The Trials of Superman: Chapter 3 Unexpected Occurances
As soon as he had left the Metropolis Special. Police Station. Superman shot into the air like the crack of a whip and broke the sound barrier in a mad dash for Smallvile. Normally Superman would have left this matter to the special police, however, greater hands were at play here and Superman knew that he had to get to the bottom of it all. So playing along was something that he'd just have to put up with for now.
When he had reached the familiar farm ground, surrounding Smallvile, Superman stopped in mid-flight for an eagle eye view of the situation. Down below, everyone wore a gas mask and people were busy fencing the area of. The whole place smelt of burnt flesh. Spotting Maggie Sawyer, Superman joined her on the ground for her take on the situation. Maggie was also wearing a gasmask. "Superman, before you even go anywhere near some of the sites, you're going to have to put on a gas mask." Maggie handed him a gas mask as she said this. "That's alright, I'll be fine without-"
"You either go in with one or you don't get to go in at all." Maggie cut Superman off and was being deadly serious in every action she took. "This parasite kills quickly, like nothing I've ever seen before and I don't doubt that it could even kill someone like you." Superman gently took the gas mask from Maggie and attached it to himself, his breathing now sounded a lot heavier. "Do you have any idea about how far the parasite has spread?" Superman asked this and Maggie looked over at Smallvile in response. "Well, that's what's strangest about this parasite, it didn't spread at all. It travelled in a single direction that would make one assume that it was heading for Metropolis and just happened to pass through here."
"What about the places where you know that the parasite has been before getting here?" A couple of men with flamethrowers passed Superman and Maggie, on their way to Smallvile. "The parasite taint is still there, but it seems like we've managed to trap the main body here, for the most part, the places that still have taint have been evacuated and sectioned off. In any case, the process that removes the parasite can be done by us. So I'm not sure what you can do to help out." A voice spoke up behind Maggie as she said this. "Perhaps I can help with that." Adira stepped out of a standard police car and joined the conversation. "Superman, you better come with me. I'll explain things further, once we're inside of Smallvile. Officer Sawyer, good work." Adira walked away several feet and clicked her fingers at two police rookies who got her a gas mask. "You better go see what she wants. In the meantime, keep your wits about you, I don't trust her at all." Maggie gave her advice and left to enter the back of a large SCU van. Adira beckoned Superman over and left for Smallvile, leaving Superman to follow her.
"It's strange that the biological attack was the first attack that we, the SCU, noticed and managed to stop." Adira remarked this once this had entered Smallvile and Superman found himself amongst the familiar buildings and homes of his hometown. "So your sure that it's a biological attack?" Superman asked, probing Adira for information. "That's what I need you to help me with. If the parasite reacts to you in a way that suggests following, then we know that all of these so called 'dangers' are attacking in an effort to kill you." Superman grimaced slightly at the thought of so many different hostilities, endangering the lives of so many just to get to him.
Inside one of the general stores, a small portable science lab had been set up. "Put out your right arm." An older woman said as she stood by with a needle. Superman begrudgingly allowed the scientist to take his blood. "How will we know if the parasite is specifically targeting me?" He asked. Adira was the one to answer this. "We'll set four other blood sample within range of the parasite sample and observe which one it will go to first. For all we know, the parasite could split it's numbers and go for all of the blood samples." The scientist finished taking Superman's blood and made her way over to a group of vials and began to fiddle around. A few minutes later, she turned on a microscope and connected it to a large overhead project. "Now don't blink or you'll miss it." Adira said playfully. Superman ignored her and watched the projection on the screen above him. The screen buzzed into life and a swarming mass of parasitic creatures were shown. They were nightmarish in sheer concept alone, but actually seeing the monsters could turn the stomach of any man. The screen seemed to zoom out to show several vials connected to a vial of water via tubing. Superman watched the scientist use a small blowtorch on the vial of water, off screen. On screen, the water began to evaporate, normal parasites that attacked liquids should have had no option on which vials they ended up in. But during this test, something happened to only one vial of blood. It began to cloud, then it dried up until it became visibly brittle. "Guess whose blood that was." Adira said. Not in the least bit surprised that the test had proven that the parasites were indeed attracted to Superman. "Thankfully, and with any luck, burning the cattle and either purifying or removing any and all volumes of water from the infected zones shouldn't be a problem. But at least we know now that the other two monsters, perhaps the ones that have yet to make an appearance, are after you."
