The Adventures of Superman: Defeat in the Multi-Universe Part 2 The Super Student Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Max glared at himself in the mirror. Today was going to be a horrible day, the absolutely worst! The sun was peeking through his window, outlining a suburban neighborhood in Metropolis.
Standing almost six feet tall, the teen boy furiously brushed his silky brown hair. He had the face of an angel that he used to his advantage when he wanted something, but today his sparkling green eyes were full of anger.
How could his school be so stupid to invite Superman to speak to the entire school today? Max hated the hero with all of his being. It was the Man of Steel’s fault that his father was now serving a fifteen year prison sentence. He just wished that he could get his revenge on the powerful alien for ruining his life.
Slamming his brush down on his dresser, the teen stormed over to his closet and started to dress. He would have skipped school, but his mother was insistent in making sure the he would attend today. She wanted Superman to be a good influence on him so he would not follow in his father’s footsteps.
As if Superman could ever be his hero! Max sneered at all those people who worshiped the superhero and kissed up to him. It made him want to vomit! Unfortunately, no matter how he tried to think of a way to humiliate and tarnish his perfect reputation, he always came up with nothing. How can you destroy a powerful being like Superman?
The air started to shimmer around the teenager and he stumbled back into his closet and fell against the wall. An imp suddenly appear floating in the air grinning down at him. Max could not believe his eyes as his jaw dropped in shock.
The imp wore a silly red hat with a flower hanging over the rim. His suit was baggy and also red and a curly hair peeking under the hat.
“What are you?” Max gasped stuttering from fright.
The imp’s smile grew larger as he tipped his hat politely. “I am the person who is going to make all of your dreams come true!”
The teen managed to get over the worst part of his fear as he climbed to his feet. “You are like a fairy godmother or something?”
Giggles erupted from the imp as he rolled around in the air. “I am better than some old fairy creature! I am a being from the fifth dimension and I am here to make your dream come true!”
Max stared in disbelief as he wondered if he was dreaming. His eyes narrowed as stared at the floating imp “What’s the catch?”
“You are smart and pretty, boy.” The imp said with a devious smile. “That is a dangerous combination.”
He snapped his fingers and a small remote control appeared in the hands of the teenager. Max looked it over suspiciously as he tried to cover the shock of it appearing out of thin air.
“This device will give you the power to make your dream come true. It is magically connected to Superman and will allow you to control him.”
Max almost dropped the magical device as his jaw dropped down. “It can control Superman?” He said incredulously. “How is that possible?”
“You don’t need to know the how or why. You just need to know that it works. While Superman is at your school, you will have total control over him with this device.”
“What happens if he leaves the school?”
“Then it will stop working and your control over the big blue boyscout will be gone.”
Max frowned as he examined the strange gift from the imp. So many possibilities ran through his mind but one was above all. He now had the means to exact his revenge against Superman.
“What’s the catch?”
The imp smiled as he reached down and patted the boy on the cheek. “No catch at all. I am curious on what you will do with your power over Superman.”
He vanished in a puff of red smoke leaving the teenager staring down at the device in wonder. Would it really work just as he said? As he got ready for school, the teen started to plan what to do with this strange gift.
Txy giggled to himself as he watched his proxy from behind the shadows. In the brief time that he had been in this version of Earth, he had easily located Superman and watched him. This Superman was just like the others and he was impatient to see him brought down by a mere teen.
The last Superman was so easily defeated that he hoped that this one would put up more of a fight. His inevitable defeat would be so much more satisfying if the blue dolt would actually try to fight his powers.
The imp would watch and wait for his new friend to make his move. If he failed to perform as expected then he would have to find another who would take down his prey.
As the bleachers filled with student and teachers, an excited buzz circulated the large area of the gym. It wasn’t everyday that Superman would come to speak with them. The excitement was brewing all day and even the teachers had trouble focusing because of it.
Max sat in his seat surrounded by his friends as they talked as much as everyone else. He reached in his coat pocket and touched the remote that the imp had given him. He had spent the morning planning out his strategy on his revenge against Superman. His body tingled with excitement as well, but his was much different than the rest of the students sitting around him.
