Later, as the red and blue costumed couple flew down into the atmosphere of the planet Oceania after making a super swift flight through space via more than one worm hole, Superman thought, “Rol Nac? I hate to put my problem ahead of Kristen’s but as she said we could journey to Oceania easier than we could track down my godfather. I do wonder how he is. I liked him. I liked him a lot. He was a space traveler who visited Krypton years ago and saved my folks Jor-El and Lara from a potentially deadly accident before my birth. They befriended the lonely nomad and after my birth, they asked him to serve as my godfather. He was pleased to do so and stayed with us for a time but his restless spirit led him to leave Krypton for more travel shortly afterward. They never saw him again because Krypton exploded while he was away. I survived because they sent me in a prototype rocket to Earth. Ironically, as I only learned fairly recently, my parents also survived and through a strange series of events, they are now alive and well on Rokyn with other Kryptonian survivors like my Uncles Zor-El and Nim-El.”


He turned to Kristen who was wearing the red and blue tights, cape, and hood that marked her as Superwoman! “Rol Nac returned to Krypton but he was too late to do more than witness my rocket’s departure and the planet’s fiery end. He tried to follow and to find me but he lost my trail and only came to our solar system decades later after I had become Superman. He eventually was captured by the criminal called the Marauder. The Marauder brainwashed him and tried to use him against me but I freed his mind and met him for the first time since my infancy. He adopted an Earth identity and stayed with me for a time posing as a family friend from Smallville. We had a good time and I was drawn to him immediately because of the genuine affection he had for my parents. Still, he left again driven by the wanderlust that dominated his personality. If you’ve been thinking of him lately I’d say it means he may need our help. I trust your intuition.”


She nodded and said, “I think you may be right about the possibility that having my gemstone in the basement room could have caused some kind of residual effect of prolonged proximity in stimulating some kind of vision that means more than I wanted to let on!”


Superman nodded and said, “Like Pa Kent always said, one mess of spinach at a time!”


He gestured to the watery world of Oceania. “It is bigger than Earth and has more water than Earth has but the nations and languages are much the same. Chester King was born on Zoron. It was the Krypton of his life. It exploded and his folks sent him to Oceania as an infant. He was raised by the Kings in Littleton and became the heroic Hyperboy. Later, he moved to Macropolis and as the adult Hyperman continued his crimefighting career .He and I looked almost exactly alike except his costume was purple and gold instead of blue and red. Oceania seems to have counterparts for most of our friends like Lana, Perry, Jimmy etc.…!”


Superwoman took in the scenery as they approached the city of Macropolis. It looked almost exactly like their own Metropolis. The skyscrapers and billboards along with the bustling traffic and busy crowds made it look much like any other large city. Her super hearing allowed her to realize the natives spoke English and their languages also matched those of Earth.


“So, you came here and helped him fool Lydia into thinking Hyperman and Chester were two different people but something went wrong?” she asked.


Superman said, “Yes, everything went terribly wrong. I realized that Hyperman had been exposed to a deadly fragment of his doomed home world Zoron. This blue Zoronite was slowly killing him. I decided that since I could not cure him I would not tell him that I suspected he was dying. I exposed his secret identity so he would have no reason not to marry Lydia. I made it seem like it was an accident on my part. He gave up his heroic career since the Zoronite poisoning was sapping his powers anyway and he married Lydia. That was the ceremony I was watching on the computer. It happened in 1974 or so. They had a happy year together and then in 1975, Chester died. I was able to give him the opportunity to enjoy the happily married life with the woman he loved for his final year but I’ve always regretted the fact that I could not have saved his life.”


Superwoman said, “I’m so sorry. What do you think happened to Lydia Long King after her husband died? What happened to the planet after their champion passed away?”


Superman said, “Well, I can see crime certainly didn’t end. Look below!”


He gestured to where an oval craft hovered above the streets and a strikingly attractive woman rested on its command platform.


She was an exotic beauty with long purple hair, a brief costume consisting of ornate armor with elaborately patterned golden trim and high-heeled boots. Her midriff was bare and she rested upon a staff or cane of some kind.


She spoke with an Indian accent and greeted them by saying, “I am no criminal. I am Dr. Shay Veritas, a scientist and seeker of wisdom. We have little time to waste. I detected your arrival via my satellite scanners. I recalled you from your time here years ago and realized you might be the only being who could help me!”


