Author's Note: Here you go, everyone. Another chapter of this amazingly-popular fanfic that you all wanted.
Before we begin, I'd like to clear some things up. A lot of people in the comments have been debating on which Sonic elements I'm using in this fanfic and even suggested certain plot points to include here. I just want it to be made clear that although the Sonic side of this fanfic is based on the movie, there are some changes that I plan on making. For example, I can't say when, but Tails is going to appear sooner than he did in the movies.
And I wouldn't assume what's going to happen in season 2 just yet. After all, the events of MAWS season 2 wasn't exactly a race for a gem. The first half of the season was basically the beginning of the issue with Clark and Lois' relationship while the other half is both a search-and-rescue mission for Superman AND the battle against Brainiac. I've got some ideas for how it'll go down, but because of the different plots between Sonic 2 and MAWS season 2, figuring out the plot for it is going to be tricky.
One more thing I want to say. It's regarding everyone's constant asking for me to update this fanfic and other fanfics more frequently. I want you all to please understand the position I'm in. I've already got two fanfics that I have to update weekly, and I can only update three or four fanfics a week (mostly three). I was a planning on updating a fourth fanfic this week, but I turned out to not have any time. I'm sorry, but it's a strain for me, so I would appreciate it if you all would just remain a little more patient. I promise, I'll update the older fanfics in the future. I just need time.
That's about it. Other than that, enjoy the chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.
Lois stared intensely at Sonic, who was still unconscious inside the dog crate she held him in ever since she brought him to her apartment. She couldn't believe her eyes, but then again, everything about the day has been extraordinary so far. Rogue military robots. A superfast hedgehog. A flying man. This was front page news, and so far, she didn't have any proof to bring to Perry. That is why she was so delighted to find the hedgehog himself knocked out for her to see at home.
After a good long look, Lois turned away to cheer quietly, yet excitedly, at herself.
"This is perfect! Jimmy's photos may have been destroyed, but I've got that blue, spiky thing in my apartment ready to be interviewed! I'll just have a quick interview with him, and then, I'll bring him to Clark and Jimmy so we can work on this story together."
What Lois didn't know was that Sonic was just waking up. He held his head trying to shake off his dizziness before realizing he was in a dog crate. Thankfully, it was easy for him to just unlock the door and walk right out. He was still pretty dizzy, so he stood there for a minute before Lois turned around. She gasped suddenly seeing him awake.
"Coffee Girl?" Sonic asked.
"You really can talk." Lois said with a tone that was both surprised and nervous. "You're not here to abduct me, are you?"
"You abducted ME." Sonic pointed out.
"…Okay. That's a fair point." Lois recomposed herself and pulled out her recording device, which she turned on. "Okay, blue boy. This is Lois Lane with the Daily Planet news. I've got a million questions, such as who you are, what you are, and what you were doing at the docks earlier."
"I was just trying to help you."
That answer caught Lois by surprise, making her lower her recorder. "Help me? What are you talking about?"
"You were looking for those robots for your story, so I decided to help out as best I could." Sonic explained. "I even dropped that dockworker badge at your feet so you'd go there. I didn't think you'd actually get spotted though."
Lois blinked twice. "Hold on. You were trying to HELP me with my story? Why?"
"Well…" Sonic rubbed the back of his head. "I figured you deserved it. I mean, you did work very hard both here and the Planet."
Lois' eyes grew even wider. "Hold on! You… You were watching me?!"
"Not all the time." Sonic said defensively. "Just during movie nights and when you repeatedly try to submit stories to your boss. I didn't mean for it to seem so creepy, Coffee Girl."
"Why do you keep calling me that?"
"'Cause you always bring coffee to your boss."
"…Again, fair."
"Wait a minute." Sonic gasped looking around. "Where are the mushrooms? Why am I still on Earth?" He patted his sides before making a shocking discovery. "Oh, no! I lost my rings!"
"What?" Lois asked.
"You gotta take me back to the docks." Sonic said. "I must have dropped them during the robot fight. They might still be there."
"Whoa. Hold on there, spiky. I still got a billion questions."
"I thought you just said a million."
"Well, now it's a billion thanks to all that stuff you said that makes no sense! I don't even know who or even what you are!"
"My name is Sonic. And I'm a hedgehog. I feel like that's obvious."
