Chapter 2 – Paradise Valley
A cloudless evening was not ideal for this!
Flying high, Kara flew above the semi-desert landscape. The shadows were lengthening rapidly, as to her right, the sun slowly dove below the horizon. Dusk, she thought, would allow her to snoop around Atron's chemical plant – if it still existed – as a starting point in her investigations…
Whooshing silently overhead, she watched the landscape pass by beneath her. Fields, scrubland, some of it burnt – she'd been busy 2 weeks ago helping the firefighting crews put out some wild brushfires, tough and dirty work (but handy as she'd been able to report on them for Catco at the same time (!)), farms and small towns. Once you left National City and its suburbs behind, it was like a different world. Except for there being no ocean, down below looked a lot like Midvale, with places where you could just head-off and be a kid… In National City, open countryside wasn't available….
Now, in the distance, she could see a larger town, its lights coming on as the sun finally sank out of sight. Approaching it, Kara slowed down; it spread-out over a large area between low, rocky hills, and had the look of a planned community. Many houses flanked wide suburban streets, which curved around in rings and cul-de-sacs, radiating outwards from the town's central area. She waited as the last of the daylight faded away, then gently descended for a closer look.
And she got a shock - though not an unexpected one. Though it had initially looked prosperous when she'd approached it, the town clearly had seen better days…. It was easy to tell which homes were still lived-in and which ones were empty. And even easier to see which of those had been empty for some time. Their backyards were usually overgrown and neglected, or had long dead lawns bleached and worn away after months or years without seeing a sprinkler. Any pools were either dry or part-filled with dirty, stagnant water, while the house itself usually looked faded, with peeling paintwork, dusty paving and weathered or fallen mailboxes. Clearly many people had left, and never returned….
"And all because of Danielle Atron…!" Kara fumed aloud, angry at the dead woman's selfishness, and callous indifference to the lives of her former employees. From what she'd seen of it so far, Paradise Valley was clearly a corporate town, built to house the workers from one key industry and thereby, largely dependent on it for employment and prosperity. With that industry gone, the effect had been disastrous…..
With so many jobs gone, many of the people had eventually left, and, with poorer chances of employment, there had been few takers for their homes….
Quietly, taking advantage of the emerging moonlight, Kara flew slowly around the town, examining it closely. It had been a well-planned community. There were three large suburban areas, each of which had one or more elementary schools and, not far from those, one junior high school. The schools were usually sited in the middle of each suburban area, thus allowing most of the kids in the surrounding houses to walk to and from school. Nearer the centre of the town stood a mall. Good highway links ran in and out in three directions, so the town was easily accessible. But where was its real heart, the chemical plant?
Kara scanned the town, but couldn't see it, so she kept surveying the quiet streets, noticing more signs of decay and neglect. Cracked sidewalks, some roads needing repair, faded street signs….
Then, she saw it. Or what was probably it. On the East side of the town, she spotted what looked like a large industrial complex, looming like a dark, brooding shadow in the distance. She turned towards it, continuing to survey the town as it passed below her.
Nearing it, Kara began to get a better look at what she took to be Danielle Atron's chemical plant. At first, she thought it was intact, as the first buildings she reached were still complete and standing, but then;
"Oh my God….!"
Behind them was a mess, a tangle of scorched, partly collapsed structures…. In the brightening moonlight they looked cold, dark and abandoned. The bent steel and partly fallen roofs created weird, intimidating shapes and shadows, giving the site an unsettling, melancholy atmosphere. But, there seemed to be no sign of life, not even teenagers or homeless people who might have taken advantage of this to use the buildings as a place of refuge. Nothing stirred….
Except, she heard music playing somewhere….? Speeding-up a little, she crossed the complex and began to skirt its obvious perimeter. "Ah," she thought aloud, there was someone there. Despite its seemingly total abandonment, the plant was still guarded – a lone shack guarded its main entrance, the music and light within showing that someone was on duty. Why was strange, as, scanning the gate next to it, she could see that it's lock was rusted, with tumbleweeds caught in the wire mesh at ground level…. No-one had opened it for some time, so why was it guarded?
Quickly, and silently, Kara rose-up and doubled back over the plant, searching for a way to sneak-in without doing any obvious – and noisy – damage…. She had seen an aerial on the wall of the shack and had to suspect that, despite its derelict state, the complex had active surveillance equipment…. "Damn, let me in!" she muttered under her breath, scanning every structure she passed, then, she saw an entry point – an open ventilation shaft on the roof of the first building she'd seen earlier….
