Chapter 25
Below Darklight landed Luthor on the shore not far from the
White's home. "This will be the last time you see me like
this," Darklight began, "but we will meet again."
"I'm sure of that!" Luthor answered opening his visor.
Darklight took a disc from his cape and put it in the carrying
box on the side of Luthor's suit. "That disc names
information that will be extremely useful to you," Darklight
explained, "in the future. The disc is encoded so the
information will only come up at the times it will be of benefit.
You won't be able to access it before then."
Luthor smiled. "I'll probably break the encryption in a
week!" he remarked.
"You will try off and on for the rest of your life!"
Darklight told him, "But you will never succeed. Only when
you receive the last message will you know why." "You
thoroughly enjoy frustrating people, don't you?" Luthor
commented.
"Absolutely!" Darklight answered. "It's a trait I
picked up from one of my ancestors. Now I must go!"
Without another word he raised his fist into the air and sailed
away.
"They all do that!" Luthor muttered. "I don't
think it makes them any more aerodynamic." He took off at
incredible speed, closed his visor, dove into the water, passed a
submarine in a secret bunker on the side of a riverbank, entered
a tunnel and came up in the basement of a house where Kitty and
his henchmen were waiting. They quickly helped him desuit.
"Everything all right?" Kitty asked.
"There's three other super beings out there somewhere,"
Luthor muttered, "and I don;'t know who they are, or, what
they're up to. I don't like not knowing something!"
"Oh, I'm sure whoever they are," Kitty put in,
"you can handle them!" Luthor smiled. "Something
went wrong with the propulsion system," he remarked.
"Gotta work on it! Any word from our contacts in
Africa?"
"Yes," Vic answered. "They're really interested in
your proposal! If you can really get through the damned company's
security they'd love to get their hands on some of their
stock!"
"Good!" Luthor grinned. He opened the compartment on
the suit and took out the disc. "I'll want to look at
this," he remarked, "then I need some sleep and we'll
get to work!" He grinned at Kitty and his henchmen knew it
would be some time before he actually did any sleeping!
Back in space Darklight stopped outside the spaceship, removed a
crystal like he had done on Supergirl's ship, and replaced it,
then entered the ship through the air lock. "I think our
best course of action," he told the others, "is for me
to take these people back to Krypton, and put them back in the
phantom zone there. They will escape again, in time, but by then
there will be far more of us to handle them, and a place where
they can be physically imprisoned and live out their lives.
Eventually we will have to remove all from the phantom zone,
imprison them in that world, and let them live out their lives.
You never know...some of them may become decent citizens and bear
some worthy children!" Superman nodded. "Let's
go!" he ordered.
As the air lock could only accommodate one or two at a time
Superman was the last to leave. "What about Twaddle?"
he asked.
"Before the battle he rented a sailboat and took it out to
sea. There'll be a storm tomorrow. The sailboat will be wrecked
on the coast. It will be assumed he is lost, drowned at sea. He
has already arranged that all the profits for his book will go to
his friends in South America."
Superman nodded again. "I have just one question," he
continued, "how did your branch of the family get super
powers?"
"Because our mother had been exposed to the crystals,"
Darklight answered, "and each time one of us was conceived
it was after her and her husband had been exposed to Kryptonite.
It caused our genes to be altered and for us to take on the
attributes of Kryptonians, as we matured."
Superman smiled. "I understand!" he muttered. "Of
course! Basically the same process I use to make someone
temporarily Kryptonian so we can be intimate. Except with you the
process is natural and permanent. Still, I would not mess too
much with the past. You seem very skilled, but it is still
infinitely dangerous!"
"I know!" Darklight answered. "I know,
grandfather!"
Superman smiled again, and headed for the airlock. There was no
more that needed to be said. Once outside he watched the ship
pull away. "Good life, grandson!" he muttered and
headed back towards Earth. Supergirl was waiting.
"Will we ever see him again?" she asked.
"In time," Superman answered, "in time!"
Together they descended to Earth. There were many more adventures
to come, and Superman, for the first time, knew he was not alone.
He would never be alone again, and he would not worry about his
children. They would do well, they would do VERY well!
THE END
If you liked this story
or have a suggestion for future fanfiction by Gerald A. Polley
feel free to send an email any time to spiritist@yahoo.com
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