Chapter 7
Metropolis a night in January 2013
A middle-aged woman was walking through a deserted dark street when suddenly she was interrupted by a man pointing a gun at her.
"Halt! Give me your purse and your jewellery," demanded the man in an angry tone.
The woman started to give the purse to him, but suddenly in front of them descended a tall red and blue figure with his face covered.
"Is there some problem?" the costumed man with a disguised computer-like voice sarcastically asked the robber.
"It's you, you are not a legend?" Asked the robber surprised.
"What do you think?" the costumed hero asked a little irritated.
"I am wondering if it's true that you are bullet-proof?"
"Do you want to test it?" challenged the costumed man.
"Why not?" answered the robber and shot him three times. The costumed man didn't move an inch; the only noticeable effect the bullets seemed to have was a small darkening spot on his costume.
Suddenly the robber felt the pain of an arrow in his shoulder. And he turned to where the arrow came from.
"Do you need more persuasion to leave your job?" asked the green costumed man of the robber.
"Green Arrow and the Red Phantom? Since when do you work together?" asked the robber.
"Longer than you can imagine. Now we need to go to the police station. I think you need to tell them a long story." said the Red Phantom.
"Of course," the scared robber accepted the inevitable with resignation
The middle-aged woman, very close to being in shock, turned to the costumed heros, "Thank you," she said and added, "I feared he wouldn't be satisfied with just taking everything from me and that he would hurt me."
"It's not necessary to thank us, Ma'am. Making Metropolis safer is our business," said the Red Phantom and he flew away up to the roof of a nearby building. If anyone was close enough to him they could have seen he was using a thin cable and a pulley to 'fly' away.
Metropolis Secret Justice League's Headquarters two hours later.
Clark walked into the room when Oliver was storing his Green Arrow costume and his weapons.
"Did you turn our friend over to the authorities?" asked Clark as he walked towards Oliver.
"Yes. He promised to confess his complete story," explained Oliver while he finished putting away his things.
"Why did you shoot him with an arrow?" demanded Clark a little angry over Oliver's action because he thought it was not needed.
"It made him more cooperative. And don't worry, it was only a small arrow that couldn't do much damage to him. He shot you after all!" explained Oliver and then asked Clark, "And how did the new costume work?"
"Excellent, it stops the bullets so well." Answered Clark in satisfaction.
"Why did you want to test it on yourself? You made a great contribution to this organization with this excellent fabric; you don't need to put your life at risk by being the first test subject."
"I can't risk someone else's life just to test my invention," explained Clark.
"Well, I think that Chloe might not have the same thoughts about it. You have a pregnant wife; you don't need to expose yourself to such dangers, because she needs you."
"Of course, I know that! But don't worry; I have no plans on leaving her alone," assured Clark and then asked, "So, can I start to prepare all the costumes for the rest of the team with the new material?"
"You would know better than I if it was ready; you were the first test subject after all," answered Oliver sincerely.
"Yes Oliver, but it's your organization, I am only a collaborator." Explained Clark.
"Well, if this material is as good as you say, think about the possibilities of our group being able to fight crime without fear of getting killed if they are shot at. That's the most important thing, Clark," explained Oliver very obviously excited.
"That was my intention when I gave it to you," answered Clark.
"This guy knew your nickname; what made you choose it?" asked Oliver curiously.
"I think that 'phantom' is a frightening word. It scares me too, so I thought it would scare the criminals, too," explained Clark.
At that moment, Clark's cell phone rang. Clark looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Chloe.
"Hello, Chloe."
"Clark, where are you?"
"I am in Metropolis, Chloe."
"Can you come to Smallville to pick Jonathan and me up? I am at the Smallville Medical Centre but don't worry; I'm okay, I only sprained my left ankle. I'm with the doctor now, so a paramedic I met here is keeping an eye on Jonathan because he can't be left alone at home."
"I'll come as fast as I can, Chloe."
Smallville Medical Center One hour later.
Clark arrived at the SMC and searched for Chloe. He found her sitting in a waiting area with some bandages on her left ankle. Jonathan was playing nearby with a uniformed paramedic.
"Hey, Chloe, how are you?" Clark asked his wife as he sat down next to her.
"It's nothing important, only a small sprain in my left ankle. But there is a cow that will find out who I am when I see her again!"
"I am worried."
"There's no need. It looks worse than it really is. In a few days, I'll be back to normal."
At that moment, Jonathan rushed to his father.
"Daddy, daddy, he is my new friend." Said the boy enthusiastically.
The paramedic looked at Clark's eyes and shook his hand. Clark felt a tremble throughout his body at the look of this man but he didn't know why.
"He is Davis Bloome," Chloe introduced him to Clark. "Davis, this is my husband, Clark."
"It's a pleasure, Mr. Kent. You are really a lucky man; your wife is a nice person."
"Thank you."
Clark helped Chloe to walk to their truck and meanwhile Davis was taking care of Jonathan.
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Bloome," said Clark
"Davis is fine," he answered smiling at him.
"Thank you again," said Chloe from inside the truck.
Clark took Jonathan and sat him down in Chloe's lap. Clark got in the truck and started the drive home.
"How is the new material working out?" asked Chloe concerned about the testing of Clark's newest project.
"Oh, very well. A robber shot me three times and I only felt a small pain. The Kryptonian technology is so good."
"Clark. You tested it on yourself?"
"Of course! I can't permit someone else to take risks with one of my inventions."
