Firstly I'd just like to say Thanks to everyone who is reading/reviewing this fic. Your comments are most appreciated!
The Metropolis Files: Memento Mori Part 2
Metropolis P.D. Crime Scene...
Clark pulled his steely blue unmarked Crown Victoria into a tight parking space at the end of the now cordoned off street and emerged into the sunlight, shortly followed by his new partner. As Lane fell in step beside him she slipped on a pair of dark shades and found herself compelled to interrogate him more.
"So you're telling me if we ever got into a corner with this guy and he had a weapon you wouldn't use your gun? After all you've seen he does to these kids?" Her tone indicated that she would in fact shoot the guy in a heartbeat should the need arise.
Kent pulled up the yellow police tape to enter the crime scene and flashed his shield at the uniformed officer guarding the site. "It's always hard for me to explain, but I just don't see how the world will ever change while violence brings about violence. If I shoot this guy then I become no better than he is."
Lois walked carefully around where several crime scene investigators were working and wished she could agree. She took his point very seriously, but as she gazed down upon the remains of some poor ten year old it was hard to think of anything other than an eye for an eye. The beast that could decapitate an innocent young girl like this deserved to be caught and punished and she intended to make that happen. Carefully she kneeled beside the corpse as the coroner examined it for evidence before its removal.
"What kind of time frame are we talking?" She glanced at Clark then the female medical examiner. "I would assume from the fact that it rained heavy last night that our guy did this between maybe nine pm and three am?"
The examiner nodded, gently taking samples with a gloved hand. "Without getting the body back it's only guesswork, but I wouldn't say you were far off the mark..." She looked up from her work momentarily and her brow furrowed as she glanced at Clark.
Molly had been the M.E. on several cases Kent had been the primary on and up until now she knew he'd had no partner. He smiled at her unspoken question. "They finally got me in a corner Molly. This is Lois Lane my new colleague."
Molly smiled but never acknowledged the introduction. Instead she engrossed herself back in the task at hand. She had been doing this job for some fifteen years now and could never find the time for niceties. Niceties cost time that could catch a murderer. Clark had come to appreciate her no nonsense attitude and leaned in closer, scanning the cadaver with his x-ray vision to speed up the forensic process if at all possible. He hated this part of his job, and doubted he would ever totally get used to seeing the heinous crimes that one man could do to another, but in the end he was here to try and stop it occurring again. After a moment he fought back the nausea he always still felt and carried on with his examination.
There were no obvious clues to the perpetrator, but as he zoomed in closer to where the head had been severed he perceived something metallic embedded in a tiny section of the damaged spinal column. He scrutinized it further and found a craftsman had folded the steel expertly. It had been a very long time ago but he had seen this kind of work before. The memory came back to him as he stood and suddenly distanced himself from the grisly fly-ridden body.
He had been at the Luthor mansion at the time, taking in Lex's extensive armory. To any young teenager it would have brought about feelings of awe, but to Clark it had personified violence too. He remembered how he had looked upon the crafted samurai blades, and how Lex had told him that the weapons were things of beauty, only dangerous in the wrong hands. Now as he turned back to Lois he knew they were too dangerous to even exist. What worried him most was a fact he wouldn't reveal to anyone just yet though, the fact that he suspected the weapon being used was the very same one he had seen in Lex's collection that day. It had been the most expensive and ornate Katana in the set and he had given it the most attention. No one else could know it, but with Clark's x-ray vision he could identify things on a molecular level just like a fingerprint.
"Molly, you might want to take a look around the top of the spine there," finally he broke from his thought and pointed out his discovery. "I think there might be something our murder weapon left behind."
Lois' brow knitted and she was just about to ask how he could know, but Molly undaunted cut her off. "Oh, but whatever is in there isn't from the murder weapon..." She left the sentence hanging to tease her police colleagues.
Clark leaned in again and revaluated the evidence. "The beheading was post mortem then?"
Molly beamed. If Kent hadn't become a cop he could easily have taken her job with his keen eye for detail. "Yes. It was totally redundant because the poor little thing was already dead. From the marks around the neck tissue that's left I'd say he strangled her..."
"Then why take the head?" Lois stood from her crouched position and gazed around the yard where the body had been dumped, wondering if the skull was nearby. "Do you think it symbolizes something, or is this just another nutcase who's seen Highlander too much?"
