Superman tore through the building, fury blazing in his eyes. Whoever had done this… The normally pacific Clark Kent was replaced with pure anger.
Superman threw open the door to the room he had last seen Lois and Jason inand moved in at light speed. They weren't here! Where were they! In his rush and blind panic, he hadn't x-rayed the building for an update on their location. Forcing himself to slow down, he glanced quickly through the walls on the right and left of him.
Two Shark members were playing cards on an overturned barrel three rooms down.
Superman groaned in frustration and sheer anger and checked the other directions to the side of him. Nothing. He turned his sight on the floor.
Richard was inside.
I told him to wait outside! Heroic bastard!
Checking his anger, Clark watched as Richard cautiously crept alongside the wall.
Three Sharks armed with loaded machine guns waited on the other side.
Cursing Richard the entire way, Superman dove through the floor, using his heat ray to burn through some things in his past, crashing completely into others. He could see the men training their guns in wait for the unseen intruder.
Faster Clark, faster…
He turned his glance slightly to the right and groaned. Another man was on the opposite side of Richard. They were surrounding him. A lot of men to take care of one unarmed opponent. Must have heightened security tonight.
I wonder why.
The thought that he was wasting precious time to save Richard gnawed at him. What if he wasn't fast enough to save them all? What would he do with no Lois Lane there to balance him out? No Jason to sit on his lap and draw him pictures?
Superman slowed his speed just enough not to crush Richard into bits and threw his body over his, shielding him with his cape as round after round were fired at them.
Bullets were coming in from all sides, not a threat to him, but if he lifted his cape even slightly, Richard could die.
Richard looked up from his position below Superman. Superman ducked his head for a moment and glared at him.
The usually stoic Richard gave him a hard glare right back.
"Go find Lois and Jason! I can deal with this!"
"What and leave you to die?" Superman spat back out, his mind racing. The hail of bullets continued.
"Lois and Jason need you more than me! Go!"
Superman ignored him for the moment, a trait that he was resorting to more and more as of late. Just then, a tiny voice sounded in his ear, over the crashing of the bullets.
"Mommy! Mommy wake up!"
Oh God it was Jason. Lois was hurt? He was too late.
"Superman help me! Mommy!"
With panic clawing at his chest, he suddenly wrapped one arm around Richard and shot straight up through the ceiling. A few moments after he was already gone, the men finally saw that their query had disappeared.
Superman and Richard were shooting up at a blinding speed, one fist extended outward. The fist crashed into the objects in his way, his shoulders doing the rest of the work. The resulting hole allowed Richard to pass along with him without hitting his head and losing consciousness. He relied solely on the imprint of Jason's voice inhis memoryto lead him where to go.
Seconds later, Superman and Richard burst onto the roof.
Releasing Richard the corner of his eye caught the flurry of movement.
Jason! He rushed over to his son, too relieved to see him alright to be wary of any trap.
Jason threw his little arms around his neck and Superman responded in turn, his heart breaking as he felt the wetness of Jason's tears on his neck.
A moment later Superman jumped up at the sound of a gun cocking, reminding himself to let go of Jason just in time. He stood protectively in front of his son, and then watched in horror at the sight that met him.
Lois was standing, a large bump on her head but with the usual sharp clarity in her eyes. And a man had a gun pushed up next to her temple.
Before he could move to rush at them, his peripheral vision caught more movement as Richard was shoved forward, struggling useless against his captors. A gun was also pointed at his temple. Lois and Richard were at opposite ends of the roof. Hearing a gasp behind him, Superman spun around to see his little boy in the arms of a large man. With a gun cocked at his temple.
Superman slowly backed into the middle of the roof, his mind fighting blind terror and logic.
"One word from me and they shoot."
A man stepped out from the shadows, the grimace on his face slightly forced. A moment later he smiled.
"Mr. Kent. If you have not gathered by now, I am no judge of intelligence. But I feel I am usually right and therefore I give you the benefit of the doubt. This is Shark headquarters you've stumbled upon…" the man paused for a moment, the smile growing wider. "Perhaps you've heard of us? Or perhaps not."
The man paced slightly back and forth, watching the scene before him in obvious delight.
