The Death and Life of Superman (20 page)

“Mhh-trr-plss?”

Superman looked up. Doomsday was starting to turn away.
What’s drawn his attention away from me?

Doomsday stood on the shoulder of the highway, looking intently at a huge information sign. There, emblazoned in letters a foot high, were the words:
METROPOLIS
60
MILES.

“Mhh-trr-plss!!”

Oh, no, he remembers that stupid commercial! He’s made the connection—!
Superman bounded to his feet and launched himself at the distracted beast, pounding away at him with fists that could shatter solid steel.
Sixty miles might as well be sixty paces to this monster! I can’t let him get any closer! I can’t!!

Overhead, Olsen let out a low whistle as he snapped off shots of the battle. “Geez! Superman must’ve gotten a second wind or something! I’ve never seen him fight so hard!”

“N-neither have I, Jimmy!” Lois fought to keep her voice under control. She had to have faith that her lover would be able to stop this creature. And she had a job to do; maybe if she concentrated on that . . .

“Next paragraph . . . Taking advantage of Doomsday’s momentary distraction, Superman redoubled his efforts . . .”

Superman had indeed caught his opponent off guard. Evading the monster’s reach, he grabbed Doomsday by the ankle and began to swing him around and around, as though he were a hammer thrower.
He must weigh nearly half a ton. Got to use that weight . . . build up enough momentum.

On his fifth rotation, Superman let go of Doomsday, sending the monster flying high and away to the northwest, away from Metropolis.

Superman bounded into the sky, streaking after the vanishing form of Doomsday.
He’s taken everything I’ve dished out so far. Maybe crashing into the hills at a few hundred miles per hour will soften him up. I hope so!
As he flashed past the WLEX helicopter, Superman found himself suddenly surprised by the absence of any “hands-on” LexCorp response.
By now young Lex Luthor must be aware of what happened to his company’s store. I’d have expected him to send in Supergirl, maybe with a squadron of his Team Luthor security force. And this is one time I could really use some help.
Superman shook his head. He was never sure what to expect of the Luthor heir.
Of course, if his father were still alive, I’d have half-expected the old man to have
engineered
this Doomsday monster.

The
Daily Planet’s
chopper pilot scratched his head. “I don’t know if I can catch up with them, Ms. Lane, not as fast as they’re going!”

“Just do your best, Garret. Metropolis isn’t that far . . . I’ll bet Superman’s trying to keep Doomsday away from the city.”

“Well, he’s got him headed in the right direction. Not much to worry about out where they are. No one’s allowed much up into the hills around Mount Curtiss. Even a lot of the airspace is restricted. I think some sort of federal preserve is tucked away up there.” Garret glanced at his instruments. “We’re getting low on gas. Sorry, but we’ll have to set down and refuel while we can.”

Lois looked back helplessly as the helicopter turned about, skirting well clear of the restricted area which sheltered the Cadmus Project.

In an underground chamber hundreds of feet beneath Mount Curtiss, Drs. Walter Johnson and Anthony Rodrigues were in the midst of arguing with their Project administrator over research budgets for the upcoming year.

“Paul, with Dr. Augustine still on the mend, we desperately need another research geneticist to take up the slack.”

“I’m sorry, Walter, but we can’t take on any more personnel at this point. We don’t have the wallet for it, and Congress isn’t about to increase our appropriation any time soon.” Paul Westfield stood and leaned back against his desk, arms folded. Despite his words, he didn’t seem very sorry.

Suddenly there was a deep rumble, and the entire complex shuddered. Westfield’s feet went out from under him, and he cut loose with a curse he hadn’t used since his army days.

“What’s going on?!” Johnson ducked, narrowly avoiding a falling chunk of ceiling tile. “Is this an earthquake?!”

“Inconceivable! This is one of the most geophysically stable regions on the continent!” Rodrigues steadied himself against a filing cabinet as the shaking subsided. “The Project must be under some manner of bombardment!”

