Chapter Six: Raging Waters Part 3: Escape
A few feet outside of the palace, Clark, Lois, Imra, and Ayla waited patiently in Viking gear as a long line of soldiers marched past them.
"We could be here for hours." Imra groaned.
"I hate the thought of Kell-El held prisoner by that madman, Brainiac." Lois sighed.
"Why's Brainiac mad at Kell-El, Clark?" Ayla asked. As far as she knew, Kell hadn't done anything to Brainiac.
"Well, he's not that kind of mad, Ayla." Clark said calmly.
"What kind of mad is he?" Ayla asked.
"Well, he's like that man Jesus met in Garassa." Clark explained.
"Who was he?" Imra asked.
"Well you see," Clark began. "One day, Jesus and his disciples sailed across the Sea of Galilee to a place called Garassa where there lived a wild man. He slept in a cave, and the local villagers were terrified of him. Shortly after Jesus and the disciples arrived, the wild man appeared before him.
"'What do you want with me, Jesus?' The wild man asked. 'Son of the most high god!'
"'Come out of this man, evil spirit!' Jesus called out.
"'For god's sake, don't torment me!' The wild man called out.
"'What is your name?' Jesus asked.
"'I am Legion!' The wild man called out. 'We are as numerous as the Roman Army!'
"Legion begged Jesus not to send him away, asking, 'Send us among the pigs. Let us go into them!'
"As loving to his enemies as his friends, Jesus did as Legion asked and sent him into a group of nearby pigs as they oinked angrily and rushed away. When the villagers came to see what had happened, they came to see for themselves. They were astonished to see the wild man now fully clothed and in his right mind. They became frightened and begged Jesus to leave the area. As Jesus and the others were about to sail away, the man appeared and begged Jesus to let him go with them.
"However, Jesus said, 'Go home to your friends and family. Tell them what God has done for you.'
"Jesus sailed away, and the man did as he was asked.
"I like the Legion Story, Clark." Ayla said with a happy smile. She liked how Jesus was even nice to the bad people. "Is that the end?"
"That's the end." Clark said with a smile.
"Yeah?" Imra asked. "Well this legion goes on forever."
"I don't know about that." Clark said with a smile as one of the soldiers tripped and stopped the line, allowing the gang to head off.
"Look, we can cross." Imra said in awe.
"Alright everybody." Clark said as he pushed a cart full of food they'd all made forward.
"We made it!" Ayla called out excitedly. "We made it!"
"I think it's a little early for a celebration." Clark said plainly as he put on a Viking's helmet and a fake mustache. "Get your disguises on everybody. The tough part of our mission is just beginning."
Ayla, along with everyone else, hoped this plan would work.
()()()()()
At the palace, Brainiac was sitting there with Ron Karr gathering incoming data from his guards and senators when he heard something.
"Hail Brainiac!" A man with black hair, a mustache, and an odd Viking outfit said with a thick French accent. He was also joined by a woman and two young girls in similar outfits. "I am Pierre, a famous baker from Gall, and this is my family. We have brought pastries for the Galactic Emperor."
"Pastries, you say?" Brainiac asked. The Coluans had automated digestive tracts that helped them draw reserve energy from food, and Brainiac had always had what the humans would call "a sweet tooth."
"Oui." Pierre said. "In honor of… Uh… The twenty-first birthday of Brainiac's uncle's third cousin on his mother's side, twice removed. We have prepared a selection of our finest culinary treats."
"Third cousin on my mother's side…?" Brainiac wondered. He'd never bothered recalling the data on his family aside from Brainiac 5, so some of his family tree was harder to recall.
"Oui." Pierre said. "Now if your majesty pleases, I will describe for him the pastries. These are our fruit filled pastries."
Brainiac smiled as he held up one and tasted it. The pastry was excellent.
()()()()()
Garth poked his head out of a hollow statue of a Kryptonian holding an urn of water. The statue was connected to the sewers.
"Dick, Clark's here." Garth said as Dick poked out his head to see.
"Look at that outfit!" Dick laughed, and Garth had to admit Dick was right in Clark's odd Viking get-up. Just then, the statue began wobbling.
"Hey, this thing's loose!" Garth called out in a whisper. That could be useful for later.
