Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Syndicate Invasion Part Three.
Clara's foot connected in the side of Clark's face with a sickening smack. He landed down onto the ground. She rose up high into the air and tried to bring her feet down onto his chest to knock the wind out of him.
He avoided having the wind knocked out of him, blocking her feet on the way down. He flipped her over and caused her to crash onto the ground.
Clark tried to fly at her at the speed of the light. She caught him around the neck and spun him around. She brought him down hard onto the ground, with him smashing against the ice. She smiled when she looked down at him.
Power Woman threw herself at Kara, who ducked. Kara was grabbed by the arm by Diana and pulled out of the way.
"What are you doing?" Kara asked, when Diana swung her in the air.
"Switching things up, seeing how well it works," Diana said. She launched Kara directly into Fury.
Fury slammed hard into the wall. She landed down onto the ground with an oof. She tried to push herself up, but Kara drilled her with a sharp kick to the face. She flipped out of the way and she smashed her hand into the ground. Kara jumped on her back and put her arm underneath her chin, forcing her down to the ground.
Diana and Power Woman exchanged a rapid fire series of punches. The whirling of their hands went back and forth against each other. Power Woman looked to be thrown off her game going up against someone who wasn't her enemy. Diana got behind her and tied her up, forcing her down to her knees.
"Are you going to submit?" Diana asked.
She tried to break the lasso, but found herself caught. Her breasts stretched against the lasso and it was an extremely tight fit. She wanted to heat vision Diana's head off, but she calmed down.
"You don't believe what Owlman is doing, do you?" Diana asked.
The lasso wrapped around her and she was compelled to obey. She nodded in response. "I don't believe it, in fact, we're going to kill him…..when he's gotten everything done."
Kara and Fury fought with each other. Clark slid on in and grabbed Fury around the waist. "Mind if I cut in?"
Kara smiled brightly and nodded. "By all means, be my guest."
Clark and Fury struggled with each other, and Clark took her down to the ground. He launched her into one of the crystal arrays. She cracked.
"Override," Clark said. He pressed his hand on the Fortress council and a bright energy surrounded Fury. The Amazon Warrior struggled and howled with madness. She was completely stuck. She cursed in pain.
Ultrawoman dodged Kara's attempt to take her head off. She blocked her punch, and took her down to the ground. She flipped Kara over onto her back and pinned her down.
Kara's eyes glowed and she tried to take her out with heat vision. Ultrawoman blocked the attack with her hand and smacked Kara in the face hard.
She fell to the ground with a groan, feeling her eyeballs burned. Ultrawoman saw Wonder Woman come out of the corner of her eye, but she was taken down instantly.
"Guess it's just me and you now," Ultrawoman said.
Clark stood off with Ultrawoman and charged her at the speed of light. She blocked his attack at the last possible moment. He took her down to the ground.
"I normally like it when you play rough," Ultrawoman said. She found herself trapped on the ground and the wind was being taken out of her. He jabbed her in the side and that caused her body to spasm.
"I'm glad to see that you've been paying attention," Lara said.
His twin fell to the ground temporarily paralyzed. Clark pulled her up to her feet and fastened her hands together and held her up.
"It's over," Clark answered.
There was a flashing of light that erupted through the Fortress. Ultrawoman looked at him with half lidded eyes. She could barely speak from the attack Clark did to her. Her tone was soft though. "Oh you bastard, you bastard, this is what you've done. I suppose that's what I get for keeping you around as a pawn for too long. I'm just a sentimental bitch."
Clark didn't understand what she was talking about. Clara smiled and decided to clarify.
"My Earth, you're Earth, it doesn't really matter," Clara said. "I think that he plans to destroy everything and reshape it in his own image….only I don't think that he's thought things out too well, because there will be nothing for him to return to."
"He's mad," Clark said.
Clara smiled, wrapping her arms around him. Her blue eyes met his when he held her up. "Yes….yes he is."
Clark wondered what he was going to do now. He had to secure the other members of the Crime Syndicate before he could move on with what he wanted to do. He turned around. "Access the energy spike, I've got to stop it."
