Their approach, however, marks the arrival of the embodiment of Evil itself: Darkseid, the Lord and Master of Apokolips.

In an instant, the horizon is filled with fumes, a darkness so palpable as to be smelled and seized by the human hand.

<Greetings, habitants of Metropolis. My armies are advancing, rounding up the last bastions of resistance that this world has to offer. Cairo, Paris, Moscow, Pyongyang, Mogadiscio, La Paz and now Metropolis. All your geo-strategic cities and countries will be under my control, my will, my bidding. Any one who cares to oppose my plans, will be dealt with, efficiently and permanently.>

Beams of power, red and fiery blaze forth from the eyes of the Master-Lord. At the sight of his nemesis, his stony countenance is transfigured with a glee of sneer and contempt that only chills the atmosphere even more.

Both enemies size each other up, it is a contest of the eyes as much as a contest of the wills. The sky which had once been silenced by the presence of the malevolent Lord is now filled with thuds of thunder. Everywhere, the assistance is shaken to its core, as soldiers more likened to demonic beings, round up the inhabitants, gathering them to watch the final demise of their hero.

A gleaming figure of red and blue falls from the sky and onto the ground, in a monumental sound that rivals an atomic explosion. The air ripples, and buildings shiver, transmitting their eminent fear and terror to all the inhabitants of the metropolis.

Darkseid stands among the fumes, stately, triumphant, and laughs controllably in the satisfaction of a God.

<Lois, where are you?>

Reduced to a state of isolation, the Angel of red and blue flies his way across the debris of boundless space. Unbeknownst to him, he has been banished to a Phantom Zone-like region of the time-space continuum by the Dark God of Apokolips. His banishment is the price for a life of heroism which too often had stalled the plans of the Darkseid. Now, vanquished and reduced to a state of inconsequentiality, he wanders around, alone, in the search of the one person who keeps him shackled and who at the same time holds the key to his delivrance: Lois.

Madness overtakes the Kryptonian Titan. Overcome with feelings of sadness, anguish tortures him. Darkseid has thought of the perfect banishment for his nemesis: the prison of solitary confinement will be sufficient enough to force the Superman to deal to himself the icy kiss of death. The plan, is perfect: the prison is a three-dimensional representation of the Dark Lord's inner demons; but in this case, an additional element has been added: nanobites imperceptible to the shining figure psychoactively cause in him a situation of stress and despair that is sure to lead him to his doom. In order, for the Man of Steel to make it out of his prison, he must overcome a trial that not even the Lord of Apokolips can overcome.

He must be stronger in will and inner power than the Darkseid.

Up, up and away. At last, the Last Son of Krypton has conquered his inner demons. An ordeal that surely has taught him the value of heroism and the price of compassion. Compassion saves and it is his love for humanity, seen through the eyes of his wife, that has given him the key to his freedom. The prison, was never there. Or perhaps, it was, fed and nourished as it was by the hero's inner compulsions until he came to the point of dealing himself the final blow. In an instant of fury, everything came to focus, and the dream - a nightmare in truth - dissipated as the Man of Steel found himself in the center of Metropolis left to himself as the Dark Lord celebrated his new conquest: the Anti-Life equation...

And the Never-Ending Battle continues, as the Last Son, the Man of Steel, Kal-el of Krypton, lunges forward into action strong of the lessons learned during his trial. Within his heart, a faint but resolute whisper resonates and lingers:

<Lois...>