Aww Staw Supah Fwuff
A story in seven parts
By Oculus
Adapted from “All-Star Superman” by Grant Morrison, and based off “Supe’ Fwuff" by KMEB
Cover art by Carpdime
~
Part 2: The Worm who would be God
The rotor of the military helicopter whirled intensely, as the blades chopped at the air, generating the lift needed to keep craft airborne across the stormy Pacific. Aboard the helicopter is Mark Connor, journalist for the Planet’s Bugle. As the droplets of harsh rain beat against the cold glass of the craft, Mark recognized the destination – a maximum security facility far from the American mainland.
“Me? Why me?”
Mark’s mind went back to a week ago. Just a day before the call, the news came out that Aurelius Sandworm, once senator of the state of Ohio, was being sentenced to death. Public opinion was generally in support of the move due to the tragic event of the previous year’s Macy’s Parade Massacre. However, Sandworm had developed a following that had agreed with his harsh views on fluffies.
“He didn’t say. He admitted that he did the murders willingly, and the doctors have all made certain that he was not criminally insane at the time.”
“I find that surprising. A person of his following, you’d think he’d try to cover it up or deny culpability.”
“I know, but he seems to want to face execution. However, he asked for one final interview with you.”
~
As Mark walks down the corridor, a military officer briefs him.
“Sandworm is currently restrained and should pose no threat, but we are aware of his chief power – minor psionics. He has previously demonstrated the ability to mind control a populace, as well as affect their emotions. It is why you will need to wear this helmet.”
Mark observes the helmet passed to him. It is metallic, as if it is made of aluminium. Putting it on, despite the cushion within it, he finds that the helmet is not very comfortable.
“We tried to make it as comfortable as possible, but the psionic shield devices within the helmet make wearing it an impossibility.”
“Anything else I need to know before I speak to him?”
“He asked for the conversation to not be recorded.”
The officer punches in the keypad behind a locked door. As the door opens, the officer gives the final instruction.
“You have 15 minutes.”
~
At over three metres tall, and with a body length of over ten metres, Aurelius Sandworm is a behemoth, heavily shackled by the various weights that bind his body. As if to guard against the mind that had managed to deceive and dupe a nation, a string of safeguards surround the crown of his head, making sure that he is incapable of a psionic attack.
“Good afternoon, Mark.
As you can see, I am currently chained up against my will. They have also hindered my ability to manipulate minds. Not that it’d matter, I could never control yours.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’ve interviewed me before. And I tried to sway you. Utilize my special brain to take advantage of the weak spots in your physical brain. But a strong willpower is not something everyone has.”
“But why me? Why me in particular?”
Aurelius Sandworm smiles as he shows off his sharp and massive teeth.
“Tell me, Mark, have you ever tried eating a fluffy?”
“N-no?”
Swallowing the air, Mark could imagine Aurelius eating various fluffies alive. He had the teeth and mouth for it, and, just six years ago, fluffies were still sold as a delicacy.
“They’re particularly delicious when they’re screaming. A fluffy that has undergone pain and torture sweetens the meat. I’ve eaten them raw, I’ve eaten them fried and I’ve eaten them, alive.
I’ve tried all kinds of fluffies when they were still sold as meat. But the one thing I never had a chance to do was eat the pet of someone else’s fluffy.”
Mark sweats, as he hears Aurelius narrates all this.
“Is that what you wanted to hear? That I’m a fluffy eating monster, who delights in the abuse and terror of fluffies? I could keep going.”
Mark, masking his fear, remains resolute.
“No. You pleaded guilty, but you remained silent on why you willingly killed all those people during the Thanksgiving Parade.”
“Ah yes, that. Journalistic integrity, I admire that.
Tell me, Mr. Connor. Have you ever been a worm?”
Mark shakes his head while saying, “No.”
~
“I was a simple earthworm for most of my life. And I can remember that part of my life
Of course, when I was an earthworm, I didn’t really have a brain capable of understanding my existence. I was just a tiny annelid with a very simple brain, and I only existed to do one thing: eat, and defecate out dirt.
So, when your little fluffy pulled me out of the ground, I was struggling, I was helpless. But I didn’t know or understand that, I was just a worm, an annelid wanting to get back to my usual tasks.”
“And then, the flash.”
“Oh, so you do remember,” snorts Sandworm, as he continues, “that flash changed me. I became bigger. Larger. I started to grow these two feeble things that you call arms. But my brain. My brain changed the most. It evolved into a reptilian brain, and then paleomammalian brain, followed by a neomammalian brain. And then, the crowning achievement, a brain with an additional complex, one that allowed me to control minds to some degree.”
“But I thought you were a human! A human who had an unfortunate accident in a teleporter and merged with a worm. That was the story you gave everybody!”
Sandworm gives out a loud mocking laugh.
“Mr. Connors, you really believe that? Of all the people, YOU would believe that? It is amazing how you forget the situation that birthed both my nemesis and I.”
“I didn’t want to believe it,” confessed Connor, “I thought the flash that gave my fluffy his powers may have killed the worm. I thought it would have killed me.”
