-1Superman & Inspector Bill Henderson in Action FanFic #11
Exoneration
Superman
I hear the doors open and I don't think much of it. At this point I know the military's coming to haul me to an undisclosed area for experimentation. I'm alien after all, and I've just been classified as a huge threat thanks to Luthor. That maggot of a man! I can't believe the sheer amount of hell he'd put me through in order to get his way. Of course there's the other part of me that says 'Can't you Clark? He's a Luthor, look what Lionel was capable of.' There's so much that I need to know right now. How did Kenny Braverman get his hands on Kryptonian technology, what did he shoot me with that left me feeling as weak as a newborn lamb? Most importantly, is Maggie's help going to be enough to get me out of this? No regrets, Kent. You've done the right thing, and that's all anyone could ask of you. In the end, if you saved one life you've done a lot. That's what makes it count! Don't give into this. Wait... I hear something outside.
"Come on, are we going to start off like this? I'm here to pick up Superman! Mind you, I'm not going to be taking him where the military guys I killed wanted me to. Still, I'm gonna be happy to take him off your hands." THE PARASITE?! That's how they were going to take me in? By draining my powers? They must've been bent to take Parasite too! They must've been desperate to find a way to take me in without having to deal with my powers. Doesn't matter now, the people that went to get him obviously are dead and he's about to take more lives. I can't let that happen!
I flex my wrists and the handcuffs fall off in several pieces. I get up from the chair and I notice that they've locked the door on me. I pull it off the hinges and step out. There he is, standing there in the military officers hat. He's almost gleeful that I'm standing there. The police turn part of their numbers toward me, pointing guns and issuing demands. I look at Maggie and Inspector Henderson. "Tell them to take their focus off of me. If a bullet ricochets it'll kill someone. Please."
Inspector Henderson nods, "Turn them back on the Parasite! He's the threat right now!" They look at him a moment, but decide it's best to follow orders. I start to slowly walk towards Parasite very slowly. I'm trying not to start any sort of fight until we're out of the way of people that could get hurt in the process. How best to accomplish it, that's another matter.
He stands proudly at the door. "No way out, flyboy. You'd have to fly straight up to get out of this joint. People are in the way too, so that'll be a nice bloody mess."
"I'm tired of doing this Rudy. Your persistent, I'll give you that, but don't you think this is enough?"
"Enough? You truly think something like this comes with a 'too much' limit? Hell with you, Kryptonian! There's nowhere near enough for me. These military guys know all sorts of secrets! This Colonel alone had codes for things that'd make you embarrassed to help humanity! Now it's rummaging around in my head and they're all just smoking corpses."
"Is that what you've become Rudy? Just another murderer?"
"Nope, I'm better! I'm a one man army! Don't you understand? You don't, do you? Well let me explain it, so you'll finally give up on trying to change me! Rudy was some dumb guy that's only qualified to push a broom! Yeah, he was mad and shocked as hell when the blast took out the door and made me! But Terrance was the first of many that showed me that I could either groan over what I've lost, or revel in what I've gained! Guess, which one I picked?" Good, he's distracted. Luckily the truck they sent for us isn't canvas backed; it's all solid steel.
In a momentary blur I run and grab a vacant desk. I have to maintain complete muscle control on this because otherwise I'll kill him. As I move towards him he's still in mid-gloat, it's not until he's noticed that the desk has been moved that he gets a surprised look on his face. I slow down to where time around me seems to move normally and I swing. I use so much restraint it almost looks like I'm trying to make him flinch. As it connects he goes flying out the doors, shattering them in the process. I rush out and he connects with the truck he drove here. He lies on the ground bleeding and unconscious. I scan him over and there's some damage done. He's got a few cracked bones, I'm afraid I might've caused some internal bleeding. With him luckily it's easy to fix. I put my hand on his arm and pull away quickly. His body creates the solar energy cells. Again, wrapping him up like a mummy in a steel case, I fly him towards the sky and allow him to absorb the sun more directly. I keep visually scanning him! I'm relieved that it's working so well! As soon as I'm convinced that he's no long in any danger or threat I fly him back to Metropolis.
