Metropolis, 2010 by Gardy1

[gem65]

awesome please udate soon!

I agree 100%

[Miray]

Great Update! Their banter is just beautiful! PPMS

[gardy1]

Metropolis, 2010 - Dark Crystal

Thanks for reading, ladies, here's a new update which gets more into the body of the story: gardy1

Chapter 5: Dark Crystal

Scene: Earlier that day at the Kent Farm

Kara Zor El Kent’s day had started off well, as she helped her older cousin with the daily farm duties, which took the young aliens less than five minutes to complete. After breakfast, she’d taken Clark up to the barn loft. Amid helping him pack, Kara decided that now was as good a time as any to tell him.

“Kal, do you have a minute?” She asked far too sweetly. Clark nervously glanced around, more out of habit than anything else. “You forgot to use my Earth name, Kara.” He reminded her. She dismissed his criticism with a wave. “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Anyway, what I wanted to show you were these.”

Kara held up two Kryptonian crystals in her small, thin hands. “I found them.” She stated simply. “Be careful with those.” He rebuked her. “The last one that Lois and I touched sent us spiraling into the Phantom Zone.” Kara nodded, as the bright sunlight filtered through the barn loft window, and reflected off of her long, golden yellow hair.

“How did you find them? Are they real?” Clark probed excitedly. “As far as I know, they’re real. I’ve read the Kryptonian lettering that had been etched into each one.” Kara answered. “Dax Ur had one, and the other...” She hesitated before replying. “Was stolen by Tess Mercer.” She let that tidbit hang in the air before them. “Tess had one?” Clark echoed. “Yes.” Kara gulped.

“Did she know what she had?” Clark’s stomach began flipping over. “I don’t think she knew how to use it.” Kara guessed. “I’d hoped that she didn’t learn how to read Kryptonian.” She added as Clark sighed. “No wonder she kept prodding me about embracing my destiny. She knows far too much.”

“Do you want me to whack her?” Kara asked, half-seriously. “What? No!” Clark wasn’t amused with Kara’s feeble attempt to make light of the situation. “Where do you get that stuff from, anyway?” He continued to chastise her. “Same as everyone else, from TV shows.” Kara forced a thin smile.

“What did the crystals say?” Clark tried to refocus his errant young cousin. “You can read them yourself, but the purplish one seems to have a list of clues imprinted on it.” Kara handed him the lighter colored one. He warily took hold of it, fully expecting to be zapped into the twilight zone or worse, back into the Phantom Zone. Fortunately, nothing at all happened, though Clark felt a vague vibration within it.

“What kind of clues?” Clark cautiously turned the crystal over and over. “I believe it’s the first set of clues to where we can find Kandor.” Kara said, as Clark gasped, wondering if the ambitious beauty fully realized the implications of what she’d just said. The faint purplish glow glinted off of Clark’s raven black hair, which was messy and tousled as usual.

“Kandor? Your home asteroid in the Kryptonian star system?” Clark was skeptical. “Exactly.” Kara confirmed. “Zor El said that he and some others had experimented with extreme miniaturization, and I believe that they succeeded, creating a pocket universe for Kandor and its survivors, if any.”

“No offense, but Uncle Zor El wasn’t exactly a reliable source of information.” Clark grumbled. Deciding to humor her, Clark mulled over the ideas in his head. “Okay, did your father ever say what form a miniaturized Kandor would take?” Kara shook her head, as a few strands of hair slipped down over one eye. “No. I think that Zor El purposely kept that a secret.”

Clark rubbed his square jaw. “That actually makes sense, if he was hiding Kandor from Brainiac, or some other enemies, like General Zod..” Kara’s heartbeat increased with excitement. She was afraid to tell Clark about the crystals at first, assuming that he’d discourage her from completing her quest.

Kara was very suspicious of her elder cousin, yet he seemed to be generally interested in the idea. Maybe he has changed a lot, or had decided to move on, she mused. “Clark, what do you think? Are you going to help me with verifying this Kandor story one way or the other?” There was a long dramatic silence.

Clark was fighting his inherently cautious nature, Kara could tell. “Yes. Kara, if this Kandor miracle exists, we’d better be ready for it.” He finally mentioned. “Ready for it? What do you mean?” Kara was caught by surprise. “Think about this, Kara.” He began. “What would an entire city of Kryptonians be like here on Earth?” The alien beauty gasped. “Great Rao! They could take over the planet!”

“My point, exactly.” Clark said darkly. “If there’s a chance that Kandor truly was saved, and somehow made it to Earth, we’d better be aware of it. We need to find them first.” Kara read the grayish crystal first: “The path to enlightenment begins at the twin peaks of Roscoe.” She parroted.

“Path to enlightenment?” Clark repeated Dax Ur’s mysterious words. “I guess that would be a fancy way of sayin’ start here?” Kara fished. “Twin Peaks of Roscoe, probably refers to a small mountain range, but where?” Clark sighed in frustration. “I guess we can Google Map it.” Kara suggested.

They did just that before Clark put his laptop away. “Roscoe is in the highlands near Valley View City, in the southeastern United States. That’s where we’ll start.” He informed her. “Kara, don’t get your hopes up, because this is still a shot in the dark, and I still have a full time job, plus Lois to deal with.”

“I know, Clark.” Kara grinned. “I appreciate the help.” Clark read more of the Kryptonian wording on the purplish crystal. “I get the gist of it, but Dax Ur seems to be writing with a different dialect than I’ve seen before.” He turned the artifact over on the next side. “Uh oh!” Clark said as Kara watched worriedly.

“Uh oh what?” She pressed him. “If I’m reading and translating this piece correctly...we have a bigger problem than we thought.” Clark hinted vaguely. “See if this is right. Dax Ur wrote: Zama Trel and I have decided that Zod’s minions are getting too close. She wants me to hide all five crystals somewhere on Earth.” Kara’s big blue eyes widened. “All five?” She echoed as Clark nodded confirmation.

She reread the crystalline journal’s passage. “That’s about right, Clark. We have to locate the other three crystals to grasp the whole message, and keep all of them out of Zod’s hands.” Clark scowled. “It just never ends! I thought we eliminated Zod as a wraith a few years ago!” Kara shrugged.

“Zod and Zor El were geniuses, even by Kryptonian Science standards, as was Jor El.” She informed him. “Meaning?” Clark eyed his young cousin suspiciously. “Meaning, if there was one, the three of them probably would have found a way to survive. I mean, look at us. What are the chances that we would survive against all odds in the universe?” Kara thought provokingly posed.

“True.” Clark admitted, not used to his headstrong cousin becoming philosophical. He quickly X-rayed Kara completely. “What are you doing?” She asked, feeling the faint buzzing of Clark’s test throughout her slim, petite body. “Kara, don’t take this the wrong way, but I had to x-ray you, to make sure that you weren’t another one of Brainiac’s or Zor El’s tricks.” He replied sheepishly.

“Fine!” Kara snapped, and returned the favor. “There, now we’re even!” Clark waited for the tingling of Kara’s mental probe to subside before commenting. “You x-rayed me as well?” He fished. “Not exactly, Clark.” Kara swallowed hard before replying. “I seem to have developed a new power.” She fidgeted. “The power to read people’s minds.” She finished and looked away. “Wow! I don’t have that one!” He exclaimed.

“Yeah, well I didn’t want it, either!” Kara grumbled. “When did this begin?” Clark was more curious than worried at the moment. “Late in the spring, just after you and Lois released me from the Phantom Zone.” Kara responded tiredly. The mind probe took a tremendous amount of her energy, both mentally and physically. She paled slightly and sat down on the old couch in Clark’s loft.

“Are you sure that you didn’t pick anything up while you were imprisoned there?” He interrogated. “Clark, I’m not sure of anything anymore.” Kara confessed. “At first I sensed a presence, like I was being manipulated, then I felt, more than saw, mental images. They were simple things, like I could ‘see’ a pathway, building, or geographical feature in my mind’s eye.”

“Over time I started picking up random thoughts from the people around me, you, Lois, Jimmy, even Chloe.” Kara whined. “Then it got worse. Thought patterns from more and more people kept distracting me. That’s when I decided to leave. I just wanted to get away. I flew high into the sky, away from everyone, up, up, and away until I reached the edge of space.” Kara stood beside him.

“I floated around, trying to relax.” Kara took a quick breath. “I remembered what you taught me, you know, when I first learned how to use my super sensitive hearing. I concentrated, and eliminated thought pattern by thought pattern until the voices silenced. It took me over a month to get to that point.”

“Kara! Why didn’t you come home and tell me?” Clark berated her. “Why? So you could tell me not to use my powers? To simply fit in? To give up our Kryptonian heritage?” The teen argued. “I’ll never give up on our people...I’ll never give up on you.” Unusually, a tear formed in one of Kara’s eyes. It slid down her cheek, and hit the barn loft floor, tinkling, and shattering into a myriad of pieces.

Clark and Kara glanced down at the small mess. Kara sniffled. “That’s new.” She said in bewilderment. “The liquid tear froze like an icicle, before it splintered.” Clark gawked. He and Kara exchanged glances. “So we still haven’t fully evolved within Earth’s environment yet?” She questioned. “I guess not.” Clark said.

“Brainiac was right!” Clark exclaimed. “He said that I didn’t yet know how powerful I’d become. The same would go for you. Its possible that the longer we remain on Earth, the more powerful we’d get.” Kara nodded in agreement. “Is this the part where you tell me that we should never use our abilities, and that we should give up on the search for Kandor?” She added in a depressed tone, as Clark silenced.

“No.” Clark shocked Kara with his response. “I’ve given that a lot of thought.” He gazed into his beleaguered cousin’s eyes. “Now it’s more important than ever that we accept our destinies. We need to find Kandor before someone else does, and go from there. Besides, you would never listen to me anyway.” Clark quipped, forcing a thin grin. “That’s true.” She replied, narrowing her eyes.

Kara’s jaw dropped. Her reluctant cousin had changed a great deal within the last few months. The young aliens embraced in a hug. “How can we do all this, Clark?” Kara wondered as she released him. “I don’t know, Kara, but its clear that we can no longer afford to sit on the sidelines.”

“What’s our next move?” The teen beauty inquired. “After we load the furniture and boxes into my new condo apartment, we’ll research the crystals some more. We should get Chloe to help as well if Oliver doesn’t have her globetrotting across the world with him.” Clark responded.

Kara hauled the old couch upon her back and readied for her flight into Metropolis. “Now, Kara, be careful, we don’t want anyone to see your approach into the city.” Clark urged. “What am I a pack mule?” Kara complained. “Why not just rent a U-Haul truck like everyone else does?”

“Kara, super whining is not one of our abilities.” Clark gave her a good-natured taunt. “Besides, a truck costs more money than just moving it ourselves.” Kara snorted. “If you could fly, it would take us half the time.” Clark flashed her a lopsided grin. “I’m paying you, aren’t I?” He retorted.

Kara nodded. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” She repositioned the couch and flew out of the barn and up into the still foggy and damp skies of first light. The reddish sun was just now peeking above the horizon. The super girl darted above the wavy corn stalks and out towards Metropolis, taking extra care to avoid the more populated highways of Smallville.

She zipped along, when a noise attracted her super sensitive hearing. It was a farm tractor, just turning off a dusty old access road and onto a secondary two lane highway. Kara sped right in front of it! The farmer saw what he thought was a flying couch! “Oh Sweet Jesus!” He exclaimed, as he veered off of the highway briefly, before regaining control of the equipment. “I need to get more sleep!” He added.

Oops! Kara thought silently. I knew this wasn’t a good idea! Thankfully, the rest of the trip into Metropolis wasn’t eventful. Meanwhile, Clark had hyper sped his bed, mattress, and a few boxes over to the condo apartment. Kara waited patiently, seated on the couch atop the condo building roof.

By now, the sun had risen, taking on its usual golden appearance. “It’s about time.” Kara needled. Clark ignored her, as he set the bed, mattress, and boxes down, after vaulting to the roof from the alleyway. He unlocked the rooftop door, and promptly stuck the items into the hallway leading to his condo.

After hurriedly placing the furniture into the apartment, it was time for Clark to pay Kara and get ready for work. She flew off, promising to go straight back to the farm...which of course, she didn’t. The impetuous teen decided to nose around Metropolis for awhile, taking in the scenery.

