Previously, General Zod escaped the Phantom Zone after acquiring an ancient relic, the Ring of Van-El, which could alter any mineral into whatever form of kryptonite the wearer chooses. After dispatching Superboy and setting a trap for Superman, the Phantom Zone Trio headed to the Kent farm, where Connor, Lois, Martha, and Chris were waiting for news from Superman in his search for Superboy...
-Black Kryptonite: Able to split Kryptonians into good and evil versions of themselves
-Gold Kryptonite: Has the ability to permanently rob a Kryptonian of their abilities
-Red Kryptonite: Causes odd and bizarre transformations in Kryptonians
-Green Kryptonite: Weakens Kryptonians; long-term exposure could be fatal
-Blue Kryptonite: Undoes the effects of Red Kryptonite
Superman stood face to face with his evil side, the result of having been exposed to Black Kryptonite. The two circled each other as they stood inside of the small jewelry store in Metropolis, where Zod had used the ring on Van-El moments earlier to split Superman's personality in two.
"We don't have to fight," Superman said. "We're both part of the same person. We can work together to defeat Zod and put things right."
"Let Zod destroy this world, it's full of pathetic, horrible creatures who are willing to kill each other for the most idiotic of reasons," Dark Superman told him. "They don't deserve the gifts that we offer. They don't deserve our compassion or guidance."
"They do deserve that, and more," Superman said. "They're not perfect, but then neither are we. These people deserve a chance to grow and be all that they can aspire to be. But they won't be able to do it under Zod's heel. He'll box them up, away from the light where they can grow and thrive. We just need to--"
Dark Superman punched his counterpart out onto the street, floating towards him with his arms crossed.
"You're weak," Dark Superman told him. "I can easily crush you because I'm willing to go to places that you aren't. I'm the side of you that you yourself have kept in a box your entire life. I'm the side of you that could have very well defeated every one of your enemies within moments if you'd let me loose. I'm the side of you that could make a man out of your weakling of a son."
"You leave Jon out of this," Superman said as his dark counterpart laughed.
"In fact, I believe after I've killed and buried you, I'll take a belt to the boy when I find him," Dark Superman told him. "I'll beat him, and beat him, and beat him again until he's just. Like. Me."
"You won't touch a hair on my son's head!" Superman shouted furiously as he punched his dark counterpart with every ounce of his strength, sending him flying miles outside of the city where he couldn't hurt anyone.
# # # # #
At the Kent Farm, Ursa had her hand around Connor's throat, lifting him into the air as his legs kicked. He struggled to breathe as Ursa titled her head, staring at the young man.
"Why does he not fight back?" Ursa asked curiously as she stared at the 'S' symbol on his chest. She reached out, ripping the shirt off of him as she used her heat vision to incinerate it in her hand. "He is the clone of Kal-El, is he not?"
"Perhaps he shares Kal-El's view of not believing that one should strike a member of the opposite sex," Zod theorized.
"Then that takes all the fun out of it," Ursa said in a disappointed tone, tossing Connor across the room, where he hit a bookshelf. The young hero hit the floor with the shelf collapsing on top of him. "There's no joy in killing him if it's this easy."
Zod tossed a rock next to Connor's exposed arm as they headed up the staircase. Just before they disappeared from view, Zod used the ring on his finger to transform the rock into gold kryptonite before getting out of distance.
"The main sources of resistance in the House of El have been eliminated," Zod said as the trio got to the top of the stairs. "All that leaves if Kal-El's bride. She should relatively easy to dispatch, then we can--"
A high-powered laser cannon blasted Zod clear through the upstairs wall. Before Ursa and Non and could react, the same happened with them. At the end of the hall, standing in the doorway of Chris' room, Lois and Martha stood with high-powered laser blasters in their hands.
"Clark was against having a weapons cache hidden in the attic," Lois said. "But you never know when guests will drop by unannounced."
# # # # #
Superman flew to the outskirts of Metropolis, looking for his evil counterpart. He began scanning with his x-ray vision and listening with his superhearing for any signs of the other version of himself.
"I know you're out here somewhere," Superman said as he quickly spun around, grabbing Dark Superman by the collar, and spinning him around before slamming him to the ground below. A shockwave blew past as Superman floated down to where Dark Superman had landed. "You're full of anger and hatred, it's blinding you on how to use important things like stealth and cunning."
"Who needs cunning when I have your powers," Dark Superman said as he used his heat vision. "And the willingness to use lethal force?"
"Do you think that you're the first evil version of myself that I've fought?" Superman asked as he spun at hyperspeed to deflect the heat vision blasts. Luckily they were miles from anyone who could be hurt. "You don't have a strategy. You don't have a game plan. You're just me with the attitude of any generic foe I face on a regular basis."
