Fear the Unknown
Chapter 11: Toils and Snares
It was quiet aboard the jet as the team of unlikely allies moved over the Nevada desert. They sat like soldiers, lining the exterior walls of the plane. Barry had jumped ship when they hit the Nevada border and was making a beeline for the complex. The rest of them were simply sitting, awaiting the go-sign.
Hal moved over to where Clark was sitting and joined him.
"What was all that about back there?"
"Just a difference of opinion. I'm getting a bad feeling about all of this. Call it intuition, call it what you will. something's just not right."
"I know. I can feel it too. Keep your eyes open, okay, pal?"
He nodded and Jordan walked back to his seat as Wilson's voice came into their ear-speakers.
"ETA to target, two minutes. We're establishing a holding pattern until we receive. wait, there it is. We've got confirmation from Speedy. Super- man, Lantern, you're on."
Hal and Clark secured their facemasks and moved to the back of the plane, where a large cargo door opened.
"You ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be."
"Go!" Wilson shouted in their ears
The two leapt out, letting their bodies go into freefall for a moment before rocketing forward, Jordan with a blaze of emerald light and Kent nothing more than a blur. The two shot forward and, in the distance, they began to see the small shapes of soldiers pouring out of the complex. The place itself was sand-colored, using a natural bowl-shaped depression in the landscape to conceal itself.
Wilson spoke again in their ear.
"Super-man, Lantern. Hook up with Speedy at the northeast helipad, that's where we'll be making our approach. First priority is to eliminate the perimeter guns."
They split and dove straight down, making a head-on approach at the gathering troops. Hal smiled with a small satisfaction as he saw the terrified looks on the faces of the soldiers. Concentrating a little, he formed a giant bulldozer in front of them and began to push them backwards. Clark was shrugging off shots from what appeared to be a high-powered laser cannon until he slammed into the turret tower and cut it in half. He set down in the middle of the helipad, surrounded by soldiers, who promptly opened fire with everything they had.
When the smoke cleared, he was simply standing there, the smile on his face showing slightly through the mask. His eyes began to glow and suddenly red- hot energy shot from them, sending troops running for cover as their positions heated up and exploded around them.
Minutes later, it was over. The troops were contained in a makeshift pen that Clark had constructed from the debris of the guns and Hal signaled to the plane that they could make their approach. Parachutes sprouted in the sky as the non-flying members of the team descended. Once they were all on the ground, Grayson gathered them together.
"Okay, let's do it. Super-man, Lantern, Troy, blow the blast door. Move fast, people, we have thirty-seven minutes!"
The powerhouses moved over to the thick titanium plate guarding the entrance to the complex.
"Okay, how to do this?" Hal said.
"Hold on. I have an idea." With that, Clark reared back his fist and hit the door as hard as he could. The enormous wall caved in immediately and went flying off its tracks. Troy looked at him with a slightly shocked expression on her face.
"Well, it works."
"Can the chatter, move!" Grayson was already sprinting past them and they could see another wave of troops moving down the corridor. "Beast, do it!"
Garth's body twisted and contorted until it took on the shape of a giant bull elephant and he went charging down the corridor, sending soldiers flying left and right. Grayson was moving among them, dropping them one after another with a series of well-placed blows, dodging their fire with acrobatics that would have impressed any Olympic judge. For the others, it was pretty simple. Clark simply took their fire and left them imprinted in the steel of the corridor walls, while Hal knocked them unconscious, using his ring to impact them against the walls.
Finally, they came to the end of the corridor, facing another door marked with a giant double helix that had something attached to it. Going for the double, Clark cocked his fist and hurled it. only to go flying backwards.
A voice spoke to them from embedded speakers.
"You didn't really think it was going to be that easy, did you?"
There was a deafening thud as another door slammed down in the corridor behind them, cutting them off.
"As you can see. we've been expecting you."
Chapter 11: Toils and Snares
It was quiet aboard the jet as the team of unlikely allies moved over the Nevada desert. They sat like soldiers, lining the exterior walls of the plane. Barry had jumped ship when they hit the Nevada border and was making a beeline for the complex. The rest of them were simply sitting, awaiting the go-sign.
Hal moved over to where Clark was sitting and joined him.
"What was all that about back there?"
"Just a difference of opinion. I'm getting a bad feeling about all of this. Call it intuition, call it what you will. something's just not right."
"I know. I can feel it too. Keep your eyes open, okay, pal?"
He nodded and Jordan walked back to his seat as Wilson's voice came into their ear-speakers.
"ETA to target, two minutes. We're establishing a holding pattern until we receive. wait, there it is. We've got confirmation from Speedy. Super- man, Lantern, you're on."
Hal and Clark secured their facemasks and moved to the back of the plane, where a large cargo door opened.
"You ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be."
"Go!" Wilson shouted in their ears
The two leapt out, letting their bodies go into freefall for a moment before rocketing forward, Jordan with a blaze of emerald light and Kent nothing more than a blur. The two shot forward and, in the distance, they began to see the small shapes of soldiers pouring out of the complex. The place itself was sand-colored, using a natural bowl-shaped depression in the landscape to conceal itself.
Wilson spoke again in their ear.
"Super-man, Lantern. Hook up with Speedy at the northeast helipad, that's where we'll be making our approach. First priority is to eliminate the perimeter guns."
They split and dove straight down, making a head-on approach at the gathering troops. Hal smiled with a small satisfaction as he saw the terrified looks on the faces of the soldiers. Concentrating a little, he formed a giant bulldozer in front of them and began to push them backwards. Clark was shrugging off shots from what appeared to be a high-powered laser cannon until he slammed into the turret tower and cut it in half. He set down in the middle of the helipad, surrounded by soldiers, who promptly opened fire with everything they had.
When the smoke cleared, he was simply standing there, the smile on his face showing slightly through the mask. His eyes began to glow and suddenly red- hot energy shot from them, sending troops running for cover as their positions heated up and exploded around them.
Minutes later, it was over. The troops were contained in a makeshift pen that Clark had constructed from the debris of the guns and Hal signaled to the plane that they could make their approach. Parachutes sprouted in the sky as the non-flying members of the team descended. Once they were all on the ground, Grayson gathered them together.
"Okay, let's do it. Super-man, Lantern, Troy, blow the blast door. Move fast, people, we have thirty-seven minutes!"
The powerhouses moved over to the thick titanium plate guarding the entrance to the complex.
"Okay, how to do this?" Hal said.
"Hold on. I have an idea." With that, Clark reared back his fist and hit the door as hard as he could. The enormous wall caved in immediately and went flying off its tracks. Troy looked at him with a slightly shocked expression on her face.
"Well, it works."
"Can the chatter, move!" Grayson was already sprinting past them and they could see another wave of troops moving down the corridor. "Beast, do it!"
Garth's body twisted and contorted until it took on the shape of a giant bull elephant and he went charging down the corridor, sending soldiers flying left and right. Grayson was moving among them, dropping them one after another with a series of well-placed blows, dodging their fire with acrobatics that would have impressed any Olympic judge. For the others, it was pretty simple. Clark simply took their fire and left them imprinted in the steel of the corridor walls, while Hal knocked them unconscious, using his ring to impact them against the walls.
Finally, they came to the end of the corridor, facing another door marked with a giant double helix that had something attached to it. Going for the double, Clark cocked his fist and hurled it. only to go flying backwards.
A voice spoke to them from embedded speakers.
"You didn't really think it was going to be that easy, did you?"
There was a deafening thud as another door slammed down in the corridor behind them, cutting them off.
"As you can see. we've been expecting you."