The Man of Steel, page 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
POWER, POWER, POWER!
CHAPTER 2
POWER TOWER
CHAPTER 3
POWER PLAY
CHAPTER 4
POWER HUNGRY
CHAPTER 5
POWER OVERWHELMING
Years ago in a distant galaxy, the planet Krypton exploded. Its only survivor was a baby named Kal-El who escaped in a rocket ship. After landing on Earth, he was adopted by the Kents, a kind couple who named him Clark. The boy soon discovered he had extraordinary abilities fueled by the yellow sun of Earth. He chose to use these powers to help others, and so he became Superman — the guardian of his new home.
CHAPTER 1
POWER, POWER, POWER!
Superman felt the electricity course through his body. He had felt it enter at the back of his neck and exit through his fingers and toes. By the time the Man of Steel heard the crack of the bolt a millisecond later, he already knew what had happened …
He’d been struck by lightning.
Floating high above Metropolis, Superman looked around. It was a lightning storm — a huge one.
In fact, it was bigger than any lightning storm Superman had ever seen before, even back in Kansas. He had to smile. “Getting hit by lightning isn’t much fun,” he said. “But I have to admit, watching the storm sure is exciting.”
Superman looked at his fingertips. They were still smoking a bit, but he didn’t seem to be hurt at all. Superman shook his head. “That might not be the case for others,” he said.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOSH! The Man of Steel zoomed toward the ground.
Even Superman couldn’t fly as fast as lightning — it traveled at nearly 300,000,000 miles per hour. But he could fly much faster than the fastest rockets, even. He didn’t use his top speed just now, though.
If Superman did fly at his top speed, the amount of wind he whipped up would make an already dangerous situation even worse.
Right after the crack of a second bolt of lightning, Superman heard another sound. It was faint. No one without super-hearing could have picked it up.
But Superman was certain that he heard the sound of concrete crumbling.
Which direction was it coming from? The super hero turned his head, trying to locate it, but the crumbling sound had stopped. Maybe it was a false alarm. Then the noise started again.
ZOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Superman flew west as fast as he safely could.
The crumbling sound seemed to be about two miles away, in the middle of the New Troy section of Metropolis. Even before the screams started, the Man of Steel could tell the situation was serious.
An observation deck atop one of Metropolis’ highest buildings, the Emperor Building, had been hit by lightning. The concrete had been weakened just enough to destabilize the building’s foundation.
CRRRRREAAAAAAK!
The whole structure started tilting!
Superman got to the building just after the observation deck broke off.
CRUNNNNNNCH!
It was falling to the ground — with people still on it! Most of them were too shocked and scared to scream.
Superman reversed direction. He flew down toward the falling deck and passed it.
“Was that —?” a man whispered, as the blue-and-red figure zipped past.
“Yes, that was definitely Superman,” a woman answered. “But where’s he going?”
Superman positioned himself directly underneath the falling deck and braced it with both of his hands. Taking great care to not break it in half, he started to push against the falling deck in order to slow its descent.
By the time they were only forty stories up, Superman had slowed the falling deck to the speed of an elevator.
One boy shrugged. “I’ve been on roller coasters that were scarier than this,” he bragged to the others.
Superman held the deck above his head as he landed on the sidewalk. People crowded around him in amazement. He glanced back and forth at the growing mass of people surrounding him. “Excuse me,” he said in his most calm and polite voice. “But would you folks mind scooting back a bit so I can put this down?”
No one moved. They just stood still and stared, their mouths open.
“Come on, people, move it!” yelled a Metropolis police officer. “You think the man’s got nothing better to do all day than stand here holding up a building?”
She shooed the stunned people out of the way, clearing a space for the hero to set down the huge hunk of concrete. “There you go, Superman,” she said.
Superman smiled. “Thank you, officer,” he said. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
The cop looked at Superman for a moment, trying to figure out if he was teasing her. She realized he wasn’t. “Just doing my job,” she said with a shrug. “Trying to protect and serve, right?”