Superman said, “I will gladly help you if I can! Please tell me more!”


Dr. Veritas said, “I need you to save this planet from meeting the same doom that befell Zoron or Krypton years before!”

Meanwhile, the ExceLondinium Convention Center was facing its own destruction as the popular tourist attraction near the city’s historic docks glowed with the eerie light of a raging fire. Frightened citizens raced through the structure’s exits as alarms sounded and a fire threatened the over 470 vendors and their wares that occupied the massive building.


People were scared and their fear led them to fail to consider how their actions could harm others as they scrambled to escape. Many managed to get to safety and they breathed in the cold night air with relief even as many others remained lost or trapped in the burning complex.


“What are we going to do?” cried one portly woman as she and her friends found themselves lost in thickening smoke.


“There’s no way out! We have no hope!” gasped another woman in the group.


“There’s always hope!” thought a newcomer who soared down to the burning building at such a incredible speed that nothing could be seen of his muscular form except a shadowy blur.


“Wish I could stop and talk to them! They remind me of the Women’s Club back in Littleton. Nice ladies!” he mused.


However, the super powered man had larger concerns that came before his kind desire to reassure the captives. He had to save them but he could not risk being seen. He knew that everything he valued depended upon his ability to remain out of sight. Luckily, his speed and strength and skill had been developed during a glorious career as the planet’s greatest champion and although he looked different now, he still knew how to be a hero!


The black and silver clad man moved with precision as a combination of force and deft use of speed smothered the flames. His keen senses enabled him to ascertain that no one was hurt or trapped inside as he soared skyward leaving startled citizens below to gaze in wonder at the now stable and secure complex. None of them had been able to see more than the play of shadow and light as the fire raged and finally flickered and went out like a giant candle slowly losing its flame.


The flying figure moved at a speed so great that he was not detected by either human eye or electronic device, He moved with practiced ease and casually melted the tires of a speeding truck as it raced away from a plundered bank in the California of Oceania. It was a small crime not a major disaster like the fire had been, but it was on his way home and he took time to help in his unseen manner.


He landed in a small farmyard in Hamilton County, CA. This was a rural Eden where cows and crops, chores and simple joys occupied his time. At least when he was not secretly using remarkable abilities to help those in need. This shadowy hero was a handsome man with a black beard and a solid black costume dominated by a stylized silvery H emblem on his broad chest, He smiled as a dog raced up to greet him. There were no nearby neighbors to witness his landing. He knew exactly what he was doing. This technique of being an invisible hero was merely one extension of the precautions he had taken for years during his more public time as Oceania’s champion.


“I’m glad to see you too, Ranger!” he said as he reached down and touched the dog gently. He was already dressed in a plaid shirt and jeans he had retrieved from the barn when he stepped onto the front porch of a small brick house.


“Darling! I’m glad you’re home. Stop that tidal wave?” asked a lovely dark -haired woman who stepped away from a typewriter and kissed him.


He gazed around their cozy living room and sighed with pleasure.


“I did. I also managed to do a few other things. I’d say it was a good day’s work although I’d rather have just worked the fields a bit. Pauly doing his homework?


As his wife nodded and they kissed once more, Chester King, now known as Chester White, farmer, father to 8 year old Paul, and husband of Lydia, felt once more that it was a good life.


Little did he know that his privacy and his family’s security was about to be threatened as was their world itself.

Ah, very interesting development. I like seeing this glimpse through the lens of a doppelganger of how Superman's own life could have turned out had things be done differently.

Superman frowned as he reached a cavernous chamber in the planet’s core. He saw a machine that pulsed and throbbed and emitted a radiation of some kind.


“I’m fine but that is definitely an alien energy source. It looks like it is powering a device designed to cause Oceania to explode! I won’t let that happen!” he said.


“Kal-El! I never thought we’d be reunited here under these circumstances. I wanted to surprise you!” said a shadowy figure in a green cloak and hood.


The man emerged from the other side of the doomsday device and pushed back his hood.


Superman recognized the man’s voice instantly. His super memory made that kind of thing second nature for him.


“Rol Nac! So, you are tied up with Oceania, Superwoman’s visions were correct. What are you doing here? Where have you been all these years?” he said as he inched forward.


Rol Nac, a bald, benign looking man, smiled and said, “After spending time with you, I realized I had to give you back the things you lost. I had to restore Krypton. I had to save your parents! That’s what this is all about!”


