trans_9 | It's The Final Countdown

Returning the shake, the Kryptonian gave the captain a curt nod before releasing his grip, then moving out to face destiny. To face this, he would need every last bit of strength. It was too bad he could get help, but it didn't matter - it was better that he went at it alone.

No, it wasn't, at least as far as two individuals were concerned.

Someone snagged him by the cape with his good hand.

"Kal, you can't--" The pleading was fast and frantic. There wasn't much time, after all. "Let me go instead! I can use my TTK to take it apart, I'm just as resistant to radiation as you, I heal nearly as fast--"

As Kon did that, Kara was in front of Kal, a pleading expression on her face. "Kal, let me go," she said. "Please. I'm just as strong as you, if not more, though I'd like to think I'm faster, and this is what Supergirls do - we save the world and the ones we love--"

"--and Superboys actually have experience doing the save-the-world thing. I can do this! Neither of you have to go--"

Superboy flew around in front of Kal, next to Kara.

"Someday our world's going to be back and that world needs Superman! The ship needs Superman!"

That blue-eyed gaze, so like Kal's own, was intense, pleading.

"So have I, Kon. You, of all people, should know that." Kal said. A brief moment before he made a move: reaching back, he removed his cape and handed it to Superboy.

"You're right, Kon. The world and the ship needs Superman." he said. "If I don't come back, it's up to you to be Superman. No questions asked. We've both been given second chances. But, your time hasn't come. Neither of yours."

The way he said it made it sound of pure finality. Don't follow, don't question his orders. Stay here.

Kara tried to blink back her tears, but just this once, they were stronger than she was.

So, she did the next best thing.

She willed heat vision to her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Kal," she apologized as she let loose with the heat vision - - and a superpunch.

Tears had brimmed in his eyes as Kal handed him his cape. Kon had to drop it to go for the radiation shield, since he only had the one hand.

"Sorry, Kal," Kon said at the same time as Kara.

With any luck, Kara would have her hands full with Kal while he could grab it and book it.

It was a suicide mission. They all knew it was.

But neither of them was going to die on his watch. He wouldn't let that happen. He'd died once already--he wasn't afraid to do it for good this time.

Edited 2011-08-23 06:39 (UTC)

Unfortunately for the both of them, while they were quick, he was quicker. Almost too fast for anyone with normal eyes, Kal had evaded Kara's heat vision blast and moved to strike down his cousins. Not too hard; they'd probably waken before the time was up.

While both of them were willing to lay down their lives to protect Kal, he couldn't let them do that. They still had plenty of their lives left to live. He refused to see another young life slip away, especially after the close call with Cassie.

"I'm sorry, you two. But, there's no other way." Kal said, hovering up. Turning to face the barrier, a determined look formed on his face. "Now, the Ohm get theirs!"

And he was off. Faster than a speeding bullet.

One moment, the Girl of Steel was seeing red. The next, everything was black.

Unconscious, Kara fell down towards the ground, her cape flaring out at her sides as though it were a too-thin firefighter's trampoline that was unable to hold her weight.

The world went dark so quickly that Kal-El's cape hadn't even finished its long, fluttering fall to the ground yet.

Superboy fell into it, dragging it down to the ground with him, where it flared out underneath him. To anyone that looked at the unconscious super in the dirt, the swath of red cloth he was lying on had the deceptive appearance of looking like it actually belonged to him.

Edited 2011-08-23 10:34 (UTC)

He had seen what had occurred, noticed what was happening too quickly to do anything but rush to the impact site as quickly as he could. He had seen the argument, and considering the fact that Superman had taken off so quickly, he could guess the cause. Could guess what Conner had wanted and been denied.

"Thank you for my son." The words were soft, whispered to the streak of light. Conner's hearing was better than any human could dream of, but he wasn't sure if Superman could hear his heartfelt thanks as he rushed to the girl, checking her pulse and making sure she was only unconscious. Not hurt, not dead. Not swallowed up by the monster above them. She would be fine. He ran the scanner over her, checking for broken bones or fractures. Making himself check her first, not Conner. As much as his heart was with Conner at the moment. He needed to see to her first. It was only right. He lifted her carefully after he was certain she wasn't injured, carrying her closer to Conner. He had a feeling he'd need to keep an eye on both of them, when they woke.

He moved the few steps to Conner's side, face calm as he scanned him. Only unconscious. That was all. He'd be awake far too quickly. He'd have to plan, to think about what he could do to prevent Conner from following. "Conner. Conner, wake up. We need to get out of here. It's not safe to stay. Wake up Conner."