"Okay. Sonic the Hedgehog." Lois paused for a moment to think things through. "So let's see if I got this straight. You're a blue hedgehog named Sonic, you have super speed, you came from another planet, you've been watching me kinda creepily for who knows how long, and you tried to help with my career by helping me find those stolen robots?"
"That's a pretty good recap there." Sonic said. "But it looks like I dropped my rings back at the docks, and I need them back."
"What's this about rings?" Lois asked in a raised tone. "That's twice you said it like I'm supposed to know what that means."
"Okay," Sonic said sitting down on the table to explain, "Rings are a way for advanced cultures to travel between worlds. And now, mine are buried in the rubble of a messy aftermath of an awesome robot battle."
Lois was still confused, but she already knew nothing about this was making sense. So she took a deep breath and spoke finally. "So you want me to take you to the docks so you can find your rings. And then what? You're just gonna leave?"
"I don't want to, but I don't have a choice." Sonic said. "Too many people saw me. You. The camera guy. Those crooks."
"And Superman?" Lois asked.
Sonic stared blankly. "Who?"
"Superman. You know, that mystery flying guy who was fighting the robots with you? The one who tried to hide himself in that dockworker's jacket?" Lois said. "What's your connection with him?"
"Nothing." Sonic answered with a shrug. "I've never seen that guy before in my life."
Lois widened her eyes once more. "Really?"
"Yes. You know as much about him as I do."
"I see." Lois said. She turned for a moment to think for herself. She then gave a small smile before turning back. "Okay, Sonic. I'm inclined to help you get your rings back."
"Really?" Sonic asked with a hopeful smile. "Oh, thank you! You're a big help!"
"HOWEVER…" Lois interrupted. "I want an interview with you afterwards."
"What?" Sonic asked. "No. I'm sorry, but I can't."
"It's not that terrible." Lois said. "Just speak your truth, and I'll print it."
"That's the problem, I can't let it be printed." Sonic said. "The whole point of my leaving is to make sure no one else knows of my existence. If they do, there's gonna be trouble."
"Well, I need my story to give to Mr. White," Lois said, "So if you can't give me an interview, then what do you suggest I do?"
Sonic gave the matter some thought before an idea hit him. "Wait. What if I help you with Superman?"
Lois stared in surprise. "What? I thought you said you don't know anything about him."
"I don't," Sonic answered, "But I bet if I help you look around, then I can catch him for you so you can prove to Perry that Superman exists. Then, you'd get your story."
Lois gave the idea some thought before smiling. "All right, hedgehog. You got a deal. We're going to find Superman. But first, we better get some help."
"Why are we here before work again?" Clark asked his best friend as they entered their floor on the Daily Planet building.
"Lois said we needed to come in early for some big surprise." Jimmy answered.
Suddenly, the two of them were grabbed by their arms and pulled into a nearby room. It was Lois who dragged them both into a small room with filing cabinets, shelves of paperwork, and desks which fill up half of the room.
"Tada! Say hello to our new office!" Lois exclaimed.
Clark and Jimmy took a moment to observe the rea, from the leaking and hissing pipes above to the papers that quickly became dust.
"Okay, technically, it's the newspaper morgue. It's also the boiler room. And sometimes mail gets sent here by mistake. But it's the perfect place for us to work on our murder-board!"
"Our what?" Clark asked in surprise. "Wait, did you ask Mr. White if we could be in here?"
"She definitely did not." Jimmy said. "Show us the murder board!"
Lois pulled out a chalkboard with several drawings and newspaper clippings covering the face of it. "I made it to help us track leads for our Superman investigation." The sight of the board made Clark uneasy.
"The Superman investigation?" Clark asked with a nervous chuckle. "Shouldn't you also be looking into that blue, sparking thing?"
"Actually, I'm more ahead than you think." Lois said. She approached one of the filing cabinets and tapped her knuckles on it softly. "You can come out now."
Just then, the bottom cabinet opened up. Sonic the Hedgehog leaped out of it and landed on the desk presenting himself to the wide-eyed Clark and Jimmy.
"Tada! Sonic the Hedgehog is in the house!"
"It's… It's you!" Jimmy gasped. He pulled out his camera and pointed it at him, but Lois stopped him.
"Whoa! Hold on, Jimmy!"
"Lois, what? I thought you wanted a picture of this thing."
"Um, I resent being called a 'thing', FYI." Sonic said.
"I do, but Sonic and I made a deal." Lois said. "He helps us with finding Superman, but we have to leave him out of the story."