"Clark, you aren't bullet-proof now, you don't have superpowers. We need you. You need to be cautious, the world needs you and I need you!" said Chloe angry.
"I am careful, Chloe. I only... I remember the things I did in my other life and I feel I still need to do something for the world," Clark explained sincerely.
"I am not saying you can't do anything. With or without superpowers you are a hero. But you need to stay alive to continue fighting evil. Clark, you need to take precautions. We will have another son in a few months, Clark; your family needs you too."
"Of course, Chloe, I won't take anymore risks, I promise. But now Oliver's group is more powerful with the new costumes made of Kryptonian fabric. You can't know how much that means to me."
"Of course I can, Clark. But I want you to think a little more of your family."
"You know that I always think of you, Chloe. You. Jonathan. And the baby. You three are my entire world," Clark said sincerely and taking a deep breath he continued, "And don't you need to explain something to me about this guy...Davis?"
"Davis, the paramedic? What happened with him?" Chloe asked surprised.
"Chloe, I can't believe you didn't notice it. He couldn't look away from you."
"What are you saying? Seriously?" Asked Chloe a little confused.
"I could feel the jealousy in his voice when he said to me 'your wife is a nice person.'"
"You are being paranoid. He was only being nice," assured Chloe, very convinced about it.
"Are you sure?" Asked Clark a little jealous.
"Clark, he really helped me a lot, taking care of Jonathan when I was with the doctor. I don't think he was doing anything more than his job. And you have no need to be jealous about anything."
"I am not jealous, Chloe, only I didn't like him."
"Typical male reaction." Said Chloe with a smile.
"Chloe, that's not it. I felt something strange when I was near him. I felt he wasn't what he appeared," said Clark, trying to explain his feelings about Davis to her. But it was difficult because he didn't know why he was feeling this way about this guy.
*****
Kent Farm, two days after that afternoon.
Chloe was watching TV, sitting on the couch and resting her left leg over some pillows on the coffee table. Jonathan was playing on the floor near to her, and Clark was in the kitchen preparing dinner.
Suddenly the door blew off and a strong and horrendous beast entered the farmhouse. It headed to where Chloe and Jonathan were and picked Jonathan up from the floor.
"Mom…Daddy…help me!" The little boy was screaming, scared.
When Clark heard his son's screams, he rushed into the living room and saw the Beast. He instantly recognized it from his other reality; and with recognition came the sickening knowledge that he was powerless against it, even more so now that he had none of his abilities. He thought of one possibility and ran as quickly as he could to the barn to retrieve the green Kryptonite he still kept hidden there.
When Clark rushed back into the farmhouse he found Chloe standing up, fighting with the creature to recover Jonathan, even with the pain she was feeling in her ankle. For some unknown reason the monster, who was so much stronger than her, seemed to be trying not to hurt her too much even though it didn't permit Chloe's attempts to get Jonathan out of its grip.
Clark rushed up to the creature and put the Kryptonite against it, but it had no effect. The monster released Jonathan onto the floor for only a moment to turn and give Clark a shove that sent him flying up against the living room wall. Turning back to pick up Jonathan he was gone in less than a blink of an eye, carrying the child away with him. Neither Clark nor Chloe could react in time.
"Clark, what was that? What if we never see Jonathan again?" Chloe asked through her tears.
Clark wrapped Chloe in a hug. "Don't worry; we'll find him," Clark reassured her as he started to gently rub her back and whisper to her in a comforting voice to calm her. Clark knew they would have to keep calm, cool heads and keep their wits about them. They could not panic because they needed to figure out a plan for finding their son and destroying the creature.
Clark looked at the meteor rock that was on the floor. "I know this monster is from Krypton, so I tried Kryptonite, but it had absolutely no effect on it. Maybe Jor-El can help us," he explained to Chloe.
"Okay, you go to the Fortress and ask him," said Chloe and continued, "I will try to be prepared for whatever we might need to do. Don't worry! I feel better." The last comment was a lie, but she knew he needed to hear that so he could be focused on finding their son and not worrying about her.
*****
"I need your help, Father." Clark asked standing in the Fortress.
"What is it that you need, my son?"
"Doomsday kidnapped my son. Do you have any information on how to defeat it?"
"Doomsday is a Kryptonian genetically engineered creature that was sent to Earth to kill you, and completely destroy the world. You have a dangerous enemy to defeat my son, you need to be cautious."
"And what reason would it have to kidnap Jonathan?"
"Doomsday wants to destroy you and this can include your family, too."
"How can I defeat it? It's so much more powerful than me, especially now without my powers."
"You have only one option; send it to the Phantom Zone" Two crystals appeared in the console of the Fortress. "The black crystal opens a door to the Phantom Zone; you can use it to send Doomsday there. But you need to be cautious; do not let yourself be pulled in with him. The red crystal gives you your powers back for a little while. Use it only if you need it; try first to defeat Doomsday without fighting him. He is more powerful than you. Even with your powers, he can kill you."
Clark took the crystals and asked, "How can I defeat it without fighting it?"
"You will need to inject it with liquid Kryptonite below its skin. Its skin is what protects it from the radiation. But then you must remember you have a very short window of time to send it to the Phantom Zone. If you kill the creature with Kryptonite, it will not take long for it to be reborn immune to it."
"Thank you, Father."
Clark crossed the Fortress portal again and returned to Smallville's caves, then took his truck and drove home. He had a mission to accomplish.
-tbc-