()()()()()
In his cell, bathed in red sunlight, Kell drew the sign of the fish on the ground before he heard a door creek open and quickly rubbed it away. The door opened as Brainiac 5 stood there.
"What do you want?" Kell asked. "I guess you're here to torture me. Well go ahead! I'm not afraid of you!"
Kell noticed a jar in Brainiac 5's hand.
"What's that?" Kell asked. "Poison?"
"It's water." Brainiac 5 said plainly. "If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't bother with poison,"
"I see your point." Kell said as he took the water and drank. Something about Brainiac 5 was beginning to grow on Kell. Maybe because he was nicer than most of Brainiac's other guards.
()()()()()
"And these are our famous cream filled pastries." Pierre went on as Brainiac tried one and smiled.
"Mmm…" Brainiac said. "Delicious."
"And lastly, the crème de la crème." Pierre said as he held up a pastry. "I'd advise against eating this pastry. It is special. It is my world famous Secret Poison Torture Pastry. One bite and…"
Pierre made a slitting motion with his throat.
"How delightful." Brainiac said as he smirked even wider. "I must have a demonstration."
"It's a pity you don't have any of those loathsome Christians around." Pierre said with a sigh. "They make especially good Torture Pastry victims."
"You don't say?" Brainiac said as he thought of the Christian they'd just captured. "Guard, fetch me the Christian prisoner at once!"
The men did so.
()()()()()
In Kell's cell, Brainiac 5 and Kell continued to talk.
"You know, you don't have to die." Brainiac 5 said helpfully. "I've seen Brainiac 1 pardon people like you before."
"Sure." Kell said with a scoff. He'd heard about those traitors. "If they deny Jesus."
"You don't have to deny a thing." Brainiac 5 insisted sympathetically. "You just have to accept that Brainiac 1 is also a god."
"Then I guess I have to die." Kell said with conviction. He'd never abandon his believes just to save his own skin.
"Who is this Jesus that inspires such crazy loyalty in his followers?" Brainiac 5 asked. "I would have liked to have met such a man."
"You still can." Kell encouraged Brainiac 5.
"That's illogical." Brainiac 5 said. "He's dead. How can I-"
"Shh!" Kell said quickly as he heard two approaching soldiers.
"Brainiac demands to see the prisoner at once." The guard said as he opened the door.
At that, Kell was dragged into the throne room again as Brainiac stood there.
"Welcome back Christian." Brainiac said plainly. "I didn't want to send you to the lions on an empty stomach, and my baker friend here has a pastry that's to die for."
Kell quickly observed Brainiac's smirk and knew something was up. The baker then walked up to Kell, and he quickly recognized him as Clark.
"Clark?" Kell asked in a whisper. "What are you doing here?"
"Don't worry." Clark whispered back. "Everything's under control. Just follow my lead." Clark's voice then shifted into a French accent. "And now Christian Wretch, eat this Poison Torture Pastry, so we can all watch you go into convulsions and collapse dead on the floor!
"No, I won't!" Kell said. He wondered where he and Clark got their acting skills from. The guards then held Kell's arms up as Clark shoved the pastry into his mouth. Kell had to admit, Lois was becoming a much better cook. He could actually tell that the pastry was made bad on purpose.
"Everything's getting dark…" Kell gasped after swallowing the pastry. "I'm so cold! Good-bye, cruel world!"
Kell then let himself drop to the floor, coughing and sputtering. After his performance, Kell hardly dared to breathe.
"Did you see his tortured expression?!" Brainiac asked with dark glee. "Did you hear his agonized gasps? It was wonderful. I'll take six dozen of those pastries for the next Governor's ball."
"Of course, Brainiac." Clark said. "And now for no extra charge, we will remove the body from your imperial sight."
"Thank you." Brainiac said. "It's quite refreshing for someone to take the rubbish out without being asked."
As Kell felt his body be put onto the wagon, he could smell the pastries, and the smoke tickled his nose, and Kell ended up sneezing.
"Gazuntite." Cobblepot said as if nothing had happened.
"Thank you." Kell said since the guards had already blocked off the exit.
"I suspected a trick." Brainiac said as his smirk widened. "Arrest them. Poison Torture Pastries indeed? "Did you really think you could fool Brainiac? Throw them to the lions at once!"
