[ WP ] `` Their weakness was an insult to his strength . ''

Chunks of concrete and reinforcing bar tumbled down the crumbling facade of several buildings along the main street. Brick and mortar homes had been reduced to little more than dust and scorch marks as once proud skyscrapers lay shattered upon the broken city streets. The few citizens that remained in this desolate metropolis were bleeding out on the pavement, screaming wordlessly for someone to save them as their fluids mingled with the dust and molten metal. This revolting concoction lent its scent to the somber winds that swept through the leveled city as a single figure rose from the distance above all else. 
 
 Millions of lives clung to his shoulders as they sagged under the weight, his gaze cast downward as the putrid stench of failure filled his nostrils. The slain beast laying beneath his feet was only partly to blame, a fact that caused him great anguish. The voices of the fallen and perishing cried out from the soiled earth, some asking that he save them from this agony, others questioning his methods, and few cursing him with their dying breaths. These voices echoed one by one as a symphony of frustration and pain that drowned out his own. He writhed in mid-air, mumbling to himself, hearing each person pass away. In time, there was nothing but silence as he fell still. 
 
 “ Did I not try my best to save them? ” he questioned himself, floating down to his knees. “ Was it not enough? ” 
 
 A second voice called to him as he searched around the smoldering rubble, finding nothing but himself. Again, it spoke as he sat bewildered in the silence between. The man in blue slowly rose to his feet, using his incredible vision to see the ruins for miles around, hoping that he would find a source for the voice other than what he had suspected it to be. 
 
 “ Who's there? ” he called out in a weary voice, choking on the dust and his own blood. 
 
 “ This is not your fault ” it told him. “ How many years have you fought to save this planet? ” 
 
 “ I've fought for decades. This is my home. If I was just a little stronger, then maybe, just maybe- ” he whispered aloud before the voice interrupted. 
 
 “ Stronger? Is that what you think? No. It is not you that is weak ” it replied, as the doubtful hero stood quietly considering its words. “ Tell me, what do you think you are? ” 
 
 “ I'm-I'm- ” he began before being interrupted again. 
 
 “ I do n't mean your name. Your moniker. I want to know what you really are ” it insisted. 
 
 “ I'm Superman of Earth ” he responded to the voice. 
 
 “ Superman? Super man? ” it laughed. “ You're no man. To say that you're even a super man does n't do justice to your true strength. ” 
 
 “ What do you mean? ” Superman replied. 
 
 “ Their weakness is an insult to your strength. There are millions upon millions of galaxies in this universe and yet you confine yourself to a single planet within just one ” it responded, “ There is an entire universe for you to explore Superman. Countless worlds to be explored, saved, or extinguished. All these things are within your power and all of these places within your reach. Go, now. You are free at last. ” 
 
 Superman mulled over these words as he traversed the planet for what could be his final time. 
 
 -113