Inspector Henderson
The minute the glass shatters the police spring to action they go charging out there with guns drawn ready to shoot the first "freak" that moves. In all these years on the force I've never seen the like. In all the time I've spend in the military I've never seen anything like this. It's amazing we're here to tell the tale. I'm in awe of what Superman can do and is trying to accomplish. I think I surprised Capt. Sawyer with it. Still, there's just some things that look too good to be true and yet they somehow turn out to be better.
"FORGET SHOOTING THEM, IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK. GET ONTO CROWD CONTROL, PARASITE COULD DO SOME MAJOR DAMAGE TO THOSE PEOPLE." I bark at them. Some look confused at me. They obviously saw Superman paraded through here like any other perp, so what makes him so above being placed under arrest. They're doubly confused because not only are they told to stay away from arresting Supes, but they've just heard me go against regulations. New lesson here kids, there's a first time for everything.
As they scatter I look back at Sawyer. "Come on, we've got to go to the commissioner's office. We need him on the phone with Mayor Berkowitz. Most likely we'll need to go higher than that."
"How much higher are you talking here?"
"Take a guess, Captain."
"You're going to have them call the President, aren't you?"
"I'm going to try my best, yes. By now camera's are rolling everywhere and this is going to be world news. I'm hoping for that alone he'll listen."
"Let's hurry. Superman's not just going to have to deal with Parasite; he's also got Team Luthor on his heels."
Superman
We just get back towards the city when Team Luthor show up to greet me. Conduit's a part of that team. I didn't want to face him right now. I've got to get Parasite and myself back into police custody as quickly as I can. Any meeting of the minds that either Kenny or I have at this point is only going to go towards incriminating me further. It looks bad as it is. I have to duck and weave.
"Don't think so Superman, we're going to catch up and put you down this time." Think again, Kenny.
He's hot on my heels, unlike the other members of Luthor's flying army. They're struggling at best and it might cost them their lives if they're not careful. I look back and one of them proves the point. The jet boots he's wearing are starting to sputter out. That means he's several stories up and about to fall to his death, needlessly. I don't have time for this. The best thing I can do is try to match his speed, catch him, and hope I don't break every bone in his body at the same time. When I get back to Kansas I'm going to ask Pa if he thinks the Flash ever had days like this. The real trick of this is that I can't put down Parasite while I make a grab for this guy. It'll cost too much time and risk that I'll make a worse mistake. Luckily for me he's got armor on, so the Parasite won't be able to suck the life from him. One small blessing in a myriad of problems.
I catch up with the falling soldier and as expected, Conduit stays hot on my heels. He's not going to stop chasing me. And now that I've got one person more fragile than the other I can't go nearly as fast as I'd like. Which means that I'm a target and Conduit knows it. I have to keep my focus foward and my hearing to the back. I need to make sure I pay attention to his breathing and heartbeat, that way I can gauge just how far he is from me at any given time. I need to learn to do this sort of thing more often. Train myself to keep my senses up the entire time so that I know what's going on and when. That'll help me from letting things get this bad again. If only I'd paid attention to the device Evans had, this might've been avoided. There's no real training for this, is there? Police Academy would help, but since the Justice Society, there really hasn't been anyone else to set a true standard and tell people how its done. Even at that, the All-Star Squadron was so varied in its powers it would've had to generalize anything. Classes for superheroes... Sometimes Clark, you think of the strangest things and at the worst times.
Inspector Henderson
We barge into Commissioner Casey's office. No knocking to which he jumps up out of his chair. "Did you forget how to enter an office properly Bill?"
"I didn't have time for the usual courtesies. We have an issue."
"Issue? You mean those two hulks that were dueling outside? I've called in for another military detachment to come and help deal with this."
"Commissioner Casey, sir, we may not have a great deal of time here so let me explain. Superman's not the threat here, someone's deliberately gone out of his way to make him look like the bad guy he isn't."
"Capt. Sawyer, I'm assuming you had something to do with changing his mind on this?"
"I asked Inspector Henderson to interview him, to see if maybe I was missing something. I was trying to aim for someone that wasn't readily going to back up anything I said. I'm doing what I can to save this man from gross injustice, sir. You've got the security tapes in the interrigation room. They're wired for sound. The man was trying to tell his side of the story. He willingly stayed in a place he could've just busted out of. I don't know how many times I can say it! If he truly was this dangerous person we wouldn't be arguing this point any further! Trust me on this!"
