Rocketed from a distant planet to a bold new destiny on Earth. Found by a Kansas family and raised as Clark Kent. He learned he possessed the strength of steel, the speed of light, and the desire to help all mankind. He is…Superboy!
The
Adventures of Superboy
Dark
Prince, Part I
By
Adam Hoerner
Byron
scrambled to his feet and squared off with the unarmed vampire.
As they circled each other, the sixth creature charged at Byron from
behind with the sword pointed straight ahead.
Byron did a back flip over the sword wielder’s head, and he ran his
cohort through. The final creature
whirled around only to be stabbed through the heart by a small silver knife.
In a matter of seconds, the fight was over.
But Byron had no time to stand around and revel in his victory. He quickly moved to those who had been bitten, applying the
antidote that kept him from giving into his inborn bloodlust.
As he finished, a pair of cops approached him.
He always tried to avoid the police.
He tried to do his work in secret. But
tonight, it couldn’t be helped. He
looked around for a way to escape them and their questions, but the huge crowds
and the emergency vehicles that were arriving boxed him in.
“Good
evening, officers. Is there a
problem?”
“Not
if you come with us,” one of them replied.
Byron hated to use his mental powers on those who would be his allies,
but he had no choice. He locked
eyes with the officer who had spoken and said, “But I have done nothing wrong.
I saved these people. I
should be free to go.”
“No
you shouldn’t,” the second officer said.
“You’re coming with us.”
“No,
I’m not,” he said, turning his hypnotic gaze on the second cop.
“Yes,
you are,” the first policeman replied, handcuffing Byron.
He couldn’t understand it. His
powers didn’t work. But how could
that be possible? The only people
who could withstand his psychic abilities were other vampires.
Suddenly, it all made sense. He
had walked right into his father’s clutches.
But before he could make a move to break free, the second cop injected
him with some kind of tranquilizer while the first officer held him tightly.
The last thought he had before losing consciousness was his serum.
He had used up the last of it on the Dark Riders’ victims. There was more in his car, but he’d never get to it now.
His father had won. There
was no escape for him. At least,
that’s what he thought. But he
was unaware of a familiar face in the crowd, watching as he was loaded into the
vampire-cop’s black van. It was
Lana Lang.
Meanwhile,
Superboy was busy with a volcano eruption on the Hawaiian Islands.
Molten lava threatened a nearby town and resort.
The Boy of Steel had arrived as quickly as possible, but he would have to
act fast to save everyone. There
was far too much lava for him to cool it off with his super-breath.
The only thing he could do was divert the lava flow.
He flew toward the mountain and began spinning rapidly, turning himself
into a human drill. He bore a large
pathway into the rock, creating a curving slide for the lava that led into the
ocean. He hovered over the volcano
for a moment to make sure his plan was working, then he flew to the top of the
volcano and used his super-breath to stop any more lava from pouring out.
He descended into town and received a warm round of applause.
After making sure nobody was hurt, he departed and flew back to Capitol
City. He arrived at his apartment
and changed back into Clark before checking his answering machine. The lone message was from Lana.
“Lana,
the serum!” She ran over as
Superboy tore the rear doors off. Byron
was inside, chained up. He was just
starting to awaken from the tranquilizer. He
growled at Superboy as he carried Byron out of the van.
He held him up while Lana poured the serum down Byron’s throat.
Dracula’s son choked and coughed, dropping to his knees.
Moments later, he looked up at his rescuers, gratitude in his eyes.
“Thank
you, my friends. You have saved me
from a dire situation.”
“Glad
to be of help,” Superboy replied, breaking Byron’s chains.
Suddenly, the two vampires came running over, leapt into the van, and
drove off. Superboy started running
after them.
“Let
them go!” Byron said. “They are
only lackeys. They work for my
father. We will meet again soon
enough. But now is not the time.
There has been enough violence for one night.
Let us return to Capitol City.”
“If
you need any more help, Lana knows how to get in touch with me.”
“I
appreciate that. I’ll be in town
for the next few days. I’m sure
we’ll talk again.”
“I
hope so. It would be nice to see
each other when we weren’t fighting off an army of vampires,” Superboy said,
laughing. “Drive carefully.
I’ll see you both later.” With
that, he took off into the night sky.
“Do
you have a place to stay?” Lana asked as they got in her jeep.
“I’ll
get a hotel room somewhere.”
“Nonsense.
Save your money. You can stay at my apartment.”
“Are
you sure?”
“Of
course I am. I’m not afraid as
long as you take your medicine,” she said, laughing.
“Speaking
of which, we’ll have to go pick up my car,” Byron said.
“No
problem.”
“Thank
you again, Lana. I can’t tell you
how important it is for someone like me to have friends like you and
Superboy.”
“My
friends, the war against those who would hunt us nearly saw its conclusion
tonight. Should we succeed in
turning my son, there would be no place on Earth the vampire hunters could hide.
But the unscheduled interference of Superboy has halted our plans for the
time being. It is now clear to me
that before we deal with my son we must deal with the hero.
But to simply kill a being of his power would be a waste.
Therefore, we are going to turn him once again.
