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 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 #1

"Hungers"

By Ralph L. Angelo Jr

Page 1

Metropolis, the city of tomorrow! A city that all the world looks to as a beacon pointing to the future ! For here the technological wonders of the next century are being created. Lexcorp of course leads the way, but other corporations, such as Star labs and even to a lesser extent in this city, Waynetech contribute to the future. There are many , many other smaller corporations here, all working on that one big break, that one big leap that will bring them to the forefront of technology ! Myron Watstable works for one such company. He is a junior grade engineer working on an energy source adapter for Millennia technologies. Myron Watstable will have his big break, and it will cost him mightily!

Myron enters his lab, his frazzled look, as always, is present.

"I've gotta get this project done this week " He thinks.

"It's already overdue and over budget. Maybe if I cut corners on the shield resonance generator... That might be the trick to bring things back to a feasible financial level."

Myron leaves his lab area, his brain buzzing with possibilities.

Page 2

Across town Metropolites mill as they always do, going about their everyday mundane chores

when a sudden explosion rocks the ground they're standing on, almost as if it were an Earthquake! Suddenly smaller explosions resound under foot, as geysers of water rip out of the torn asphalt ! A city worker speedily exits a manhole cover as the ground he was just standing in tears itself to pieces behind his frantically running feet! "Gas main break!" He screams, running a losing race with the explosions that dog his trail.

"Mike Get outta there!" yells another hard hat at the terrified worker.

"I"m tryin'!" Answers Mike

" Don't try run man, run!"

Suddenly Mike falls, tripping over a dislodged peace of street, he rolls over as the multiple , staccato explosions get closer and closer to his frozen form when he hears...

Page 3

"Look!" A young voice screams frantically!

Another voice , " Up in the sky!"

"It's a bird , " a female voice shouts.

"It's a plane!"

"It's SUPERMAN" They all yell in unison!

The Man Of Steel rockets out of the clouds, his super sensitive hearing having detected the screams and explosions from this part of the great city.

" Great Rao! Those people are will be killed unless I turn up the speed here!"

Page 4

Superman moves so fast the air practically catches fire from his passing as he scoops up the terrified city worker in a powerful arm as the street ruptures where the man was laying helplessly!

"Superman!, man am I ever glad to see you! I-I owe ya my life pal."

"Don't worry about it my friend, it's what I do best. Now you stay back out of harms way while I see to this fire."

After depositing the man to safety Superman burrows underground, spinning like a human drill, he enters a burning hell ! The fury of the Gas burning around him is intense, but he's flown through the depths of space, and into stars and lived to tell the tale!

"This is bad, the whole line is burning ." He thinks.

Page 5

Suddenly a wall explodes outwards, the fury of the explosion topples the man of steel from his feet as another geyser of flame shoots outwards

"This has got to end now, to many lives will be lost if I don't stop this insanity."

He flies forwards, through the very flames , and into a nightmare ! Before his startled eyes he sees gas mains, not just leaking, but crushed and torn apart, as if by hands as powerful as his own.

"This was set purposely, but by whom, and why?"

Page 6

Moving at superspeed , the Man of Steel tunnels through solid bedrock, out into Hobbs bay, where the cooling waters of the bay can enter the raging inferno and put out the deadly gas fire.

"Now on to the leaking pipes!"

Faster he flies, out of the underground cavern and into the sky, with a thunderous boom , he exits the subterranean tunnels creating yet another vent hole for the escaping gases and now raging waters !

"There, that construction site should have what I need."

Arcing downwards, Superman grabs several gigantic concrete pipes, faster then the eye can follow he secures them with cable he finds on the site, then hoisting the entire fifty ton package on his shoulder he takes to the air once more, cutting an incredible swath across Metropolis's skyline on his way back to the Gas main. Not even slowing down, Superman dives once more beneath the tortured tarmac, his bundle safely in tow !

Page 7

"Now to end this disaster before it gets any worse!"

With a mighty heave, Superman slams the first piece of pipe in place, between the two ruptured ends. Then, wrapping the cable around the connection points, he superheats the cable with his heat ray vision, melting the cable in place as a sealant against leaks. Doing all this while immersed in water, he has ensured there's no possibility of an explosion. Once done, Superman begins to spin round and round, faster and faster, until the water is drawn up after his slowly rising form like a twister in reverse! He arcs out over Hobbs bay, allowing the water to return to where it belongs.

"One last end to tidy up."

He zooms over to the tunnel he created to Hobbs bay moments before , and once again employing his heat ray vision, Superman melts the rock surrounding the hole, then physically he molds the molten stone into place with his invulnerable hands, stanching the flooding waters from re-filling the now closed hole.

Page 8

A crowd all along the bay lets out a tremendous round of applause along with "Yay Superman!"