"Sonic?" Clark asked eyeing the hedgehog. "That's your name."
"That's right, Donut Lord, and you're free to wear it out."
"Donut Lord?" Clark asked.
"Yeah. I remember you brought all those donuts to the Daily Planet yesterday." Sonic said.
"What?" Clark asked.
"Sonic here's… a bit of an observer." Lois said. "Anyway, Sonic's agreed to help us in exchange for helping him get off the planet."
"The planet?" Jimmy asked with sparkles in his eyes. "I KNEW IT! Aliens are among us, just like I predicted! You're an alien, and so is Superman, just like I predicted on Flambird last night!"
"Predicted on what?" Lois asked.
Jimmy pulled out a circular sticker and slapped it on the murder-board. It was shaped like a bird riding on top of a black-and-red UFO.
"Is that a plane?" Sonic asked squinting his eyes.
"It kinda looks like a bird." Clark said.
"No! I'm the bird. Flamebird." Jimmy pulled out his phone and played a video on it. The video showed a mysterious figure hidden in shadows (clearly Jimmy).
"But who and what is Superman and the blue lightning creature of Metropolis? They… are… aliens! Case closed."
"Why is it so dark in here?"
"Wait, Clark, don't look! I'm doing a thing!"
What followed next was a slip up of Clark tripping over the footage and interrupting the broadcast.
"So you already told the internet about me?" Sonic asked worryingly.
"Well, I don't think that's a problem." Clark said. "No offense to Jimmy, but he doesn't exactly have the biggest number of followers."
"Hey, I got five followers. Nay, believers. Maybe six or seven if you followed me."
"Mm-kay. I'm not following your weird bird stream." Lois said.
"And I don't even have a phone." Sonic said. "Sorry, Coocoo Bird, but I REALLY need my existence to be kept a secret. So I'll help you guys with your Superman thing, and after that, I'm gone. So… where do we start?"
"Don't you know?" Jimmy asked. "I mean, both you and Superman were at the docks yesterday."
"Yeah, Sonic knows just about as much as we do." Lois said. "Don't worry though. I've got this!" She pulled out a familiar jacket. "It's the jacket Superman wore. We can probably find someone who can run his DNA off it."
Again, Clark was uneasy, especially after seeing a strand of his hair on the jacket sleeve.
"Guys, if we break this, we'll become real reporters." Lois said. "This is the story we follow. Sure, we'll have to omit Sonic—which is kind of a bummer—but the Superman angle is more than enough."
"Uh, but there are lots of other stories we could bring Perry, right?" Clark asked. "Other than this one? That he hates?"
"Perry doesn't believe us, but we would've died without Superman and Sonic." Lois said looking at her board before looking back at Sonic. "This hedgehog was supposed to hide, but he revealed himself just to save us from certain death. And a man flew down from the sky and risked his life to save us. Neither of them did it for a reward or fame, but just because we needed help. Don't you want to know who that person is?"
Clark looked over at the board for a minute before answering. "You're right. I need to know. …I, uh, I'm not feeling so great, though. It's maybe something I ate. Oh, I should take care of this. Uh, see you later." He immediately left the room.
"For a guy who looks like he lifts, he gets sick a little too easily." Sonic commented.
"So where are we going to go for our story?" Jimmy asked.
"I can only think of one idea." Lois said. "We're going to find the woman who tried to kill us."
"Excuse me?" Sonic asked loudly. "Um, how are we going to find her out there? I can't exactly blend in with you two."
"I got an idea already." Lois said with a firm smile.
Leslie Willis, still recovering from her recent bust, wandered down the streets of Metropolis when she noticed something strange behind her. There were two people, a man and a woman, close to each other like a couple, even laughing with one another. They seemed happy… too happy for Leslie Willis.
When she got her chance, Leslie ran into the nearest dark alley. That's when the man and the woman dropped their laughing act and pulled out their guns following the thief in. But right when they thought they had her cornered, they soon learned there was no one around.
The man with the gun stepped over until he felt something crack beneath his foot. It was Leslie's sunglasses that she was wearing. That's when he and his partner knew they were led into a trap.
Leslie dropped in from above and knocked her pursuers away. They recovered and tried to zap her, but she fought back and knocked the two of them out with only one kick. Once they were out, she grabbed an earpiece from the man's ear and knew there was someone on the other side listening in.
