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..

Blue and Gold

Superman #14

By Ralph L. Angelo Jr.

A hundred miles out in the Atlantic Ocean, a huge blue form swims back towards Metropolis, when suddenly the figure in the water spasms mightily, as arcane energy vents from his body in eldritch lightning! Arcs of magical energy leap from his form, and then stop. The figure lies still in the water. His body visibly shrunken, but suddenly more recognizable. Horns adorn its scalp, as the blue skin glistens in the water.

Deep in Metropolis, Superman arcs over the city, his city. Every day, the city gets rebuilt a little more, and every day the normalcy seems to return a bit more. But it has a long way to go, maybe years, maybe never.

Faster then any eye, human or mechanical , could follow, Superman disappears into an apartment building, the home of Clark and Lois Kent.

In a flash, he changes to his civilian guise, that of reporter Clark Kent. In the apartment already, and in front a busy stove, with a scowl on her face is his wife, Lois Lane-Kent.

Coyly, Clark nuzzles her neck, then in a sing song voice speaks "Hon-ey, I'm ho-ome!"

"Oh Clark..." She waves at him with a pot holder, "I had some extra time to myself today, and I wanted to surprise you with a home made dinner. I even called your mother for a few recipes."

Clark opens a few pots on the crowded stove, and sniffs it, as he shrivels his nose playfully. "Doesn't smell like anything Ma used to make, what is it? Or what's it supposed to be?"

Lois throws the pot holder at him, "Creep! You know what it is!"

He laughs, as he easily avoids the pot holder, and skips over to his beloved wife. He picks her up easily, and, both laughing they make their way to the bedroom.

"Clark!" Whines Lois playfully, "what about the dinner?"

"What would you say to Italian food, in Italy?" He answers, as he sets her down on the bed, and zips back into the kitchen to shut the stove down, before disappearing back into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him.

Across Metropolis, a gleaming Golden streak races across the sky, giggling as it goes, obviously enjoying everything it is doing. In a half rebuilt tower, where workers toil day and night, a man stares at the shooting star-like streak, and grimaces angrily. Lex Luthor has not been a happy man.

"Damn this. All my plans, all my work to make Metropolis my haven, my city over the years destroyed in two moves, by that damned alien. First the debacle with the Apoka-Borgs*, then this other Aliens attack on the world. Now all of metropolis sees Superman as their savior, and no matter how much I give back to the city for restoration, no matter how hard my forces fought to drive out the Alien hordes, nothing can compare with what the blue boy scout does. Damn him." He pounds his desk angrily, hurting his hand in the process. He grabs his hand and cringes painfully. "Now I've probably broken my hand because of him, another debt I owe the Alien."  

*See the Worlds Finest limited series

Luthor continues to grasp his right hand with his left, and stare out his window, dark thoughts burning his mind.

In a basement in Metropolis's business district, a hard working crew of newspapermen continue to put in extra hours, as the Daily Planets temporary home hums with activity, as Perry White runs from one side of the busy basement, to another, wearing a printers apron, and grin as big as the city itself.

Nearby , Jimmy Olsen approaches from a formerly closed door. "Hi chief, I finished my dinner break, where can I help out next?"

Perry looks up from a computer console he was staring into "Hhmmm? Oh Jimmy, head over to the presses, I think we're underhanded there again, Miry keeps falling asleep on me, and I have to get him out of there, I don't want him to be sucked in, I'd never hear the end of it from Demi if he was."

Olsen smiles, "Sure Chief, I'll send him home right away, That okay with you?"

Perry slips down into a padded chair, seemingly deflated himself . "Go ahead , son. You take over for a while, I need a break for a few minutes."

Concerned, Jimmy walks over to Perry's chair. "You okay Chief?"

Perry smiles "Yes son, I'm fine. Just tired. To many 14 hour days in a row. Alice is going to kill me if this job doesn't."

"Look Chief, go home, I can handle things around here tonight. I'll sleep here tonight, and tomorrows edition is just about ready to put to bed as it is. Go get some rest, please."

White sighs, "Okay Jimmy, I think I will. But remember, anything goes wrong here while I'm gone, you're responsible." He smiles as he speaks. Then stands and leaves the apron on the coat hook his overcoat has occupied mere seconds earlier, dons his hat, and before leaving, he turns back towards Olsen, "One other thing Jimmy, Don't call me Chief." Smiling, he open the door, and is gone into the night, and heading home.

Jimmy smiles as he looks over the ramshackle newsroom. "All mine"  he thinks joyfully. "Okay people, lets finish this up and get some rest ourselves." As he speaks, he dons the very apron Perry had just discarded.

The next morning...

Superman flies across his city on his morning patrol, first around the island city on its shoreline, then crisscrossing it, looking for signs of crime, but finding nothing.

"Everything's still quiet. Good. After Monguls attacks, we needed the rest. The whole planet does"

He zips along the city's skyline, and suddenly hears a pounding sound with his super hearing, as if blows of great strength are being exchanged.

Boom, Poom!

"That's coming from the docks, what's going on here?"  Superman races across the city instantly, and his eyes widen in surprise.

"Who is that? Who are they both?"

Before Supermans stunned eyes, the Golden streak that has for days buzzed Metropolis has manifested itself in the form of a girl in a glowing, golden skin tight foil suit, her long blonde hair falls to her waist, as she trades blows with a blue, wet, horned lumbering behemoth, whose tails swishes the air dangerously.

The girl smashes a powerful right across the blue demon-like creatures face, as he lunges for her, but misses , as she drops below him, and kicks him in the stomach, with obvious super strength.

POW!

He doubles over, but immediately strikes back with a powerful backhanded slap, that catches the golden girl across the jaw, sending her through a car, destroying it easily, as she careens out the other side, stunned, but immediately back on her feet!