"You believe this whole-heartedly, Bill?"
"Have you ever known me to just come barging in and demanding you stop proceedings on a criminal?"
"No..." He looks down at his desk. Without even looking he picks up the reciever on his phone and calls the military back. I'm not sure how easy this next step is likely to be.
"This is going to take awhile," Sawyer echoes my thought.
"Yeah, but it's the only way I can see this ending."
"I agree. I'm going to go check on the progress outside. I'll be back soon." In a blink she runs from the office. Here's hoping she'll return to some sort of progress.
Superman
The bolts of energy start flying past my head and I feel myself faltering. Whatever it is he's shooting, I'm going to have to find a way to get a sample of. I want to take it to the Fortress for analysis. Question is how to collect it? I've got to see if I can tear away some of the technology from him without killing him in the process. That's going to prove difficult. He's hot on my trail and won't let go. He doesn't have a care in the world that he if hits me and I fall he might kill both Parasite and his own teammate. Kenny, what is this monster you've allowed yourself to become? The only place I can safely dump them off is at the police HQ where they're likely to look at things like I broke jail. Still, I've got to trust that they know I wouldn't just skip out on them.
I see the next bolt coming and I try and move Parasite and the TL member from harms way. It hits the casing that Parasite's in and the steel wrapped around him starts to stress. The sound of it stretching as it the next blast hits sounds like an animal to slaughter. It's horrific. Worse yet, it's starting to crack which means it's about to free him for the bonds he's been put in. That's a problem. The ballet in which I have to perform to get out of the way is as graceful as it is tactical. I wish I could say that I've practiced doing this more, but I haven't. Which apparently puts him at an advantage over me. Police HQ dead ahead, Conduit still behind me. I etch out in Parasite's wrap that I'll be back to explain once I've dealt with Conduit. Now let's hope I can get there to deliver the message before he grounds me. Another blast makes its way and I don't move Parasite as quickly as I should, I'm too concerned it'll kill him if I do. The energy breaks the last bond and Parasite drops towards the ground. I have to catch him like a waiter catching a dish with a platter. This isn't going to be fun especially since the edges are jagged. I look at the gloves on the man I'm still holding. Perfect solution!
"Take off your gloves please. I'm going to need them." He reacts, Parasite is a moment away from death. I put them on without much gentle care and dash to save him. I get him back the ankle about two inches from the ground. I stop to change my grip so as to not rip the leg off of him when I need to fly fast again when Kenny fires and knocks me into the building. There's a gaping hole in the laundry room. I get up and notice the Parasite standing up staring over me. Those yellow eyes glow in the dimly lit room.
"What are you waiting for, Parasite?! Kill him!" Parasite's face turns to an questioning/annoyance. I'd almost laugh if I knew I wasn't in so much danger. He turns to meet the voice in the sky. Give me a moment to see if the Team Luthor member is alright; with luck he's just fine.
He gets up slowly and I cover his mouth with my hand and whisper in his ear. "Tell the police I will be back there with Parasite in hand soon. Too much danger, try and get a squad out here to maintain some safe distance from the public." He nods and runs for the other side of the building. I turn my attention back to the outside. So far from what I've heard while I was talking to my rescue has been pretty interesting. Enough to take their focus off of me.
"Just who the hell are you to give me orders?"
"I've freed you from your jailers. Now I'm calling in the marker. Kill Superman!"
"You've got a strange idea of how I operate, huh? I don't care if you freed me or not, I'm after power. Obviously if you can shoot down Superman, you've got the sort of power I'm looking for."
"You can't absorb a thing from me, maggot. My armor won't allow it."
"That's where you're wrong! You see, it seems I can't absorb anything from technology like energy blasts from those cannons, but that radiation you're pouring off is doing so naturally. Ever since you fired that first volley, I've been absorbing all that power. Even now while you're just hovering there, you're pouring off more juice than the Minute Maid factory and I'm soaking it all up. "
"I wonder if your smoking corpse will be able to absorb things too?" A brilliant blast is fired and while I'm weakening, I still have enough reflexes to run when the Parasite nearly gets knocked into me. I have to deal with this fast. I need the rest of the armor that my would be attacker has. I've got his gloves, maybe if I get the rest of it, I can actually fight this out. I dash out the front of the building as the Parasite gets up. I notice that he goes back out and with my Super Hearing I can make out the returned blast he gives Conduit.
