Superman is kneeling crushed and defeated before the Lex Luthor of his Earth. The caveat is, Superman doesn't' remember why Lex hates him so completely.
“I swear to you I don't understand what's going on. But whatever happened between us, please do not hold my arrogance against her. She is true innocence if such a thing exists on this planet. Whatever you want from me I'll do it. Whatever I have to do to make this right, I will do it. Just stop hurting her!” Superman put his hand to his mouth and bit into his own palm. “You say I'm a monster. Well you haven't said that but you treat me like one. And I accept it. Whatever you want from me. Whatever I did to you or even if I did nothing, don't make her suffer for my sins. Take your revenge on me alone. There must be something that can penetrate my iron flesh. I'll happily submit! Lex raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. “Sir please, whatever I have done, whatever I could have done to make you my enemy, punish me not her! She is more than innocent of any wrongdoing between us. On that I would stake my life. If all you want out of this is my surrender, you have it.”
“I swear to you I don't understand what's going on. But whatever happened between us, please do not hold my arrogance against her. She is true innocence if such a thing exists on this planet! Whatever you want from me, you have it. Whatever I have to do to make this right, I will do it. Just stop hurting her!” Superman put his hand to his mouth and bit into his palm. “You say I'm a monster. Well you haven't said that but you treat me like one. And I accept it. I'm not kidding you! I don't know why you hate me. Min Gud I barely know who I am. But whatever you want from me, whatever I did to you or even if I did nothing, dont' make her suffer for my sins. Take your revenge on me alone. There must be something that can penetrate my iron flesh. I'll happily submit.” Lex Luthor raised an eyebrow. “That's what your after, isn't it? You want my surrender. You have it.” Superman pulled himself down to his knees but looked steadily at Lex Luthor. “I swear to you I don't understand what's going on. But whatever happened between us, please do not hold my arrogance against her. She is true innocence if such a thing exists on this planet!
I finally wrote a Magnum Opus for Superman Defeated and brought them a fitting end.
A young alien known as 'Nikita' hung in the air, suspended in coils of steel and carbine metal. A dusting of what looked like snow covered her scratched form. An oxygen mask was fitted over her face and metallic claws held her by the shoulders. Superman looked with horror at Lex Luthor, and then at the young woman, his face slack from shock. Nikita barely struggled as the arms carried her over a swimming pool filled with what smelled like a chlorine bath, and slowly lowered into it.
“Luthor, what are you doing? Do you know what she is? I mean other than she's an alien?”
“Do you mean that she is Xavallen, and that her skin will burn as if with sulfur, of course I do. That's why it's called torture.” Almost as slowly as she had been submerged the robot arms pulled her out again. A mechanical apparatus that resembled nothing so much as a pair of industrial pliers held the girl at her waist. The other claw retracted. Superman understood what was going on, although he had trouble believing it. Where as the pincers at her shoulders could have lowered her in a bit at a time, the claw around her waist would release and drop her free fall into the vat of boiling tar. Or what might as well have been for her physiology. This time it would be all of a sudden and nothing would pull her out.
Superman turned and faced Lex, his eyes frantic. “Please sir, Mr. Luthor, don't do this to her.”
“What, does she mean something to you? Why does she mean so much to you? Threatening Lois Lane didn't elicit such a response from you and she's been lock-step with you for years. It doesn't seem like you know who I am, but somehow you remember this unremarkable alien girl?”
“Enough to know that she is innocent and my closest friend. I assumed you knew that, or why would you be threatening her.” Superman looked down for a moment and then with a concerted effort looked up again. “I don't know enough to say this about any human being on this planet. But I know she is innocence incarnate. And I cannot believe even you would destroy her so wantonly.” In response Lex Luthor moved a dial on his handheld control; the claw holding Nikita lowered slightly. In a moment Nikita's toes dangled in the liquid. “What do you want from me?”
Lex Luthor seemed surprised at the question. “I want you to beg me for your life. I know you enough to know you never would. Other people mean more to you than your own life. So I decided to make you beg for the life of a friend.”