Clark didn't know for sure, but his experience told him this was not just some indiscriminate psychopath. They were hunting a man who had purpose and reasoning behind his actions. Finding that reasoning was the clue to solving the whole case. On an impulse he checked out the corpse again, this time using all his visual skills to their maximum. Every limb, organ, and bone was checked out on a molecular level in less time than it took to blink an eye. At first everything appeared normal until he let his focus dig deeper into the maelstrom of chromosomes and D.N.A.
Each double helix Clark saw contained the building blocks of life that this poor girl had inherited from her parents, but there was something more here too, something so perfectly crafted that it had to have been engineered in a lab rather than being left to a chance of nature. Clark was no microbiologist but it appeared to him that some of this ten year olds genes had been toyed with. It reminded him all too closely of a cloned little girl named Emily Dinsmore he had encountered long ago. That thought coupled with his earlier discovery led to only one name.
"Luthor..." He let the name slip before he had even thought about it.
"Senator Lex Luthor?" Lois and Molly both gawked at him as the almost whispered words left his mouth. "What has he got to do with any of this?" Lois prodded for more information and began to sound just like her cousin.
Clark shrugged and slipped on a pair of shades of his own to match his partner's. "Probably nothing..." His pupils narrowed to points, "but if he has I intend to catch him." Casually he glanced back at the busy coroner. "Can you get me a D.N.A. test on all three victims? I think we'll find some startling similarities."
Molly got to her feet and finally peeled off the bloodied latex gloves she abhorred wearing in the midday heat. "I'll get right on it, but what makes you think we'll find something there?"
Kent smiled and as he turned to return to his Ford muttered his cryptic reply. "I shut my eyes in order to see..." It had been a long time since he had heard the phrase, and a long time since he had seen the raconteur who had recited it.
Lois jogged to catch her partner up and threw her purse in through the car door before staring at Clark with her most bemused face. "I didn't know ex-farm boys were interested in quoting artists like Gaugin?"
Clark settled his sinewy frame behind the wheel and fired up the car's V8 engine with one flick of his wrist. Once Lois was inside he disengaged the parking break and smoothly pulled away onto the gravely dirt road that lead behind the housing estate.
When it was safe to take his eyes from the dirt track he looked over and finally answered with a wry smile. "Sometimes people can surprise you..."
"So what does it mean?" She was getting impatient now, another parallel with Chloe Clark mused.
"An old friend told it to me a long time ago." The sentence was both abrupt and to the point, and as Clark turned a sharp right back onto the highway Lois thought she saw a glint of anger in his eyes for the first time since they had met.
"Do I detect animosity between you and said person these days?" She watched for any tell tale signs of evasion but saw none.
"It was Luthor who quoted it. We used to be pretty good friends back in Smallville, right up until he was involved in that plane crash. I'm sure you heard about it?" Clark tapped the brakes slightly as the car in front slowed; apparently something up ahead was causing a gridlock. "He came back from the accident a changed man. I thought I knew him but I was wrong. Shortly after the crash his father died in suspicious circumstances and Lex was the prime suspect. Some say Lionel had the plane rigged and Lex wanted revenge...I couldn't bring myself to associate with him anymore after that, and I guess we grew apart. Some say he went the way of his father..."
Lois nodded. "Worse, he became a politician! So seriously, what makes you think he's involved with these murders?" A static hiss from the police radio caught her attention and she delicately retuned it to hear the dispatcher's report, forgetting their conversation for a moment.
"All cars in the vicinity of Fifth and Main, we have a 10-35 in progress...please respond..."
Clark looked at the clutter of vehicles ahead and smiled. "A little late to warn us we have a roadblock huh?" Impatiently he scanned the surrounding area to find out the cause and realized a local jewelry store was in the process of being relieved of some of their finer items. The thieves had purposefully cordoned off the highway to facilitate a quick getaway, and were now hopping into a red Mustang with their loot. "This is Henry-Victor seven; send all cars to the south end of Fifth and Main..." He keyed the mike on the steering column and gave the dispatcher more information on what was occurring.
Lois scowled at him and flicked on the hidden sirens and lights behind the front grille. "Don't just sit there while the cruisers head them off, let's cut through this mess and give chase!" She slapped a hand on the dash to try and get through, but Kent turned off the engine.
