"…a tram headed for the LexCorp Hydro-Nuclear Power plant will be destroyed…"
"That's us!" someone yelled.
Charles Montgomery the Third was sitting next to a window on the tram. The three section shuttle glided smoothly along the raised tracks over Metro-Bay, the LexCorp Hydro-Nuclear a mere three miles away. The water below shimmered like crystal, the sky above was clear and blue, the sun bright and high. It was a beautiful day, Monty admitted. And it had just turned to a nightmare…
The trams radio station had been preset to the Metro-One News Network. The idea was that the choice would eliminate any squabbles over what type of music would play, whether or not anyone would get offended.
Monty didn't ride the tram often. In fact, he only rode it on occasions where he spent the previous evening in the company of his special lady friend who resided near uptown Metropolis. On those occasions, he found it easier to leave his car with her, and take the tram to work, as opposed to fighting traffic trying to get to the harbor and make the ferry.
In fact, he had enjoyed such a marvelous evening with his special friend, that he remarked on what a beautiful day it was and opted to walk the four blocks to the tram station.
Now, as he sat and listened to the recording play over the trams speaker system, he was beginning to regret his decision.
"It's a hard lesson we must learn, Metropolis. It's a lesson we all need to understand. Superman can't save us. We must save ourselves!
"What time is it?" someone shouted.
"Eight fifteen." Someone answered.
"Oh my God!" a woman yelled.
"Everyone calm down!" a man shouted. "It's probably a hoax or some prank. We'll be at the plant in less than five minutes."
"Yeah, but according to that man, we only have two…" a woman commented.
"One-minute, twenty-three seconds!" this from a small man in round glasses with a balding head. He was looking at his watch intently.
Monty looked around the tram. There were just over a dozen people in this, the center section of tram. From what he remembered from the loading platform a few minutes earlier, there were nearly equal numbers in the front and rear sections as well.
The woman next to him was panting like an out of breath hound. Monty took her hand in his and patted it gently. "Easy dear. Nothing to worry over…"
The radio transmission was interrupted by the trams automated PA system. "Approaching LexCorp Hydro-Nuclear Power Plant. The current time is eight-sixteen."
"Look there." Monty continued to console her, pointing out the window. "Almost there. You can see the platform from here." And indeed, they both looked out at the gleaming steel and concrete platform that even now grew larger as the tram rapidly approached.
There was a digital clock mounted to the ceiling of the tram. Everyone was silent as all eyes turned to the clock. Some looked at their watches; some held their cell-phones in front of them. The tension was thick enough to grab and squeeze. The balding man with the large glasses was sweating profusely.
Time seemed to stand still as the bright red digital numbers remained unchanged and unblinking for what seemed to be an eternity.
Then, at last, the final digital number turned from a six… to a seven.
No one moved. No one spoke. Everyone waited on baited breath…
The tram continued to glide along smoothly.
The woman next to Monty let out a heavy sigh. Even Monty, who himself hadn't realized he was holding his breath, exhaled, and felt all the tension drain from his shoulders.
A collective sigh passed through the entire section, and through the entire tram.
"I told you!" the guy from before remarked. "It was a hoax!"
There was a loud bang and the tram lurched. Those seated were thrown sideways. Those standing were thrown forward. A woman lost her balance completely and fell to the floor. The man beside her was forced to his knees.
There was a second bang, and the tram dropped slightly and skidded to a grinding halt.
Panic and screaming followed.
"Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!" the woman next to Monty was muttering. She was now clinging to him as if he was the last solid thing in this world, her hands squeezing at his coat, her arm wrapped around his own so tight, he felt it began to go numb.
"What's happening?" someone yelled.
"We're gonna die!" someone screamed.
"Quiet! EVERYONE! QUIET!" The man from before yelled. A slow hush fell through the section. "Now the last thing we need is for all of you to start acting like a bunch of children. We need to figure a way out of this."
"Who the hell elected you leader?" someone shouted.
