Chapter Summary
Previously, Clark and Mxy got new looks to blend in. Lois and Jimmy arrive at the League of Lois Lanes HQ to debrief with Commander Lane.
Now, everything that can go wrong will go wrong for Clark. He gets his first welcome from an outraged resident of No Man's Land. Meryl arrives to save the day.
—
Mr. Mxyzptlk slowed his ascent into the sky and raised a hand above his eyes to peer into the distance. His coattails flapped lazily in the almost nonexistent breeze.
Clark followed the imp into the air, a puff of sand and dust trailing in his wake. His new cloak billowed around him in a familiar way to his usual cape. The brimmed hat somehow stayed firmly planted on his head but didn't do much to shade his eyes from the setting suns low on the horizon.
He glanced warily at that strange glowing green wave above. The green glow reminded him of the kryptonite rock that made him feel sick and sent needles of pain all through his body. That hum grew louder as he rose, which didn't help his unease.
After matching Mxy's altitude, Clark nudged the imp gently in an almost one-eighty-degree rotation, pointing him in the opposite direction.
"It was over that way," Clark said deadpan.
Mxy pouted, leaning forward. "Eh? How many iles away is it? I can't see it."
Clark was about to ask what an "ile" was, but that hum from above grew so loud it made him wince and cover his ears.
The haze of green engulfed them both. The swarm of tiny spore-like organisms, which made up that undulating glow, were drawn to Clark like moths to a flame.
Mxy yelped and zoomed away in the direction that Clark had pointed him.
"H-hey! Where are you going?!" Clark cried out.
"Catch ya later, pal. Good luck with your new friends!" The imp responded, barely looking over his shoulder and certainly not turning back around to help.
Overwhelmed by the noise, Clark squeezed his eyes and flew in any direction to escape the swarm. Not only was the sound causing his mind to rattle, but it also started to feel like when he was at Cadmus under the Omega Field. Back then, he had tried to fly with Lois but found he didn't quite have the power to stay aloft.
He swatted the spores away as they tried to cling to his clothes and skin. Some latched on, and he felt an unpleasant tingling sensation like they were pulling the energy right from his skin. In his panic, Clark's eyes grew hot, and his heat vision flared as he tried to get the offenders to back off. The overwhelming hum turned into an angry-sounding buzz, but at least it was quieter. He felt some relief–his head getting a little clearer.
He began floating back down to the sandy surface, knowing the green wave hadn't bothered him while he was on the ground before. Clark was thankful when the swarm of spore-bug-things didn't follow, and he wiped the remaining ones off.
After touching down, he pulled off his cloak and shook it out. Luckily, it'd protected his back where he couldn't easily reach to brush himself off. This time, his heavy breathing was from feeling more drained than usual. The struggled flight and using his heat vision took more energy out of him than he'd liked.
As he wrapped his cloak back over his shoulders, Clark heard that low rumble from deep underground again. Now, that sound was getting louder and louder. The noise itself wasn't the only thing to rumble, but so did the earth–or rather the sand–beneath his feet.
He went to look down with his x-ray vision, but before he could, the sand shot up like a volcano peak erupting from the ocean floor.
Clark went into a clumsy rolling fall that he quickly turned into a controlled glide. He sped off just above the ground and away from the rising wave of sand. He landed back down on the ground a good hundred feet or so away, feeling his energy continue to drain faster than usual.
The creature breaching the surface of the sand made Clark instantly flashback to his battle against the Parasite kaiju in Metropolis. The beast was like a whale diving out of the surface of an ocean in a sweeping arc before it slammed back down into the dark depths.
From the glimpse he got, Clark could make out the segmented armored carapace of the titanic crustacean-like monster. What he could only assume was its mouth, split into four beak-like jaws in a bestial earth-quaking growl. He super leaped out of the way just in time to avoid being swallowed alive.
Recalling several sci-fi movies from his youth, Clark found himself in the presence of something strikingly similar to those sandworm monsters.
The sandworm 'swam' just below the surface like a great white shark, its dorsal fin-like appendages cutting rivers through the sand. The dusty stormcloud rolled violently along with it. The beast turned in a wide arc, heading back in Clark's direction.