"Generic? I'm your better half!" Dark Superman shouted as he angrily flew toward the Man of Steel, who folded his hands and sent the dark version of himself flying back down to the ground with one powerful punch.
"You're the part of me that I refuse to use," Superman said as he floated down. "The part of me that truly is weak, which is why you haven't beaten me yet. Because I know that there's always a better way to solve a problem than just killing it."
"And what about General Zod? He's going to kill everyone you care about," Dark Superman said. "Jon could already be dead."
"Jon's not dead because I believe that my son is strong enough to survive any problem he faces," Superman said. "Because he's the best parts of myself and Lois in one package."
"I'll destroy you," Dark Superman said as he started feeling weak.
"No, you won't, because you're going right back where you came from," Superman told him. "Unlike you, I know how to be patient. Black kryptonite never lasts long, especially when a great deal of distance is put between you and it. Your time's up."
"NO!" Dark Superman said as he started to re-merge with Superman.
"This time, I'm locking you away for good and throwing away the key."
# # # # #
Jimmy was still strung up like a scarecrow as he tried to focus.
"I can't let Zod kill Superman, not after all the times he's saved me," Jimmy said as he heard a sound from coming from all around him. "Hello? Who's there?"
Seconds later, Jimmy didn't know whether to be afraid or relieved. "It's you..."
# # # # #
Connor started to moan as he began to wake up under the pile of books. He saw gold kryptonite and started to panic before realizing that it had no effect on him in his current situation. But it would harm Zod and his followers. Connor scooped up the rock and headed toward the stairs, but stopped a few steps in when he realized he was bleeding from where a piece of wood had stabbed into his stomach.
"No," Connor said. "I have to save them."
"It's alright, son," a voice said as a hand touched his shoulder.
# # # # #
Zod, Ursa, and Non burst through the wall into Chris's bedroom, ignoring the sleeping boy under the blankets as they flew toward Lois and Martha. They fired their laser rifles as the Phantom Zone trio dodged the blasts. Zod used his heat vision to heat Lois's up, forcing her to drop it, while Non grabbed Martha's, breaking it over his knee.
"I applaud your willingness to fight, ladies, but this battle has ended," Zod said. "Kill them."
A blast of heat vision hit Non, blasting him through several walls. Zod and Ursa turned around to see Chris standing on the bed in just a pair of pajama pants. His eyes were red with heat vision as gave an angry stare.
"(translated from Kryptonian) Get away from my mother and grandma!" Chris shouted.
"You would call them family?" Ursa asked. "Over your own mother and father?"
"*My mother and father are Superman and his wife! They took me in and loved me like a son! All you ever did was beat me and abuse me!"
"We were trying to make you into a man," Zod said.
"*I was four!"
"You were weak then, and you're still weak now," Zod told him. "To think, my own flesh and blood sides with my hated enemy."
"*And why is that, Dad? Because his father locked you away for something you obviously did?" Chris asked. "If someone from the House of El tried to hurt you, would that mean I'd have to come after them?"
"With every ounce of vengeance within you," Zod said angrily.
"*Screw that, and screw you!" Chris shouted as he flew toward Zod, but Ursa grabbed him from behind.
"I remember when you were a baby and I had to carry you around," Ursa said in a motherly voice. "I didn't like it then, either!"
Ursa held him as Zod was about to punch him with every ounce of strength he had in him As he was about to let his arm fly forward, it was grabbed from behind by Superman, in a radiation-proof suit.
"That's my son you're about to hit," Superman said as he punched Zod to the floor.
"You came prepared," Zod said. "You've grown wiser. But not wise enough."
Zod pointed behind him, where Ursa and Non had their arms around Lois and Martha's shoulder.
"Don't hurt them," Superman said. "Please."
"This is why you are destined to lose," Zod told him as he stood up. "Because you love these fragile creatures far too much."
"I do," Superman said. "They're everything to me. They're my family, just like the House of Zod used to be like a family to the House of El."
"You've done your research," Zod smirked as he held out the ring of Van-El. "Perhaps I won't kill you. You can teach Kryptonian history to those I deem fit to survive the purge."
"Let the ladies go," Superman said.
"Let them go? And give up my bargaining chips?" Zod laughed as a rumbling was heard downstairs.
The Kryptonians in the room listened in to see if they could figure out what the sound was that was coming.
"Clark?" Lois asked.
"It's Jon, I can hear his heartbeat, he's coming," Superman said, recognizing his own son.
"*Then it'll be three against three," Chris said, picking himself up from the ground.
"Will it?" Zod asked with a vicious smirk as the rumbling got louder. "Or will it be four against two?"
The wall of the bedroom was shattered as a Doomsday-like creature burst in, only a little smaller, wearing remnants of the lower half of Jon's Superboy costume. Jimmy was riding on his back, holding on for dear life.
