Five Days Ago

The Volcano

"My great, great, great grandfather was Johann Wagner; he was Doctor Johann Faustus' assistant." Said Lucy, "Perhaps it was during Faust's parlaying with the forces of darkness that this gift was bestowed on our family line. This gift is endowed upon all of his progeny in some form or another, though some never know they have it, much less learn to harness it. My great grandmother was Ilsa Wagner, who has the gift in a lighter quantity, she had an affair with her cousin Peter, the child was given away to another family. During world war two, Peter oversaw a concentration camp for undesirables, while Ilsa joined the SS under the name of Haupstein. She became Grigori Rasputin's lover and Baron Karl Kroenen's associate… That's part of the reason Kroenen answers to my will. The child that was given up grew up to be Inge Wagner, the eccentric 1960s terrorist. My father died or a drug overdose before he could take his part in making the world a worse place."

Lucy ran a hand through her hair.

"Sometimes I wonder, did the gift of our line come at the price of a curse? Are we Wagners destined for a life of villainy, or was it all a series of chance? The Wagner line will end with me, I will see to it. But there is something else that must be done… I have to prove something."

"What is it?"

"That I am not predestined to become like my predecessors, that in this life, I am free to choose whatever path I wish to choose. I need to prove to myself, the powers that be and to all of creation that there is such a thing as free will…"

Now

Metropolis, Delaware

The guardian of Metropolis soared above the building tops, a streak of red in the city sky as he headed toward where the call had came from.

The people believed him to hear everything, which was true, though he had to filter most of it out to find what was significant, such as a sub-sonic frequency that only he could hear, emitted from a device he had given to a young photojournalist as a gift a few years ago.

He expected to be there within mere seconds, he expected to disarm all the perpetrators and rescue any hostages without anyone getting hurt. He did not expect what happened next.

Four seconds and three city blocks away from the bank, he found himself in a mid air collision with another man. It was O'Brien, who had literally slingshot his body to this height. Before the Super-Man could react, O'Brien's lower half had already stretched and wrapped around his torso.

"Aha! Blackguard!"

As the pair halted in mid air, O'Brien pulled his fist back and shot it at the crime fighter with the most powerful punch he ever threw.

"OOOOWWWW! Son of a bitch! You goddamn nearly broke my hand!"

"Get away from me." said Superman angrily as he hurled his own punch and connected with O'Brien's jaw.

"What the hell were you thinking?" asked the manager as he and Olsen were inside the vault, "They could've killed you! I'm surprised they didn't! Just look at that bastard on the floor!"

"My watch," stammered Olsen, "It's special. When I press a button on it it send out a signal that only superman can hear. Don't you understand? Superman is coming to save us."

"Motherfucker."

The manager and Olsen slowly turned to the side to watch as the body of the customer that was shot minutes ago started to move.

"Superman's coming?" asked Priest as he got to his feet, the wound in his chest still oozing blood, "Just when I thought this day wasn't going to get any worse."

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph." Mumbled the manager, filled with shock.

"I'm…ooooh…" muttered Olsen before he fainted and slumped to the ground.

"You're…you're…"

"I'm a part of the goddamn crew." Said Priest as he menacingly inched toward the manager.

"There's only one way we all get out of this alive."

"What is it?"

"I need to get a safety deposit box, number 1007."

"But you need two keys, I have one but..."

Priest pulled a key out of his pocket.

"But I don't understand, why not just-"

"Because this key is stolen, and because we would have been flagged the moment we requested it anyway. Some very bad people would come for us. Did you see the crazy chick with the shotgun and the guy in the gas mask? Those are brownies compared to who would come after us, and after you. Now where's the box?"

Like a bungee cord, O'Brien's neck stretched to about twenty feet following Superman's punch, and then snapped back to its original length.

"augh… Alright," O'Brien said, "No more foreplay."

Superman tried to punch O'Brien again, but O'Brien proved to be the pugilist as he was able to duck all blows expertly. He then reached to the back of his belt where a helmet-like black object was fastened; he removed it and with one sudden motion, slapped it on Superman's head, covering it entirely.

"Lead is a wonderful thing." Said O'Brien, "You can't see through it, right?"

Superman was blinded, all that surrounded him then was a tight darkness, one that not even his penetrative vision could overcome. Seeking to rid himself of this sudden handicap, he spun abruptly and quickly in mid air, trying to shake off O'Brien as he floated a hundred feet above the ground.

"Whoa! No need to get mad, big blue!"

O'Brien had clung on tight, and was not about to let loose of Superman. Superman reached to tear the helmet away from his head, but didn't manage doing so. Somehow his hands had been covered with something, a latex-like substance, spherical in shape that prevented him from gripping anything.

"A word to the wise, boyo; if you don't want this kind of things to happen. Don't tell your weaknesses to reporters. Oh, and by the way, I'd advise-"

Superman had already determined that he could neither let loose of this villain, nor could he dispose of the helmet that obstructed his vision. He knew that the man he was grappling with right now was only a diversion to keep him from getting to where he was supposed to be. He had to get rid of both, and he had to do it fast.

"-You not to-"

Before O'Brien could finish, Superman had made the mistake O'Brien was just about to advise him not to make.