Superman said, “You think destroying this planet will restore Krypton? If so, how could you ever think I would allow anyone to kill an entire planet just to save another one?”


Rol Noc spread his arms in a placating manner as the glow of the machine illuminated them in an eerie light.


“I learned Zoron had been like Krypton and had died in the same manner at roughly the same time. I also realized that fragments of the irradiated world survived its destruction. Zoronite became deadly to natives of that lost world!”


Superman interrupted and said, “I know, Rol. Exposure to blue Zoronite killed Hyperman on this world. His folks sent him here when he was a baby. He was the last Son of Zoron.”


Rol said, “Yes, yes. He is of no concern to us. While Zoronite killed him or would kill other Zoron survivors if there were any, it also has a rare quality. Zoronite, the rocks formed or altered after the world exploded, has a new property. It dampens the kind of reaction that caused the planet to die to begin with. The altered minerals now absorb the kind of unstable fires that ignited Krypton or Zoron itself. I can use fragments of Zoronite to stop Krypton’s core from ever causing an explosion or even a quake. My theory is unproven but that’s what this machine is for. I will cause Oceania to become unstable and then dampen the energies that threaten such an end. Oceania will be my test subject to prove Zoronite can stop such an explosion. If it works, we will use time travel and go back in time and use it to save Krypton!”

Superman knew Krypton's destruction had been due to more complicated factors than merely saying its core was unstable. He knew Zoronite could never had saved his birthplace.


Superman said, “Changing time only leads to other problems. Believe me, I’ve experienced such dilemmas before. I can’t risk this world for any reason! Help me shut things down! I think the machine will destroy Oceania before you get any chance to save it even if those fragments of Zoron can absorb such energies!”


Superman grunted as an unseen force struck him from behind. He reeled backward as repeated blows rained down on him.


“Telekinetic concussive force hurts even you! Isn’t it delightful?” said a weird newcomer.


The man had deathly white skin and long straight hair. His eyes gleamed an ominous shade of red and he wore a long white cape over matching white garments.


“You are right, Man of Steel. You are correct. My little pawn here has served me well. It took a little mental tug here and an artfully crafted nuance there to brainwash him into serving my plans. He thought he could save your lost world. I let him think that but all along I knew and I kept his benighted mind blind to the fact that it would do the opposite. I want Oceania to die in one big beautiful nimbus of death! How artistic is the murder of a world entire!” he cackled.


“I live to create art in the form of pain and bloodshed. I am Death’s blank canvas. I am Blanque. My mental powers will allow me to use tools like Ral Noc and his desire to atone for failing your family long ago to shape a perfectly lovely annihilation.


Superman saw Ral Noc’s eyes widen as his master focused his powers on Superman.


“No luck, buddy! I don’t give up! I never give up!” said Superman as he fought the evil man’s mind control efforts and marched closer.


He grasped the machine’s nearest edge and said, “First, I’m taking this thing off world then I’m coming back for you!”


He gripped the machine with both arms and started to lift only to realize the machine had already entwined itself like some mechanical serpent into and throughout the planet.


Blanque said, “You can’t move my machine from my canvas!”


At that moment, Hyperman burst through the dirt above them and confronted them.


“Superman! Good to see you again. Mind if I lend you a hand!” he said.


He spoke in a casual almost flippant manner to disguise the fact that this family man was worried about the safety of those he loved and the rest of their planet as well.


“Chester! You’re alive!” said Superman.


Blanque said, “What is more poignant than the murder of two noble beings! Perhaps, I can get you to kill one another in exchange for my sparing this world!”


Hyperman said, “We don’t kill!” He started to charge at the machine as it flickered and hummed with unholy power.


Superman grasped Hyperman’s arm and said, “The machine is fueled by Zoronite. Most yellow but some blue fragments are there too. We thought blue killed you. I saw your death. It still poisons your race!”


Hyperman said, “Blue Zoronite put me in a deathlike trance not real death. I woke up six weeks later with my powers restored!


Superman said, “Still, we cant take chances! You take him. I’ll handle the machine!”


Hyperman nodded. He loved his wife Lydia and their son Paul but there was no denying that a part of him that had been buried for too long relished being good, doing noble acts, saving lives and in short being a hero He faced down Blanque and said, “This ends here. Let this poor man go and try to control me. I dare you!”