Inspector Henderson
Commissioner Casey talks with some military officer about needing to speak to the president. He's also got Mayor Berkowitz on a 3 way call between them. He's got them on speakerphone so that he can talk without getting a crick in his neck. He said that with as much as time as he's already spent on the phone, he's going to save himself a trip to the chiropractor.
"Commissioner Casey, the President feels we have to get our hands on Superman so that we can get more in-touch with the matter. You thought the same way only an hour ago, what's the change?"
"The change is that I have two decorated officers that came into my office and asked me to do this. If it had been any other two then I might've just called it a hands-tied situation. I understand the President's position on this, I wholeheartedly do. But if you've got it wrong, if we all have, then what happens when we truly do need this man and he's just busted free and flown off somewhere else in the world? What then?"
"Jack, are you truly worried that this man might have been wrongfully accused?" Mayor Stan Berkowitz speaks. Berkowitz is a good man, he's been in office going on 2 terms now and doesn't like corruption. It's too bad most of the staff at the Mayor's office don't feel the same.
"Stan, Bill Henderson is in my office. He's the one that brought it to my attention. Well, him and Maggie Sawyer. Sawyer fights with her heart on some things, but she's a damn good cop Bill isn't known for that. He can quote regulations chapter and verse, if he says Superman's innocent, then I believe it!"
"That's all fine and well Commissioner, but he's alien with superpowers! How do we know he's not brainwashing people somehow?"
"If I might be so bold sirs," I speak out of turn, "if our validity is truly in doubt, then may I direct you to the TV? There's a battle going on in the streets as we speak and this man has tried to save some lives."
"It also looks like he just left to let those two hoods fight it out amongst themselves. What of your hero now?"
"I'm more than willing to stake my badge there's a damn good reason, sir."
"It may very well come to that, Inspector Henderson!"
Superman
I make it to police HQ fairly quickly and there's Maggie talking with the armored man. "Thank you Mr. Reid, we'll take it from here."
"Actually Capt. Sawyer, I have need of him for a moment."
"Superman, shouldn't you be stopping those two maniacs?"
"Yes, but I'm going to need some help. I was wondering if you would allow me to use your suit Mr. Reid?"
"Sure, Superman. I owe it to you!" He strips off the armor and I put it on as fast as he hands me the pieces. It's a strange fit, but it'll protect me from the radiation and the draining powers that my sparring partners are throwing around. Luckily, the breast plate snaps itself together, which allows me to wear my cape. Can't let people think I just abandoned them to let one of Luthor's men deal with it. Now it's time to bring an end to this madness.
I get back as quick as I can and Kenny's holding his own. Although Parasite's getting very adept at throwing around those bolts of energy. They've tossed so many stray blasts that several buildings have sustained damage. People are trying to flee the scene, some have opted to stay in their homes, but it might not be safe there long. Parasite smiles as some of the people try and fight back to save their homes. The two of them start to show signs of annoyance as rocks and other debris get tossed randomly at the two. It shatters as it makes impact, but neither one care. Parasite slowly looses his smile when the mass amounts of rubble start to hit him in the face.
"You shouldn't have done that. You're looking to get burned!" He unleashed more than enough to turn them into burnt skeletons. If I hadn't stepped in the way they would've been dead. The groaning of the metal starts in. That means that the armor's going to hold up for now, but it's not going to take as much punishment as I'd like. In the moment when the blast is finally done it's impact I turn back towards the people.
"Go and get behind the barricade the police are putting up! These two won't think twice about killing you!" They nod and start to follow my directions when Parasite takes to the air. He starts to throw discharge after discharge at the running masses. When Conduit sees it, he realizes that I'm going to do everything I can to protect them so he starts in. The armor's still with me, that's lucky because after minutes of being bombarded with this energy beam I wasn't sure it would hold up. People are outside the barrier. Wait! There's a 5 year old child coming back for her teddy bear! She must've dropped it when she was running for cover. She's gotten past her folks! Why don't these people hold on to their children when these things happen. It's always in the movies, but it's something you never think you'd see in real life. She goes back and Parasite spots her first. I look at him and shake my head, his death's head grin comes again as he continues his barrage.
