"Watchtower, this is Superman. I'm on my way."
Flying through the metropolitan downtown area with his cape dancing wildly in the air, the last son of Krypton was a man on a mission.
Removing his hand from the comlink embedded in his right ear, Superman pushed forward with his mountainous forearms leading the way.
His equally impressive physique, one seemingly carved from marble put forth by one of the great sculptors, was accentuated by his iconic uniform.
Reflecting his all-American upbringing, the suit from neck to ankle was primarily blue, with the color scheme contrasting with red trunks and boots as well as a yellow belt.
As a homage to his alien roots, however, the coat of arms representing the House of El was emblazoned proudly on his chest, now a universal symbol of hope for all of mankind.
With the wind gently blowing his infamous spit curl back over his raven black hair, Superman hurtled past a building currently in construction and began racing towards-
"Hey Superman, wait up!"
The beaming figure of Captain Marvel suddenly joined him in mid-air.
Invoking the speed of Mercury to keep up with the Man of Steel's blazing pace, the world's mightiest mortal could barely contain his excitement as he and Superman now flew side-by-side.
"Captain." Nodding respectfully towards his magical counterpart, Superman cast a sly smirk his way, "I hope you don't mind me stealing your thunder. I understand that this is your city, but I'm only here on official League business."
His eyes nearly widened to the size of golfballs. "You mean the whole Justice League's in on this too?"
"About twenty minutes ago, the Watchtower got a SOS call from S.T.A.R. Labs here in Fawcett City. Batman sent out an open relay, but with half the League still on assignment offworld I was the only guy not named Barry Allen who could make it here within a reasonable window of time," Superman explained to him.
The wizard's champion frowned slightly as it suddenly it him, "Wait, so how come Batman didn't contact me first?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Superman told him candidly, "Maybe he assumed you'd be busy and didn't want to spread you too thin. I hear you've been having some problems lately with that Sivana fellow."
"Yeah I guess, but Batman never calls me for anything," the magical hero pouted, the disappointment in his voice striking a chord with the usually stoic Man of Steel.
Sighing, Superman eventually comes clean to him. "Look, I have a history with this person, or whatever he calls himself these days. And while I usually like to do these things by myself, it certainly wouldn't hurt having someone watch my back."
"Really?" Captain Marvel's eyes lit up with a hopeful spark.
"The more the merrier," Superman smiled at him.
"Awesome!" he exclaimed enthusiastically, his childish joy nearly showing through his adult voice before he smartly pulled it back.
Chuckling slightly at his colleague's jubilant attitude, Superman returned his gaze back front and center.
"And once I prove how good I really am with Superman, there's no way Batman is gonna leave me out on the bench again," Billy Batson thought to himself eagerly, before coughing slightly to initiate his "manly voice."
"So uh, what are we dealing with here, Superman?"
"Parasite," Superman told him through gritted teeth, a palpable disdain in his voice as he forced the name out.
Furrowing his brow in slight confusion, Billy thought back to his last science class with Mrs. White. She was talking about the relationships in nature, and he was almost sure that that word popped up in her lecture. Or maybe it was the conversation he overhead at lunch about Donnie's mom's new boyfriend being a freeloading-
"You did read the League databases of all documented criminal metahumans, right?" Interrupting his train of thoughts, Captain Marvel almost flinched as he faced Superman's piercing glare.
"Yeah, I like totally read those databases," Captain Marvel eventually assured him through his confident facade.
Billy Batson did not read the League databases.
"Right." Not delving into that any further, Superman spoke with a greater sense of urgency. "In any case, the Parasite is someone you most definitely do not want to underestimate. He's a power-hungry psychopath who only cares about one thing: himself. And if he gets his hands on you, he'll take your strength, abilities, stamina- you name it- and use it against you."
Sobering up, Captain Marvel mentally prepared himself as Superman continues giving him an impromptu briefing on the metahuman.
"I've had a few encounters with him in Metropolis, and let's just say they weren't particularly shining moments in my career," he confessed painfully, a flicker of memory distorting his usually composed expression.
"So, he's kinda like a vampire then?"
"He's the guy vampires cower in fear from," Superman corrected him. "Besides a few dealings with Lex Luthor, the only thing the League knows for certain is that he goes by the alias of Raymond Jensen."