Principal Davis stood at the podium ready to start the presentation when cheers started to erupt through the room. Superman walked inside the gym waving to the screaming kids with a slightly amused look on his face. Dressed in his famous blue and red costume, his body radiated an aura of power than none of them could come close to imitating.
The teen secretly took out the remote from his jacket pocket. It was time to test if this would work on the hero like the imp said. As Superman started to climb the steps to the stage that was in the middle of the gym, Max pushed one of the buttons and waited with his breath held.
The room grew silent when the Man of Steel suddenly tripped on the steps and landed on his ass. Several of the administrators rushed to make sure the hero was alright, but he was soon back on his feet and assuring them that he was not hurt.
Max barely contained his glee as he looked down at the remote in amazement. It actually worked! He could not believe that it actually worked. Now confident that he would finally be able to destroy the alien who destroyed his life, the teen was a bubble of excited energy.
Superman took the podium and smiled to the hundreds of students who waited impatiently for him to speak. “I apologize for the tumble, but even a man like me can make mistakes. That’s a reason why I wanted to talk to you all today. Mistakes can be of a variety of things. Some are small like my little fall and have little consequences, but other can be huge and ruin not only your life, but the lives of those around you.”
The boy stopped listening to the hero’s speech and rolled his eyes. Superman was just as self righteous as any adult and it made him sick. Like many other adults, he thought he knew what was best for people he never even knew.
While the Man of Steel continued to talk to the students, Max spent his time in putting commands into the remote control. His annoyance over the hero’s speech turned to anger as he decided to put him in his place.
Superman stopped in mid sentence and frowned. The kids started to murmur to themselves and their friends as the hero scratched his head in confusion. Max could hardly contain his laughter as he intently watched the effects of his commands.
“I’m sorry, but I need to go,” Superman said as he looked down at his hands. He jumped up in the air and started to fly towards the exit.
Max was ready for him and pressed another button and the hero crashed to the ground as gravity took hold of him. Everyone gasped as their beloved hero struggled to get back to his feet. Principal Davis hurried over to the fallen hero as he motioned for his administration to get the students out.
It was hard to get everyone to move as they sat staring at the shaken hero. Mex smiled as he palmed the magical remote. Superman wasn’t leaving just yet. As everyone was ushered to the exit to get back to their classrooms, the teen ducked behind the bleachers and hid out of sight.
The administration had escorted Superman back to the stage where they had him sit down. Superman attempted to smile as he tried to assure them that he was fine. Max chuckled softly from his hiding spot and knew the hero was not fine. He had clipped the wings of the mighty god and now it was time to give him a reason to stay.
“Hey imp!” He whispered.
Max gasped as time suddenly stopped and the imp appeared before him.
“You called for me?”
“Can you use your powers and do something for me? I want a message to be delivered to Superman before he can leave.”
The imp listened to what he had to say and nodded with a mischievous smile. With a puff of smoke, he was gone and time starting moving again.
Max watched as a student ran inside the gym towards the stage. “Principal Davis!” He said out of breath like he had ran a marathon. “I found this outside! It is addressed to Superman.”
The Man of Steel took the note and paled when he read it. Principal Davis motioned for the student to return to his classroom and turned to the hero. “What is it?”
“It is a bomb threat against the school,” Superman said breathlessly. “It says if I leave, the bomb will detonate and kill everyone.”
“Can’t you use your x-ray vision to find it?”
The hero shook his head. “For some reason, my powers have vanished. I need to find out why and that is why I tried to leave. Until I get my powers back, I need to stay here at the school.”
“We can say that you decided to stay to show the students how important doing well in school is,” Principal Davis said shrewdly. “No one will question that reason and it will give the school some good publicity.”
Superman nodded in agreement. “I think that is the best plan. I can look for any signs of the bomb while investigating the reason for my powers vanishing.”
Max quietly snuck away from his hiding spot and towards the exit of the gym while they were talking.
“We can pair you up with a student to shadow during the day, and that way your presence can be explained.” The Principal said as the teen rushed into the gym.
Superman smiled as he noticed the young man running in and nodded to the Principal. He walked over and placed a hand on the shoulder. “How would you like to spend the day with Superman at school?”