“I do not understand you. Why do you hate me this much? Please at least tell me that.”
“We're going to go through it all over again? Wasn't it painful enough the first time?”
“I swear to you I wouldn't know, I don't remember!” Superman exclaimed. “ 17 weeks ago I woke up flat on my back in the middle of nowhere. Nikita was standing over me. She's been trying to acclimate me to my life again. But I don't remember anything from before. I realize how this must sound but barring anyone she's introduced me to, I don't have any connections to my past life. Well, except for this.” He touched the emblem on his chest. “She says it's the sign of my people.”
Lex activated a trigger, the claw pulled away from the swimming pool and over the ramp.
He looked intently at the mask and the mechanics of his contraption. Superman sighed with relief. A relief that proved to be misplaced as he watched Lex remove the oxygen mask and swing the claw back to its original position. If the claw was released Nikita would drown choking on sulfur. It would be fairly true to say that Superman lost himself at that moment.
“No, no please. Whatever I have done, whatever I could have done to make you my enemy, leave her out of it. You treat me like a monster and maybe I am, I don't know. But whatever I am to you, whatever could have happened between us, do not make her suffer for it. She is true innocence if such a thing exists on this planet. She doesn't deserve this.” Superman fell to his knees. “I'll do whatever you ask, I swear it just don't hurt her anymore.” He bowed his head and lowered his eyes. “Spare her, I beg you.”
“That's all I needed to hear.” Lex admitted. He touched the handheld and Nikita was lifted from the pool and back over the ramp. With a care incongruent to the anger he'd displayed moments earlier Lex undid her restraints, scooped the unconscious girl in his arms and carried her down to where Superman stood. He laid the girl gently on the floor a few feet from Superman. Only then did the Kryptonian raise his eyes to Lex.
And when he did he was absolutely thunderstruck. “That's what you wanted out of this?” His voice trembled, as if he honestly wasn't sure what to think. “You went through all of this, not for my surrender, but to hear me beg you for...to beg you for something?”
Lex gave Superman the darkest of looks. “I wasn't going to let her die Superman.” Superman looked doubtfully at his antagonist. “I would have let her fall had this gone on much longer. But I wouldn't have let her drown. If necessary I would have dived in there after her and pulled her out. I'd prefer you didn't make a big thing of it, especially not publicly. I'm basically a criminal mastermind and keeping my word is not usually in my lexicon, much less so compassion. I didn't have any reason to let her die. It's obvious I don't count you as being worth much. you said she doesn't deserve to die and on that point at least I absolutely agree with you.” Lex started to walk away but was surprised when Superman grabbed his arm. He was even more surprised at the words to come out fo Superman's mouth. “Lex. Thank You.”
“It's Mr. Luthor.” He replied out of habit. “And...you're welcome.” Lex sat with Superman, silently watching over the woman who had so completely captured both of their attentions. And ventured. “The way you talk about her I'd think you were married or something.”
“You wouldn't be far off.” Superman answered easily. “Can you imagine what it's like to relearn powers you've had all of your life and each one of them be new to you? I did. After I woke up I spent a few week discovering and then mastering each of my special abilities. Nikita was my coach. On life as well as my powers. When I realized no other alien on Earth had my powers I asked her where I was from.”
“That couldn't have been a very pleasant conversation.”
“So it's well known Krypton was destroyed. And you're right. She had to tell me my planet blew up when I was still a toddler and see me react. Apparently it's one of very few times I punched a hole through a concrete wall, out of sheer anger.. She's the one who stayed with me, lock step since I lost my memories and helped me put my life back together. Which is how I know her kindness and innocence are timeless. After a while I thought we were married, or at least together. There didn't seem to be anyone in my life who was so...well who knew me as well as she did. She insists she is simply one of my closest friends. I can tell that she does not have those feelings about me."
“Superman, believe it or not I could probably tell you a thing or two about your race and your life. That is, if you want.” Superman looked at Lex and saw in a moment this was an offer made with sincere emotion, not a bargain to be struck or a kindness for which Lex expected to be repaid.
