LIX
American Fugitives
Scott Free carefully walked along the shadows, back to the woods near his home where his wife was waiting for him. It was too dangerous to take Barda with him as her height made her very distinguishable. She would be safe concealed in the small stand of trees by the park they had peacefully walked so often…before they were fugitives.
He was certain that it had been his godly intuition that had made him open a wi-screen when he did. Luthor's speech was beginning and now he and his wife were now Public Enemy #1. He would have to thank Lex Luthor for that later.
Hours ago, an unconscious Clark had been snatched by an insanely powerful lunatic called Teth Adam. To top it off, their mother boxes were now low on power. Even still, he had been able to use his mother box to camouflage his garish outfit. The reds, yellows and greens were meant for the high profile life of show business, not sneaking around New Haven. He was sure no one had seen him though as he kept to the shadows and niggled the path back to their hiding space.
He had desperately hoped to locate the mother box chargers in their Connecticut residence, but with no success. The risk had produced no reward. The house was stripped bare down to beams and rafters. As he crept back to their hideout, there was no sign of Barda… Had she been found?!
Panic-filled seconds later, Scott spotted his wife strolling back from the direction of the strip mall towards their hideout, carrying a shopping bag and wearing…
"Barda, are you wearing sunglasses?!"
"Don't worry, I bought a pair for you too. I figured it would help us with the whole incognito routine."
"You're seven-feet-tall and built like an Amazon. You can't do incognito, sweetheart."
"I picked you up some clothes too. It's not like that costume is inconspicuous. Quit wasting the power on your mother box. Did you pick up the chargers?"
"…They've gutted the entire place. There's nothing left… Did you say bought?!"
"I wasn't going to steal them. Don't worry, no one followed me." To prove a point, she gazed behind her at the wide open, empty fields. "Oh, and I picked up these falafels from Ono's." She held up another bag. "And I bought that dress I've had my eye on at the little boutique on the corner. They actually had it in my size! More or less…"
"They can track us by our purchases, Barda. We've got to get out of here!"
"And go where, Scott? How much longer until the boxes self-charge for a boom tube?"
"Probably eight hours. Plenty of time for Luthor's goons to catch up with…"
Scott's unworldly intuition caused him to pause. There was something coming but there was no one within a mile. Where?... He took a defensive stance and Barda followed his lead. One second later, the source of his uneasiness manifested as black, sulfurous smoke appearing from a spot directly in front of them.
A mysterious woman wearing a dark, hooded cloak with a leg-bearing dress suddenly appeared standing behind a man that looked familiar. Where had he seen him before?... It was Barda who broke the silence.
"Take one step forward, and I'll snap you both in two!"
Scott felt a wave of calmness flood over him, pushing aside his apprehension. Judging from Barda's stance, she had felt it as well as she dropped her fists.
"Who are you?" asked Scott.
"Mr. Free, I'm Bruce Wayne. This is my wife, Raven Wayne. We've come as friends." Even though Barda had dropped her guard, Bruce Wayne was smart enough not to take a step forward.
Of course! Scott had seen Bruce Wayne's image often as the Gotham industrialist. That's why he had looked so familiar.
The two men smiled at one another, but Scott could feel the intensity beside him as two very different women stared eye-to-eye in silence, neither flinching. His wife was a full foot-and-a-half taller then Raven, but he had learned long ago not to judge a book by its cover, especially one with a cover like that.
It was clear that Raven had teleported the pair and that she was the one projecting the feeling of calm. She recognized the inherit violence in Barda… yet still stood her ground.
"Mr. Wayne…You're the Gotham billionaire. Surely one hundred million dollars in reward money doesn't mean that much to you?"
"Not at all. As I said, we've come as friends. You rescued Lex Luthor this morning… Why?" He was certainly to the point, wasn't he?
"Another bad decision on my part. I knew Lois was as-good-as dead. That was a nanotech round she was shot with. Then a part of me just knew that something bad was going to happen. Barda saved Clark and in my haste, I decided to rescue the second-in-command. And now look where it's got us…"
"Who's Clark?" Wayne was a man of few words.
