The Man of Steel: Cyborg Superman

By J.E Bright and Tim Levins

A solar flare suddenly erupts near astronaut HANK HENSHAW'S space shuttle, killing him. But that wasn’t the end for HENSHAW — he survived, and in the process, developed the ability to fuse his consciousness with machines. HANK blames SUPERMAN for his tragic fate, and is dead set on unleashing all the powers of technology in his bid to break the MAN OF STEEL.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
• Release date: Apr 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781434263742

J.E Bright

J. E. Bright is the author of many novels, novelizations, non-fiction books, and novelty books for children and young adults including Walking with Dinosaurs: Patchi's Big Adventure and Walking with Dinosaurs: The Great Migration. He lives in a sunny apartment in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, with his difficult but soft cat, Mabel, and his sweet kitten, Bernard.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

SUNLIGHT

Dr. Henry Henshaw gritted his teeth. He and his crew were starting reentry into Earth’s atmosphere in the space shuttle Excalibur, and already powerful g-forces were pressing down on him. The shift back to gravity after being weightless for a few days in space made Hank feel like he was slowly being crushed in a giant, invisible fist.

Hank felt proud about the mission they’d accomplished. It had been a complete success.

Hank and his crew had ridden the Excalibur outside of the Earth’s atmosphere, past the magnetic field encircling the planet. They soared into space and into the solar winds to collect cosmic rays that were so high-frequency nobody had even proven their existence.

Until now. Hank found proof. Not only had he identified the cosmic rays, he’d managed to collect and store some.

But he hadn’t done it alone. Without his wife Terri, who had invented the crystal storage container for the mysterious radiation, he would never have been able to prove his theories were true. Yes, he’d invented the detector, but the two of them were an unstoppable team. Hank smiled slowly as the gravitational forces pulled at his face.

Hank thought about the opportunities that would open after this. The resources and money. The power he would have.

Buckle up, folks, barked Steven Bishop, the commander of the Excalibur.

It’s getting rougher all the way down, said the pilot, James Dobbins. And we’re getting heavier.

Think light thoughts, added Commander Steve.

Hank leaned into his shoulder harness, striving to breathe calmly as he was shaken around in his seat. They were in the outer atmosphere, passing through the thermosphere toward the mesosphere. The g-forces and the shaking were going to get much worse before the shuttle reached the stratosphere below.

Hank owed a debt of gratitude to the shuttle’s crew, Steve and Jim. They were like super heroes, flying off the planet into outer space. The journey on the Excalibur had been the trip of a lifetime, and Hank was sad that it was almost over.

Terri waved her hand, and they turned to look at one another through their helmets. Hank could only faintly see his wife’s eyes. You okay? she asked.

Hank smiled. Never better, he replied. And you’re here, which makes it perfect.

It was perfect. They had accomplished a scientific breakthrough, something that would