()()()()()
As the guards pursued the gang, who were zigzagging everywhere, Garth and Dick remained where they were.
"We've gotta help them!" Garth said quickly.
"How?" Dick asked.
"Help me topple this statue over." Garth said as they both shook around inside the hollow statue.
"This is crazy!" Dick called out.
"Stop complaining and start shaking!" Garth countered.
()()()()()
As the guards cornered the group, Kell and Clark each took a shield and knocked the guards down as they tossed the shields at them, knocking enough guards out to clear a path.
Lois, Imra, and Ayla assisted them by tossing the left over pastries at all of them. Unfortunately, they still ended up cornered in the end near a large marble statue of a woman holding a pot of water.
"Bravo." Brainiac said darkly as he floated through the crowd. "Bravos. Bravisimo. I can only hope you'll perform as well in the lion pits."
Just then, the statue began to tip over.
"Look out!" A soldier called as the statue collapsed onto the ground while everyone else fled the area.
"My statue!" Brainiac called out in alarm. "My beautiful statue."
"Clark!" Garth whispered from where the statue had fallen, and the gang turned to see Garth and Dick inside a small square hole. "Over here!"
The smoke provided an excellent cover as the gang went in one person at a time with Kell going last when Brainiac 5 approached Kell with the scroll. After a moment, Brainiac 5 handed Kell the scroll.
"Here." Brainiac 5 said. "Now hurry, before I change my mind."
Kell smiled. Maybe there was some hope for people like Brainiac 5 after all.
"They're getting away!" Brainiac called out, obviously noticing their shadowy shapes in the smoke. "AFTER THEM!"
They made it to the river where a barrel waited for them just as several guards followed.
"Clark, catch!" Kell called out as he tossed the scroll to Clark before diving in himself.
"Alright, let's get out of here!" Clark called out.
They rushed down the aqueduct on their barrel as Kell held a chain up to stop one set of guards from following them on a barrel before catching up with the others.
When a second group of soldiers grabbed onto a cape Clark had worn for his disguise, Ayla caused him to lose their grip on him by tossing her helmet at them, which also shocked them into smashing into the side of the aqueduct, ruining their chance to pursue.
As the last group of soldiers closed in on the gang, they were saved by pure luck. While they passed by the aqueduct inspector, the inspector's aid put in a new filter, completely missing the gang, and the guards were caught in the filter.
"I do say." The inspector said. "I should have thought you chaps would know better."
()()()()()
In the New Metropolis end of an aqueduct, two Christians, Wally West and his girlfriend Jinx, nervously waited by the aqueduct.
"Kell-El was supposed to be here hours ago." Wally pointed out with a groan. "We better go tell the others."
"But what are we going to tell them?" Jinx asked. "Those people risked their lives to be here tonight."
"I know that." Wally said. "But what can we do? We don't have a story."
"I… I guess you're right." Jinx said with a sigh before she stopped. "Wait, look up there."
()()()()()
The gang passed by the rendezvous point.
"There they are!" Kell called out as they stopped the barrel. "Clark, get ready to hand off the scroll."
"No problem, I've got it right here." Clark said when he opened up his cape to find the pocket in it empty. "Uh… Uh-oh."
"Looking for this?" Lois asked with a smirk as she handed the scroll to Clark.
"What would I do without you?" Clark asked with a smile as he kissed Lois' cheek.
"Clark!" Kell groaned impatiently.
"Sorry." Clark said with a smirk as he tossed down the scroll as Wally caught it.
"Thank you!" Wally called out. "Thank you all!"
"Don't mention it!" Clark called out as he turned to the children. "Because of your faith and bravery, hundreds of Christians will hear a new story tonight."
"What story will they hear, Clark?" Ayla asked.
"Well," Clark said. "It's the story of how Jesus and his disciples got caught in a terrible storm over the Sea of Galilee."
()()()()()
At the New Metropolis Story Meeting, the substitute Story-Teller, John Stewart, unfurled the scroll and began reading.
"That evening, Jesus turned to his disciples and said, 'Come, let's cross over to the other side.'"
Oh, that one took awhile. Sorry guys.