Get Carried 001

Summary:

Free electricity, healthcare, food, and housing? Sounds like a job for Superman. 

Inheriting Jor'El's mind for science, and the repository of Krypton's knowledge...what sort of idiot would solely rely upon his fists to resolve the world's issues? 

(This Superman does NOT go around face slapping others or is a Homelander clone. YES he takes justice into his own hands. YES he abuses his stats to end fights quickly. NO he is not out to conquer the world through violence, rather, to build utopia based upon technology & ideals. Villains that can be recruited or redeemed will join the Justice League, whilst irredeemable scum get either the Phantom Zone or execution. Looking at you, Joker.)

I have 4 ch written & intend to release them every Friday for the month of September. If popular enough, perhaps it could go into October or be replaced with another concept. 

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Standing atop the giant golden globe of the daily planet, Superman breathed in the city of Metropolis. 

Much like NYC, there were people walking everywhere, and it was full of metro trains, buses, ultra rich, extremely poor, and of course, criminals. 

Closing his eyes and entering a zen-like pose, and filtering out all the extraneous nonsense, the hum of the city faded away to the background. Without having to wait very long, he heard what he had been waiting for:

A gunshot. 

Moving at extreme speeds, the city appeared to be static in his eyes, as if someone had hit the pause button on a remote control. Looking ahead, he peered into a building, and saw a masked man with a machine gun standing out of the hatch of an armored car. The man was unloading his clip at a pursuing police car, and had forced the cop to crash into a fire hydrant, making dozens of civilians scatter out of the way. 

Flying directly at the car, Superman saw the shock & fright in the man's eyes as he approached, yet he was so fast, the crook hadn't even had time to pull the trigger. 

Closing the distance, Superman reached forward, crushing the gun with ease, and delicately broke his hand at the same time. If he had exerted even a little more strength, the criminal would be nothing more than a red smear. Although he had no compunction killing those who deserved to be killed, a broken hand would serve as a warning to anyone else who would raise a weapon at Superman. 

The caped hero then flew underneath the vehicle, and lifted it up. Flying it into a warehouse that he had scouted beforehand, he dumped the armored car inside with a plop. 

Tearing the side door off its hinges, and tossing it aside like a piece of trash, he was met face first with the barrel of a handgun. 

“Eat this!” The masked crook said, pulling the trigger. 

Superman had already scanned the interior of the vehicle ahead of time, knowing what awaited him, as well as the weapon, making sure it was harmless to him, and he flicked the incoming bullet with the tip of his finger, sending it back into the man's arm.  

“Aughhh!” He screamed, falling to his knees in pained shock. 

“Surrender or I'm going to break a bone in your body.” Superman said to the two remaining goons who had opened up the sliding door to the vehicle. 

Glancing at their screaming companion, they were quick to drop their weapons, and stick their arms up into the air. 

“Well, well, well, this wasn't according to plan. It appears the game has changed.” A short young man with a comically oversized toy head said whilst bouncing a green rubber ball. “Superman, right? I liked what you did to Luthor. Revealing how he had his competitors killed, then leaving him to the family members of the deceased…brutal.” 

“And you're the son of that innocent toy maker, but you're no child anymore, are you? You're a Toyman of sorts, right? I've seen your work, I'm impressed. Are you interested in joining my team?” Superman asked, and floated down to look the little masked man in the eye. 

“I'm flattered, the strongest man in Metropolis wants to play co-op with me. What games we could have! Together, we could turn the entire city into our private server!” Toyman said in a jolly tone, the bouncing of the ball in his hands seemingly increasing in speed as he imagined this glorious idea. 

“Something like that. But I want to make one thing clear, and I'll say this in a language you'll understand.” Super said, suddenly behind Toyman with both his hands holding onto the creep's shoulders. “I'm the Game Master in these parts. Try to patch me out, and…” 

To expound his point, Superman pulled out a small pen-sized device, and pointed it at the goons. A beam of light about as fast as a bullet pulled upon them, and sucked them into the alternate dimension prison known as the Phantom Zone. 

“Wha-what'd you do that for?” Toyman said with a quiver in his voice. 

“T. Mac Bones, repeat rapist, put a grandmother in a coma. Freddy Miles, got a restraining order after beating his girlfriend until she had a forced abortion, and put his grandma in a coma. D'jon Tate, sold fentanyl to kids, three of which OD'd. The last one iced the cop during the chase here. They'll be locked up in perpetual stasis for a while, possibly for the rest of my life. I can give people a chance, but repeat offenders & murderers like them won't be spared.” Superman said in a serious tone. “But really, I just have one thing to ask of you: will you join my team?” 

Toyman took a deep breath, to Superman's enhanced senses, he could see that the young man's heart was beating rapidly, and his breathing was accelerated. Releasing him, Superman now floated slightly above him, and looked down with crossed arms. 

“I…I'll join your party on one condition!” Toyman said, his voice full of pleading madness. 

“Your revenge is as good as done.” Superman casually responded. Then, taking a phone out of his pocket, he tossed it to Toyman. “Play the video.” 

Manheim was flipping endlessly end over end in a red void. It was the Kryptonian prison in another dimension, the Phantom Zone! Superman had inherited a device capable of storing things there, and had studied it, making a more portable version for his own use, and used it to trap Manheim. As someone who had plenty of bodies on his hands, and canonical collaborator of Darkseid, Manheim was verifiably evil. Superman had very few qualms imprisoning the gangster for a very long time. 

“You are to be a hero, Toyman. Your game is destined to be one of greatness. Those trapped in the Phantom Zone are like immortals, forced to flip end over end in a sea of blinding red light for an eternity. Manheim will have wished for death.” Superman urged. 

“...well, at least he won't be having fun in there.” Toyman consoled himself, and then clicked the screen. 

