The Hyperman Trilogy

By lawrenceliberty



Oceania



Kristen Wells Kent was more than capable at handling the demands of the many roles she played in her daily life. The pretty redhead was a gifted historian, a time-traveler from the far future, a super heroine as the costumed Super Woman, a friend to another hero from the future Booster Gold, and foster mother to little Jasma. She was also the loving wife to Clark “Superman” Kent and in this capacity, she was secure in their marital happiness but even she was startled to walk in on her husband in his arctic Fortress to find him looking at a huge view screen near a computer. It wasn’t the fact that he was using his advanced computer to view footage in the way some other suburban father might look at old home movies on one of the projectors of the era. Kristen felt a little shaken to see he was watching a scene that seemed to depict her handsome spouse as the happy groom in a wedding ceremony in which the beautiful and elegantly gowned bride was another woman! The bride was well-known to Kristen. She was a dark-haired journalist named Lois Lane who not only worked with Clark at the famous Daily Planet newspaper but was once called “Superman’s Girlfriend” by countless media sources in the years before Kristen had come to the twentieth century and begun a relationship with the hero. She was not jealous of him. He was completely trustworthy. After all, she smiled weakly, he was Superman. Still, she was disconcerted.





Perhaps, detecting her heartbeat or the slight intake of breath she had involuntarily taken, Clark suddenly turned to greet her with a sad smile on his face. She noticed the expression on his face and became a bit more confused. She could tell he was feeling sorrow or even regret.





“Hello, darling! I didn’t hear you come in at first,” he said as he moved closer and gently touched her arm.





She took his hand and said, “Watching the computer’s probability projections? That tool is one of your super gadgets that fascinates me the most. As an obsessive historian I can’t get enough of your adventures even the ones that could be called elseworlds or what ifs! It’s wonderful how the computer can take data and create a type of movie based on possible outcomes of a given scenario I guess this one shows what would have happened had you and Lois not broken up.”





He pulled her gently into an embrace and said, “I wasn’t watching a simulation based on a possible or impossible series of events. I was watching a wedding that really happened around 13 years ago. If you look closely you might be able to tell that I’m not the groom nor is Lois the bride!”





Kristen felt better as once again her sensitive husband seemed to immediately understand what she had been thinking and feeling. She said, “You mean we’re watching images from a wedding of look-a-likes or clones or even robotic doubles?” The fact that none of these possibilities were out of the question showed what kind of life Superman had routinely lived in his amazing career!





He said, “You’re seeing the wedding of Chester King and Lydia Long in a city called Macropolis on a planet called Oceania. You’ll notice that just

as the couple look like Lois and I did at that time, some of their guests resemble our friends Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, and Lana Lang.”





Kristen nodded as the scene occasionally showed wedding guests who did look just like people they knew.





“Oceania? I’ve never heard of it. I mean I know about the older Superman and Lois from Earth 2 and even the evil version called Ultra Man from Earth 3 but this doesn’t sound like another case of parallel earth doubles.”





He said, “No, Oceania is planet in our Earth 1 universe. It has a history, languages, and cultures much like our own here on Earth. Chester was even a hero called Hyperman and as he and I learned, our lives were very similar except his ended tragically. I consider what happened to him to be a failure on my part. I should have been able to save him! I should have done more!”





She hugged him and said, “You always do more than anyone else could hope to do. Please, tell me about it!”





He said, “Well, years ago I met Hyperman and he helped me protect my own secret identity. As my double, he was easily able to take my place as either Clark or Superman. I returned the favor to help him fool his TV reporter colleague Lydia Long who suspected that mild mannered Chester and super-powered Hyperman were one and the same!”





Kristen said, “The holo tapes of my time contained many references to your own efforts to keep Lois from finding out who you really were!”





Superman nodded and said, “And yet this seemingly simple mission ended so badly. Hyperman died around a year after I visited Oceania. I’ve been thinking about him a lot lately for some reason. Maybe, I feel guilty that you and I have such happiness and his own bliss was short lived.”





Kristen said, “I’m sorry he died. If he was anything like you, then he was a good person! You can’t let such thoughts trouble you. Although, it was a vivid dream of my own that led me to come here to talk things over with you. I mean I’ve been thinking a lot about someone I’ve never met. I had a dream about Rol Nac your godfather. I’ve only seen photos of him from the time he spent with you years ago before I ever came to this time. For some reason he has just been on my mind lately. I’d say the same is true for you and Chester King.”





Superman said, “I appreciate your support but I don’t think either of us really mean that. We both know there’s validity in trusting your feelings at times. It is more reasonable to see these feelings as significant because your time-travelling and the opal gemstone in your costume grant you precognitive flashes from time to time. It could very well be mere proximity to the gem while we sleep has given us both visions or compelling feelings that mean more than nostalgia or guilt.”





He added, “Rol Nac? I’ve thought of him myself from time to time since he left Earth years ago. He had no connection to Oceania but I value your feelings and your instincts are good. I think your dream means as much as my thoughts about Hyperman of Oceania.”





She said, “Okay, so since we have no idea where your errant godfather is these days, why not go to Oceania and see if we can get you come closure regarding Chester King?”





Superman smiled and said, “I think that’s a good idea and with Jasma safely visiting Nubia and J’Onn, this may be the time for such a trip!”





It would be a more eventful journey than either of them suspected!





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.



