Part 13 - Greg Sarkov

Sunday - 8:23 am

Clark woke with a start to the sounds of sirens, gun fire, and police radio traffic that was near the point of being frantic.

'Shots fired…Officers down! Requesting back up.'

'Copy that. Location?'

'Courthouse.'

He jumped from his bed and shot out of his apartment, a streak of red and blue seeming to follow in his wake.

He quickly came to the Courthouse where they were supposed to be having the preliminary hearing for 'B. Turner' and the rest of the wannabe Mafia members, but he quickly realized this was not going to occur that day.

Armed with assault rifles and other automatic weapons, men were pulling back from the building and moving toward a van. Superman instantly knew that half of them were the men he had caught Thursday, just days ago.

In a fraction of a second he took in the scene, finding that some of the officers were hit and that Henderson was pinned down. There were also a few news crews, though they were being forced down and protected by the officers.

Time to end this, he told himself.

O o O

Henderson pressed himself behind the marble column as bullets continued to fill the air.

Four officers were now down, and he couldn't do much about it at the moment. He was pinned down.

And then it happened.

The loud over powering bangs and pops…stopped.

It was as if the finger of G-d had come down, leaving an eerie silence.

He cautiously peeked around the column, not about to fall for a possible trap, but what he found quickly calmed the tension within him and slowed his adrenaline.

The guns were scattered all over the ground before them, the shooters all on their knees with their hands behind their backs. The familiar red and blue figure stood nearby.

Henderson looked at them all, but his eyes instantly went to the one closest to Superman.

Gregory Sarkov.

The leader of these men, the man who had held the trigger and had pushed it at the bank.

"You again?!" he spat, glaring at Superman.

Superman turned his gaze to the angry speaker as Henderson and the other police officers slowly came out from behind their cover, guns still drawn.

"I could say the same thing to you," Superman stated calmly.

Henderson reached in search of his cuffs as he went forward, but found them missing, as did many of the other officers.

"Where did…?" he began, quickly finding that the men were somehow already handcuffed.

Curiously, Henderson looked to Superman.

Superman shrugged as he answered, "Sorry I took them without asking, but I figured using their guns wouldn't be very practical since that would sort of mess up evidence, not to mention you'd have a hard time removing them."

Henderson shook his head in amused disbelief.

Who would have thought? Superman could be a master pickpocket…

An officer came up beside him and grabbed Sarkov and tugged him to his feet. This officer was none other than Officer Mathews.

Sarkov glared at Superman in a way that could only be described as pure hatred. He leaned forward, pulling at Mathews' firm grip, as if daring Superman to confront him.

Henderson was beside Superman, the other able officers taking care of the other mafia members and their injured comrades as the sirens of ambulances approached.

"You'll pay for this," Sarkov snarled, his voice low and dark as he somehow took a step forward, his face now inches from Superman's placid one. "I'll get out, and you'll be sorry you ever crossed paths with me - Alien Filth."

At that, all within earshot snapped around toward the voice, which was everyone in front of the Courthouse. Even the fellow mafia members stood in shock at having heard their leader actually say what he had.

Whispers from people around began flickering about like little fluttering flames, clearly appalled by what had just been spoken.

'What did he just …?'

'He did not just say that…'

"Greg, boss… I don't think you should be threatening-" a different cuffed man started, only to cut himself short as his boss straightened himself further in an attempt to reach Superman's eye level.

Henderson glanced at Superman, and was startled when he caught a flash of a gleam of fury red emanate out to the colored portion of his eyes before retracting back into his pupils.

More whispers spread throughout, but no one was bold enough to voice their thoughts any louder as they waited to see what would happen next.

'Is he going to do anything?'

'Oh, I hope that pompous ass gets what's coming to him…'

Henderson looked to Sarkov, knowing he had no doubt seen the red flash as well; and sure enough, the man's eyes confirmed that fact.

He was terrified.

But that quickly shifted back into hate, the hatred clouding his fear, making him bold once more.

Henderson saw this, and the transition was actually a little more disconcerting than the red that had been in Superman's eyes, because unlike Sarkov, Superman was in complete control of himself.

And so, not wanting things to escalate further, Henderson stepped slightly in front of Superman, his back actually brushing against part of Superman's shoulder and chest as he placed a firm hand on Sarkov.

"That's enough. I'd advise you to use your right to remain silent," Henderson stated dangerously, just able to keep his own anger in check as he and Mathews moved to escort Sarkov to the awaiting patrol car beyond.

