Superman Chapter 7
*Contains adult language*
While Superman had been evacuating all the personnel into the remaining life pods, the massive space station hurled towards one of the hanar system's bigger moons. It was sacred to them because it was the brightest and largest moon that could be seen on their homeworld. Superman was quick about safely carrying all drell and hanar on board to the closest life pod and manually deploying the pods if need be.
He had checked and double checked to make sure everyone was safe, all but one; the one he was almost certain caused this whole mess. When she turned around and saw him standing behind her, Superman recognized her. In some of his down time when laying low traveling into space as Clark Kent, he took time to check criminal databases from for the most wanted criminals. He would speed read through most of the data, but he never forgot a face. In front of him was Subject Zero aka Jack, an incredible powerful biotic that has been on the run from authorities most of her life.
Superman had never fought a biotic, but did extensive research on them. He came to find out how eezo affected certain species and granted them unique abilities, mostly gravity distortion. Both his biological and adopted father had tried to make certain he could face any challenge, but he knew that when he came into the unknown of space there would be things neither of them could prepare him for. As Superman put a hand on the young woman's shoulder and was blasted away with biotic power, he realized that this was one of those times.
The Man of Steel could feel his eyes start to burn as he got out of the hole he was forced into. He realized that while this girl was human, she was still incredible powerful and should not be underestimated. Superman knew that he was going to have to be careful in fighting her, but at the same time give it all he's got.
"I will not ask again" sternly said Superman as he hovered with his arms crossed over his chest and eyes searing with a red glow.
"Ooh scary" Jack sarcastically gestured with her hands before throwing a biotic orb Superman.
Testing what could be done against biotics, Superman unleashed the heat from his eyes directly at the incoming orb. When the intense heat struck the orb, it did nothing at first, but soon started to dissipate. Jack seemed impressed as she raised an eyebrow after seeing the heat beams emit from Superman's eyes.
"Cool trick" Jack sneered as she started to run towards where Superman stood. Both of her fists sparked with biotic power as she got closer and closer.
Superman wanted to keep his distance from her, knowing what she could do if he got close enough. He wasn't sure how much more damage the station could take before completely breaking apart. As Jack was getting nearer, Superman took in a deep breath and forcefully let it out towards Jack.
The air swirled around as a vortex formed in the long hallway, pushing everything away from Superman. Jack tried her best to fight the intense wind, but lost her footing and got swept backwards down the hall. Superman stopped the air and watched as Jack bounced down the metal hall.
She finally stood, rattled from the attack and looked up to see the Man of Steel standing in front of her. Surprised that he had got to her so quickly, she started to pat herself off with an angry look on her face.
"You breathed on me, gross!"
Superman ignored her, "Stop this, now."
"Yea, okay" said Jack as she looked up at the taller man. Superman did not believe her for a second. Jack fists then lit up with blue power once again as she brought her arms up to strike Superman in his face. Before the biotic punch could land, Superman grabbed her arm out of the air faster than she could see. Angry, Jack attempted to hit him with her other fist, only for that one to be caught mid-air as well.
The tattooed convict struggled to break free from Superman's vice grip, but it was useless. Out of options, she brought her head back, readying to head-butt Superman.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you" he warned as Jack let out a chuckle and smashed her face into Superman's. It was at that very instant, Jack regretted doing that. She may have well been head-butting a steel wall. She was dizzy and couldn't see straight as Superman brought her over to the wall of the hallway. He broke off a piece of piping that ran along the wall and easily bent the metal into cuffs over her wrists. He then chained her makeshift cuffs into another pipe along the same wall.
Satisfied, Superman then took a few steps away from her and surveyed the station. His vision peeled back the layers of metal so that he could see the how far from the moon they were. By his judgment, he had only minutes before the station would collide with a holy temple that resided on the surface of the moon. He knew that the station was beyond saving, but still needed to divert the wreckage away from the small settlement.
Knowing the makeshift restraints would not hold Jack, he hoped they would at least hold her long enough for him to move the station out of harm's way. He blurred through the station, attempting the find the center of its mass so that he could properly divert its trajectory. Finally finding a stable, still intact area of the station, Superman began to push into the station with all of his might. The station creaked and cracked as it slowly started to move in the direction Superman was pushing it, all while gaining speed towards the inhabited moon.
Superman was fighting gravity as he strained to move the massive station out of the way of the holy settlement on the moon below. As he pushed, he peered through the station and saw that he was nearly clear of the buildings. In the distance, he heard metal tearing throughout the station. At first he thought it was from the pressure of the station being moved, but then he focused his enhanced hearing and heard that it was getting closer; she was free.
He only needed a few more seconds; the station would crash into the moon, but at least there would be no casualties. Superman could hear her getting closer, crashing through walls at a furious rate.
"Just one more final push" thought Superman as he saw in the corner of his eye a blue wave crash through the wall next to him. "That should do it" he thought just as the biotic infused convict tackled him, sending them both flying through the station's walls.
Jack was radiating biotic power as she propelled herself into the occupied Man of Steel. He was busy trying to save the station, leaving him open to attack. She concentrated a warp effect into her fists as she dove at Superman.
Superman recovered quickly and tossed Jack aside as they both still hurled through the station. He saw Jack compose herself against a wall with a mass effect field around her as he slowed himself midair. He felt an almost burning sensation on his torso and when he looked down at himself, he could see on the molecular level his suit and skin being torn apart.