Superman and Superwoman listened intently as the stern Dr. Veritas explained the crisis as they stood within The Block her sanctuary and lab deep below the surface near the center of the planet. It was a remarkable citadel of science and Superman would have enjoyed seeing more of it had the situation not been urgent.





Superman said, “You said Oceania is facing destruction. You mentioned my birthplace Krypton and Hyperman’s home world of Zoron. Both of them exploded so I assume you mean …”





Dr. Veritas interrupted, “The doomed planets met their fates because of unstable cores among other details. My devices indicate some thing or someone is causing Oceania’s core to experience destabilization. You can imagine how I am keenly attuned to such matters since the Block is located near that very same core!”





Superman said, “How much time do we have? Could either an evacuation or some kind of dimensional shifting solve the problem or buy us time?”





Dr. Veritas shook her head and caused her flowing purple locks to sway.





“Even my resources are limited. Unlike your Earth, which I have monitored, there are no other super heroes on this world. Hyperman was the only one. May he rest in peace.” She knew that during an earlier alien Invasion a second Hyoerman had appeared to fight for Oceania but both he and a second Lydia Long King turned out to beings of purely mental energy who assumed the forms of the other couple for a time. Once they were reunited and realized that the other was his or her long lost mate, they happily departed Oceania.





Superwoman said, “Surely, some kind of science could be applied to restore the core?”





Superman said, “I see the problem. Focus your vision there!”





He indicated a spot below them and Superwoman’s eyes widened as she saw a fabulous sight. A massive machine rested below them and glowed brightly as it throbbed with energy.





“That’s no natural disaster in the making. Someone is deliberately trying to agitate the core and trigger an explosion! I know of at least a handful of beings with malignant minds who would do something like that. Does this planet have a Lex Luthor? He would be bald, brilliant, and ruthless. He would be a genius too!”





Dr. Veritas said, “Dr. Lewis Luthor was a brilliant man but he was jailed years ago by Hyperman. He died in a prison riot.”





Superman said, “I’ll stop that infernal machine. Superwoman, will you see if you can help Dr. Veritas and her staff find additional safeguards to protect Oceania.”





Superwoman nodded and said, “I do have an idea or two. Actually, something Booster Gold did recently gives me an idea!”





Superman smiled and said, “Booster is a hero in spite of himself!”





He said, “Don’t lose hope, Dr. Veritas! There’s always a way!”





As he flew downward through the tunnels that lined the huge citadel, he thought, “I failed you, Chester, but I’ll save your planet! That’s a promise from Superman!"



The former Chester King sat with his wife Lydia and their son Paul after finishing a delicious meal. He looked over at where his bright- eyed son was busily playing with action figures and said, “Son, I’ll join you in a bit. I can come up with a few evil plots for your hero to stop.”





Paul grinned and pushed an errant spit curl away from his face.





“Cool! You sure are good at “Heroes and Villains”! he said.





Chester winked at Lydia and said, “Thanks! I’ve got some experience in that field!”





Lydia rolled her eyes as she smiled at her men with affection. She yawned since she was tired too. She managed their home and also wrote exposes under an alias. She treasured the peace and security of their family life and would not trade it for her past life as a broadcaster in the big city for anything.





Her smile faded as she noticed a strange expression cross her husband’s face.





“What is it?” she said.





He shook his head and said, “I don’t know. I think I’ll stretch my legs a bit before we get down to family time.”





He smiled to reassure them even as his mind raced. “Ultrasonic signals. Some kind of hum from below the surface. Way below the surface.”





He stepped through the screen door and ignored the sound of crickets and the gentle moonlight. He moved almost by instinct toward the barn.





He scowled as his keen senses saw the source of the disturbance that only his sensitive hearing could detect.





“I think I better make a quick change before I go!” he said to himself in a whisper.





Inside the old barn, he shoved a rusty old tractor aside with one hand and lifted a dusty trapdoor to reveal a heavy chest. He opened it and removed a purple and gold costume.





“The black suit was enough for my secret career all these years but something tells me for better or worse, this is a job for Hyperman!





After changing, he burrowed through the ground in the purple costume with the golden “H” emblem and matching cape and boots. Hyperman was indeed back.



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!”



Epilogue





Where had Rol Nac got the idea for his mad device and his plot to save Krypton? As he had said, he was no scientist and in truth Blanque was a gifted mutant but no man of science. The answer came from Zoron’s version of the Phantom Zone where wraithlike convicts from the doomed world remained in unseen captivity but their minds wandered free and their thoughts might still touch the mind of one who was susceptible. Those thoughts had touched the criminal mind of a man believed to have died long before. His name was Lewis Luthor and his story would be another day’s tale.



Trombus







Hyperman (Kirk Quentin) was having a good day. Although the hero had been born on a now destroyed planet called Zaryn, and had spent his teen years in a community called Smallville on his adopted world of Trombus, he enjoyed his adult life as a college professor at Shuster University in the city of Metropolis. He loved his wife Rachel Duncan and had in fact been in love with the pretty redhead since they were neighbors in Smallville. She had been his confidante during those years when he had found it a bit difficult to balance life as both the heroic Hyperboy of the Hyper Family of champions and as popular young scholar athlete Kirk Quentin. In those days he was the nominal leader of the team since something about the red sun radiation of the sun of Trombus had given him an enhanced or hyper brain in addition to the various remarkable powers shared by his parents and their loyal dog Klypso. He swallowed hard as he thought of his now deceased mother and his now powerless father.