Superman turned and stood at the ready, face to face with the oncoming monster worm—a tiny flea versus a lion. At the last moment, he flew up and out of the way, cloak rippling behind him. The sandworm passed beneath him faster than a locomotive and sunk back into the sand completely.
Feeling his energy continue to drain, Clark knew staying airborne was taking its toll. Superman dropped back to the sandy surface, taking a knee and breathing heavily.
His breaths and pulse pounded in his ears. Besides that, it was quiet again. He wiped his brow, wishing to guzzle a gallon of water. He swallowed, but his dry tongue and throat didn't get any relief.
He closed his eyes, feeling the setting suns' warmth on his skin. The first was just a sliver, shining red on the horizon. The second wasn't far behind, just kissing the sandy landscape. The sky shifted from blue to yellow and red.
Clark's shadow stretched long behind him, only growing longer as he pushed himself back onto his feet.
His pounding heartbeat in his ears slowed and faded.
And then, the moment of silence broke. That earth-shaking rumble returned with a vengeance. Right below him.
Without wasting a second, Superman launched himself back into the sky, muscles taut, the strain as intense as if he'd been fighting Task Force X all day. Up, up, and away from the sandworm just feet below him, having launched itself into the air hundreds of yards by pure momentum.
Superman's swift ascent petered out at the worst possible time, right before gravity pulled the sandworm back to the ground. The worm snapped its four-hinged jaw shut, catching Superman by the hem of his cloak and ripping man and beast down together. Clark yelled and flailed in protest as his flight failed him, and he was yanked out of the sky.
He tried turning in mid-air to rip the edge of his cloak away from the sandworm's jaws. It was snagged pretty good, so he dared light up his heat vision again and just zap the creature enough for it to loosen its hold. The beam of red heat flared out from his eyes, searing the smooth shell of the creature's beak and slicing through a corner of the cloak.
"Let! Go!" Clark shouted in one last tug.
Superman was instantly flung back into the air, spinning wildly. He barely righted himself as he again crashed into the sandy ground with his back. The wind knocked right out of his lungs.
Again, the Worm slammed into the sand, shaking the earth with a resounding boom. A massive wave of dust blew out hundreds of yards in all directions. Clark shielded his face as it blasted over him, and he didn't dare open his eyes until it passed.
He stumbled to his feet and relied on his hearing to determine where the sandworm was in his blindness. He could hear it slithering in the sand, getting closer in its endless pursuit.
Clark couldn't stop now. He had to keep moving despite being unable to see clearly where he was going. If he ran into anything, it'd surely hurt less than getting eaten.
In a half-run-half-glide, he just flew in the opposite direction.
But it was no use. Despite Clark's usual speed, the creature was faster. It was catching up again. This time, Clark took his chances and leaped up again high into the air, flipping around as he did so. As the creature sped forward below him, Clark landed on the worm's back, holding on tightly to its dorsal fin.
"C'mon, big guy! I don't want to hurt you. And you really don't want to eat me either, right?" Maybe the beast was smart enough to understand him.
Yeah, right.
The sandworm was smarter than Clark gave it credit for. It slowed its stampede and began thrashing around, trying to get the tiny man off its back. Superman hung on with all his might.
It seemed to be a good plan so far. Superman got a break from running, and the beast thrashed like a bucking bronco so hard it was starting to tire itself out.
After one last buck, the sandworm tried a new tactic. It started rolling over. Clark lost his balance and grip, his feet digging in, trying to gain traction. The beast rolled onto its side and kept rolling in an attempt to squash Superman like a pancake underneath it.
Clark grasped for another handhold and tried hoisting himself back to the topmost surface of the sandworm. He tried flight. Nothing. He tried a super jump. Nada.
As he climbed, he briefly caught a glimpse of something in the desert landscape from the corner of his eye–the dust cloud from the creature had settled, so he had a better view from up high. The object seemed to be coming closer, a trail of dust following along like it had for the creature beneath him now.
Great! Just what I need. Another sandworm to gang up on me!
—T&J—
The Bernardelli vehicle was just cresting a large sand dune at top speed–flying off it like the edge of a ramp–when a cloud of sand and dust washed over the van. Meryl hit the brakes, but the van was still semi-airborne, so the effort was useless. The van bounced back down into an uncontrolled slide until the wide, thick-treaded tires got traction. Finally, Meryl was able to pull the van into a rough stop.