But this time he will not resist.”
“Begging
the master’s pardon, but how can you be sure?
His strength is incredible.”
“Agreed.
But it was not his physical abilities that saved him last time.
Even Superboy is vulnerable to the supernatural.
What saved him was his willpower. That
boy is driven by a flame of hope that none have been able to extinguish.
But I have found the way. The
red-haired girl is the key. Destroy
her, and you drain Superboy’s will to fight.
And once he becomes one of us, my son will soon follow.
And then nothing will stand in the way of our quest for world
domination.”
The
following evening, Clark and Lana were heading for Lana’s jeep after work at
the Bureau to go meet Byron for dinner at the Club. As they were about to get in, a familiar black van sped
around the corner and screeched to a halt beside them. Four vampires jumped out of the back and converged on them.
Two went for Lana while the other two grabbed Clark.
Lana was injected with a tranquilizer and loaded into the rear of the van
while Clark looked on in horror. He
couldn’t let them take her, but he also couldn’t expose his powers on a
crowded street. As he stood there
struggling against his captors, the van’s passenger door opened, and out
stepped a man dressed in a tuxedo and a flowing black cloak.
He had black hair that was combed back, and a pair of piercing black
eyes. He looked to be in his
forties, but Clark suspected he was much older than that.
“Good
evening, Clark Kent. Allow me to
introduce myself. I am Count
Dracula.”
“Where
are you taking Lana?”
“That
is not your concern. It is,
however, Superboy’s concern. I
want you to deliver a message to him.” As
he spoke, he locked eyes with Clark, overwhelming him with his mental powers.
“Give us a half-hour head start and then tell Superboy to go to the
hangar where we first met. Do you understand?”
“I
understand,” Clark said blankly.
“Good
boy. Now go home.”
Clark mindlessly obeyed and walked calmly away as Dracula got into the
van before it sped off.
A
half-hour later, Clark awoke in his apartment, sitting on the couch.
He instantly remembered everything that had happened.
There was no time to lose. Dracula
and his minions had Lana. This was
most definitely a trap, but he didn’t care.
Without Lana, his life was empty. But
he had a phone call to make first. He
dialed the number for the Club and asked to have Byron paged.
“Hello,”
Byron said.
“Byron!
It’s Clark. We’ve got a
big problem.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Your
father has Lana. He wants Superboy
to meet him at the abandoned hangar off highway 21. Do you know the one I mean?”
“Yes,
I do. Don’t worry, Clark.
Superboy and I will save Lana.”
“Thank
you. Please hurry.”
“I
will. Goodbye, Clark.”
“Bye,”
he said, hanging up the phone. Moments
later, Superboy flew out the window in the direction of the hangar.
As he approached, he saw Dracula waiting calmly outside.
The black van was parked nearby, and its driver and four other passengers
stood close to their master. A
quick scan of the hangar with his X-ray vision revealed nothing.
The building had been lined with lead.
Dracula had done his homework. He
touched down a safe distance away from them, wanting to get a handle on the
situation before starting a fight.
“Where’s
Lana?”
“Inside,”
Dracula answered. “She is tied
quite securely to a chair in the middle of the hangar. The entire building has been wired with explosives.
All I have to do is set them off, and Lana dies.”
“Not
if I have anything to say about it.”
“But
you don’t. You will be helpless
to do anything but watch her die.”
“No!”
he screamed, charging toward them. It
was five against one, but Superboy was a man possessed.
The Boy of Steel was a blur of fists as Dracula’s minions went flying
in all directions. Within moments, it was just Superboy and Dracula.
“Now
let her go!”
“Enough
of this,” Dracula said, locking eyes with Superboy. “Get down on your knees in the presence of your master.”
Superboy tried to resist, but the Prince of Darkness wielded mental
powers too great to withstand. He
circled Superboy, savoring the moment. Reaching
into his jacket pocket, he pulled out a small radio transmitter. He bent down and whispered into Superboy’s ear.
“Pressing
this button is the trigger to a series of events that will make me master of the
world. You will be my most powerful
soldier. My son will soon rule at
my side.”
“I’ll
never join you!”
“It
is out of your hands. Not even you
can withstand my influence.”
“I
beat you before. I’ll do it
again.”
“Not
this time. Say goodbye to her,
Superboy.” With that, he pressed
the button. A massive explosion
rocked the hangar. Flames and smoke
came pouring out of every gap. The
windows were blown out along with chunks of wall.
“Lana!
NOOOOO!” Superboy’s
scream shook the ground just as Dracula sank his fangs into Superboy’s neck.
“Welcome
to the brotherhood,” Dracula said as blood dripped down his chin.
He waved his hand before Superboy, fixing his hypnotic gaze upon the Boy
of Steel again.
“Sleep
my friend. We have a long journey
back to Transylvania.” Superboy
did as Dracula commanded, falling forward to the ground. He pulled out a walkie-talkie and summoned a chopper that had
been circling nearby. As it landed,
his minions came to and loaded Superboy into the vehicle as Dracula got on
board. The helicopter lifted off
and disappeared into the night sky as the hangar continued to burn.
TO BE CONTINUED…
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