Inspector Henderson
"Did you just see that sirs? He left to grab something to protect himself from the Parasite and that other crazy punk. He just saved countless lives!" The building's damaged, so it's no wonder they started to scatter, but it always made me wonder why the can't run the other direction when the bullets start to fly. From their vantage point it would've made better sense run through the other side of the building. I know, some were panicked, but others were probably trying to be glory hogs. Damn people thinking that the camera would give 'em their 15 minutes of fame!
On the other end of the phone lines, the people are grumbling like crazy. They're trying to justify the fact they're not letting us have a call put in to the President. Sawyer runs back in and she's got a man stripped to his boxers running behind her. "Any progress?" she asks.
"They're trying to decide if Superman's actually brainwashing the public or somehow causing some sort of mass hallucination. By the time this has ended, Parasite and Conduit will have destroyed half the freakin' city!"
The Commissioner looks up from his desk. "They can here you Bill. That sort of talk won't help matters."
"What will then, sirs?" Maggie steps forward. "If I might be so bold, here with me is part of Team Luthor. A team of men that was given permission by the government to begin active duty to hunt and apprehend Superman. This is Mr. Trent Reid, the man whose armor now is keeping Superman from being drained to death by the Parasite and what's keeping civilians from getting killed while his sparring partners take potshots at everyone. Now, that might seem like an illusion to you, but trust me. It's all real. Mr. Reid, would you please say a few words on Superman's behalf?"
"To whom am I addressing, sirs?"
Commissioner Casey looks him in the eye. "The Mayor of Metropolis and General Warren Quaid, United States Air Force." Reid snaps to attention in a heartbeat.
"General, sir! Major Trent Reid, United States Air Force, sir. Retired."
"As you were Reid. Tell me about this alien, you have permission to speak freely."
"I went to work for Mr. Luthor as a test pilot for these new battle armors, sir. His lead Conduit gave us the direct orders that we were to test it on a highly dangerous opponent. When in the middle of the chase my rocket books lost fuel rapidly and I began free fall. He saved my butt, sir. After all the chasing and constant barrage he could've left me to die. Instead, he braved the barrage face on to rescue me from certain death. And shielded me as best he could when my own teammates started to fire upon me."
"So you believe him to be the hero he claims?"
"Sir, if he claimed to be an alien gardener here to grow food for the entire world I'd believe it. Whatever evidence to the contrary, the man's not evil, nor do I think his intentions are for conquest."
"Captain Sawyer, Inspector Henderson…. I'm going to ask one last time, because it is your careers and abetting a potential alien threat if you're wrong, are you 100 sure you're willing to stake your badges on this?"
We look at each other and without hesitation we turn back towards the phone. And in unison we respond. "Yes, sir!" Finally, we're getting results!
Superman
I go and grab the girl and her bear. Parasite won't let up from his attack. She's shrieking, which only makes him laugh harder. I pour on my speed and take them back to her parents who didn't have any ideas as to where she could've got off to. I look at them and hand the child back over. "Don't worry, she's safe." I use my best reassuring voice. Hopefully they won't see it as some sarcastic comment, even though part of me feels like that was the tone I was aiming for. Now, maybe with the distractions out of the way I can manage to actually stop those two. They've gone back to battling one another. Both of them knocking each other around like a couple of bowling pins that someone tossed a boulder to. Parasite's the first to get up, which means he's the first one that I'll deal with. No sooner do I arrive back on seen when he turn to greet me.
"Nice armor Supes, afraid I might hurt you?"
"Actually, the other way around Parasite." I fly down and punch him. I'm getting better at pulling those. He gets knocked back and I look towards Conduit. "You want me dead? Why?"
"You know why, Superman." He blasts me almost in a precise manner on the suit. It doesn't give way, but it gives me reason to check it. Communications array and, of course, it's active. I fry the circuitry with my Heat Vision, which opens up eyeholes within in the helmet, and then reseal the chest plate.