“I’ve got Pa back! He had been a captive of those Jovian shape-shifters of the Red Brotherhood for a while but now he is back. It is great to have him around again. I only wish I had played a role in the liberation of the poor captives taken and replaced by look-alikes by the aliens. The creep that posed as my father for all those weeks seems to have died as well. I suppose that’s a form of justice but I’d rather he had been sentenced to Kronis the Prison Planet like the other survivors!” he thought as he flew over the city.





Hyperman was referring to the fact that an alien cult had abducted the elder Quentin and replaced him with a double. The ruse had been exposed when the real Douglas Quentin had been returned to Trombus by some alien heroes. He was unhurt and had in fact been in a form of suspended animation during his time as a prisoner. He was the same kind, good- humored man he had always been and he was becoming more accustomed to his peaceful life as a normal man. For some reason Kirk’s parents had started to lose their super powers a few years after gaining them upon their first arrival on Trombus. Kirk assumed the same thing might have eventually happened to him; however, he was one of several alien heroes and heroines who experienced an alteration in their powers due to experiments by a now deceased alien known as Starbreaker years ago. All it really meant was Kirk was still powerful and he used his gifts to protect Trombus. He kept his powers now no matter what kind of sun he was under.





He wore the blue and gold costume he had adopted a few years after beginning his Hyperboy career. His folks had also modified their purple and gold costumes to achieve more individuality but that was also of little importance. They were loved by the people of Trombus no matter what they wore or how strong they were.





He landed at hyper speed on the roof of an apartment building where a smiling bald man in a green sweater and brown slacks greeted him with a kind smile.





“Son, it stills give me a real kick to see you in action! I never was as graceful as you are!” said Douglas Quentin the original and now retired

Hyperman as the father and son embraced.





Kirk said, “Pa, you always were too modest. You did more with your powers than I ever could!”





Douglas shook his head and said, “You flatter an old man! Good to see you, son!”





“You know since I’ve been back here, I’ve come to really appreciate what you enjoy in the big city but I won’t give up the farm since it holds too many memories for our time with your mother when we first got here and became both the Quentins and the Hyper Family,” he said.





Kirk nodded. He knew his father was missing his late mother as much as he was. Still, at least they were together again. He had his father, his wife Rachel, and two careers that he loved. Life was good.





He blinked rapidly. The light didn’t bother his eyes but for a moment he thought his father was wearing his old gold and green costume but the colors changed. The colors had switched. The gold cape and boots had become green while the green body suit had become gold. He wiped his eyes and shook his head. No, everything was normal looking again. Douglas was not wearing any version of his costume.Must have been a trick of the light.





They walked toward the steps that led to Kirk’s apartment. No one would notice Hyperman's super fast transformation to ordinary Kirk Quentin. Now, they approached Kirk’s home on the tenth floor.





“Rachel will be glad you could make it. I mean we were naturally thrilled when you first got back after being a captive but this will be a nice dinner where we can all just relax like we used to do!” Kirk said.





Douglas nodded. He had enjoyed his time as the original Hyperman but between losing his wife a few months ago and being a prisoner of alien invaders, he was more than happy to just be a retired farmer with a loving son and daughter-in-law. He didn’t really mind losing his powers .

He had retired for the most part back in 1972 when he handed the Hyperman name over to his son. That was the same year Kirk started working as a History Professor at Shuster University.





A lovely redhead opened an apartment door and hugged each of them. “Douglas! I fixed your favorite meal! Come in!”





Douglas Quentin nodded and greeted his beloved daughter-in-law Rachel with pleasure. She had always been a pretty, smart, and loving child.



He was happy for his boy. She was also a respected archaeologist and instructor at Shuster University as well.





He said, “Rachel, dear, I brought my farmer’s appetite!”





They laughed and entered the warm and comfortable Quentin home. Kirk felt once more how lucky he was to have so many blessings.





He glanced down at an issue of the Daily Planet newspaper. He frowned as he saw a byline Rona Troupe. He assumed it was a typo. He knew reporter Ron Troupe well. These things happened. Seconds later the type seemed to shift and it read Ronald Troupe.





Kirk had already put down the paper. Like his father’s briefly altered costume, he considered the occurrence to be of no importance. And yet, something made him hesitate. Some heroic instinct developed after years of being the planet’s greatest champion made him shiver. Was something wrong?



he next day Professor Kirk Quentin walked purposefully across the green campus of Shuster University. He smiled and greeted students as he made his way toward his office. He was very popular and he was a good teacher. He loved history and he marveled at how Trombus was so much like Earth. He had visited Earth years before along with his parents and they had met Superboy. It was odd how both planets had the same languages and almost the exact same historical events. Years later after reuniting with the adult Superman for a case, Hyperman had learned that Superman had encountered many worlds with societal patterns almost identical to those found on Earth and Trombus. He accepted it with both interest and a calm assurance that things generally worked out for the best.





As Rachel Duncan Quentin approached her husband and kissed him, he admired her long red hair, winning smile, and chic blouse and skirt. She attracted many appreciative stares from male students just as Kirk drew attention from the girls.





“I see some of the Freshmen girls just saw you for the first time. They have that whole- he looks like Hyperman- expression!” she said with a wink.





He grinned and said, “I’ve always just laughed it off and said people have often said I look like him but I don’t see it myself!”