"Thanks friends! " With a jaunty wave the man of steel disappears over the city, to land at the Daily Planet building, where an instant later, Superman is gone, in mid step down a stairwell, replaced by ...

"Clark! Did you see what happened downtown? Half the Hypersector is ruined, if not for Superman, that whole section of the city would be burned to a crisp." The young red headed man keeps pace with Clark Kent as they both enter the newsroom. Perry White bellows orders in a loud and annoyed voice, while a dark haired beauty approaches Clark Kent and his friend.

"Finally decided to drag yourself out of bed huh Mr Kent?"

"You know how it is Mrs Kent, sometimes it's hard to keep up with the wife."

"Don't I know it lover." She kisses Clark passionately, ignoring those around them. "By the way" She whispers, "Nice work there across town."

Page 9

"Thanks hon. I'm a little concerned about the cause of that initial blast though."

"Looks questionable?'

"Yes, like someone with great power and who wasn't afraid of getting burned or killed in an explosion tore that pipeline apart, barehanded"

"Hhhmm", she answers with a smirk," Sounds like about a hundred enemies of Supermans might be behind that one."

"Don't I know it Lois. Let's discuss this later, Perry is on his way over here now."

Both turn as Perry White, Editor in Chief of the Daily Planet approaches them.

Page 10

"Lois, Clark, see what you can dig up on that explosion earlier, there's something about that that's's got my nose twitching like Ralph Dibney * while playing a game of Clue."

*The Elongated Man, who loves a mystery and whose ID is no secret.

"Sure Perry, but I think we should talk to that contracting firm that was working in the area first."

"Good idea Lois. You handle that, and Clark, go to the city planning board and nose around a bit. I'm willing to bet this has something to do with the Hypersector project."

"Good idea Perry. I'll get on it right away." Answers Clark.

Page 11

As an afterthought Perry asks "Either of you see Olsen around?"

"Yes Perry, he accompanied me to the city room from the outer offices, then disappeared."

"That darn kid, I almost regret re-hiring him after that mess he made over at WGBS and at Newstime, but he is like family, and I couldn't leave him in the lurch when he needs us the most."

Lois walks over and hugs Perry.

"You're just an old softy Perry White, and we do love you for it."

He blushes, but maintains his composure.

"Thanks Lois , but don't let the others know, it'll ruin my reputation as a hard nosed newspaperman."

Page 12

The three long time friends laugh as Lois and Clark say their goodbyes and head out into the street. Meanwhile back at Millennia technologies, Myron Watstable continues to work feverishly, he's almost there and he knows it. So little is left to do on this energy source adapter that he KNOWS he'll be living like King Midas in a matter of weeks. If only he could truly see the future, he'd stop exactly where he is and leave this lab, never to return. But such is not to be . Myron Watstable, lifelong second banana is about to make his last error in life.

Chewing on a sandwich, Myron attaches several test leads to the generator before him.

"This should do the trick, I know it! Another minute and I'll open the gateway to the future! This energy adapter will seek out and reconfigure an energy matrix I discovered through a dimensional barrier. There should be enough power hidden there to support all life on Earth for another Thousand years ! Without ever touching another natural resource!"

Myron Watstable walks over to his main console, absentmindedly chewing on his sandwich, he stabs the control button, activating the energy adapter, and history is made!

Page 13

Suddenly a high pitched whine fills the air as energy coalesces at the adapters nozzle, and with an implosion of air, energy flies into the adapter, powering it up to it's full potential, far , far faster then it was ever designed for.

"What th-" Myron shouts, "I've gotta shut it down!"

He scrambles , trying to disconnect the adapter, but now it's to late.

" I-I don't believe it! This thing is powering itself from the other dimension! Incredible!"

Those are the last words Myron Watstable ever speaks.

On the street outside Millennia Technologies there is a sudden explosion, that destroys the building, leveling it instantaneously ! Everyone inside dies before they even know what has hit them. But something lives at the former Millennia Technologies, and it is hungry.

Page 14

Across the city, while walking towards the city offices for the planning board bureau , Clark Kent chews a hot dog.

"Good thing my super metabolism converts anything I eat to usable energy, otherwise this hot dog and his two previous friends would be going to my stomach, and if there's one thing the world doesn't need, it's a fat Superman" he muses to himself. "But I always loved having these as a boy with Pa cooking them up on the barbeque every Sunday during the warm season."

Suddenly his hearing picks up the sound of an explosion, and the immediate screams that follow it.

"I don't believe this, twice in one day? "

Clark Kent runs into an abandoned alleyway, and a nano second later Superman exits in a whoosh of displaced air!