That’s when the bank alarm went off...

more on the way

[Jodz]

Really enjoying this story! Hope you update soon!

[gem65]

Really enjoying this story! Hope you update soon!

I agree. I love how detailed your story is without being overwhelmed by it. Keep up the good work.

[gardy1]

Courage Under Fire

Metropolis, 2010 Chapter 6: Courage Under Fire

PG-13 – A little bloody

Scene: AM - Daily Planet

Clark had just gotten settled at his new desk, when Lois trotted towards him across the newsroom floor. “Don’t get comfortable, Clark!” She said excitedly. “We have an attempted bank robbery at Third and Elm. That’s the second one this week. Heels up in five, Smallville!”

Lois vaulted over a pile of research files, landing clumsily in her cubicle’s seat. The young reporter’s fingers flew over her laptop keyboard. “Just need to get the prelim…” Lois muttered as Clark watched her with fascination.

“Here’s the background info…” Lois began. “I knew it!” She slid her chair to one side to face Clark. “Check this out, Smallville.” He got up, and leaned in over her shoulder. Clark ignored the fact that Lois’s heart started beating faster the closer he got to her, dismissing it as overexcitement about the story.

“Bruno Manheim had just been released from prison.” She informed him. “What? That’s ridiculous!” Clark nearly shouted. “Wasn’t he up on a Murder One charge?” Lois nodded. “Welcome to the real world of justice, Smallville. They should really call it injustice! His attorneys claimed on appeal that the investigation was done improperly.”

Clark scowled. “You’re saying that Manheim is out on a technicality?” Lois’s expression was somber. “Exactly! This stinks to high heaven of judicial cover up. Manheim or one of his gang must have something on the judges. There’s still another appeal pending.”

“Anyway,” Lois continued. “It turns out that Manheim and his cronies have accounts in banks all over Metropolis. I thought the Feds seized all of their ‘funny money’, but I guess they had some legit accounts from businesses that were legal. Money laundering at its finest.” She concluded.

“Let me guess…every bank that’s been robbed had held a Manheim account?” Clark grimaced. “Yes! I’ll make a star reporter out of you yet.” She teased. “It’s an inside job!” He added. “On the nose, Smallville!” Lois snickered as she playfully pointed to his nose.

“Let’s roll!” Lois urged as she grabbed her notepad, pen, and Raspberry PDA. She hustled towards the elevator with Clark at her heel. “I can’t believe this, Clark!” Lois rambled. “Manheim beats Jimmy’s ass, puts a bullet hole in you, runs funny money, probably killed his way to the top of the Outfit, and ruined the stunning debut of Stiletto, I might add.” Lois said quietly.

“Now he’s out on a technicality!” Lois hopped into the elevator as the doors swished open. “Clark, sometimes it feels like there is no justice.” He silently considered her words, and wondered if Oliver had a point. Sometimes regular justice just isn’t enough.

Meanwhile, Kara had run into some problems of her own. The bank alarm had gone off just as she walked past. The alarm was supposed to be silent, but that was only to the human ear. She’d glanced in the front plate glass window of the bank, and sure enough, there were three robbers.

One held the bank guard at gunpoint, while the other two raided cashier after cashier’s money drawers. All wore hideous Halloween masks, which completely covered their faces. Kara used her super speed to zip through the revolving doors, and into the bank lobby.

The alien teen zigzagged through the lobby, scorching the carpeting with her pace, and zeroed in on the hostage-holding gunman. In the blink of an eye, Kara grabbed his sawed off shotgun, which fired off a round into the ceiling, and shoved the guard out of the way, behind a customer service counter.

Kara unceremoniously tossed the gunman backwards through the plate glass window, where he lay motionless, and bleeding. She sped towards the robbers near the cashiers. Kara decked the first guy with a vicious left cross. His jaw broke as he sailed across the lobby and into a nearby display case, separating him from his pistol, which spun slowly in the air.

She attacked who she thought was the final robber, knocking him out with a solid right hook to the jaw. He soared upward, and flipped over the cashier’s counter, landing sprawled out upside down against the wall. Kara’s sensitive hearing picked up another noise ahead of her.

The alien beauty dashed through the open door of the back room, where she spied another robber, busily removing money from the bank vault. He’d tied up two more guards, and a bank manager, who sat motionless against the rear of the vault. They’d been beaten up, but were alive.

Kara approached the thief, but suddenly felt her speed begin to slow. She was visible! The thug glanced at her. Kara tripped over a bank vault lock box, and her speed was down to a crawl. He fired his weapon at her…

Kara, for the first time since her stint in the Phantom Zone, felt a burning pain as the bullets grazed her shoulder, and neck. The super girl winced as the warm blood oozed from the wounds and ran down her thin arm. A still open bag of money nearby glowed green.

Kara screeched as the pain made her eyes water. This time the tears were warm and salty just like a human’s. She tumbled forward, as the dizziness from the injuries and the kryptonite-laced bills began to take their toll. Kara would be helpless in another moment or two.

Clark and Lois’s cab had just pulled up beyond the yellow police taped barriers. “Officer Reyes! What have we got?” She yelled, before Clark had even paid the cabbie, Lois was on the scene. “Lane? Get out of here!” Alejandra Reyes scowled as she spoke.

“Give me a break, Ale’!” Lois pleaded. “What’s going on in there?” Clark heard Kara’s shriek, but at the time didn’t know that it was his errant young cousin. “Fine, Lane!” Officer Reyes said. “We have an armed robbery gone bad, and a possible hostage situation. Three gunmen are down, as well as a bank guard, but more are holed up inside.” She returned her attention to the melee.

Lois hurriedly wrote down the officer’s description. Clark spun away as she continued writing. When Lois glanced up from her notepad, he was gone. “This is big, Clark!” She began excitedly. No one heard her. “Smallville?” She grimaced, looking around the area. “Now what?”

Clark zipped into the alley, glanced around, and vaulted onto the bank’s rooftop, before the police had had a chance to position a sniper on any roof, or call in for a helicopter. He tore a hole through the ceiling of some third floor offices, and landed with a thud on an old wooden floor. “Uh oh!” He remarked as a cleaning person dropped his mop and gasped.

“Madre de Dios!” The frightened janitor yelled. Clark pointed to the ceiling. “Weak roof tiles!” He ran at a lower speed out into the corridor, before switching to hyper speed, once he was out of sight. Clark sped down the staircase, and entered the first floor through a back office.

So far so good, he thought, as he cautiously followed the access way towards the back of the bank vault. Clark began to feel nauseous. “No!” He gasped, as he forced his x-ray vision to peer through the open vault’s super thick walls. He spotted Kara lying on the floor in blood.

A gunman was about to cap her off for good, as he aimed the large revolver at Kara’s head. “I don’t know how you got in here, sweetie, but you ain’t getting out.” The thief was Bruno Manheim! Clark struggled to keep his balance, as he pounded the safe wall with his fist.

The wall cracked, sending plaster to the floor, but Clark hadn’t yet been able to punch a hole through it. He fell to one knee, as he pounded the wall again. This time, he was able to make a slight hole in the steel lined vault, but it wouldn’t be enough.

“The hell was that?” Manheim glanced behind him briefly, as the room shook. Kara took that moment to stand up and face her assailant straight on. She wobbled to one side, taking a defiant step in his direction. Manheim returned his attention to her and fired a round.

Kara felt herself falling as she blacked out. Someone had shoved her out of the way. Clark finally tore a hole in the back of the safe. But all that did was move him closer to the kryptonite-laced currency. He fell forward into the vault, his face impacting a fallen shelf. Clark glanced up from the floor and saw a black and gold blur.

“What the hell are you?” Manheim asked just before a vicious roundhouse kick to his jaw knocked him out cold. “I’m Gold Wing!” The teen super hero sneered as she picked up Kara, and tossed the prone super girl over her shoulder.

Interested in Laura Lake / Gold Wing's origin story? Here's the link:

http://www.kryptonsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112099&page=2

“What?” Clark coughed as the kryptonite began to cut off his oxygen. “Kent! Don’t you always tell me to have a back up plan?” Gold Wing chastised him. “Come on!” Laura Lake, alias Gold Wing, grabbed Clark with her free hand and super sped them back the way they’d come.

The problem was that now the police had trapped them. The snipers had good shot angles, and the police helicopter had arrived. It circled overhead, and a voice boomed from the loudspeaker. “This is the Metropolis Police Department, put down your weapons, and lie down on the rooftop. We won’t ask again.” Laura scowled. “Terrific. What weapons?”

Laura carefully placed Kara and Clark on the tiled roof. The morning sun began to heal them quickly, but Kara had still lost a lot of blood – Kryptonian blood.

more on the way...

[gardy1]

Sharing the Limelight

Chapter 7 - Sharing the Limelight

Down on the street, Lois was becoming frantic. “What happened?” She physically grabbed Detective Dan Turpin by the trench coat sleeve. “We still don’t know, Lane. The Sarge says that they have some suspects trapped on the roof, hence the snipers and chopper.”

“My best friend, Clark Kent is missing!” Lois was unusually upset. “Kent? Was he in the bank?” Turpin questioned. “No, but…” Lois considered what would come next. “You know, he has a fool hero’s complex!” Turpin grumbled. “I hope he didn’t do anything stupid!”

Lois sighed. “He probably did.” She stared longingly at the rooftop, watching the helicopter circle lower and lower towards the bank. “We’re going in!” Turpin announced. “Crap!” Lois remarked.

The SWAT squad stormed the three bank entrances simultaneously. They quickly herded the bank employees and customers to one side, and locked them up safely in a conference room. The robbers were escorted to the black SWAT van, in no position to put up a fight.

The police searched the bank room-by-room, and floor-by-floor, eventually locating the janitor, and dragged him aside for questioning. Turpin had handcuffed Manheim, and shoved the still groggy thug ahead into the custody of the arresting officers.

“Good job, Bruno.” Turpin needled. “You just made the next judges’ decision that much easier. This time, you won’t be getting out on good behavior or a technicality.” Lois had wormed her way closer to the crime scene. She watched as the police made Manheim do the perp walk.

“You!” Manheim cursed as he made eye contact with Lois. “Me? What?” She snarled. Turpin cast her a sidelong glance. “You know Manheim?” He questioned. Lois gulped. “Not personally, no.” She lied convincingly, as the helicopter landed on a roof across from the bank.

Clark was sitting up, and Kara’s eyes were open, but she wasn’t in a hurry to move. Laura Lake stood, arms crossed impatiently, as the police finally reached them. “Thanks, Laura.” Clark said as quietly as he could. “Kara? Are you okay?” He asked his little cousin worriedly.

“No.” Kara croaked. She still hadn’t sat up. It would take the sun a little longer to heal her, due to the extent of her injuries. “Freeze!” Officer Reyes ordered. “That’s original.” Laura sniped as she stared daringly at the barrel of the policewoman’s gun. “What are you supposed to be?”

Laura sighed with annoyance. “Gold Wing!” She snarled at Reyes. “These two are innocent bystanders. You already have the criminals in custody.” The teen super hero explained. “Says you.” Reyes challenged as she finally noted the rapidly drying blood on Kara’s white T-shirt. “Is she alright?” The officer shuddered as Kara’s breathing returned to normal.

“I’m fine. It was just a scratch.” The alien super girl lied as she sat up. Another officer joined them. “What were you all doing here?” He began. Clark hadn’t had a chance to come up with his usual convincing fib. All of them talked at once.

“You see, I was coming into the bank to open an account…” Kara’s higher pitched voice won out. “I was covering the hostage standoff for the Daily Planet…” Clark whipped out his newspaper ID. “I’m a super hero in town to do some shopping…” Laura put in. “Wait! Shut it!” Reyes barked. “You’re all going down to the station to explain.”

“Fine! You’re going to tell my editor why my story isn’t ready for the afternoon printing.” Clark argued, as the girls chimed in. “I’m new to this city! Is this how you run the police department?” Laura interrupted him. “It’s a good thing that I showed up when I did.” Kara continued. “I’m certainly not putting any of my money in this bank, or this city for that matter.”

Reyes and the other officers stood around scratching their heads. Turpin finally got a chance to talk to the officers on the roof by walkie-talkie. “Is Kent up there?” He growled. Reyes turned her head for a moment. “Ready to go?” Laura urged. “Yeah! Definitely!” Kara smirked, feeling better, but a bit embarrassed.