Rachel said, “You could start combing your hair differently or wear glasses!”





Kirk rolled his eyes. “Like that would fool anybody. It’s easier to just let folks think their history professor and their super hero look a like!”





He noticed one particular girl was staring at him with more intensity than others. She did look familiar but before he could pursue the idea, it was time for action! His keen senses had detected alarming noises downtown.





Rachel took his briefcase with a knowing look on her lovely face. “Go to that meeting. You are a bit late!”





He raced away and before anyone could notice he had switched to Hyperman and was soaring over the campus toward a scene of crisis.





“Seth Sarnak hasn’t sent one of his pawns to trouble me in a while. I bet the old miser is sitting in his skyscraper scheming against me though. Someday I’ll get evidence enough to convict hm just like he was sent to prison on Zaryn years ago when Pa testified against him before the Science Council. Good thing he has no powers here due to something he accidentally did to himself with one of his experiments!” he mused as he though of his arch-enemy who had also survived the destruction of Zaryn because he had been sent to prison before the planet’s demise.





“Then again, Urkko the Terrible is still out there somewhere too. That disembodied cloud-being once used the Mechano armor against me but he’ll come back with some new terror one day. I just know it” he mused.





He briefly considered his other foes like Mr. Z, Dr. Stratos, Baron Sunday, and Krane the Vindicator. Then, he saw the source of the crisis.





“Great Stars! The combination of a giant robot and a maniacal giggle can only mean my old foe Dr. Thaddeus Killgrave is loose again!” he said.





Sure enough, police cars and harried officers tried to clear the streets as a golden humanoid shaped robot marched across the busy street toward the local S.U.N. Labs building. Within the transparent robotic head, perched a short, frail man with shaggy brown hair and large goggles. The diminutive yet deadly criminal genius was back to create peril and chaos.





“Ha He Ho!” he laughed with malicious pleasure as his golden robot smashed a parked car.





“Aren’t they all matchbox cars to me?” he cried.





Hyperman hovered before the robot and said, “Okay, KIllgrave. Your fun ends here. I don’t know what you planned to plunder from S.U. N. Labs but the scientific facility is not your personal mad genius stop and shop!”





The villain scowled and said, “Laugh this off, you big ape!”





The robot swung a giant fist at the hero who dodged it and blasted it with super frigid breath.





He shattered the now brittle limb and drew closer to the robot’s head.





“Don’t make me do the same thing to you, Thaddeus! This insane game of yours has gone on too long!” he said.





KIllgrave said, “You started it when we were boys in Smallville! You ruined my only chance of curing my chronic anemia. You did it out of jealousy!”





Hyperman said, “I’ve told you before that I will do anything I can to help you. I’d do the same for anyone. Your experiments threatened the environment of the whole town. I had to shut them down! I’ve told you that since the sixties!”





He grunted as the robot struck him with a glowing force beam.





“That one actually moved me a bit. I think I better end this rampage now”! he said.





He spun around at hyper speed and passed through the robot’s reinforced head without disrupting its structure. Once inside, he gently tapped Killgrave and left the stunned scientist in a prone position.





“Strange! Everyone is hammering against the robot’s legs!” he said as he looked down to see ordinary citizens pause in their flight or their normal routine to charge at the massive if now inert robot while wearing Hyperman costumes!





Their blows were ineffective and needless since Hyperman had stopped the robot’s operator and was already disassembling it.





“Stop, folks! You’ll only hurt yourselves!” he said. As one, the group backed away and walked slowly down the street. Their clothing looked normal and they seemed unaware that they had ever acted in an odd manner.





One lovely woman stood still and then walked slowly away with a lingering glance back over one shapely shoulder toward the hero.





“That’s the girl from the campus! I know who she is now that I have a minute to think. Miss Lennox, wait up!” he cried as he gave Killgrave to the cops and crushed the robot to a ball of scrap metal.





He frowned as he searched the area with all of his hyper senses. There was no trace of the woman.





“This mystery adds up or should I say spells, one name! Mxyzptlk show yourself!” he shouted.





“Everything that happened recently matched one of that 5th Dimensional Imp’s past zany tricks. My Pa’s costume changed colors before when Mxyzptlk impersonated him because at that time the imp was color blind. Ron’s name was switched to Rona because the imp once made me think I was on a world of switched genders. He also once made everyone think they were Hypermen or Hyperwomen right down to the matching costumes. The most telling sign of all is he once created a magical construct who posed as a fictional wife of mine. He called her Larisa Lennox!” he thought.





He flew away from the city and swiftly reached a small community known as Lake City. The resort town was a popular place for vacationers and as he recalled from his own time there a few years before, it was also the setting in which Mr. Mxyzptlk the prank playing magical imp had tried to make him believe that a beautiful woman named Larissa Lennox was in fact his wife and the mother of his child! In truth, she was nothing more than a magical creation of the frustratingly madcap imp.





Hyperman spotted the suburban home with its neat flowerbed and freshly painted front porch. It looked like the perfect middle class suburban home.





Hyperman said, “Each of those magical alterations matched one of Mxyzptlk’s past tricks. They formed a message of sorts. He wanted me to know he was behind them. He used the Larissa construct again to make it all as clear as could be. None of the tricks was a new one nor were any of them even remotely funny. He usually appears to gloat over his magical mischief. This isn’t a joke. It is a cry for help!”





