His world exploded before his birth. Propelled by a futuristic craft powered by a science beyond mans comprehension he arrived on a our world as a baby. Raised as a human by loving, caring parents who instilled in him the difference between right and wrong, he derives his powers from our yellow sun that give him enormous and unheard of abilities ! His massive strength and incomprehensible powers are matched only by the great and true heart that beats within his chest ! He is one of the most powerful champions for truth, justice , and the American way that has ever lived ! A man from the stars ever seeking to make the Earth his home, and to protect that home from evils no one else would have a glimmer of hope against ! He is the man of steel, the man of tomorrow...he is..

Superman # 19

Going to War: Part IV

The Blade of Death

By Ralph L. Angelo Jr

Gold'n , the gorgeous girl wonder stares in terror at the frozen rubble that was once Rio DeJaniero's main street. Now it seems more akin to the antarctic circle, then a popular vacation spot for the wild at heart. This disaster was courtesy of another of the mysterious and deadly horsemen, 'Cold War' by name, who have ravaged the world of late. Only this time, it seems there is one more victim. The man of steel himself, Superman.

"Superman." She whispers again in fear.

Suddenly the ground rumbles and quakes, as untold tons of frozen debris shake upwards and erupt off the ground like a geyser, as a red and Blue blur corkscrews angrily skyward!

"Where is he Gold'n?"

"W-who?" She stammers

"Cold War, the maniac who buried me here."

She flies to his side immediately.

"N-no one was here when I came back from dropping that lady off to the Brazilian armies medics. Just this wreckage."

"I have to find him." He grunts angrily. "This madness has gone on long enough." He begins to fly away, when Gold'n dodges in front of him, hand out in a 'Stop' motion.

"S-Superman, wait. What about the people here? You have to save them, defrost them or whatever. You can't just leave them like this." She practically cries to him.

He stops in mid air and looks around. Suddenly realizing what she is saying.

"Y-you're right Gold'n. What am I doing?" He shakes his head in disgust at himself "Am I losing my mind? What's the matter with me?"

He begins to laboriously defrost entire blocks at once with his heat ray vision. Slowly bringing up the temperature of the city. Releasing the frozen denizens or Rio DeJaniero from their icy would be tombs.

It's an arduous, painstakingly slow task, that takes the better part of a day.

But when it's over, there have been no casualties, and everyone involved should recover nicely.

They fly home in silence. Superman contemplating his uncharacteristic loss of clarity, and Gold'n just contemplating Superman, this time, a little fearfully.

"Superman?" She asks once they return above Metropolis.

"Yes Gold'n?"

"Are you alright?"

He sighs. "Yes. Now I am. Thanks for stopping me from making a big mistake earlier."

"That's okay." She answers. Then another moment of silence.

"And then she speaks again. "What are we going to do now?"

"You're going to go get some rest. I'm going to a place I have where I can do some thinking. If I need you, I'll get in touch with you. Here."

He hands her a watch-like device from inside his belt.

"Put this on. I meant to give you this earlier. It's a two way signal watch. What it does is allow you to call me, if needed. And allows me to contact you the same way. The technologies based on Kryptonian tech from the place I'm going to."

She places the watch on her wrist., then speaks. "You don't want me to go with you." It's a statement, not a question, to which he answers without hesitation.

"No. I need you to get some sleep. It's obvious you're tired. Go. Recharge your own batteries. Then watch the city for me while I'm gone. I'll be back in a few hours, to a day."

She nods, and begins to fly away, looking back at him over her shoulder as she goes. His gaze softens and he smiles at her. "Go ahead Gold'n get some rest. You look exhausted. Don't worry, I'll contact you as soon as I discover anything ."

She smiles and waves, then disappears in a burst of speed over the city.

"Okay" He thinks, "Time to go to the fortress."

He flies into the sky, arcing towards the arctic circle in a blur. Within minutes, he enters the amazing Fortress of Solitude that is his to command. Landing lightly, as the small floating robot, Kelex greets him.

"Hello Kal-el. What is your command today?"

"I need help Kelex . There has been attacks on this planet lately, by beings who rival me in power. Three of them so far. Each one with varying powers and abilities. At the end of each battle, they fly away on flaming horses. Now I suspect there's going to be a fourth as well."

