The Death and Life of Superman (66 page)

“The very same. The radiation affected Henshaw as well, you see, energizing his mind so that he was able to link directly with a terrestrial computer network. His mind grew in power, while his physical body succumbed. Henshaw gained the ability to psychokinetically assemble electromechanical components to construct metal shells to house his intellect.”

“So he became a robot on Earth? But how did he come by his greater power?”

“I am coming to that! Do not be so impatient.” Jengur huffed and his furry head bristled. “Now, where was I? Oh, yes . . . Henshaw created a body so he could return again to his wife. But the shock of seeing him in such a form caused her to suffer a nervous collapse. Henshaw did not take his wife’s reaction well. He fled his homeworld, transmitting his intelligence into an old Kryptonian drive vehicle that he found in orbit about the Earth.”

“Kryptonian? Jengur, how did a Kryptonian drive—? Oh . . . that was the one connected with Superman, yes?”

“Who else, friend Malyk? Yes, Superman had placed in orbit the birthing matrix which had brought him to Earth, apparently to remove it from prying eyes. At any rate, Henshaw became as one with the vehicle, absorbing all the data that had been recorded within. He ‘saw’ all that the vehicle had experienced, from its construction through the birthing of Superman himself. New technologies and knowledge flooded into his mind. He cannibalized components of the Kryptonian craft to form a tiny vehicle for his consciousness and set out to explore the cosmos.

“Henshaw had become a new life-form. But his mind had not adjusted well to all these changes, and traveling alone through the depths of space only disturbed him further. He came to see himself as a kind of god. The further he traveled, the more he lost touch with reality. He grew to blame Superman for the loss of his original body. He imagined that Superman had driven him from the Earth, and those imaginings in time became convictions.”

Malyk shuddered. “What you’re saying is that he became a mad god . . . a paranoid god of ever-growing power.”

“You begin to see his pattern, my friend. And it was in this state that Henshaw encountered Mongul. It was while our lord was in exile. Henshaw’s expanded consciousness entered Mongul’s star cruiser and absorbed the knowledge of the ship’s data systems, learning all about our lord and about his reign on WarWorld. Henshaw was fascinated by the very idea of a planet that could move from star system to star system. And he saw in Mongul a hatred of Superman that rivaled his own.

“Henshaw manifested himself to Mongul, offering him a plan by which they would claim the Earth and have their revenge on Superman. He spoke to our lord as would a god to a follower.”

“And Mongul accepted that?” Malyk was incredulous.

“No, he did not . . . not at first. Even in exile, our lord was a proud being. But when he defied Henshaw, the mad god simply took over the ship. Not even Mongul could withstand the armament of a living star cruiser. Our lord was humbled, and Henshaw permitted Mongul to be his military adjunct.”

“Permitted?” Malyk began to wonder if he himself was going mad. “But if Henshaw has become so powerful, why should he even need an adjunct?”

“He does not. Yet he basks in the obeisance of others; it pleases him to have one such as Mongul in his command. Further, he credits Mongul’s hatred of Superman with crystallizing his own hatreds and desires. He feels he owes Mongul for leading him to his—stars help us—‘clarity of vision.’ ” Jengur shivered all over. “For this, he brought Mongul into his plans. Henshaw reserves revenge upon Superman for himself, but he is allowing Mongul to have Superman’s adopted planet for a new WarWorld. With the mad god’s backing, Mongul began building a new, greater starship and set out to recruit a new conquering army. While this was underway, Henshaw returned to Earth in secret, to finalize his plans of revenge.”

“Revenge? But Superman had already been killed, had he not?”

