(A/N: Recommended Song for a better reading experience: All the Stars — Kendrick Lamar and SZA)
[Third Person Pov]
Clark stood outside the Fortress of Solitude in the dead of night, the world around him coated in a blanket of untouched snow. The cold wind howled across the frozen tundra, carrying flecks of ice. Each step he took created a crisp crunch beneath his boots until he finally came to a halt a bit away from the towering crystalline structure.
He lifted his gaze toward the skies as he asked softly, "Sol, where's Krypto?"
A shimmering holographic screen formed in front of him. The display revealed Krypto and Seiko walking side by side through the quiet village roads. Krypto, tail wagging happily, carried a bag of groceries clenched carefully between his jaws, the contents swaying gently with each step. Seiko walked beside him with two grocery bags in her hands, humming lightly as they made their way back to the shrine.
A small smile warmed Clark's face. His cape stirred as if responding to his mood, the red sand-like particles shifting and fluttering until they reassembled themselves into a hood. Clark pulled it gently over his head.
"I suppose," he murmured with a faint exhale, "I'll leave him out of this one."
He crouched, pressing one hand against the cold ground. Snowflakes and scarlet sand particles both began to levitate around him, suspended by the sheer tension radiating from his body. A moment later—
CRACK!
Clark split the air as he launched upward, a violent shockwave rippling across the snowfield. The clouds parted instantly as he tore through them, streaking up past the atmosphere in a burst of speed.
Breaking through the boundary of Earth's sky, he emerged into the vast, star-filled expanse of space. Clark allowed himself a moment to look back over his shoulder at the blue planet below—tiny, peaceful, and distant—before turning his eyes toward the cosmic horizon.
"Alright, Lala," he said calmly, "you're going to be my guide. Point me toward the nearest distress call."
"Hai!" Lala answered immediately, her voice brimming with enthusiasm. "Leave it to me! Although you don't need it," she added with a small giggle, "I should warn you about some of the space beasts that live out here in the void. They're very sneaky and very crafty."
Clark gave a thoughtful hum before turning into a blazing streak of light, shooting forward like a comet.
…
Moments later—though for ordinary beings it would have been hours—Clark hovered in front of a battered spacecraft stranded deep within an asteroid field. The surrounding space was crowded with massive rocks, some the size of cars, others towering like skyscrapers drifting aimlessly in the dark.
Inside the ship, terrified crew members stared at their screens with jaws hanging open, their confusion slowly giving way to awe.
Clark was everywhere at once.
He darted around the ship, smashing apart asteroids with his bare hands. A single punch reduced colossal boulders to showers of glittering debris. His heat vision carved searing paths through the field, vaporizing rocks into glowing dust. When that wasn't enough, he slammed boulders into each other, creating controlled chain reactions that opened space for the stranded vessel.
He moved with effortless grace—like he'd done this a thousand times before. Every motion was purposeful, efficient, and executed with a precision that bordered on frightening. Within minutes, the once chaotic asteroid field had a wide, safe path carved directly through it.
Clark exhaled through his nose, sweeping his arm to push aside the remaining rubble. Then he tucked himself beneath the ship's weakened space shield, slipping into position as though the vessel weighed nothing at all.
"Alright," he said gently, "let's get you home."
He carried the entire ship forward, guiding it safely through the opening he'd created. Only when they reached quiet space far from danger did he slow down, ensuring the aliens onboard were safely en route to their destination.
For them, it was a miracle.
For Clark, it was just another night.
…
Clark moved silently through the metallic corridors of the hostile spacecraft, his hood still drawn low over his head. Only the glow beneath it betrayed the fury hidden in his eyes—twin slits of molten red burning through the darkness. Wisps of heat shimmered outward, leaking from the edges of his hood like smoke escaping a furnace.
He approached a reinforced door, and allowed the heat vision simmering in his eyes to flare. The metal softened instantly, draining down like wax in a candle flame, he doorway peeled open in a molten arc.
On the other side waited a battalion of the ship's true masters.
Tall, muscular, purple-skinned aliens with six gleaming eyes each stared him down. Their bodies were encased in high-tech combat exosuits—thick plates with glowing seams of energy, fitted with retractable blades, plasma barrels, and servo joints that hummed with unnatural strength.
The moment they recognized him, they moved.
They charged at Clark with terrifying speed, their weapons turning the corridor into a storm of slashes and blaster fire. The suits amplified their agility far beyond what their size suggested, making them blur in the dim light.
But Clark… moved differently.