"If I try and cut through all these cars innocent people could get hurt! Those guys won't care if they drive on the sidewalk to escape once they see our lights in their rearview. They'll panic. The cruisers will stop them don't worry!" In that moment he hated having a partner, hating being restrained from what he did best. As Lois looked at him with an expression of disgust he decided the waiting time was over. "I'll be right back..."
"What?" Lois looked on in amazement as he bolted from the car and took off down a seedy side street. "Hey, you can't catch a Mustang on foot...and that's a dead end back there anyway..."
Kent took no notice and vanished behind a pile of rotting cardboard some vagrant called home, racing down the alley at super-speed once out of sight. Lane decided she wasn't waiting for his sheepish return when he found out there was no exit that way, and instead jumped behind the wheel of the car herself. "Out of the way!" She yelled at the helpless drivers in front and they obediently drew up on the sidewalk to let her pass.
Unfortunately as Kent had surmised she had gained more than just their attention, and as the unmarked police car made it clear of the traffic jam the Mustang's driver up ahead spotted her too. In an instant his thoughts turned to the life sentence he would surely get if convicted of yet another offence after his long string of convictions. The thought didn't please him and he floored the gas pedal on the sports car, taking to the sidewalk when other vehicles didn't clear his path quickly enough. A destructive wake of debris was left behind as the Ford ploughed onward, and Lois was forced to drive through it all in her pursuit of justice.
Clark let his body's momentum slow as he reached the dead end Lois had warned him about, he did not however stop, as she had anticipated he would. Instead he quickly glanced around for unseen observers, and then let his alien ancestry take hold in earth's gravity. His whole frame seemed to suddenly become weightless and he soared over the towering brick wall like a bird hopping over a fence. His movement was both swift and graceful, landing on the opposite side with a soft thud. Before setting off again he used his x-ray vision to look through the adjacent buildings and check the route the Mustang was taking. To his surprise it had just spun down the neighboring alleyway, tires squealing as Lois gave chase. If she had done as he had asked the cruisers would have it boxed in by now, but instead it had a chance to get away. Knowing he had little time he hopped yet another steep wire fence obstruction and came to rest just behind the speeding getaway car, arms folded.
The Mustang was only yards away from breaking back out of the tight alley onto the highway now, and if Clark didn't stop it here he wouldn't be able to use his abilities to give chase any further. In a heartbeat he had weighed up the situation and found a local landmark that would suit his purposes. The ornate metal streetlamp sat innocently at the alleyway's entrance, guarding it like some sentinel of light. The stars and stripes hung loosely from a golden armature that added to the curious effect. The image somehow seemed poetic to Clark as he focused his heat vision at its base and began turning the aged iron into molten metal.
As the Mustang's driver raced unwittingly in its direction the tired iron finally gave way like an ancient oak being felled. The post groaned then snapped straight down onto the oncoming car's hood, crumpling it like a sledgehammer just as Kent had planned. Both forward airbags kicked in as the Ford bounced from the impact then settled back to the road with a metallic whine. Clark inspected the interior as he approached and noted neither occupant appeared to be more than dazed. The thought pleased him and he tore away the front passenger door with one hearty yank and dragged out the unsuspecting villain within, shortly followed by his gruff associate. As he slapped cuffs to the stunned duo Lois at long last screeched around the corner sirens blazing. She slammed on the brakes just short of the crushed vehicle and hopped out with a look of sheer astonishment on her face.
"How the...what did you do, fly here?" The confused detective's gaze analyzed the scene, but she could come to no satisfactory conclusion.
Clark had the urge to say yes, but at that moment his anger got the better of him. "If you had waited like I said there would have been none of this! No devastation on the sidewalk, no high speed chase." He handed the key to the cuffs to an arriving patrolman and walked away shaking his head. When Lois followed, irate at his smug attitude he turned back to her in desperation. "Don't you see sometimes its better to use brains than brawn? Heroism is fine if you don't put innocents in danger..."
Lois opened her mouth to give a suitable retort, but instantly found herself speechless. She didn't know how he had gotten to the bad guys before her, how he had traversed a twenty foot brick façade and managed to get in front of a speeding sports car, but what she did suddenly realize was that maybe his ethics were right. In a world full of violence and mayhem, somehow she had discovered a man of truth and justice, and maybe something more...