In the blink of an eye all three superheroes were gone. Clark had dashed down the fire escape, with Laura at his heel, and Kara had felt good enough to fly off towards Smallville. The janitor had been staring aimlessly out the bank window, as Kara soared by. “Madre de Dios!”

“Quiet!” An officer waiting to question him, said. He picked up a cell phone and called Detective Turpin. Laura and Clark sped across the bank parking lot. “Kara’s blood!” He suddenly exclaimed, skidding to a halt. “Yeah? About that?” Laura had no idea what the problem was.

“We can’t let the police crime scene investigators get any of it.” Clark patiently informed her. “They’ll run tests on it, and needless to say, will find some anomalies.” Laura shrugged. “Don’t worry about it, Clark. I’ll just zip back and clean it up.” She offered.

“Thanks Laura, but I might have a different plan.” Clark’s eyebrows rose. “Are you sure that you want to share the spotlight?” Laura teased. “I don’t mind at all.” He flashed her his famous farm boy smile. “Okay, but that’s two that K Girl owes me, and one that you do.” She chuckled.

“Done.” Clark and Laura bumped fists, sending a noisy shockwave through the air. Back in front of the bank, Lois was tripping over the other reporters’ feet trying to get in line for a statement that Turpin was about to give. The helicopter once again took off, encircling the area.

“Was that thunder?” He asked as he looked to the sky. Turpin thought he saw something flying into a lowering cloudbank. Hmm, must’ve been a bird, he mused. Suddenly, the walkie-talkie crackled to life. “What? How could you lose them?” Turpin forgot to lower his voice.

“Lose who?” Lois picked up on the phrase, as she separated herself from the crowd. “Never mind, Lane!” Turpin hissed. “Did you ever find Kent?” Lois shook her head sullenly. “Nope. You don’t think he’s… you know…I mean he’s not picking up his cell.” She replied. “He’s still missing.”

Lois tried his number again. The phone rang behind her. “What the?” She spied Clark winding his way through the crowd. “Who’s missing?” Clark asked innocently. Lois hugged him, and then cursed vehemently. “Where the hell were you? You missed the whole…” Her rant was cutoff by the sound of murmurs and snapping cameras.

“I went to pick up a camera!” Clark lied, though he really felt bad about it. He showed her the recent purchase. It was a nice telephoto job, like the one Jimmy had. “A camera for what?” Lois barked. “There’s nothing to take pictures of except…”

“Except that?” Clark quickly snapped still photos of Gold Wing as she walked into the center of the police blockade. Lois whirled and gasped. “Holy crap!” Laura strutted confidently up to Clark, milking her part. “Hello citizens of Metropolis.” She began grandly.

“Not another one!” Turpin growled. “These capes are gonna be the death of me.” Laura spun to face him. “I don’t need a cape, Detective.” Clark continued to snap pictures of her in full Gold Wing regalia. “I’m not from Metropolis, but today, Mr. Kent and I, working with Metropolis’s fine police force, have apprehended the serial bank robbers and saved a number of lives.”

Instantly, the reporters flocked to Laura, squeezing Lois and Clark together. Laura was quite a sight in her black leather midriff bearing outfit, glossy black high-heeled boots, bright golden yellow, cropped t-shirt, and tacky gold Mardi gras style mask.

Her raven black long curled hair waved in the wind, as the trademark golden blonde hair strands framed her thin face. Lois noted the black powder burns on Laura’s t-shirt. She’d taken two direct bullet hits to her chest without effect. The reporters began their grilling as Clark shoved his way out of the fray.

Lois, predictably, locked her concentration on Laura. “What are you called?” She hollered over the other reporters’ questions. “Gold Wing.” Laura relished being the center of attention for a change. Back in her high school in Falcon Claw, Nebraska, she’d been a faceless nobody.

“Do you know the Red Blue Blur?” Another reporter called out, scooping poor Lois. “Intimately.” Laura smiled brightly, posing for more pictures. Lois’s heart sank. “Are you his girlfriend?” A second reporter called out. “Let’s just say we’re more than friends.” Laura was really enjoying herself now.

Clark had zipped past everyone and waited in the shadows at a safe distance from the kryptonite-laced money. After the police had removed it all, he grabbed the vial of Kara’s blood from the evidence technician’s kit, and pocketed it. When the ET’s back was turned, he blew the bloodstains dry. That about covers it, he thought sourly, and zipped back into the street.

The crowd was being dispersed by the MPD and Lois was forced to move on. Laura had vanished after giving the press her statements, much to the objection of the MPD. Clark nonchalantly walked up to Lois, and began going through the Gold Wing pictures. “So, the Red Blue Blur has some competition.” He began to make casual conversation.

“Not only that, Smallville, but she’s his girlfriend, or main squeeze, or whatever!” Lois’s jealousy was unhindered. “What?” Clark reddened. Lois stopped to face him. “What did she mean, I worked with Mr. Kent, and the Metropolis Police Department?”

Clark hadn’t thought the ruse that far through. “Oh, I began investigating the alley behind the bank, and at first didn’t find anything unusual. I turned around, and Gold Wing was there.” He compounded his lies, feeling worse by the minute.

“She didn’t want to reveal herself, but still wanted to do the right thing.” He continued the fantasy. “It’s all right here in our report.” Clark smirked as he handed Lois a few pages of neatly scrawled quotes and comments. Lois’s jaw dropped as she briefly perused the statement.

“Gold Wing gave you an exclusive interview?” Lois gasped as her heart raced. “I wouldn’t call it an interview, Lois. I mean she was in a hurry you know…bank robbery, lives at stake, you get the picture.” Clark downplayed the incident. It was no use making Lois feel worse than she already did. Lois gulped, narrowing her eyes at him.

“It’s not bad, Smallville. The article’s a little rough, though.” Lois gave him a backhanded compliment. “I mean for your first front page story, it’s a bit thin.” Clark smirked. “That’s why I’m calling it our story…” Lois smiled broadly. “You mean as in a shared byline?”

“Exactly.” Clark grinned. “Maybe you can punch it up a bit.” Lois began walking again, as she read through the story more carefully. “I’ll give it a little sass.” She joked confidently. “This is great, Clark.” He smiled thinly. “Hey, we’re a team, right?”

“That’s right, I can see it now, Lois Lane and Clark Kent, ace reporters for the Daily Planet.” She added with playful arrogance. “Please tell me that you got Gold Wing’s phone number? E mail? Forwarding address?” Lois asked half-seriously.

“Sorry Lois, none of the above.” Clark rolled his eyes. “I get the feeling that she’s not from around here.” He commented. “You mean she could be an alien from another planet?” Lois laughed, as Clark was suddenly struck silent.

“Uh…don’t be silly, Lois.” Clark swallowed hard. “What makes you think that there are aliens here on Earth?” She snickered. “After everything we’ve seen in Smallville, would it really be that much of a stretch?” Clark flashed her a lopsided grin. “I suppose you’re right.”

“Of course I am.” Lois smiled and took his hand. “Don’t you forget it.”

more...

[gem65]

This is really interesting. I'm looking forward to the next update.

[gardy1]

Tracking the Red Blue Blur

Chapter 8: Tracking the Red Blue Blur

Metropolis 2010 seems to be shaping up as an episodic story, enjoy! Guest starring:I bet that you can guess!

New Scene: A small, well lit room, roughly the size of a good walk in closet, or guest bedroom. A man about twenty eight or so, with cropped black hair, a square jaw, and violet blue eyes peers at a series of flat screen monitors hanging on the wall in front of him. He sits behind a high tech looking desk.

Though small in size, the desk top pops up and presents him with a myriad of buttons, switches, and lighted dials. He steeples his large hands in front of his face, resting his elbows on the desk. He appears to be studying the view screen displays, seven in all.

The images on the monitors are familiar. They are marked Impulse, Aquaman, Arrow, Cyborg, Canary, Boy Scout, and Watchtower. The five young men and two women fascinate the observer. What exactly do they have in common? He wonders silently. Suddenly, his nearby laptop beeps, garnering his full attention. “Are you on a secure line?” The man asks the Internet connected image.

“As always, Master Bruce.” An elderly white haired gentleman responds. “I’m patching you in.” Bruce informs him. “Are we looking for a new social networking site, Master Bruce?” The gentleman exercises his dry British wit. “In a manner of speaking, Alfred.” Bruce smirks.

“The first five profiles seem to have come out of nowhere.” Bruce analyzed. “I’ve run them through some of the top of the line WayneCo Tech computer systems, and keep coming up empty.” Alfred studies the monitor images at a distance, as a flurry of squeaking bats fly past in the dark background behind him.

“Perhaps you should try Facebook?” Alfred quips. “For some reason, I don’t think we’re going to catch them there.” Bruce says, chuckling. “They appear to have no past at all, or obviously someone has wiped their existence clean.” He states, all business again. “Part of a government conspiracy?” Alfred suggests, half seriously. “No, this group seems to be organized and well financed.” Bruce replies.

“True, that would be the opposite of our beloved U.S. Government.” Alfred remarks cynically. “You said the first five profiles are without prior substance, sir? What about the remaining two, this Boy Scout and Watchtower?” Bruce removed the five images, replacing them with the two larger ones.

“Boy Scout and Watchtower, known as Clark Kent and Chloe Sullivan have a long string of public incidents, dating back to 2001.” Bruce continued. “I cross referenced our WayneCo database with all known American media. I narrowed the search down to the Midwest, and pared it down to Kansas, specifically Smallville.”

“Indeed?” Alfred’s expression led one to believe that he was growing bored with the high tech explanation. “Yes Alfred, Smallville. I couldn’t make that name up.” Bruce’s lips turned upward into a playful sneer. “It’s not far from Metropolis, arguably the largest city in flyover country.”

“Dare I ask how you came to be privy to this information?” Alfred probed, his curiosity rekindled. “Our network captured a signal piggybacking on a routine scan.” Bruce explained as Alfred’s expression was mixed. “Is that so?” One eyebrow popped up. Bruce caught himself overanalyzing the situation.

“Sorry my friend, I didn’t mean to talk over your head.” Bruce said warmly. “Think of it this way: our spy satellite caught their satellite spying on our satellite. Better?” He asked hopefully. “As clear as mud sir.” Alfred quipped. “It sounds like a mirror reflecting against another mirror.”

Bruce smiled. “Essentially, yes. Very good Alfred.” The elderly British nobleman smiled thankfully. “Dealing with the youngsters on a daily basis seems to be rubbing off on me. One can hardly let a day pass without picking up some of their lingo.” Alfred spoke wistfully. “Have either Dick or Barbara checked in yet today?” Bruce queried. “No sir. Perhaps if we Twitter them?” Alfred joked.

Bruce laughed. “I would if I thought it would do any good.” Alfred shrugged. “If I may sir, the teens are about to experience their first so called Spring Break. Maybe we can arrange something educational for them to do?” Bruce nodded. “I was considering letting them clean the Bat Cave.” He grinned thinly.

“That hardly smacks of fun and learning, does it, Master Bruce?” Alfred countered, trying vainly to get his ideas across. “Well, I don’t see Dick and Barbara as the alcohol binging, sun, sand, and surf types, Alfred.” As usual, Bruce had missed the point. “Nor do I, sir. I was thinking of something a bit more subtle...like experiencing a working farm in the American heartland.” Alfred waited patiently for a response.

Bruce smiled, as he finally got it. “You mean, like a week in Smallville and Metropolis?” Alfred grinned broadly. “Exactly, sir.” As if on cue, two distinct beeps interrupted their conversation. Bruce switched the two pictures of Clark and Chloe, for Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon’s. “Speak of the devils.” Alfred commented saucily.

“Hi Bruce,” Barbara cooed. She still hadn’t quite gotten over her schoolgirl crush on Bruce. The nineteen year old co-ed flipped her long reddish blonde hair out of her eyes, so she could see him clearer. “Hey Bruce, how’s it going?” Eighteen year old Dick’s tousled black hair blew in the wind. He was still on Gotham State University’s campus. His favorite metallic red motorcycle purred nearby.

“Barbara, Dick, how was school this semester?” Bruce began his interrogation. “Meaning how did we do on our trimester final exams?” Barbara blurted out. “Well?” Bruce encouraged. “I aced them.” She shamelessly boasted. “All of them?” Bruce, playing detective, grilled her. “Uh...well...all except one. I got a C in a class...but it didn’t drag down my grade point average much.”