"Ah, you refer to earths legendary Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?. Intriguing." The little robot muses as it flies alongside Superman, who slowly walks to his command center in the citadel. "I will run everything I can find about these attacks through my data banks. Of course I have every broadcast report in every language already saved in my data drives concerning these attacks."

"Good. Let me know of anything pertinent you come up with."

"As always, Kal-el."

The little robot flies away, as Superman settles into a chair that springs up out of the floor, as he begins to sit. Before him, screens show his battles so far with the horsemen. But they tell him nothing new. He watches intently, before falling asleep. As he sleeps he begins to dream. His mind is filled with images of his world being overrun by horrible forces. Men in armor , slaughtering and fighting constantly. Then he sees small children, many of them penned up, and trained as warriors, as gladiators. Years go by, as those children learn the ways of war, constantly fighting amongst themselves , finally taking the place of those before. And the horror continues throughout all eternity...And through it all he sees a line, a lineage that is the most powerful, most brutal of warriors. Amid the din and clamor of constant fighting an emblem is half seen upon the lineage's chest, until finally after watching bloody battle after battle, year upon year, century upon century the image upon the latest young warriors brutal chest is seen clearly, and it is Supermans own...

He awakens with a start.

"How long was I asleep?" He mumbles as he stands quickly.

Instantly Kelex is there to answer "16 hours , Kal-el."

"!6 hours? Great Krypton, how could that have been?"

"Obviously your mind needed the rest Kal- el. Your body never does as you know, but you can become mentally fatigued as would any human."

"I have to contact Lois." He reaches for his control panel before him, as Kelex calls up a communication device.

Instantly the device contacts Clarks home phone, and Lois picks up immediately.

"Hello?"

"Lois, it's me."

"Where are you? I-I was so worried, when I didn't hear anything from you."

"I'm up north Lois. I'll be back soon." "Up north." He thinks are the code words they use for when he visits the fortress.

"O-okay. Are you alright?" She asks hesitantly.

"Yes honey, I'm fine. I got hung up with... work while I was up here. I'll be back soon."

"Alright Clark. I'll see you when you get home."

"I love you Lois."

"And I love you Clark."

They disconnect , and Superman stands. To face Kelex

"Were you able to discover anything I overlooked Kelex?"

"Yes , Kal-El, I was able to discover one phenomenon."

"What was it?"

Instantly a holographic map of the world appears before them both. And suddenly dots of light cover the map in the places Superman fought the Horsemen.

"What is this Kelex? These are the places where I battled the Horsemen."

"Yes Kal-El, they are. But as you were battling them, watch this."

Suddenly more dots of light appear on the map. Many more.

"What?" Superman asks

"Every time you battled one of the horsemen, a matching energy signature appeared in several places world wide. It seems the other horsemen were doing something in those cities."

"So they were planting something then? On those sites? "

"So it would appear, Kal-El. It seems the others were keeping you busy."

"But what were they doing? What ?"

"Perhaps I can extrapolate, Kal-El."

Suddenly lines criss cross between the points on the map .

"What are those, Kelex?"

"Those are ley lines, Kal-El. Those are also the lines being laid between points across the world by the placement of whatever it is those horsemen were planting."

"Can you extrapolate further, where there are points missing?"

"Working." The little robot answers. Then, "There is one more point of intersection left. It is in upstate New York. These are the co ordinates ."

A slip of paper leaps out of a console before Superman, that he stares at wide eyed.

"I have to go Kelex." He leaps upwards and flies towards the doorway.

"Good bye Kal-El." the robots words echo behind Superman as he rockets out of the fortress.

"I have to call Gold'n." he thinks. "She's been with me the whole way so far, I don't want to leave her out in the cold on this one."

He activates his comlink watch , and begins to speak. "Gold'n, do you copy me?"

An instant passes, then, "Yes Superman. I do. Where are you? I was starting to get worried."

"I was following up on a hunch. I'm on my way to a little town in upstate New York, called Tannersville. Meet me there."

"Okay Superman, I'm on my way."

He disconnects the comlink and drops into a silent reverie. "I don't like that dream I had. Not at all. It was my family, generations from now. Fighting, and nothing more. After the architect of all this wins and reduces the world to nothing more then constant war. Civilization would be razed to nothing, and anarchy would rule. I guess that can be perceived as the apocalypse as much as anything else."

