Superman: The Ark of Krypton
Chapter 10
By
Jason Richard
After finishing his article for the Daily Planet, detailing his interview at S.T.A.R. Labs, Clark went home. Back in his modest apartment Clark looked over the pictures he had taken of those classified documents. They were maps, marking several locations around the world. He didn't know what he would find when he got there, but he knew he was going to check them out.
But he wouldn't be doing that as Clark Kent.
He put on that red and blue suit, held onto the maps, and decided the first place he wanted to go. Before that, however, he had some crime fighting to do. It was about the hour when crime really started to get going. He would discourage any trouble before he left the city, and then leave for the first location.
With that, he flew out of his Apartment.
…
Bruno Mannheim didn't work from an office. In the more...disreputable parts of Metropolis he worked off a balcony on the top floor of a nightclub. He enjoyed the view...and his secretary working in the main office would probably be the first to face cops if anything went down south. Bruno could use the secret elevator in the back to escape, and then lay lie low until the heat died down. He had it all planned out.
But he didn't know what he'd do now that this Superman guy was a fact.
He was scratching his mustache, trying to think of how he was going to do business now, when the door to his private balcony opened. In walked Mercy Graves, a striking woman who both intrigued and terrified him. Mannheim could remember when one of his thugs had gotten a little too friendly with her and had ended up trapped in one of those giant garbage boxes in a back alley...with his legs broken.
Naturally, at the approach of this woman, Mannheim put on his most welcoming smile.
"Mrs. Graves," said Mannheim. "What a pleasant…"
"Speaking with you is hardly pleasant, Mannheim." she said disdainfully, much to his displeasure.
"Mrs. Graves," said Mannheim. "Surely you aren't still mad about…"
"You're previous attempts at flirting?" said Mercy. "Hadn't crossed my mind. Anyway," said Mercy. "We need to adjourn to somewhere a little more...soundproof."
Mannheim, coming to terms with the fact that this was a difficult woman, nodded, "Gotcha covered."
…
In a back office of the club, Mannheim locked the door and then sat down at a desk. It was a messy area, filled with piles and piles of paperwork, but Mannheim also kept a Lexcorp soundproofing device in that room for just such an occasion, a device next to the desk which he promptly turned on. Though the effect wasn't visible, it send out a wave that deadened all sound as it passed a certain radius in that room. Anyone within that radius could hear fine, but anyone outside that radius would look at them and hear nothing.
Mercy, standing over him, wasted no time, "I'll make this brief Mannheim. In order to conduct your usual affairs, Mr. Luthor suggests that all business be done in silence, under protection of soundproofing devices. Reviews of videos where this Superman interfered with illegal activity suggest that he only arrived after the crime was spoken off outside the protection of such devices."
"Wait," said Mannheim. "You think he hears people wherever they are and that's how he busts us? Good grief! How's a guy supposed to make a dishonest living anymore?"
"That's actually the second reason why I'm here," said Mercy. "Lex is working on a way to neutralize this Superman as we speak."
Mannheim cracked an uncertain smile, "Should have known. Guy shows up in town who can lift a building, and it didn't faze our Mr. Luthor one bit."
While Mercy didn't think it failed to get under Lex's skin at all, she wasn't about to disclose that to this character.
"As I was saying," said Mercy. "Most of Lex's projects are a bit uncertain at the moment, but our S.T.A.R. Labs informant, before going rogue, did let us know of one experiment that showed promise. We know you have spies and informants of your own at major technology groups."
"Of course," said Mannheim. "I am a connoisseur of technology...especially if it can make the cops go, Boom!" he said, emphasizing the explosion with his hands.
"Indeed," said Mercy, rolling her eyes as she handed him a folder. "Lex would like you to arrange an...accident at S.T.A.R. labs, adding his own unique contribution to their research."
"And I suppose it's going to need a human test subject," said Mannheim, rubbing his chin as he looked over the file. "That one informant Rudy Jones has been asking for more money lately. No one will miss him...yeah this looks easy enough."
"Whatever," said Mercy, walking away. "Just get it done and Lex will pay you. By the way, I'd better not catch you gazing at me with a silly grin as I walk away. I'm sure even you're smart enough to know the consequences."
Mannheim kept his eyes glued to the file and said, "You got it." He had to admit to himself, while he would prefer to do business with a beautiful woman, she was in many ways harder to deal with than her boss.
…
That night Clark flew all over the world, visiting the locations on the map. Paris. France. Germany. China. Arabia. Africa. Australia. He didn't know why he he hadn't tried this for. Flying over the world in a matter of minutes. It was amazing.
Occasionally he would stop a mugger or something and put a stop to it, but with a lot of people wondering about just how powerful this Superman was, few people were risking any illegal behavior, so he didn't see much.
In each of the locations, Superman either found a strange object buried in the ground, or an indentation in the earth where one used to be. Considering, as he understood it, that the map was tracking origins of that pulse the alien artifacts must have been there at some point. Something had to have sent out that signal after all. That meant other people were collecting the artifacts as well, though he didn't encounter any of them.
By the end of that night, or day depending on what part of the world he was in, he had collected several alien artifacts. He then went back to the farm, eager to see what they were.