Bruce feigned a scowl. “Uh...huh, and?” Barbara shifted uneasily, averting her eyes briefly. “It’s not all that important...I mean...in the grand scheme of things.” She hedged. “Out with it.” Bruce pretended to be growing angry. “I blew Sex Ed and Hygiene.” Barbara reddened as Dick laughed raucously.

Alfred’s eyes widened. “My word!” Bruce struggled to maintain a stern face. “Should I ask why?” He probed. “I don’t know. I guess my mind sort of wandered. I didn’t study hard enough. I sort of blew it off.” Barbara glowered as Dick continued to snicker. “Shut it, bird brain!” She hissed.

“Dick? How did you do?” Bruce challenged, sparing Barbara any further embarrassment. “I aced everything...truth be told...except, um....Home Economics and Culinary Studies.” Dick grumbled as Alfred sighed. “With the way you eat you should be an expert by now.” Barb tossed in the dig. No argument there, Bruce silently agreed.

“Anyway, I pulled a B in one and C in the other.” Dick admitted. “If you apply yourselves next semester, you should be able to pull your GPAs up.” Bruce gave them the standard lecture, Alfred added his own brief speech, as the teens listened intensely.

“Now then, have you two decided what you’ll do with your free time on Spring Break?” Bruce prepared to drop the bomb on them. “I guess I sort of figured that we’d hang out with you.” Barb began warily. “I have another plan in mind. How do you two feel about agricultural studies?” Bruce smirked.

Naturally he was met with two blank stares. Alfred chuckled, highly unusual for his stoically reserved manner. “No objections?” Bruce toyed with them. “Great. Let’s get started.”

Back in Smallville, a different type of faux family meeting was taking place. Clark had returned to the Kent Farm to check on Kara. He was met only with an excited bark from Shelby/Krypto. Clark fed the cheerful dog, and searched the house with his x-ray vision. Kara wasn’t in sight.

Clark was about to call his precocious cousin on her cell, when his sensitive hearing picked up the drone of a solitary motorcycle approaching the farm. “Kara?” He called into the empty house. “Yes?” his cousin’s voice seemed to be more in his head than at a distance. Kara was using telepathy!

“Yes what?” Laura Lake asked. She’d zipped home to Falcon Claw to retrieve her father’s refurbished Gold Wing motorcycle, from which she’d derived her alter ego’s name, more as a salute to her late parents than anything. She’d taken Kara riding throughout the farm fields.

“Huh?” Kara snapped back to reality. “You said yes.” Laura repeated. “Yes to what?” Kara shifted more comfortably on the back of the cycle. “Oh, I was just answering Clark. He’s looking for me.” Kara’s voice seemed to belie some distraction. “Uh huh.” Laura frowned. “It’s that Kryptonian thing again, right?” She asked as she sped onto the gravelly access road leading to the farmhouse.

“Something like that.” Kara replied, simply thankful to have a friend nearby. Laura slowed the cycle to a crawl as she parked next to the farmhouse amid more excited barks from Shelby/Krypto. Clark met them on the front porch, slurping on a straw within a large glass of iced tea. “What were you girls up to?” He asked casually.

“Oh about sixty five miles per hour.” Laura snapped off the smart remark, as she shut off the decades old motorcycle. Kara smirked as she dismounted. “How come you’re not in the big city with Lo La?” Laura sniped playfully. “The urban lifestyle too hectic for you?” The girls headed up the stairs to Clark’s side.

“No. I guess I’m still getting acclimated to it.” Clark responded honestly. “It’s a big change for me, for all of us.” Laura nodded as she leaned flirtatiously on his shoulder. “You can take the boy out of the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the boy?” She smiled brightly as Kara seated herself on the swing.

“Sounds about right, Laura.” Clark admitted, noting that the old sparkle had returned to his friend’s eyes. He guessed that Laura still hadn’t gotten over her crush on him, despite Lois, and all that had happened. The three friends spent a relaxing evening chatting on the porch and eventually ordered a pizza.

The teen alien beauty was uncharacteristically silent. “Kara, don’t be upset about the bank robbery scene gone bad. Those situations are always volatile. Even the experts screw up occasionally.” Laura attempted to relieve Kara’s blues. “I know, but at least I was able to save the people...well most of them.” She sighed. They’d gotten the bad news that the first bank guard had died from his injuries.

“Kara, this is very important...” Clark began. “We can’t always save everyone. I learned that some time ago, and I’m still learning how to deal to this day.” Laura grinned. “Well said, Clark.” She agreed, adding, “The important thing is that we try.”

more in chapter 9

[gardy1]

Caught in the Crossfire

Caught in the Crossfire It's a bit gritty, PG-13 for violence.

Chapter 9 Caught in the Crossfire

Sunday night, Lois decided to stay home and catch up on her reading. Clark hadn’t offered to take her to dinner. No surprise there, she mentally groused. Of course, there was no food left in her condo, since she’d forgotten to stop at the grocery store on Friday after work.

To tame her grumbling stomach, Lois ventured out into the damp foggy Metropolis night. There has to be something open in the heart of this city, she thought, carefully checking the street before crossing. It would be hard to see someone in this pea soup fog drifting up from Metropolis Bay.

Down the block, Lois heard some male voices arguing. There was no traffic around, so she assumed that the men were walking. She hurried across the street, passing by a filthy, dimly lit alley, which reeked. Wrinkling her nose she continued on. A pair of gunshots rang out. Lois was down! Car tires squealed, and heavy footsteps clattered along the sidewalk.

“Bro’ I told you we shouldn’t cross Fifteenth avenue!” An olive skinned boy about nineteen yelled as he ran alongside his friend. “How was I to know that the Carlton Street Devils would be out?” A light skinned boy retorted. “It’s their turf, idiot! We be outta our hood.”

“Hey I was just tryin’ to sell our weed, man!” The first boy complained. “You know I owe Victor big time!” The second boy cursed vehemently. “We run smack right into Sancho and his pals! We’re lucky that he didn’t pop a cap in each of us!”

“What’s that?” The first boy noticed a prone form near the alley. “I don’t know! It looks like some broad passed out, bro’.” They approached Lois, who lay motionless, her head leaning against a damaged wooden crate. “Is she dead?” The second boy asked.

“See if she got any money on her, Rocko.” The second boy complied, first kicking Lois lightly in the ribs, then frisking her, and coming up with a small wallet. “Yeah, Beto, she’s alive and has a couple of twenties. Probably some junkie that OD ‘d on some bad weed.”

“Yuk!” Beto yelled. “The broad’s bleeding!” He wiped the blood soaked hands on his pants. “Aw man! That ain’t cool! I bet Sancho hit her with a cap.” Lois had a slight trickle of blood leading from the side of her head, down her shoulder, and onto the pavement.

“Let’s blow, man! Before the cops catch us!” Rocko backed away. “That ain’t cool, bro’, I mean what if she was your sister?” Beto argued. “Not my problem, dude. I’m not going up for Murder One. Right now, all we got is possession on our records.”

“She got a cell phone on her?” Rocko asked. “I ain’t touchin’ her again!” Beto retorted, as he backed away as well. “The cops will slap me with Murder One if they find any DNA, dude!” Four people came at the gang bangers from the opposite direction.

Always a Bigger Fish:

“What have you boys got there?” A gruff male voice asked. “Nothin’ man! Mind your own business before I pull out my piece!” Rocko faced the group. Two females and another male joined the first just under the foggy glow of the streetlight.

“Pounce! Check them out!” The burly male ordered. A slim Asian looking girl about nineteen, wearing a leopard print blouse, gray kakis, and a cheesy black mask, quickly stepped in between the boys. Rocko was reaching for his small gun, when Pounce decked him with a swift karate chop to the throat. Beto was about to run for it, when the second male blocked his way.

Rocko coughed, and rolled on the ground. “Stacker, explain it to him.” The burly dark haired man said. “Sure thing, Enforcer.” The thug called Stacker physically picked up Beto, and shook him severely. The drug dealer’s twenty-four inch bike chain, Lois’s wallet, and the money all filtered down onto the alleyway.

The second girl, a petite redhead, vaulted over a garbage can to investigate. “It says the broad is Lois Lane.” She announced. “She’s got a press pass for the Daily Planet.” The thug called Enforcer glowered at the delinquents. “Great job punks, you whacked a minor celebrity.” He grumbled. “This is going to cost you big time.”

“What you be talkin’ about?” Beto shuddered as Stacker tossed him against a building. “Ow!” He felt his shoulder nearly separate. “I’m sayin’ that you and your little punk gang are going to have to start paying a protection fee.” Enforcer informed them. “These streets belong to Intergang.”

“Intergang? Never heard of you.” Rocko complained, sitting up, as Pounce began to stalk him again. “You will, brat!” The petite redhead shouted. “We’re just getting started.” Pounce hissed at Beto as she approached him. “You tell him, Blaze!” She encouraged.

“For now, we’ll only take your weed, and the money.” Enforcer instructed in a deadly tone. “Now get out of here, and spread the word. We’ll be collecting starting next week. We know all about you low level punks. We know where you sell, who your friends are, and where your families live. You’d better get used to the Intergang way.”

Beto and Rocko handed over their drugs and money and ran as fast as they could into the dark, foggy night. “Not much of a haul.” Stacker complained. “It’s a start.” Enforcer agreed. “What do we do with Lane?” Blaze inquired, quickly lighting a match and waving it above Lois’s body.

“You can’t just burn her!” Pounce reminded them. “She’s too well known. We’re not ready to take on that kind of heat.” Enforcer nodded. “Pounce is right.” Stacker scratched his head. “Why don’t we just leave her here?” Blaze circled Lois. “I have a better idea.”

“Lane has got a line into that damned Red Blue Blur, that keeps showing up at our gigs, and interfering.” Blaze continued. “The RBB stopped Jerry Rotten from pulling that Brinks job, and nearly caught Sparks pulling that diamond robbery.”

“I’m listening.” Enforcer said. “Let’s stick Lane in a train heading out of town, maybe to Wonder Falls. That’s about an eight to ten hour ride.” Blaze began. “We’ll call the Daily Planet, and tell them that we have Lane held for ransom. They have to drop off a hundred grand in unmarked bills at a specific location, or Lane gets a bullet in her head.”

“Ooh! I like it.” Pounce snickered. “We have someone from the Planet do the drop on a train heading back into Metropolis. No cops or we whack Lane. Then we’ll tell them where to pick her up.” Blaze formulated the plan. “Sounds great!” Enforcer agreed.

“Is a hundred grand enough?” Pounce questioned. “It should be.” Blaze considered. “That’s a decent sum easily acquired from a bank or something.” Enforcer grinned evilly. “Let’s do it!” Stacker added his two cents: “What does that have to do with the Red Blue Blur?”

“Don’t you get it?” Blaze continued. “We’ll tell the Planet that in addition to the hundred grand, we want the dreaded RBB to pick up Lane. While he chases down our lead, we have free reign to pull any job we want.” Enforcer snarled. “That’s brilliant, Blaze.”

“What should we hit?” Stacker inquired. “I want that Sturges Diamond Cutters job. We can easily grab a few hundred more grand of ice to go with the kidnapping money.” Blaze offered. “Why not take on four separate jobs at the same time?” Pounce mentioned. “We don’t know how fast this RBB really is. We ought to take full advantage of his absence.”

“Come on, let’s get Lane off the street and into that warehouse on Seventeenth Street near the rail yards.” Enforcer urged. “That warehouse belongs to the Carlton Street Devils. They push their weed straight from the imports section. If something goes wrong, we’re clean, and the Devils take the heat.” Stacker grabbed Lois and tossed her over his shoulder.

“She’s still bleeding like a sieve!” Pounce grumbled. “Let me patch her up real quick, otherwise we’ll have evidence leaking all over the place.” Stacker sat Lois against a large garbage bin. “Did she take a slug?” Enforcer asked after Pounce examined Lois.

“No, she was lucky. The bullet just grazed her. I think she hit her head on the way down.” Pounce replied. “Blaze, do you have that peppermint schnapps flask on you?” The red-haired criminal responded with a yes. “I’ll force some of it into the wound to sterilize it, and ram the rest down her throat.” Pounce continued. “We don’t want her waking up halfway through our plan.”