"Not bad" She says, as she touches a trickle of blood running down her jaw, "You give as good as you get big blue, Lets see how you like this!"

She throws her arms forwards, as golden energy flies from her hands, slamming into the blue behemoth, and smashing him across the street, and through a storefront.

"Alright, that's Enough!"

The girl stares upwards at where the voice came from, and there, floating above the street, arms crossed on his chest is Superman.

"You've caused enough destruction young lady, you and your friend there both." As Superman speaks, the blue skinned creature extricates itself from the building angrily, and roars as it leaps towards the girl once more, in a 35 foot leap, from one end of the street to the next, where the golden girl stands. She immediately drops into a fighting stance again, ready to start trading blows with strange creature one more time.

Superman slips from above between them both, his hands spread wide between the two. "That'll be enough, both of you." He stares first at one, then the other, until they both stand down.

Surprisingly, the blue brute seems to understand the man of steels words, and drops his hands, almost reverently, as if he knows and respects Superman.

"Okay, good. We'll start with you now, young lady. Who are you?"

"My super-heroine name's "Gold'n" Superman, and I'm here to be your partner!"

"W-what?"Stammers the man of steel in stunned disbelief

"Yep, I'm here to help you. I figured you could use the extra hand here in Metropolis, and I kinda wanted to prove myself to you, so I beat up this big lug yesterday, and dumped him in the ocean, a couple of hundred miles from here." She stops then and stares at the creature. "But I haveta tell you Superman, he looked bigger yesterday for some reason."

The blue creature growls like a cat who doesn't want to be bothered, but Superman waves his hand in a stop motion, and the big creature complies again.

Superman stares at the monstrosity, and smiles almost knowingly, before turning his gaze back to the glowing girl before him.

"Where'd you come from ,Gold'n? Where'd you receive your powers from?"

"Well, uh, I lived in the mid west all my life, and during the War with the Aliens, there was a dog fight above our farm. A ship crashed on my parents farm, I was home alone, and went to see if I could see any dead aliens, but when I got near the ship, it exploded, and all kindsa weird energy covered me in waves. I was knocked out. When I came to, I was glowing, like this. My parents ran from me when I got back to the house, they thought I was a "Pod Person" my daddy said ,and he tried to run me off with a pitch fork. I ran, and when I tripped over a stump, I started to fly, Daddy threw the pitchfork at me, and it blew up when it hit me, sorta like it was electrocuted. I kept flying somehow, crying all the way. After a few hundred miles, I landed in a field that reminded me of home, and fell asleep. When I woke up the next morning , the glow was gone. And I felt normal again. I started walking along the highway, when another ! spaceship dropped from the sky and started shooting at me. I, like almost instinctively, flew again, and this time I flew out of anger cause of what had happened to me, I-I hit the ship. I punched it, and it tumbled over and over. Then it started to fire at me. I thought I was dead! But the golden glow blunted the energy beams, and even thought it really hurt, I knew it wasn't gonna kill me. Then I stretched my arms out, and zapped 'em back! When I did, the ship exploded right in front of me! After that I helped out where I could. I made this costume after the war ended, and I headed east, to here, to become your partner, like Robin is to Batman!" She smiles broadly at Superman, almost beaming.

"This poor girl." Thinks the man of steel, "Her story, so much like my own, but with subtle differences, parents who couldn't look past something that happened to her, almost out of superstition. My God, if not for Ma and Pa I'd have died in my space ship. And this girl was these peoples own child, from birth! What were they thinking?"

Superman places his hand on Gold'n's shoulder before speaking. "Gold'n, I can't guarantee anything to you. I really don't need a partner, but, I'd be willing to show you the ropes for a while, to help you in any way I can."

"Like train me?" She asks joyfully

"Yes, why not?" He answers "For a while anyway. I'll help you anyway I can. Do you have a place to live?"

"Yes, I got a job when I came here, and rented an apartment."

"Okay. Tomorrow morning, meet me at the Daily Planet building, where they're rebuilding it rather, and we'll begin your training in super heroics."

"Great!" She shouts joyfully, leaping skywards, and looping around overhead, before darting in and kissing Superman on the cheek, then she looks over at the blue monster next to Superman, and stops in mid air. "What about him?" She points at the creature.

"If I'm right, he's someone we don't have to worry about."

As if on cue, the Blue creature suddenly spasms again, as arcane energy drains from his form and he shrinks appreciably , taking on a very familiar form, one Superman smiles at, as he helps it to its feet.

"How are you feeling Dan?" Asks the man of steel

In answer the blue horned creature raises his head and smiles , and in a raspy, long unused voice, finally speaks. "So you recognized me huh Superman? I was hoping you wouldn't forget your old buddy, Blue Devil!"*

*At the end of the Cold Armageddon one shot, Blue Devils essence escaped Nerons hell, now we know where he ended up!

Soon, Superman, Gold'n and Blue Devil are saying their goodbyes.

"I've got a lot of people to look up Supes, but since I live, uh lived here in Metropolis, I'll be around if you want to hang out. I gotta go and recreate my trident first, before I do anything. I need a way to get around, and it's better then hailing a cab." Smiles the Blue devil happily.

"No hard feelings Mr Devil?" Asks Gold'n hopefully.

"No kid, I woulda done the same thing in your position, well maybe not dump a guy in the middle of the ocean, but I woulda done something."

Gold'n smiles sheepishly and seems to blush a little beneath her glow, then she flies off, waving to both men, as Blue Devil begins to walk away after shaking Supermans hand.

"The more things change," Thinks Superman. "The more they stay the same.", and with a flourish , he rises into the morning sky.

Next: The beginning of the storyline that will shake the entire FDC universe, and Supermans personal world to its core, and it all begins with "Two Words"