"The only way to shut down the portal at this point, is to go to the source, Kal-El," Jor-El said. "If I'm not mistaken, I believe that this young lady knows exactly where the portal is."
Clark frowned when he turned to Clara. She shifted herself into a soft grin. "I do….I can take you now….if you trust me."
It went without saying that Clark didn't really trust her with all of the deception she pulled. But at the same time, she didn't have any motivation to betray him just now. She would want a piece of Owlman, well more than a piece, perhaps a big chunk.
He thought that he could use the backup and he had Kara and Diana with him. There were far worse people to have as back up. They made sure the other Crime Syndicate ladies were put on ice.
"They're normally fine, but they're just a bit…pent up," Clara informed him. "So, are you ready to rip Owlman's head off?"
Owlman stood on the precipice of true power, ready to become a God. He was going to become everything that he ever wanted to be. He saw the portal fire up and it was at about eighty five percent. Within the next seven minutes and thirty three seconds, he would be ready to head through the portal and achieve his ultimate triumph.
He turned around and dodged a bolt fired by the Huntress. Owlman ducked his head and he avoided a series of rapid fire shots.
"It's amusing how you try to fight me, when you cannot defeat the inevitable," Owlman said. He flipped into the air behind her.
He tried to punch her. She blocked the punch. Another punch and he blocked it again. Both of them kept trying to get the drop on each other with a punch.
Eventually, he went behind her and kicked her hard on the leg, kicking her leg out from underneath her leg. She landed onto the ground, hitting it with an intense grimace.
Owlman grabbed her by the hair and bounced her face off of the pavement. "We just had this lesson last night. Guess you're as soft as your father, not learning when to go in for the kill when you've got the chance. I do hope that you'd have plenty of time to learn the lesson that I'm trying to teach you, at least before I write you out of existence."
Helena squirmed. She felt Owlman's powerful hand clench her jaw and he tried to force her down. No matter how much he did, she was still fighting him off. She struggled to break his grip on her.
Suddenly, the windows shattered and Clark flew in. He knocked Owlman down onto the ground.
"Well, that's unfortunate," Owlman said. He reached into his pocket and flung a dagger made of Kryptonite at him.
Clark dodged it, but he felt a little light headed about being in the proximity of the Kryptonite. He staggered, slumping down on the ground to one leg.
Owlman slid a pair of Kryptonite brass knuckles on. "I'll make this quick and painless as possible, Kal-El, I've got a time tunnel to catch."
"You might want to check again, because you're flight has been delayed," Kara said. Owlman smiled and rushed towards her.
She dodged the Kryptonite brass knuckles and landed on her feet hard. She could feel Owlman move towards her.
A blast of heat vision caught Owlman from behind and incinerated his armor from his body. He screamed in pain.
Owlman dropped to his knees, left with nothing, but his under clothes on and they were charged. He looked up and saw Ultrawoman.
"And like Caesar to Brutus, you betray me," Owlman said.
Clark was about ready to comment that should be the other way around, but he realized that entire universe was flipped.
"You have room to talk, you sociopath," Ultrawoman said.
"Three minutes, and it's all for nothing, if I don't go through, everything is lost," Owlman said. He got to his feet.
Three arrows shot in Owlman's back, impaling him straight through to the chest. Huntress stood behind him, panting. Her leg was killing her, but she avenged her father's death, something that her own father never had a chance to do.
"Please tell me you can shut it down," Helena said.
Clara looked almost insulted by the lack of faith put in her. "Naturally, I can shut it down."
She moved over and walked over to the console. She didn't have much time, but no sweat there. She would just have to take a couple of shortcuts.
The power was cut from the building and she was able to take out the power source safely. A moment passed when she slid it out of the console.
"Careful, it's hot," she said, passing it onto Kara.
Kara winced when the super hot power source touched her hands. She looked very cross when she spoke. "No kidding."
Clara frowned when she looked over one of the readings, that couldn't be right. But at the same time, she should have seen it coming. "Oh, that bastard, that bastard, that bastard!"
