Title: A Hero Arrives (1/?): Sequel to 'A Fallen Hero'
Author: DCForever
Contact: dcforever23@yahoo.com
Feedback: Who doesn't want it? It is definitely welcomed.
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction
Archiving: Archiving is permitted as long as I know of where it will be
posted and that all the above info stays intact.
Disclaimer: Lets get this straight...I'm not affiliated with anyone...don't
have anything of major value. Think that about covers it.
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The silhouette of the city's skyscrapers slowly came into view as the
Greyhound bus neared the city; the sun slowly slipping beyond the city's
horizon replaced by the yellow, orange, and reddish tinted clouds. The sky
projected a serene look...like you thought you would only see in magnificent
paintings. The driver brought the bus to a halt, opened the collapsible
doors and thanked all the passengers before they exited the bus. Many of
the passengers waited by the side of the bus...anticipating reclaiming their
luggage from the storage compartments beneath the bus. The driver stepped
off the bus and walked over to the side storage doors. Bending down, he
attempted to open the storage compartment locks, but was unsuccessful. He
tried again, but still the door remained unmoved.

Turning to his previous passengers, "I'm sorry folks, but I can't seem to
get the doors to budge. All I can say is that I'm sorry. If you all care
to follow me back to the bus terminal, I'm sure one of our technicians would
be able to pry it open."

The crowd started to get restless. One woman cried out, "Are you sure there
isn't anything you can do?"

"Ma'am, I'll try it again if that will satisfy you." The driver walks back
over to the doors and re-inserts the key and attempts to twist the key in
both directions, but the lock never budged. "See Ms...I can't get it to
budge."

Two burly, male passengers stepped forward and asked if they could have a go
at the lock. After several hard efforted tries, they returned the key to
the driver and hung their heads. "He's right...the doors are jammed."

A tall, dark haired young man, dressed in an solid burgundy shirt overlaid
by plaid shirt, slowly made his way through from the back of the other 35
plus passengers towards the front. "Mind if I give it a try?"

The previous two men didn't like the idea that a teenage boy was going to
try and show them up. "What...you don't think you could do any better than
us do you? Look at us, boy...muscles don't get much bigger than ours; you
trying to say that you're stronger than us? You ain't nothing more than a
weakling. So keep dreaming kid. Hell, my son is about your size and I
knock him from one end of the trailer to the other end. What makes you any
different?"

The young man quickly stepped to within a couple inches of the two men,
sporting a huge grin. "First off mister...I'm not your boy. Second, how
would you like it if someone beat you from one end of this bus to the other
end? I would say its about the right length for a good trailer? Hows about
it?"

"Take your best shot, kid."

"Hold that thought...be right back." The young, holey jean wearing, man
walked over to the side doors making sure to block off as much of the
passenger's vision as possible. Through his eyes, he slowly saw the metal
and the inner lining of the bus fade away as the contents of the storage
compartment came into view. He saw that some of the luggage had shifted and
was lodged up against the lock. He placed his palm against the side of the
door and quickly accelerated his hand. Through squinted eyes, he watched as
the luggage quickly shook itself loose from the door's locking mechanism.
Returning back to normal vision, he stood up, turning the lock, allowing
room for the luggage doors to open.

Turning back to the two older men, the driver, and the rest of the
passengers, "No problem folks. I believe the luggage might have been
stopping the lock from working properly. Its all yours Sam." The driver
stepped forward, shaking the young man's hand.

"What's your name, son?"

Smiling his usual farm boy smile, "Kent, sir...Clark Kent."

"Well, Mr. Kent...thanks a bunch. You have no idea how much grief you saved
all these people, including myself."

"Just glad I was able to help. And speaking of helping...I'll be right
back." Clark stepped back towards the two men. "Now, what was so difficult
about that? Two strong men like yourself let a weakling like myself show
you up."

Clark could see the men's faces reflected even more anger than from before.
"Here, I'll help you decide if you think you or the two of you can take me
or not."

Clark stepped forward, grabbing both men by their shirt collars, and
casually lifted them a foot or so above the ground. "I'm being really nice
today, so I suggest you accept my kindness and forget about your little ego
trip."

The two men nodded their heads in agreement. The on looking passengers just
stared in bewilderment as the young man slowly brought the men's feet back
to the asphalt pavement. Upon set down, Clark extended his hand towards the
men and surprising they both shook it.

"Sorry about before, young man. I didn't mean what I said...I don't even
have a boy your size...actually, I don't even have a boy period. Thanks for
helping with the luggage problem." Looking at his friend, "Can we be going
now?"

Grinning, "My pleasure." The crowd parted as Clark walked over and grabbed
his two duffle bags from the storage compartment and casually made his way
back through his fellow passengers. A few threw their hands up and started
clapping, others just started looking for their luggage. Minutes later,
only a shadow that crept along the pavement, could be seen of young Clark
Kent. He slowly drifted into the darkening, city night.