Carefully, and silently, Kara descended towards it, then hovered right above. Quickly, she scanned for 360 degrees around her position – no people or cameras in sight – then down into the shaft – it was deep, but wide enough. Speed-changing into dark civilian clothes, with a whoosh, she dropped straight down into it.
Abruptly, the shaft turned a corner and despite her slowing down, she managed to bump the wall. "Agh" she muttered under her breath, praying that it wouldn't trigger any surveillance equipment…
Then, she saw a grill ahead, and it wasn't in a ceiling. Slowly, silently, Kara came to a halt behind it and carefully peered through. A long, dark corridor lay on the other side, there was no sound of movement, but, not taking any chances, she X-Rayed it thoroughly, and discovered a hidden camera at one end.
'Damn it,' she thought, momentarily stuck as to how to get into the corridor without being spotted. If it was infra-red, which it probably was given the lack of lights in there, then trying to slip-out through the grill was pointless, as the darkness would be no cover whatsoever….!
Gently, she loosened the grill, then shot out into the corridor at high speed. In 2 seconds, she was flat against the wall beneath the camera, trying to bring her breathing under control in case the thing had a mic on it…. 'What do I do now?' she thought, scanning around. She was at a T-junction, where the corridor joined another one which stretched away in both directions. There was no electric light, although broken light fittings could be seen in the ceiling and, in the distance, brightening moonlight formed a cold, eerie shaft of light which briefly punctured the darkness. But, to her relief, X-Raying revealed no more cameras, hidden or otherwise…. 'So why put one here?' she asked, suspicious at one being aimed only at an open airshaft and not, as she would have expected, at the skylight in the distance (?), 'and which way do I go first?'
Choosing the skylight corridor, she moved softly towards it, her Super-hearing on high alert for any sounds of company. Nothing, not even any rats….
Softly, and silently, Kara moved around the building, always on alert for any signs or sounds of activity or pursuit. Zooming past any cameras, and there were some in different corridors, concealed in a way that they would catch anyone trying to sneak-in unawares (unless they were Kryptonian (!)), she searched for any signs of recent activity. She thought that anyone who'd killed Danielle Atron might have tried to break-into her old chemical plant as well, searching for records or equipment connected to the mysterious chemical which was at the heart of this story, that is, if the Federal investigators 18 years ago had left anything to find…. But so far, she couldn't find anything.
Frustrated, Kara found herself entering a large, partly wrecked room, which had seemed to have been an office – for only one person, and someone important, judging by the Bond-villain-esque décor (!) A large, battered desk, covered with dust, dominated the room. Upon it sat the remains of a computer stand, and behind it, beneath a large wall mural/sculpture still partly covered in dried fire department foam, was a large, imposing office chair. She only gave it a glance, but as she turned away, something caught her eye…. Straps, tied to the armrests.
'Was someone held captive here?' Kara thought.
She looked the wall mural/sculpture over, then X-Rayed it to see beneath the foam. A yellow disc dominated it, with a silhouetted logo of a test-tube on the right and, to the left of that, the letters "P.V.C.", aligned vertically down the disc, 'Paradise Valley Chemicals Ltd'. Above the disc, curving around its top edge, was more writing. Scanning it intently, Kara could just make-out "Progress a-", the rest was too damaged to read.
Suddenly, a sound! At once, Kara froze, and engaged her super-hearing. Nothing, then – a clatter, sounding like steel pipes (?!) falling down – somewhere relatively close. There was nowhere to hide, as the room had big, broken glass doors on both sides which meant she was clearly visible!
Desperately, she zoomed under the desk, and froze again, trying to control her heartbeat. With the desk giving her cover on three sides, she prepared herself, watching for any sign of a torch or laser sight on the PVC logo above the open, vulnerable side.
Nervously, she waited. An eternity seemed to pass. Then – footsteps… As silent as the grave, Kara watched and waited. They paused, right outside the office (!). Not daring to breathe, Kara held still as a bright, infra-red beam swept over the logo, catching the chair below it…
It was then, that she noticed something, something odd. There were straps tied to the wheelbase, to hold someone's ankles, but, they were not broken(?!). And neither, she could now see, were those on the armrests….(?!).