He slipped between their attacks like he was stepping through slow-moving currents rather than combat. Every swipe, every shot, every attempt to restrain him met only empty air or the faint afterimage of his cape.
One punch shattered the armor of the first alien he struck. The warrior was launched upward so violently he dented the ceiling, crashing down with a cry of pain and a spray of violet blood.
Another alien lunged from Clark's blind spot—only for Clark to stop him midair with a burst of freezing breath, crystalizing the warrior in an instant. A light tap of Clark's palm embedded the frozen soldier into the wall, shards of ice scattering like shattered glass.
He fought like a phantom.
Sometimes he was a streak. Other times a burning silhouette with red eyes glaring from beneath his hood. Entire groups of soldiers found themselves falling before they even realized he had moved. The moment they saw his shadow, felt the heat against their armor—
everything went dark.
Minutes later, the floor was littered with groaning or unmoving bodies. Clark stepped over them carefully, arriving at another sealed door.
"Sol," he commanded quietly.
"All systems within the spacecraft are under our control," Sol replied smoothly.
The door unlocked and parted with a hiss.
Inside was a long hall lined with massive containment cells. Clark walked through the dim, somber chamber, his footsteps echoing against the polished metal. Many cells contained alien prisoners—different species, sizes, and shapes—all cramped behind shimmering energy fields.
He stopped at one cell in particular.
Inside were children of multiple races, trembling and huddled close together. Their clothing was ragged. Heavy slave collars clamped around their necks, blinking with tracking lights and power inhibitors.
Clark's expression softened.
The barrier fizzled out. The children recoiled instinctively, shuffling backward in fear at the towering hooded figure.
Clark lowered himself to one knee, gently pulling back his hood. A warm, reassuring smile replaced the shadow.
Slowly, he extended his hand and spoke in their tongue—a phrase meaning, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to take you all home."
They stared at him in stunned silence.
"Sol," Clark said softly.
The slave collars beeped once… then snapped apart, deactivating. Heavy metal fell to the floor with a chorus of clanks that echoed like a final verdict on their suffering.
The children touched their necks, disbelief melting into relief—then tears. They ran to Clark all at once, clinging to him from every angle. He wrapped his arms around them, shielding their small bodies with his cape as they cried into his chest.
…
LClark arrived at a chaotic battlefield.
A monstrous worm-like creature with a grotesque starfish-like face was wrapped around a massive warship. Cannons and laser turrets fired nonstop at the beast—but the monster simply devoured the weapons whole with a single chomp, its armor completely unfazed.
Clark flew in.
The creature noticed him immediately and lunged, its enormous maw clamping around him and swallowing him whole.
What happened inside lasted less than a heartbeat.
Clark moved with such speed that the creature's flesh split along every direction at once. In the next instant, hundreds of pieces—chunks of meat, organs, and blood—exploded outward in a gruesome radius, drifting weightlessly through space.
Clark emerged drenched in its blood.
His suit flashed hot. A ripple of heat surged across its surface, incinerating every drop of gore into nothing but drifting ash. He exhaled calmly.
Then he heard the screams.
The warship had been heavily damaged during the battle. Holes in its shield allowed crew members to be sucked out into vacuum one by one.
Clark accelerated his perception. Time slowed to a crawl.
He bolted forward at super speed, weaving through floating debris as he caught each escaping person, dragging them safely back inside the ship. Dozens of lives were saved in mere seconds.
Once everyone was returned, Clark pressed torn metal plates together and welded them shut with a focused blast of heat vision. Where gaps remained, he used his freeze breath to form a thick protective barrier of crystalline ice.
Inside the ship, soldiers spun around in panic, trying to follow and locate the creature that had infiltrated their ranks.
Then Clark slowly descended to the ground.
Weapons immediately aimed at him from all directions. Clark raised his hands in a peaceful gesture. Moments later, the crowd parted and the commander stepped forward.
There was a brief exchange but once it was over the Commander held a hand forwards.
Clark shook it. The soldiers saluted him deeply, expressing their gratitude for saving them.
When they offered him transport back home, Clark declined with a polite smile. Vibrating his molecules, he began to phase through the floor—slipping through the ship's hull and into open space before shooting away in a streak of light.
…
Everywhere he went, Superman changed lives.
Every rescue, every victory, every moment of selfless action spread across the galaxy through videos, rumors, and stories. Within four days, his presence had grown into a cosmic legend and even gained a moniker.
Across star systems and civilizations, one name began to echo:
Superman. The Guiding Star.
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