Man of Steel: The Official Movie Novelization (34 page)

He knew better than to think Zod might have drowned.

As if in response to his thoughts, Zod blasted up through the bridge’s multilane span and past its granite towers and steel suspension cables to ram his fists into Superman’s chest. They shot upward through the atmosphere into space, where they were both unaffected by the freezing vacuum. A communications satellite in a low Earth orbit came into view, and Superman flung Zod into the object, which didn’t survive the encounter.

Snarling, Zod hurled the sparking remains back at Superman, before flinging himself forward and dragging them both back down toward Earth.

A fiery glow enveloped both men as they reentered the atmosphere like falling stars.

L
ois craned her neck back, searching the sky. Along with Perry and the others, she gazed upward in fear and awe as Superman and Zod waged war among the clouds.

Most of the city’s denizens had taken shelter in basements, bunkers, and subway tunnels, but Lois had never been one to run away from danger. If the final battle for humanity’s future was being fought, she damn well intended to provide an eyewitness report. And, to be honest, she was worried about Superman, too. She
had
to know what was happening to him, even if it meant putting herself at risk.

You can beat him, Clark. I know you can.

For a few moments, she lost track of the airborne titans, but then she spotted two fiery forms plummeting back toward the ground. Tracing their trajectory with her eyes, she judged that they were heading straight for the Metropolis Central Station at 45th and Swan. The station was the hub of the city’s transportation system, serving tens of thousands of commuters a day. She guessed that it was packed with evacuees trying to flee the city.

Could Superman protect them all? And in the process, could he save himself from Zod?

Lois wasn’t going to stand around and wait for the evening news.

Breaking into a run, she sprinted for the train station.

* * *

Superman crashed through the roof of the station and onto the grand stairway that led to the main concourse. He rolled down and into a cavernous space roomy enough to accommodate all the commuters and tourists who passed through the station daily.

Even now, with Metropolis under siege, frightened bystanders had taken shelter in the station. Startled by his tumultuous arrival in their midst, they ran madly for the cover. Dozens of feet raced toward the exits. Other evacuees fled through arched gateways and onto the railway tracks and platforms. Transit workers abandoned their posts.

Damn,
Superman thought. He could hardly imagine a worse place to face off against Zod. The station was filled with defenseless innocents who stood a good chance of becoming collateral damage. How was he going to protect them and stop Zod, too?

The vengeful Kryptonian war criminal didn’t give Superman time to figure out a solution. He dived through the ragged gap in the ceiling, landing on the concourse floor across from his foe. They circled each other warily, even as Superman prayed that Zod wouldn’t take notice of the many innocent men, women, and children he was placing at risk.

He hadn’t forgotten Zod’s vow to exterminate humanity, one by one.

For now, however, Zod seemed more intent on taking direct revenge. He charged at the Man of Steel, driving them back through the station’s load-bearing walls. As a result, the upper concourses caved in, blocking the exits and trapping the scared people inside.

Transit workers, baggage handlers, police officers, and store clerks all mixed with stranded travellers, united in their common peril. Hysterical screams caught Zod’s attention. A cruel smile lifted his lips as he contemplated the vulnerable humans.

“You love these people so much?” he said bitterly. “You can
mourn
for them.”

A chill ran down Superman’s spine. He tried to reason with Zod, reach the valiant soldier Jor-El had once called friend.

“Don’t do this—”

But Zod wasn’t even listening—he cared nothing for humanity, only the world he had lost. Consumed with hate, he threw himself at Superman, who welcomed the attack if it meant keeping him away from the trapped bystanders.

They fought savagely, hand-to-hand, upon the floor of the station. Their superhuman blows inflicted damage no human weapon could match. Indestructible Kryptonian fabric ripped in the struggle. Vicious kicks and jabs, delivered with Herculean force, left their faces bruised and bloodied. A fist of steel split Zod’s lip, and he retaliated by driving his knee up into Superman’s chin. The blow, which would have sent a cast-iron safe into orbit, loosened Superman’s teeth.

He tasted blood.

But Zod’s unreasoning rage made him sloppy. He charged like an animal, lowering his guard long enough for the Man of Steel to deliver an old-fashioned haymaker that sent him flying backward across the terminal. Zod hit the floor hard, only to discover that Superman had already shot across at super-speed to be there waiting for him.

Staying on the offensive, Superman got his arms around Zod’s head, pinning him in a chin-lock. Zod thrashed furiously, straining to break free, but was unable to escape the grip. Pressing his advantage, Superman leveraged his knee into Zod’s back. The crazed Kryptonian grunted in pain, but showed no sign of surrendering.

What would it take to stop him?

Pinning Zod’s body wasn’t enough, not while his eyes burned red as a distant sun. His volcanic gaze unleashed crimson rays of destruction that converged on a classical stone façade that stood across from him. Polished marble was vaporized by the beams, leaving a blackened scar across the wall.

Nearby bystanders, unable to flee, shrieked at the sight.

No!
Superman thought desperately.

Straining massively, Zod slowly turned his head. The deadly beams swept their way across the terminal toward a cluster of men, women, and children trapped beneath a fallen archway. Trembling families huddled together, holding crying toddlers. Grown men and women were crying, too, or praying for mercy as Zod’s heat-vision inched toward them, incinerating everything in its path.