“No, no, help!” Manheim shouted in the videi as he tilted head over heels endlessly. 

Toyman fell to his knees, clenching his fists, and whispering to himself. “I've done it, papa. I've done it.” 

Superman waited a few minutes, then floated down, holding his hand out. Toyman took it, and slowly rose to his feet, his gait unsteady. 

“What now?” 

“There are a few rules I will impart to you, my future teammate. One: no indiscriminate mass slaughter. Two: no indiscriminate theft, although taking from criminals is permissible on a case by case basis. Three: no harm to civilians. Four: limit destruction of infrastructure as much as possible. Five: most importantly above all else, recognize me as the team leader, and your friend.” 

“Friend?” Toyman asked, tilting his head to the side as if the very word was a foreign concept. “Okay. I'll be your friend. Catch!” 

The ball he had been bouncing around suddenly moved as if it had a life of its own. Incredibly fast and durable, it flew at Superman like a comet. 

However, this wasn't the same weak Superman who could be knocked back by just anything. Having spent a month in this world since his transmigration, he had spent nearly every day either meditating in the sun, or absorbing knowledge at the Fortress of Solitude at a rapid pace. Leveraging his unique biology, and a brain inherited by Jor'El, he was both brains & brawn. 

Thanks to his advanced study of geometry, he had long seen the path of the ball, furthermore, for all its strength & speed, it wasn't anything compared to himself. Holding out a hand, Superman easily caught the ball, and forcefully held it in place. 

“Interesting, it still wants to bounce around.” Superman praised, and then gave the microscopic surface a once over. “This polymer chain reminds me of Star Lab's 2DPA-1, however, I can tell by its elastic properties, and tensile strength, that it is more advanced than anything they have produced.”

“You know your stuff. Yes, this was a mold I used myself. That 2DPA-1 is nothing but stolen research material from the toy maker.” Toyman said in equal parts pride and anger. 

“Star Labs is a legitimate business. Unless we find they've been experimenting on innocent people, or abusing test subjects with NDA's, you are not to touch them.” Superman said in a deep voice. “However, if you wish to investigate them, or mildly prank those most responsible for this theft, then by all means, have at it. So long as permanent bodily harm or disabilities do not occur, I approve of some pettiness. I may very well join in if your investigations prove true.” 

“Yes, Superman.” Toyman replied in a flattering voice, and bowed. “I can't wait to show them the fruits of my labor.” 

Superman nodded, then returned his attention to the ball, his gaze was full of lust. The lust for knowledge! 

“To deactivate this device…it seems you use a switch, but that merely activates a frequency, I see.” He muttered to himself. 

Then, without further ado, he opened his mouth, and let loose with a quick dull sound that human ears could not perceive. Within seconds, the ball that had been bouncing around in his hand, eager to escape, suddenly became inert. 

“Fascinating! You are a wealth of talents! I can't wait to see what we play next.” Toyman exclaimed, happily clapping his hands together. 

Superman bowed like a performer, and then gently handed the ball back. 

“...only, with no stealing, how am I going to build my creations?” Toyman asked aloud, and looked at his ball at a loss of what to do. 

“KalTech has that well in hand.” Superman replied, turning his back to the little man, he began to float a few inches off the floor slowly towards the warehouse's exit. 

“That's right, LexCorp had been renamed…but I thought they had a new board of directors? They'll just do what you tell them?” Toyman skipped along, somewhat running to keep up. 

“And a new CEO, as a matter of fact. One Clark Kent, a trustworthy sort from Kansas.” Superman said with a smirk. 

“The reporter?! Huh, small world. Maybe now Miss Lois Lane is up for grabs.” Toyman muttered to himself. 

“Smallville, actually. That's where he's from. As for Lane? Trust me, you have better odds to hook up with a super powered girl, scientist or robot. At least then she'd appreciate you for your genius, and not your…other qualities.” Superman softly replied. 

“Being your friend hurts.” Toyman said in a depressed tone, hanging his head. 

“I'm the Man of Steel, not the Pillow Dumpster. When you're around me, expect excitement and adventure, not soft landings. That said, want to go blow something up?” Superman asked, turning his head towards his short new friend with half a smirk on his lips. 

“Do I!” Toyman eagerly ran out of the warehouse, then stopped in his tracks as he saw a grav-car slowly descend from the Metropolis skyline. 

The door to the car automatically opened, and a robotic voice began to speak: “A sparkling water for the young master, Master El?” 

“Sure, get one for me too, Kelex. Raspberry flavor if you would.” Superman replied to the AI that had arrived alongside the rocketship from Krypton. 

“I-I want strawberry.” Toyman hurriedly added on, stepping into the cushioned hover-limo. 

A pair of cooled drinks were poured and handed to them by a robotic arm. 

“Wow, Superman, you sure have some nice toys.” Toyman said with both excitement and a hint of envy. 

“Built it myself.” Superman said with some pride, lightly tapping the arm rest with the ghost of a smile on his face. 

“Where to, Master El?” Kelex's robotic voice asked. 

“To the KalTech bomb range, if you would. My new friend here wants to play around a bit.” Superman replied, taking a satisfied sip of his drink. 

“Very well, sir. I must say, young master Toyman, you are in good hands. Dare I say, you shall have a blast.” 

“Kelex.” Superman said in one part embarrassment, and one part smile at the bad joke. 

“Heh heh heh heh, thanks for taking me along, Superman.” Toyman laughed a little creepily, as if he hadn't laughed in years, and was practicing at it. But it was genuine laughter, and Superman didn't take it to heart. 

“To friendship. You will see in time, Toyman, that what happened to your father, will never happen to the people of Earth again. We will make sure of it.” 

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AN: Lastly, this is a light DCAU x Marvel crossover.