Superman

A Leverage fiction

Written by

Lona Beth Undorina

Boston. Sunday, September 2nd, 2010 – 11:37 P.M.

It was late in Boston. For some, the long day was over and for others the night was just starting.

For one particular young women, her night was becoming one of excitement and danger. The red-haired woman was running down a street in the chilly September night. Her jacket was unbuttoned and flapping wildly as she ran and her leather bag was hitting her on the back of her leg as she ran quickly. Her hair kept getting in her face as she ran.

Run.

Run faster, run faster, run faster, run faster.

Run for your life, run for your life, run for your life.

Fiona Silverman's mind was racing as she ran down a street in the middle of the night. She slowed down as she turned a corner, but she started running faster again as she heard the sound of running feet and angry shouts behind her.

Run faster, run faster, run faster.

Fiona wasn't sure how long she had been running for. Five minutes? Ten? Twenty? All she knew what that she's in trouble and needs to run. They can't get her. She knows to much, they'll kill her. She need to get away from them.

The footsteps behind her were getting louder. Fiona tried to speed up, but her legs refused to move any faster.

"There she is!" Fiona heard a man's voice shout. She looked back momentarily to see six large men running after her. As she turned her head back, she laughed quickly to herself. She must be really dangerous to George Mulligan if he sent six of his goons after her. She quickly sobered as she focused her attention on escaping the men. She would have tried to call for help, but she lost her cell phone as she escaping Mulligan's office building and she would have yelled for help, but she didn't think anyone would respond in time. She would probably be dead by the time someone heard her shouting.

Fiona ran across the city street in an attempt to gain some ground. She had no clue where she was. She turned another corner and paused for a second. She buildings lined the street, all tall and gloomy looking in the night. A bright light on the other side of the street caught her attention and she saw a sign that read McRory's Pub. She ran across street and down the stairs that led to the basement level where the pub was located. She went to open the door and found out that it was locked. What pub was closed at this time of night? Fiona banged on the door, hoping someone would hear her. No one answered. Aware that her pursuers were getting closer, she ran back up the stairs and in to an alley next to the building, hoping that it led to another street. Her hope was crushed when she saw that she was cut off from the other side of the alley by a wire fence.

Noises from her pursuers could be heard, and Fiona was starting to panic. She looked frantically around for a place to hide. The alley was bare except for a couple of trash bins. She ran over to them, hoping she could find some room to hide in. In her excitement, she ended up knocking over one of the bins. She silently cursed herself for her clumsiness as she heard the men coming closer. "Can't be too far," she heard one of them say. Fiona pressed herself against the wall, hoping the shadows would conceal her. She was breathing heavily and tried to calm down so Mulligan's men wouldn't hear her.

"Split up and check the alleys," said a voice. Fiona stopped breathing all together. This is it, she thought as she closed her eyes, it's over. One of the thugs walked into the alley. He was just about six feet away from Fiona when he stopped. Fiona opened her eyes again and she saw him turn around, as if looking for her. He stopped for a moment, and Fiona was sure that he saw her. But he then continued turning. After he turned a complete three-sixty, he continued towards the back of the alley. Fiona was sure now that he would totally miss her and he would turn back around and walk right out of the alley. But then, everything went wrong. Fiona sneezed from the dust in alley. Mulligan's goon spun instantly and saw her. "She's in here!" he yelled to his companions and he started towards her.

The man had barely taken two steps when Fiona heard a thump. The man groaned and fell down onto one knee. He quickly got back up and turned his back towards Fiona. He swung his arms as if he were trying to hit something. His then stumbled backwards and then fell to the floor unconscious. His face was turned to the side and Fiona could see that his nose was bleeding. Fiona looked into the shadows, wondering what had just happened. Suddenly, she saw a figure of a man. "Stay out of the way and in the shadows," he whispered harshly, as he melted back in with the shadows. Fiona sunk to the ground, trying to hide again.

By now, the rest of Mulligan's goons had made their way back to the alley next to McRory's.

"Anderson, where are you?" Black silence answered them. Fiona tried not to hyperventilate, but the situation was putting a strain on her.

Another one of the thugs walked in slowly. He scarcely took fifteen steps into the alley when Fiona saw her mysterious savior attack the thug. The rest of the men heard the commotion as the second thug was quickly rendered unconscious. The remaining four goons ran into the alley all at once and attacked the other man.

Fiona closed her eyes again. She didn't want to see the mysterious man get beaten up by Mulligan's thugs. Sure he saved her from the first two, but he only got them by surprise. There was no way he was going to win this fight.

Despite her eyes being closed, Fiona could still hear the fighting going on. She heard punches and kicks exchanged. She heard somebody shout and following it was the sound of somebody falling to the ground. Fiona opened her eyes, expecting to see her rescuer dead on the ground. Much to her surprise, he wasn't. In fact, he seemed to be kicking the bad guys' butts. Half of Mulligan's goons were on the ground, either unconscious or stunned. The mysterious man was finishing off the third one and then focused on the other two. Fiona was amazed, it was against all odds that this man should still be alive. Heck, Fiona was still amazed that she was still alive. She watched the fight with amazement.

The man was slightly smaller than Mulligan's goons, yet he was defeating them with apparent ease. The two remaining thugs didn't stand a chance.

At least, that's what Fiona thought. One of the two remaining thugs leaped at the man, fury all over his face. There was no doubt on the goon's face that he was ready to kill him. The second of the two stayed back. Fiona looked on and watched the fight. Suddenly, she couldn't see the two men fighting, something was blocking her view. She looked up to see the second thug standing in front of her, smiling crazily. Before Fiona had time to react, he grabbed her roughly by the shoulders and pulled up. He spun her around and held her tightly. At the same time, he pulled out a knife and held it to her neck.