“But yes, the truth is, I’m very much an annelid. Or, perhaps you can best understand to me a rapid evolution of the annelid. I came to realize who I was, and what I was capable of.
And those memories, the memories of being a worm, fully manifested. I remember my beginnings, I remember my original existence. And I felt shame. The shame of being a pathetic worm.
So, I wandered aimlessly. I hid behind shadows, I avoided the humans. But after a while, I was caught.
But it was in getting caught when I learnt my true power. The man who caught me was a hunter who specialized in hunting mistakes in genetic engineering, especially those of Hasbio. He was a skilled predator, and very knowledgeable. But he had a weak mind. I managed to control him for a day. Slowly was able to win him over, and convince him that I was a failed experiment at the hands of a fictional master.
He showed me his equipment, and the tools of the trade. He brought me my first books, my first textbooks. As I grew with him over a year, we developed a relationship – I helped detect the creatures he was hunting for and, in return, he gave me knowledge. I was capable of mastering the Internet and, from there, I was able to learn human lessons, all the way from kindergarten to Middle school.
I came to realize that, in a world where a fluffy could be a superhero, I could fake my identity with sufficient ease.
So I got to work. And the first thing I did was kill my benefactor.”
~
Mark covers his mouth to conceal his shock, as the wicked grin glows in the dark.
“Julius Bondburger, if you want the name. The coroner ruled it as suicide. But if you want to convince the police, I won’t stop you.
I manage to get myself qualified to attend a university. Thanks to the little story I created, as well as my ability to forge documents, and more importantly, my mild psionic ability, I was able to secure a place at the South Harmon Institute of Technology in Harmon, Kentucky. I graduated with a double major in Political Science and Business, with a minor in Economics.
But the one thing I always remembered was seeing your fluffy.”
~
“W-what about my fluffy?” Mark stammers
“You know, when that flash happened, I was confused, dazed, and alone. I was trying to remember who I was beyond the pathetic life I had as an eater of shit. And the one memory I retained was that of a man, hugging his fluffy, worried for his safety.”
For a moment, Mark feels empathetic. After all, Mister Sandworm is not cute and cuddly like Clark. His appearance would definitely put off anybody, and that a lot of factors were needed for Sandworm to get to the level that he did.
”Well, Mister Sandworm, I know you had it rough. But you had gotten far, and you reached a respectable position. There are people who genuinely love you now.”
“I did. But I never forgot my first day at the Capitol. The first day I gave a speech to represent my constituents.
I had spent such a long time, convincing people, holding my mental and charismatic power over time, and influencing people until I reached one of the higher offices of government. As the more I worked, the more I thought to myself, I might truly get the seat I so coveted.
But then he turned up.”
~
Supah fwuff is busy flying through the streets of Washington D.C.
earlier he had managed to douse a fire that was ravaging an apartment building, foiled a bank heist, destroyed an asteroid that was about to hit Earth, and saved a little kitten in a tree
but while travelling through the city, he saw a giant monster enter the Capitol
unlike all the other nice hummehs, he was an ugly and nasty being, with many, many sharp teeth
clearly, he was a danger
and Supah Fwuff was certain about this.
With his super hearing, he heard what the Munstah was saying in the big speshul biwding the smawtie hummehs came to tawk abow
“Supe’ kiww munstah!!”
As he interrupts Senator Sandworm with a gentle wind, the terrible worm monster loses all his dignity, and replaces it with anger
With little regard for the surrounding property, Sandworm, in all his glory, crashes through the various seats, as he chases after Supe’ Fwuff
~
“I remember that day. Robot-man and the rest of the Band of Heroes had to restrain him, and you as well. They had to convince him that you weren’t a monster, and that you meant no harm.”
“Yes, that did happen. But the irony was, heh, heh.”
And the Sandworm keeps laughing. The laughing started from an uncontrollable giggle, until Sandworm laughs loudy, baring his teeth.
“…ha… ha…. The irony is, he was right.
I am a monster.
On that very day, I was in support of the amendment to keep fluffy ponies as an invasive species. And somehow, he heard it.”
“I don’t think of the people who supported that motion as being monsters. Feral fluffies were considered an invasive species at one point.”
“Yes, but I hate fluffies.
~
I’ve always hated them. I’ve hated them ever since I saw Clark be hugged by you, his owner. I hated their babbling noises, their low intelligence, their obsession with spaghetti, their cries for love and hugs, I just hate them. But most of all, I hate the fact that they were loved. That people thought of them as “cute”.
I tried so hard to avoid them. But I kept seeing them. Even when I was residing in the college dorms, secluding myself, a few of my fellow dorm members had fluffies. When I entered the realm of politics and upper management, I thought I had been spared by their inanity.
But then he showed up. And worst of all, he revealed to the world the monster I truly was.
It didn’t matter if I managed to hire a good PR firm after it. It didn’t matter if I utilized my psionics to keep the people around me calm. And it didn’t matter if, after a while, people forgot about that incident.
All that mattered was that he revealed to the world for the monster I truly was.