W-What?! A sandstorm?
But a minute later, the dust cloud dispersed, and the view outside the windshield cleared up.
The sight made Meryl seriously consider turning the vehicle right back around and hitting the pedal to the metal.
Another freaking Grand Worm?! Why me?
Just as she shifted the van into gear, she saw the Grand Worm racing across the ocean surface in pursuit of some kind of prey on the run.
Curiosity still getting the better of her, Meryl cursed under her breath. She turned the van back in the direction the Grand Worm was heading.
What if it's a lost caravan being hunted by that monster? At this rate, they aren't long for this world.
Yeah, Stryfe, what if? What are you going to do about it? You just want to get swallowed up again, huh?
The Grand Worm was pulling ahead—the beast was absurdly fast for its size. Then, without warning, the beast slowed. Out of the corner of her eye, Meryl swore she saw something dark flicker against the orange sky above the Worm, but she lost sight of whatever it might've been.
Meryl didn't slow her chase, but she wanted to give the creature a wide berth to avoid catching its attention.
She didn't have to worry too much about that at the moment, though. The Grand Worm started thrashing around, its colossal body shaking the ground, rattling the van and Meryl's teeth. The beast continued slamming into the ground and writhing its front half wildly in the air, like an untamed Thomas trying to knock off its rider.
It seemed like the Worm was wearing itself out, the thrashing starting to wind down, its movements getting more sluggish. She watched as it went prone and began a barrel roll—right in Meryl's direction.
Meryl cursed, this time aloud, pulling the vehicle in a rapid turn. She watched in terror as the Worm continued rolling until it was completely upside down and wasn't looking to stop until it flipped itself back over.
Out of her rearview mirror, Meryl caught another glimpse of something that stood out from the brownish shell of the Worm. It was so hard to tell. Just one of the Grand Worm's carapace segments was enough to fill the mirror. The beast was that enormous.
But there! On the monster's back… is that? No freaking way! Is that a person?
The flash of red caught her eye. She had subconsciously trained herself to spot that vibrant red color in her mission to keep track of Vash the Stampede way back when. She dared take her foot off the accelerator to turn over her shoulder for a better look.
It's not him, is it? It's impossible.
The Grand Worm finally slowed its roll. It relented to squirming stubbornly, sweeping its tail in broad strokes over the sandy terrain and snapping its four-hinge maw in deep, drawn-out snarls.
It gave one more good thrash. The person clinging to its back, not expecting it to have more fight in it, must have lost their grip. They sailed into the air, falling back down to the sandy ground in a painful-looking tumble. That red cloak covered most of their body from view.
Meryl gulped. The person was right there, not more than a couple hundred feelz away.
Before she could change her mind, she hit the accelerator again, heading right to the person lying prone. She rolled down her window, grabbed the derringer off the dashboard, and aimed the gun at the Grand Worm, practically hanging out the window.
The Grand Worm was tired, but it wasn't giving up. It slithered itself into a turn, facing its prey again. Its giant jaws were open, eager for its meal. The acidic saliva spittled into the dry air as it cried out in triumph.
Like hell!
Meryl shot two rounds from the tiny gun. The bullets would do next to nothing on the titan, but the sting was enough to make the beast recoil in confusion.
Thankfully, the person it'd been chasing wasn't dead. Meryl could see him shakily push himself onto his knees. He glanced up, and his vibrant sky-blue eyes caught hers behind her sunglasses. She grabbed another derringer from her boot and aimed two more shots at the Worm. It let loose a blood-curdling scream, slamming its front appendages frantically into the ground.
Meryl pressed the brakes, swerving so the passenger door was right in front of the red-cloaked stranger. She leaned over, hastily swiped the pile of newspapers off the seat, and pushed the car door open.
"Get in!" she yelled, offering the man her hand.
The man didn't need to be told twice. He graciously grabbed her hand, hauling himself clumsily into the passenger seat. He was barely in and closing the door when Meryl had the vehicle floored again, turning back in the direction she had come.
The Grand Worm made one last effort to pursue its prey for another couple hundred yarz before it seemingly gave up with one final, defeated bellow.
And then the beast finally sunk into the depths of the sand ocean for good.
—L&P—