“I think I would like that very much.” Superman said quietly.
“Your planet Krypton was under a red sun. You have powers because your cells absorb the radiation of Earth's yellow sun at an extraordinary rate. You are the only Kryptonian known to live on Earth. And it is a common belief that you are the only half decent member of your whole Kryptonian race. We've had others visit from the stars, other refugees or something. But they've all been soldiers dead set on restoring Krypton here on Earth and you...basically saved Earth from the rest of your people as well as the more ambitious lunatics of Metropolis. I had a theory that you came to Earth a lot earlier than anyone believes.” Superman looked up. “You first showed up in Metropolis about 9 years ago and you quickly became a hero of Earth. It's assumed you arrived on Earth from Krypton, saw there was work that needed to be done and led by example, showing us what we were capable of by inspiring us to be greater so on and so on. But after the many conflicts you and I have had...Superman, I don't suppose there is any point to my asking, why you called me by my first name.”
“I honestly don't know. Mr. Luthor...I don't think we know each-other. If we did Lois or Nikita would surely have told me that I knew you. Nikita never mentioned you at all. Whoever I am, I'm not without honor either. I won't try to bring you in for this. As far as I care you saved Nikita's life. That gets you a pass...until next time.” He smiled faintly. “May I now ask you a question?”
“You just did; but you may ask another if you wish.”
“ARE we enemies?” Superman asked gently.
“I've been obsessed learning everything I can about you; we do NOT understand each-other.”
Lex's countenance fell slightly as he realized what the past few hours would have looked like to a man truly without his memories. The conclusions Superman must have drawn about their past.
We've been on opposite sides since we met but were never personal enemies Superman. Or if we were it sure as hell wasn't because of anything you did, simply what you are.”
“A super-powered alien?” Superman guessed.
“A Superior Man who ignores his own gifts, denies his own nature. Who would rather be one of us than lead us. I didn't hate you Superman. I wanted to destroy you yes but I didn't hate you. To see a man of greatness, truly superior in every way who chose to be less. A man destined for greatness who doesn't seem to do anything with the powers he was literally born with. Okay, maybe I do hate you a little bit. You didn't do anything to earn my enmity. Short of existing and being everything we strive to be, you didn't do anything at all.”
“You are...an extra-ordinary individual.”
“Yes I am. Although I never expected to hear that from you.”
“Most people wear a mask of some sort and suffer behind it. They either delude themselves into thinking they are other than what they are or simply don't understand themselves at all. Looking everywhere else to find out who they are. It's one of the few impressions I have from before. You know and embrace exactly who and what you are. Which from my understanding is a rare thing for your__ I hope you'll forgive this__your people. Seriously the only other person I know who is so completely self-aware and so completely accepting of who they are. is right here in front of us. Although she's a little quieter about it.”
“Hehe, then I can see why you think so highly of her.”
“Lex, Mr. Luthor, I am sorry but I have to ask...” Superman didn't finish his sentence.
“When she wakes up you fly her out of here. In fact I'm not sure why she isn't waking up.”
“36 hours.”
“I'm sorry what?”
“36 hours is very important to her. And 5 out of every 36 hours. It's unique to her people. I'm just not sure what...or why.” Lex put his hand over his mouth. “Why is that funny?!”
“It isn't funny, it's amazing. 36 hours must be in reference to her Xavallen physiology. Her circadian rhythms are based on a 36 hour cycle not a 24 hour cycle and she falls asleep for 5 hours out of every 36 hour cycle. Apparently far deeper than human REM sleep. Superman, you don't have to worry about her. If I'm right about this, I have to believe that I am, she's not passed out from the pain, she's literally asleep!”
“If you're right, she'll wake up the instant her 5 hour hibernation is over.”
Lex Luthor checked his watch. “Which should be in a little more than an hour. So get her out of here. Fly her to wherever she feels at home. I have one question before you fly away.”
“Then ask it. I owe you at least that much.”
Lex Luthor opened his mouth, paused for a moment, and closed it again. “Never-mind. It's not important.”
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