"I don't know who you are," Leslie spoke into the earpiece, "But I'm sick of these goons and those freaks of yours following me around. So let's talk. City Bistro. Noon. Come alone or your tech is gone."
She dropped the communication device and left the alley. She was about ready to end this annoying game of cat and mouse.
"You call this a plan?" Sonic asked following Lois and Jimmy across the park. He was wearing winter clothes covering his entire body. "Why would I be wearing this? You know it's summer, right?"
"We needed a disguise to get you around town following me and Jimmy while we hunt down that criminal." Lois said.
"Why are we hunting her again?" Jimmy asked.
"Superman showed up when that scary woman with the robots did." Lois explained. "And he vanished when she did. So if we want to find Superman…"
"We find the woman he was fighting." Jimmy concluded. "And I know how! We'll—"
"Ask Sonic about her." Lois interrupted.
"Huh? Me?" Sonic asked.
"You said so yourself. You found her before we did. We just need you to find her for us again."
"That's not what I was gonna suggest." Jimmy said.
"Don't argue with your boss, Jimmy." Lois said.
"Boss?" Jimmy scoffed. "Excuse me. We, as In you and me, are both interns. We're equals."
"He's got a point, Lois." Sonic said.
"Hmm. Raise your hand if you've been at the Daily Planet for longer than Jimmy has." Lois said smugly holding her hand up. "Therefore, I have seniority, making me your boss."
"She's got another good point, Jimmy." Sonic said. "Though, Lois, I don't think I can help you find Willis? I pretty much made a lucky guess when I found her."
"Willis?" Lois asked. "Her name is Willis?"
"Yeah, Leslie Willis. I overheard her talking with her goon when I first saw her." Sonic said. "They didn't say anything about what would happen if their plan at the docks failed though."
"Well, I'm sure we can find something." Lois said. A thought then entered her mind. "Do you think Clark's okay?"
"I mean, he's sick, so he's…" Jimmy answered.
"Maybe we could bring him some soup." Lois said. "I mean, what if he has a fever? We could drop off some blankets. Do you think he likes blankets?"
"Lois, EVERYONE likes blankets." Sonic pointed out before realizing something. "Wait… Lois, do you have a crush on the big guy?"
"No!" Lois denied. "I mean, I… I like him."
"Yeah, you do." Jimmy said in an insinuating tone.
"I meant professionally, Jimmy." Lois argued.
"You sure, because I can totally see it." Sonic said. "Donut Lord and Coffee Girl. If those names don't fit, I don't know what does?"
"You were the one who gave us those names, Sonic!" Lois said. "And anyway, I don't like-like him."
"Oh, then text him." Jimmy said.
"I don't have his number."
Jimmy pulled out his phone and sent something to hers. "Now, you do."
"I can't…" Lois pulled out her phone to look at it. "Did you add hearts to his contact name? Okay, we've got more important things to focus on. So let's get back to work. Sonic, are you sure you don't know where this Leslie girl went? You did already figure out she was at the Port of Metropolis."
"Yeah, but I just took a badge off her." Sonic said. "I didn't exactly have the time to take a clue from her back when I was fighting for my life against all those robots."
"Well, if Sonic can't help, we can at least find the stolen boat." Jimmy said pulling out his camera.
"Uh, what?" Lois asked.
"We don't need to probe Sonic's memories." Jimmy said. "You remember those pictures I took yesterday?"
"Yeah, the ones that were wiped out after Sonic's electric explosion. What about them?" Lois asked.
"Well, most of the photos were wiped clean, including the ones with Sonic, but with a bit of digital magic, I was able to save one picture last night." Jimmy said. He showed a picture of a ship on his camera. "This is the boat that Leslie Willis stole. If we find the boat, we'll find her. And I happen to know where everything ends up if it washes up in Metropolis Bay. It's called the Salvage Docks."
"Oh, I know that place." Sonic said. "It's where I got all my stuff for my cave. My beanbag chair. My comic books. You know, humans have no idea how good their stuff is when they're thrown away."
"Not bad, eh, partner?" Jimmy asked gently tapping Lois with his elbow.
"I mean," Lois scoffed, "It's not the way I would go about it, but speaking as your boss, I say it's worth a shot."
"Yeah. And the best part is, there's barely anybody around. So I don't need to be dressed like I'm planning a vacation on Hoth from Empire Strikes Back." Sonic said excitedly.
After a while of searching, Lois took a breath and sighed. "All right. Well, the boat's not here. I say we go back to my plan."
