- 6 -

- The Clash -

As soon as Cal had touched down, after leaving Amar Watson and his robot, he had sprinted off and was now running flat out. He was still thinking about what Mr Watson had said, especially about his ability running on solar energy. He was also thinking about the fact he was missing half his clothes thanks to the robot's energy beam. Cal was so deep in thought that he didn't even realise that he had long ago left the land behind, and was now running along the surface of the sea; cutting his way through waves with no trouble at all.

By the time he realised this, he managed to keep his surprise from sending him crashing into the sea. Instead, he increased the tempo slightly and sped up his run. Cal didn't know exactly where he was heading but he knew at least he was going to return to America, he had had enough of England for a lifetime. He thought back to his final words with Mr Watson, and wondered whether he should take the advice and head to Metropolis; although he wasn't sure what he would find there.

He shrugged to himself inwardly and concentrated on running. Soon enough his feet hit land again and he touched down in America. Without stopped he wondered where he should go, and in the end decided the best place would be Metropolis. He didn't want to go anywhere near home at the moment, and apparently there was something in Metropolis that would be of interest for him. So with a quick change of direction, and accelerating once again, he shot off towards Metropolis.

Considering the speed that Cal was moving at, it didn't take very long before he was stepping over the city limit and entering what the world referred to as the 'City of the Future'; Metropolis. As the nickname implied, Metropolis was a sprawling city of massive skyscrapers of shining glass, buildings as long as the skyscrapers were tall, and 6 lane wide roads filled with cars.

Cal wasn't sure what time of day it was, the sun was up at least, but he guessed the roads were probably packed at all times of the day. He had been to Metropolis only once before a couple of years ago and he remembered how much trouble it had been getting around anywhere; even the public transport was packed with people. However, he smiled a little bit as he sped past all the cars and people, and then leapt high into the air.

He landed with practiced skill on the top of an old-style skyscraper, in that it was mostly constructed of stone, and finally came to a stop. Being at the top of a building made it possible to get a good view of the section of the city he was in. Cal could see the glass buildings of the 'richer' section of Metropolis further ahead of him, leaving him in the lower end which, if Cal remembered correctly, was locally known as 'Old Metropolis'; since that's what it was.

It was only now, while he had come to a stop, that Cal suddenly realised he was wearing nothing more than the tattered remains of his jeans. He had forgotten that his confrontation with Watson's robot had reduced most of his clothing to non-existence. With that in mind, he crossed his arms and thought about his next step; getting some clothes.

He still had his wallet in his pocket, but he knew that if he used his card, no doubt Louise could track him down and for the moment, he didn't want that to happen. So without that, he didn't have any money to spend. This thought was only fleeting as he simply decided to run through a store and grab anything he needed; the thought of stealing didn't earn a second run through.

So with his decision made, he stepped up to the edge of the building and, using a trick he had learnt on the mountains, activated his speed to dash down the side of the building. He made sure to avoid the windows and ran down a central column like it was a sidewalk; with no trouble at all. Cal hopped the last few feet to the ground and accelerated across the pavement, the cars and people moving in slow motion to his eyes as he dodged his way down the path.

The first store he came too, which he decided would sell the clothes he was looking for, he dodged into. Then, like a whirlwind, he passed through the store, grabbing the items of clothing he liked, and then sped out again. He had moved fast enough that no-one had noticed, maybe feeling a breeze passing by them, and any security devices attached to the clothes didn't register because of the speed.

Cal ended up back on top of the building he had started on, dressed in his new clothes, having crushed the security tags off. He was now wearing black jeans, a black t-shirt, and a black zip-up hoody. His feet were still bare, however, because the shop had not sold anything substantial. As Cal stood at the edge of the building, toes spread out on the rock, he looked down and noticed a small corner store advertising military equipment; like an army surplus. So once again he ran down the building, and dashed into the shop, grabbing a pair of boots and returning to his perch.

Now clothed again, Cal had to decide what to do next, his major concern being money. He had already decided not to use his own card but didn't really want to continue stealing everything he needed. However, he could only think of one way to get the money he needed and it would require a little bit more of breaking the law.

"It's not a big deal." He told himself quietly "It's not like I can settle in for a normal life anymore." He balanced along the edge of the building as he walked to the far side, gazing towards the tall glass buildings of the new Metropolis. "And there's only one place to get the money I need…but first, I need a way to disguise my identity."

A number of hours had passed since Cal had made his decision, and now he was confronted by a strange assortment of individuals.

"Hi, I'm Matt and we are the Risers; care to join us?" the white haired figure in front of him was saying.

Cal let a grin slid onto his face, keeping up impressions was important after all, and looked along the line of people. They all wore the same clothes, clearly some kind of uniform obviously, that consisted of a black t-shirt, a black belt with a number of pouches attached, black combat trousers, and black combat boots. Although the basis of the uniform was the same, each person had individually altered theirs slightly. Most notable was a female whose top was cut very low on her chest, and a man who seemed to be wearing clothes several sizes too big for his small frame.