As Clark walked from one intersection to the other, all he saw was the
darkening of the sky and the bluish tint glow coming from the tallest
skyscraper in Metropolis, LexCorp. Clark hated the idea that he had to fake
his own death just so he could become what he was destined for...savior to
the innocent...righter of wrong doings...a hero. To gain a purpose and
future, he had to trick and lose his dearest and closest friends; Pete Ross,
Lana Lang, a one Lex Luthor, and above all Chloe Sullivan. Chloe later
learned of the truth behind the lie that was Clark's death, but she hasn't
spoken to him since that day that he wrapped his arms around her waist, in
the middle of the Kent's living room, and whispered in her ear that he was
sorry. Clark still plays that moment over and over in his head and wonders
if he did the right thing in using the destruction of the Smallville High
Gymnasium as his deathbed.

Clark's train of thought was disrupted by a loud screeching scream. The
screams could easily be heard by the city dwellers all around, but screams
in the night were commonplace to the residence of Metropolis. The alleyways
were considered 'No Man's Land.' Clark ran as fast as he thought was
acceptable without being obviously noticeable. As he rounded the corner of
the Metropolis Savings and Loan Bank, he could hear the cries of a woman in
trouble. Dropping his duffle bags at the entrance to the alleyway, he
slowly walked closer towards crying sound. About halfway down the alley,
the newly risen moon cast a light off the surrounding water puddles,
allowing Clark to clearly see three men gang raping a younger woman.

Without warning, Clark dashed over and football tackled two of the waiting
men into the nearest brick wall. The man, still taking advantage of the
young woman, was oblivious to what happened...he thought it was nothing more
than a gust of wind. Clark regained his footing and walked over to the lone
man. Without thinking, he picked the man up by the back of the neck and
slung him as hard as he could back over his shoulder. The crashing sound of
metal, caused Clark to instinctively look back over his shoulder. He hung
his head knowing what he had done was wrong. He observed the lifeless legs
protruding out of a nearby dumpster. He knew that no human's head could
split open a solid metal dumpster and live to tell the story.

Regaining his composure, he turned his attention back to the beaten, abused,
and naked young woman laid out on the murky alleyway floor. The view he saw
made his stomach sick; her top was shredded to the point of no cover, her
skirt was ripped up the middle and thrown to either side of her body, and
her panties ripped to shreds and hanging from her bruised and swollen mouth.
Upon closer observation, he noticed that she had a huge slash across her
left eye and down her face, nonetheless the markings of the knife that fell
from the hands of the one of Clark's first victims. He knew he had to help
this woman or she wouldn't make it to daybreak. Kneeling down, he first
removed the undergarment from her mouth and then scooped her body up in his
arms and started back towards the entrance of the alleyway. The moon's
projected light allowed the young man to see further bruises and cuts on the
young woman's mangled body. It was at that moment that he knew, secret or
no secret, that without delay he had to do everything in his power to save
this woman.

Two minutes and a few wrong turns later, Clark slowed from superhuman to
normal speed, out in front of Metropolis General Hospital. Rushing through
the doors and screaming, "I Need a Doctor. This Woman Needs Help!"

Nurses ran down the hospital corridor and intercepted them. Upon seeing the
shape the woman was in, one of the nurses ran screaming down the hall trying
to get a doctor. The other nurse instructed Clark to follow her to the
nearest available guerny, where he gently placed the young woman down. The
other nurse quickly returned with a doctor in tow. As the doctor and two
nurses rushed the woman down the hospital corridor, medical terminology was
being spat from every direction. Clark watched as they took the woman
through two double doors and quickly pulled drapes around themselves and the
body.

Clark wasn't about to wait with patience. Peering through the glass of the
double doors, he concentrated his gaze on the drapes and slowly the material
faded away, giving him a complete view of the room and what was going on
behind the drapes. The doctor was checking out all the bruises, marks, and
penetration areas, while one nurse started IVs and the other retrieved a
rape kit. Clark had seen enough; he allowed his vision to return to normal.
He knew if he stayed, he would have a ton of questions to answer from both
the hospital staff and eventually the cops. First day in Metropolis...he
couldn't risk anything. Turning on his heels, he quickly walked back down
the corridor from which they came, and exited the hospital. As the exit
door was closing, the head nurse came back out the room to find the young
woman's hero...nowhere in sight.

Only fifteen minutes may have passed since Clark first sped out of the
alleyway carrying the rape victim, but to him it felt like forever as he
once again stood looking at the three men; one dead, two out cold. He
wasn't able to remove the images of the woman from his mind...he was scared
that they were burned there forever. He carefully removed the man's head
from the confines of the dumpster's side wall and laid the body by his
buddies.

Thinking out loud. "Hopefully the police will be as disgusted about this as
I am and not examine the area." He returned to the dumpster and rebent the
spread out pieces of metal back into place. "That should help." Turning
around, he started back out the alley, picking up his previously discarded
duffle bags on the way.

(To be continued)