"Stop now!" He yelled to the other two men. They stopped fighting and looked at the man that was holding Fiona. "Leave us, or she dies," the man with the knife ordered. He put the knife a little closer to Fiona's neck. She tried to tell the mysterious man not do anything rash or stupid (as men are prone to do), but she couldn't seem to talk.

"Let her go," said the man. His fists were still clenched and he looked as if he would kill the two men if he could. After seeing no response from the other two men, he repeated himself. "I said let her go!"

"And why should I," asked the man with the knife. Although Fiona couldn't see him, she could just sense the smugness radiating off of him. "Will the hero-man hurt me?" The goon laughed stupidly at his own joke.

Fiona locked eyes with the hero-man. After a brief moment, he broke off with a nod and he turned towards the other goon (who was idly watching nearby). He raised his fist and punch the thug in the face, sending him reeling to the ground. Fiona took care of the other goon. He raised her leg quickly and kicked him hard in the shin. The thug howled in pain and dropped the knife and let go of Fiona as well. Fiona ran to the other side of the alley, trying to avoid the brawl that was going on between the hero-man and the second thug. The first thug decided to ignore the pain in his shin. He picked up the knife and walked slowly towards Fiona, smilingly maniacally. Fiona pressed herself against the wall and tried to slide against the wall away from the thug.

Fiona's "hero-man was still taking care of the second thug, but he noticed the first heading for Fiona. After a few quick punches and kicks, he threw the stunned second thug into the trash bins with a loud crash. He ran and tackled the first thug, throwing him to the ground. The knife clattered out of his hand, throwing it across the alley. The hero-man wrestled with him and punched him several times, which the thug responded to with some punches of his own. The fight continued on for several minutes, but the thug was slowly gaining the upper hand. He had thrown the man up against the wall, and Fiona was sure that he was down for good. But to her surprise, and the thug's, he got right back up, charging the thug again. They continued fighting for they were too well matched.

Fiona, distracted from the fight, failed to notice (She would later curse herself for not paying attention) the second thug that had been thrown into the garbage bins had recovered from his stupor. The thug shook his head and then spotted the knife. He picked up the knife and started for the two fighting men.

Fiona's hero-man had just rendered the first thug unconscious when the second caught him by surprise. With the knife. Fiona saw the thug before he did. "Look out!" Fiona yelled. The hero-man spun around and saw the last thug. The goon made a slashing motion with the knife and the hero-man stumbled backwards with a hiss of pain coming from his mouth. The hero-man disarmed the thug and quickly defeated him for a second time.

Fiona was stunned, scared, and speechless. As her hero-man turned to face her, she was finally able to look at his face. He had shoulder-length brown hair, and some stubble on his chin. He wore a t-shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots. "Are you alright?" He asked gently. It was then that Fiona realized that she was shaking and was holding on the her bag tightly. She let go of her bag and took a deep breath. "Yeah, thanks," she said with a slight quiver in her voice. Damn it, she thought; she hated playing the part of the damsel in distress. "Uh... thanks again," she said quickly. "I should get going." She started to walk out of the alley.

"Hold it," said the man, grabbing her arm. "You can't just leave. There could be more guys still looking for you. Why were they chasing you anyways?"

"I really don't want to talk about it," she took his hand off of her arm. He moved so that he was in front of her, blocking the alley entrance.

The man made a noise of frustration. "Look, I just think that it's weird that you were running in the middle of the night from six guys who were gonna kill you."

"You think that's weird?" Fiona said. This guy was starting to get reallyannoying. "So it's not weird at all that some guy randomly walks out of the shadows and fights like Jackie Chan? Are you some Batman freak who runs around Boston at night fighting the Joker or something?"

"Are all women so ungrateful when someone saves their life?" Much to Fiona's delight, the man was starting to sound really ticked off.

"Only if that person thinks they're Superman," she said.

"I never said that! Who the heck are you anyways?"

Fiona looked at the man. He did just save her life... And it's not as if her name isn't well-known. Well, somewhat known. She sighed. "My name is Fiona Silverman."

The man's face portrayed confusion. "Have I heard that name somewhere."

"It's possible," Fiona said quickly. "I've done some writing for the Boston Globe."

The man nodded his head in silence response.

"And who on earth are you?" Fiona demanded.

"I'm Superman, I never tell anyone my secret identity," he said with a smirk.

"Fine," Fiona huffed in annoyance. She walked past him and onto the sidewalk, bumping him in the shoulder hard as she passed him. She was shocked when he yelled out in surprise. She spun around to see him holding his hand to his shoulder, his eyes closed tightly. "Are you okay?" she asked cautiously. He opened his eyes and looked right at her. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said. Fiona didn't know how, but she knew he was lying.

"You're obviously not," she observed. In the dim light, she could see a dark spot spreading on his t-shirt. "You're hurt," she said with horror. While this man really ticked her off, she hated anyone getting hurt. Especially because of her. "Let me help you," she offered.

"No! I'm fine," the man insisted. "It's nothing that I haven't dealt with before."

Fiona raised an eyebrow. "That reassures me so much, let me help you home," she demanded.

"Woman, I told you, I'm fine! I can get home myself."

Fiona looked at him angrily. "Fine. Good night, Superman. And thank you for saving my life. I hope you don't die." The last phrase she said forcefully.

She walked off, hoping she could catch a taxi. She looked back over her shoulder and saw the man walking down the stairs to McRory's Pub, his hand still on his bloody shoulder. Confused, she turned her head around. She shifted her bag over he shoulder and started walking home.

At the same time, she was silently thanking God for Superman.

A.N.~ So what did you think? Should I let this be a one-shot, or let it fold out into a multi-chapter story? Let me know through your reviews (Which, by the way, sustain my life. So review. A LOT.) :D