ISSUE #24 (June 2021)
Written by Tobias Christopher Featuring: |
"SO LONG, FARWELL AND AMEN"“This is your chance, Jon,” Darkseid said as he got down to the brainwashed boy’s eye level. “This is your chance to save your people.”
“I have to save people,” Jon whispered as he looked down into the icy pit. “DARKSEID!” Superman shouted as he flew in, using his heat vision to heat up the dagger in Darkseid’s hand, melting it. “I’ve forgiven your crimes up to this point. But trying to murder my son is over the line. This ends. NOW!” “Really?” Darkseid asked calmly as he stood up and used his Omega beam to fire at the hero, who ducked the deadly bolts coming at him. The Omega beams took a sharp turn and started coming back as Superman swerved as the beams hit Darkseid, leaving a cloud of smoke. As it cleared, Darkseid merely stood up. “My Omega beams can not hurt me, Kryptonian.” “Dad?” Jon asked as Superman smiled. “It’s alright, son, we can go home,” Superman said as he put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Not until Apokolips is restored,” Darkseid told him. “Through the sacrifice of your son.” “I just destroyed your dagger,” Superman told him as he punched Darkseid as hard as he could, sending him flying back three hundred yards. Darkseid merely stood up as if he’d just been knocked down by a strong wind. “There’s more than one way to get blood from a Superboy,” Darkseid told him. “Dad?” Jon asked. “Is that really you?” “You’ve been manipulated,” Superman told him as he turned to face his son. “Darkseid’s been playing you to sacrifice your life, but I won’t let him get away with it.” “You have no choice,” Darkseid said. “One life vs. an entire planet. You’re not cold enough to let a planet die, Kal-El. Not even an enemy’s world.” “Dad, this is a whole world of living creatures,” Jon said. “I can’t let them die. That’s not who you raised me to be.” “We’ll find another way,” Superman told his son. “I’m not letting you die.” “I don’t think there’s much choice,” Jon said. “If I don’t die, this planet is done for.” “Jonathan Kent!” Lois said as she arrived. “You are coming home with us right now!” “You’d like to believe that,” Darkseid said as a boom tube opened beneath her, Kara, Chris and Connor. They fell as Jimmy wondered what was happening. “They’ll all arrive safely on Earth,” Darkseid said as another portal opened behind Superman. “Just this once, I grant you permission to leave.” Superman looked at Jimmy. “Come on, Jimmy, Jon, we’re going—“ Jon punched Superman with all his might through the boom tube before looking at Jimmy with tears in his eyes. “Go, and tell my dad I love him.” “Kid, I—“ Jon pushed Jimmy through the portal, knowing his friend wouldn’t leave on his own. The Boom Tube closed as he looked down at his future. He’d be dead, but a whole planet would live thanks to him. He looked down into the pit. “I hate you, Darkseid.” “Not a factor, boy,” Darkseid said. knowing Jon’s anger was building due to what he now had to do. Connor and Chris looked down at Jimmy. “I can see his junk, we should get him a blanket.” Superman picked Jimmy up. “I’ll put him in the guest room, then I’m going to get our boy back.” Superman put Jimmy down on Clark’s bed. “Am I dead?” Jimmy asked. “No, you’re alive and you’re going to be just fine,” Superman said. “Thank you, Clark.” Superman stood back in shock. “What did you just say?” But Jimmy was already fast asleep. “I’m gay. I was starting to realize it during my time in the Phantom Zone, and ever since I came back, I’ve been seeing things differently. Then in England, I met the Prince and heard his story about having the courage to come out… It all just clicked. I’ve been trying to find the courage to tell you and Dad for weeks.” Chris whispered as Lois pulled him into a hug as they stood in the kitchen. “What’s that for?” “For the courage to admit who you are,” Lois said. “We’re all going to support you. You’ll always be our son.” “Told you,” Connor said as he patted his brother on the back. “You didn’t have anything to worry about. Next, we’ll work on getting you a boyfriend.” “I just want my brother to come home, first,” Chris replied. “I don’t care about getting a boyfriend, I just want my family here.” A tear fell down Jon’s face, hoping he would make a difference as he jumped into the frozen fire pit. “Farewell, son of Kal-El,” Darkseid