Johnson turned to help the adminstrator to his feet. “Take it easy, Paul, we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

“The Guardian would have to be away! This is inordinately inopportune.” It had been years since anyone had called Dr. Rodrigues “Big Words,” but the origins of his nickname were still clear. “You don’t suppose—? No, the level of coincidence is far too great. And yet I cannot help but wonder if this seismic disruption is somehow related to that nearby monster scare which Harper went off to investigate.”

Johnson answered with only a shrug. Westfield was still fuming.

Rodrigues himself shrugged and picked up the phone. “This is Dr. Rodrigues. What is the situation?” He listened patiently as the security officer ticked off the damage reports. “I see. Well, then, go to code red and patch me through to the Guardian.”

High up on Mount Curtiss was a huge new crater, formed by Doomsday’s impact with the mountain. As Superman dove down over the crater, the shattered rock and debris in the center of the depression began to shift. Then Doomsday slowly arose, a raspy growl on his lips.

He’s still conscious,
thought Superman.
Another second and he’ll be back on his feet. I can’t allow him that second.
Superman rammed into the rising monster with the speed of an express train, sending him barreling down the mountainside.
Got to pound him—and keep pounding him!

Superman dove after Doomsday, striking him again and again as they slid below the timberline. Gigantic tree trunks began to crack and splinter as they grappled their way to the base of Mount Curtiss. Gradually, Superman became aware that the great wooden trunks around them weren’t just trees. They had tumbled into the middle of Habitat.

Superman recognized the tree city from previous visits to the area. He thanked God that the place stood abandoned.
I must be getting punchy! I was so worried about keeping Doomsday out of the city, I forgot all about Cadmus’s research zone extending into this wild area.

Research . . .
Now there was a troubling thought.
All manner of beings have been created in the Project’s genetics labs. Could Cadmus be responsible for creating Doomsday?

Outside the emergency entrance of Midvale General Hospital, the Guardian had dropped off Maxima and was striding toward his motorcycle when it suddenly began to beep, he immediately dashed to the big bike and flipped a switch. A miniature LED screen lit up just behind the handlebars, showing the concerned face of Dr. Rodrigues. “Guardian, return to base at once!”

“What is it, Rodrigues? What’s wrong?”

“Unknown. But the mountain seems to be under attack by forces of incredible power!”

In the middle of the deserted Habitat, Superman ducked in under Doomsday’s great reach, turning the monster’s head halfway around with a devastating right uppercut. Incredibly, Doomsday laughed.

It wasn’t getting any easier for Superman. The mere act of hitting Doomsday was starting to hurt, and the big monster didn’t seem to have weakened one iota.
This is just wearing me down. Got to change my tactics. Maybe if I hit him with something big.
Above them, a giant wooden column came toppling down, shattered by the pounding. Straining, Superman caught the column and used it like a battering ram, smashing Doomsday back through the heart of Habitat. The whole settlement began to sway.

Half a mile away, the Guardian came riding over the foothills just in time to see Habitat start to topple. There was an ominous crunching sound, as if God Himself were cracking His knuckles. And then the center of the deserted settlement collapsed in on itself, more like a house of cards than a stand of trees.

“Guardian to base! Habitat . . . my God, Habitat is in ruins! And I think that Superman and the Doomsday monster were smack in the middle of it! It’s bad . . . I’m going in for a closer look! I’ll keep this channel open.”

The Guardian zigzagged his bike down the hillside, finally skidding to a halt by a shattered wooden column that had once been as big around as a sequoia. A hand reached up from behind the column, and Superman came crawling out from beneath the wreckage. The Guardian quickly dismounted and ran to help his friend.

“Guardian? Where’d you come from? Where’s Doomsday?”

“Buried under what’s left of Habitat. You barely got out of it yourself. You took some terrible hits in the collapse. Why didn’t you fly out of it?”

“Too wasted. Need to rest . . . soon as I make sure . . . Doomsday’s stopped.”

The Guardian’s breath caught in his throat as he got a good look at his friend. One whole side of Superman’s face was bruised and swollen. The eye behind the blackened lid was red and inflamed. He had never seen Superman look so mortal.