He entered the home to find a bizarre scene. Mr. Mxyzptlk, the orange and purple clad imp was frightened and worried and his normally laughing eyes looked relieved to see the Man of Power as he stepped into view!







“Thank Zrff!” sighed Mr. M. as the hero approached him to find he was clearly not in charge.





“What is it? You sent for me and I came!” said Hyperman.





Mr. M. pointed at a sinister woman with black hair and a weird green costume that consisted of a green cone-shaped hat and a green dress with flowing sleeves and a short hem above thigh high black boots.





“Who are you? What is this all about?” he asked.





She smiled wickedly and said, “So, even though I had incapacitated him, the little worm was able to summon help. What was it? Use of some old magic that you still had residual control over?”





“No matter! Welcome, Hyperman. I am the Enchantress! There’s more than enough death to go around!” she said with a smirk.





Mxyzptlk said, “I am sorry! I am so sorry!”





“You know that this world is not the only one I visit. I play jokes on other heroes too. Well, some of my mischief got out of hand. The Low Court summoned me to pay for my behavior!” he said.





Hyperman said, “Low Court? Don’t you mean High Court?”





The Imp said, “Well, none of us 5th Dimensional beings are that tall! My parental units Fuzastl and Tlndsa and my two wives Bgbznz and the other one whose name I forget were all summoned. You see, jokes are well…jokes but my actions were deemed socially unacceptable and the ruling was I needed an experimental therapy. They used magic to remove my anti-social and uncle social tendencies and make me a better imp! I agreed because I wanted to be a good father to little Kytszbtn my poor afflicted son!”





“You have a child?” asked Hyperman as he stealthily scanned the scene. Magic was his weakness and he would have to be careful. This



Enchantress was evil. He could almost feel palpable waves of malice radiating from the lithe female.





Mr. Myxzptlk said, “Yes, he is why I am here. You see they removed my bad urges and somehow being magical in nature they sort of coalesced here because I had been here recently. They fell into her clutches as a kind of raw magical energy source but she couldn’t do more than contain them!”





He pointed to a darkly glowing sphere that floated near the witch.





“She wanted to tap into my bad side magic and use it for truly evil purposes! I never really meant anyone any harm. She is different!”





The Enchantress said, “I come from Earth or its dimensional space and I was drawn here by the power in that sphere. If I can absorb that 5th Dimensional magic I can do anything! I was inhibited for too long by a goody good named June Moon. We split into separate beings and she went off to find true love or some such rot. I came here to become more powerful through use of the raw dark magic represented by his more malicious impulses but no non-Imp can contain such power for long. Oh, such power has been briefly used by mortals but never the purely dark kind like the cruel, petty, and jealous urges found within Mxyzptlk and drained from his body by his foolish court. I can not contain it in my shapely form but another Imp could do so and be my pawn!”





Hyperman said, “You said your son motivated your reformation but there is more to it than you’ve said.”





Mr. M nodded sadly and said, “My child was born without magic. He alone in the 5th Dimension has no power. You see, she took my boy! She wants to implant my raw dark magic in his little helpless body and make him her living power source! I came to stop her and used what power I had left after she defeated me to summon you with elements of old spells!”





Hyperman said, “I won’t let any child be hurt!”





The Enchantress gestured to a small boy of around five years old. He had black hair and dark eyes and looked confused but not frightened.





“I mean to do what the Imp father said. I mean to make his child a living host for his own darkest desires and then I will use the child as my weapon of choice!” she said.





Hyperman knew from battles with other magical beings like the Silver Banshee, Mr, Z,, Arathaza, and Skyhook that he was vulnerable and he was without his ally Mr. Mystic who routinely dealt with the supernatural but he was never a man to turn away from a threat.





He stepped forward and said, “Leave the child alone. Put your dark magic in me. I’ll allow it. Just let the child and his father go!”





Mr. Mxyzptlk said, “I know what you are thinking! Don’t do it! I needed your help. Had she taken my son to Earth, I’d have sought out Superman! If she was on Oceania, I’d have brought the other Hyperman but here, you are the greatest hero. Like the others, I know you too well. I need my son. I don’t want you to be hurt either though. I don’t know what to do. It’s not funny. It’s no joke! Nothing I’ve done has been funny if it resulted in this tragedy!”





Hyperman moved with amazing speed. He smashed through the sphere and dark magic surged through his mighty frame. His eyes gleamed with a black light and his handsome features contorted into a grimace and then as the Enchantress shrieked in shocked anger, the hero took a deep breath and smiled.





“No evil magic can change me from the man I was raised to be. My hyper body can hold this magic and I won’t let it make me evil! I’d say you lost!” he said.





The Enchantress screamed in fury. “I cannot believe you gave yourself up like that and you still resisted the darkness! What kind of being are you?”





Mr. Myxzptlk grabbed his son as the spell that held him faded as the witch lost concentration.





“Hyperman is like Superman. They are incredibly virtuous and they never lose. You see, all these years I’ve played jokes on them but deep down I was the loser. I was the one the jokes were really on because I knew and I still know Hyperman, Superman, Mighty Man, they never lose!” he said as he hugged his son closer.





Hyperman moved toward the Enchantress but she was both shaken by his purity and drawn by some inner force…some remnant of June Moon…that made her uncertain as to what she should do. It was this sense of uncertainty that had rendered her unable to fight back with all of her magical resources. Even apart from June Moon, she was still incomplete.