“He had, Malyk. Moreover, Henshaw discovered that his own wife had died while he was off traveling in space.” Jengur hesitated and lowered his voice further. “Terri Henshaw had been her husband’s anchor to the last traces of his humanity. Her death left him wholly adrift in his mind. He saw but one way to revenge himself on Superman. He created a cybernetic body for himself. He stole human tissue from a research hospital, simulating the Kryptonian genotype closely enough to fool terrestrial scientists. He had absorbed enough knowledge from Superman’s birthing matrix to make quite convincing his impersonation as Earth’s lost champion come back as a cyborg. And then, once he had established himself as Superman, he would carry through his plans to transform the Earth into a new WarWorld. He would see to it that the universe came to know Superman as the being who came back from the dead to kill his adopted world.”

Malyk shuddered. “Such a plan—it is beyond perfidy.”

Jengur nodded. “And it is working, my friend. At this point, who could possibly stop it?”

“Jengur!” Mongul’s voice thundered down the hall.

“Our lord and master calls.” Jengur brought a finger to his lips. “Not a word of this to him. He would be most upset.”

Malyk shuddered again. Mongul “upset” was something he did not want to even imagine, much less witness.

27

A scant hundred miles
from Engine City, the LexAir transport slowed to stall-out speed, and three men jumped from a port in the back of the cargo bay. Like living cruise missiles they dropped beneath the smoke and ash that still hung over California and streaked toward their target.

Superman took the lead, flying with the aid of jet boots borrowed from Team Luthor ordnance. As they flew along, he looked up at the sun glowing dimly through the ash.
No telling how long it’ll take me to store up enough solar energy to get back my full power.

John Henry studied the Man in Black intently. The only other time he’d felt such a commanding presence was when he’d met Superman himself.
Funny . . . if he is Superman, I’m stronger than he is now; his life is much more at risk out here than mine is. Whoever he is, he’s got guts.
Steel glanced over at Superboy.
I wonder what the kid thinks?

Superboy could hear his stomach rumbling.
Man, I wish we could’ve ordered up a few pizzas before we left. Those “Meals-Ready-to-Eat” the pilot had stashed aboard were about as tasty as a pizza
box! He swung in close by the Man in Black. “So tell me, do you think Luthor will try to convince the mayor’s office to evacuate the city?”

“No, I don’t.” Superman looked grim. “For one thing, we’re not sure that there
is
a bomb being readied for Metropolis; you didn’t actually see this bomb. Besides, I doubt that Metropolis could be completely evacuated in less than a week. And if an evacuation were attempted, the Cyborg might find out about it and launch an early attack.”
I expect that Luthor himself will get a safe distance from the city. I know that it’s horribly selfish, but I hope that Lois does, too. If anything should happen to her now—!
“We’re just lucky that the armed forces agreed to give us a free hand.” He glanced over at Superboy. “You know, you’re the only one who’s gone into this area and come out alive.”

Superman squinted at the rocky cliffs ahead of them. “I can just barely see this Engine City. Heavy armaments. We’ll have to go in low and fast.”

John Henry edged in closer. “Sure you’re up to this, man? I mean, how bulletproof are you?”

“I don’t know, Steel. But I’ve seen one WarWorld, and before I let that hell come to Earth, I’ll gladly risk my life and die again.”

Behind his mask, John Henry made a silent vow.
You’re not dying—not if I have any say in it.

“All right, listen up!” Superman stared intently off into the distance. “I haven’t been able to see any master control zone; things are pretty well shielded in there. I do, however, think I have a lead on a launching area within the city. That’ll be our first target. Everyone stick close.”

The three heroes skimmed over the rocky peaks and shot down through one of Engine City’s unfinished domes. Inside, alien troops were taken by surprise as the three Supermen dropped down into their midsts. As the troops opened fire, Steel took the point, plowing through them as if they were tenpins.

In the city’s central control house, Mongul and the Cyborg entered to a chorus of alarms. The big warlord glowered at his staff. “What is this? What is happening?”

A security officer flipped switches in dismay. “I—I do not know, Lord Mongul. Something is knocking out our interior surveillance systems. Just before this started, we picked up three blips on the short-range scanners.”

“Attack craft?”

“No, sir. They were very small . . . terrestrial humanoid size at most.”