"Sorry, you may know him as 'Big Blue'. The man who flew up into the sky. He was poisoned with Kryptonite by the assassin and fell back to Earth. Barda caught him. I'm afraid we… lost him though."
"I didn't realize Big Blue had a name. And I'm not sure what Kryptonite is. Is he… dead?"
"Perhaps." Mister Miracle sighed. It had been Lois Lane's dying wish that he should save Clark and he had ultimately failed her. "He was taken by the only thing on this planet that may be more powerful than he is. A being who calls himself Teth Adam."
"If ever he dares cross my path again, I will show him what true power is," spat Barda.
"Easy, honey…" Scott paused for a second again, his hand raised for silence. Before anyone else could hear their approach, Scott knew that helicopters were in the sky looking for them with infrared sensors. "Mr. Wayne, if your lovely wife could do us a favor, we really need to get out of here… fast."
Raven raised her cloak with her arms and billowing, black smoke engulfed them. Scott had the sensation of traveling through dimensions without the protective encasement of a boom tube, a very dangerous thing to do. And suddenly they were standing in a very impressive mansion. Again, Barda's loud voice broke the silence.
"By the fires of Apokolips! Do you not realize how dangerous that is, girl?! You can lose your eternal soul like that!" Barda stared accusingly at the slender woman in black who had taken them across dimensions to Wayne Manor.
"I protected you," Raven replied calmly as she pulled her hood back to reveal jet-black hair and indigo eyes of a twilight sky. As confrontational as Barda had been, it hadn't affected Mrs. Wayne in the slightest.
"Mrs. Free, I can assure you, my wife has… powers. She is able to transport across worlds as easy as you or I move from room-to-room, all quite safely. Welcome to my home. Please, may I offer you anything?"
"A place to hide for eight hours is enough, Mr. Wayne," replied Scott. "I'm afraid we aren't welcome in your world anymore. I'm not sure where we can go from here. Although I would like to save Clark if I could… It was Lois's last wish."
"You aren't welcome in Luthor's world, Scott. This isn't his world yet and we don't all share his views. What does he have against you that he put up a reward?"
"To be honest Mr. Wayne, today was my first contact with him." Scott pondered what motives the acting president could have had against them.
"Lois believed he was responsible for the weapon in Kahndaq," replied Barda. "She thought he was in cahoots with the Kahndaqi to try and kill off Clark with a Kryptonite bomb."
Bruce felt the world below him shift. It had been Luthor all along…
He must be added to the list, Bruce.
"When did you learn that?" inquired Scott.
"Girl talk." Barda shrugged her shoulders. "I had to do something while you hung out in the Antarctic."
"Are you alright, my husband?" inquired Raven, glancing with concern at Bruce. His emotions had seemed increasingly conflicted all day.
"Yes, just remembering... I'll have Alfred prepare you two a room. I'm afraid we have a funeral in the morning."
"Of course," replied Scott. "We'll be fine without sleep though. But please, one last thing, how did you find us Mr. Wayne?"
"Bruce… Please, call me Bruce. It was my wife who found you actually."
"Your technology emits strange emotions. It cares for you." Raven glanced at Barda's mother box and the spot in his costume where Scott had hidden his.
"I thought you were an empath!" declared Scott. "You were trying to calm us down when you first appeared, right?"
"My humble apologies. Your wife is quite… intimidating."
"No worries, I've been trying to calm her down for years." Scott grinned at Barda. "We are thankful, Bruce. You're risking your lives by harboring known fugitives."
"It's my pleasure, Mr. and Mrs. Free. Can you tell me a little more about Clark? Perhaps I could be of assistance with your search."
After twenty minutes, the Free's had filled in what details they could. After wishing them the best of luck, Bruce left them to ascend the stairs. His inner turmoil raged on…
Next Chapter: In the clutches of Ra's al Ghul!