"Okay, we can talk now. There's no more signal's transmitting over any frequency from this armor. Nor are there any recording devices active. Why do you want me dead?"
"Because, Golden Boy, I'm not going to be playing second best to you again! Did you think for a second I didn't recognize you? Did you think honestly that because I haven't seen you in years that you'd changed so much that I wouldn't?"
"Ken..."
"IT'S CONDUIT! THIS IS WHAT I AM! The boy you knew is dead and the man before you is your executioner. "
"Did you really think I was trying to outshine you or something? I didn't do anything on purpose or even with malice."
"Yeah, and I didn't know I was competing against a damn alien either! Guess we both got our issues, don't we 'Superman'." A brilliant emerald beam hits me and I get knocked back. The armor's still holding up, but I can tell it didn't like it. I'm not sure how well it'll hold up to this sort of punishment. I think it might've handled most terrestrial weaponry a lot better, so good for the LexCorp development team on that. However, in the special line of work that these things were obviously designed for, I think the armor would fair better than the occupant. Let's hope it can hold out long enough for me to deal with Conduit.
I correct myself in mid air and hurdle myself forward crashing into him with a more extreme measure of force than I would've used on Parasite. He gets knocked back and I rush to catch him As he impacts I can tell he's feeling the pain. I grab him by the neck and shoulder and force feed him the street below. He stands up very groggy, he's trying to shake off the effects when again I'm hit with an energy discharge.
"Don't forget I'm still here Supes? You clock me and then leave to tango with this TV accessory? Forget it! I'm gonna wipe you both out!"
"I don't think so, you over-grown piece of scar tissue!" Conduit lifts his arm. I try and intervein before the next bolt is fired only to see cables coming out of the gauntlet on his arm. He wraps one around my ankle and proceeds to return the pummeling I just gave him. The sheer amount of force he's exuding is amazing. I'm feeling each blow and so are the cars on the street, not to mention the Parasite who takes to the air.
"Is that all you got, Cable-Boy?"
Conduit lashes out again from his other arm and catches Parasite around his arms and chest. "You like absorbing power, eh? Well, I've seen rechargeable batteries explode before! Let's see if you'll do the same!" A blast wave comes down the coils and Parasite screams in a horrific charge. He's obviously soaking up the power being thrown at him, but it's too much and too quickly. It's going to kill him if I don't react!
I use my Heat Vision to its extreme and cut the cable holding me. Conduit screams in pain as much as Parasite did. I use the cable and swing at him and bust him in the back. His grip on Parasite lets go and he falls to the ground. Parasite stands there smoldering, but still looking rather amped by the amount of radiation he absorbed. The cable surrounding him drops off and he just smiles as he stares at me.
"You know, Supes? A guy could definitely get used to this."
"The fight's over, let's not start something that'll end with us both being hurt."
"Start something? Nah, I'm not starting a thing. I'm ending it!" He blasts me and I start to plow the street with my back. I'm getting more concerned with the armor by the second. There's micro fissures that are starting to form which means it's only a blast or two away from fully being destroyed. I get back up and I fly full force towards him.
"You're a damn cockroach, Blue. What's it gonna take to squash you?"
"More than you've got!" As I reach him I grab the cut cable and the one still attached to Conduit. Parasite pours on the energy trying to knock me as far from him as possible. I won't budge, and my body feels like I'm fighting the flu now, but I won't budge my position. I lash out the cable like a whip and wrap Parasite in it.
"What is it with you and tying me up? You too afraid to face me man to man?"
"Call me what you like, but if it keeps me safe and can put you out of commission I'm all for it." I hear the crumbling of rock behind me and I see Conduit get up. The cables he wears as armor are severely tarnished the face mask is cracked and he's obviously weakened beyond his ability to fight. Still, like the Kenny I knew from years ago, he stands there prideful and willing to keep going.
"Come on, Boy Scout. Show me what you've got."
"Do none of you understand that you've lost? Just give up!"