"Look," the man continued. "If you want to stay here and wait to see what happens next, well, good luck with that. I for one am going to try to get out of here!" He pushed his way to the side of the tram and looked out the window, down toward the water. "I think I can see a ledge." he said, craning his neck. "I think we can drop down and walk to the front of the tram…" he was already removing his overcoat as he spoke. "And from there, it's maybe five hundred yards to the platform."
"It's a seventy foot drop!" someone told him.
"Then don't fall off." he said, stuffing his coat under a seat. He pushed through to the side of the car with the doors. He rubbed his hands together for a moment then attempted to pry the doors apart.
They didn't budge. He paused for a moment, and then tried again, pulling at the doors with all his might.
They slid apart with a groan of metal and grinding gears.
Superman hovered on the other side, his hands also on the doors.
"Superman!" a woman shouted. "You've got to get us out of here." Almost everyone rushed to get a glimpse of the man of steel hovering along the side of the tram, seventy-five feet over the crystal blue waters Metropolis Bay.
"I heard the broadcast." Superman explained. "Metro Bay Fire and Rescue is on the way. I need everyone to remain calm until they arrive and get everyone off the tram."
"You want us to just wait here?" a woman asked.
"Can't you save us?" someone else asked.
"You all heard that message!" another man chimed in. "If Superman saves us, somewhere else, someone else is going to die for it!"
"He's right!" a woman offered. "If he saves us, someone else dies." she re-iterated.
"So what!?" the man at the doors said flatly. "People die everyday. I'm making sure it's not going to be me!"
"Sir," Superman began. "I know you're scared, but Metro Bay boat is almost here." Superman gestured behind himself at a trio of boats. Two were bright blue with white strips, the Captains deck raising three levels up. They both hand huge water cannons mounted at the bow and along the sides, and large extendable ladders running along the port and starboard. Each rescue vessel was over a hundred feet in length, and had MBFR painted in large white letters along the side.
The other boat was actually a double-decker ferry, courtesy of LexCorp Hydro-Nuclear.
They were moving full-speed ahead towards the tram line. Unfortunately, they were still a few hundred yards out.
Superman turned back to the man and the rest of the tram passengers.
"I want to help, but I don't want to endanger any more lives. If what this… 'terrorist' says is true… then saving you all is a death sentence for someone else."
"Our hero is right!" this from Monty himself. "While an avid fan of being rescued myself, I say let the civil servants do their job and allow Superman here to enjoy a bit of a reprieve, least we place more innocents in peril."
"I don't care about anyone else!" the man at the doors shouted. "I want off this tram!"
"What if it's someone you care about. Your family? Your kids? Your wife?"
"Who'd marry that jerk?" a woman said under her breath, but loud enough to be heard by all.
The man at the doors gave her a heated look and then continued his rant. "The trams already out of commission. Who knows what else this wack-job has in store for us! Didn't he say something about taking out the bridge? I'm not waiting around for that…"
"So far," Superman interrupted. "And as far as I can tell… only the trams power has been cut. Two small explosives were placed at the base of the trams rail system. There aren't anymore explosives on the tram."
As if on cue, a huge explosion rocked the tram-line. Superman looked to his left and saw the far end of the tramline erupt in a ball of fire and debris, flames shooting sixty feet into the air. The tramline, nearly thirty feet of track, steel, and concrete, tumbled into the bay. All the track fifty feet past the shoreline platform was now gone.
A moment later, another explosion erupted along the tracks, this time from the opposite end. Fifty feet from the plant-side platform, a ball of orange fire and black smoke shot into the air, taking much of the tramline with it. What remained fell into the bay.
"The bridge!" someone was shouting. "The bridge is blowing up!"
But Superman knew that wasn't true. He had reflexively scanned the remaining two and a half miles of track in both directions. His combined x-ray and telescopic vision found no more explosive devices along the expanse. What he did find, however, was almost as bad.
The bridge was going to collapse.
Cracks, like spider-webs, were spreading along the line like wildfire. On both ends, parts of the bridge were already starting to break away and fall into the water below. The charges were set at key structural points; cornerstones. Once they were taken out, the rest of the bridge was going to fall and there was little anyone could do to stop it.
