36

"Okay, so what do we do with her, Gary? We can't keep her spread eagled like this. We've too much we have to do!" George was keeping Jennifer covered with her own energy weapon, albeit very nervously. "And I don't know how much time we have left!"

Jennifer looked at her captor with confusion. "That's the second time I've heard you 'talk' to this Gary guy. What is he, you're imaginary friend or something? I searched throughout this tub while you were out there and there isn't anyone on this ship but you and I!"

George couldn't help but chuckle at Jennifer's observation. Of course, it would appear to anyone listening and watching him that he was crazy. A tiny humanoid no bigger than a speck of dust would be practically impossible to see unless you possessed microscopic vision, and George could only hear Guer-On when he took shelter from the inside of George's ear. "Sorry, ma'am, I know what it looks like, but I do have a partner in the room with us."

"Huh!" said Jennifer as she rested her head back on the floor of the bridge and closed her eyes. "So, Superman's progeny is a nutcase!" Realizing her situation, she reopened her peepers and looked at George in an apologetic manner. "But a very polite nutcase. But please, drop the 'ma'am' stuff. It makes me feel old!"

"Sorry, m… er… Ms. Luthor. Are you all right?"

"You really are too polite, aren't you? Yes, I'm okay. Nothing but a very hard floor causing me distress. Well, that and an energy pistol pointed at my face."

Guer-On finally made his way to George's ear. "We could lock her in the cargo bay once we get all the explosives out of there. I think I can have them out in about 15 seconds or so."

"Okay, but I'm not invulnerable like you. Take your time so as to insure they won't blow up."

Jennifer stared at George in that "here he goes again with the voices" face. "What do you mean you're not 'invulnerable' like me? I'm not invulnerable, either. And who is to take his time with what?"

"We're going to put you in the cargo bay, Ms. Luthor. Gary suggested it. He's got to get your bombs out of there first, though." George decided it was time to change the subject. "Look, I don't know if you understand it or not, but there is a crisis on Earth right now and we don't have time for your little scam. We have to..."

"Hey! I beg your pardon! There is nothing 'little' about this plan. If it had worked, and it would have worked, I would be the richest woman alive."

"I assume the bombs were for the Mars Liberation Front?"

"Ha! That's a laugh! The MLF doesn't even exist. It's just a little idea I had to make it all work. Yeah, we were going to scare the folks back home into thinking that Earth was too dangerous to stay there. The bombs were supposed to convince everybody of that. They'd have to move to Mars and buy my land holdings."

"I don't suppose the earthquakes were a result of your mischief."

"No, can't claim that one. But when they began, I was convinced the time was right to initiate my plan. This was all supposed to start to take place in another month. I just moved it up when the first quakes hit. I couldn't have asked for better timing. I was mortgaged up the..."

"I get the picture! And you figured that once the quakes subsided, that your phony MLF would take credit for them, hit a few more targets, and start selling Martian land parcels."

"What can I say? Tragedy is good for business!"

George looked over towards the corridor. Several lead bomb casings were now stacked neatly along the wall. "It looks like the cargo bay is ready for you, Ms. Luthor. Please, get up... slowly... and walk down the hall to your new quarters. I will be right behind you with your weapon. And please don't make any sudden movements. I don't like these things, but I have been trained how to use them. Let's go."

Keeping her eyes ( and her smile ) trained on George, Jennifer did as he said. Once up, she noticed the bombs stacked where there had been none just minutes ago. With a puzzled look, she turned to her captor. "How did these get here?"

"I told you! I'm not alone. Gary did this while we were talking. Now, don't dawdle please, Ms. Luthor"

"Call me Jenn."

"Please don't dawdle, Jenn. I've got a lot of work to do, and you've delayed me far too much already."

"Yeah," Jennifer slowly began her way to the makeshift jail. "You said there was a 'crisis' on Earth? What did you mean? Aren't those quakes about over?"

"I don't know, Jenn. But I do know that they may be a prelude to a disaster that would make your little scheme seem like nothing in comparison." Jennifer stepped into the cargo bay and George began to close the door.

"What do you mean?"

"The Earth could be about to explode into nothingness, Jenn. And my friend and I mean to help save it." The door closed and George locked it tight from the outside. At least this little dance brought me something to loosen that kryptonite boulder, he thought as he studied the pistol in his hand. I'd better get back out there and get back to work on it.

Inside the cargo bay, Jennifer Alexis Luthor reached into the bosom of her outfit and produced a small disc with a single red button on it and she smiled. He is a nut case, she thought. But I'll be rid of him in short order and then I'll start thinking about all that wonderful money I'll be counting very soon...

"Okay, Joe. Looks like the ELMA is about ready to go." Chester spoke into the same microphone and receiver setup he and Joe had used just the day before. "When I give the word, I'll need you to turn that red switch to the setting marked 'engage.'. Got it?"

"I think so, Perfessor. This one right here?"

