Her vision slightly blurred, Lois regained consciousness. She slowly sat up and looked at her surroundings. How did she get on a plane? There was a bit of turbulence and a lot of noise. She asked the pilot what had happened. Superman had pulled her from the boat.

“Superman!” she gasped. “We have to go back!” The pilot shook his head. He didn’t know what was going on out there and didn’t want to risk it. Knowing Lex’s plan to fuse kryptonite into his new continent, she couldn’t be still and do nothing. “Please,” she pleaded, “he’ll die.” The pilot hesitated. “Please!” Finally, the pilot turned the plane around.

They came closer to the land mass, which was still growing. It had already more than doubled in size. The terrain was too shaky to land on. “There’s nobody here,” the pilot sighed.

“Wait!” Lois screamed. “In the water… did you see that?”

“Roger that. There’s something down there,” he replied.

He lowered the seaplane until they were afloat. Lois immediately opened the hatch and jumped out, her eyes desperately searching the murky water. Something brushed against her leg. She took a breath and went under, clutching the red fabric she recognized. The pilot jumped in after them as he saw them surface.

They laid Superman on the floor of the plane. He lay with his eyes closed, hair messed. Lois carefully inspected him, wondering why he hadn’t been able to swim. She located the wound above his right hip and saw the green shard protruding. Using pliers, she removed the sharp rock from Superman’s side. He wailed loudly in pain. She opened the hatch once more and discarded the kryptonite.

Superman came up behind her. “Thank you.” He moved closer to the door.

“You’re going back?” she asked. Superman nodded. “But you’re hurt!”

“Goodbye Lois,” he said. Then he was gone. She stared out at the open sea.

“Close the door!” the pilot yelled, “We have to get out of here, the water’s getting too rough.”

The plane’s engines roared and they started picking up speed. The water was too choppy for a proper take off. The pilot headed for a small waterfall, hoping the wings would catch the air as it went over. They reached the edge and both Lois and the pilot held their breath as they went over. The plane fell, and fell. The pilot pulled up on wheel frantically.

Finally, the plane pulled up and they took to the air. A sigh of relief came over the two of them. Lois looked out the window at the growing land mass. She could have sworn it was rising higher…



The land mass was growing at such a fast rate, and the ground was incredibly uneven. Lex and his crew were getting worried. Tremors began to shake the giant mass and cracks appeared in the walls. The band of thugs grabbed their things and ran towards their helicopter, Lex and Kitty in the lead. A large chunk of the walls had broken off and began to fall. They all looked back for a second, then ran like hell.

*slam*

Lex and Kitty looked behind them. All they saw was a giant, brown slab of rock. They were the only two left. They continued on to the helicopter and took off just in time.



This thing was so enormous; you couldn’t imagine it unless you had something to compare it to. There was only one way for Superman to get rid of it before it took over. He dove deep into the ocean, going straight to the bottom. Using his heat vision, he broke through the earth below, getting to the bottom of the growing continent. His fingers began to burn and bleed as his skin reacted to the kryptonite, but he pushed up further and further, raising the island up above the surface of the water. The land mass still continued to grow; little spears of kryptonite protruding through the bottom, coming right at him.

The streets of Metropolis were still. All eyes were on the rising land mass. No one had ever seen such a thing before.

Using all the strength he had left, sweat dripping down his face, he pushed the land mass up even higher. Up he went, through the atmosphere in to the dark black of outer space. One final push and it was done.

Superman exhaled, completely exhausted, and lost consciousness. He floated down back into the earth’s atmosphere and started to pick up speed. He fell faster and faster, the friction causing his cape to spark.

The people below noticed him dropping, but they had no idea what it was. His body finally hit the ground and a cloud of dust rose up. The crowd came rushing. There was a huge crater, the dust still settling. Gasps were heard throughout the crowd as Superman’s limp body became visible.



Doctors were baffled as they saw the gurney brought in. This was one patient they weren’t sure how to treat. They carefully removed Superman’s suit and checked his vitals. It wasn’t a stable reading, but then again, this was Superman. They inspected his wound and removed a tiny piece of kryptonite still there. The doctors tried to give him a dose of pain reliever, but as soon as the needle hit his skin, the metal bent. The doctors looked back and forth at each other with confusion on their faces. No one was sure what more they could do for him other than wait.


Lois found out through someone at the Daily Planet that Superman had been admitted the hospital. The crowds outside were overwhelming. The masses took over the streets. Lois abandoned her car and set out on foot, pushing her way through. She was met by police at the front door who had strict orders to keep everyone out. However, everyone knew that no one was closer to Superman than Lois Lane. She was let inside and ushered to his room.

She walked in and saw him lying peacefully on the bed. Tears formed in her eyes. She couldn’t believe what was happening. The man who was always there to save her was now in need of his own savior. Saddened that there was nothing she could do, Lois sat on the edge of his bed. She stroked his hair and held his hand, then leaned in and whispered something in his ear.

She rose to her feet, but leaned back over the bed. She moved in closer to his face and softly kissed him. She pulled back and looked hopefully at the monitors, but nothing had changed. She shook her head and laughed to herself.



Later that night, she found it hard to concentrate. There was nothing she could do to keep her mind off him. TV, books, computer… nothing. Her thoughts were always on him. Lois sat on her couch, alone, looking out the window to her porch, remembering the last time Superman was there. She remembered how they hovered up from the ground and the way she clutched to him when she realized they were airborne. She remembered how warm his body was, pressed against hers… how gentle he was when he set her back down.



One of the nurses was sent to check on Superman every 20 minutes. The next one was on her way. She opened the door and walked inside. She squinted her eyes and did a double take as she saw the empty bed. She ran to the open window.

He was gone.



Lois heard a strange rustling noise coming from outside. She grabbed her robe and went out the back door. There was nothing there. She took a deep breath and looked up into the night sky. Her eyes widened as she saw him; a grin slowly coming across her lips. He smiled back and turned to leave.

“I lo…” she stopped. “Will I see you… around?” she cocked her head asked.

Superman smiled, “I’m always around.”