She wrapped the head wound with a piece of her white T-shirt, tightening it. “Okay Stacker, let’s go before any witnesses show up.” Enforcer directed. They tossed Lois into the backseat of their car, and squealed tires, spinning the vehicle around towards the warehouse district.

By now, Sancho and his gang had returned to their warehouse. They were just coming out when Intergang pulled up. “What luck!” Blaze sneered. “Let’s take them out now, while we have the chance.” Enforcer nodded. “Call Citizen X for back up.”

The Bigger Fish:

In moments, a group of trucks appeared, cutting off Sancho’s Gang’s escape in any direction. A young woman, dressed in black leather from head to toe stepped brazenly out of her black SUV. “Well, Sancho, you haven’t been keeping up with your payments.” She began in a low, rough voice. The Intergang leader was wearing a black hoodie, which covered most of her face.

“Hey, Switchblade, what’s up, mommy?” Sancho’s bronze complexion suddenly went pale. “We’ve been tryin’ to keep up, but the streets ain’t what they used to be. That Red Blue Blur and the other capes have been horning into our territory. The sales have dropped.”

“I understand, Sancho.” Switchblade’s tone was even and menacing. “It’s the economy, stupid. That’s why we’re here. Intergang is much more organized and connected. We don’t have petty rivalries. We’re just one big, happy family.” Switchblade approached Sancho, who shuddered.

They were completely surrounded by Intergang thugs, some brandishing AK-47 s. “All we need is a change in leadership, Sancho.” Switchblade snapped her gloved fingers, and several of her gunmen opened fire, killing Sancho and all of his gang except one.

The last gang-banger fell to his knees, with one bullet in his forearm. “You! What’s your name?” Switchblade hissed. “Reno, Ma’am.” He managed to croak out. “Okay Reno, tell everyone out in the streets that Intergang now owns a full third of Metropolis, and the next two thirds will be ours shortly.” Reno bowed, nearly falling over as the blood splattered on the pavement.

“Yes, Ma’am.” He replied, before fully keeling over. “Boys, clean that up.” Switchblade pointed to the various bodies strewn across the dock. Instantly, about a dozen masked, armed, thugs started dragging bodies into the courtyard, and tossing them into Metropolis Bay.

Amid all the splashes, Switchblade turned to face Enforcer and the others. “What have you clowns planned?” She growled at them. Blaze nervously went into detail about her idea and the distraction for the Red Blue Blur. “I like it, Blaze.” Switchblade probably smiled, but no one could see her face. “See to it, personally.” She snapped her fingers and left with the goons.

more...

[gardy1]

Replicant

Chapter 10 – Replicant

Comment: This ought to blow your mind.

Scene: The Kent Farm

Early Sunday night, Clark and Kara were cleaning up the barn loft. Lois had called a few minutes earlier, but Clark had ignored it. Kara cast him a sideways glance. “Kal, why don’t you answer? I thought that you liked Lois, a lot.” She needled her cousin.

“I know Kara, but Lois and I, we’re like fire and ice. We just don’t mix well.” Clark admitted. “Oh?” Kara smirked. “Don’t you trust her?” Clark gulped. His fast learning cousin had hit it right on the head. “Yeah, I trust her…somewhat. I just don’t want to get involved with anyone right now. Until I can nail this double identity thing down, I can’t risk hurting her.”

“I think you’re chicken.” Kara chuckled. “What?” Clark’s mouth dropped open. “I don’t see you getting involved with anyone.” He countered. “True, but I’m just waiting for the right guy to come along. Still, I’m more interested in locating Kandor. If there’s even a chance that the rumors are true, I have to follow up on it.”

“Dax Ur’s journals, once we have them all, ought to lead us right to the Kandor module.” Kara explained further. “I know for a fact that Jor El and Zor El were working on a way to save our entire civilization, but they ran out of time, thanks to BRAINIAC turning against them.”

“It’s still a shot in the dark.” Clark commented. “Yes, but it’s the only one we have. Can we just go up to the Fortress and see if Jor El left any information on the Kandor project?” Kara half pleaded. “Fine.” Clark sighed. “We’ll take the crystals, and assuming I can get the Fortress up and running, I might just as well start on Jor El’s training.”

“Training? For what?” Kara’s big blue eyes widened. “Jor El claims that I’m supposed to be endowed with the knowledge of the universe in order to save Earth.” Clark repeated the exact phrasing Jor El had last used before the Fortress went dark.

“The knowledge of the universe?” Kara parroted. “Isn’t that a bit much to take on, Kal?” Clark nodded. “I suppose Jor El could more or less download all of Krypton’s knowledge into me somehow, so that I would be the last living link to our parents’ heritage. Unless you want to learn all that?” He hinted as Kara shook her head, her lengthy ponytail swayed in the breeze.

“No, I think that I should concentrate on Kandor. Knowledge is one thing, but our people are just as important, if the experiment had even succeeded.” The bright young alien stated resolutely. “Dax Ur seems to think that Jor El and Zor El had gotten pretty far along with it.”

“Maybe Jor El can tell us more about it.” Clark guessed. “I wouldn’t get my hopes up, though, Kara. Jor El can be more stubborn than a human at times.” Kara nodded as she finished baling the hay for their horses, easily tossing a few bales into the feeder.

“After dinner, we’ll start out, but remember, I have to be at work at the Daily Planet tomorrow morning.” Clark said as he flipped off the barn loft lights. “If someone around here could fly, we’d be there in moments.” Kara taunted good-naturedly.

Clark grinned. “Yes, Kara.” The teen alien beauty shrugged. “You never know until you try.” She teased, and sauntered out of the barn and zipped back into the house to feed Shelby/Krypto. Clark sighed. Kara had a point. I could help more people if I could get there faster. He mused.

Later in the evening, just after sunset, the two super beings prepared to head up to the Fortress near the North Pole. Clark watched as Kara soared up into the clouds. “I really need to get that flying thing nailed down.” He muttered as he sped off towards the Fortress of Solitude, crystals in hand. In minutes, Clark arrived at the darkened Kryptonian stronghold.

Kara sat patiently upon an ice sculpture near the crystal control panel. Her white t-shirt had been singed, leaving a dark and filthy mess on her pristine abdomen. The cold wouldn’t really affect either alien, as long as they were at full strength.

“What happened to you?” Clark glanced at his cousin with a bemused smile. “Oh, I got too close to the Aurora Borealis and got my shirt zapped by some electromagnetic energy.” Kara explained. Clark shook his head. “Be more careful, will you?”

The fortress was still dark. The ice crystals seemed to alternate between white, gray, black, and silver. Clark hoped that meant that the fortress was still operational. “Here goes.” Clark began, and jammed the purplish crystal shard into a slot. The fortress whirred to life.

“Let’s hope Jor El is still on line, so to speak, and that his program hasn’t been corrupted.” He said as he pocketed Kara’s blue crystal, and his pink one. “Jor El? Are you there?” Clark began loudly, though he felt silly doing so. “Kara and I have some questions.”

The murmured voice of Jor El mumbled something that would only be intelligible to a sensitive Kryptonian ear. “Louder, Uncle Jor El.” Kara ordered. “Why have you returned, Kal El?” Jor El’s voice boomed, making Kara cover her ears.

“We have some questions relating to Kandor.” Clark announced. “Kandor is off limits, Kal El. It was a failed experiment.” Jor El responded. Kara’s heart sank as her hope was crushed. “Kara believes that the experiment succeeded. We have some partial information from Dax Ur.”

Jor El went silent. Clark watched Kara as the teen superhero glanced away, obviously upset by this revelation. “Dax Ur was a good friend of mine.” Jor El’s computerized voice sounded almost wistful. “His research on Earth was instrumental in paving the way for your arrival.”

“He paid for that with his life.” Clark snapped at Jor El’s disembodied voice. “Many have sacrificed themselves willingly for your life, Kal El. All honorable Kryptonians would gladly do the same again.” Jor El concluded.

“Why?” Clark retorted. “What was the point of all this carnage?” Jor El took a moment to gather his response. “Because you were chosen to be the repository of the sum of all Krypton’s knowledge. On Earth, you would stand the best chance of survival.”

“I understand that, Jor El.” Clark sighed patiently. “What does this have to do with Kandor?” Again Jor El was silent, as if some information had been erased. “Zor El decided that he would attempt to save Kandor, a smaller population than the main home world of Krypton.”

“Let me guess, Uncle Zor El’s idea was rejected by the Council of Elders.” Clark postulated sourly. “Yes, completely. Dax Ur and I co-opted Zor El’s research and verified that it could actually be possible to miniaturize Kandor into a type of sub-universe.” Jor El confirmed.

Kara’s face brightened. “Dax Ur, Raya, and I took it upon ourselves to design the Kandor capsule and shrink it down to a subatomic level.” Jor El continued. “However, the Council also rejected my pleas, and BRAINIAC agreed with them, thereby dooming both Kandor and Krypton to extinction. I never found out if the experiment succeeded.”

Kara folded her arms. “So we still don’t know one way or the other, Uncle Jor El.” The fortress vibrated, and a full length, life size image of Jor El appeared, shocking both Clark and Kara. “My son, it is good to see you.” Jor El’s image spoke as Clark backed away, and Kara slipped on the ice, falling onto her backside.

“What? How can you see me?” Clark stuttered. Jor El looked very similar to Clark, but with graying hair and grayish white sideburns along his temples, and was quite a bit stockier than Clark. “I can see a computer generated rendition of you, just as you appear today.”

“Are you truly dead, Uncle?” Kara stood back up before asking the question. “I’m not sure, Kara. I also have a rendition of you on your sixteenth birthday. I’m sorry we never got to know each other better.” Jor El simulated walking towards Clark. He could almost feel his father’s presence.

“What I actually am now is a Replicant of Jor El.” The image appeared to put its hands behind its back. “Jor El’s consciousness, his soul, to use common earth terminology, is embodied within this fortress, and by default, embodied in me.”

Jor El’s Replicant raised his arms, and the fortress was bathed in brilliant bluish white light again. “You can control the fortress?” Clark finally bit out. “Yes, to some degree. As long as we have the proper crystals, the fortress can be powered indefinitely. Its energy source is even too complicated for me to explain.” The image admitted.

A chamber suddenly lit up beside Clark. It flashed a pinkish purple light, and finally settled on a lavender color. “What’s that?” Clark stepped just beyond the chamber. “It’s the Chamber of Knowledge, Kal El. Think of it as a high speed download, to use common Earth terms.”

“The knowledge you are required to learn is substantial.” Jor El’s Replicant appeared to be walking in between he and Kara. “Lois Lane?” Jor El’s image suddenly stopped. “Huh?” Clark was immediately suspicious. “How do you know Lois?”

“I don’t.” Jor El’s image said. “But you do. Part of the Chamber of Knowledge technology was based on a system that Zor El and I developed together to read thoughts. It’s like a lie detector, in human terms. You believe you love her, Kal El.” Clark ignored Jor El’s commentary.

Kara gulped. Had her recent encounters with the crystals somehow transferred this thought reading ability to her brain? Clark flashed the Replicant a dirty look, yet didn’t deny its assertion.

“What kind of knowledge is deposited in it?” Clark edged towards the chamber. “All of Krypton’s history, and the sum of all knowledge of the universe that Kryptonian scientists had accumulated.” Jor El responded smoothly, as if he’d been waiting for that question.

“Give it a try, Kal El.” Jor El tempted. “I don’t know. How long does it take?” Clark circled the chamber. “That depends on how much knowledge you wish to accumulate.” Jor El’s answer was predictably vague. The hairs on Kara’s neck began to stand up. Something wasn’t right.

“Kal El, don’t!” Kara shrieked. “What?” Clark turned and the Replicant shoved him into the chamber. At first, Clark’s eyes closed in a painful looking wince. The chamber was flooded with pink, purple, lavender, and red light. Kara lunged for the Replicant, but it simply faded out as her body passed through it.

“Relax Kara, Kal El is fine.” The Replicant reassured her. “The Chamber of Knowledge is an extremely powerful experience, even for a Kryptonian.” Kara growled. “Jor El! Whatever you are, get Kal El out of there immediately, or I swear I’ll tear out every circuit you have!”