He streaks towards Tannersville , New York, and as he approaches, suddenly a rift in space opens before him, and a madman , bare chested save for a leather X pattern across his chest and a steel helmet with high shoulder ridges races out of the rift aboard a flaming horse, brandishing a glowing double headed axe, which he swings around above his head.

"Ha! I knew I'd find you here Superman! Welcome to the last day of your life!" He roars as he dives the flying, flaming horse down towards Superman

"Think again, maniac!" Is all Superman says, as he hauls off, and smashes the man and horse from the sky with a powerful right !

Ka-TOW!

Below, skiers on the local mountain ski resort stop and stare wherever they are in awe, as they see Superman dive in for the attack on the falling executioner-like figure!

"This time you horsemen are going to lose."

Superman delivers a powerful left that slams the horsemen into the snow below, as skiers scatter, screaming!

Ba-KOOM!

Instantly the huge man is up , and on his feet, as Superman streaks towards him once more, he brings back his axe, and cleaves the air above Supermans head, as the man of steel ducks below the swing to smash at the big man with a powerful uppercut!

Thoom!

"Unnngggh!" grunts the warrior a he slides across the snow for hundreds of feet.

"Not bad Superman. I was told you were the best, and the others were right. But that's okay. I'm still going to kill you today. With one cut of my axe."

"What do they call you?" Superman asks as he hovers above his enemy.

"What do you think? I'm War Axe! And I'll be your death!"

"I've heard that before , to many times to remember, you sorry horror."

War Axe brings up his axe, and Superman instantly fires his heat ray vision at it, making it glow like a new born star!

"Aaarrrrggh!" Shouts the villain as he drops the glowing axe

"You think that will stop me Superman? NOTHING will stop me!"

"We'll see, War Axe."

He leaps at Superman, as the man of steel races towards him, to collide in a thunderous crash!

Ka-KROOM!

Superman heaves war Axe away powerfully.

"What's your masters plan, War Axe? What is it?"

"It's the Apocalypse , fool! What do you think it is?"

The mountain peak is empty now, as all the skiers ran for their lives long ago!

Across the sky, a the streaking golden form of Gold'n appears, headed towards the two combatants!

"Hunter Mountain? They're fighting on Hunter mountain?" She thinks as she races in.

Below, Supermans right cross smacks War Axe away from him, as Gold'n streaks in

"I've got him Superman!" She shouts as she approaches.

Then , everything seems to slow to almost stop action. War Axe slides across the ground, and reaches his hand back to an object that's partially buried in the snow behind his head. Gold'n streaks forwards, fists first, as Superman realizes what War Axe is reaching for.

"NOOOOOOOO!" He screams as he rockets in to block her, but it's to late, as War Axe pulls his mystic blade from out below the snow, where it fell after Superman superheated it! War Axe , in one smooth movement hurls his axe directly at Gold'n, as Superman flies between her and the hurtling blade, the instant it connects!

"AAARRRRGGGHHH!" Howls Superman, as the blade buries itself deep in his chest, and he drops to the ground like a sack of wheat. The Axe sticking out of his body.

"SUPERMAN!!!" Screams Gold'n, as she races at War Axe!

"Foolish girl!" he grunts as he backhands her away disdainfully, smashing her through a stand of trees, and out the other side, where she slumps to the snowy ground, unconscious.

War Axe walks over to Superman, places his foot on the man of steels body, and yanks the blade from his convulsing form. Then, he walks a few feet further, and takes an object, a gem from inside his uniform, and places it in the snow, before calling up his flaming horse, and disappearing in the sky.

A minute later, Gold'n awakens, and stumbles to Supermans bleeding form. She cradles his head in her lap and begins to scream hysterically "Help me! Someone help me!"

Somewhere else... A shadowed master villain watches everything that has transpired and smiles. As the mystic viewing before him dulls to nothingness "All goes according to plan.. Now the game begins in earnest, and the Earth becomes my plaything, for all eternity! Hahahahahahaha!"

Going to war: the conclusion

Guest stars galore, as the fate of the world comes down to this one defining moment !

Kryptonian Komments C/O CptMarvell@aol.com