"Jon?" Superman asked.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Sorry folks, no Superman Family Album segment this issue... because you'll be getting a full-length SUPERMAN FAMILY ALBUM HALLOWEEN SPECIAL! Look for it towards the end of October!
-Gold Kryptonite: Has the ability to permanently rob a Kryptonian of their abilities
-Red Kryptonite: Causes odd and bizarre transformations in Kryptonians
-Green Kryptonite: Weakens Kryptonians; long-term exposure could be fatal
-Blue Kryptonite: Undoes the effects of Red Kryptonite
Superman stood face to face with his evil side, the result of having been exposed to Black Kryptonite. The two circled each other as they stood inside of the small jewelry store in Metropolis, where Zod had used the ring on Van-El moments earlier to split Superman's personality in two.
"We don't have to fight," Superman said. "We're both part of the same person. We can work together to defeat Zod and put things right."
"Let Zod destroy this world, it's full of pathetic, horrible creatures who are willing to kill each other for the most idiotic of reasons," Dark Superman told him. "They don't deserve the gifts that we offer. They don't deserve our compassion or guidance."
"They do deserve that, and more," Superman said. "They're not perfect, but then neither are we. These people deserve a chance to grow and be all that they can aspire to be. But they won't be able to do it under Zod's heel. He'll box them up, away from the light where they can grow and thrive. We just need to--"
Dark Superman punched his counterpart out onto the street, floating towards him with his arms crossed.
"You're weak," Dark Superman told him. "I can easily crush you because I'm willing to go to places that you aren't. I'm the side of you that you yourself have kept in a box your entire life. I'm the side of you that could have very well defeated every one of your enemies within moments if you'd let me loose. I'm the side of you that could make a man out of your weakling of a son."
"You leave Jon out of this," Superman said as his dark counterpart laughed.
"In fact, I believe after I've killed and buried you, I'll take a belt to the boy when I find him," Dark Superman told him. "I'll beat him, and beat him, and beat him again until he's just. Like. Me."
"You won't touch a hair on my son's head!" Superman shouted furiously as he punched his dark counterpart with every ounce of his strength, sending him flying miles outside of the city where he couldn't hurt anyone.
# # # # #
At the Kent Farm, Ursa had her hand around Connor's throat, lifting him into the air as his legs kicked. He struggled to breathe as Ursa titled her head, staring at the young man.
"Why does he not fight back?" Ursa asked curiously as she stared at the 'S' symbol on his chest. She reached out, ripping the shirt off of him as she used her heat vision to incinerate it in her hand. "He is the clone of Kal-El, is he not?"
"Perhaps he shares Kal-El's view of not believing that one should strike a member of the opposite sex," Zod theorized.
"Then that takes all the fun out of it," Ursa said in a disappointed tone, tossing Connor across the room, where he hit a bookshelf. The young hero hit the floor with the shelf collapsing on top of him. "There's no joy in killing him if it's this easy."
Zod tossed a rock next to Connor's exposed arm as they headed up the staircase. Just before they disappeared from view, Zod used the ring on his finger to transform the rock into gold kryptonite before getting out of distance.
"The main sources of resistance in the House of El have been eliminated," Zod said as the trio got to the top of the stairs. "All that leaves if Kal-El's bride. She should relatively easy to dispatch, then we can--"
A high-powered laser cannon blasted Zod clear through the upstairs wall. Before Ursa and Non and could react, the same happened with them. At the end of the hall, standing in the doorway of Chris' room, Lois and Martha stood with high-powered laser blasters in their hands.
"Clark was against having a weapons cache hidden in the attic," Lois said. "But you never know when guests will drop by unannounced."
# # # # #
Superman flew to the outskirts of Metropolis, looking for his evil counterpart. He began scanning with his x-ray vision and listening with his superhearing for any signs of the other version of himself.
"I know you're out here somewhere," Superman said as he quickly spun around, grabbing Dark Superman by the collar, and spinning him around before slamming him to the ground below. A shockwave blew past as Superman floated down to where Dark Superman had landed. "You're full of anger and hatred, it's blinding you on how to use important things like stealth and cunning."
"Who needs cunning when I have your powers," Dark Superman said as he used his heat vision. "And the willingness to use lethal force?"
"Do you think that you're the first evil version of myself that I've fought?" Superman asked as he spun at hyperspeed to deflect the heat vision blasts. Luckily they were miles from anyone who could be hurt. "You don't have a strategy. You don't have a game plan. You're just me with the attitude of any generic foe I face on a regular basis."
"Generic? I'm your better half!" Dark Superman shouted as he angrily flew toward the Man of Steel, who folded his hands and sent the dark version of himself flying back down to the ground with one powerful punch.
