47
Miles below the surface of the Earth, in a pocket of air surrounded by rock, a sword enchanted by the Grecian gods of myth burst through a wall of dirt, clay and limestone, and through the aperture it created stepped the human wielding the blade, Wonder Woman.
"Okay, Chess. I've accessed the area. Can you lead me to the exact spot?"
"Face north by northwest, Phyll. Turn on your laser sight, and slowly move it as I direct you."
"Okay, sight's on. Now what?"
"All right, we have it on screen, now. Point it a little more right. Little more. Little more. Hold it! Now, up just a bit. Keep goin'. Keep goin'. Stop! Mark that spot, Phyllis. Once everybody else is set, that will be the target for your emitter."
"Speaking of everyone else, how are they progressing?"
"Jimmy's broken through to his spot. I'm about to set his target. George and Noel are in the proper orbit trajectory and they are ready to do their part."
"What about Guer-On?"
"I... think we may have a bit of a problem there, Phyll. He was moving faster than any of you, and his path had the most digging involved. But he's been stuck just outside of his final destination for some time now. I've been in contact with him, but he won't tell me what's wrong. He sounds like he's sick or somethin'. You got any ideas?"
"Well, in this solar system, there's only one thing I know of that would make a Kryptonian sick, and that's kryptonite. But it wouldn't be buried that deep into the Earth. It hasn't been around long enough to find its way down there."
"Unless someone brought it down there with him..."
"What do you mean?"
"Look, Phyll, the power supply in your backpack is powered with kryptonite. It's the radiation from the kryptonite that is refined and used to neutralize the purple soil - the ilium 349 as Gary calls it. The housing is built to withstand most trauma, but suppose something struck it just right, and caused a breech..."
"Oh, Great Hera! He could be suffering kryptonite poisoning from the very apparatus we're using to save the planet."
Guer-On felt as if his arms weighed more than this planet he was digging through. But if he couldn't open an entry into the next chamber, all would be lost! Earth and New Krypton both would be fated to suffer a cataclysmic end. And this time there would be no survivors! He had to ignore the pain, the illness, the suffering.
For Rao's Sake, the spot I need to irradiate is only a few feet away! He thought. I must get through! Even if I die in the attempt, I must be successful! George is a good man, and I know he will return to New Krypton and do what needs done to save them, but I... must... get... through!
The scientist from New Krypton threw another punch at the wall with everything he had, which wasn't much. He had become so drained that the power behind it was barely that of a normal human's strength, and nothing, it appeared at first, seemed to give.
"No! I can't be done now! Not after all that's transpired! All these innocents..." He began to weep. "Rao! God! Please! Help me!"
There were no voices from above. Only the cold, dark, silent mood of the tunnel answered his call. In a heap of exhaustion, he collapsed, falling forward against the wall he was so desperately trying to breech.
"Gary! This is George! Chester told me you seemed to be having trouble and he patched me through to you! Gary! Guer-on! Come in!"
Guer-on stirred. Though weakened, he managed to answer his friend's hail. "I... hear you... George."
"Thank God you're alive! From what Chester told me, you could be suffering from the effects of that kryptonite we encountered earlier."
"That's... what it... feels like, George. But I... felt fine when I... entered the cave. Why would it... be affecting me... now?"
"Guer-On, this is Phyllis. George mentioned to me that our backpacks are powered by kryptonite. Is it possible the casing was compromised by a cave-in or such?"
Of course, all he needed to do was to get away from the backpack long enough to recover. But did he have the time? And how would he be able to irradiate his focal point without the kryptonite refining apparatus. "Yes, Phyllis. I think... that is exactly... what happened."
"Gary, this Chester. I hate ta sound crass, but I'm afraid there isn't much time left. Are ya through to the next chamber, yet?"
Guer-On started to prop himself up to see how much progress his last punch made and his arm pushed through to the other side! Despite the kryptonite influence from his backpack, he suddenly found new strength. He began to push, pull, and punch a large enough hole to squeeze through.
"Gary! Are ya all right? Ya didn't answer me! We've already sent a crew down there to help you, but if you can get to..."
"It's all right, Chester. I am through... to the next chamber. Please orient me... and set my target."
Chester talked the Kryptonian through as he had with Phyllis and Jimmy earlier. Guer-On couldn't make another step past the hole he had gone through. He just aimed his emitter from a sitting position.
Seconds passed, and then Chester began the countdown.
"Ten... nine... eight... "
George nodded to Noel, who pushed a button on the ship's console. "This is Space - One! Emitter engaged!" A widespread greenish ray sprayed out from the spaceship towards the Earth as it continued to orbit the planet.
"Seven... six... five..."
"Cavern - One ready!" said Phyllis.
"Four..."
"Cavern - Two ready!" called Jimmy.
"Three..."
"Cavern - Three... ready..." whispered a struggling Guer-On.
"Two..."
During the next two seconds, many thoughts flashed through Guer-On's head as he waited for the final word to engage his emitter. He thought of his home back on New Krypton, his family, his accomplishments and failures...
One..."
He thought of his mission to save his planet and how providence had diverted him to save another planet instead. He thought of his failure to make New Krypton safe from the same affliction that Earth was enduring. But he knew, in his heart that the friends he had made here would not allow his death to be in vain. That they would somehow find their way back to his home and do the same for New Krypton that they had done for the Earth. But right now, he didn't care about all that. He would accomplish his mission, even if it would be with his dying breath. And he would be damned if he couldn't.