Superman tightened his grip on Zod’s head, trying desperately to hold it still, or to avert it from the endangered bystanders. But still Zod managed to push against his grip, turning his infernal gaze slowly, inexorably toward the trapped people.

“Stop!” Superman demanded. The position they were in wouldn’t allow him the leverage he needed to fly—to carry them away from here. It was all he could do to restrain his opponent.

Grunting with effort, Zod twisted his head toward his intended victims. A hellish rage blazed from his eyes, seeking to avenge his vanished dream of a new homeworld. He was going to kill those people if it was the last thing he did.

“STOP!”

Spittle sprayed from Zod’s lips.

“NEVER!”

Superman watched with growing horror as the crimson rays continued along their deadly path. The beams were only a few yards away from the people now. Then two. Then one.

No!
Superman thought.
Don’t make me do this!

A little girl sobbed as the beam came closer, now only moments away. Superman cried out in anguish, knowing he had no other choice. It was Zod’s life—or the lives of innocents. He marshaled every ounce of strength that remained within him. And then...

He snapped Zod’s neck.

His form went limp, his fiery gaze extinguished instantly. Superman released the body and let it slump to the floor. Gazing down at the dead Kryptonian, he was surprised by the peaceful expression on his face.

Was this what Zod truly wanted?
Superman wondered.
A glorious death in combat?

His foe had gone the way of Krypton, but Superman wasn’t sure he would ever forgive the Zod for making the hero the instrument of his death. Anguish tore at Superman’s heart; he had always sought to save lives, not take them. Killing Zod took a terrible toll on him. His shoulders slumped as he stood above the body, feeling both emotionally and physically drained.

He really was the Last Son of Krypton now, he realized.

Apart and alone.

* * *

Lois appeared atop the stairway, having somehow made her way through the wreckage. She stared down at him, taking in the grisly scene and reading the torment on his face. Looking up, he could tell that she understood what this bitter victory had cost him. Compassionate green eyes met his.

She raced down the steps to embrace him. Hugging her tightly, in the center of the ravaged terminal, he realized that he had been wrong.

He wasn’t alone at all.

A
n array of king-sized satellite dishes searched the sky, eavesdropping on the cosmos. General Swanwick surveyed the array as Captain Farris drove their jeep past the secure NORTHCOM installation. It was an impressive setup, to be sure, but was it enough?

Now that the crisis was over, he was of a mind to beef up NORTHCOM’s deep space surveillance operations. Zod and his fellow Kryptonians may have been defeated, but who knew what other threats were hiding out among the stars? The universe was a smaller and much scarier place these days.

Hell, he knew of at least one rogue alien who was still at large.

A flaming wad of crumpled metal suddenly dropped out of the sky, directly in their path. Farris swerved to avoid it, braking hard. Swanwick scrambled out of the jeep to get a closer look at the object. A few thousand pounds of mangled metal and circuitry sparked and sputtered in the middle of the road. A US flag insignia could be glimpsed on a broken wing.

“What the hell—?”

“It’s one of your surveillance drones,” a familiar voice stated.

The startled officers spun around to find Superman hovering in the air behind them. Swanwick’s temper flared.

“That’s a twelve million dollar piece of hardware!”

“Was,” Superman corrected him, before adopting a more serious tone. “Stop harassing me, General. I know you’re trying to figure out where I hang my cape. You won’t.”

Swanwick didn’t deny the accusation. He wasn’t ashamed of doing his job.

“Then I’ll ask you the obvious question,” he countered. “How do we know you won’t one day act against America’s interests?”

“I grew up in Kansas, General. For an alien, I’m about as American as you can get. But Superman has to be
more
than that. Do you understand?”

Swanwick listened, but didn’t commit himself. Right now he was more interested in hearing what Superman had to say.

“I’m here to help,” the Man of Steel continued. “It just has to be on my terms. You need to convince Washington of that.”

Swanwick wanted to believe him. Lord knows the man had saved the entire human race from extinction, which ought to entitle him to the benefit of the doubt. But he had also shown the entire world just how unbelievably powerful he was, which was bound to make people nervous.

“Even if I was willing to try, what makes you think they’d listen?”

“I don’t know, General. I guess I’ll just have to trust you.”

With that Superman lifted off into the sky, not like a rocket, but leisurely and at his own pace. Swanwick tilted his head back to watch him ascend, as amazed now as he had been the first time he had seen the alien floating above the gate at NORTHCOM Command. He glanced at Farris, and was surprised to see a huge grin across the young woman’s face. He scowled for form’s sake.

“What are you smiling about, Captain?”

“Nothing, sir,” she said with a shrug, visibly struggling to keep a straight face. “I just think he’s kinda hot.”

You’re probably not the only one,
he thought.

* * *

“He always believed you were meant for greater things,” Martha said. “That when the day came, your shoulders would be able to bear the weight.”

She and Clark stood before Jonathan Kent’s grave. It was a clear, sunny day, free of the smoke that had blackened the sky during Zod’s attack. A copy of the
Daily Planet
was folded beneath her arm. No surprise, the epic conflict in Metropolis had pushed the earlier skirmish in Smallville off the front page, which was probably just as well, Martha mused. His roots didn’t need that kind of attention.