Blanque concentrated and Hyperman felt pressure across his ribs and throat even as his eyes swam and he felt raw hatred fill his mind.


He closed his eyes and stepped forward slowly. He staggered again and again as his mind fought against ugly images placed there by his foe.


He thought of his wife. He heard his son’s laughter. He stood straighter and smiled.


“I said it before… I died for it… there is aways hope!”


He punched the startled Blanque and nodded with relief as his power shattered the fiend’s telekinetic force field to leave him stunned on the ground.


Superman had been studying the machine even as the ground began to quake.


“I have to remove the machine without disrupting the planet!”


Superwoman rushed in in response to his super ventriloquism that only she could detect.


She said, “I heard you! My opal amulet enables me to discorporate matter but I’ve never tried to use it on something this big!”


Superman said, “I believe in you!”


Superwoman smiled and aimed the opal beam from her amulet until it spread slowly up and along the machine itself. She threaded its energies along narrow coils and through small spaces and with each passing moment, more of the device began to fade away into intangibility.

She fell forward in exhaustion as her husband caught her in his arms and said, “You did it. The machine is still there but it no longer touches anything. It is like a wraith in the Phantom Zone! “



Hyperman said, “How long will it remain that way? Won’t it eventually become solid and thus, a threat again?


Superman shook his head. “Before that happens, we will get my friend here to help us remove it completely.”


Rol Nac stepped forward and said, “The machine can be disassembled. I built it. I can remove it safely. I don’t understand why I ever had the crazy idea that Zoronite could be used to soothe Krypton’s core via time travel. I must have been mad. I’m no scientist. I’m just a pilot and explorer. “


Superman put an arm around his godfather’s shoulders and he said, “I suspect a combination of lingering effects from what Marauder did to you and manipulation by Blanque here forced you to believe such an idea!”


Rol Nac said, “I suppose. Still, I take no solace in that since I am still to blame for the pain you’ve endured in losing your parents. If I had not left Krypton when I did, I could have taken you, Jor-El, and Lara in my ship to safety. The planet may have died but your family would have lived. Jor was my best friend. He took me in when I was alone. I owe him so much!”


Superman said, “Rol Nac, there is something you should know. I have found my parents. They are alive and well. My father is a celebrated hero on a planet called Rokyn. What say, we clean things up here and then we reunite you with my parents! They’ll be thrilled to see you! After all, we’re family!”


Superwoman said, “Hmmm!” as she cleared her throat.


Superman laughed and said, “Rol Nac, Hyperman, please meet my wife, Superwoman!”


Later, after the machine had been disassembled and given to Dr. Veritas to study, and Kristen and Rol Nac were eagerly getting to know each other, Superman extended a hand to Hyperman and said, “Chester, I am so glad you survived the blue Zoronite exposure. I thought you were dead. I am sorry I exposed your secret. I was wrong. I thought I was helping but I think I was really off my game that day. I was not thinking clearly.”


Hyperman said, “I understand. You made my current happiness possible by pushing me and Lydia together. As I said, I woke up weeks after everyone thought I had died. My powers were back but since Lydia and I were so happy together and the world knew my identity and believed me dead, we decided to create new identities as Chester and Lydia White and live in California as a farmer and a writer. My folks were farmers so I had a taste for that life. We’re happy. We’ve been happy. You have nothing to regret.”


Superman said, “What now? Back to anonymity?”



Hyperman said, “I don’t think so. I’m going home and my family and I are going to talk things out. I believe that while we will remain the Whites on the farm, I will resume my public role as Hyperman. The world knows I was Chester King of Macropolis but no one knows me as White so there’s room for me to be hero and farmer without compromising either role. Plus, I have less to fear. It seems as if blue Zoronite no longer has any effect on me.”


After Superman, Superwoman, and Rol Nac departed in Rol’s ship, Hyperman mused, “When Superman was here back in 1974, Oceania had a problem with a pollution of sorts. It interfered with electronic brains but it dissipated since then. I suspected that something about it also briefly messed with Superman’s own Kryptonian mind. He made a few well-meaning but illogical decisions in the way he tried to help me. That kind of behavior is not necessarily typical for a great man like him. Still, in the end, his noble heart brought about a happy ending!”

Excellent story. I'm really glad you were able to write this one.

Thanks very much! I was really happy to finally write a story after so long.