Page 15

"That's coming from over in the corporate sector , I see...Great Krypton! "

Superman increases his speed, plummeting from the sky to engage the shambling horror that towers over the surrounding buildings!

"This creature is gigantic, and from the look of it, composed completely of energy!"

Superman hovers in front of the energy beings face, holding his hand outwards in a "stop"

gesture.

"Okay big fellow, relax. Calm down and let's get you back where you belong, wherever that is."

The creature bellows angrily at the last son of Krypton, then bats him away with a massive , sparking hand

"Unnggh!", exclaims the man of steel, "I don't believe it, that actually hurt . He's composed of tightly woven energy patterns, according to my x-ray vision, and he's very angry obviously. Time to slow him down."

Page 16

Superman flies out of the rubble, unleashing a haymaker-like punch that passes through the beast harmlessly, but then the creature retaliates, firing blasts of energy from its eyes, slamming the Man of Steel through an abandoned office building.

" I don't believe this , he's tearing me apart with each of those blasts. That hurt! Time for a different tactic then."

Once again ,pulling himself from the rubble, Superman streaks towards the towering gargantua , pulling up short as the behemoth swats the air .It continues trying to grab Superman, but fails miserably.

"Okay Kong, now it's my turn."

He fires his heat ray vision into the energy monster, but the results are not in the least what he expected, as the energy creature explodes from contact with his heat ray vision, the resultant release of power blows out street lights for ten blocks in every direction !

Page 17

Superman stands alone amidst the rubble, the energy creature is no more, having dispersed from contact with the heat beams Superman fired through its horrific form. From a distance a man sits at his desk and watches the just completed tableau on his holographic window. Annoyed , he touches a flat spot on his desk and the image fades to nothing.

"Damn him." Speaks Lex Luthor, "Once again he survives against a powerful foe who should have defeated him with his otherworldly powers. Someday he'll die, and I'll be there to watch. This is my city, not his , and I'll have it back if it's with the last breath I take. Oh well, on to other things."

Lex Luthor dallies at his desk as we fade away from him and back to the Man of Steel , who scans the rubble for any trace of the creature.

"Nothing, not a shred of energy. He completely dispersed. My heat ray vision must have been anathema to him. " he thinks to himself, "My God , the loss of life here is incredible. I don't see a single survivor to this disaster anywhere in what's left of this building."

Page 18

The city rescue workers appear ,firemen, police as well as utility people. Working together they begin the arduous task of pulling bodies from the rubble, as well as cordoning off the area and shutting down whatever live feeds still remain present at the demolished facility.

"Superman."

Superman turns and sees Maggie Sawyer approach , along with Dan Turpin. Both of the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit, the S.C.U..

"Hello Maggie, Dan. How are you both?"

Dan answers first, "We could be better big blue. Two disasters in one day is allot even for this city."

" I know Dan, hopefully things will quiet down now for a few days."

Page 19

"What was that thing Superman? It looked like a form of living electricity."

"Your guess is as good as mine Maggie. Perhaps I'll run it past Professor Hamilton later and let him have a crack at this mystery."

"Hhhmm, not a bad Idea Superman."

Just then an officer call for Sawyers attention.

"Excuse me gents, I'll be right back."

She walks over to the cop who called her as Superman and Turpin continue to converse.

"Inspector Sawyer, look at this thing."

Maggie looks as the cop points to the energy adapter, still running on its own stolen power, still continuing to open a rift in thin air.

Page 20

Superman and Turpin watch the removal of bodies Stoicly.

"I hate this part of it." Speaks Turpin, the loss of life, the senseless deaths. It never feels any less...I don't know, wrong, or a waste."

Superman smiles at his friend ,"You should thank God that it doesn't feel any different to you. If it did I'd say you would be less caring, and more of a calloused individual. Be happy it still bothers you Dan. The alternative is a far more unpleasant prospect."

Suddenly gunfire cuts the air nearby as Maggie Sawyers voice can be heard shouting orders above the rapid gunshots!

"What the-" Starts Turpin, but Superman is already gone, a red and blue blur he races into the ruined building, there he sees a scene out of nightmare, with an all to familiar figure in the center of it.

"KALIBAK" Shouts the man of Steel, and in Kalibaks grip is the bloody and still form of Maggie Sawyer.

END ISSUE ONE

send your letters to:

Kryptonian Korrespondence C/O cptmarvell@Yahoo.com

Okay gang, there it is, the first issue of the all new Superman for Faux DC. I hope you enjoyed it, I have plenty more surprises in store for the man of steel in the months ahead. This issue marks a sort of departure for me too, in this story I wrote in novel form, as opposed to script , or comic form. I'm not sure If I'll continue to do so for this title or not, but I will try it at least one more time. Let me know what you all think.

Catch you all soon,

Ralph