The beam swept over again, then the footsteps entered the room!
Kara dared not move, but readied herself for a fight. Her super-hearing could pick-up the person's breathing as they moved slowly across the room, then out through the doors in the opposite wall. Another pause, the red light swept the room again, then, the person slowly walked away, until all sounds of movement ceased, and silence returned….
Kara remained still, for how long, she didn't really know, until she risked an X-Ray through the desk. No-one else around – at least in the office. Intensifying her scan, she looked through the surrounding walls, but found no-one. Only more corridors and derelict, burned rooms. Except;
A much larger room – could it be a lab?
Her super-hearing at full power, she scanned her surroundings again. Still no-one. Softly, she slowly extracted herself and, keeping low, paused next to the door that the person had exited through. Another dark, featureless corridor…. The plant was like a maze! But where was the lab?!
If that's what it was?
X-Raying again, Kara searched the building – there!
Dodging cameras, and always alert, she sped through the building. Though it was derelict, it was clear that parts of it had been searched, thoroughly, but that was likely the work of the FDA investigators 18 years ago. Several corridors later, there it was, the lab.
Carefully, Kara X-Rayed the entire ceiling and upper walls, but no surveillance devices could be seen. So, quietly, she entered. The room was a mess, partly collapsed, but it had been searched, and if there had been any equipment left after the plant exploded, only broken fragments remained. No chemicals, which was very odd. 'Even FDA inspectors wouldn't be that thorough?!'
But one feature stood-out…
A tall chamber, smashed, but enough remained to see that it had been like a cage, but made of glass. 'Why have a large, glass cage (?) in a chemical lab,' she wondered, 'air-tight labs yes, to contain any gases or fumes – like at the D.E.O. – but a cage?'
Then a sudden, horrific thought struck. 'Were they conducting experiments on living creatures, or' looking at the size of the 'cage', 'people?' But that didn't make sense, because, from what remained of it, she couldn't see a door, even with an X-Ray.
Uncontrollably, she shivered at the idea of P.V.C. carrying out tests on humans, probably with Danielle Atron's permission, or even under her personal direction….!
Then, abruptly, she heard a sound – a door opening. She froze, and engaged her super-hearing. Nothing, then – footsteps, but from where?! X-Raying intently, she quickly scanned the building around her, and saw one person in a black outfit, walking purposefully down a corridor – in her direction…..
'How do I get out of here?!' Kara asked herself, then froze again as a second pair of footsteps approached.
Furiously engaging her memory, Kara moved back out into the corridor she'd come down, and got her bearings. Pushing her X-Ray vision to its limits, she mapped out a way back to the ventilation shaft, and sped-off along it. Hearing the footsteps coming on behind her, she zoomed through the building, weaving her way through corridors and rooms as she desperately tried to get out. Then, a high-pitched sound hit her full-on, almost making her crash into a wall. Head ringing, she tried to find the source with an X-Ray but couldn't, and worse, the sound drowned out the footsteps. 'I'm running blind!'
The pain intense, Kara kept going, praying she wouldn't meet her pursuers before she could get out! At last, she saw the open grill ahead and sped towards it. Just as she shot inside, the corridor's lights came on! Still in pain, she dragged the grill shut. 'Now….. fly,' but at first, she couldn't!
'Please?!' she begged herself! Then, she heard the footsteps again, and they were very close! In panic, Kara tried to take-off, but still couldn't! Then, with the person seemingly upon her, she dug deep, and shot-up the shaft! Bumping the wall again, she cursed to herself, then shot, relieved, straight out of the building. Quickly, the sound faded away, and with a last scan of the building below, she changed back into her Supergirl outfit, and flew upwards into the now moonlit sky.
High enough up to be out of sight from the ground, Kara paused, and flew slowly above the plant. X-Raying it intently, she tried to find her now out-of-luck pursuers… There were 4 of them (!), moving through different areas of the main complex, but gradually, they gathered in one room. Zooming-in, she realised with a start that it was the lab. What were they doing?
Then she saw a light out of the corner of her eye, and quickly tracked it to the main gate – it was open, and a vehicle was driving through it. But, there seemed to be no-one in the security shack…
"S**t," it's late," she said under breath, and reluctantly had to break-off. If she was to talk to Clark tonight, she had to speed back to National City now. But, tomorrow, she would be back in Paradise Valley…