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Mentors and Pupils, chapter 2
Location: Metropolis
"So, what are we going to do?" Kon asked Superman.
Superman gave him a smile. "We'll deal with emergencies as they come up, but, for now, we've got a hurricane evacuation to assist. Follow me."
Location: The Birds of Prey plane
"I can't believe she's going to meet with you face to face," Black Canary said. "Do you know how long it took me to get to that point?"
"We've worked together before," Match said. "She also created my identity, so she already knows who I am."
Batgirl said nothing, as usual.
The two were led onto a plane. A woman in a wheelchair was there.
"Hello, Match," she greeted him. "I'm Oracle."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said. "This is a little different than I pictured."
"You thought I'd be a little taller?" she asked. "Or perhaps not in a wheelchair?"
Match smiled apologetically. "No, I'm not referring to that. I hadn't pictured a mobile base of operations. I also thought the decor would be a little darker, a touch more severe. This is quite nice."
"You already knew who I was, didn't you?"
Match nodded.
"How?" asked Black Canary. "Oracle's identity is one of the most closely guarded secrets in the world! Are you a mind reader or something?"
"I figured out Robin's identity, and the rest came from that."
"I hope he's taking better steps at protecting himself," Barbara said. "That's a little worrying that you figured it out."
Barbara gestured at a briefcase. "There's a computer in there. Get it configured to your liking, and we'll begin. We're going to be monitoring a dozen situations simultaneously. I hope you're up to it."
Max turned on the laptop. "Let's see what we've got."
Location: A short distance from the hurricane
"Everybody hang on!" Superboy called out to those people crammed into the car he was lifting out of the area.
He flew the car to a less crowded area where it could get away from the hurricane. He waved it off and then turned around to find any other people that needed to be evacuated.
Kon sighed. He didn't think this was what he'd be doing with Kal, but it was important work. He remembered the damage that happened in Smallville when the Mississippi River overflowed, and that was after pretty much all of the men had spent the night putting sandbags up to reduce the effect of the flood. He wanted to use his powers for that, but the Kents told him not to.
He spotted a group of people in a boat. The rough waters were threatening to capsize it. He flew over and lifted it into the air.
"What were you thinking, trying to sail at a time like this?" he asked.
He got a response in a language he didn't understand. He realized that these people were most likely trying to enter the country illegally. They looked panicked. Quite possibly, they thought he was going to force them back to wherever they came from.
Kon thought about it. For them to risk their lives, he thought they were likely fleeing an oppressive regime. He flew them to a place outside of the hurricane's projected reach and put them down.
He pointed inland. "You'd better get going. It might still not be safe."
Comprehension dawned in their eyes and their faces lit up. They said their thanks. A little girl held his hand and smiled. They went off, and Kon watched them go.
He turned around and saw Superman standing there.
"You know, they probably aren't here legally," Superman said.
"I know," Kon said defensively. "It just...felt like it was the right thing to do."
"I know. Sometimes you have to listen to your heart. I'd rather err on the side of compassion."
"So, it's okay?"
"It is. I've swept through the area. Everyone is out."
"That's good. Where to now?"
"Back to Metropolis. You need to change into some dry clothes, and we should have something to eat. I think Lois will have ordered something by now."
"I would have expected something homemade rather than delivery. Are you going to wreck my image of you?"
"I'm the cook of the family. Lois is a great believer of takeout and the microwave."
They laughed and headed off to Metropolis.
Location: The Birds of Prey plane
"I've taught teenaged boys," Helena said. "I'm telling you, he's strange."
"I think you're exaggerating," Barbara said. "He's just focused."
"Dinah's running around in a skin-tight outfit, as am I. Batgirl's hardly wearing modest clothing, and Zinda isn't being subtle about hitting on him. You're not bad yourself. Despite all of these beautiful women around him, he hasn't tried to sneak glances or drooled over any of us."
"Match has been busy helping me monitor several situations. I'm not sure he's had enough time to think about ogling any of us."
"Teenage boys make time for that."
"I guess he's an exception," Barbara said, knocking on the bathroom door. "Match, are you okay? Was there any problem getting into the disguise?"
"I just finished," he called out.
He came out, and Barbara caught her breath. She knew that he was a good-looking young man, but when he made an effort, Match could be very attractive.
Match seemed to not notice her reaction. "Did we decide on whether I'm going to be the spoiled playboy or the vapid boy toy?"
"I'd like him to be my boy toy," Zinda muttered.
"Does it matter that much?" Dinah asked. "Your role is supposed to be minimal."
"There's less of a chance that I'll be chosen for abduction if we go with the playboy scenario. There are also a few modifications I'd need to make to my disguise for the other."