The Guardian was so shaken by the sight that it took him a moment to find his voice. “Relax, you got him that time!”

“Hope so . . . but I have to be certain.” Superman shuddered. “Hard to see . . . through the ruins. Eyes don’t want to focus. I . . . Oh, no!”

Before Superman could utter a single word of warning, Doomsday kicked his way out from beneath the wreckage, sending it flying in a shower of wood and stone. The monster emerged from the remnants of Habitat and surveyed the splintered debris around him. There was no sign of a single living thing. With a snort, Doomsday turned and leapt away. Behind him, buried out of sight beneath several tons of debris, lay the unconscious forms of Superman and the Guardian.

An electronic squawk arose from the buried motorcycle. “Guardian? We were cut off for a moment . . . can you read me?”

In the Cadmus Communications Center, Dr. Anthony Rodrigues paused, waiting for a response. An assistant thrust a seismograph printout into his hand.

“We detected another shock, Doctor.”

“What’s going on out there? Guardian? Guardian!”

The speaker buzzed and clicked, and a voice other than the Guardian’s came on-line. “Dr. Rodrigues, this is Fitzsimmons in Security. Select-scan radar has just confirmed the apparent launch of an object—somewhat larger than man-sized—from the Wild Area. It’s headed south-southeast at approximately half the speed of sound!”

“Good Lord!” Rodrigues turned to the radio officer on duty. “Patch me through to Metropolis Civil Defense Command—now! We have to warn those poor people—Doomsday is coming!”

10

The two news helicopters
had set down at a small regional airport for refueling when Doomsday flashed by overhead. Lois turned to their pilot in a panic. “How much longer will it take?”

Garret shook his head. “Five, maybe ten minutes.”

Jimmy scowled. “That’s too long! We’ll lose him!”

“Maybe not!” Lois pointed across the field where another
Planet
copter was setting down. “Come on!”

Lois and Jimmy raced across the tarmac to where Bud Sheldon of the
Planet’s
sports desk was deplaning.

“Bud, we need your chopper. It’s an emergency.”

“Okay by me, Lois—if it’s okay by Joe!” Bud hooked a thumb back toward his pilot.

Lois and Jimmy piled on board the idling copter, much to the surprise of Joe Jacobi. “Where did you two come from?”

“Long story,” said Lois. “How’re you fixed for fuel?”

“Got three-quarters of a tank.”

“Good. Get this eggbeater into the air. Jimmy will explain as we go.”

As Jacobi took off, a second figure flashed by overhead.

“Superman!” Jimmy let out a whoop. “All right!”

Lois felt her spirits rise. She’d tried not to worry when Doomsday had bounded past alone. Knowing that her lover was still in pursuit didn’t alleviate all her worries, but it helped. “Follow him, Joe. Where he goes, we go!” Lois grabbed up a headset and reestablished contact with reporter Fran Thurston in the
Planet
’s City Room.

“Lois? That was fast!”

“We got a new ride. Ready to continue?”

“Whenever you are. Feed me.”

“As the monster called Doomsday abandoned the furrow of destruction, he plowed through the northern part of the state and headed, in ten-mile leaps, toward the East Coast and Metropolis. End of paragraph.”

At her end of the line, Fran paused at the keyboard. “Metropolis?! Oh, dear God. Lois, you’re sure of that?”

“ ’Fraid so, Fran. But Superman is on the creature’s tail. We’re airborne over the beltway now . . . hope to catch up to them soon.”

“We’re getting company, Lois!” Jimmy pointed to the south where a helicopter showing the WGBS logo was closing in on them.

Lois nodded. “Probably Cat Grant, hoping to finish her interview.” She looked ahead, scanning the horizon. The city was coming up fast. “Keep your head down, Fran. If our calculations are right, that monster must be reaching Metropolis right about now.”

The ground suddenly shook with a muffled thud at an office park under construction on the far edge of suburban Park Ridge. The foreman looked around, expecting to see that a load of steel had fallen.