Clark Kent's Loft Apartment....
Clark took the old style freight lift at the back of his apartment block and rode it silently up to his floor. No one else used this elevator anymore, only Clark on the odd occasion he took the Harley back home. Tonight he was riding it to escape any unwanted conversations with the other residents. They all knew he was a cop, and several had already begun asking awkward questions about the 'Rainman' that as of yet he had no answers to.
The ancient lift ground to a halt with a hoarse grunt and Clark emerged from the flaking metal gate that kept passengers safe. He ambled to his door with his jacket over his shoulder, and from within he could already hear pots and pans clattering as Chloe began to cook dinner for their guests.
"You cooking already Chloe?" He smiled tossing off his jacket onto a nearby chair, shortly followed by his holster. He was always glad to lose that part of his attire at the end of a shift.
Chloe appeared spoon in hand and looked at the detective scoldingly. "Yes, I'm cooking, although how you expected me to do anything with two slices of bread and a half eaten jar of jelly I'll never know!" She rolled her eyes mockingly, and then sighed. "I've been down to the grocery store and stocked up your kitchen. You know it would be so much easier if I lived closer..." She heard an unexpected hiss from the oven and ducked back in the kitchen just in time to save Clark from an awkward conversation.
He knew very well what Chloe was hinting at and had to smile to himself as he dropped hard down on the couch and flicked on the T.V. The plush elongated cushions were inviting to him and he snuggled in further, ready for a rare night at home away from the world's woes.
After a moment Chloe popped her head back around the door for a second, as she tasted her own cuisine. "Oh, by the way, Pete called. He said he needed a word when you have time?"
Clark shrugged and flicked through the channels with the newly found remote. One thing x-ray vision was always handy for was finding the T.V. controls. "I guess it must be about the murders..." He said absentmindedly as his gaze fell on an old sci-fi classic.
When he didn't say anything further Chloe vanished yet again and Clark engrossed himself in the movie. He had seen it on many occasions in his life, and yet every time it aired he felt compelled to watch it again. As the screen lit up with the title 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' Clark found himself wondering once again what humanity was all about. In the movie an alien had come to earth to try and teach us our mistakes before it was too late, to help us understand where we had gone wrong, but in the end mankind had shunned and feared him. It scared Clark to think that maybe he would be viewed the same way if anyone ever found out his true origins.
"Lana and Byron should be here from Grandville around eight..." Chloe was shouting from the kitchen now as she slaved over several pans. Clark considered switching off the movie and offering to help, but then as always he smiled to himself as he decided against it. Instead he began to think about Lana and Byron, and how people's fortunes could change so easily and unexpectedly.
Lana had always liked the unfortunate kid whose future had almost been ruined by Metron Pharmaceuticals. Ever since her first meeting with Byron there had been some connection even Clark hadn't been able to surpass. Later, when Byron had returned to Smallville cured from his terrible aversion to sunlight it had obviously been love at second sight for the pair. Clark had never stood in their way; he and Lana had already split with irreconcilable differences anyway. Perhaps somewhere in his heart he would always have a place for the former cheerleader, but now she belonged to another and Clark was happy for them both.
A flicker from the T.V. told him Klaatu the alien was about to pull off his piece de resistance and Clark reached to turn up the volume, only to be stopped by a soft rapping at the door. Exhaling, Clark popped down the remote on the glass coffee table and jogged to answer the unknown caller who had interrupted his sacred viewing.
"Lois?" He couldn't hide the surprise in his voice as he ushered his new partner into his home. "I wasn't expecting you..."
Lane pulled a face of exasperation. "Neither was I but Molly called with those D.N.A. test results you ordered. I don't think she expected to find this..." Lois tugged a manila folder from her over-large purse and passed it over. "Preliminary results show all three kids shared a certain set of genes. Apparently it looks like something called germline manipulation..."
Clark began to read the facts laid out on the lab results as he flipped rapidly through the report. "They were all genetically engineered by the same person, but where and why?"
"From what Molly tells me only one part of the genetic information in their cells was redesigned, and as of yet she doesn't know why. She's passed the data onto a colleague in that field of expertise." Lois shook her head and finally sat down on the edge of Clark's favorite chair. "There's something else...I checked with all three kids' parents and they all had difficulty conceiving..."