"Perhaps I should explain this further, you seem somewhat confused." Matt continued. "The Risers is a group of…unique individuals all gathered by the Director in order to bring control to the world. Of course, the Director gave us a little boost in order to achieve this goal, as well as some special privileges."

"Stop there." Cal said, slinging the money bag in his hand, over his shoulder. "This 'Director' he's not called Watson is he?"

"Amar Watson, yes." Matt replied, turning to his female partner next to him, who was inspecting her nails. "How did you know that?"

"I had a little run in with him the other day, and my response still stands; get lost."

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen." One of the other females said, stepping forward. She was wearing what seemed to be the standard cut of uniform; the only difference was that she was wearing black sweat bands around her wrists. "We've been given the order to bring you in, whether we have to knock you out to do that or not."

"Launi!" Matt said, looking back at her with annoyance.

Launi shrugged "Well it's true."

"Do you think you could?" Cal said, twisting his head to the side as he spoke.

"Well, we outnumber you quite significantly and no matter what power you possess I'd estimate it is not on the same level as all of us." The woman next to Matt said, crossing her arms and finally laying her eyes on Cal.

"Joanne's right; so why don't you come with us quietly." Matt said, clearly trying to defuse the situation.

"I'm with Matt on this one." Another one of the men said, his uniform only altered by the black gloves he was wearing. "Just come quietly."

"Shut up, Cross. I'm taking him down!" the man in the loose fitting clothing shouted as he jumped off the bonnet he had been leaning on and started running towards Cal. As he ran, his skin seemed to ripple and he physically ballooned outwards so that his loose clothing was now tight around bulging muscles. It also made him nearly a foot taller than Cal and his arms seemed to be basketballs.

He came within arm length and swung his arm high in order to attack from above Cal's height. Cal grinned and clenched his free fist by his side before swinging up, intending to clash fist-to-fist, crushing the muscled idiot's in the process. However, before the two fists made contact they stopped about a foot apart, crashing into something invisible. The two fists shook for a second before the invisible force expanded and both Cal and the muscle-head were pushed away from each other forcefully.

"Leon, don't start things you can't finish!" Joanne said, her arm held at shoulder height with her palm facing towards the direction of the invisible force.

"Interesting, you have abilities as well; and here I thought I was the only one." Cal said, lowering his bag to the ground to free up his other hand. "I don't suppose you all had accidents to gain your powers?"

"I said didn't I? The Director gave us a little 'boost' to help us achieve the company's goal. We all volunteered, despite not knowing exactly what we were in for." Matt explained, eyeing Leon carefully as he was still muscled up.

"I see, you were experimented on." Cal said, frowning. "That's a damn shame, but if you're not going to get out of my way, I need to move you." The invisible force was still in front of him, but Cal sped round it before slowing down in front of Joanne; the one creating the force.

"Damn!" Joanne said as she dropped her hands in front of her and Cal felt another force start to build between him and her. He didn't wait and pushed forward, his strength clearly more than the force could fight.

"Hana! Sora!" Matt called out, diving away from Cal as he did so.

As Cal stepped within arms distance of Joanne, who had begun to jump backwards, he felt one force knock his outreached hand away, and a second force slam into his face. It didn't hurt him but he stopped in his tracks having not expected it. This was taken advantage off as Leon appeared behind, bigger than before, and slammed both his hands into Cal's back with an overhead axe attack.

He hit with enough force that Cal was slammed into the ground, creating a small crater, and sending cracks running along the road; big enough that the surrounding police cars moved. Leon didn't let up as he slammed a giant fist into Cal again, and then again, and then again, until he was pummelling Cal further and further into the ground. As he punched, he grew in size again until he was taller and more muscled than a human could ever be.

"Leon, enough!" Matt shouted and ran forward, and placing a hand on Leon's back. As he did so, thin tendrils of a clear liquid ran across Leon's back, making him jump and pull away from Matt. "Shrink down, now."

"You're not in charge of me!" Leon replied, his voice deep and gravelly thanks to his transformation.

"But I am, change down." Joanne said, pulling herself off the floor.

Leon growled but his skin began to ripple as he slowly shrunk, although he never reached his original size. Cal leapt out of the hole Leon had crushed him into and slammed a fist into his chest. Leon's face contorted with pain as Cal's fist dug into the muscles of his chest, before he was lifted off his feet and sent spiralling backwards. Leon was thrown all the way back to the bank, smashing through both sets of glass entrance doors, and crossing the main room before crashing into the security grating and sliding to the floor; his body shrinking back to original size in the process.

Both Joanne and Matt were frozen in surprise as Cal placed a hand on their chests and, with a gentle push, sent both of them flying backwards where they both crashed into police cars, leaving dents in the metal. Cal stepped forward, cracking his neck as he did, and looked around at the remaining Risers, a single crack in the right lens of his glasses the only indication he had just received a barrage of attacks.

