Superman in the Pocket Complication.
This chapter is from the first person perspective of Superman. He aka Clark Kent is the narrator.
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THE DOOR
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I took to the sky and started scanning metropolis with my x-ray vision and other senses. I was certain that some sort of door that I was looking for might pop out at me. Although I admit, I was not entirely certain what exactly I was looking for.
I eventually found something that was sticking out like a sore thumb. It was in the 2nd subbasement of the condemned Kennecott building. There was a not very cleverly hidden "secret door". A hand written note on the door had the Kryptonian symbol for hope prominently displayed on it. There were quotation marks around symbol. The paper itself has been laced with lead and I could not see the other side.
I scanned around to find a way to the 2nd subbasement without breaking any walls. It was a "maze like" collection of abandoned subway stations, access tunnels, and main sewer access.
I first had to find my way to the sewers. The ventilation made it breathable even by normies. But it did have a serious stench.
Second, I came to a locked chain link fence. The fence was pretty rusted. But upon closer inspection it was actually made out of a super allow and then had a ceramic coating on it that was colored to look like it was rusting. The lock on the gate was one of the largest pad locks that you could buy at the hardware store. The lock was also brand new. I broke the lock easily and proceeded.
Eventually I came to a bridge. It looked like it would fall apart any second. A simple scan revealed that it was actually extremely sturdy. I walked across it just to make sure it was as sound as I thought.
After a few more turns and twists I found my way easily to the 2nd subbasement of the Kennecott building.
Eventually I came to the second sub-basement of the now condemned Kennecott building.
I picked up the paper and turned it around.
"Greetings Son of Krypton. This message is written in invisible ink that you should be able to see quite easily; also there are a list of tasks that should be simple for you to perform that will unlock the way forward. PS; I have a sense of humor just go with it."
-Kilroy was here.
I read the instructions. There was a sense of humor glaring in how he wrote it.
First up I backtracked my way out of the maze and flew to the top of the Eiffel tower and waved at the people there.
The second task was to get back to the door in the Kennecott building within ten minutes without touching the ground. For me it was indeed easy.
The third task was to wait for the question, whatever that was. I waited there for a few minutes and then I heard the question out of thin air, "What is the airspeed velocity of a swallow carrying a coconut?" I have to admit I was caught off guard but was LMAO.
I gave the answer, "African or European?"
A shimmering portal opened up just in front of the 'secret door'. I x-rayed the door behind the portal to see that it lead to an empty room full of what looked like an abandoned office.
I stepped through the portal and ended up in a hallway that had walls, floors, and a ceiling that looked like it was made out of a multi-blue material I couldn't identify. There was another, rather mundane looking door at the other end. It had an engraving on the door; it said, "KNOCK IF YOU'RE FRIENDLY" on it. I could hear a dog on the other side door. They had smelled me; there was more than one dog.
A voice from the other side of the door spoke, "Greetings; Superman I presume?"
"I believe you have extended me an invitation; of sorts?" I replied.
"My dogs are friendly, and they are gonna want to say hi," said the voice.
"I'm a dog person," I replied honestly.
The door opened and behind it were four Doberman Pincers. They looked terribly excited. I'm sure they could smell Krypto on me. All of their tails were docked. Their ears were cropped in a style that was not long enough for show dogs. They were short enough to have their ears cleaned easily; which is a problem for Dobermans I knew.
Behind them was the man I was looking for, "Jack Kilroy; I presume?" I asked.
"Indeed. I'll introduce you to the family," he said meaning the dogs. "From your left to right; Snuggle Monster, Jumper, Sherlock, and Tug-o-War." The last dog had a partially torn rag in his mouth.
After about five minutes of playing with his dogs; I felt like I knew a lot about who Jack Kilroy was. He was kind and gentle, but serious about protection. He made little effort to conceal the twin revolvers underneath his over shirt. Both Anacondas, one with a four inch barrel, the other with a six. Jack was left handed.
My dad was right, I would like this guy. "Since I invited you here; I'll let you ask the first few questions," he said.
"Who are you; the short version please?" I asked.
"Jack Kilroy, at your service. The short version is this. I'm an interdimensional time traveler. I'm a sup with an unusual set of powers and abilities," he started. "I hope that I'm the good guy, but I also realize how easy it is to become the thing that you hate," he concluded.
I had to admit I liked that answer. "Are you analyzing my questions to determine what kind of person I am?" I asked.
He grinned, "Yes."
"Why have all the hoops for me to jump through before I could open the portal?" I asked.
"There are parallel universes where Superman isn't good. An evil superman wouldn't be polite enough to jump through those hoops," he said bluntly.
I had to admit he had an excellent point.
"Why did you want to talk to me?" I asked finally.
"Several reasons, I'll start with the most pressing," he started. "My enhanced power set makes me well adapted to defeating super powered individuals. I have reason to suspect that someone in your world has figured this out and it trying to exploit that in order to harm you," he said.
"What do you mean by the word 'exploit'?" I asked.
"I have no desire to harm anyone good," he said flatly. "However, I believe the Lex Luthor has become aware of the special projectiles I use in my ammunition and thinks that they may be able to harm you."
"Lex Luthor makes them," I said bluntly.
The look on Jack's face was very revealing. He ducked his head and pulled off his glasses. "Crap, let me guess Luthor owns the company I contacted to make them?" he asked.
"Yep,"
Jack let out a short string of expletives that you don't use in polite company then he spoke up, "Do you know anything about Queen Consolidated?" he asked.
"Good company, for the most part," I said honestly.
"Solid State Dynamics underbid Queen by more than a little. But not enough to make me suspicious," confessed Jack. "I'll take my business to Queen in the future." I believed him.
"I've been shot by special ammunition before," I offered. "You're stuff is impressive but I doubt it would be enough to make Luthor interested in it. Frankly, I've seen him manufacture better stuff."
"I think I should demonstrate my abilities to you," Jack said.
"Are you asking for permission?" I responded.
"Yes, it's gonna hurt; a little," he said. He was serious.
"What did you have in mind?" I asked. I was curious.
"I'm gonna punch you in the chest, hard."
"Don't hurt your hand," I said sincerely. Jack pulled up before me and delivered a short range punch that would have made Bruce Lee proud. It hurt. A lot. I coughed out loud a few times.
"My super power isn't guns. Any super powered actor loses their ability to resist damage from any attack I use on them. Regardless of it is a firearm, a punch, a stick, etc.… When it comes to super powered individuals the ammunition I can buy at the sporting goods store works just as well as the fancy osmium and diamond stuff," said Jack.
"Why use them then?" I managed to say, getting my wind back.
"They are for minions. People like Luthor have normal people with some pretty good body armor. In a way I'm more vulnerable to minions than I am to the super powered boss guys," Jack confessed.
I let that sink in a bit. Dad was right; I liked this guy and he wasn't evil. There was a lot more to discuss. But it would have to wait.
