*Chapter Five*

POV: Clark Kent

I angrily balled another piece of paper and tossed it in the trash. My ballpoint pen was practically glued to my hand with sweat and after an hour I was no further on my stupid paper about Metropolis dining then I was when I started. I blearily rubbed my eyes. After Lana had left last night I hadn't been able to sleep a wink, half off of embarrassment over Lana's rejection and also because of her last words.

I think you might have a girl after your own heart bounced around in my head. She couldn't have meant Lois could she? I felt a little bad about brushing off Lois the way I did, but I wasn't sure what to say to her at the moment. The only way Lana could have seen Lois and I together was when I was Superman and Lois had, rather rudely, blown up in my face. Lana had left me a couple messages saying she was using her boyfriend's research facilities to dig into the whole plane situation, but I hadn't returned any of her messages yet. Only Lana Lang could turn you off so politely.

I took off my glasses and held them uselessly in one hand. Out of nowhere, a shrieking sound pierced my ears. I dropped my glasses. That sound was too high for a human ear to comprehend, and it only came from one specific thing. It could only be Jimmy's signal watch. Who knew what kind of trouble that kid had gotten into now?

Lois.

For some odd reason, Jimmy and Lois were partners in crime and when Lois was in trouble, Jimmy was around. I bolted out of my desk and over to Lois's desk, trying to mask my panic. Lois's chair swung around, empty and undisturbed. Shoot. I excused myself and rushed into the broom closet. Not exactly a convenient place to change, but it was the only place around that didn't receive a lot of attention from the bustling Daily Planet staff. I pulled on my suit and stashed my clothes behind a mop bucket. Thankfully, I was faster than a speeding bullet so I was able to rush from the office with the only trace of me being a couple of papers blowing in the wind.

I slowly expanded my vision, allowing myself to see a wider range. I filtered out everything but Jimmy Olsen. There. He was pacing around the old cannery, yelling Lois's name and ducking to avoid the flying metal objects. It had to be Hank Henshaw.

Hank was an astronaut who had died, and after his death he blamed me for the loss of his life and now, as a resurrected Meta he could control and occupy technology. So it made sense that he would target Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen in an abandoned place like the cannery.

But where was Lois? I dropped onto the cannery grounds. Jimmy looked up from where he was crouching with his camera. Only good old Jimmy would try to take pictures of the masked menace who was trying to kill him. "Thank goodness Superman!" He called in a hushed voice.

I gestured for him to be quiet. He gave me a big grin and signaled a thumb up sign. I sped over to him. "What's going on?" I whispered. Jimmy's knuckles were white against his black camera. "Lois came with me to the cannery to take some pictures about old town Metropolis. I got kind of distracted and about a half an hour later this tech Meta showed up and I realized Lois was gone."

I sighed. "Do you think that the tech Meta, Hank Henshaw took her?" Jimmy shrugged. "Knowing Lois, it could be a number of scenarios." And that was true. I looked over to where Henshaw was wreaking havoc on the cannery. I stood up. "What did you do with Lois Lane?" I yelled over the clattering of the flying metal.

Henshaw paused and looked at me. I was caught off guard by how massive he really was. The fact that he was wearing my costume made me want to punch him all the way to China though. His half human- half cyborg- face sneered at me. The electronic side of my costume snapped and buzzed whiles the other half remained eerily still.

"Why it's Superman, my old friend." He boomed in his metallic voice. "It is very nice of you to finally make an appearance." To emphasize his statement he sent a huge piece of metal hurtling towards me. I easily caught it and set it down. "Enough with the theatrics Hank, where's Lois?" Hanks proud expression faltered for a second. "My name is Cyborg!" He hollered angrily.

I sighed. "Okay Cyborg. Let me ask again. Where is she?" I growled. Cyborg smiled triumphantly. "If by she you mean Miss Lana Lang, than I could assure you that she's on her way to being canned." He smiled evilly. He had Lana? "Why did you kidnap Miss Lang?" I asked him. His electrical side whizzed and whirred. "Why not, a hot new fashion designer is so much more fun than some reporter who I couldn't find anywhere."

Wait, he couldn't find Lois? Than where was she? Unfortunately, I didn't have much time to ponder as I would have liked as Cyborg jumped into the cannery. I turned to Jimmy. "Call the police to look for Lois!" I ordered. Jimmy nodded as I turned and jumped into the cannery via the hole that Cyborg had made.

I looked around the drafty old building. There was only silence. I slowly focused on Lana's image. A fragmented image of her tied on the cannery table popped up before me. That was just what I needed. I maneuvered my way through the cannery, arriving shortly where Lana was on the conveyer belt heading towards a vicious looking machine.

She raised an eyebrow. "Is this necessary?" She asked in an exasperated tone, apparently not fearing for her life. I just shrugged. I started towards her when a heavy chunk of metal smacked me in the head. I caught my breath as I saw stars. Cyborg stood triumphantly a few feet away. Take care of Lana first. I quickly decided. In a blur I reached Lana and untied her. Cyborg howled as I shot out of the cannery and dropped Lana a ways away. "You're my hero." She muttered sarcastically. "Not even thanks?" I panted. Lana smiled. "Okay, thank you Superman, I am forever indebted." I smiled. "That's better." Lana playfully hit my shoulder. "Now go!" She ordered.

I shot back into the air and smacked back at the cannery. Cyborg grimaced. "It's time to rumble!" He cheered. I delivered a bone shattering punch to his jaw. His head snapped to the side but the metal in him stopped the injury from actually hurting him. Cyborg rallied with a blow of his own and the next few minutes faded into a long period where I fought desperately while trying to avoid Cyborgs own attacks. "You can't last forever." He groaned. I smiled. "But neither can you." I planted my foot against his chest in a powerful kick that sent him flying into a back wall, completely causing the frame to crumble.

Water from the harbor began to pour in. As the liquid hit Cyborg, he began to shriek as he short circuited. I grabbed the limp villains shoulder and dragged him out of the flooding building and into the arms of the waiting cops. A man with graying brown hair and a wrinkled and haggard face eyed me warily.

"Thanks Superman." The cop said.

I smiled as I eyed his stomach, which had seen one to many doughnuts. "No problem Inspector Turpin." Dan rubbed his eyes and opened his mouth to say something when Jimmy Olsen came plowing into him. "Golly gee Superman!" He hollered. "I was looking for Lois and I saw that a part of the wall had caved in because of rotting wood, and I found this!"

He fumbled in his pocket for a moment before pulling out a black fountain pen. But it wasn't a normal pen; it was Lois's special pen. I had nearly gotten my head bit off once for touching it. I looked up at Jimmy. "Show me where you found it." Jimmy ran to a part of the cannery with me following behind. Sure enough, there was a hole in the drywall big enough for a person to fall into. I peered into it. Water was rapidly pouring in, and was already covering the bottom floor.

Without a second thought I dove in to the frigid water, shooting towards the bottom. Pieces of debris floated around me, blocking my vision. The water was flecked by little drops of red. I felt the metallic substance.

It was human blood.