Cal counted seven more Risers and slowly scanned along the line, watching the caution on their faces as they took in his attack on their leaders. There were four girls on Cal's right, including the pretty woman with a low-cut top and one wearing dark glasses over her eyes. On Cal's left was a woman sporting a strange headband that seemed to be shaped like a pair of dragon wings, another girl with rings covering one hand, and the only remaining man who wore the black gloves and Leon had referred to as Cross.

Cal smiled and jerked forward, without actually moving, gaining him the reaction he was waiting for. Immediately the pretty girl with the low cut started moving forward, transparent spheres appearing in her hands as she did, and Cal headed towards her. However, as they were about to collide, Cal disappeared and appeared in front of the girl with rings on her hand and hair down to her elbows. She had what seemed to be a deck of cards in her hand, and as Cal approached she grabbed a card and threw it in his direction.

"4 of Clubs!" she shouted and the card steadied in the air before expanding in size, comparing to a cathedral door, and was clear purple.

"Sora!" the man next to her called as Cal approached.

Cal wasn't perturbed by this and with an outstretched hand; he shattered the card with a sharp push. The girl called Sora had eyes open in surprise as Cal placed a hand on her chest and threw her backwards; she crashed into the bonnet of a police car and flipped over it before landing on the other side unconscious. As Cal turned, Cross was reaching out to touch him, gloves gone from his hands, but Cal simply grinned and sped over to the other side, appearing in front of the pretty woman.

She instantly threw her globes to the ground, causing the tarmac to morph into a musky swamp, but Cal simply leaped over it and clamped his hand over her face. The woman showed panic in her eyes as Cal tipped her back and slammed her head into the ground, knocking her out.

"Lianne!" the girl with glasses called, stepping forward, only to meet Cal head on.

The glasses girl raised a hand and Cal felt an invisible force slam into his chest. He grinned and reached through the force, grabbing her outstretched arm and jerking her in close. "So that was you earlier?" he questioned before lifted her over his shoulder and slamming her into the ground by her arm. Cal turned again and found the woman with red hair leering over him with a fist drawn back to punch him.

Cal didn't hesitate, spinning with his super speed, and punched her hand off course, and then backhanding her in the side of the head; sending her crumpling to the floor. He turned again to find the final woman near him, the one called Launi, her skin rippling menacingly. Cal moved towards her but suddenly sped over to the other side, appearing by the girl with the purple headband shaped like a pair of dragon wings.

She stared at him intently and then stepped back with surprise, clear panic bubbling onto the surface. "Mira!" Cross called, moving across to her. Cal lifted an arm and formed his fingers into a flicking shape, which he then used to flick Mira away from Cross. Cross looked a little angry as he approached Cal again, but Cal shook his head before appearing over by Launi again.

He swung to hit her in the head but as his hand made contact, her head burst into water. Taken by surprise, Launi's whole body turned to water before moving forward and engulfing Cal completely. Cal wasn't worried about drowning, which appeared to be her goal as she became a land-based whirlpool around him, but however he swiped at her, he was still stuck. He frowned and then changed tactics, slamming his fist into the ground, which crumbled away. Launi, in water form, had to pull away to stop from dropping down the newly formed hole, and Cal simply jumped the other way to get out of her trap. He turned to face her as she rounded the whole to get to him, still a whirlpool, and took a deep breath in. Then with the force of a hurricane, he exhaled and she was blown backwards before returning to normal and slamming into a car.

Cal turned to take out the final person, Cross, but found him already by his side, placing an un-gloved hand on his arm. Cal pushed him away quickly, punching the wind out of him, but he saw Cross grimace slightly. "What?" he said, unable to hold himself back, suspecting the grimace was not from Cal's attack.

"I do not take pleasure in it, but this fight is finished." Cross said, dropping onto his behind and pointing at Cal's arm where he had touched him.

Cal looked down to see a clear crystal-like substance completely covering his arm, and quickly moving up his neck. "What the…!?" he said as he shook his arm, to no avail, as the crystal quickly moved across his entire body until only his head was left with free movement. Cal snarled, using it to hide a panicked expression, as the crystal moved up and covered his head completely, leaving him frozen in place.

Cross sighed and put his gloves back on but then looked up in surprise when a large snap sounded in the air. In front of him, the frozen Cal's crystal prison had a large crack through it along the arm. "Impossible." Cross said, just as the crystal on the arm shattered and Cal through a piece of crystal at Cross. Cross was too surprised to act and the chunk of rock slammed into his head, knocking him unconscious as the rest of the crystal was shattered by an angry Cal as he flexed his body.

"Not bad, but I win. Now, it seems we've got some unwanted attention so I'm out of here." He muttered and with a push off from the floor, he leapt into the air and landed on one of the skyscrapers in the area.

As he leapt away, Matt had regained consciousness and was looking at where Cal had gone too. "Joanne, you awake?" he said as, Joanne stirred and rolled onto her back. "Take the fliers and chase after him."

She nodded and jumped to her feet just as a helicopter flew around the corner of one of the tall buildings and moved towards them; the side of the chopper read 'Daily Planet News Chopper'.

* Credit for submitted Characters will be given in one go, at the end.