The blackness that had enveloped Kara slowly parted, and consciousness seeped back into her. Rao, that hurt. Kal just...Kal. Kara's eyes snapped open and she shot straight up into a sitting position, her eyes wide with fear. "Kal!" She gasped. "Kal! What the hell!" Her eyes flared red with the threat of heat vision. She looked down, then, and saw that Kon was still unconscious. She looked at the man next to Conner and said, "What - is he okay?"

Kon groaned and then woke up himself, looking dazed at first and then he sat up so quickly he nearly knocked his head into Rory's.

"Kal! Kara, where is he?!"

He immediately climbed to his feet and floated into the air.

"Conner." Rory kept his tone firm, rolling to his feet in a single, unconscious movement, hand lose at his side. "He's fine, or he will be. Both of you sit down." Two super-powered children and both of them likely to jet off after Superman, uncaring of the fact that it would result in them getting killed as well and accomplish nothing but their deaths.

Heroes, they all died too young and in a blaze of glory. Not this time.

"Sit back down, you might have a concussion. I wasn't finished scanning." There was no room for argument in his tone, and he gave Kara an equally stern look. They both needed to sit and be still, because if he let them move, there might be three funerals once he got back to the ship.

Not his son, not this girl. Not today.

Kara glared at Rory. She'd never really been one to back down in the face of authority - a lesson that Kal and Bruce had both learned fairly well early on. In a world where you had essentially won the superpower lottery, you usually made your own room for an argument. "The last thing Kal would give either of us is a concussion," she snapped. "And really? Scanning? You sound just like someone I used to know." She turned to Kon and gave him the once-over with her X-Ray vision. "He's fine. Now if you'll excuse us -" she grabbed Kon by the hand and prepared to take off after Kal.

Kon looked back over his shoulder at Rory, pausing just long enough to talk to him. He owed him that much.

"We have to help him," he said, pleading for Rory to understand. "Even Kal can't--even he--not against these odds."

"The last thing Kal would want is for either of you to follow him, Kara. It takes a lot of courage to face what he is, and he knew the odds. You have to know that. His last decision, the last thing he did for himself, not as a superhero but as a man, was make absolutely certain the two of you would be safe. To follow him would needlessly and recklessly disregard his choice and his desire to protect the two of you." They were both more powerful than him, he was only human, mortal. Easy to break and easier to cast aside. Stregnth wise, he could do nothing. He couldn't put them out like Superman had. But he had words, not the best ones, not ones the Doctor might have chosen when faced with two super powered teenagers determined to die.

"You will be helping him, you will be doing exactly what he wants. For you and everyone on the ship. You will be living, you will be carrying his legacy." He bent, scooping up the tangle of fabric from the ground. "That is the greatest help you can be to anyone. Following him won't help him, he's made his choice. I know Conner, I do. I understand. But there comes a day when every person makes their last stand. Today isn't yours. He didn't want it to be yours. Or yours, Kara. He wanted to preserve his family, and that, I think, is one of the most heroic things he could do." He held out the cape, eyes sympathetic, but face stern. "He made his choice, Conner. Respect that and don't try to throw your life away to spite him."

Kara's eyes brimmed with tears - tears that were burned away by the heat that her eyes were giving off. She brushed back a lock of unnaturally (on Earth, anyway) blonde hair and kept her even glare at Rory. "You don't get it. He doesn't...he's Superman. He's the inspiration. He's the one who everyone believes in, who everyone looks up to. He's the...it's not...I'm just a br - just a bi..." She was shaking, unable to control herself, or her emotions. "He can't...not him. Not this way. I'm expendable. He's not." The red glow from her eyes died as she faltered, and her tears flowed freely.

Kon's eyes were welling up, too, but he refused to let those tears fall. Instead he let go of her hand to gently wrap his arm around his cousin, trying to comfort her as they floated there in the air.

"He's too important, Rory. To our world. To us. We can't--"

Yet, they weren't flying off, were they, to die of radiation poisoning, pointlessly. Because Rory was right. He was right that they couldn't throw their lives away while he was out there, fighting, probably dying.

"We can't just--"

His voice was hoarse.

"We need to at least see. We have to see how he's doing."

Even if that meant seeing the worst, how could they not? If they had to stand there, the least they could do was watch--and hope.

"Kara, he doesn't think so." His voice was gentle, careful, eyes full of worry for the crying teen. "Superman doesn't think you're expendable, and if he's the one that inspires everyone, that everyone believes in, shouldn't you believe that?"