"I'd suggest the second one," Helena said. "It's a better chance we'll get someone in, though I think we're pretty sure of getting it as we are."
"That's true," Match said before making a face. "I hope they use chloroform; I don't like pills being put into my drink."
"Chloroform always leaves a bad taste in my mouth though," Dinah said. "What were these modifications you need to make to your outfit?"
Match unbuttoned his shirt halfway and adjusted the collar to hang open.
"All ready?" asked Dinah. "Batgirl's our backup. Let's go."
Location: Lois and Clark's apartment
Conner felt much better after changing clothes and eating.
"I should have bought more food," Lois said. "I had no idea that Conner could eat so much."
"I think he eats less than I did when I was his age," Clark noted.
"I eat more than Max," Conner said.
"I picked at my food when I was a teenager," Lois said. "I guess there's a bit of difference between boys and girls at that age."
"What do you think Max is up to with Oracle?" Clark asked.
"I bet they're doing computer stuff right now," Conner said. "They're probably hacking into some database or doing research. Dry, boring stuff like that."
Location: The kidnapper's van
Max feigned unconsciousness as he was thrown into the back of a van. He was fully aware of what was going on, but he pretended to be the unsuspecting victim of a kidnapping. There were a couple of other victims, and he could tell from the breathing pattern and heartbeat of one that Black Canary was among them.
A quick peek showed that no guard was standing watch over them, and there didn't appear to be any surveillance cameras. Other than Black Canary and himself, there were two other people in the back of the van, one man and one woman who shared several features in common with Dinah and himself.
'Looks like we fit whatever profile they were looking for,' he thought to himself. 'Lucky us.'
"Canary and I have been picked up," he whispered into the communicator that Oracle had given him.
Unfortunately for him, it was a one-way device, so he couldn't hear any response. However, he had helped develop this plan and knew what would happen next. If Batgirl had lost track of them, Oracle would be able to home in on their communicators and give their location to the others. Match was fairly certain that Batgirl was nearby, but he liked to build in contingencies. After being taken to wherever they were going, the rest of the Birds of Prey would swoop in. It was now Canary's job to keep the kidnapped victims safe. His job was to get to their computer system and secure everything before it could be destroyed.
Canary was unconscious now, but she'd wake up soon if they gave her the same drug that they gave him. Match was not impressed with the kidnappers; what they had given him had noticeably altered the taste of his drink. He had enough control of his body's systems without his powers to flush the drug out of his system.
To let Canary know that he was taken with her, he slipped his watch into her pocket. It was a signal that they had set up beforehand.
With everything set, Match went back to feigning unconsciousness.
Location: Lois and Clark's apartment
Even though it was the weekend, Conner wasn't surprised to see Lois working on a story. She was a workaholic and made no apologies about it.
"Anything interesting?" Conner asked her.
"It's a local corruption case," she explained, not taking her eyes off of the screen. "There's a city councilman who's taking bribes to approve a development plan."
"Doesn't that happen all the time?"
Lois flashed a smile. "Not in Metropolis. Not when I'm around."
"Her sense of justice is just one of the reasons why I fell for her," Clark said.
"You say the sweetest things," she told him. "But both of you, hush! I'm almost done and don't want to get distracted just now."
Clark gestured for Conner to join him in the kitchen where they could talk without disturbing Lois.
"I don't think I'd be half the man I am without her," Clark admitted. "She's always held strong opinions that drive here. However, they never get in the way of the truth. While she'd rather walk naked in front of a crowd before admitting she's wrong, she'd do that before passing on wrong information that supported any of her personal beliefs."
"You're very lucky," Conner said. "I knew she was important to you, but I didn't realize how much."
"I think you and Cassie might be onto something similar," Clark said with a grin.
Conner blushed.
Location: The kidnapper's lair
Match led the male kidnap victim to Black Canary and then started crawling though ventilation shafts to find the computer room. His claustrophobia had mostly receded, though he was still nervous and knew he had an elevated heart rate while crawling through the cramped shafts.
He found the room and began copying the data onto a memory stick concealed on his person. After decrypting it, all the details of this operation would be known, and the authorities would be able to rescue the previous victims and deal with the buyers.
He heard a sharp noise and put his hands to his ears. Black Canary had just used her sonic powers, and his enhanced hearing had picked it up.
The data finished copying to the memory stick. He took it and put it in a safe spot.
"This is Match," he said into the communicator. "I have the data. I'm going to rejoin Canary."
With that, he crawled back through the ventilation shafts to where he left Dinah. She and Batgirl had already dispatched all of the guards.
"Are we done?" Dinah asked.
"Yes," he reported. "The data's been retrieved."
"Cool. Let's return these two to their homes and head back."
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