said in a cold tone. “You’ve saved me the problem of having to kill you when you’re a man. Prepare for invasion, Superman will be here soon to unleash his fury. We will arrange a family union to send him to meet his son.” As Jon fell into the cold black pit, his anger built as he thought about the things he wouldn’t be able to do now: Play in his first football game; go on his first date; get his first kiss; get his first job, and hear his mother tell him how proud she was when he graduated. As his anger built, he felt something growing in him, not realizing what was happening. He felt a pain in his stomach that was soon too great to contain anymore as he screamed in agony as his solar flare ignited for the first time, restarting the fire pits of Apokips. The fire shot up in every fire pit, warming the planet and melting the snow as the people cheered. On New Genesis, The Highfather looked at Bandit’s grave and saw the fire pits were re-ignited on Apokalips. “No one knows how you came to be, Bandit, but perhaps only the Source Wall itself knows why you were sent to us. Perhaps someday we will learn why you were given and taken away.” On Earth, a boom tube opened as something shot down onto the Kent farm, making a crater. “Jon?” Kara asked as she ran along with Chris to see. Inside the crater, a naked Jon was huddled into the foetal position with a blue tint around him. “How?” Clark asked as he instantly took off his cape and wrapped the boy in it before rushing off to find Lois. Revenge on Darkseid would have to wait. On the other side of the world, another boom tube opened as something else shot out and landed in the snow with a red tint around it. A curious Zod looked into the crater where an equally naked Jon lay in a foetal position. He looked over at a heavily pregnant Ursa and smirked. Vengeance on the son of Jor-El had landed on his doorstep. Zod looked down at his hand with the severed ring finger where Jon had bitten it off sometime earlier. To Be Continued… SUPERMAN FAMILY ALBUM It had been a year for Tommy, Matt, and Derek as they continued to try to find their way out of The Bleed, helping people they found and getting new costumes along the way. “I can’t wait to get home,” Derek said as he stretched. “My brother is probably looking under every rock for me right now.” “Terry’s probably long moved on from me,” Matt sighed. “Probably has a new Robin and everything.” “I wonder if they’ve pulled the plug on me,” Tommy wondered. “When are we going to finally get home?” “I guess we’ll just have to Quantum Leap one more time,” Derek said as he concentrated on a portal. “Ready?” “Not yet,” Tommy said as he looked at Matt. “If we actually make it home, I’m going to miss you guys.” “Same here,” Matt said. “I know how you feel,” Derek said as they held hands and jumped into the portal. The trio landed in Derek’s bedroom with everything looking the way it was before Derek left. Derek looked at the time. “It’s five minutes after I left,” “Time must have gone slower than in the real world,” Matt told him. “So that means I must still be in a hospital bed,” Tommy told them. “I have to get to the hospital.” The portal opened as the trio saw Tommy’s comatose body. “I hope this works,” Tommy said as he looked at Derek. “If I do die, make sure Jon knows I hope he’s okay.” The two hugged as he looked at Matt. “I hope you get home safe.” “Thanks,” Matt said as they hugged. “Okay, here goes,” Tommy said as he got back into his body. Matt and Derek squeezed each other’s hands as they waited. After a minute, Tommy woke up, gasping for air. “So, what do we do about you?” Derek asked. “You live in a world of magicians, someone has to have a way back to the future,” Matt told him. “In the meantime, you’ll crash with me,” Derek told him. “You don’t mind sharing a bed, do you?” Derek teased. “I sleep in the nude,” Matt replied, looking for a reaction. “Ball’s in your court.” “Am I missing something?” Tommy asked. “Where was this for the past year?” “I’m just teasing,” Matt laughed. “I don’t mind sharing a bed, though.” as they walked out of the room to find a nurse. “I just hope you don’t kick.” “You were kidding about the nude thing though, right?” Derek asked. “Only if you’re not willing to loan me some clothes,” Matt said. Will Matt get home? Stay tuned to both Action Comics and Impulse to find out! |