Big Blue

-michael hoblak

“Kryptonite, man, that’s all they are – walking, talking, breathing Kryptonite.” He was damn sure of it too.

“Okay there, Superman; last week you said they were your yellow sun.” He had been damn sure of that too, but the sun wasn’t yellow, it was a deep orange and the sky was beginning to show the shadow of twilight. “What happened?”

He winced. “Lois Lane became Lex Luthor.”

His friend cocked an eyebrow; “Uh, okay?” He looked a little lost. “I completely understand that – bald is definitely the new look for girls. It’s hot.”

They both laughed.

“She went from damsel in distress to calculating mastermind,” he said, observing the creeping traces of amber in the sky. It was the ultimate plot twist.

“And where does Jimmy Olsen fit into all of this? I take it he’s supposed to become a walking, talking, breathing Fortress of Solitude?”

“Yeah,” Brian nodded, “Something like that.”

Julian shrugged, and stumbling with laughter throughout, said, “Well, I guess it’s better than becoming Krypto; I don’t have to deal with super-fleas.” He mocked a monkey scratching itself, at which Brian laughed, and then continued: “So what happened, Kal?”

He remained quiet for a moment before revealing, “It’s like I witnessed the destruction of Krypton; in a matter of minutes, the entire world gone, just like that.” A brisk breeze blew by, sending shivers stalking down his spine. “And even Superman couldn’t turn back time, no matter how fast I tried running; things just wouldn’t start spinning the other way for me. A crisis with infinite things wrong. Devastation.”

Julian looked at Brian with disbelief beaming from his eyes like lasers. “So you’re done? It’s over? Just like that? I thought Superman never quit; you can’t even kill him, because if you do, he’ll just come back again anyway.”

It was true too – the dead always came back to life. Even Jason Todd. So then why wouldn’t Superman be able to do it again? Brian figured that was the point his friend was trying to make, so he took his turn and put a spin on it: “That was supposed to be a one-time thing, but hey, comics are comics, and that’s exactly it, comics are comics.” He really emphasized the last part. “Superheroes aren’t supposed to quit – that’s why they’re super. They stand for love, truth, and justice; everything right and virtuous in the world. They’re as noble as Arthur and his knights, maybe even more so. I’m just a normal guy who a special girl called Superman; that’s it. I don’t wear a cape; there’s no S on this chest. I can quit if I want.” It was another thing he was damn sure of. He was always damn sure of things; maybe that was his problem.

“Come on, man, I don’t think things are as bad as you think.,” Julian tried to downplay it. “You’re just over-reacting.”

“You don’t know what happened.”

Julian looked him square in the eyes. “Then what happened?”

Brian let his eyes wander to the setting sun and the marvel of the sky; it was as beautiful as her. “I tried to save the world but it didn’t want me to. Superman isn’t the only superhero out there.” He let out a deep sigh. “And now there’s no Krypton, no Heaven, no Paradise Island; I’m back on Earth, like a mortal man. Take away Lois Lane and you’re removing a pretty big piece of what Superman is; she’s one of his defining aspects. She’s what makes him so great. And now I don’t have that.” There was a reason why the Queen was the strongest piece on the chessboard.

“Then just go steal Batman’s girlfriend,” Julian joked anticlimactically.

“He doesn’t have one; he’s a playboy billionaire,” he countered, then added for good measure, “Like Hugh Hefner, but wearing a cape and cowl instead of a bathrobe.”

They laughed.

Julian grinned wide like the Cheshire cat. “So then there’s no problem, you can just pick and choose whichever ones you want.”

“Yeah, except, who’s Batman?” Brian wondered; a dog barked in the distance.

“I don’t know,” Julian looked around, scanning the park. “The world?”

“Maybe.”

“You just need Doomsday here so you can smash something and let out the stress or frustrations or whatever,” Julian said over a murder of gawking ravens in a tree overhead. He wasn’t dumb; he knew what was going on.

He frowned. “Or, you know, a punching bag.”

“Hey, you’re the one that kept going with the Superman thing,” Julian defended himself, stepping back and raising his hands in protest.

“No, not anymore,” Brian shook his head, “Superman’s dead. It’s time for me to live.”

A sly look slide its way across the jester’s face. “So, uh, can I be Superman now then? I have a few ideas of what to do with that X-ray vision.”

“Yeah? Then it’s all yours, buddy. Enjoy.” He laughed, then looked at his watch. “But I have to go now; see you later.”

“Yeah. Just remember one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Don’t get too down on yourself; the only direction worth going is up, up, and away. Just like the sun rises every morning, Superman will be back to live and love another day. You know he will; love is immortal.”

Brian nodded, then turned, walking into the sunset.

fin.