Superman gave her a quick salute. “Right,” he said with a smile, and then he flew away.
* * *
THUMP! Rudy Jones fell flat on his face. What had made that booming sound? And where was he now?
Rudy opened his eyes. He was lying on a dirty sidewalk in the Bakerline area of Metropolis.
Rudy slowly pushed himself up and shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. What just happened? he thought. Did someone punch me from behind?
Rudy rubbed the back of his head. Couldn’t be. I don’t feel any pain.
Even though he’d fallen flat on his face, he felt pretty good. In fact, he felt great — really great!
Rudy jumped to his feet and looked around. There was a bright flash of light in the sky, and then another. A moment later, a pair of loud booms erupted from above.
CRACKLE! CRACKLE! Rudy looked up. “Of course,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s a lightning storm. A big one!”
Rudy picked up his hat and started to walk away.
But when Rudy looked down at his shoes, he stopped. He saw that his shoes had burned off. “Well, that’s weird,” he said. He held up his hands. His gloves had burned off, too.
“What in the —” Rudy began to say, then stopped. He looked down at himself. The rest of his clothes hadn’t burned off, but they were all smoking. He took off his overcoat and turned it around to find a huge, black hole in the back.
Rudy Jones started to laugh. “I think I just got struck by lightning!” he exclaimed.
An old woman came rushing up. “Young man!” she cried. “Are you all right? I saw you fall to the ground. I said to my neighbor, Mildred, ‘I think that young man was just hit by a lightning bolt!’”
“Hmm,” Rudy said, ignoring her.
“Getting hit by lightning is dangerous,” the woman began. “It usually kills or severely injures people.”
Rudy stretched out his arms and flexed. He moved his neck around. He ran in place a little. “Well, I’m definitely not dead,” he said. “Actually, I’ve never felt this good before. I mean, I feel like I could take on the world.”
The woman stared blankly at Rudy.
Rudy laughed. “And you know what?” he said, more to himself than the woman watching him. “I probably can.”
The man ripped the rest of his clothes off. “No need for these stupid things anymore,” he said. “There’s no reason to hide who I am.”
The woman gasped when she saw his bright purple skin.
“Oh, no,” the woman murmured. “You’re … you’re that —”
Rudy finally turned toward her. “Go ahead,” he growled. “You can say it.”
“You’re the Parasite,” she whispered. “You’re the one who steals people’s energy!”
Rudy Jones nodded. “That’s right, I am. I’m the Parasite,” he said with a smirk. “And you know what? I just got hit by lightning — and I survived.”
The old woman slowly shook her head and held her purse close.
Parasite grinned. “In fact, I did much more than survive.” He began to laugh. “Do you know what this means, old-timer?”
“It means I can do this!” Parasite added.
ZOOOOOOOOOM! The villain jumped up and grabbed the electrical wire above the street. RIP! He pulled it down and held the torn cable in his fists.
CRACKLE! CRACKLE! It sparked and hissed. Parasite winked at the lady, and then he bit down onto the electrical cable.
ZAPPPPPPPPPP!
Electricity surged into Parasite. The lady screamed as sparks flew around them.
Parasite grinned. “Now that’s more like it!” he said. He dropped the cable on the ground. It twisted back and forth like an angry snake.
“But it’s not enough,” he said. “I still need more.”
As the woman backed away, three shopkeepers came out of nearby stores. Seeing the electrical wire on the ground, they quickly warned people to stay away.
Parasite didn’t look at them. He didn’t even notice they were there. Instead, he just walked away. He moved slowly at first, but soon broke into an all-out dash.
As he picked up speed, accelerating past speeding cars, he kept muttering to himself. “More,” he whispered. “More, more, more!”
CHAPTER 2
POWER TOWER
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEECH!