A spark of recognition flicked Clark's mind into overdrive. "They were all I.V.F. kids? Then all we have to do is find the clinic the families used and we have our lead!"
"I'm one step ahead of you super cop, I already checked and they used three totally different centers. Whoever did this must have broken in, or had a man inside all the facilities. Either way we are talking big time corporate research, not just some rogue doctor." Lois sighed and found herself attracted to the ancient black and white movie Clark had been watching, even though she normally disliked such hollow nonsense.
Clark had however forgotten the film as Lois's words sank in to his racing mind. "We need to get a list of every baby conceived by I.V.F. in Metropolis back in 2003! Then we have to get their D.N.A. tested and fast before this guy strikes again..." Without further thought he grabbed his jacket and reluctantly swung his holster back in place. "It's crucial we get on this now...Chloe?" He shouted into the kitchen.
After several minutes pause the weary reporter emerged in her apron and finally realized her cousin had joined them. She smiled then her eyes narrowed as she suspected the inevitable. "You've come to take him on some police joy-ride! Lois I knew you being his partner would be disaster to our meal, not to mention or lives. What about Lana and Byron?" She considered why her relative had appeared. "This is about the murders isn't it? Wow, what have you found, are you close to catching the guy?"
Suddenly Chloe the journalist took over Chloe the host and it was interrogation time. Clark shook his head, determined not to get drawn into one of her long-winded prying sessions and swiftly headed for the door with Lois in tow. "No time now Chloe, just give my apologies to our friends, but we might just save a kids life..."
Chloe opened her mouth and was about to beg to tag along, but this time it was Lois who stopped her. As the female detective reached the door she turned beseechingly to her relation and glanced around the room. "You have a chance here with Clark, stay out of this Chloe. This guy plays for keeps, and if he's cornered I doubt his victims will remain children..."
Quietly the door clicked shut as Lois left the room, leaving her cousin to ponder the case and her very hectic future with one of Metropolis' finest...
A Metropolis Alleyway...
The dull evening light and darkening cloudbanks brought a gloomy overcast to the bustling Kansas municipality. Shadows of light and dark crept across the squalid brick back streets, playing eerie reflections across the crumbling walls as rats and mice scurried about their business. The Rainman watched from his hidden recess in one such alley as the day gave way to night, and the world became his empire. Darkness was his friend, his ally, and tonight he would use it to his best advantage.
A roaring engine from the main road caught his attention and he turned to watch the black sports car approach, tires screaming. Its shiny panther-like coachwork gleamed even in the nocturnal dullness, and the killer knew instinctively who the driver was, even before he saw the vanity plate emblazoned with the unmistakable LL insignia.
The Ferrari Modena raced forward at a ridiculous speed in such a tight passageway and skidded to a halt just a few short feet from the unseen observer. Its lightweight aluminum door popped open and a smart dressed figure emerged into the twilight gloom. He sauntered carefully into the shadows till only his silhouette was visible.
"Why are you not taking care of my business on time? All my father's 'discrepancies' should have been removed by now..." The driver tugged off expensive leather gloves and rammed them into his jacket pockets irritably. "I want the rest removed or you don't get what you need. Do you understand?"
Concealed until now the killer emerged from his place of hiding. His face showed no emotion, no fear towards his tormentor. "I cannot simply kill without meaning, without the scene being set..."
"Ah, you mean your insane desire to have it rain before you kill...I won't wait to pamper your crazed sense of morality. Words mean nothing my friend, as you will learn if the children are not removed by the end of the week..." Luthor moved forward till his eyes met the assassin's. "Kill them, or meet the consequences of your disobedience."
A cold brutal gaze stared back at Luthor, but no words were spoken. The killer turned, his long flowing overcoat flapping in the evening breeze like some gothic vampire's cape. Silently he walked to a broken down door in a side building and grabbed the rusty handle, only turning at the last minute to leer at the billionaire with a face that no longer appeared human.
The eyes seemed to absorb the sparse light like two black holes as he whispered his words of malevolent knowledge. "Carpe Noctem Luthor...for soon it will rain...and you shall have your solace."