“That wouldn’t be wise, young Kara.” Jor El’s Replicant had adopted a decidedly nasty tone. “Besides, Kal El is free to leave it at any time.” Kara rushed over to Clark, and noted that his eyes were glassy, and his motion ceased. “Kal El? Can you hear me?” She yelled as Jor El faded out.

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[gardy1]

Queen's Gambit

Metropolis, 2010 cont’d

Chapter 11 - Queen's Gambit

Scene: Oliver Queen’s Metropolis Penthouse

Oliver slash Green Arrow relaxed on an overpriced leather recliner, a partially empty glass of antique white wine in his hand. He’d tried to call Lois Lane five times today. He’d called twice at her new condo apartment, and three times to her desk at the Daily Planet.

The last time, a very perturbed new Chief Editor, Perry White, had answered. Before Perry could say something he’d regret, Oliver had casually mentioned that he was still part owner of the daily newspaper. “Okay, Mr. Queen, I’ll tell her if I see her, but I’m not her personal secretary.” Perry still managed to grumble a response. Oliver bit his lip, holding back a snicker.

After that, Oliver had tried phoning, Texting, and E mailing Clark. The result had been the same, no answer. Had Lois and Clark skipped away on a romantic tryst? He glowered. It was never that simple with them, he reminded himself. They were probably out chasing a story, he mused.

Finally, Oliver called Chloe at the Isis Foundation slash Watchtower Headquarters. “Chlo’? Ollie. Have you heard from our intrepid reporters, Lois and Clark, today?” He tried unsuccessfully to keep the irritation out of his voice. Chloe put him on the view screen.

“I’m fine, how’re you?” Chloe sniped. “Nice! We have to talk about your attitude, young lady.” Oliver needled. “Sure, Boss. Let’s schedule a meeting in between averting world crises and preventing apocalypses.” Chloe returned the sarcastic barb.

“To answer your original inquiry…” Chloe faked an electronic phone voice. “Press one for chasing rogue Kryptonians, press two for evil madmen taking over the world, and press three for secret societies hell bent on Earth’s destruction…”

“Okay, I get the point.” Oliver rolled his eyes. “Actually, no I haven’t heard from our dynamic duo today, or yesterday for that matter. Lois, I would suspect of going out after work on an all night bender, and crawling home to sleep it off, but not our virtuous Kryptonian farm boy turned eager young reporter.” Chloe slid from computer screen to computer screen.

“Is there anything important going on?” Chloe’s inherent curiosity took over. “Isn’t there always?” Oliver answered her question with one of his own. “We’ve been able to track down some very interesting shipments from LuthorCorp’s high tech wing.” He added.

“Really?” Chloe was intrigued. “Our girl Tess is playing a new game?” Oliver sighed. “No, not this time. My not so fair lady has been keeping her hands clean. We’ve been watching her like the proverbial hawk, or Gold Wing, for that matter.” He quipped.

Chloe smirked. “You’ve had Laura Lake trailing our Mistress of Mayhem?” Oliver chuckled. “Yup. She’s very good for a rookie.” Chloe was still concerned. “Are you sure the newest member of our elite but dysfunctional crime fighting club is up to the task?”

“So far, so good.” Oliver confirmed. “If Tess so much as goes to the ladies’ room, Laura is there to hand her a paper towel.” Chloe snorted. “Ignoring that disturbing imagery, I guess Gold Wing is officially in flight. At least Tess doesn’t know her. That gives Laura the advantage.” Oliver nodded. “That’s the way I read it.”

“Actually Ollie, I’m kind of worried about them.” Chloe admitted. “It’s not like either of them to pull a disappearing act on us. We both know sans Kryptonite, our Clark is indestructible, and we also know that Lois tends to stick her nose into everyone’s business. That could always come back to haunt her. I’ll keep trying all forms of communication.”

“Thanks Chlo’, meanwhile, I should sniff around the Daily Planet and see if our crusaders have been in contact with anyone. Did you try grilling Jimmy?” Oliver hated to ask, but found it necessary. “Yeah, but Jimbo and I seem to be on the outs.” Chloe sighed with disdain. “He just won’t trust me, not that I blame him with all of our cloak and dagger exploits going on.”

“I’m sorry to hear that Chlo’.” Oliver could relate to that. He’d lost Lois and who knows how many other important relationships due to his double life. “I know, part of the game. We all sacrifice for the greater good.” Chloe said cynically.

“Do we know who’s playing the new game yet?” Chloe quickly changed the subject. Oliver was briefly silent as he checked his Queen Industries Raspberry, which had just buzzed. “We’ve tracked the LuthorCorp shipment to Andalujah, a one horse, or in this case, a one camel town. It’s smack in the middle of a downtrodden third world country.”

“Our terrorism wing thinks that someone’s about to go high tech.” Oliver continued. “We hope that all the fancy hardware doesn’t translate to a new black market weapon.” Chloe whistled. “Ouch! When it rains, it pours. Andalujah just made our lovely government’s top twenty failed states that sponsor terrorism list.” She read from an allegedly secret security database.

Oliver was silent again as he ran through some recent E mails. “Nothing from Lois or Clark…” He grumbled. “Great. You know, Chlo’ we need to increase our ranks. Even our top guns can’t keep up with the volume of evildoers that are cropping up all over the world.” He added: “If I could just focus Clark on something…”

“Yeah, good luck with that.” Chloe muttered. “Lana and I have been trying to reign in the super dude since she found out about his abilities. One human trait that both Clark and Kara picked up is stubbornness. This doesn’t even include Jor El’s disembodied ragging on the guy.”

“Here’s a message from Perry.” Oliver announced. “I’ll have to let you go.” Chloe was puzzled. “Perry? As in Perry White?” She asked. “That’s the one.” Oliver replied. “Talk to you soon. Keep me posted. Oliver out.” The screen went blank. “Whatever!” Chloe snapped as she went back to searching for any sign of her missing cousin and Clark.

“Yes Mr. White?” Oliver tried to sound all business-like. “Sorry to bother you Mr. Queen, but…ah…we haven’t heard from Lois Lane or Clark Kent for the last two days. I have to inform Human Resources that they both are no call no shows.” Perry sounded hesitant.

“Let’s backtrack on that a minute.” Oliver began. “Maybe some emergency came up. I can vouch for them.” Perry silenced. “You can vouch for them?” He asked skeptically. “I think that they’re both good kids, but they still seem a bit irresponsible.” Perry added.

“Yes. I agree totally.” Oliver was already forming a plan as he spoke. “I don’t see any need to involve Human Resources at this point. I still hold some sway over the Board of Directors. If I sense that they’re causing some real problems, I’ll take the necessary steps.”

“So for now, you what, you want me to just sit on my hands?” Perry frowned. “No. I think that you should have a talk with them whenever they resurface.” Oliver forced himself not to chuckle. “You can illustrate that they need to be more responsible journalists.”

Perry nodded. “Yeah, well, I can do that. Maybe all they need is a good talking to. My niece, Perrin, is around their age. I love her to death, but she’s about as irresponsible as they come. Sometimes the kids just need to be refocused.”

Oliver smirked. “That they do. Perrin is how old, Mr. White?” Perry was confused. “She just turned nineteen, why?” Oliver was enjoying his role completely. “Is she in college?” Perry’s eyebrows rose. “Alice and I have her enrolled in Metropolis University. Her mother can’t really afford an Ivy League college.”

“There’s a Queen Industries Scholarship for Academic Standards that Perrin could apply for if her current grades are up to it.” Oliver closed in for the kill. It would only take him a minute to print one up on his computer. “Should I send you the paperwork to fill out?”

“Uh…yeah…that will be fine.” Perry was caught off guard. Had his loyalty just been bought? “Now, she still has to keep her grades at an acceptable level.” Oliver tried to make it sound more official. “I understand, Mr. Queen. I’ll stress that to her.” Perry swallowed hard.

“I have a conference call in a few minutes.” Oliver lied. “You’ll keep me up to date on the Lois Lane and Clark Kent situation? I’ll get that scholarship form out to you today. Thanks again, Mr. White.” He hung up after Perry said goodbye, grumbling: “Hell of a way to run a newspaper.”

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[gardy1]

Heroic / Learning Curve

Chapter 12: Heroic

Scene: Metropolis Central Train Station

Enforcer and Blaze unceremoniously tossed Lois into the last car of a train heading out of Metropolis. With no witnesses this late at night, they easily pulled it off. A security camera or two may have photographed them, but the Intergang members purposely staggered past the security checkpoints holding Lois up on her feet.

To any observer, the illicit activity would look like a bunch of college kids that had been over-served alcohol at some bar or other. In any event, no one paid them any mind. Blaze had wrapped Lois’s head wound up in a piece of old t-shirt, to avert any other suspicions.

They left Lois to her own fate, and met up with Stacker and Pounce, back near the Carlton Street Devils’ warehouse. All that remained for them to do was alert the Daily Planet of their ransom demands. The wildcard was the blasted Red Blue Blur. Would he take the bait?

Enforcer called Switchblade, and informed her of the early success of the plan. Each Intergang senior member offered to pull a separate job as Blaze had suggested. With the terrible Switchblade’s blessing, the evildoers formed their four distinct plans.

Well organized and hell bent on success, Intergang was on its way to becoming Metropolis’s most hated and feared crime lords. Even such Mafia type stalwarts like La Familia, The Outfit, and the West Side Boyz began to reposition themselves to cut deals with Intergang. The cancerous crime would spread.

Corruption ran rampant through Metropolis’s Police force, some local politicians, and even such high level dignitaries as the Mayor himself. In this way, Metropolis was heading down the same treacherous road as Gotham City, which was far to the East. Metropolis quickly turned into a cesspool.

Gang warfare was at its peak. Some of the law abiding policeman like Dan Turpin wondered where the “cape” had gone to. They had come to rely on timely saves by the Blur. It appeared that now the MPD was on its own. Split down the middle, the police force was soon overwhelmed.

Intergang had pulled off four successive robberies, netting diamonds, gold coins, expensive designer drugs, and a substantial amount of banks’ money. The MPD seemed to be always one step behind the super sized criminal organization.

This meant one thing to Detective Dan Turpin, there was an insider group within the police department. Disgusted, Dan received a call from a frantic Perry White of the Daily Planet. Lois Lane and Clark Kent were both missing, he informed the overwrought detective. What’s more, Intergang had demanded a hundred thousand dollar ransom for Lane’s safe return.

Detective Turpin shook his head. “I can’t help, Mr. White. We just don’t have the resources left to chase down the leads.” Perry was speechless, a rarity indeed. “Maybe you should try calling the Cape, you know, that damn Red Blue Blur that your paper is so fond of reporting about.” Dan sighed.

“Great balls of fire!” Perry snarled. “You mean to tell me that the MPD is refusing to take on a dual missing person’s case?” He fumed. “I’m going right to the top with this one, Turpin! I have the Mayor’s ear, and he’ll be hearing from me within the hour.”

“Good luck with that, Mr. White.” Dan said dejectedly. “I’m sorry we couldn’t help.” He slammed down the office phone. Perry gaped at the buzzing line. “Great shades of Elvis!” He grumbled. “Just wait until election time rolls around.” Perry muttered. “We’ll see who endorses whom.”

Scene: The Fortress of Solitude Learning Curve

Clark was still trapped within the pinkish purple illumination of the alleged Chamber of Knowledge, his eyes were glassy, and his hands were shaking, his posture was bad, leaning to the left. Kara was growing frantic. “Jor El! Stop this madness!” She yelled into the darkness just beyond the vibrating chamber.

“How long does Kal have to stay in that thing?” She edged closer to the chamber. “Approximately five Earth years, Kara, that’s about how long it will take for him to absorb the accumulated knowledge of the universe.” The deep disembodied voice replied, though its Replicant image remained unseen.

Kara gasped. “In five years there may not be an Earth left for him to save!” She lunged at the chamber, shoving one thin arm through the celluloid casing, in a vain attempt to grab Clark by the shoulder. “Kara, don’t do that! It will adversely affect Kal El’s ability to absorb the information.” Jor El’s surrogate warned. “Oh absorb this!” Kara snapped, shoving her other arm into the chamber.

This time, Kara yanked Clark backwards, causing the chamber device to spark. She felt the vibrating energy pulsing through her body. It didn’t hurt her, just unnerved her, causing her to be even more determined in her quest. “Kal? Can you hear me? Come back! We don’t have the five years required to reeducate you!” She shoved her face into the celluloid screen.

