The Man of Steel: Superman vs. the Demons of Deep Space
Then he saw a fiery trail streaking overhead Strange thought Superman It looks like a meteor Superman put the plane down on the runway of the airport I can’t stay he told the pilots There’s another emergency that needs my immediate attention Superman quickly flew in the direction of the line of fire that had been scratched across the sky Wow Superman sure is busy today one of the pilots said I think it’s a pretty normal day for the Man of Steel the other pilot replied Superman chased the mysterious streak through the sky It moved almost as fast as he did The Man of Steel didn’t know what it was Superman was worried that it might crash into a city and hurt people Even if it collided with the Earth in an uninhabited area it would be a severe ecological disaster He had to stop the unidentified object from reaching the surface Suddenly the fireball changed direction It went straight up into the air Then it went sideways This was not an ordinary object Whatever that thing is someone is controlling it Superman said He used his super-vision to get a closer look He was surprised at what he saw POWWWWWW Something smashed into the Man of Steel He was knocked through the air He went twirling like a toy pinwheel for a few moments before he was able to regain his balance Is this what happened to the airplane Superman wondered Superman floated in midair and looked around for what had hit him That was when he saw them A hundred alien soldiers in anti-gravity armor rushing toward the Man of Steel ZAP ZAP ZAP They fired energy weapons at him Bolts of destructive energy sizzled through the air like red lightning Superman let the beams strike him square on the S-shield on his
chest The energy bolts bounced off his invulnerable body Parademons from Apokolips Superman said They were the shock troops of Darkseid the god-like dictator of a savage world You might be Darkseid’s invasion force but you won’t get past me The alien soldiers did not speak They were trained to fight and nothing else One of the drones pointed his weapon at a man hovering in midair behind him The man stood on a flying platform that had an alien design But Superman recognized the platform and the warrior who controlled it Hello Orion Superman said Welcome back to Earth The Man of Steel instantly recognized the second son of Darkseid Unlike Kalibak Darkseid’s evil son Orion walked the path of good Having left home at an early age Darkseid’s dark influence had not been able to influence the heroic Orion Several Parademons were aiming their weapons at Orion now Need some help old friend Superman asked I am not the one in trouble Orion shouted I have come to warn ZIRRRRRRRRRRRRT Several Parademon energy weapons blasted Orion at once Orion fell onto the flying platform in a heap Orion Superman shouted Faster than the eye could see the Man of Steel used his heat vision like a laser to make the Parademons weapons explode The soldier drones scattered powerless without their blasters Superman landed next to his friend Orion are you hurt Superman asked Orion straightened up in his Astro Harness the device which allowed him to travel across great distances even space He grinned at Superman I am a warrior of the New Gods Orion said It will take more than a few energy blasts to defeat me Glad to hear it Superman said
Ping Ping Ping The sound reverberated from inside Orion’s harness Orion looked at a small device mounted on his harness Superman recognized it as a Mother Box It was a living computer built by Orion’s people that gave its owner many amazing abilities like teleportation Even owners of the Mother Boxes don’t completely understand how they worked Incoming Orion shouted suddenly BOOOOOOOM A sonic blast ripped through the air as an energy tunnel opened Superman and Orion were tossed in opposite directions Then the sound and the tunnel disappeared The sky was clear and blue and calm but only for a second BOOOOOOOOM A woman as tall as Superman now floated in the sky She had golden Aero-Discs attached to her boots that allowed her to float in the air She wore the armor of a warrior and held a Mega-Rod that crackled with deadly energy Big Barda Superman said He recognized her in an instant Two New Gods in one day Superman I have come to warn you Barda shouted Ping Ping Orion’s Mother Box chirped Ping Ping The Mother Box on Barda’s armor also sounded A Boom Tube is forming Barda warned She flew straight up into the sky Superman and Orion followed her BOOOOOM Another energy tunnel opened A dozen female warriors flew out of it They all wore anti-gravity discs on their feet like Barda Female Furies Superman said recognizing the dreaded women warriors of
Apokolips Just before the tube closed out flew two more beings One was a short woman with wild gray hair The other was a muscular man with pointed ears and a permanent frown Superman knew the villains very well But that didn’t make their arrival any less surprising