“I will find power. Be it on Earth or some other dimensional plane. I will become all I ever wanted to be!” she whispered as she faded from view.





Hyperman felt the absence of her malice and turned to the Imps.





“Are you two hurt?” he asked as he knelt down to face Kytszbtn.





“I’m Hyperman. Don’t be afraid. Your father is an old friend of mine!”





The child reached out to touch the hero and smiled merrily.





Mr. Mxyzptlk sighed and said, “I know how to thank you. I’m the one who should carry the bad impulses. After all, they are mine. I have more reason to resist them from now on. I want to be an Imp my son can look up to…and that’s no joke!”





Hyperman nodded as the dark magic flowed out of his body back into Mr. Mxyzptlk’s form.





“I am fine. I mean these urges were part of me to begin with like your nobility is part of you. I will control them and I will help my son!” he said.





Hyperman said, “I believe you. If you need someone to talk to, just look me up!”





Mr. Mxyzptlk snapped his fingers and Hyperman found himself back in Metropolis.





“I better hurry. I was supposed to meet Alpha Centurian, Gangbuster, the Primal Force, and Power Company, and the other heroes to discuss disaster relief after the Grayven rampage!” he said.





He smiled and waved to the cheering crowds below as he headed toward another adventure!





Roxnon



Oog walked slowly through the spacious hallways of his luxurious mansion. It was not only the largest house on the planet of Roxnon but it was also the one with the most exotic and costly decorations. Statues, paintings, and countless antiques filled the house which was only occupied by two living beings and a number of loyal androids whose chemically forged systems could not be called truly alive. The old man who had created the fabulous home loved it but things only mattered to him because they gave pleasure to his beloved wife Geena. Oog was so old that his age was the subject of speculation and awe for many of his neighbors who deferred to the incredibly wealthy man whenever their sky skimmers passed near to his own.

Still, if they wondered just how old the wizened man was, they had no doubt as to his generosity and kindness of heart. Of course, some said he only began expressing this softer side after love came into his lonely life.



Oog, whose odd name was even stranger when translated into English, was eccentric but basically good natured. He had been hurt in the past and so he devoted far too many years to merely watching life as his monitoring devices enabled him to spy on other worlds like his beloved Earh! He loved watching Earth more than any other planet. Of all the many wonders that once captivated the old man, nothing had excited him as much as one female from that world: Lois Lane! He shook his head with a mixture of bemusement and shame as he remembered how he had once made his mansion a shrine to the dark -haired Daily Planet reporter! He had even schemed to trick her into agreeing to marry him by making her fall for and then pledge herself to one of his androids. Oh, he had revealed the truth to her after she had agreed to marry him. He was not really a villain just a misguided, lonely old man with too much money and too much loneliness.

Lois had been shocked to find the dynamic super powered champion of Roxnon Astounding Man was an android controlled remotely by crafty, frail, old Oog. She had a weakness for heroes and her frustration and ego had led her to accept his proposal without considering how little she knew about the gold- clad Adonis.



Ogg shook his head as he remembered that Lois Lane had proven herself to be resourceful and crafty in her own right. She had substituted an android in her likeness for herself and Oog had married the android thinking she was Lois! Lois had returned to Earth to the somewhat capricious moods of Superman and in short order Oog had learned that his android bride was in fact operated by an elderly woman of Roxnon named Geena! She was gentle and lonely and in time they became friends and then constant companions and finally true love bloomed for the two senior citizens. Both of them found happiness by just being together and knowing they had someone to care for them and share life’s moments together.

Oog had swiftly destroyed the Lane shrine and replaced those once cherished items with the decorations that so pleased Geena!



He frowned as he approached their room with a silver tray. He hoped and prayed she would be a bit stronger today. He feared that the weakness that was part of her sickness would only become worse as time passed. The physicians of some of the worlds he monitored had told him again and again that there was nothing that could be done. Geena would not suffer but she would simply not wake up one morning when her strength gave out. Poor old Oog was not very strong himself. He stopped to catch his breath as he made his face assume a happier expression.



“I must not let her see how worried I am! I must keep her spirits up!” he thought.



He opened the door to the warm and cozy room and approached a large bed in which a gaunt little old woman rested fitfully. She smiled weakly as he drew closer and tried to sit up but she couldn’t not do it. He placed the tray on the small nightstand and helped her sit up to take several pills.



“How are you, my darling? Can you eat a little this fine morning?” he said as he cradled her in his arms and sat on the edge of the bed.



She looked at him with tired eyes that expressed love and concern. They knew each other too well to not realize the tragedy of their situation. They had enjoyed their time together, but it seemed as if nothing could prolong it now.



She said, “I shall try!” and patted his hand tenderly as he began to feed her.



“You are weary, my love! Why not let the androids do this? I am such a bother to you!” she said.



He frowned and faked indignation as he said, “What! You can’t fool me! You just want to see those broad shoulders on my admittedly handsome androids! I know you too well!” he said.



His androids were remarkable but not truly unique since they all came from a factory that was one of his many holdings. People bought them for various purposes and they certainly made life easier for most buyers. Of course, those androids were nothing like Astounding Man! Astounding Man was the android he had used to woo and trick Lois all those years ago and because of some quirk in his composition, Astounding Man developed super-human powers like the ability to fly and to shrug off powerful energy beams or explosions. Oog had never been able to replicate the process that turned a good- looking servant android into a powerful champion who protected their planet and was admired and loved by millions who did not realize their hero was actually an artificial being controlled, first by voice and later by thought, by rich old Oog!