“It’s the boy.” The Cyborg spoke with certainty. “It must be. The cocky young fool has found himself two allies and come back to sack the city.” A dry chuckle rattled past his lipless jaws. “No matter. The most powerful metahumans on this world have been dispatched on a fool’s errand. Terminating these three will be almost too easy.”

On a lower corridor of the city, dazed and frightened troopers beat a hasty retreat before the advance of the Supermen. Shattered robot warriors and unconscious alien troopers littered the floor around the three invading heroes.

Superboy dusted metal fragments from his gloves. “Okay, who’s my next lucky contestant?”

Steel looked around cautiously. “They all either got beaten or ran away, kid.”

“They’ll be back—with reinforcements.” Superman removed the expended jet boots and tossed them aside. “We have to be ready for them.” He stooped to pick up one of the weapons scattered about on the floor, taking in its mechanism at a glance.

Behind his mask, John Henry raised an eyebrow. “What’re you up to, man?”

“Just a little field requisitioning, Steel.” Superman slung two big ammo belts over his shoulders and grabbed up a second big sidearm. “I know the odds we’re up against. With my powers as low as they are, I need a little bit of an edge if I’m going to pull my weight.” He checked the action on one of the big guns. “You know, some people say I’m the world’s biggest Boy Scout. Well, you know the Scouts’ motto—‘Be prepared!’ ”

“Radical! Let’s go earn some merit badges!” Superboy slapped Superman across the back. “Which way, Fearless Leader?”

Superman shot a glance across the floor to a huge stairwell. “Down. First we make this place inoperable, then we take out Mongul and that Cyborg. Follow me.”

Rapidly, they descended the levels of the city until Superman held up his hand. He cocked his head to one side, as if listening to something, then turned and pointed to a seam along one wall. “A door—there! Open it!”

Superboy sank his hands into the metal and peeled it back. The three Supermen charged through the opening onto a wide metal catwalk and came to a dead halt. They found themselves in the middle of a gargantuan missile silo, five hundred feet across and nearly a mile deep. Before them sat a ballistic missile as big as a skyscraper, its warhead a cluster of metal globes identical to those that had leveled Coast City. Steam hissed ominously from the missile’s base.

“That’s it!” Superboy stared up at the big missile. “That’s gotta be the bomb that the Cyber-Rat was putting together for Metropolis.”

“I know.” Superman looked grim. “It’s up to us to take it apart.”

Back in the city’s central control, the security officer reported another surveillance system shutdown. “Sir, this one is in the central missile silo. Backup systems in the launch bay indicate three intruders at midlevel.”

“So, they actually managed to find the cluster bomb, did they?” The Cyborg stared at the screens coldly. “Excellent. Launch it!”

As the three heroes planned their next move, a low rumble began to build far below. Superboy looked down in horror as a deadly ring of fire from the missile’s thrusters began boiling up the walls of the silo toward them. “Oh, man. We’re toast!”

Looking about, Steel spotted a small inspection port in the side of the silo. “Follow us, kid!” He then grabbed Superman and threw himself against the little door, forcing it open. They tumbled into a small room and ducked back as a gout of flame shot through the portal after them. For a moment, the room was thick with smoke and fumes. And when it cleared, John Henry was horrified to see that the boy was not with them.

“Kid!” He ran back out onto the charred and steaming catwalk, but there was no Superboy to be found.

“Steel, come back in here!” Superman was flipping switches on a small monitor console. “This must be some sort of secondary tracking room. Take a look at this!”

The image on the monitor screen stabilized to show the missile streaking up out of Engine City. There, nestled among the cluster of modules at the base of the missile’s warhead, was the Boy of Steel.

Back in the tracking room, Superman gripped the side of the console so hard that, despite his diminished strength, his fingernails carved shavings from the metal. He thought of Lois and Jimmy, of Perry and Allie, and all his friends at the
Planet.
There were eleven million people in Metropolis; if they should die, he didn’t know if he’d be able to live with himself.