Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
whole story . . .
ISBN 0-553-09582-X
Titlepage
Dedication
Acknowledgments
To David Purvis,
teacher extraordinaire,
who encouraged me to write and to
think . . .
Roger Stern
SECTION ONE
DOOMSDAY
Prologue
Cut!
Cut? Cat Grant turned to
confront her director. What do you
mean, Cut?!
I mean, were off the air. he
clutched his headset tightly to his
ear as the monitors set up around
the auditorium flashed the familiar
Galaxy Broadcasting G. Were
being preempted by network news.
Theres something weird going on
in the Midwest . . . some sort of
trouble.
Trouble? Superman was on his
feet and across the stage in an
instant.
The director reached for the
volume control. You want me to
turn up the sound?
If you want. I can hear it fine as
is.
Turn it up, Mickey. Cat joined
them by the central monitor. If Im
being preempted, I want to know by
what!
. . . reports at this hour of
intense fighting between members
of the Justice League and what
authorities are calling a monster at
an oil refinery near Canton, Ohio.
The voice of a WGBS news
announcer suddenly boomed out
across the chamber. Initial
indications are that the League has
been unable to halt the destructive
rampage of the as-yet-unidentified
creature.
I have to go, Ms. Grant.
Superman became a blur.
Superman? Cat ran after
him, but by the time she reached the
exit door, he was already several
miles away.
Guardian!
Jim Harper stirred, roused to
consciousness by a voice in his
head.
Guardian, are you all right?
Harper blinked. He was alone,
but he could feel a presence with
him. And when he closed his eyes,
it seemed that he could almost see a
face staring back at him, a gray-
skinned, horn-headed face.
Dubbilex?
Yes. From deep within the
Project, the DNAlien reached out to
Harper telepathically.
He could feel Dubbilexs relief
wash over him. What happened?
The responding thought was
instantaneous: As near as I can
tell, that Doomsday creature left
you and Superman for dead,
buried in the rubble of Habitat.
When you failed to respond to a
radio summons, I . . . came
looking for you.
Superman . . . The Guardian
sat up and looked around him. The
rubble had been scooped out and
massive chunks of wood stacked
protectively around him. Wheres
Superman?
Already revived and gone in
pursuit of Doomsday. He was
digging you out even as I found
you. He was quite concerned about
you, but I assured him that I could
see to your well-being. The air
shimmered, and Dubbilexs visage
appeared clearer, stronger. He is a
good man, Jim . . . a good friend. I
felt in him a great sense of duty.
He is determined to stop the
creature.
The Guardian rose painfully to
his feet. Im afraid Doomsday may
be too big for even Superman to
handle alone.
Was the mental image frowning?
It was sometimes hard to tell with
Dubbilex. I fear that Doomsday
might be one of ours, Guardian . . .
a DNAlien. Perhaps another
Dabney Donovan creation.
That thought had already crossed
the Guardians mind. He looked
around at the ruins of Habitat and
prayed that their fear was
unfounded, that Cadmus wasnt
responsible. We have to find out.
Can you get a mind-fix on
Doomsday?
It will not be easy at this
distance, but I shall try. The
image of Dubbilex flickered out,
and the Guardian set out to find his
motorcycle. He located it, back up
on its kickstand at the edge of the
space that Superman had cleared
around him.
Suddenly Dubbilexs visage
reappeared. I have found him.
The telepath seemed very alarmed.
There is nothing in his mind but
anger . . . no thought but
destruction. I cannot tell from
where he came.
Its all right, Dub. The
Guardian kick-started his bike.
Well have to work hard to stop
him, in any caseif anyone can
stop him.
Three miles up over Metropolis,
Doomsday fought to break
Supermans grip. Twisting free, the
creature drove the air from his
captors lungs with a savage kick
and leapt toward the heart of the
city. Aboard the Planet helicopter,
Loiss heart caught in her throat as
she saw the stunned Superman
hurtle Earthward. He tumbled out of
control, crashing down through the
steel skeleton of the building under
construction at the Park Ridge
office park.
Just a few hundred yards away,
the WGBS copter wheeled around
in Cat Grants direction.
Supermans down! She could
hardly believe it. Get closer! We
cant miss this shot.
Any response?
The Guardian looked up to see a
team of paramedics setting up
around him. Hes still not
breathing on his own. Beyond that
its hard to tell.
One paramedic broke out an
oxygen canister while another felt
along Supermans throat. No
discernible pulse.
The Guardian paused between
breaths. I couldnt find one, either.
But I wasnt sure if I was looking in
the right place . . . his origins are of
another planet.
The paramedic with the oxygen
moved in quickly, inserting an
endotracheal tube through
Supermans mouth and down his
throat. One of her partners slipped
in to take over the chest
compression from the exhausted
Inspector Turpin. Another pulled
away what was left of the tattered
blue and red shirt and attached two
round adhesive-backed electrodes
to Supermans chest.
Lois and Jimmy stood close by,
helplessly watching with quiet
horror as an ominous flat line
appeared on the screen of the
rescue teams heart monitor
equipment.
Paramedic Mark Spadolinis
voice broke slightly as he radioed
their findings to the trauma center at
Metropolis General Hospital.
Victim is asystolic. Were
administering epinephrine via the
breathing tube. No, we cant get an
IV into him. No, weve already
wrecked three needles trying.
Theres a puncture wound, partially
closed, on his lower right side, just
below the ribs. Uh-huh. Okay . . .
try to find a vein in the wound.
The monitor was still showing a
flat line. Mark shook his head.
Well have to try shocking him.
There was a discernible crackle
as voltage was applied to the Man
of Steels broad chest. But he didnt
even twitch.
FUNERAL FOR
A FRIEND
11
REIGN OF THE
SUPERMEN
19