He immediately noticed something else, too. Something strange…a
feeling he’d never felt before. As though moving, breathing, and even
thinking was becoming difficult.
For the first time in his life on Earth, Superman felt weak.
Gasping for breath, he staggered forward and fell to one knee, his head
bowed, one hand groping blindly, clutching at the air. He wheezed and
coughed. His vision blurred. The sounds of the wetlands started to fade.
What is happening to me? he thought.
But Superman could still make out Metallo’s words, though they were
faint, as if coming to him from a great distance. “Aw, what’s the matter,
Superman?” the cyborg asked sarcastically. “Feeling sick? Don’t die…
before I have the pleasure of killing you!”
“Why…” Superman said, gasping. “Why…kill…me?”
“Why? You know why! Because you tried to kill me! You did this to me!
Made me what I am—a monster! A machine that can’t feel or smell or taste!
In a way, you did kill me!”
What is he talking about? Superman managed to think, though his brain
felt as though it were filling with a thick, gray fog. He wanted to ask the
question out loud but didn’t have the strength to form the words. He
crouched on the ground, his back bent, his forehead nearly touching the wet
dirt.
“And now,” Metallo said, raising both fists above his head, “it’s my turn
to kill you!” He slammed them down through the air, but before they could
break Superman’s spine in two—
FWAAAAM! Hawkgirl swept down from the sky and slammed her mace
into the back of Metallo’s head, sending him tumbling a hundred yards
across the marshland. “AAUUUGH!” he screamed.
“Aw!” Green Lantern protested. “I wanted to do that!”
“You snooze, you lose,” Hawkgirl told him. “Told you I’d beat you
here!”
Mister Terrific landed his aircraft near Superman, jumped out, and ran
to the fallen figure. “Superman!” he called. “Are you all right?”
Breathing freely again, Superman stood up. He felt normal. “Yes,” he
answered. “I’m all right…now. Thank you.” He realized that putting more
space between Metallo and himself had restored his strength.

Chapter Twenty