New Gotham's city song had changed from the chorus of hooting to wails of sirens and car alarms. A crisis management camp had been established nearby NGPD, handling the management of emergency calls and deployment of rescue forces. Volunteers rushed about the camp, preparing for an influx of injured or homeless.
Slidell, an African American male, in his early 30's with a strong build, sat quietly, staring intently at a computer screen. It's not possible, he thought to himself, shaking his head for effect, How could they have crumbled so easily? New Gotham was meant to be indestructible after the initial earthquake that had destroyed Old Gotham. Experts and architects from around the globe were called in to not only to rebuild the city but reinforce it, using the most indestructible materials at hand. With the addition of the tectonic plates, New Gotham was the city that could not be destroyed by any act of God. The question now was, why had the Ruthell Bridge and many other buildings, including NGHS, collapsed as if they were made of straw, while others had only suffered minimal structural damage? Engineers had already established that the tectonic plates had not failed. In fact, they had taken most of the brunt from the earthquake, with only minimum damage.
His eyes wondered over to a piece of rock he had acquired from the rubble at NGHS. He ran his fingers over the rugged edges, and then pressed against a stone that stood out, after some force, the stone broke loose. He picked the stone up and stared at it, "What's your story little guy," he said half jokingly. Then he stood up, grabbed his jacket and decided to head out to Ruthell Bridge to collect more samples.
Barbara wiped the sweat of her forehead and took a deep breath in, wincing. She stretched her back, and started rubbing her neck. It was getting really hot in there and she could feel they were running out of air, it was getting harder to breathe. Also her muscles started to ache, especially her shoulders, there was a pesky pain just below her right shoulder, that wouldn't go away.
"You
ok," Justin asked next to her. She nodded, even though he couldn't
see her nod and then said, "Yeah"
"Ok," he replied and
fell silent.
Suddenly Barbara felt delirious, she had the strangest feeling the walls were closing in some more.
"Oh
my god," she whispered.
"What's wrong?" Justin asked
hastily, and checked on Dinah, thinking something was wrong with
her.
"The rocks, they're gonna crush us," Barbara replied
and started pushing against the rocks above them. Justin frowned and
put his hand against the rocks, They weren't even trembling. He
listened carefully and heard Barbara's breathing rapidly increase,
she was struggling to breathe.
"Help me, we gotta stop them,"
she said frantically pushing against them.
"Barbara," Justin
called out softly. Barbara didn't hear him, she clawed at the
rocks, Damn they wont move! She clutched her chest, she
couldn't breathe. She swallowed, her tongue felt thick. She felt
the sweat pour down her face and neck, and her back felt wet.
"Barbara," Justin repeated.
She still didn't hear him, she stared pushing against the sides of the small space, "Help me."
Justin grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close to his face, "Listen to me, listen to my voice."
Barbara pushed his arms away, she wanted to kick at the walls, but only got frustrated when she realized her legs wouldn't move.
"No!" she screamed and started hitting the rocks.
Helena
grabbed a rock and pulled at it. It was too heavy and her hands
slipped off it. She groaned and she cut her right hand against one of
it's sharp edges.
"DAMN!" she grabbed at it again, and
pulled at it. Jesse joined her and both grunted as they tried lifting
the rock. No luck.
Then Helena felt a rush of air behind her
and she saw a man, taller than her, in blue tights and a red cape
swirling behind him. He eyes were a cold blue, they seemed determined
and focused.
"Need a little help?" Superman asked walking
towards her and Jesse.
Helena nodded and pointed to the rock,
"Think you can handle that?" she asked.
Superman smirked, "I
think I can manage," he bent down and effortlessly picked it
up.
Through the stone shroud of the woman who stood in front of
him, Clark caught a brief glimpse of relief and then anxiousness.
He
smiled and then nodded, "Lets get to it."
Justin wrapped his arms around her and held onto her tight, she struggled, trying to free herself. He brought his lips close to her ear and said, "Listen to my voice," suddenly his voice sounded deep, calming and smooth.
"Breatheā¦"
She then felt the calm wash over, an odd feeling of peace. Suddenly her eyes felt very heavy, and soon she fell asleep.