Though the damage was minimal because of his natural enhanced healing, it was still an unsettling feeling. He looked up to see Jack toss another small biotic orb, this one traveling much faster. Superman once again let his pupils ignite and let loose a volley of heat waves upon the small orb, again dissipating it. However this time as soon as the small biotic orb began to fade another orb spawned out of it and continued to soar towards Superman.
The tiny orb struck Superman in the same area he could feel the molecules tearing and in the next instant was sent flying through the station once more from a brilliant blue explosion. The biotic detonation had left him momentarily dazed, leaving him noting to avoid biotic combinations like that in the future.
Jack did not let up as she followed Superman after the biotic explosion sent him hurling through more metallic walls. She saw him holding his head and immediately took the moment to send out a crescent shaped biotic attack that pulled Superman closer to her. He tried to pull away, but the biotic field forced him towards Jack as she readied a powerful shockwave with her arms. She was about to unleash the energy, when the entire station began to crumble in on itself.
The station collided with a desolate section of the moon as debris and metal was flung in all directions. Superman saw the station folding in on them both and knew he only had seconds to react. He saw the floor above from them was collapsing down, right where Jack was standing, and so in an instant Superman positioned himself behind her and braced himself. The floor above them came crashing down on top of Superman as he huddled over Jack, protecting her from the blunt force.
He knew she probably could have deflected the debris herself, but he didn't want to take that risk. Superman knew that Biotics can get fatigued after extensive use of their abilities in battle and he could tell that Jack was started to get tired. She struggled underneath him as screeching metal still fell on top of them. Finally it fell silent and Superman opened his mouth to ask if she was alright, but before he could, she let out another burst of energy.
"Get off of me!" she yelled as biotic power flowed off of her in all directions, pushing everything away. Superman soared into the open wreckage of the station feeling the air from the vibrant moon. Now hovering midair, Superman looked down at the blast site and saw Jack standing at the center, visibly tired. He knew he had to end this quick, before she seriously hurt herself and before the authorities arrived.
Jack gathered what remaining energy she had left and let out one last volley of biotic power. She saw Superman streak in between the attacks as he flew closer to her. She knew she did not have another burst attack in her and was struggling for ideas as the Man of Steel flew confidently at her. To her surprise he flew right past her and as she whipped around to see him, she began to feel a cold shiver her spine.
Superman distracted Jack momentarily by soaring right behind her and then quickly turning around and taking another deep breath. This time when he unleashed the air from his lungs, he concentrated on making the air as cold as possible. He started by directing the frigid wind at her feet as ice began to form around ground.
Before Jack could react she was already pinned to the ground by ice around her knees. Superman kept the icy wind coming as he slowly worked the air over her torso and arms, freezing them in place. Soon all that was left was her head, as she struggled to break free from the icy cage. Superman stopped and started to walk up to where Jack stood, confined by ice.
"I'm sorry, but this is for your own good," he said as he began to take another deep breath, "you may want to close your eyes."
"Fuck you-" before she could finish, Superman finished covering her head with ice, freezing her completely solid. Superman made sure that she was safe in the ice as he scanned her vitals; he knew she would be fine when authorities took her away.
Just as he was finishing up, a shuttle landed not far from where he stood. Out walked four turians in polished blue armor and weapons ready. They looked over the wreckage and made their way to where Superman stood.
"Hell of a mess here," one of the turians started, holstering his weapon and extending a three fingered hand to Superman, "we started over here as soon as we got the distress call. Good thing you got here first though, heard you saved a lot of lives today."
Superman shook the turian's hand, "Just glad I could help. I was able to subdue her," he gestured to where Jack was encased, "thought she just needed to cool off. I will stay and help with the cleanup, if you need me for anything else, just let me know" smiled Superman.
"We'll take care of her; make sure she gets put away a long time for this mess. But I think you have done enough Superman, thank you."
"Good and don't worry, we're all on the same team" Superman nodded as he hovered into the sky towards the bigger parts of the crash to start clearing debris.
The turians looked at each other with smirks on their faces. They had intercepted the distress call and blocked it from other channels after they heard it was Subject Zero who attacked the station. They were already en route to Purgartory, the prison station owned and operated by the Blue Suns, when they heard the call.
Even better, they heard that the Superman was on his way in an attempt to save the station. They figured that if Superman could subdue Jack, they would pose as civil authorities and take Jack back to Warden Kuril for a hefty reward. They knew that there was no way Superman would be able to tell that they weren't the system's local authorities; he would be too busy with the cleanup, plus they figured he would be too trusting.
They began to load the block of ice Jack was trapped in into the cargo port of the shuttle. They scanned her to make sure she was still alive; the warden would not be pleased if she was dead. They were just about done when Superman came back over to the turians.
He held a massive chunk of the station debris over his head as he floated above the turians' small shuttle. The turian mercenaries thought for sure they were busted and were about to be encased in ice themselves.
"Hey fellas, make sure she isn't treated too badly. I don't think she's that bad, just a little…misguided!"
The turians looked at each other, and then shouted back to him up in the sky, "Of course Superman, and thanks again!" Superman nodded again and then continued with the cleanup, meeting up with the local hanar. The turians locked up the cargo port and took off with their biggest payday yet, while all laughing to themselves as to how easy it was.