He said, “You know there hasn’t been much for him to do lately. Crime is nonexistent since everyone has enough. I make sure of that! We have servo droids to take care of maintaining the perfect climate and weather conditions that make our world so marvelous a place to live. I know you miss watching him strut his stuff as the Earthers say!”



Geena looked up at her husband with adoration and an earnestness that her soft voice supported.



“No! I love seeing you use him so well! I miss seeing you do wonders! You’re my hero! He’s just your means of performing such amazing stunts!” she insisted.



Oog said, “Don’t you worry, Geena. When you get your strength back, we’ll take him to one of the other worlds for a visit and let him team up with Superman or Mighty Man or Vartox!”



Geena pretended to believe him but she knew the truth about her condition.



At that moment a dark-haired bright- eyed android with a cleft chin and a blue-green uniform, approached and said, “A strange craft has landed near the factory. I wanted to alert you. The pilot…the pilot defies words!”



Oog said, “Viewer screen X-5 activate!” At his command, a large monitor flickered to life and displayed a startling scene. The enormous android factory looked normal except for a large spacecraft that rested on an open place on the factory grounds.



In front of the ship stood a huge being with a massively bulbous body, green skin, multiple long tentacles, and malicious eyes. It waved a strange device toward one of the buildings and the entire structure began to shrink to the size of a doll house!



“That thing is stealing the factory with some kind of reduction ray. Perhaps, Coluian in nature but that thief is no Coluian. It is like nothing I’ve ever seen before!” said Oog.



Geena took his hand and said, “You can stop it! I’ll be fine right here with the servants while you handle it!”

He said, “I will do so but do not worry. Stay calm and do not stir. The servant droids will be here for you while I or Astounding Man investigates!”



He looked back at his wife and hesitated. In the old days, she would have accompanied him to the control room while he used his mind to control the android hero known as Astounding Man. If only Geena could get her strength back and walk with him and leave the bed again!



He moved into a nearby chamber and placed a metal band around his bald head. With a mere thought, he activated a platinum-blond haired titan in a gold bodysuit with green trim at the shoulders, green trunks, and green boots who stepped out of the shadows and stood before him awaiting instructions.



Here was Roxnon’s mighty champion. Here was Astounding Man!



Oog concentrated and the android hero responded by soaring through the room and out a nearby door to fly at super speed toward the alien invader!



Oog felt nothing of the old joy of adventure. Life was too different now. Geena , his Geena, had always been there before. He had always known he could come back to find her or turn to see her smile as she watched him work. Now, nothing was certain except for the fact that he was an old man with fading hope and little will to do anything beyond giving up and joining the woman he loved in her final moments.



2



Far out in deep space another pair of devoted lovers drifted through the cosmos Kond and Rija were ancient lovers who now consisted of nothing more than highly evolved mental energy. They communicated via telepathy and their journey through space was nearly instantaneous.



Kond, who had been male in the days eons ago when he originally possessed a solid body, was reserved and emotional. Rija was spirited and sought new experiences. It was her drive to do more, feel more, and be more that had once led her to assume a physical and shapely body and use that form to make poor Kond jealous enough to copy the form of a time-tossed hero known as Superman to challenge that hero and impress his beloved. That had occurred long in the past and Superman had done more for them than merely serve their need to spur one another to action and reaction. He had brought them back together and made them realize how much they needed each other. They had departed from one alien world to experience the cosmos united by their mutual love for one another.



Eons later Kond had been sickened in spirit one moment to find Rija was gone! He could detect no trace of her. Her thoughts that always stimulated him in many ways were not there. He “heard” nothing of the woman he loved. Believing her mental energy to have somehow dissipated, he had wished to die as well and had found himself drawn to a scene of battle as an alien invasion occurred on a planet known as Oceania! Reading the thoughts of its occupants he felt a need to defend them and he admired their humanity. He was also compelled to become their defender because their deceased champion Hyperman (Chester King) looked exactly like Superman! Manifesting a body that looked like Hyperman and possessed of all his powers, Kond battled the invaders and declared himself to be a second Hyperman to the crowds that cheered him. He would not presume to let people believe that he was their fallen hero returned in all his glory. Rather, he would honor his memory by acting as a double or substitute. By some odd alchemy of spirit or soul, he was drawn to Lydia Long King. The beautiful broadcaster was the late hero’s widow and Kond felt a connection to her grief- stricken demeanor and her charismatic manner.



Then, something wonderful happened! Kond detected the distant thoughts of another Lydia and of her husband! Apparently, Hyperman was alive and he and his wife Lydia were living incognito under assumed names on a remote California farm. He still performed heroic deeds but only at super speed so no one could see or hear him. But, if the real Lydia was on their family farm then who was the one he had met who had so surprised her colleagues by showing up to broadcast the invasion? He touched her mind with his own and she seemed to awaken to her true nature! She was his Rija! She had been motivated to experience the raw emotions the real Lydia had been feeling when she had thought her beloved husband had perished. He had actually only been in a deathlike state and upon reviving they had reunited and found happiness in private life. That initial grief had been so powerful that it had lured Rija through space and by the time she had reached Oceania, she had believed herself to truly be Lydia! She had manifested that woman’s form and behaved as she believed the real Lydia might have done. Once, she and Kond found each other again, they decided to depart for more travel through space. After all, the real Hyperman was truly alive and was protecting his world in secret when needed. There was no need for a second Hyperman and Lydia.