"As long as I'm breathing, I'm not going to give up!" He raises his arm and I react as quick as I can. As I reach out towards him he unleashes a blast bigger than anything I knew he was capable of. I wonder if Green Lantern had such abilities with his ring? The blast nearly shreds the armor and I get flung like a rag doll into the Parasite. As I touch him he starts to absorb my powers and he screams loudly. I realize that he's not only taking my strengths but my weaknesses. My world goes dark…
Inspector Henderson
In moments there's a bright emerald flash of light and when it finally fades the man that fired it is gone leaving Superman and Parasite laying on the ground. There's dead silence in the room when it's shattered by the voice of the President.
"Good afternoon."
"Mr. President. It's an honor to speak with you."
"Thank you, Mayor Berkowitz. I hear you have a couple officers that have been defending this strange visitor from another planet quite deftly."
"Yes, sir. Two of Metropolis' best. There's no two finer police officers on the force in my opinion." Sawyer and I stand humbled by his words. We don't know what to say exactly, but neither of us smile. Her eyes keep glancing back to the television, she's looking for any signs that this man we've fought for isn't dead.
"Officer Henderson, may I call you Bill?"
"Yes sir, Mr. President."
"Thank you, Bill. Your defense of this man is admirable, I must say. I wanted to let you and Officer Sawyer know that if Superman survives this, I will personally speak with him about this matter. I will also thank him for saving those citizens who were defenseless to defend themselves against such power."
"Thank you, sir. I'm glad to be of service to our country, as I'm sure that Captain Sawyer is." Maggie stares into the TV closer and closer as the camera zooms in.
"He's breathing! Excuse me, Mr. President! I have to get out there immediately."
"Godspeed, Captain Sawyer." She runs out as fast as her feet will carry her. The Commissioner wipes his brow very quietly and I smile.
Superman
As I awaken what seems to be forever later I'm laying on the ground with someone over me yelling. "uprmn…SUPERMAN!! WAKE UP, BIG GUY! C'MON!" I look up at the face of Maggie and Lois . They both look pleased to see that I'm coming around. To be honest I'm glad I'm coming around too and not seeing the visage of my birth parents.
I smile for a second and then I turn my attention back to Maggie, "Did anyone get hurt?"
"You did. Parasite's coming around, but you were the one worse for the wear. We thought we'd lost you for a minute."
"So, the city is safe?"
"Yes, Superman. You saved the city."
"Conduit?"
"He escaped, but he won't be going back to LexCorp. Lex Luthor came down from on high and told us the whole story. Apparently, Conduit was a family friend through Lex's father. He came to them looking for help with some sort of sickness and ended up threatening everyone. His super powered abilities give him a distinct advantage over any of the security in the building. Lex made a desperate move to get you involved to try and draw Conduit out of his hiding spot."
"You're kidding me, right? Does this even sound plausible?"
"Apparently so; Lex showed up with a ton of witnesses to fact. Everyone's saying that since Conduit came in with good faith, he got passed all security protocols. The Luthor's aren't trained to deal with tortures that he can give. So in the end, they just accepted their fate. He's 'indebted' to you for helping him the way you did. He felt that if you hadn't been there he never would have been able to get rid of the…how did he put it? 'The virus that plagued the city'?"
"Do you seriously believe that?"
"Do you have to ask?"
"So I guess that leaves a few other matters to clear up, like the woman and Lt. Evans." I guess that will have to wait, though. It looks like the military is about to take me in. Before they do I wanted to say that I'm sorry for leaving the way I did, Captain Sawyer. I wanted to make sure Parasite would pull through. I was afraid that I'd hurt him badly."
"We're looking for Lt. Evans. He's disappeared from Metropolis. We'll get that facial profile done on the woman soon. And Superman?
Don't worry about the military taking you anywhere. The mayor and the commissioner were watching the aerial battle that took place here and how you put your life before all others. You just won major brownie points."
"How did they see that? I mean, I understand how public it was, but there wasn't anyone close enough to see what was going on."
"Actually, there was a WGBS and WLEX camera crew stationed in some of the buildings. They started setting up just shortly after you arrived on scene. They were following your arrest and got more than they bargained for. Needless to say though, after that phone calls were made to get you out of this mess."
"Will it be enough?"
"I hope."
I see the soldier come towards me. He's got his rifle ready to aim, but refrains from doing so. I start to stand and I put my wrists out. "That won't be necessary, Superman. You will need to follow me, please." I nod in agreement then turn to look at Lois and Maggie.