"ZERO! Engage underground emitters!"
"Go!" cried Phyllis!
"Go!" cried Jimmy!
"GO!" cried Guer-On at the top of his voice.
Simultaneously, the three emitters began firing their strange green laser-like beam at the spots that Chester had referred them to. The emitters continued to burn for thirty seconds, then a minute, then Chester chirped on the intercom, "Disengage the emitters... Stand by..."
There was silence in all three caverns as they waited. "Caverns - One, Two, and Three, We have positive response from interior radiation!" Cheers were heard from the lab people near Chester over the com system. "Space - One, we have positive response from exterior radiation!" Chester allowed himself and his friends a moment to allow the news to sink in. The Earth was saved. There would be no Armageddon today. Finally, he opened the mike again.
"Space - One, did you copy?"
"This is Space - One. We copy!"
"Cavern - One, do you copy?"
"Cavern - One, I copy, Chess!"
"Cavern - Two! Do you copy?"
"Uh, yeah! Sure! Roger - Wilco and all that jazz."
"Cavern - Three! Do you copy?"
Nothing but silence answered.
"Cavern - Three! Do you copy? Over!"
No sound.
"Guer-On, do you read? Come in, please!"
All of the comrades in the mission were listening. The cheering that had been heard with the successful mission had died down to a whisper. George couldn't help but feel powerless to assist his new friend. Phyllis was already on her way up the cavern, but felt her progress would be too slow to do him any good. But Jimmy...
If there had been anyone in the cavern with him, they would have sworn that the boy in the blue and red costume had simply disappeared, but the reality was that Jimmy, upon hearing what was taking place with Guer-On, began to ascend the shaft he had created at near light speed. There was still someone to save because of this quake business. And Jimmy was the only person on the Earth that could save him.
The Crew around the chasm saw nothing but a blue and red streak as Jimmy went by them. They only felt a rush of air as he emerged from the hole and took to the sky.
This was different than the other times he had tried to fly. Before, he was thinking about it too much. This time he simply flew.
Before I get into the tunnel in Sydney, he thought, I will need to protect myself from the kryptonite radiation. In school, we learned that Russia and Australia both are productive in the mining and refining of lead. There must be a smelter somewhere along the way...
He headed for the eastern coast of Russia, and found a mining operation with a smelter nearby. Flying into the processing plant, he found what he was looking for: a large vat of molten lead! Jimmy never hesitated. He dived into the white hot bath of plumbum, covering himself from head to toe with a light coating of the heavy metal. Once covered, Jimmy continued on his flight to Sydney arriving just seconds after he left the smelter in Russia.
Down the shaft he dove, following the tunnels and openings that Guer-On had created. Down into the dark cavernous void, twisting and turning until at last, he found the Kryptonian.
Guer-On was out cold. His face and hands were a sickly green shade that made Jim cringe. He worked fast, unbuckling the backpack with the broken power supply housing the kryptonite, and throwing it as far away from them as he could. The force of his throw embedded the assembly deep into a wall of the cavern. Then, picking up the seemingly lifeless body of the Kryptonian scientist as if it had no weight at all, He turned and began the upwards flight towards the surface.
Once Jimmy cleared the tunnel opening, he continued his flight straight to Metropolis and the chasm from where his mother had just emerged to cheers and applause from the security and geologic team. The cheers died down to near silence as they witnessed Jim landing with a comatose humanoid in tow.
Jim was still covered in a light leaden coating, but Phyllis knew who it was despite the unintentional disguise. "How is he?" she asked as she ran over to him.
"I - I don't know," he answered. "I just got him out of there and brought him to you. I just thought... Mom would know what to do..."
The crowd began to gather more bystanders and all had their eyes glued on Jimmy. "Uh... Not to distract you or anything, but why are they staring at me?"
Phyllis never even looked up as she absentmindedly answered, "It's the lead you have over your body. You look like a comic book hero I used to read about, but he was silver instead of lead. Guer-On's breathing, but it's shallow. He's alive, at least."
"I don't know, Mom. He still looks a little too green to me. Do you think he's gonna make it?"
"No way of knowing. Just getting him away from the kryptonite should be his best medicine." Phyllis' mood seemed to change suddenly from caring nurse to scolding mother. "By the way, what were you thinking? Don't you realize that the same kryptonite that was killing him could have killed you, too? You could have waited for me to get there and do it for you, you know. I would not have been affected by the kryptonite radiation. It would have been much safer!"
"No offense, Mom," answered Jim quietly. "But you just got out of your chasm. It's been twenty years since you've put your body through this kind of thing. No telling how long it would've taken you to get there and Guer-on didn't have the time to wait. I was the closest of us to him and... well..." Jim spread his hands out as if showing himself to his mother. "I did take precautions before I went in. Besides... I wasn't worried about me." He had that little boy look as he seemed to sulk apologetically.
A scowl remained on Phyllis' face as she said, "Well, that's... just..." The scowl slowly became a smile of pride. "...What heroes do! Come on, let's get Guer-On somewhere away from prying eyes. He'll need to be where he can soak up enough yellow sun to recharge his cells."
Together, the super-team took hold of their fallen comrade and leapt into the air, but not before Phyllis, the Wonder Woman added, "Way to go... Superman!"