Parasite came to a screeching halt. He glanced at the concrete structure around him, taking it all in. “Wow,” he said in awe, looking up at the enormous Metropolis Dam. The gigantic structure was quite a sight.
Parasite knew that dams were used for two things. They held back water, so cities wouldn’t get flooded. They were als
Parasite wasn’t quite sure how a dam generated power, but he figured it couldn’t be too hard to figure out.
Besides, if there was power in there somewhere, he was going to find it. And steal it. Parasite almost felt like he was powerful enough now to be able to smell it. Power. More power was what he wanted. No, it was what he needed!
Suddenly, a nearby dam worker noticed him standing there. “Hey, buddy, you lost or what?” he asked. “Is there something I can help you with?”
The worker stopped talking when he got close enough to see who he was talking to. “Oh!” he cried. “Hey, you’re —”
“Yeah, I know,” Parasite said. “Just tell me where the power is located, and you won’t get hurt.”
“Uh, I don’t understand,” the man stammered.
“The power,” Parasite repeated. “Where is it?”
The worker backed away and held up his hands. “What do you mean?” he asked quietly.
Parasite sighed. “You’re no use to me,” he said. THUMP! Parasite shoved the worker over the ledge. He flew back and fell into the water far below with a gigantic SPLASH!
A guard came running over. “Hey!” he cried. “Why did you do that?!” He looked down below. He could see the worker bobbing up and down in the water, which meant he was okay for now. “You’re just lucky he’s not hurt —”
Parasite turned to face the man.
The guard’s eyes widened with fear. He grabbed his radio. “Security? We’ve got a problem,” he said. “A big one. Parasite —”
Parasite lifted the guard over his head and threw him into the water. SPLASSSSSH!
“Too much talk,” Parasite said, dusting his hands off. “Not enough action.”
Parasite scratched his head. The power was here, but how could he access it? Parasite tapped the dam. The concrete felt solid. He slammed it with a fist.
WHAMMMMMM! A tiny crack appeared. He hit it harder. CRUNNNNNNNCH! The crack got bigger.
Parasite heard something. He lifted his head to listen.
It sounded like a train, but Parasite knew that it wasn’t. The villain cracked his knuckles and grinned. “Superman is coming,” he said.
Superman was flying so fast that the water around the dam spread into waves as he flew into view.
Parasite braced himself for an attack, but the Man of Steel landed a few feet away. “Hello, Rudy,” Superman said calmly.
“No!” growled Parasite. “I’m not Rudy, not anymore. Call me by my real name … Parasite!”
“Fine,” Superman said, holding up his hands. “Parasite, listen, there’s no reason we can’t —”
KRAKA-BOOOOOOOOOM!
Parasite slugged Superman.
The punch barely made the hero’s head turn, but Superman was still amazed at the power of the strike. Most humans couldn’t even bend Superman’s finger, let alone make him recoil from a punch. He could tell that Parasite was much faster and stronger than he’d been the last time they’d tangled.
“Didn’t think I could move so fast, huh?” Parasite asked.
Superman didn’t answer. Parasite’s speed wasn’t the only problem. Every time Parasite touched Superman, he drained a little bit of the Man of Steel’s power. Superman could feel that even that tiny bit of contact had sucked some energy right out of him. Fighting Parasite was always very tricky.
Superman had to find a way to defeat the villain without touching him, or letting Parasite touch him.
And this time, Parasite had damaged a dam. Which meant he not only had to find a way to beat the villain, but the hero had to do it before the dam broke.
Superman looked around to make sure there weren’t any innocent bystanders nearby. The hero didn’t want others to get hurt while they fought.
But as soon as Superman took his eyes off Parasite, the villain lunged at him. SLAP! He wrapped his hands around Superman’s neck.
The Man of Steel felt power draining out of him. THUMP! He shoved Parasite away and stepped back.