The fleeting figure vanished into the decrepit, derelict cinema that would soon be torn down and was gone into the night. Luthor licked his lips as the moon finally materialized for one brief moment and illuminated the scene. It was like something from a horror movie, and the creature he had just met only attenuated the feeling of dread. Unconsciously he let a hand slip into his jacket pocket and felt the comforting coolness of his thirty-eight. If things became out of hand there was always the option of removing 'The Rainman' once he had succeeded in his goals.
Henry-Victor Seven...
The car paused briefly at an intersection then carried on into the night, its bright halogen headlights cutting through the murky light with a vengeance. A spatter of rain dashed across the windshield, signaling the start of a deluge that made Clark Kent turn the wipers to their maximum setting. Since this case had begun he had dreaded any night that it rained. Now he only wished the downpour could wash away the evil instead of cause it.
"What's the next family on the list we can't contact by phone?" Kent peered at his partner a second then pulled over to the curb to await directions.
Lane checked the vehicle's onboard database as information was relayed to them from dispatch, and then flicked the screen over so it displayed the quickest route to their new destination. "The Atkins haven't answered all evening...they're at 121 Pescadero Drive. It's only about ten minutes away..."
Clark spun the wheel of the car around and headed back the way he had just come. The Atkins were just one of many on a long list of couples who had used an I.V.F. clinic back in 2003, but they were only one of eleven that had yet to be reached by phone or a patrol car. Maybe it was coincidence that they were not home on such a stormy night, but then maybe they had the bad luck to have been visited by a very unwanted guest...
Pescadero Drive appeared unusually quiet as Kent crawled the Crown Victoria along the road searching for the right house number. It was early in the evening, and yet hardly any of the homes appeared to be occupied. Not one light shone in any window as far as the eye could see, adding a strange malevolence to the already disturbing scene. Carefully planted trees blew haphazardly in the wind that accompanied the recent cloudburst, heightening the sense of foreboding as the detectives continued their search.
"This place looks like somewhere for the Addams family..." Lane made the observation whilst powering down her window to get a better view. "Ok, the Atkins house should be the next..." For some reason she found herself tugging out her weapon as Clark pulled up and she exited the blue Ford, heading for the spacious one story home. She hadn't actually seen anything to arouse her suspicions, and yet this place suddenly oozed evil to the point Lane felt a whole lot safer with her gun drawn.
Kent jumped from his driving position and out on to the pavement, but before continuing towards the house he decided caution was the better part of valor. Squinting he forced his x-ray mode to kick in and surveyed the neat and tidy home before him. The front of the abode appeared quite empty except for the family cat, which was pacing around impatiently as if waiting to be fed. To the rear things became much more interesting...and very deadly.
The Atkins had extensive gardens and a very over-sized pool that looked like it belonged to some Hollywood actor, not a Metropolis resident. It was what was now floating in that pool that concerned Clark. Two adults, both face down in the water floated aimlessly as drizzle fell from the heavens onto their already soaked cadavers. Kent zoomed in more and found the couple each had a neck-wound that corresponded with the sword he was looking for, although their heads hadn't been removed.
"Lois!" The detective kept his voice low, "we've got two bodies around back..." Swiftly he jogged in front in case the perpetrator was still close by. "I think it's the parents..."
Lane pulled her gun tight to her chest and let her trigger finger hover, ready to fire should the need arise. She glanced at Kent as she realized he seemed to have an almost psychic knowledge of the crime before they even saw it, and silently she made a mental note to question him about it once this scene was under control. "All clear here." She whispered as she rounded the corner and found herself on a spacious terrace.
Kent nodded and appeared to stare into the fauna filled area near the bottom fence section. It was like a mini forest, but to his trained eyes he could still see within. Lying beneath several layers of dead leaves lay what they had come here hoping to avert.
"The kid's dead too..." The words were slow and forlorn as Clark spotted the still warm, headless body of Jamie Atkins. He walked over to it and kneeled, careful not to disturb the scene for fear of ruining vital evidence. This time though he needn't have bothered, because pinned to the blood stained Batman t-shirt was something the Rainman had not left before. "It looks like our guy wants to say hello..."