"OUGHH!"

"You just tried to use your heat-vision to melt your brand new hat, didn't you?" said O'Brien and clucked his tongue, "I was just about to tell you that it's lined with mirrors on the inside. The worst you can do is give yourself a sunburn."

"Why are you doing this?"

" Look, all you have to do is chill for a few minutes and then we'll be out of your hair and-"

"GRAGHHH!"

"Whoa!"

Superman and O'Brien along with him shot up in the air suddenly, traveling heavenward at a high speed.

The manager placed the metal box on a table, thn stepped aside and watched as Priest to eagerly opened it and picked a thick file out of it, along with a bundle of CDs.

"Who the hell are you people?"

"We're the good guys." said Priest as he flipped through the file.

"What?"

"I know, odd, isn't it?"

Priest raised his hand to his ear and said,

"Mo- I mean Kate, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, did you get it?"

"I got it." said Priest as he stuffed the CDs into a pocket in the back of the file, "I'm coming out."

"We'll be waiting."

"Let's go," said Priest, stepping over Olsen's unconscious body, "The ginger shit can sleep it off here."

"Su...Superman... Can't we just get some coffee, talk this through?"

At thousands of feet above ground, nearing the ionosphere where the temperature dropped drastically, the air got thinner and pressure decressed. O'Brien was finding his winning streak to be nearing its end, he was losing the battle of wills. His gelatinous grasp of Superman's hands was slipping; his legs were aching to return to their natural shape.

"I...oh, momma."

Everything went dark before O'Brien. His hands let go of Superman's, his legs uncurled from around his torso and he fell from where he was taken, plummeting like a rock, hurdling toward the hard merciless ground far below.

In his new found freedom, Superman floated in place for a second, then came down on the helmet he was forced to wear with both fists, shattering the thing to shards of lead and broken glass before he dove toward the earth, racing towards O'Brien plummeting body.

Sayid's van screeched to a halt in front of the bank, a moment later Shaun came running out, followed by Lucy and Kroenen, and then Mona and Priest who had put on a tight-fitting mask and gloves to block the sunlight.

"Where the hell is Eel?" asked Shaun as he got into the van.

"Aw, crap." Cursed Priest as he looked upward to see Superman floating above them, holding O'Brien by his collar with one arm, his red cape fluttering in the wind.

"He looks pissed."

"Oh, shit." said Mona as she reached for an assault rifle in the back of the van and got out.

"Mona, that won't work!" said Sayid.

"We'll see if he can stand to get shot in the eyeball." Said Mona as she took her aim, but before she could pull the trigger, she felt the gun heating up in her hands. She managed to barely throw it away before it exploded.

Superman seemed as though he was prepared to make a move, Priest was ready for him.

"DOWN!" cried Lucy at the top of her voice, she then dropped her shotgun, closed her eyes and leaned her head back, spread her arms and legs apart.

"What's she doing?" asked Priest.

"Just get down!" Mona yelled as she hit the pavement.

What happened next was hard to describe, it was an experience like none anyone had experienced before, nor hoped to experience again. In a radius of a hundred feet around the minutemen and Superman, the next few moments stretched on for all eternity, filled with heart felt horror. They were all bombarded with a barrage of unsavory emotions, fear and despair, a dozen nightmares playing at once in each's head. A few motorists crashed into each other, pedestrians fell to the ground and screamed bloody murder, each feeling the clench of hell's teeth. The minutemen were not faring better than any.

"FUUUUCCCCCKK!" cursed Mona as she felt as though her head was about to explode, looking to the side to see Priest growling in a fashion most animalistic and bashing his head against the pavement, trying to dull the pain. Kroenen stood as idly as ever, Lucy remained in her pose. If anyone wasn't too busy in his own pain and horror, he would have been able to draw the occlusion that Lucy was the epicenter of it all.

As for Superman himself, he did not seem to be affected at first. But with the eighth second he dropped O'Brien's still unconscious body onto a parked car. He then raised his hands and clutched his head, before letting out a superhuman scream of unfathomable agony, shattering every nearby window, his heat vision flared up, sending two beams into the sky before he flew away in frantic haste.

Lucy collapsed. Kroenen stood idly by. It took the others half a minute for them to regain their composure, Priest got up and unceremoniously hurled Kroenen into the van, before he and Sayid hurried off to fetch O'Brien who was starting to stir, while Mona dragged Lucy into the van. Once back behind the wheel, Sayid sped off, heading due east towards the docks.

Hope you liked this two-part caper. To tell you the truth, I'm kind of not entirely pleased with how I handled the S-man, didn't give him the spotlight he deserved. The good this is, this will not b the last time we see him, nor will he be the last superhero to have his ass kicked by the Minutemen. As for the little bits I have at the beginning, Mona's confession last time and Lucy's confession this time, they're what was said at the meeting where they were given their orders. Every chapter one character will get to bear a piece of their souls, there will be a break every three chapters, to keep it from being repetitive. So next confession will be in chapter 17 when it's Priest's turn. R&R.

Next Chapter: Nemo and co. deal with the unexpected death of a senior member of the League.