"That's the one! Now, stand by... and... Do it!" Joe complied and the modified ELMA came to life. He could feel the power surging through its electronic circuitry as if it suddenly found sentience. The small readout screen of Chester's earlier handheld ELMA with gauges and LED's was replaced with a separate and very powerful computer with digitally mapped graphics on its data screen. It made reading the information collected by the sensing wand almost instantaneous and analysis much easier to calculate. Joe, holding the wand, was in the bottom of the crevice that the quake had created in downtown Metropolis, and began to slowly move the large saucer shaped end back and forth, as Chester remained above watching the readings on the screen.

"Slow down just a bit there, Joe. You're moving the saucer too fast for the sensors register all the data."

"Tell me again why you don't have one of your geologist colleagues doing this?"

"Because they're all busy with their own theories and lab samples... I don't think this machine is calibrated right..."

"Whattaya mean?"

"If this is correct..."

"Perfessor, we spent an hour and a half checking every detail on this contraption. I think you fine tuned it at least twenty times. If it isn't working right now, then it never did."

"I was afraid you would say that, Joe. Say, can you hold the saucer in that one spot for a minute..."

Joe complied and waited for what seemed like a quarter of an hour before he thought he heard the chirp of a personal phone from up above, "Okay, okay. My arms are getting a little tired of holding this thing in this position. Can I move them while you're having your little conversation?"

More silence.

"Perfessor...? what's wrong?"

"Come on up, Joe. And bring the sensor with you." Joe had seen and heard Chester express many emotions since they had met, but the sound of his voice right now was the closest thing to absolute despair that he had yet heard from the lanky Texan. Throwing the electronic device over his back, he climbed up the ladder to find Chester sitting dejectedly in front of the computer monitor with his head in both his hands.

"It's too far gone, Joe. It's just too far gone. Look at the screen. This stuff is like a spider's web and it's almost three quarters of the way to the Earth's core." Chess finally looked up at his new friend. "And if it's as volatile as I think it is, we're in big trouble."

"But, we can do something about it, right? There must be a way to stop it?"

"Superman's daddy couldn't stop it from blowing up the planet Krypton. I don't have any idea how to keep it from doing the same to Earth."

"So we're just giving up all hope then? We're just... doomed?"

Chester managed a weak smile. He knew what his ally was up to. "Could be. But naw, I'm not givin' up. Jor-El couldn't find a way to stop this stuff, but maybe we can, if we're lucky."

"What was the phone call?"

Chester leaned back in his chair and looked straight up into the sky as if expecting a superhero to fly down and fix everything. "It was Infantino. Sydney's been hit by a quake.

"That's the last one mentioned in the book," said Jimmy to no one in particular as he and his family heard the news about the Sydney earthquake on a holovision in the restaurant. "I wonder what happens now?"

Noel, of course, didn't skip a beat with her answer. "Now, you put on your cape and tights and go fix everything. Isn't that what you superheroes are supposed to do?"

"Noel, just because some rock made me a little stronger and my skin a little harder..."

"Some superhero! I bet you can't even fly, can you?"

"Well, I haven't tried yet. I..."

"What are you afraid of? Falling? Hello! You can't hurt yourself. Aren't you supposed to be invulnerable?"

"I - I don't know. It seems like I could be, but..."

"And just how strong did this thing make you, anyway? Can you bend steel in your bare hands? Hey, waiter! Got any steel in this place that needs bending? My brother can do it!"

Phyllis decided it was time to intervene. "Noel, that's enough of that. Your brother doesn't need that kind of treatment right now. He's very confused by this transformation."

"Mom, not so loud!" said Jimmy. "You make it sound like I'm going through puberty or something!"

"Well, sweetie, in a way you are. Your body has changed in so many ways that I wouldn't be surprised if it has affected your hormones, too."

"Aw, Mom! It's not that! It's just that I... I..."

"What, dear?"

"I'm no hero! Somehow, I received this... this 'change' and I have powers others only dream of. But I'm still Jimmy Kent, not Clark! I can't be a superhero! I don't know how! I don't even know if I have the heart for it, or the... courage."

"Yes you do!" Linda had been staying out of what she felt was a family discussion, but she couldn't sit by and just listen anymore. "Of course, you have the heart! Jimmy, I've known you since we first started grade school, and I've gotten to know you pretty well since then. You may be timid about your ancestry, but you've always been ready to help people whenever they've needed it. I've seen you go out of your way to be nice to little kids..."

"I don't know about that one!" chimed in Noel.

"Okay," laughed Linda. "Present company excluded. I've seen you do chores for older folks who are too weak or too infirm. You find time to be in charitable committees at school all the time. As for your courage, you put up with Moe's foolishness every day and keep coming back for more. That may not be on a superhero level, but it takes courage to do that."

"Or stupidity!" said Jim. "I don't necessarily agree with all that, but I see where you're going with it. And I guess, now that I have the ability to help some of the quake victims and I really ought to get over there, but how do I do it? Like I told Noe, I'm not too sure about the flying thing."

"Before you go off to save the world," said Phyllis, "let's go home first. If you're going to take on a tough job, you'll need some working clothes... and I know just where to find some."