"Whatever happens, thank you for believing in me."
"Don't worry Superman, we'll get you out of this."
"I definitely will, you tried to sell my exclusive to GBS." Lois gives me a half-cocked smile. She's just as nervous as I am, if that's possible. I smile back trying to reassure her, then I turn and walk towards the waiting soldier.
We get to the truck and he points for me to get in. Once inside there's an officer sitting there with a phone in his hand. "Superman, you have a call from the President of the United States."
"The President?" I stammered. The most powerful man in the world was calling me, what do I say? I picked up the receiver and placed it to my ear very slowly. With as much as a confident voice as I could muster I manage to get out, "Good afternoon, Mr. President."
"Hello, Superman. I'm glad I can speak with you."
"As I am, sir. What is it that I can do for you?"
"I'm calling because since you stepped out from the shadows a mere few days ago, you've been all over the news. Some good and some bad. Now, the Joint Chiefs think it might be a good idea to let their branches handle this situation and bring you in. However, I've been watching the battle you had with those two villains, I guess you'd call them. And you placed your life in danger to save all others. You didn't have to do that. I talked with several people, including a Captain Margaret Sawyer and Inspector Bill Henderson on your behalf. Their insistence that they talk to me to keep you from being locked away for a crime you didn't commit spoke volumes."
"They are both fine officers, Mr. President. I'm humbled that they went through so much to get in touch with you. More so that you actually listened."
"If it had been about anything else, I would've never taken the call. They mentioned what it was about, and I felt it important that I spoke to you personally. You've given them in your words what you're here for. Now Superman, if you would, tell me why you're here?"
"Simply put, sir, I want to help."
"Why America? Why not go to Russia or Africa? Don't they need the help more than we do?"
"It's true, sir, that they might. However, I see this as a fight for freedom and democracy. This country has fallen under some dark times and unfortunately the people here are falling into the darkness with it. It's to be expected. I want to show that through all of it, there's still a shining beacon of hope. Liberty and justice still mean something and the ideals that America was founded on still stand. Maybe I can set an example the way these United States has set for and with a little luck bring that to others that truly need our help."
"Don't you think that the best example is to end the terrorism that's plaguing this world?"
"I do, sir. However, to make sure it was completely eradicated would predispose that I fly over to the Middle East or wherever else sects of terrorists belong and start to do things that might make them push harder. There's many reasons as to why I could probably stop them in the short term, but in the long term there's damage. First, there's any retaliation that they might conjure up. If I'm busy with something else, people might die. Second, while it will make people feel safer that I've done something, it undermines their drive to move forward. Sir, my biggest fear about coming forward was that they'd see me and want me to do everything for them. I can't undermine human achievement. If I do that, then I've failed. I want to work with the law officials, not instead of them."
"You've thought this out a lot, haven't you?"
"Since the day that I discovered the amazing abilities at my disposal, sir."
"Then, if you will permit me, I would ask for two things. First off, I would like to attach a scientist to you. Someone to get to know you. We have a former scientist working at STAR Labs that we're going to call back to duty. We want to understand more about you if it's possible. Would you permit this?"
"I would be more than happy to, sir. I understand the need for checking in on security."
"Thank you. We'll contact him and he'll find a way to get in contact with you. Secondly, and most important, I would like you to swear an oath to this country. Make yourself a proper citizen to it. I know that it's a bit fast, but you've proven your loyalties to America admirably so far. Would you be willing to do this?"
"It would be my honor."
"We'll set it up within a few days Superman. Just do as you have been, my scientist contact will get in touch with you. Thank you for spending your time with me."
"I think that's my line, sir." The laugh on the other end tells me that I pulled off that small joke. I'm very nervous right now, especially since with a word my days as any sort of a hero could end. Man of Steel, Nerves of Jell-O, let's hope no one else sees that. Well...it will make me look more human. Off in the distance there's a scream; someone's dangling from the Hobs Bay Bridge!
"Mr. President, I'm sorry to rush you like this, but someone needs help."
"Go and with my blessing." As I hang up the phone the officer in the truck looks at me funny.
"I suppose that's it then? You're just going to take off?" He smiles.
"I have to. Someone's in danger and it looks like a job for Superman!"