"Helmets
on!" Cosmic Boy shouted. "Brainy, get an airlock open!
Superboy, get out there!"
The instant the airlock slid open, Superboy slipped into the vacuum of
space. He arrived just in time to deflect a laser blast fired at the
Legion Cruiser from Mordru's suddenly visible ship. The blast
made even him tumble, and he required a few seconds to right himself.
Those seconds produced a volley of laser bursts from Mordru, and
though Superboy recovered in time to block most of them, one strayed
past him and found the Cruiser.
Even
through the near-vacuum, he could feel the shockwave as the Cruiser
was struck. When he looked back to the ship, he found it spinning
wildly out of control. He dove after it, only to feel a hot
sensation in his back as another of Mordru's lasers stung him.
He gritted his teeth, and ignoring both the pain and its cause,
headed after his teammates.
They'd gone
only a few kilometers when he reached them, but the speed with which
they were rotating made him hesitate. He couldn't bring the
ship to a sudden stop, lest his comrades be injured or killed by
their impacts with the interior. His mind raced to the only similar
scenario he'd encountered, and for the briefest of seconds he
prepared to use his speed to form a wall of high air pressure that
would brake the vessel enough for him to safely grab it. Then he
remembered that, unlike that Piper Cub over Metropolis, air pressure
was not a consideration out here. His mind raced again, especially
upon glancing over his shoulder and spotting an approaching Mordru.
He
had to think of something. And fast.
Finally,
he decided. He'd just have to do this the hard way. He
accelerated to catch up with the Cruiser, then, matching its speed,
flew to the underside of the craft and began rotating like a pinwheel
in the opposite direction. Then he slowly pressed upwards, and ever
so gently came into contact with the spinning ship. Avoiding the
temptation to push forcefully, Superboy felt the ship spin around
several more times while the friction of his costume began to act as
a drag on the out-of-control vessel. The wait was agonizing, but he
knew it was necessary, having learned in his short career that even a
Superboy can't completely ignore the laws of physics.
As
soon as the ship's rotation had wound down to a more manageable
speed, he reached up and grasped it. The shock was still
significant, but hopefully insufficient to cause serious injury to
the Legionnaires inside. Fighting to maintain his hold on the ship
as it attempted to sheer away from him, he gripped it so hard that
the metal began to bend. He loosened his grip momentarily, then
snatched at the craft again, and at last he had it under control.
Certain that his friends needed some solid ground beneath their feet,
he headed for a small moon in the vicinity, and, with perhaps his
most difficult feat up till then achieved, he lightly touched down
with the Legion Cruiser.
Within
seconds, the bulkhead hatches had opened and the Legionnaires came
spilling out. "Are you all okay?" Superboy asked as the
teens gratefully reached for the ground.
"A little
shaky," Cosmic Boy admitted as he quickly surveyed his team.
Most were rubbing one or another bruised body part, and all of them
looked at least a little queasy. But they were alive. "But I
think we, and the Cruiser, will be okay. Thanks to you. Now,"
the Legion leader said with a look to the horizon, "where's
Mordru?"
Before Superboy
could answer, the moon's thin atmosphere came alive with the
arrival of Mordru's ship. "Right behind us," Superboy
said evenly. He turned back from watching it land, and asked,
"What's the plan?"
"Besides
staying alive?" Cosmic Boy asked, and then switching to an open
communications channel, said to the group, "Same thing,
everybody. We have to know if he has the Nullifier. Fan out into a
skirmish line. Lightning Lad take the left flank, Sun Boy the right.
Superboy, you're in the middle with me. Let's move. "
They did, and when
the door to Mordru's ship opened and he exited, they were
waiting. "Last chance Mordru," Cosmic Boy said as the
tyrant descended the walkway like royalty. "Let us search your
ship."
Mordru replied with
a wicked grin and one word. "Burn," he said, and Cosmic
Boy did, suddenly convulsing uncontrollably as mystic fire crawled
over his body.
"Let him
alone," Superboy shouted, and launched himself towards the
ancient wizard.
The next thing the
Boy of Steel knew, he was on the ground. It happened so fast that it
took a moment for him to realize exactly what had occurred. As he
had approached Mordru at what he knew was a fantastic speed, the
mystic had simply smacked him out of the air.