"You're the part of me that I refuse to use," Superman said as he floated down. "The part of me that truly is weak, which is why you haven't beaten me yet. Because I know that there's always a better way to solve a problem than just killing it."
"And what about General Zod? He's going to kill everyone you care about," Dark Superman said. "Jon could already be dead."
"Jon's not dead because I believe that my son is strong enough to survive any problem he faces," Superman said. "Because he's the best parts of myself and Lois in one package."
"I'll destroy you," Dark Superman said as he started feeling weak.
"No, you won't, because you're going right back where you came from," Superman told him. "Unlike you, I know how to be patient. Black kryptonite never lasts long, especially when a great deal of distance is put between you and it. Your time's up."
"NO!" Dark Superman said as he started to re-merge with Superman.
"This time, I'm locking you away for good and throwing away the key."
# # # # #
Jimmy was still strung up like a scarecrow as he tried to focus.
"I can't let Zod kill Superman, not after all the times he's saved me," Jimmy said as he heard a sound from coming from all around him. "Hello? Who's there?"
Seconds later, Jimmy didn't know whether to be afraid or relieved. "It's you..."
# # # # #
Connor started to moan as he began to wake up under the pile of books. He saw gold kryptonite and started to panic before realizing that it had no effect on him in his current situation. But it would harm Zod and his followers. Connor scooped up the rock and headed toward the stairs, but stopped a few steps in when he realized he was bleeding from where a piece of wood had stabbed into his stomach.
"No," Connor said. "I have to save them."
"It's alright, son," a voice said as a hand touched his shoulder.
# # # # #
Zod, Ursa, and Non burst through the wall into Chris's bedroom, ignoring the sleeping boy under the blankets as they flew toward Lois and Martha. They fired their laser rifles as the Phantom Zone trio dodged the blasts. Zod used his heat vision to heat Lois's up, forcing her to drop it, while Non grabbed Martha's, breaking it over his knee.
"I applaud your willingness to fight, ladies, but this battle has ended," Zod said. "Kill them."
A blast of heat vision hit Non, blasting him through several walls. Zod and Ursa turned around to see Chris standing on the bed in just a pair of pajama pants. His eyes were red with heat vision as gave an angry stare.
"(translated from Kryptonian) Get away from my mother and grandma!" Chris shouted.
"You would call them family?" Ursa asked. "Over your own mother and father?"
"*My mother and father are Superman and his wife! They took me in and loved me like a son! All you ever did was beat me and abuse me!"
"We were trying to make you into a man," Zod said.
"*I was four!"
"You were weak then, and you're still weak now," Zod told him. "To think, my own flesh and blood sides with my hated enemy."
"*And why is that, Dad? Because his father locked you away for something you obviously did?" Chris asked. "If someone from the House of El tried to hurt you, would that mean I'd have to come after them?"
"With every ounce of vengeance within you," Zod said angrily.
"*Screw that, and screw you!" Chris shouted as he flew toward Zod, but Ursa grabbed him from behind.
"I remember when you were a baby and I had to carry you around," Ursa said in a motherly voice. "I didn't like it then, either!"
Ursa held him as Zod was about to punch him with every ounce of strength he had in him As he was about to let his arm fly forward, it was grabbed from behind by Superman, in a radiation-proof suit.
"That's my son you're about to hit," Superman said as he punched Zod to the floor.
"You came prepared," Zod said. "You've grown wiser. But not wise enough."
Zod pointed behind him, where Ursa and Non had their arms around Lois and Martha's shoulder.
"Don't hurt them," Superman said. "Please."
"This is why you are destined to lose," Zod told him as he stood up. "Because you love these fragile creatures far too much."
"I do," Superman said. "They're everything to me. They're my family, just like the House of Zod used to be like a family to the House of El."
"You've done your research," Zod smirked as he held out the ring of Van-El. "Perhaps I won't kill you. You can teach Kryptonian history to those I deem fit to survive the purge."
"Let the ladies go," Superman said.
"Let them go? And give up my bargaining chips?" Zod laughed as a rumbling was heard downstairs.
The Kryptonians in the room listened in to see if they could figure out what the sound was that was coming.
"Clark?" Lois asked.
"It's Jon, I can hear his heartbeat, he's coming," Superman said, recognizing his own son.
"*Then it'll be three against three," Chris said, picking himself up from the ground.
"Will it?" Zod asked with a vicious smirk as the rumbling got louder. "Or will it be four against two?"
The wall of the bedroom was shattered as a Doomsday-like creature burst in, only a little smaller, wearing remnants of the lower half of Jon's Superboy costume. Jimmy was riding on his back, holding on for dear life.
"Jon?" Superman asked.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Sorry folks, no Superman Family Album segment this issue... because you'll be getting a full-length SUPERMAN FAMILY ALBUM HALLOWEEN SPECIAL! Look for it towards the end of October!