He took a step forward, looking up at the teenagers. "To your world, to you. He's important. You both keep saying that. Conner, caring about someone is a two way street. To him, more important than anything today is protecting the two of you. You're not 'just' anything. Neither of you are. If we are shaped by the regard of the important people that care for us, then the two of you are the most important beings on this battlefield."

It was an ugly thing, watching someone die. Made uglier by the fact that he wasn't sure they wouldn't try to interfere. "Not alone. And I think this is a poor choice."

No one was ever graceful in death.

Kara wasn't going to argue any more with Rory, but the fact was that she was expendable. Far more expendable than Kon or Kal.

And Kal...he doesn't even know... He didn't know about the blood that Kara had on her hands - about why she was sent to Earth in the first place, about the terrible things she'd done on Krypton. Kara was the monster. If anyone deserved a horrible death, it was Kara.

But she couldn't do anything about it. She looked at Kon helplessly, trying to focus on him through her tears.

"Can you carry that for me?" Kon asked of Rory, nodding toward the cape. He couldn't hold it when he was also holding onto Kara, but it was too precious to leave in the dirt.

He had to give it back to its owner, after all.

They didn't zip off too fast for Rory to follow. Instead Kon looked back at him, half-miserable that Rory had talked them down, half-grateful that he wouldn't let them watch this alone.

Then they floated along through the air, somberly, until they made their way through the crowd of soldiers and refugees to the edge of the shields.

Beyond the shimmering blue field, they saw him, beating and battering his way through the enemies in his way. Kon held onto his cousin's hand and didn't let go.

"C'mon, Kal," Superboy muttered, breathlessly. "C'mon. You can do this."

He had to believe that.

"Yeah, I'll carry it for now." He nodded, a faint motion as he tucked the cape very carefully into his bag, comparing it silently to the cape he'd given Conner not that long ago. Lighter, and yet somehow heavier.

It was a bit disconcerting to realize his son was going to be Superman after all, after trying so hard to prove to him that he could have a hand in his own fate.

He followed them, silent and watchful, not of the battle occurring above them, he rather thought he knew the outcome to that already, but of Conner and Kara.

They may not think they were important, but he obviously wasn't the only one that did. This would be difficult for both of them. He stopped just beneath them, watching them watch Superman.

She could hear Kal, despite the distance that separated the two of them. She turned to look at Kon for a moment, to see if he could hear Kal too.

"Alright, you monster! If I can't go through you, then I'm taking you to it!"

Kara faltered. To her, Kal sounded as serious as he had when he'd found out what Darkseid had done to Kara. She used her telescopic vision to focus on Kal, to get a good look at him. It could very well be the last time that she ever saw her cousin.

No more innocents dies today! I DRAW THE LINE HERE! The Ohm's reign of terror stops NOW!"

No, Kara realized. Kal sounded even more serious than he had when she'd been taken by Darkseid. She wanted to close her eyes, to put her hands over her ears, to pretend this wasn't happening, but she couldn't. She was about to lose him. She knew it in her gut. She was going to lose her cousin. Her last tie to Krypton. Her last real tie to her parents. The man who, oddly enough, had served as some facsimile of a father figure to her.

She finally shut her eyes as the explosion danced across her vision, a light all too bright and cheery for the death that was taking place at its core.

An inhuman (inKryptonian, even) cry wrenched itself out from her core as she sensed the brightness of the explosion through closed eyelids.

Created with superhuman lungs, their twin cries of sorrow and anguish resonated into the broken sky.

Superboy dropped to his knees, still blinking away the afterimage of the explosion.

Gone. He was gone. His cousin, the man whose flesh and blood he'd been made from, his sometimes savior, and ever-present mentor was gone. Just like that. Gone.

"The firewurm's down! ...And the Ohm are retreating!" called out one of the GIA soldiers, and resounding cheers filled the air. "He did it! He did it!"

...No. No, he couldn't be dead. No, Superboy wouldn't just accept it. They had to know for sure. Supers could survive a lot of things. He'd lived through an explosion of similar magnitude himself once, at least for a few minutes. With Stacy's tech, maybe a few minutes would be enough.

Kon cried out to one of the soldiers in charge of opening and closing the shields, "Let me out!"

"Are you crazy? Look, the Ohm are leaving, and the radiation level's going down now that the firewurm's offline, but there's still enough radiation out there to kill most sentients after a few min--"

"I'm not most sentients! Let me out! Now! He might have survived that! I'll be quick."

They just had to find him. Find him and bring him back. That's all.

"Alright, kid, your funeral," said the soldier. "Step through. It'll let you pass."

It's The Final Countdown

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