Including Superman.
If the bridge was all metal, he could use his heat-vision to quickly weld the separated sections back together; but only the tracks themselves were metal. The remaining ninety eight percent of the expanse was all rock and thin steel support rods.
It would be like trying to keep a snowball from melting on a warm sunny day.
Superman glanced behind him. The boats were getting closer, put they would never make it in time.
He was out of options.
He turned back to the people inside the tram, some were screaming, some were crying, some were praying. All were looking at him.
Superman took in a deep breath.
"Everyone in the center section!" he ordered. He floated to the rear section and instructed everyone to get in to the middle of the tram as quickly as they could, then zipped to the front section and repeated himself. No one argued, questioned, or protested. Everyone crammed into the middle as tightly as they could. People were sitting on the laps of others; those standing were shoulder to shoulder, back to back, front to front, holding each other a little closer to make a bit more room.
Finally, the last person from the front section, the tram operator, and older gentleman with silver hair, pushed into the center section.
Superman hovered a few yards away from the tram, near the connecting piece between the front and center section. It was an accordion like attachment, made of heavy rubber, with a steel plate for walking from one section to the other.
Superman scanned it with his x-ray vision, ensuring it was completely clear. Then, fire erupted from his eyes in a thin concentrated beam. The laser cut through rubber and steel alike, sparks erupting from both the floor and ceiling. Some people yelped as the lights of the tram died out, the interior of the center compartment suddenly dim.
Once the two sections were separated, Superman zipped to the rear of the tram and repeated the process on the second adjoining section.
The center section now free, he floated to the top quickly. His initial x-ray scan revealed a steel support beam that ran the length of each section. Superman punched into the roof of the tram with both hands and grabbed the support beam now.
"Everyone hold on!" he shouted.
And lifted.
The tram rose from the track smoothly and quickly under Superman's power. Ten feet. Twenty feet. Thirty. Those closest to windows watched Metropolis Bay fall away from them as they took to the air. They watched as the tramline crumbled under its own weight, and the two remaining compartments tumbled into the bay. They watched in silence, in horror, in shock, and in awe.
With a gentle lurch, Superman headed towards the nearest platform, the plant-side platform.
He was over it in mere moments, lowering the tram gently down to a clear area of the platform, a hundred foot by eighty foot courtyard that was even now being filled with onlookers, the plants private security force, and EMT's. All of which were cheering as Superman gently lowered the tram to the ground.
The people inside the tram were ushered out quickly; those seeking medical attention were attended too; those with a story to tell were wrangled by security.
Many people thanked Superman, patting his back, shaking his hand, hugging him, showering him with pecks on the cheek.
An older gentleman stepped before him, roughly the same height, wearing a bright, but somewhat faded red cap; a cap that he removed as he spoke.
"Charles Montgomery, the Third." He said with a thick British accent, extending his hand. "Monty to my friends."
Superman took his hand and shook it. "A pleasure to meet you, Monty."
"Dear lad, the pleasure is mine indeed." Monty beamed. "You saved my life today. Saved us all!"
"Well…" Superman replied, his face going serious. "I just hope by doing so I didn't put anyone else in danger…"
Another explosion, ten times the force of the previous ones, shook the entire harbor. Every head turned, every eye searched.
Superman's heart dropped. "No!" he whispered.
The ferry was gone. Were a moment ago a double-decker boat floated across the bay, now was only fiery remains, black smoke climbing into the sky, steam rising from the water as it sank.
A blanket of silence fell over the crowd.
Monty looked back at Superman, and a chill ran over him.
He expected to see horror, pain, sorrow, perhaps even remorse. He was ill prepared for the sight before him.
No tears feel. No quivering lips or downcast eyes. Instead, his crystal blue eyes seemed dull and empty and lost, stating out at the burning wreckage of the ferry as if not really seeing it at all.
Monty looked into Superman's eyes, and saw his heart shatter into a million pieces.