As Billy listens intently, Superman finished with a determined scowl, "Not even Batman knows how he even turned himself into that monster. But for now, the only thing that matters is that we contain him before he can escape with whatever's in that facility."
Nodding in affirmation, the two continue soaring above the oblivious citizens with nothing else said for a couple more blocks.
As the tense silence builds and builds, Billy finally works up the courage to say, "So hey Supe-"
"Call me Kal, Captain," Superman smiled at him, referring to his Kryptonian birth name.
Briefly tripping over his own words, Batson eventually found his voice. "So, I know you probably hear this a million times, and we work together which is already just so cool. But, between you and me…." He took a breath before the words came to him.
"I'm like your biggest fan," he finally breathed out gleefully, almost giddy with excitement.
An amused twinkle lit up Superman's piercing blue eyes for just a moment, as he noted Billy's now slightly blushing expression.
"I appreciate the sentiment, but I'm pretty sure a magical imp from the fifth dimension might disagree with that statement," he smirked at the flustered hero.
Taken aback, he exclaimed, "Wait, there's a fifth dimen-?"
"Long story," Superman cut him off, for they had finally arrived at the location in question: S.T.A.R. Labs.
"I'll tell you all about it another time. But for now…"
Stopping in mid-air to survey the scene below, Superman placed a reassuring hand on Captain Marvel's shoulder. "Let's just focus on the here and now, shall we?"
"General, would you care to step outside?"
The doors to the military surveillance van opened up to answer Superman's calm but commanding voice.
Lowering down to the ground, the ever-observant Man of Steel quickly took in his surroundings as General Wade Eiling exited the vehicle.
The area surrounding the entrance to the S.T.A.R. Labs facility was now almost completely dominated by military and police personnel, with at least two dozen assault weapons being aimed at the front doors alone.
Many of the lab scientists were currently either being helped on stretchers or questioned by police officers depending on the extent of their injuries.
While many of the city police patrolled the perimeter to keep bystanders and curious civilians out of the vicinity, the brunt of the enforcing personnel consisted mainly of U.S. Marines.
Sporting the typical rugged features that goes with being a career soldier, Eiling's bleak blue eyes fixed upon the descending Kryptonian.
As his boots touched the grass, Superman walked up to the high-ranking officer.
"For once, I'm glad to see you capes," he remarked wearily, shaking hands with the Kryptonian.
"I came as soon as I could. Has the situation changed any?" he asked.
"We've sealed off all potential exits, but that thing is still in there. The scientists have all been evacuated safely, but unfortunately we can't yet account for the security team that remained behind to stop him," the General told him.
Craning his neck towards the guarded entrance, Superman's eyes focused on the subtle energy fields from within the building, utilizing a form of X-ray vision to fully scan the area.
"I see six people still in inside, all in need of medical attention. We'll take care of it," Superman finally told the General.
General Eiling raised a quizzical eyebrow. "We?"
As if on cue, Captain Marvel landed on the ground next to them wearing a look of boyish awe.
"Jeez, they called the whole army in just for one guy?" He not-to-subtly whispered into Superman's ear.
"He's not just one guy, Captain Marvel. He's an Omega-level threat on our metahuman charts. Wanted not just by the U.S. Government, but also by Interpol. So, you'd understand that this is a little above the Fawcett City Police Department's pay grade," the General pointed out.
"No offense General, but I doubt these bullets are going to do much damage once he gets his hands on whatever's in that lab. And the last thing we need is a show of 'military strength' spilling out to the streets," Superman commented warily.
"Hopefully it won't come to that. I've got a shipment of the last anti-metahuman weaponry coming in, courtesy of Kord Industries. The E.T.A. is roughly fifteen minutes but-"
"It won't come to that," Superman declared firmly, taking a step towards S.T.A.R. Labs. "Tell your men to hold the line, General. We won't be long."
Stepping aside as the Man of Steel stalked intently towards the lab entrance, a worried look crossed Wade Eiling's grizzled features as he scratched the back of his graying hair.
Walking up to the general, the magical hero rested his sizable forearm on the man's shoulder for a moment before beaming at his idol.
"Don't worry, dude. We've got this!" Captain Marvel assured the general with a wink, before sprinting forward to catch up with his Kryptonian teammate.
Author's Note: Again, any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I'm hoping to finish this story up in the coming weeks, so thanks again for reading and stay 'whelmed! :)