Lois tiptoed through the fallen foliage and joined the doleful cop. With a gloved hand she gently twisted the bloodied note just enough to discern the words. "Imprison me for I shall never be free." Casually she looked at Clark, "so what do you think that means exactly?" Kent shrugged. Some inner part of him had heard the words, or something very similar at one time in his life, but right now he was struggling to remember where. Perhaps given longer the answer would have come to the astute detective's mind, but right now his hypersensitive ears had honed in on something else. Nearby he could clearly hear something splashing, then hitting the ground in tiny droplets. To a normal human it would have been impossible to distinguish from all the background noise of everyday occurrences, but to Clark it meant the spattering of liquid on the sidewalk. Perhaps even the discharge of blood from a recently severed head...
"Stay here!" Kent barked the order to his colleague then jumped the fence with one high bounding leap. Behind him he could already hear cursing and then Lois making a dash for their vehicle to pursue him. Next time don't leave the keys in the ignition! He chided himself for the miscalculation, then continued his quest for the killer.
Ahead a car fired up and Clark knew it was the heavy drone of an expensive sports model. The purring V8 reminded him of Lex and his frustration brought about a new burst of speed. He could see the taillights now as the killer jerked the car off the road onto a well used dirt track, and behind he could hear the sirens as Lois attempted to follow. The thought occurred to him that she might spot him running at super-speed, but catching the Rainman was still his top priority and he carried on regardless.
The cobbled track seemed to slow the car as its tires and suspension struggled to cope with the uneven surface, then it turned again and raced to the rear of a huge and very bleak building that carried no markings or company insignia. Weeds encroached the parking lot and the whole edifice seemed quite abandoned. Clark followed and finally caught up with the vehicle as it entered a creaking shutter door that had been electronically opened. Sheer seconds were between him gaining entrance, but the door frustratingly slammed back down at the last moment and he almost careered into it. Stifling the urge to hammer a fist straight through the corroded metal he searched for the access unit and found it conveniently placed halfway up the wall in a shaped alcove. One burst from his heat vision in just the right spot and he should be able to get in.
"I don't know how the other guy did it, but I have orders no one goes in there and comes out alive, and that includes you!"
Clark whirled to see a middle-aged man, well dressed and rugged in appearance, staring at him questioningly. He held a Beretta trained at the detective's head and Kent had no illusions that he wouldn't use it. Not that it would do him any good...
"I'm with the M.P.D." Slowly he began to reach for his badge, but the man didn't appear to like the idea and waved his weapon menacingly at the cop. Clark took it as a bad sign and began to wonder just what the man was protecting. Should I overpower him, or try and get him to let more information slip...
"I don't care if you're the Pope, you not going in there, and when I'm done with the other guy he'll be wishing he hadn't either. Key card or not he shouldn't be in the labs..."
The guard let his words trail as a blue Ford sped into the disused parking lot, its normally hidden police lights blazing. For a moment he appeared uncertain how to handle the situation, and then as Lois skidded to a halt and poked her gun through the driver's window he came to a very imprudent decision.
"Put your gun down and walk over here lady, or your buddy here gets it..." He signaled towards Clark with the Beretta, assuming that he would have to dispose of both cops or face the wrath of his very short tempered master.
Lois kept perfectly still; having no intention of relinquishing her weapon to a man she knew would probably kill them both if he had the chance. "We don't work that way..."
Clark watched the stand off in silence, his patience wearing thin as he lost precious time in his hunt for the assassin. He turned slightly, intending to search the warehouse for the villain with his razor-sharp vision, but the movement he made startled the already edgy guard.
"Hey!" Without thinking the sentry pulled his trigger, letting off at least three rounds in Clark's direction. One hit the metal shutter with a staccato scream, the other two slammed into Kent's back as he twisted around.
Lois screamed and let off a round of her own, but it smashed harmlessly into the brick wall. Then she jumped from her car as the guard leapt over Clark's body and through a key-coded side door. She thought about giving chase then considered her downed partner first. "Oh my God...please tell me you wore your vest..." panicking she rolled him over and he grunted then began to rise.
"I wouldn't leave home with out it," he unashamedly lied, hating to have to feign being knocked from his feet by a bullet when he could be halfway through the building after both bad guys. "I think we could use some backup, go call for another unit then circle around back..." He coughed as he stood, just for dramatic effect and it had the prescribed response.
"Are you sure you're ok? I mean a bullet can still crack a rib wearing one of those things..." She stared at him for an intense second, but Kent didn't give her time to think about much else.
"I'm fine, now get that backup." To reassure the already concerned detective, he pulled out his police issue for the first time on duty. "Happy now?"