But
that was impossible, Superboy thought. No one could possibly move
that fast.
As he raised
himself to his knees, Superboy suddenly had an inkling of how other
people felt around him.
The thin atmosphere
was suddenly alive with Mordru's roar. "I suppose this
will make my point as well as anything," he said. "Come,
Superboy," he said with a beckoning wave. "Let us measure
your greatness."
Superboy
looked backwards and checked Cosmic Boy. He wasn't convulsing
anymore. No one else was either. Maybe Mordru couldn't attack
them all simultaneously. Good, Superboy thought. It was best for
the others if he could keep this between himself and Mordru. It
wasn't from a lack of courage, Superboy was sure, that none of
the other Legionnaires were attacking the Dark Lord. It was just
that none of them had any ideas as to how to help. It was up to him.
His
ears still ringing with the force of Mordru's blow, Superboy
stood and headed forward again. He was more cautious this time, and
when Mordru swatted at him, he was able to back out of the way.
"Running
away?" Mordru taunted. "The renowned Last Son of Krypton
afraid of an old man?"
Superboy ignored
the mocking and darted in at the sorcerer. He took a glancing blow
for his trouble, but figured that the pain was well worth being in
position to deliver a shot of his own to Mordru. This would quiet
him down.
Superboy reared
back and let fly a mighty blow that struck Mordru square on the chin.
The Dark Lord's head rocked backwards, and for a moment, he
tottered.
But
then, his eyes rolled down to glare at Superboy. With a sneer, he
asked, "Is that the best you can do?"
Superboy's
eyes widened. He'd hit him.
And
he was still okay.
Things
weren't supposed to still be okay after he had hit them.
What
would it take to bring him down?
With
a growing and unfamiliar anxiety, Superboy began to move in and out
of Mordru's reach. Ducking and weaving, poised to strike if an
opening presented itself, Superboy maintained this intense dance for
what seemed like hours, but were actually only a few seconds.
Then
Mordru began to laugh. "Oh little Kryptonian, you are the quick
one. How you tax my spells of time dilation. You almost make me
forget myself. Who is Mordru to brawl like some common street
urchin?" He smiled, and with a gesture, the air around Superboy
ignited. As the youngster screamed, Mordru asked, "Feeling a
bit ... overmatched? That's good. You are!"
More from reflex
than plan, Superboy pulled backwards from the flames, then shot
upwards. For a split second, he hovered in the air, then suddenly
reversed course. Angling himself towards Mordru's side, Superboy
plowed into him. Mordru staggered, and momentarily went down onto
one knee. As soon as the Legionnaires steadied themselves from the
shockwave created by the impact, they began to cheer. Superboy had
come through. He'd knocked Mordru down.
Maybe
things would be okay after all.
But with a speed
that defied his size and apparent age, Mordru sprang to his feet.
With the merest trickle of blood on his lip, the wizard smiled.
"Then again, it's been centuries since I was in a good
fight. Perhaps some points must be made ... personally."
Trying to press his
minor advantage, Superboy charged in again, only to be met by a
charge of Mordru's own. The collision knocked the hero onto his
rear end, but he didn't stay there long. Violently, Mordru
grabbed the youngster by the shoulders and lifted him, then thrust
him down into the rocky soil of the moon. Superboy found himself
half-buried, but was quickly extracted, only to be slammed down
again. Mordru repeated this maneuver one last time, then grabbed the
boy by the throat and began to slap him across the face.
"You
dare ... challenge me!" the Dark Lord roared. "You dare
... touch me! You ... child!" Then he pulled back his
arm, and looked at the Legionnaires.
"Here
... here is your champion!" Mordru said, and with an ease
that left no doubt as to whom was the more powerful, he held the
battered Superboy aloft.
Then
hurled him into the side of a nearby mountain.
The collision
echoed through the thin atmosphere, sending the Legionnaires
tumbling. As they struggled to stand, lines of mystic force
retrieved the unconscious Superboy and unceremoniously dumped him at
their feet.
"Now,"
Mordru asked, "do you understand? I suspect you do. But it is
too late. The time for you to flee is past. Though you are as
beaten as your Kryptonian, you may still pose some ... slight
threat." He paused, and the very air around him began to glow
with his fury.
"I suppose I
should ... remedy that."