ShatteredLegacy

A novel by

Steven W. Eden

Superman and all related characters are the copyrighted property of DC Comics

5

"Cool. Super - gramps actually had hormones like the rest of us. I always thought of him as this stoic, somber, icon that kind of looked down at the world and showed up to fix things whenever normal people screwed up." Jim looked up from the diary to his mother with an amused expression on his face. "I never would've guessed he could get a crush for anyone...Well, except for great-great-great-great-great-grandma, of course."

"Actually, I believe your great-great-grea..." Phyllis stopped short and smiled back at her son. "You know, I think I like 'Super - gramps', too! I've seen many references to women he'd been enamored with through his lifetime: Movie stars, royalty, extra-terrestrials, even some of his adversaries. Why, I believe there was once a rumored romance with Wonder Woman, but I doubt if that ever really took place."

"Who?" queried a puzzled Noel as Jimmy perked up at the mention of "term paper." Recalling his transgression in history class earlier in the day, he realized the opportunity to erase the black mark in his educational career was laying before him in the lap of his parent.

Whoa, he thought, how weird is this? I need a source for my extra-credit paper and it just...pops up from out of nowhere! I must be living right or something.

Phyllis answered her daughter, "Wonder Woman, dear. She was a super heroine of that era, too. Like Green Lantern, The Flash, The Atom, Aquaman..."

"Jeepers, it sounds like a lot of 'em. Weren't there any normal people back then?" asked Noel.

"A few!" her Mom replied with a smile, "Your great grandpa's closest friend in the 'super-hero' circle was a 'normal' human: Bruce Wayne - Batman."

Jimmy jumped into the conversation, "Hey, I've read about Wayne! He was this really rich dude that practically rebuilt Gotham City back in the late twentieth, early twenty-first century, wasn't he? They found out after he died that he'd been doing the vigilante bit as Batman. Hey, you want to talk about someone that knew some babes...!" A cold glare from his mom's eyes reminded Jim where he was and who was there and with a shrug and a sigh, he discontinued his historical anecdote.

Noel only seemed more confused. "Sheesh! If they weren't super-powered, they were super-paranoid! It sounds like everyone back then walked around in their underwear!"

Phyllis thought of an old fashioned video clip she once saw of Madonna and laughed, "If you don't count some of the entertainers of that era, it wasn't too widespread, Sweetie, but the situation was a little different back then. Today, things are so much better now than they once were. There were crime, war, famine, pollution, and poverty. These things are pretty much extinct in our society now, but even the super-heroes had their hands full helping out then."

"Sounds pretty barbaric to me, not to mention time-consuming! They must not have had much time to relax or enjoy the simple pleasures of life...like say..holovision after a long, hard day of school...?"

Phyllis caught the hidden meaning in her daughter's veiled observation. "Okay, I guess we can stop for now. We're certainly not getting any work done in the attic, that's for sure. Go ahead and watch your show. I need to see about dinner, anyway."

As his mother arose from the padded sofa, she handed off the journal to Jimmy. Noel punched the remote and the animated holographic images of "Murphy Mouse" surged to life in the center of the room. Phyllis shook her head and asked her daughter, "Haven't you outgrown cartoons, yet?"

"You'd think so, wouldn't you? Actually, I see them as a low level satire of today's high pressured society and our struggle to cope with the problems we face every day to exist in said society!"

Phyllis stopped in her tracks, impressed! "Really! and that is why you like them?" she asked incredulously.

"Nope, they just make me laugh," said Noel with a giggle, turning her attention back to "Murphy", but the animated rodent's misadventures were now replaced with a news cut-in.

"We interrupt your regularly scheduled program to bring you this special bulletin. Three earthquakes struck almost simultaneously just minutes ago in France, Italy, and here in the United States." Phyllis stopped her trek to the kitchen and returned to the sofa. All eyes in the Kent living room were locked on to the images of ruin and destruction replayed on the news report. The quakes had hit three cities - Paris, Rome, and Metropolis. Panic had painted its colors on every survivor's face in the video. Phyllis was visibly shaken by the scenes of disaster, and feeling now very vulnerable, she longed for her husband's strong protective arms around her and she wondered how soon he could return home.

"...the after-shocks of the Metropolis quake were felt as far away as Texas. Disaster teams are being formed in every part of the globe to aid victims in all three cities. In Paris, the Eiffel Tower shook violently, but did not collapse, despite the worst tremor ever felt in Europe. In Rome, thousands of tourists were injured as many of the ancient ruins could not handle the stress..."

Captain Ellsworth clicked off the radio having heard all he could stand. The crew of Yellow Sun flight 1951 looked at each other in silent agony from the newscast just played out in the cockpit. George broke the silence. "He said the tremors were felt in Texas, too! ...Phyllis and the kids...I've got to get back there, Whit! They could be in danger!" He was in near hysterics, waving his hands wildly as he ranted on.

"George, get a grip, man!" Ellsworth had never seen his friend like this before. "It probably wasn't more than a mild shock by the time it got to Fort Worth. Besides, we're almost to Hamilton. You said you were going home from there, anyway. Remember?"

"Yes, but with this news there won't be any flights back home available. Everyone will be heading to Earth to check on their families."

"So just relax tonight and go back with us tomorrow as part of the crew like you were going to do originally. Look, we've all got family on Earth and we're all worried. Hell! My sister lives in Metropolis! But we are en route to Mars and I can't do anything about her until we get to Hamilton. Jack here can't do anything until we get to Hamilton. You can't do anything until we get to Hamilton, so you might as well do your job right now and worry about getting back LATER! "

Whitney had been stern with his comments, but softened up a bit now as he could see Kent was still beside himself. "Look, George, if it'll make you feel any better, we'll try to get a radio-phone hookup a little later and you can talk to them then, but right now I need my co-pilot and I need him clear headed...Okay?"

George knew Ellsworth was right. There was no way to get back home until the shuttle landed. And Whit certainly couldn't turn around and head back, not with the small amount of fuel left in the reserves. But he also knew something else...

There would be more quakes to come.