Lane looked skeptical, but hastily trotted back to the car to call in. When he was sure she was busy with dispatch Kent re-holstered his weapon and quickly dealt with the shutter lock. After agonizing seconds the door began to rise with a clunk that sounded like it had required oiling for decades. Clark jogged inside and swiftly closed the entrance behind him, not wanting Lois to get anywhere near both offenders.
The interior was pitch black and dusty; giving the impression the warehouse was no longer used. But as Clark made his way up to the second story he soon found the derelict and deserted front was just a façade. Room after room lined vast corridors and all seemed to contain some experiment or other. Most had vials of drugs and chemicals, centrifuges, burners, the full scientific set up of a major laboratory. Why hide a lab like this in an apparently disused warehouse? And why has the Rainman purposely lured me here?
A clatter from a sealed entrance at the far reaches of the passage refocused his concentration and he zeroed in on it, only to be thwarted by the lead lining that filled the extra thick wall panels. Intrigued and determined to catch the murderer Kent sped to the doorway and grasped the tough metal handle, squeezing it in his huge but sensitive palm till it broke off under the pressure. Pushing hard on the already strained locking mechanism, he caved in the security door with one thrust of his muscular shoulder.
Inside was gloomy once again, but Kent could see this was no lab. In fact it appeared to be some kind of storage area. Huge crates and barrels filled the bottom end of the unit, and it was here where the smashing sound had come from. Before he could investigate further the reason for the noise became all too apparent. It would seem the guard had found the first trespasser and had come out fighting. A bullet whizzed by Clark's ear as the man fired at the silhouette of what was surely the Rainman.
"Hold your fire! Neither of you are going anywhere..." This time Clark was sure he had the edge on both men. There were no witnesses to see his abilities, and hopefully Lois had backup well on the way by now.
Effortlessly he positioned himself between both aggressors with one burst of speed. Intending to deal with the killer first he whirled around, only to catch a fleeting glance of a shiny steel blade before something hit him like a freight train at a hundred miles an hour. It was a sensation he hadn't felt since leaving Smallville a long time ago, and it was a sensation that could now cost him his life. Clark felt pain so intense all his muscles began to spasm and he slumped downward, knowing kryptonite or its derivatives were close by and overpowering him.
Seeing the cop suddenly fall, the guard felt compelled to finish the job he had started and squeezed of several more rounds. One flew by the Rainman perilously close and slammed into a shuttered window. The glass shattered but remained in place, cracking like some evil omen. Two more slugs tore into nearby barrels of some unknown and very noxious green liquid, spurting its contents onto the floor and beyond. Emerald-white steam hissed up from the floor where the chemical had spilled, but the guard was unphased and fired again. This time a stray bullet hit an aging pipe section and ricocheted, sending a flash of brilliant sparks across the room. The sudden flare of electricity combined with the mephitic substance caused instant combustion.
Clark watched helplessly from the floor as the scene unfolded, and the irate guard grew ever closer. He stared down at the paralyzed detective with a look of scorn on his face, letting the muzzle of his gun hover in front of Clark's bleary eyes.
"I'm going to be blamed for this mess...and all because of you!" He coughed as the already dense smock whirled around him in ever-increasing clouds. "If I die you're going with me!"
The Beretta's barrel was ungraciously pushed to Clark's temple and he was powerless to fight back. Not only was the kryptonite sapping his strength, but the smoke its ignition had created had begun to burn his lungs every time he inhaled. Each breath became more ragged as he tried to stay conscious and fight the debilitating effects. If he could have summoned enough energy to either freeze or blow out the raging flames he might just have stood a chance, but his body had already been drained far too much.
The sheer effort of trying to use his abilities made his vision blur and brought on another bout of coughing. He gazed up at his tormentor knowing this to be the end, and wondering what Chloe would think when Lois told her how he had died. Would she even be able to believe it after all they had been through together? Clark exhaled letting his body relax as he saw the trigger begin to be squeezed, then a bright flash of shiny metal sliced through the air, its widening arc carving into the gunman and almost cutting his torso in two. Blood jetted from the cleanly cut wound all over Kent, then the lacerated body slumped hideously on top of the weakened cop and he finally blacked out. Nothing save a crazed killer now stood between him and a fiery oblivion...