How can I defeat a villain without touching him? Superman wondered. Then he had an idea. He would lead Parasite away from the dam to somewhere safer to fight. If they broke that dam here, who knows how many lives could be lost.
Superman started to fly away, but then he stopped. Parasite wasn’t following him. He had turned back toward the dam, as if he were studying it.
This doesn’t make any sense, Superman thought. If he’s not here to fight me, then what is Parasite up to?
“I guess I’ll have to go ask him nicely,” Superman said to himself.
He flew toward Parasite. Just before the two collided, Parasite whirled around. He looked surprised to see the Man of Steel rushing at him.
As the two smashed into each other, Superman threw a shoulder block.
WHAMMMMMM!
Parasite was launched hundreds of feet into the air. On the way down, he smashed into an oak tree near the dam’s powerhouse.
“So,” Parasite said, picking himself up. “That’s how it’s going to be, huh?” He motioned toward Superman with his palm up, taunting him to attack.
WHUMP!
The Man of Steel landed in front of the purple super-villain. He and Parasite had battled before, but Parasite was acting differently this time.
“Parasite,” Superman said, “I don’t know what you want, but I can help.”
“No,” Parasite growled. “You can’t. You of all people wouldn’t help me. You don’t have a clue.”
The villain lurched toward the Man of Steel, but Superman backed away. “What, you don’t want to touch me?” Parasite said. “Fine, I’ll stay right here.”
KA-RUNCH! Parasite ripped the oak tree right out of the ground. He cocked it back like a pitcher, and then he hurled giant hunk of wood at Superman.
The tree hit the Man of Steel in the chest. KA-POWWW! He was knocked backward and slammed into the dam’s powerhouse with a THUD!
Parasite looked up at the powerhouse, noticing it for the first time. “Oh,” he said. “That must be where the power is.”
Confused, the Man of Steel followed Parasite’s gaze.
Superman glanced back toward Parasite just in time to see a fist heading toward his face. I’m really going to have to stop underestimating him, Superman thought.
POWWW!
The force of Parasite’s punch drove Superman through the wall and into the powerhouse.
The Man of Steel put a hand to his chest. That punch had really hurt. Parasite was always strong, but is it possible he is even more powerful than I am now? Superman worried.
Parasite stepped through the hole he’d just made. He looked around the powerhouse.
The sound of the dam’s turbines was unbearably loud. “Yes,” Parasite said. “This is definitely the place.”
Superman saw frightened workers running away from the scene. “Shut down the dam!” he yelled after them. “Shut everything down!”
The terrified workers looked up. As soon as they saw the Man of Steel, some of the fear left their faces. Quickly, they scurried to shut down the facility.
A moment later, Superman could hear the turbines winding down as they lost power.
Anger flashed across Parasite’s face. “No!” he bellowed. “Why did you have to do that?”
Superman looked closely at Parasite.
Was he kidding? No, he seemed to be really angry. Why now? And about what, exactly?
Sirens howled in the distance. Parasite’s eyes narrowed. He pointed at Superman. “I’m not finished,” Parasite said. “I’m not even close to being done.”
Police cars came screeching to a halt. Officers jumped out. “Freeze!” one cried.
“Don’t shoot!” Superman yelled. “Bullets might just bounce off him. We don’t want anybody to get hurt!”
“Speak for yourself,” Parasite said, rushing back outside. He picked up one of the police cars and threw it toward the dam.
ZOOOOOOOOOOM! Superman took off after the car.
Superman managed to catch the vehicle a split-second before it hit the dam. Parasite threw a second car at his target. Superman wasn’t able to stop them both.
The second car hit the dam with a CRUNNNNNNCH! A large crack appeared in the dam wall.
Superman put the first car down. “Make sure everyone is out of all the buildings around here!” he shouted to the cops.
Superman flew back to the crack in the dam. WOOSH! WOOSH! WOOSH! He began rubbing his hands back and forth over the concrete as quickly as he could, creating friction to generate heat.
