Doomsday

Gripping hold of one creature by the throat, I smashed the back of my fist into the face of another. The force behind it was so great that it ripped the head off it clean off, sending it flying across the room where it exploded against the wall. Meanwhile, I fully closed my fist around the throat of the first snapping its neck.

The fighting had continued for some time now, but things were beginning to shift. The tide turning against them as the creatures closed in upon them like a never-ending horde of mad beasts.

"Fallback!" I shouted, recognising the fact that we were getting overwhelmed. These creatures were getting much stronger. The first group were taken down in a single energy round each, sometimes even taking down two or three with ease. Hell, even Drog-Mo was capable of physically overpowering those creatures before eventually being overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

I myself was able to deal with them quite easily, the strength of a Kryptonian under a yellow sun was too much for them. However, things just became more and more difficult, with the creatures seemingly becoming more durable and some even possessing a healing factor.

It was quite obvious that the creatures further in the back were stronger and as we mowed down the weaker ones at the front, the guns became overheated requiring some time to rest and let it cool down. Which was not the best thing considering that these stronger, faster and more durable creatures closed in upon them. This resulted in me getting my hands dirty a little more than I would have liked, but lucky all of my former subordinates were too busy trying to stay alive themselves to notice my unnatural ease with which I dealt with these proto/beta Doomsdays.

However, even I would admit things were getting a bit ridiculous. My plan was to get to the liquid yellow sun, use that to give me a huge boost in power and then tear my way through them all with ease.

But those mindless beasts kept on getting in the way.

Certainly, there was also the possibility that I could provide my soldiers with the same powers, it would certainly help make things easier for me. But I had already been betrayed by them once before and I wouldn't put it past them to do so again. In that case, I need an advantage which was the power of a Kryptonian. I couldn't allow the traitors the same power when I wasn't certain of my ability to win in a fight against them all.

One vs one.

By Rao, even one vs a few dozen I'd bet on me every time without fail. But against a full division of elite soldiers, not even I was able to do that, not yet anyway. So for now, I need to keep as many of my former subordinates alive as possible, taking out as many of the creatures along with it as possible.

As we made our way down the corridor, which was not an easy task in the slightest. It was a constant struggle, with more and more creatures bursting into the lab and coming for us. We'd run, me taking point while the others would rush down. A pair of men would stop and turn, providing covering fire and later, two more would turn and fire allowing the first pair to catch up with the rest of the group. It was a systematic retreat, but not one that seemed to not slow down the horde of beasts in the slightest.

"Shoot the controls! Bring the doors down!" I ordered the two that had been providing covering fire, turning to the controls. It exploded in a shower of sparks upon being struck by the energy rounds and up ahead, the doors began to close down. I myself made it through with ease, but only around a dozen made it through in time, the remainder all got trapped on the other end.

"What do we do now?"

I didn't answer right away, instead of looking out towards the Kryptonian ships. This was the perfect opportunity to escape, but at the same time, I don't fancy leaving Bertron still alive. I don't know whether the Doomsday that attacked Krypton a few years ago was the first one or if there were many more. It was possible that those creatures were failed attempts at recreating Doomsday. I don't know, either way, I did not fancy allowing Bertron to live to in case he created an army of Doomsday's, that was not a happy thought.

"We should arrest him and get off this planet." One Kryptonian muttered and I just ignored the proceedings, my mind alight with possibilities. But most of all, I wanted that machine that created the yellow sun as a liquid. I had no intention of letting that escape my grasp. After all, in a fight against the Justice League or any of the other threats in the universe would be dictated by one thing, could they rob me of my powers. If so, I needed to find ways in which to avoid that.

One thing I needed to do was find a way to remove my weakness to Kryptonite. But for now, that liquid yellow sun would allow me to fight at full power under a red sun. That was an advantage I couldn't afford to let me slip by.

"So then, what choice do you want to make?"

-X- Line Break -X-

Looking at the image of the Kryptonians escaping out of his base, Bertron smiled, fingers continuing to input data into the computer as he watched their actions. Everything needed to be recorded in order for him to correctly gather an understanding of how to improve his creation.

Many centuries years ago he had started his process of creating the ultimate being. By releasing an infant into the harsh environment of Krypton, one of the harshest environments in the universe. At that point, Kryptonians were still tiny organisms going through the process of evolution. This allowed Bertron to conduct his experiments with little interruption. At first, the progress was slow, the infants dying as soon as they were released into Krypton. Then Bertron would take what little DNA was left and using the cloning process he had created, recreate the infant that had died on Krypton.

Then he'd release it once more in the same place. For many years the infant would die instantly, but gradually it would evolve till it could survive parts of Kryptonian harsh environment. However, this wouldn't last long as like always, Krypton's environment was ever-changing. But eventually, his creation began to take shape.

But he was getting old, his body struggling to even walk let alone continue his experiments. So, he created a clone of himself, eventually developing a little piece of technology that would allow him to transfer his consciousness from one body to the next. With a younger body, Bertron continued his work for many years seeing more and more success as he did.