But of course, I was a senator. And I cannot rely on my brute force and strength. I couldn’t mind control him, no matter how hard I tried. So I had to fight him in a different way. Fight him on the turf he couldn’t master. Create the kingdom that I sought for myself.
But at every turn, he got in my way.
There was a time when fluffies were still considered biotoys. When they were still being sold for meat. I fought for their status as a biotoy, as a “non-animal”. And I sponsored the lobby groups to ensure that fluffies were marketed as biotoys.”
“But Supah Fwuff had an unexpected popularity, ever since he foiled the events at Cleveland. His popularity was what got people to slowly accept fluffies as animals.”
“I used my influence within the corporations to stimulate more demand for foals and pet fluffies, in order to stimulate more demand during the seasonal holidays, in order to make fluffies more of a pest.”
“But then Supah Fwuff started liberating the fluffies from the factories.”
“Indeed. So I pushed for their re-instatement as an invasive species, due to how many he had freed.”
“But then Clark saved a lot of them from the exterminators, and ferried them to various safe havens.”
“I remember his fight with the Flossians. And how, in defeating the invaders, he ended up destroying some buildings as collateral. I painted him as a monster, with no regard for human life.”
“But the eyewitnesses saw Supah Fwuff saving as many people as he could. And people knew that Clark tried his best.”
“I tried to control FluffTV. I bought its parent company, The Pub and, upon having access to its programming, removed most of its educational content. I pushed for more screen time for “Babies!” to stimulate demand and sexual appetite among the fluffies.”
“But Supah Fwuff went on public television, showed that he was neutered, and why there was no shame in not having more foals.”
BZZZZZT!
The sudden soung of the buzzer jolts Mark Connor out of the conversational bout he was having with Aurelius Sandworm. He realizes that he has only five minutes left in the interview.
“After a while, it just seemed pointless. Despite everything I did, Supah Fwuff thwarted my attempts to deem his kind as a public nuisance. And despite everything he tried, I still refused to like fluffies.
So I put my mind to other things. I started focusing on what got me nominated as a senator, reaching out to the people. I started funding initiatives in STEM research. Encourage more participation from people from less-privileged communities.”
“And that’s how Gifted started.”
“Yes. Project Gifted.
The government all agreed that the Band of Heroes lacked accountability, being an independent organization of heroes, both human and fluffy. So we focused research into creating a programme that allowed us to create our own superheroes, based on what we could understand about Supah Fwuff and his ilk. And for a while, I thought I was doing a good thing.
But when I saw that parade, of the hundreds of our heroes flying, I remember the day I first saw Supah Fwuff flying in the sky.
And I came to a realization. These people were not cheering my work. They were not cheering my effort. They were cheering the heroes I created. But not me. It seemed like a continuation of the mockery that Supah Fwuff did of me, but now he had accomplished his ultimate mockery – making me create people like him.”
“And that’s why you pulled the plug.”
“Pretty much.
The failsafe was created to prevent the superheroes under our project from going rogue. But when I pressed the button, I realized I had control over their tiny lives. It reminded me of the first kill I achieved with Julius all those years ago. It was a terrible power, which why I preferred not to resort to it. But, when I pushed the button, I realized I could achieve this power even without my own abilities.
Once again, I felt like a god.”
Mark couldn’t stifle his anger.
“You’re a murderer! You had everything! You worked so hard, and were held in such high regard, and you just, you just, threw it all away!”
“Yes I did. Because, at the end of the day, the people don’t want to celebrate a worm who had become Emperor of the World, they want to celebrate the men and fluffies in the sky who puts out fires and saves their little kittens. To them, those are their gods.”
“I just don’t get it. I don’t get it at all. Was it really worth throwing your future, your credibility, everything, just because of your ego?!”
“Yes. And after all, I did have benefactors.
Members of the military who shared my hatred of Supah Fwuff. People who wanted to find a way to harm this fluffy. This fluffy who was an affront to God, a mote in my ambition, a speck in the way of Creation. At every corner, I tried to figure out his weakness. But, being a fugitive allowed me access to information I didn’t have previously.
And it was from there I figured out his chief weakness. The Sun.”
Like a freight train hitting a car in the middle of a track, Sam was taken aback. He wanted to stop the call, and had to fight himself to keep listening.
“Yes. We both know the truth. And Clark himself knows it. He can’t hide it forever.
I may be sentenced to death. I may be going to Hell. But I’d more than happy to see Clark in Hell with me. If he even has a soul.”
“Maybe you don’t have a soul,” snarls Mark.
“Then all the better – as I go marching into nothingness, I would have accomplished what I set out to do.”
BZZZT!
A minute remains. Mark is not sure how he’s going to end the interview.
“I just don’t get it at all. You had everything. You could have been president!”
“At the end of the day, its really simple, Mark. I hate fluffies. If I had the power to remove them all, I would have. But most of all, I wanted to be a ruler of the world. A god of this world.
And Supah fwuff got in the way of that goal of mine.
And now he’s dying. I have killed an unintelligent god, thus asserting my own godhood. And best of all, I get to see his master grovel because he’s not able to save his poor little fluffy.
What more could I want?”
~
TO BE CONTINUED