“Kara?” Clark muttered. His voice was muted, like it was coming from far away. “Kal! We have to go! Get out of that thing!” She physically dragged him sideways. The chamber sparked and hissed, and began to suddenly turn reddish orange. Kara gave him one last yank, and he tumbled out of the chamber, knocking her backwards. She slid along an icy ridge, coming to rest near the crystal control panel.

“Kal? Are you okay?” Kara asked tiredly. The battle with the chamber had sapped some of her energy. “What the hell are you wearing?” She asked. Clark stood up. He was wearing a long black coat, a black t-shirt with a purplish ‘S’ bearing the sign of the House of El on his chest, and black jeans, and black boots. Kara glanced down at her own clothing.

Kara now wore a black two piece outfit, a cropped shirt baring her midriff, and a black leather miniskirt. She had a pinkish House of El ‘S’ on her ample chest. “Great Rao! Black really isn’t my color, but I guess that I can get used to it.” She grumbled. “Kal? What’s this about?”

“Kara. We are here to save Earth.” Clark parroted Jor El’s teaching. “Yeah, I got that part.” Kara snapped. “What’s with the new outfits?” Clark shrugged. “The symbol of the House of El reminds us of who we are, and why we were sent here. Our proud heritage is one of enlightenment.”

Kara cocked her head at him. “Whatever!” She hurriedly pulled the pink and purple crystals out of the Fortress’s crystallite control panel, placing them in her miniskirt pockets. Immediately, the Chamber of Knowledge shut down with a spark filled buzz. Clark shook his head from side to side, as if shaking off an injury. “Kal, are you sure you’re alright? Jor El’s chamber kept you immobile for a time.”

Clark seemed to refocus his gaze on her. “Kara? Yeah I guess I’m okay.” She folded her arms across her chest expectantly. “So, did you learn anything, or was this stunt just more of Jor El’s lies and manipulations?”

Clark twisted left and right, suddenly feeling like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. “Let’s go save the world!” He encouraged, smiling proudly. “You still haven’t answered my question.” Kara pointed out. “Yes, of course! We haven’t any time to lose!” Clark’s eyes glowed yellow.

“So we’re heading back to Metropolis?” Kara fished, still unsure of her cousin’s state of mind. “Yes! Metropolis, a shining star in the Midwest!” Clark commented oddly. “Whatever!” Kara repeated. “I’ll see you back in town?” She began to float upward, preparing for her supersonic flight.

Kara glanced down from the top of the fortress, expecting to see Clark zip away in his hyper speed mode. “Up, up, and away!” He yelled from somewhere behind her. Clark was flying! “Whoa! Kal! Are you sure you’re ready for that?” Kara smirked, as her cousin circled ever higher towards the fortress’s crystalline roof. “I’ve never felt better, like I was meant to soar into the heavens!” Clark replied with a grin.

“Flying can be exhilarating.” Kara scowled. “But you have to be careful so no one sees you.” Clark stopped circling and simply defied gravity, floating in midair. “Why would we want to hide our true nature?” He grilled Kara. “Duh Kal! Because most Earth people don’t understand the concept of aliens from another world. At least that’s what you and Chloe keep telling me.”

“We were wrong, Kara.” Clark spun in close to her. “How can we lead our new people, if we keep ourselves a secret?” Kara gasped. “Kal, it’s like Jor El’s machine brainwashed you!” Clark dismissed her comment with a wave. “It’s our destiny to lead these people into a new world!”

“These people?” Kara grabbed her cousin’s arm, which appeared to have thickened considerably since his encounter with the Chamber of Knowledge. “You mean our friends here on Earth?” She added. Clark nodded. “Of course. The people need heroes. That’s why we exist.” He remarked.

“Okay, I’m game.” Kara’s eyes had suddenly sparked red, and softened to orange yellow. “For a minute, I thought that you were going all General Zod on me.” Clark’s eyes reddened, and went back to his normal blue green color. “Zod! Zod is the primary threat to Earth!” He sounded panicky.

“I thought the General was dead, a harmless wraith lost in the Phantom Zone!” Kara exclaimed. “Not anymore, Kara. Zod is free. He’s here on Earth. I can feel his evil presence. We’ve no time to lose!” He repeated. With that, Clark flew out of the fortress with Kara following close behind. They both went supersonic, causing the very air to shake, dislodging an avalanche of snow and glacial ice.

Back in the Fortress, Jor El’s image materialized and laughed. “It’s about time that Kal El decided to embrace his destiny.” The Replicant disappeared back into the cyberspace of the alien technology.

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[gardy1]

Knight Takes Queen

Chapter 13

Knight Takes Queen

Scene: Late night in Oliver’s Metropolis penthouse.

After spending the whole day chasing possible leads on the whereabouts of Lois and Clark, Oliver Queen settled in for a good night’s sleep. He’d contacted Laura Lake as a last option to help dissuade any further mini crime sprees in the Metropolis area. The young Gold Wing had enjoyed minimal success, not having the contacts throughout the city that Lois, Clark, or even Lex and Tess had.

An empty bottle of expensive wine sat idly on the night stand next to Oliver’s huge waterbed. The only way that Oliver knew to cope with the daily stresses of his double life, was to drink his brain into sleep mode. He snored loudly as a shadow passed briefly along the edge of the balcony’s window.

Silently, the glass double doors opened, and a familiar silhouette emerged into Oliver’s room. He quickly reset the silent alarm to read ‘error code’. That would keep Queen Industries’ security team at bay, and buy him some time before the Security Chief would call up to the Penthouse to verify the error.

“Queen! Get up!” A deep, hoarse voice ordered as the intruder closed in on the snoozing Oliver. “Queen! Let’s go!” The voice bellowed. This time, Oliver awakened, and gasped, seeing through an alcohol induced haze. In moments, his senses came on line, and he reached beneath a pillow, retrieving a miniature electronic crossbow. “Gah!” Oliver yelped as he shot a paralyzed arrow at the shadow.

The dart-like arrow pierced the right shoulder of the stranger, or so Oliver thought. Electric sparks arced along the silhouette’s arm and chest, before degenerating into a misty smoulder. “Nice toy!” The dark trespasser commented as he removed the dart from his shoulder with his gloved left hand, and tossed it harmlessly away. “I bet all the kiddies will want one under their Christmas Tree this year.”

“The Batman of Gotham?” Oliver croaked, as he quickly sat up. “A little far from home, aren’t you, Bats? What do you want?” The Batman glowered beneath the cheek covering edges of his mask. “First, call your security chief and tell them that your alarm just malfunctioned.” He directed in an obviously synthesized deep voice. “Okay.” Oliver stretched carefully, just as the room’s phone rang.

“Just like clockwork.” Oliver quipped as Batman stood near the bed patiently. “Yeah, sorry about that, James, I pressed the alarm button by accident. Thanks for your prompt response. Goodnight.” Oliver yawned as he hung up. “Now, I assume you have a good reason for waking a man up in the middle of the night.” He baited. “Always.” Batman growled. “Please, don’t get up.” Bruce said sarcastically.

Oliver smacked his lips, which were dried due to the alcohol residue. “Are you here on official business, or just sightseeing?” He challenged. “Looking for a good restaurant recommendation?” Bruce smirked. “The Red Blue Blur, I want him.” He rumbled. “I want to know what he’s about, where he hangs out, and what motivates him, and more importantly, can we trust him?”

“I see.” Oliver folded his hands in his lap. “It’s not usually my cup of tea, but hey, I’m a twenty-first century type of guy. Did you want me to hook you two up? My question is who gets to wear the cocktail dress?” Batman’s mouth was a thin line. “Funny.” Was his only comment.

“What makes you think that the Blur is male? Further, why would you believe that I know anything about Metropolis’s newest hero?” Oliver protested. Batman’s eyes narrowed. “Listen, uh... Green Arrow, is it?” Bruce’s tone was mocking. “I want info, and you have it. That was not a question.” He added.

“Fine.” Oliver scowled. “Not only do you come barging in here, interrupting a man’s sleep, but now you’re making me paranoid that I have a leak in my organization.” Batman waved a gloved hand at him. “Your organization is fine, I just happen to pride myself on being well informed.” Oliver sighed, asking: “Because...?” Bruce struck an impatient pose, as his cape whirled behind him.

“Because, it’s my job.” Batman grumbled. “You’re group has done a lot of high visibility work. It’s a bit sloppy, not my cup of tea, so to speak. Yet they get the job done.” Oliver grimaced, putting his chin in his hands. “Really.” He said sourly. “This Red Blue Blur has a name.” Bruce coaxed.

Oliver wasn’t buying it. He wasn’t about to betray Clark’s confidence, even though the two hadn’t been seeing eye to eye lately. That was an understatement. “Nope. Can’t give it to you.” Oliver hedged, placing his arms behind his head. “Don’t we in the capes and cowls business have some kind of non-disclosure credo? Don’t rat out a fellow cape or something?”

“I don’t know.” Batman grumbled. “I’m not much of a team player.” Oliver chuckled. “You would fit in perfectly with my talented, yet dysfunctional associates.” Even Bruce had to grin at that line. “Probably. I have my own sidekicks, and more issues than I have time to discuss.” Oliver decided to help Bruce.

“Okay, Bats.” He began with a tired smile. “Here’s the deal. You keep info on Green Arrow and his companions under your bat eared mask, and I will contact the Blur, and give him the word to meet you.” Bruce nodded slowly. “Now, I can’t guarantee he’ll do it. The Blur is arguably the most dysfunctional of all of us.” Bruce was expressionless. “Terrific.” He muttered.

“One more thing.” Oliver began. “I could use your help locating two missing friends of mine. Lois Lane and Clark Kent. Apparently, they’ve been...” Batman narrowed his eyes, interrupting Oliver. “The abducted reporters from the Daily Planet.” Ollie whistled. “You are good. No one’s supposed to know about that. Anyway, we’ve only received a hundred grand ransom demand for Lois.”

“Uh huh.” Batman scowled. “So you’re organization has limits.” Oliver sighed with disgust. “Unfortunately yes. The money’s no object.” He tempted. “Thanks Queen, but I don’t need your money. I have my own resources.” Bruce tried not to sound offended.

“Assuming I can get the Blur to commit, how do we reach you?” Oliver inquired. “We don’t have a Klieg light handy with a bat impression on it. Though I suppose I could manufacture one.” Bruce sneered. “Please don’t.” He spun away from Oliver’s gaze. “I’ll get word to you tomorrow.”

Batman headed for the glass doors leading to the balcony. “Why bats, by the way?” Oliver called out, fully not expecting an answer. “It’s just this thing I have. Everyone’s got to have a hobby.” Bruce replied as he wandered onto the balcony and disappeared over the side.

Oliver shook his head. “Weird.” He checked his clock radio and it read three AM. Lois and Clark had been reported missing by Perry White, for a good twelve hours by now. “Now Bats is in the game. This just gets more bizarre by the day.” He mumbled, turning over on his side in an attempt to go back to sleep.

Bruce fired off a silent bat grappling hook, and it anchored itself to an old gargoyle across the street. He swung into action, sailing across from Oliver’s penthouse high above Metropolis’s thriving downtown. Repeating the procedure a few more times, Batman landed on the Daily Planet roof.

It was here that he would start digging for clues. Bruce tapped his earpiece conveniently placed in one ear of his bat mask. “Barb? You in?” In the eighth floor office below, a teenage girl with long reddish blonde hair sat nervously at a desk in a shadowy corner cubicle. “Yeah, I’m in, Bruce.”

The Batgirl’s thin fingers played across the keyboard of a Daily Planet computer. “You do realize that what I’m doing is illegal, don’t you?” Barbara Gordon complained in a whispered voice. “I won’t tell if you don’t.” Bruce returned the gibe. “Let’s call it a matter of national security.”

“Seriously, Bruce, you don’t really think that the Red Blue Blur is part of an advanced alien invasion, do you?” Barb countered. “After what I’ve seen lately, nothing would surprise ...” Bruce’s comment went uncompleted. His sharp focused gaze picked up two small objects flying towards Metropolis from above the moonlit waters of the bay. “What in the name of...?”

