Superman Elseworlds: 'In the Name of...'

Chapter 1: Arrival

Chapter 1: Arrival

The couple rode their horse and cart in near silence, the only human sounds coming from her sniffles as she tried to control her tears. The man's beard was wet with his tears but he made no sound as he looked at his wife in concern.

They had just buried their fourth child; he was still-born. After the loss of their first three children the woman had insisted that when the time for delivery came for the fourth, then she and her husband would not stay in the village. To this end, they hired a small cottage several miles away, well not hired exactly, more…swapped. A family worked for them on their fields and had offered the couple the use of their home during the last few weeks of the pregnancy. The farm-hands loved the couple for their kindness towards them, their reputation as upstanding people was known for miles and the man's honesty and good judgement had resulted in him being chosen as a mediator in a dispute on numerous occasions. Everyone knew of the loss of the first three children, and everyone – man, woman and child – prayed that God would grant the couple a child this time.

The horse stopped suddenly, its ears pricked and nose flaring. It stomped the ground nervously, tugging at the rope around its neck. The sky lit up as balls of fire fell from it. But the horse didn't bolt, the man's reassuring voice helped maintain its calm. It trusted its master.

One of the "balls" suddenly broke away from the rest and streaked towards them. The man and the woman prayed to God for His protection. The "ball" turned slightly and drove into the ground, heading away from the cart. Around them, the sound and flashes of the other "balls" could be heard thundering for miles, lighting up the pre-dawn sky.

Suddenly, the woman got off the cart and walked towards the trench that had been dug by the "ball". The heat prevented her from getting too close, however. Her husband followed, holding their oil lamp, calling to her and asking her to come back to the cart but she kept walking. After the ordeal she had just been through, he knew better than to try and force her to stop, so he quietly followed her along the side of the trench. When he heard her gasp he rushed to her side.

"By He in Whose hand my soul rests, I have never seen such a thing before!" he exclaimed when he saw the strange object embedded in the burnt earth. A gas seeped out of the object, cooling the earth around it. The sun had yet to rise and the light of the moon had been dimmed by the dust in the sky and now the trench no longer glowed, but a light emanated from the object, a light far brighter than that given off by the lamp in the man's hand, a light which had a silhouette…of a baby…

The man and woman both prayed for God's protection and, as one, they stepped down into the deep trench towards the now cool object. The woman touched the glowing area and it suddenly opened as if someone had drawn back a veil of liquid. The light brightened, bathing the couple in its glow; again the couple prayed, asking for God's protection from Satan, as they stepped back in fear. The light then dimmed around…a baby…a wet baby, as wet as a newborn. The woman laughed as she thanked God for His blessings and the man looked up at the sky and he, too, made a prayer of thanks. Quickly, the man rushed back to the carriage and came back with blankets and cloths to clean and wrap the baby with. He smiled as he saw the change in his wife.

 

After cleaning the baby and wrapping him in a blanket the woman held the child out to her husband. His beard was wet again, only this time with tears of joy. He cradled the babe in his arms and whispered the Call to Prayer in the baby's ear: "God is Greater than…There is no god but God…" Then he reached in to his pocket and gave a date to his wife who then chewed it and then gave some of the juices from the date to the quiet child, rubbing them on the baby's lips tenderly.

"Let's take him home. I'll come back later to…to pick up…" the man turned to look at the object. He then looked at his wife in fear. "What if someone…"