"You believe that we could do something with that knowledge?" Superman asked Adira. Adira paused for a moment as she thought to herself, but she eventually answered. "We could try and shoot you out into space and hope they follow." She quipped with tactlessness. "Be serious." Superman commanded, but Adira wasn't at all shaken. She just smiled until a large explosion shook the building and a jet of flame set fire to the room. The scientist screamed and backed away until she was caught by Superman. "I'll see you outside, get her to safety." Adira commanded and began punching her way out of the building. Superman picked up the scientist and flew straight through the roof with an outstretched fist. Then he carried the woman to safety and put her down. Flying back, Superman got his first sight of his second monster in one day.
Standing the size of a colossal twelve feet. The robot in front of Superman travelled on four legs that teetered around like a mix between a spider and a crab. Large saws, lasers and missiles were attached to the machine and the top rounded off in reinforced metal. "Someone went a little crazy on the designs of this." Adira shouted to Superman when she saw him enter the fray. But he didn't have time to answer her, because a missile was fired at them. Superman used his heat vision to blow up the missile before it reached him and the robot responded by charging Superman and Adira. "Take out the legs." Superman yelled and Adira rushed forward, grapping one of the machine's legs. Superman grabbed the other and flew into the air in an attempt to tear the machine in half. However, a laser rotated from the robot's chest plate to it's shoulder and fired at Superman. Who was knocked out of the sky and hit the ground with a thud. The machine steadied itself back on the ground and, in doing so, knocked Adira off of balance. Then it fired a missile at her and sent her backwards into a building. The robot seemed to have the capability of moving any of it's weapons around it's whole body. When Superman got up, the machine concentrated all of it's lasers in the center of it's body and fired them all at Superman. Who used his heat vision to repel the lasers. Adira then came charging out of a pile of rubble and tore of a saw blade. The robot stumbled backwards and lurched itself on the side of a building, before going mad and firing missiles and rockets in all directions as the robot's weapons rotated themselves around the it's body. Superman flew straight into the reinforced top of the robot and sent it sprawling through a building, but it quickly pulled itself up and sidestepped out of Superman's way. "Nuisance robot, how dare you make me look bad!" Adira shouted as the robot repositioned itself.
"We need to get it into the air, can you hold it into position so that I can lift it from underneath?" Adira chuckled at Superman's politeness.
"Sure I can you big blue boy scout. Just be quick about it." Adira charged for the robot and then backed off, tricking the robot into coming at her for melee combat with one of it's saw blades. She then jumped on top of the robot and began pounding on it with her fists. The robot fired missiles and tried to reach Adira with it's saw blade, but she held on and managed to stay out of direct fire until she felt the whole thing shudder. Underneath Superman picked the robot up and gave Adira time to jump off, then he flew up into the sky and continued upwards until the robot started to freeze with patches of ice. Then, Superman pulled the helpless robot around and flew straight back at the ground as quick as he could. The ground impact tore up any earth that hadn't already been damaged.
"The damn thing isn't going to be getting up any time soon." Adira remarked, her knuckles bruised and swollen. She then kicked the robot's undamaged forehead and winced slightly as she put her foot back down on the ground. "Normally I'd ask Star Labs to look at something like this, but they're not..." Superman paused as he remembered that Star Labs had been destroyed by the Human-Bird hybrid mutants. "I'll have Eros take a look at it." Adira said and started to lug the robot over her shoulder. "In the meantime." Adira began. "Return to Maggie and ask report to her about all of this. Including the fact that you're the center of all of this." Superman nodded and took off into the sky.