Barb stopped what she was typing. “Bruce? Are you there? Did the cops catch you?” Her voice was panicky. “No, I just thought that I saw something.” Barb went back to hacking the Daily Planet’s database. “Not really instilling your junior partner with confidence here, Brucey.”

“Let’s go back to Batman and Batgirl.” Bruce mentioned. “It kind of defeats the purpose of having a secret identity to keep using our first names.” Batman glanced around in a three sixty degree motion, but could no longer locate the two flying objects.

“Gotcha boss.” Barb replied. “How’s it going?” Bruce urged her to move faster. “I grabbed the file of Lois Lane, but Clark Kent, not so much. He’s cute, though.” Barb giggled. “Spare me the commentary. You’ve got nothing on Kent at all?” Barb shook her head, allowing her long reddish blonde locks to fall to one side. She brushed an offending strand of hair from her eyes. “Hello? What’s this?”

“You have something?” Bruce moved further into the shadows. The first glimmers of morning light had peeked above the horizon. “Yeah. Tess Mercer has a major file on my sweetie, Kent. I’m downloading it into our bat pod now.” Bruce was growing anxious. “Can we do that faster? It’s almost morning. The Daily Planet’s first shift ought to be filing in soon.”

“Got it.” Barb grabbed the bat pod connector and unscrewed it from the computer’s hard drive. “Going up!” She joked, flipping down her own bat mask, and sprinting to the eighth floor window that she’d opened earlier. Batgirl shot her grappler onto the Planet roof, and zipped up to meet Bruce.

“Easy as cake!” Barb exclaimed. “The expression is easy as pie.” Bruce gibed. “You say tomato...” She countered with her own glib remark. “Let’s get to the Batmobile and see what we’ve got.” Bruce urged, just as Jimmy Olsen arrived in the eighth floor office. He noted that the window had swung open.

Jimmy crossed the floor of mostly silent, darkened cubicles, and noticed that one cubicle still had its light on. He went over to investigate, and spotted a computer that just flashed back to the Daily Planet screen saver. That wasn’t extraordinary in itself, but the small, black, bat shaped object on the floor was.

He picked it up and examined it. Jimmy guessed that it was about six inches long, and made of some type of lightweight metal alloy. “Hmm!” The young photojournalist placed the unusual item in his pocket.

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[gardy1]

Metropolis 2010 - "Embracing Destiny"

Chapter 14

“Embracing Destiny”

Scene: The Ice Fortress

Clark watched in confusion as Kara soared ahead of him, guiding his impromptu flight, first across the glacial, barren Arctic snow-scape, above the majestic Canadian forests, over icy Hudson Bay, and pausing momentarily to view Niagara Falls and New York’s Statue of Liberty.

The airborne aliens continued flying through the dark night sky, avoiding the most populated areas. They soared over the Great Lakes, distantly viewing Gotham City, and Chicago, finally reaching the outskirts of Metropolis.

The huge Mid-western city was just awakening from an uneasy slumber. A few days without oversight by the Red Blue Blur, Kara, and Gold Wing, and the seedy, criminal subculture began to gain a foothold on the throat of the city’s populace. Crime sprees ran out of control.

The Metropolis Police Department had grown complacent and lazy. Apathetic department heads, other than much hand wringing, were silent and impotent. The MPD expected ‘the Capes’, as they called them, to produce a majority of the illegal busts.

“Where is The Blur?” The Daily Planet headline screamed within the newspaper honor boxes, newsstands, bookstores, and coffee shops all over the city. Once back in contact, Clark frowned. There were several dozen E Mail and phone messages on his cell and computer system. Not one of them was from Lois. Clark was disappointed.

Clark located Chloe first, with Kara in tow. The familiar blast of wind scattered Chloe’s papers, forcing her lengthening blonde hair into her eyes. “Clark?” Chloe spun on her Watchtower console seat to face him. “And Kara?” She finished, brushing the hair from her forehead.

“Where the hell have you two been?” Chloe snarled, waving a silver gun at them that she’d pulled out of a desk drawer. “Nice to see you, too, Chloe.” Clark’s voice was filled with sarcasm. “Were you going to shoot us?” Chloe suddenly noted that her alien friends had bizarre outfits on, and were floating a few inches above the Watchtower office floor…both of them.

“Hey, Chlo’” Kara began pleasantly. Clark’s expression was vague and unreadable. “What’s new in the world?” He asked cynically. Chloe wasn’t amused at all. “Where should I start?” The young cyber hero asked sardonically.

“Lois is missing, and has been for the better part of three days.” Chloe explained briefly. “Intergang has taken over several of the major criminal organizations in the city. They systematically took down The Outfit, La Familia, The Rogues, and the Green Mafia. Intergang is now the predominant criminal power in all of Metropolis and then some.”

“Lois is missing?” Clark was horrified. Chloe noted that he had ignored the rest of her information update. Kara scowled. “I knew it! This is all Jor El’s fault!” She grumbled. “What did Daddy Dearest do this time?” Chloe sniped. Kara quickly related the story of how things went up at the ice fortress.

“Did you call the police about Lois?” Clark’s mind seemed to be narrowly focused. “No. I told Oliver, Dinah, and Laura. The MPD doesn’t seem to care about missing person’s reports. Due to the spike in crime throughout the area, citizens were leaving by the droves.”

“Could Lois’s disappearance and the crime families be linked?” Kara inquired, thinking sharply and clearly. “With Lois, anything’s possible.” Chloe admitted. “More than likely, my ambitious cousin attempted to grab in interview with the new head of Intergang, and got herself into a world of trouble.”

“I should’ve been there, Chloe!” Clark berated himself as Kara rubbed her cousin’s shoulder. “Yeah, well, even The Blur can’t be everywhere at once, especially where headstrong Lois is concerned.” Chloe added bitterly.

Scene: A train at the outskirts of Metropolis

“Hey lady! Let’s go! This is the last stop!” An elderly, white haired conductor said as he lightly shook Lois’s sore shoulder. “Go somewhere else to sleep it off!” Lois stirred briefly as her eyelids flickered open. “What?” She croaked. Her mouth was dry, and her lips were cracked and bleeding. Lois’s blouse was stained with sweat and dried blood.

“I said this is the end of the route.” The conductor repeated, this time in a less confrontational voice. “You have to get off!” Lois sat up and watched the train car spin wildly around her. The blood loss from her head injury had been substantial. She tilted woozily to one side.

“Lady, are you okay?” The conductor was now alarmed, smelling no alcohol on Lois’s breath. “I’m calling the sheriff and an ambulance for you. It looks like someone jack rolled and robbed you.” He added, worriedly noticing Lois’s open purse and stained, disheveled clothing.

Lois glanced up at him, her gaze unfocused. Before she got a chance to respond, the train lurched to a stop amid squealing brakes, and a bellowing horn. The conductor spilled onto the floor beside Lois, his head knocked against the seat’s lower metal guard.

Lois was braced well enough, but she still slid across the damaged double seat, slamming hard against the opposite seat’s rail. She barely had enough time to deflect the blow by putting her hands and shoulder in front of her face. The impact made Lois see stars. She blacked out as a cool breeze whipped through the elevated train’s cabin.

Just below, the track’s trestles had been severely damaged. Two vehicles, a van and a large car had smashed into the elevated train supports. They had been involved in a high-speed chase. It was one more example of the city’s disregard for all laws, big and small.

The El train skewered to the right, derailing off the tracks, across the embankment, and the four-car transport was about to slam into the pavement locomotive first. Something caught the train’s nose, and lowered it to the ground, as it slid onward.

The trailing few cars zigzagged onto their sides, skidding along the incline. Two of them were caught and dropped unceremoniously onto the access road. The last one was caught and rolled over onto its wheel carriages. It skittered across the sidewalk, coming to rest in some foliage.

Watchtower:

Chloe studied Clark and Kara closely. “Clark, are you flying?” She stated the obvious. “More like floating, actually.” He replied vaguely. “Great!” Chloe praised. “That ought to increase your ability to rescue citizens as the Blur. By the way, Lois shortened your nickname.”

“I was starting to wonder…” Clark began. “What’s with the new outfits?” Chloe pressed. “Apparently, these are Jor El’s idea. The House of El Crest is meant to remind us of our Kryptonian heritage.” Kara responded, pointing out the pinkish purple ‘S’ Shield on her chest. “It works for me.” Chloe shrugged. “It looks good with your blonde hair as a backdrop.”

Chloe rubbed her eyes. “Can you stop floating for a minute, you’re making me nauseous.” She complained as Clark and Kara settled on the floor. “We’ve decided to embrace our destinies, and try to live the duality lifestyle.” Clark sounded more like a preacher than a super hero.

“It works for Oliver and Laura.” Chloe mentioned. “I don’t know about the masks, though.” Clark sounded like he was whining. “It kind of defeats the purpose if you two are sporting costumes without covering your faces.” Chloe countered.

Chloe snickered. “Actually, Kara, I doubt if anyone will be looking at your face.” The alien teen reddened slightly. “At least the men won’t. That blouse is rather tight, and the bare midriff is definitely an attention getter.” She critiqued. “I like the leather skirt, though. Very fashionable.”

Clark rolled his eyes. “Now, you on the other hand…” Chloe continued to rattle their cages. “Clark, you’re not going to fool anyone. Once the Blur goes public, you’ll never get a moment’s peace.” Clark rubbed his square jaw, zipping away briefly and returning.

“What about these?” Clark held up his eyeglasses disguise from last year, flipping them on and off. Kara chuckled. “Kal, no one’s going to ever be fooled by a simple pair of glasses.” Just then, a familiar gust of wind swept across the open area of Chloe’s Watchtower home base.

Laura Lake in full Gold Wing regalia slowed to a stop near the center of the huge loft. Chloe’s papers swirled into a mini tornado, before scattering and settling on the glossy antique wooden floors. Emil Hamilton, using Oliver’s money, had retrofitted the Watchtower base to electronic perfection, with multiple computer view screens, and several high-end servers.

“Now there’s a girl that knows how to make an entrance.” Chloe praised. “Hey fellow crime-fighters!” Laura exclaimed cheerfully, flipping up her Gold Wing mask. “Nice new look Clark and K Girl. You’re not trying to steal my shtick, are you?”

“Did I miss the checkered flannel burning party, Clarkie?” Laura taunted. Chloe laughed loudly. “I like the leather miniskirt, K Girl.” Laura continued to playfully berate them. “Very Metro! The new gigs need something, though…a cape maybe?” Clark looked at her blankly.

“Word on the street is that Green Arrow, and the Red Blue Blur are now called ‘capes’ after some dark knight dude in Gotham City.” Chloe explained. “A cape’s a bit much isn’t it?” Kara mildly protested. “No! It would look cute as you’re flying!” Laura countered.

“I wasn’t going for cute.” Kara scowled. “I was going for tough and mean.” Laura chuckled. “No offense K’ but you look about as tough as my geek buddy Tim Servo.” Kara sighed with resignation. “Whoa!” Kara’s complexion suddenly went ashen. “What’s up, K Girl?” Laura was concerned for her friend. “Didn’t you feel that? Like people are about to die?” Kara gasped.

“Okay, now you’re freaking me out, K Girl.” Laura began. “Listen!” Clark turned his head to concentrate on the sound of a crash and then squealing brakes. “Let’s go! Someone’s in trouble!” Clark and Kara bolted out the Watchtower’s rooftop exit. Chloe and Laura exchanged glances.

“Do they do that all the time?” Laura asked cynically. “Constantly.” Chloe replied. “It’s a Kryptonian thing. You get used to it! Go!” She waved as Laura sped off trailing Clark and Kara by a few seconds. Chloe flipped on the high-end police scanner she had.

Clark and Kara heard the screaming of the few passengers on the late morning high speed rail train as it derailed, launching itself off the bridge above the crumbling supports below it. Clark caught the nose of the locomotive, the momentum shoving him backwards briefly. His boots smoked, as he skidded along the gravely pavement, and slowed the train’s advance.

Kara tore through the second car’s wheel carriage and into the third. She tried to balance both railcars on her shoulders, but the weight was distributed wrong, and she ended up dumping them on their sides, albeit at a much slower speed.

Laura clumsily grappled with the last railcar, catching its rollover in mid-flight, and setting it down awkwardly on the edge of the local foliage. “Good thing I ate my Wheaties today.” She muttered. There would still be passenger injuries, but hopefully nothing fatal, she mused.

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