A/N: Happy New Year!! 🥳 🎊 🎉 🍺 🍻
[Third person POV]Â
As Clark watched, the colossal Kaiju slowly began to push itself upright, its massive shadow looming against the smoldering ruins of the city. The body of water trembled with each strained movement, rivers sliding from its scaled body.
In his ear, Sol's calm voice rang out, "Kal-El, the Japanese military is preparing to launch a missile strike. Their radar has locked onto the Kaiju. I have temporarily delayed their systems."
Clark's gaze didn't waver from the towering beast. "Keep holding them off," he ordered firmly. "I'll handle this."
The Kaiju's shadow stretched across him as it reached out with one clawed hand, its guttural growl echoing through the ruined city. At the same time, crimson sand-like particles shimmered off Clark's cape, drifting forward with purpose. They swirled delicately, carrying the massive egg he had safeguarded. Slowly, the particles guided the fragile sphere back into the waiting embrace of the anxious mother.
Above them, a news helicopter hovered, its spotlight illuminating the surreal moment. The cameras captured the scene for millions across the globe: Superman, standing unflinching before the beast. The footage showed not a battle, but a gesture of compassion.
The Kaiju's luminous eyes locked with his as Clark held out a steady hand forwards. For a long moment, neither moved. Then, almost hesitantly, the creature leaned down, its massive snout brushing near Clark.
Superman smiled faintly, lifting a hand to gently caress the scaled surface. His voice was calm, sincere. "Look, I apologize for beating you up earlier. I understand now—you weren't rampaging without cause. You were looking for your child. But I couldn't have let you tear through the city unchecked. We'll call this even, alright?"
The Kaiju rumbled low in its throat, the sound resembling something between a growl and a scoff. Yet it did not attack. Instead, it turned, clutching the egg close against its chest. With slow, lumbering steps, it retreated toward the shore.
Reporters scrambled to capture every second. "What an extraordinary development, folks!" one shouted into his microphone. "Instead of destroying the Kaiju, Superman appears to have made peace with it—by returning what looks to be its egg! Could this explain the attack? The true reasons remain uncertain, we could only speculate—"
Clark remained silent, simply watching. The massive creature waded into the waves, the ocean swallowing its body bit by bit until only its shadowy silhouette was visible beneath the water. Then it was gone.
A heavy sigh escaped his lips. Relief—tinged with exasperation. His gaze shifted downward, focusing on the wreckage. Through his enhanced vision, he peered across the electromagnetic spectrum. Glowing threads of energy clung stubbornly to the ground, faint yet unmistakable. His jaw tightened.
"Goddammit," he muttered under his breath. "Those two are still here…"
In a blur of motion, Superman shot across the ruins, streaking through fire and smoke. The sheer speed of his flight extinguished smaller flames, scattering the smoke into thin wisps as he cut a path through the devastation.
He landed abruptly in front of Lois and Samuel, boots skidding against fractured pavement.
Lois rushed forward, eyes wide with hope. "Did you do it? Did she get her egg back? Is it over?"
Clark held her gaze, his expression flat but his voice calm. "You ask a lot of questions," he said evenly before exhaling. "Yes—to all of them. The egg is safe, and the mother has retreated back into the ocean."
Relief washed across Lois's face, mirrored by Samuel's. But Clark's expression hardened, his eyes narrowing.
"As much as I appreciate what you two did… you shouldn't have been here. You should have stayed behind the barricade. It's there for a reason."
Lois frowned, bristling. "What? We had to make sure you received the egg! Why are we being reprimanded for helping?"
Clark's brows furrowed. "I'm certain It 's common knowledge by now that I have super hearing, you could have called me from the next town over"
"Speculated," Samuel cut in firmly. "Speculated, never confirmed. But… from the way you're talking—" his tone shifted, eyes narrowing with worry, "—there's more to this, isn't there?"
Superman's silence was answer enough. Finally, he sighed heavily.
"The Kaiju's attack carried a heavy payload of radiation," he admitted, his voice grim. "This entire area is contaminated. Which means…" His gaze flicked to them. "So are you."
"WHAT?!" Lois and Samuel cried in unison, horror overtaking their faces. They stared at each other as if hoping the other would somehow dismiss it as a mistake.
"But—I don't feel anything," Lois said quickly, her hands running frantically across her arms and torso. "I feel fine, completely fine!"
Clark's eyes shifted, peering beyond the visible spectrum. He could see it clearly now—the faint, poisonous haze clinging to their bodies, staining their very auras.
"Some types of radiation don't affect you right away," he explained grimly. "It could take weeks… or days… or it could hit you the very next second."
Samuel's face paled. His hands clenched into fists as his voice cracked. "W-What do we do?"
Clark pinched the bridge of his nose, deep in thought. Seconds ticked by in heavy silence, then his eyes suddenly lit with realization. He snapped his fingers, as a thought hit him.