"That can't be good," Diana said. She could see Clara continue to curse Owlman's name to the high heavens.
She took a few deep breaths, calming herself down. The last thing they needed was someone who had super powers throwing a fit. She held herself inside her. It was a good thing that this son of a bitch was already dead, because she would have killed him. She wanted to see him burn.
Clark's hand grabbed hers. For a brief moment, Clara recoiled from the contact. A few seconds later, she calmed down. Her heart beat, this was the first genuine contact that she felt after a moment. It was equal parts family and lover, and two things that had been a void in her heart for some time. Sure she had her fun with her Crime Syndicate members, but that was a different matter entirely.
"Please, explain," Clark informed her.
Clara closed her eyes and looked forward. "It's….well it's a weapon, a bio weapon he had deployed. I'm not sure when he had time to build it, but he has a contingency plan. He was going to transport it away when the portal was destroyed, but now…."
"How long do I have to stop it?" Clark asked.
"I'm not sure if you can stop it," Clara said. Clark looked at her firmly. "You have four minutes."
"I'll get it done in two," Clark said. He turned around and Kara went to follow him. "In case this is it…."
"It won't be," Kara said. "But, you better go, the clock is ticking."
Most wouldn't let him go, but Kara had the utmost convince in him.
Clark knew that his back was against the wall now. Four minutes was a rather short time window and the closer he got to the weapon, he was seriously doubting his claim that he could disable it in two minutes.
He really had to try. Clark flew closer towards the weapon. An energy rippled around him. Clark knew that if he made one wrong move, he could prematurely set up the weapon.
"Kal-El, listen to me closely," Jor-El said. "You will need to get in close to the central power core, and disable it carefully. Estimated time of dismantling, two minutes and nineteen seconds."
It was going to go off in less than four minutes. He didn't have much time. Clark disabled the side panel and saw the central power cell. He placed his hand on it, but it caused his hands to burn and the timing to buzz.
"It's speeding up, the timer is," Clark said.
"Then, we must prepare for the worst," Jor-El said.
Lara jumped in. She had an idea, even if it was insane. "Kal, you need to transport it somewhere else….to a location where there is no life where it could harm. I'm preparing the coordinates right now."
Clark hated to hurry his mother along, but they were running rapidly out of time. His heart sped up. The portal kept blinking above him.
He grabbed onto the device and rocketed it through the portal. He moved it away from Earth.
Clark felt his lungs grow heavy. The barren wasteland he had been transported into was not conductive to living. He couldn't hear his parents any more. Things were growing increasingly insane. The portal flickered around him and he knew that he would need to get back through the portal. He could hear the buzzing behind him.
If he wasn't back in time….well he didn't want to think about that. Clark needed to get back in time. A pair of hands grabbed him and yanked him through the portal. There was a loud explosion that resounded, and a second one. Clark felt his entire world go fuzzy.
Clark closed his eyes for a second. He thought for a moment that he didn't make it in time. He was flying, he was falling, and he was falling hard.
Something swooped out from around the other side and caught him in mid-air. He smiled when Kara held him up.
"That was risky and insane," Kara said. She stopped and allowed them to descend to the ground. "I knew it was a good idea to follow you."
Clark was brought to the ground. He felt severely weakened.
"The bio-weapon didn't get you, don't worry," Kara said. She held up the scanner and scanned Clark. "You entered a place where very few people survive for long."
"That's the best place to store that weapon, then," Clark said. Kara looked towards him. "I felt like that I was weaker than….well when I was stabbed with the Kryptonite."
"I think that's the idea," Clark said. He looked up and the sun was coming up before him. He could barely stand, but Kara held him up. "I think that I'll just need a few minutes to….recover."
"Take all the time you need, Kal," Kara told him. She smiled. "After all, you saved the world, there's no need to rush."
"No, I didn't save the world," Clark corrected her. He reached around and gripped Kara's hand tightly. "We saved the world. It was a team effort, all of us."
Kara smiled, she could believe that, she really could believe that. She allowed Clark to get back to his feet.