If I wasn't one to uphold the law, I'd beat you right here, right now, you sorry excuse for a human being. The man you just insulted is more human than you could ever be.

Greg huffed sarcastically, taking a step back from Superman; however, Superman moved.

With a firm step, many people startling at the solid thud resounding from it, he went beside Henderson once more. He placed a gentle hand on Henderson, making the three men near him freeze and all around hold their breath.

'What d'ya think he's gonna do…?'

'Pound the creep into the ground I hope…'

It was unclear of what Superman's feelings were at the moment. He was hiding his emotions very well, but Henderson knew, due to that heavy step, that it would be fair to say he wasn't happy.

All stood in apprehension, wondering what Superman was about to do, a few actually fearful.

He had just been insulted and threatened, after all, and however improbable the threat's likelihood of follow through, it had still been a threat.

One does not say such things to the most powerful being on the face of the planet and get away with it.

The cameras were rolling.

O o O

Lois' Apartment

Lois was at home, once again enjoying a nice large serving of double chocolate fudge ice cream despite the fact that it was 8:32 am.

The TV was on, but she wasn't really paying attention. Her thoughts were back on that bank robbery – well, attempted one – and that bomb. Those were some tough characters to have their hands on something that powerful.

There has got to be a story in this somewhere, she told herself.

'For those of you just now watching, Superman just moments ago in front of the courthouse after the escape of Greg Sarkov and his men was ruined by none other than Superman,' the newscaster said, causing Lois' head to snap up.

'We are now going to Bob with the live feed. Bob?'

The camera lens was cracked, a thin white line splitting across part of the screen, but that didn't matter, for what was beyond seemed to overpower all distractions. The angle of view was positioned in a way that caught most of Superman's face, the cameraman positioned a good distance away and diagonally from the side of Henderson.

The reporter was off to the side, staring at what was unfolding.

' "You'll pay for this. I'll get out, and you'll be sorry you ever crossed paths with me - Alien Filth." '

The area around was fell silent, and for a moment Lois wasn't sure if they had the audio hooked up correctly.

Yup, there's definitely a story with these characters…she concluded, her eyes now glued to the screen.

Henderson moved forward and said something, but then Superman took a step.

The pressure in the air could almost be felt through the television, all of the people in view clearly in shock. Superman's stance alone displayed an amount of power he had never before quite revealed he possessed.

The world watched in stunned silence as Superman's gaze bore into the man before him, pure massive power radiating from his mighty frame as he leaned toward the man who had quite frankly just bitten off more than he could chew.

"Wow," she whispered, amazed, but nothing could prepare her for what happened next.

His words were crisp and sharp, not angry or threatening, just stated in a way that made them fact.

And so he spoke, directly to the man many now really wanted to dive bomb.

"Know this: You have crossed something even I wouldn't dare, and this something you cannot escape from, you cannot hide from, nor forever run from. Even if you had escaped just now, this something would and will have you, in this life or the next. Remember that when you face the Maker."

Lois gaped at his words, but didn't dare blink, afraid she'd miss something.

Sarkov surprisingly didn't rear back from his current location, nor did he reveal his rising fear; he simply narrowed his eyes before replying in a nonchalant voice, "Oh yeah, and what's that?" His eyes never swayed from Superman's face.

"Justice," Superman answered, his voice not loud or harsh, but quiet.

It was as if the word was sacred, and to him it was. His voice was soft and mysterious in that the volume of it didn't matter; it carried across them all anyhow, reverberating throughout as if it wasn't truly a word that had been spoken at all, but a presence which had settled over them for a moment before evaporating, leaving behind an awesome sense of right and wrong.

Henderson beamed and stiffened in pride at that as Sarkov shrank back, no longer able to counter the being before him.

Superman then graciously stepped aside, removing his hand from Henderson.

Everyone around slowly breathed out in a collective breath, thankful that they hadn't been under the intense gaze of Superman. The police then placed all the men into the cruisers to be taken to the jail, all giving Superman a look of wonder.

Poor Bob the newscaster nearly stumbled in front of the camera, lifting his microphone up after clearing his throat.

But he didn't open his mouth to speak, at a loss of what to say, for a long moment.

"I think the words that have just been heard speak for themselves," he finally managed as the camera then panned to the side, watching Superman step toward the courthouse, clearly intending to help the fallen officers.

O o O