Now, the mental essences of Kond and Rija felt themselves being attracted by strong emotions once more. They were summoned by the strange yet heartbreaking love story of Geena and Oog on the planet Roxnon!



3





Down below on Roxnon, the alien was laughing in a weird, disconcerting manner. It had a voice that seemed to echo back each time it spoke. It was incredibly odd and alien to the observers at the factory under attack, but its pure malice was evident to all.



As factory security guards approached. The alien waved one tentacle and magnetic force sent them flying across the pavement. It caused another team to run for cover as fiery bursts of heat erupted from another tentacle.



“There is no Superman and Batman here to stop me!” he said with glee.





Back in his mansion, Oog scowled in determination. His sense of justice was aroused by this brazen crime. He concentrated and Astounding Man ripped up a section of fencing, balled it into a sphere and hurled it directly into one of the snake-like tentacles!



The creature roared in pain and slapped other tentacles savagely around the compound. A jeep-like skimmer flipped over and over and frightened workers scurried aside from the crushing impact.



As one man fell, the alien touched him with two dramatic results! The man grew visibly weaker and seemed to fall into a deep sleep. The same moment saw the alien’s broad chest area transform until it displayed the fallen victim’s features across its own body like some bizarre TV screen.



“You don’t have much vitality to offer me! I may not feed but I will enrich myself by taking your factory for my own purposes elsewhere. I can sell an army of androids to the highest bidder!” it said.



Astounding Man drew closer and gripped one tentacle in both hands. He exerted his awesome strength and ripped it from the being’s bulbous form!



It bellowed in pain but continued to fight. As it aimed the shrinking ray at the android hero, he dug through the ground at super speed and erupted beneath the alien thief. He carried his bulky body skyward at such speed that the alien became confused and dropped the shrinking gun.



It did latch on the android’s golden form and smiled with anticipation! To its shock, nothing happened! The non-living Astounding Man had no life force for the alien to drain!



Using the momentary surprise to his advantage, Astounding Man started to pummel the huge alien and then his keen senses showed him a terrible sight. Using the android’s super vision, Oog could see through the walls of his own manor without leaving the control room. He saw Genna’s frail form hanging off the bed. The servant androids were ministering to her with no success! He detected her very faint heartbeat and abandoned the battle!



Seeing his wife’s plight, Oog dropped the control band from his brow, and hurried to his beloved’s room.



“Geena! No! Please, no!” he cried.



Meanwhile, back at the scene of battle, the now inert Astounding Man dropped like a rock and the alien landed on him. To the horror of the remaining onlookers, the alien retrieved his gun and shot the hero with a narrow beam!



The android began to shrink until he disappeared from sight!



The alien laughed in triumph as Oog wept bitterly as he held his still wife in his arms.



“Geena! Come back to me! Don’t leave me alone!” he pleaded as his wife lay with closed eyes and slowing, almost halting breath.



At that moment, Kond and Roja reached the scene and their advanced minds absorbed all that was occurring.



Manifesting flesh and blood, male and female versions of the gold and green android, they attacked the alien from both sides and battered him until he collapsed. Kond now looked like the platinum-haired Astounding Man while Rija wore a matching feminized version of the costume and resembled none other than Lois Lane of Earth!



The thief was a coward at heart and could not resist two such determined foes. The newly arrived versions of the Astounding couple were as fierce and powerful as the heroes who once sent him to Kronis the Prison Planet: Batman and Superman!



After, securing the beaten alien in a stasis cell at the nearly empty planetary prison, the two newcomers flew to Oog’s mansion. His emotions cried out to them like a siren.



As one the ancient couple reached a mutual decision. They had lived for eons and had loved one another completely. They burst into the bedroom and Kond hovered over Oog’s wizened body as Rija enveloped Geena’s body.



The mental beings gave up their awareness and passed on to some higher communion unknown to lesser beings. They were united in their love forever more.

At the same time through a process known only to such beings as Kond and Rija, Oog’s consciousness merged with the flesh and blood Astounding Man body Kond had made as Geena’s essence became one with the female body Rija had created.



The two lovers looked at each other with shock and slowly began to understand what had happened although they could only speculate about how it had occurred.



Geena was now young, healthy, beautiful and had the good looks and bright energy of a Lois Lane turned Astounding Woman! She was fully human but she had super powers like her husband’s heroic android. Oog was truly Astounding Man in form and power as well. They now had the chance to be together and live and love for a long time and to experience life as heroic champions of Roxnon!



Much later, after the factory had been restored, and the old and sick bodies they had once known were buried in graves that rested side by side, Oog and Geena in their dynamic new bodies, walked hand in hand across their estate.



“I don’t know how this happened! I felt someone touch my mind for an instant but I was too upset to comprehend what was happening. I do know I feel like I should let the name Astounding Man rest like our old forms. I feel like we should adopt the names Hyperman and Hyperwoman for our heroic roles. I can’t say why but it feels right, dear!” said Oog.



Geena smiled at him and took his hand in her own. “By any name, in any body, I love you!”



They kissed and somewhere Kond and Rija knew joy!



The End