There was a crowd that was gathered around. Clark supposed that he couldn't stay in the shadows for long. All of them were looking at him, almost like they were trying to determine exactly what to make of him. Seconds passed, with minutes passing after that, and Clark waited for their reaction.
One of them started to clap and then more of then started to clap. Clark didn't know what to make of this.
"I think they're grateful for the rescue," Kara said. She didn't know if they knew how close they were to being taken down just like that. She gripped Clark's hand and smiled in response. "And I think that it's for a good reason."
Clark didn't really know what to make of it.
"It's the blur that has been saving people!" one of them cheered in response. They continued to applaud his actions and it got completely louder.
So much for being anonymous, but for some reason, Clark didn't become all that bothered by it. The solar strength returned to his body and he felt fresher than ever. He rose up to the ground and flew off.
He did think that the Superman name did have a nice ring to it, but he wasn't going to be as arrogant to name himself that.
Clara was glad that he got out in one piece. He approached her when she was waiting outside of the Fortress. Diana and Kara stood on either side of her. It was almost like they didn't trust her, and Clara didn't blame them at all.
"You did play your part in saving the world," Clark answered.
Clara looked at him. He was far more forgiving that she would have been in his place. She guessed that's what made him a hero in his own way. "I guess you could say that. I'm not sure how much I would agree though."
She didn't want to bring up the obvious point that the world might not be in that grave of a peril if she had taken out Owlman sooner. Or had not shut off the portal before checking whether or not he had some kind of failsafe. That man and his contingencies would be the death of her yet.
"So, time for me to face the music," Clara said.
Clark wasn't going to tell her anything and that put Clara more on edge than anything else. He lead her forward.
She entered the Fortress, with Power Woman and Fury waiting for her. Both of them looked to be oddly subdued. They were in energy restraining shackles.
"So, I guess this is it," Power Woman said. She felt that she deserved this, given the fact that she got defeated.
"You saved the world, didn't you?" Fury asked.
"Yes, and the world wouldn't need any saving if I hadn't blundered things by not keeping a better eye on my pawn," Ultrawoman said. She turned around and looked at Clark.
Kara discussed the matter with Lana before going over here. Lana was thrilled that Clark had three more girls practically at his mercy and was sad that she couldn't be here, but perhaps another time.
After all, they didn't want to put any non-super powered females in the line of fire, unless absolutely necessary. There was a chance that these three women could be on the level and there could also be a chance that they were trying to dupe them.
"So, the three of you have committed crimes against not only this world, but on multiple Earths," Kara said.
The three girls nodded. They did some really awful things. It wasn't really personal honest, it was just business.
"I'm sure that you three naughty girls understand that there are consequences to your actions," Kara said. "Your crimes were very awful."
The three of them inclined their heads, looking a bit remorseful. They understand that they did some very bad things.
"We….we're truthfully sorry with what we did," Clara said with a look of sorrow on her face. "But whatever punishment that we have….I'm sure that you're going to be worth it."
"Well, technically, you could be considered dangerous and you should get sent to the Phantom Zone," Clark said.
That caused all of the females to look on in horror. Kara decided to strike while the iron was still out.
"You could get sent to the Phantom Zone, yes," Kara said. She smiled. "But, there are options. You can become part of Kal-El's collective….providing that you acknowledge who is boss."
Fury eyed her fellow Syndicate survivors. "Yes, anything is better than imprisonment."
"And this might be enjoyable," Power Woman said. She folded her arms underneath her breasts, which did a wonderful job of emphasizing them. "I think that we're going to really enjoy this, wouldn't you agree?"
"Oh yes, completely, we will," Clara said. She walked towards him and got down on her knees before her new master.
The other women followed suit and kneeled before their new god and savior.
Kara smiled, they would be good additions. "Now, I don't think that you need any instructions on what you're going to do next, do you?"
Clara shook her head. "I don't think any of us need any instructions or encouragement."
Diana and Kara stood by to help break in the newest members of Kal's collective.
To Be Concluded In the Final Chapter.