"Wait here. Don't move. I need to consult my sources…"
In the blink of an eye, Clark blurred across the ruins until he stood far enough away that Lois and Samuel couldn't hear him. His expression tightened as he spoke quietly under his breath.
"Sol… my suit. It's designed to regulate and absorb solar radiation, right? Can you reconfigure it to absorb this radiation instead—the one contaminating the ground?"
Sol's voice crackled in his ear, hesitant. "That is a difficult question, Kal-El. The suit was forged with Sun Stone, a crystalline matrix designed to harmonize with solar frequencies. To absorb the ambient radiation here, I would need to shift its resonance… essentially, to re-tune the suit's absorption spectrum to match the wavelengths around you."
Clark's jaw flexed. "Can you do it?"
There was a pause. Then Sol answered firmly. "Give me a moment. Stand by…"
The Kryptonian's suit began to ripple like liquid, its colors bleeding into darker shades. The gleaming white dulled to obsidian, while the fiery reds and oranges at his forearms and boots cooled, flickering into a sharp, bright blue. The transformation gave him a more ominous, battle-scarred look, as though the suit itself had braced for war.
"I have done what I can, Master Kal-El," Sol confirmed. "The rest depends on you."
"Thanks, bud." Clark's voice was low, resolute. He turned and, in the next instant, reappeared behind Lois and Samuel, who spun around with alarm at his sudden return.
He raised his hands gently, his tone calm but unyielding. "I'm going to absorb the radiation from your bodies. It might feel strange, but don't panic. You'll be alright."
Placing a hand on each of their backs, Superman closed his eyes. A low hum filled the air as his spiritual energy flared, intertwining with the reconfigured suit. Golden light flickered around his palms, flowing into their bodies and drawing out invisible poisons. At the same time, faint streams of sickly light rose from the contaminated earth and air, threading into him through his boots and chest.
Lois and Samuel gasped, clutching at their chests as the strange sensation washed over them. Their knees buckled slightly as a glowing haze was siphoned from their skin, funneled into Clark's body. His eyes flashed gold as he steadied himself, his expression focused.Â
But with each passing second, Clark grew weaker. The absorbed radiation tore through him like venom. His skin cracked and began to peel, flakes drifting away into the air. His lips trembled as blood trickled from his nose and eyes. His breaths grew ragged. The radiation unleashed by the kaiju was much more potent than he realized, he didn't give his body a chance to adapt to the unexpected energy.Â
He staggered, knees hitting the ground as he caught himself on one hand. The blue aura around him pulsed erratically.
His body was specially designed to hold solar radiation, anything else would have an adverse effect.Â
"Superman!!" Lois cried, rushing forward—only for him to throw out a trembling hand, stopping her mid-step.
"Don't… come any closer," he rasped, his voice raw and strained. "You'll… just get contaminated again."
Lois froze, horror etched across her face as she watched him struggle to rise. Clark pushed himself upright, swaying as if the wind itself might topple him. His feet lifted shakily off the ground, his flight unsteady.
"I'll… be right back. Just… give me a second," he muttered, almost to himself.
Then, with a sudden burst of motion, he rocketed upward. His path wavered, his body jerking as though he might fall at any moment, but he pressed on. His suit shifted back mid-flight, its black tones giving way once again to brilliant white, the blue flames fading back to their familiar red-orange glow.
He pierced through the cloud cover, the broken fragments of his skin flaking away as his body strained against the poison within. Higher and higher he climbed, until the atmosphere thinned and space opened before him.
There, bathed in unfiltered sunlight, his suit flared brilliantly. The Sun Stone blazed, greedily drawing in the raw power of Earth's yellow sun and channeling it directly into Clark's cells. Warmth flooded him, burning away the toxins. His skin mended before his own eyes, blood evaporating, the sickly pallor washing out of his face.
He let out a long breath—a sigh of relief, of release—as the healing light consumed him.
Then, letting gravity reclaim him, he fell. He streaked back through the sky like a comet, cutting a brilliant trail through the atmosphere until he landed before Lois and Samuel with a thunderous thud, one foot slamming into the earth and shaking the ground beneath them.
Lois and her father stood frozen, staring in disbelief. Clark's chest rose and fell heavily, but he was whole again.
Lois rushed forward, her voice tight with concern. "Are you okay? Was—was that supposed to happen?"
Superman brushed himself off with a weary shrug. "Yeah. I'm alright for the most part. Truth is… I didn't really know what would happen. It was a gamble."
Lois's eyes widened, her voice rising in astonishment. "What?! Then why would you risk that if you didn't even know if you'd survive the exposure to the radiation?!"
Clark only smiled awkwardly, he scratched his cheek before he sighed. "Because I knew you wouldn't."
The words hit harder than any explosion.
Lois and Samuel stared at him, stunned into silence. Samuel blinked rapidly, speechless. Lois opened her mouth, but no words came, her throat tight with emotion.Â
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