"Anyway, you stopped the heist that would have forever defeated our rivals, Mr. Kent. And this is very grave indeed. Of course, at the time I swore revenge on Superman, I had no idea of your identity. Imagine my dilemma, if you will," The man paused, as if relieving a painful memory. "How could I kill the Man of Steel? You were certainly an enigma. Nobody knew of your secret identity… Nobody knew if you even had one. But then… then one night a certain photographer… perhaps you're familiar with him? Rhett Moniker? He sold certain information to spare his life. Not that it helped him in the end… But no matter. I now had your identity. Clark Kent. This information might not have worked so well if you in fact had not worn your heart on your sleeve. You're in love with Lois Lane. You have an illegitimate son!"
The man laughed at the look on Clark's face.
"Yes, I've been doing my homework. How else do you think I rose so high in this city? So I decided… there was no way to kill you physically, except for perhaps with Kryptonite, but Star labs has been keeping quite a close eye on that."
"But then I thought to myself, there are other, worse things than dying… Like perhaps choosing over your love…or your son…or even this fellow here, the man your son has called Daddy for the first five years of his life! Well now this couldn't have worked better than if I planned it."
Superman inwardly was screaming, though his outward appearance never changed. Only Lois, who knew him so well, could see the internal battle and fear in his eyes.
"So times up Superman. You can save one of them, I'm sure of it. But can you save two? I sincerely doubt it. And all three? Now that's quite laughable, even for you."
The man nodded his head at Richard.
"Sorry buddy, I'm pretty sure you're not going to be first on his list."
"Now time has run up Superman, you've ruined my plans… I'll ruin your life. Now choose!"
Before the shots rang out, the world seemed to move in slow motion.
Superman looked wide eyed as his son picked up his assailant and threw him over the side of the building.
Without using the energy to think about what he just saw, Superman threw himself at Lois' attacker, sending the man crashing into the concrete.
Without batting an eye, Superman halted his body and spun in mid air, gritting his teeth at his blinding speed. He dove toward Richard.
The crash of the gun exploding filled Superman's ears as he saw the bullet traveling the inches from the barrel to the vulnerable skin on Richard's temple.
The bullet tore into the skin, just as Superman pushed him away.
No! No!
Superman slowed enough to catch Richard in his arms and stared in horror at the blood gushing from the wound.
Richard's open blue eyes turned toward him, and for a split second were filled with clarity before they dulled and he fell over, dead.
The man who had loved Lois, the man who had raised his son, the man who had risked everything for his family was dead.
Lois' screaming rang in his ears, the most terrible, heart wrenching sound he had ever heard. He turned toward the scene and saw the remaining Sharks fleeing. Jason was trembling, and only Clark's super vision caught the sight of the Shark's leader falling to his death off the building, courtesy of Jason Lane. Oh my God.
Superman turned back toward Richard, his eyes helplessly x-raying the body for any sign of life.
"Richard! Oh my God Richard!" Lois was here, shaking Richard's shoulder.
"Daddy!" A moment later Clark caught Jason before he launched himself at his father, leaving a trail of debris behind him.
Releasing his boy after he was sure Jason wouldn't impale himself on the concrete, Clark fought the catch in his throat as Lois and Jason both threw themselves on Richard's body, sobbing.
For the first time in his life, tears poured down Superman's face as he joined his family in mourning Richard White.
He threw back his head and yelled, angry tears coursing down his face for the man he couldn't save, and at the former family that was now irreparably torn apart.
Oh God, what did I just do? I'm so sorry! I love Richard! And I hated writing this scene more than anything I've ever written. And I am so angry at stupid Lois (from the TV show, Lois and Clark) and her stupid amnesia I could scream! I was sitting there yelling at the TV from my couch and then I came down and wrote this. Argh! Why does Lex Luther come and ruin EVERYTHING? I had to take a break from the episodes, I think they were getting to me! If you haven't seen the show ignore everything in the previous couple sentences. So… oh dear this chapter depresses me. But I tried to give Richard the hero's death he deserved. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews thus far and don't worry… the story isn't over yet. There's some major aftermath I had better cover.
-Laura