Even then, things were not all perfect.

At times, his experiment did get a little out of control. It seemed that in the numerous cycles of death and rebirth, it developed its own consciousness or a limited amount of one. The limit of which was simply to survive by eliminating all those it considered a threat. As the one who personally saw to it dying constantly for hundreds of years, it was no wonder that Bertron was considered its bigger threat.

As a result, the creature had tried to kill him on a number of occasions, nearly succeeding a few times as well. However, Bertron was able to survive through the skin of his teeth, implementing new defensive and containment methods that would bring his creation to heel. Then Bertron would continue his experimentations until the next attempt on his life.

It was a dangerous game, that much Bertron was aware of. Yet for the sake of everything he had risked his life to achieve, he couldn't stop now.

And now, all those risks were beginning to pay off. Kryptonians, the only intelligent species to survive Kryptons lethal environment were here. They were the perfect test subjects upon which Bertron could test the limits of the power of his creation. Numerous aliens had landed on this planet, each of which was then subsequently killed by his creation. None of them had been particularly skilled or informative.

Bertron expected the Kryptonians to be different. Especially considering his extensive research upon their species and for their cells natural ability to absorb yellow sun radiation and then break it down for energy. This enabled them to gain a number of powerful abilities, some of which he had managed to recreate in his own creation.

But what his creation needed above all else was a test. A real test that would allow Bertron to gain a deeper understanding of how far away he was from creating the perfect being.

And as he watched the Kryptonians kill the last of his incomplete failures, a large Gunship flanked by numerous Kryptonian Hammerhead ships landed releasing over two hundred Kryptonians onto the planet's surface, Bertron knew it was time. The stage was set and the pieces were in position.

Now it was time to release his creation on the Kryptonians once more. The data he had gathered from over a decade ago when releasing his creation upon Krypton itself had reaped great results. It was his hope that this task would do the same.

A barren surface and no civilian life forms would no longer force Kryptonians to be wary of their surroundings and would allow them to bring the full brunt of their militaristic power to bear. A stark difference from the prior incident in which the Kryptonians had been forced to restrain themselves in order to not destroy a city and cause unnecessary civilian casualties. All that was gone now and above all else, a break in the clouds of ash that surrounds the planet would appear and with it, Kryptonians would be bathed in yellow sun.

There was no better time than now to release his creation and so, that's exactly what Bertron did. His gaze looking out from his position inside a bunker to the monitor overlooking a large hulking figure restrained with dozens of machine and mechanisms.

And with a single flip of the switch, Bertron watched as they all came undone with a hiss followed by an echoing roar that filled the mountain.

"▄▅▄▅▂▂▃▃▄▄▅!"

-X- Line Break -X-

"You better be right about this," Rux-Axe warned and I scoffed in response. Who did he think he was fooling? He knew I was right, especially considering he had seen the creatures for himself and there was no denying the similarities to the Doomsday that attacked Krypton over a decade ago. This was nothing more than a boorish attempt to try and gain authority over me.

Like I'd let that happen.

Right now I still had the liquid yellow sun flowing through my veins. Certainly, I was standing back, allowing the Spear of Rao to wipe out the creatures with ease. With the help of the Gunship, Hammerheads and dozens of Assault Ships, it was quite easy. This left me with very little to do and that was just fine with me, I didn't want to draw attention to myself just yet.

But once we entered the mountain, my first priority was the yellow sun machine. I'd allow the Kryptonians to branch off, searching the mountain thoroughly in search of Bertron, others would continue to mop up the remainder of the creatures.

And then, when the opportunity presented itself to me, I'd break the container of yellow sun liquid bathing myself in it. Then I'd take the machine and tear my way through those few Kryptonians behind me with ease, steal a ship and get off this planet.

A pretty basic plan, but nonetheless, would be effective. Sometimes there was no need for large elaborate plans and this was one of those cases.

However, as we reached the foot of the mountain, it began to rumble and shake. "What in Rao is happening now?" One man shouted in a mix of frustration and terror.

"I don't know."

Then it crept up, hitting us all like a physical wave of force.

"▄▅▄▅▂▂▃▃▄▄▅!"

Instinctively, I knew something was different about this roar. The fact that it washed over us all like an actual physical force was different to any other creature. There was also a sense of just primal rage and savagery that the others didn't possess. But above all else, unlike the others, it sent a cold shiver down the back of my spine.

It was only a moment late that I realised that just like everyone around me, I had broken out into a cold sweat and my hands were shaking. I was terrified, routed to the ground and unable to move. My throat was dry, the words I wanted to speak completely stuck in the back of my mouth.

No, I was not simply terrified, this was far beyond that. 'Don't tell me? It can't be true! Doomsday's actually here?'

And that single thought made my body start to fully shake, skin paling rapidly and I could feel my stomach clenching, bile threatening to rise up out the back of my throat.

Doomsday, the being that killed Superman. The being that has fought some of the most powerful beings like Darkseid to a standstill, was here. And I was directly in its path of destruction.

'I need to get off this planet!'