"Asking the space hedgehog for something that he may not even know?" Jimmy asked. "You know it's likely that he can't even know anything."
"Well, we've searched this entire salvage docks from top to bottom and haven't found the ship." Lois reminded.
Sonic rushed back and stopped between the two. "I found the ship."
"You did?" Lois asked.
"Yep. Over on the port side!" Sonic said pointing to his right.
"That's starboard." Jimmy corrected.
Lois and Jimmy followed Sonic across the body of water and came across a familiar ship. Only, it was on its side and devoid of life.
"Looks like Leslie decided to bolt as soon as she came here." Jimmy said. "She could be anywhere by now."
"Hold that thought." Lois said. She fixed her sights on a sewer entrance with a pair of tire tracks driving right into it. The three of them looked on in and saw the tire tracks keep on going.
"She was here." Jimmy said.
"Well, looks like I graduated from running through logs right to running through sewer tunnels." Sonic said readying himself. "Gotta go fast!"
"Sonic, wait…" Lois was too late. Sonic had already disappeared in a flash of blue light streaming down the tunnel. She sighed once he was gone. "Guess we oughta follow him."
"He's really fast for a little guy." Jimmy said.
Lois and Jimmy continued their way into the tunnel not knowing that they were passing by a bomb; the first of many planted in the sewers.
Lois and Jimmy used their flashlights to light their way down the tunnel. It took a moment, but they found Sonic, who was impatiently waiting for them while rapidly tapping his foot.
"What'd you to do, take the scenic route?" Sonic asked.
"Couldn't you go at our speed?" Lois asked.
"Sorry, Lois, but Sonic don't do slow." Sonic said. "Anyway, I found something you might want to know about."
Sonic pointed down the nearby tunnel where the humans then shined their flashlights. They gasped in horror seeing the sides of the tunnels equipped with explosives that were active.
"That can't be good." Jimmy exclaimed.
"Yeah, and I just checked, there are even more explosives everywhere." Sonic said. "If they detonate, then Metropolis is going to bomb bigger than the 2013 Lone Ranger movie."
"We gotta find her before she blows everything up." Lois said before finding a nearby ladder leading to the surface.
Above where the heroes stood was the city bistro, where a white-haired man in a black-and-orange jumpsuit sat on a table keeping his eyes out for someone.
"Marine? I'm thinking Black Ops." The white-haired man turned finding Leslie Willis sitting across the table from him. "You can always spot the military types."
"You can call me Agent Wilson. And I know your history, Leslie Willis. The thief known as…"
"Let's skip to the only part I care about." Leslie interrupted. "I have something you want. You have something I want. Let's trade."
"What do you want?" Wilson asked.
"I want off your weird hit list, genius."
"You really think you're the smartest person here, don't you? You have no idea the kind of technology you're dealing with."
"Then I'd say it's a good thing I planted explosives all over the city." Leslie challenged holding up a red button for her to push with her thumb. "And I'm ready to blow this place sky high."
That threat made Wilson react in a way she expected. He dropped his smile and stared coldly at Leslie.
"Go on."
"I lifted ten containers of your tech with the robots. Arrange for safe passage out of the city for me, and I'll tell you where they are."
Wilson narrowed his eyes. "You really like angering people, don't you? Well, if you're committed to escaping, I should probably give you a head's up about something."
Leslie raised her eyebrow. "Oh? And what's that?"
"While the technology you stole is advanced, there's another set of tech that's just as powerful. Maybe even more so. And the scientist behind that tech… Well, let's just say my superiors are considering letting him into our organization."
"And that's supposed to scare me?" Leslie asked. "I told you, I want you and your circus to leave me alone."
"Well, my bosses and I might," Wilson said, "But the thing about this scientist I told you about is that he doesn't answer to anybody. He does what he wants whenever he wants, and the government just lets him do it because of his progress. So if he wants to hunt you down, there's rarely anything that can stop him. And trust me, his intelligence is matched only by his level of insanity. If you plan on going out there… You'd best plan for if you're caught in Dr. Robotnik's crosshairs."
Leslie took a second to think. The idea of a mad scientist who plays by his own rules startled her. Even so, though, she shook herself and relaxed.
"It's a risk I'm willing to take."
Just then, she heard the sound of metal scraping behind her. She turned and spotted Lois and Jimmy climbing out of the sewer.
"Them?!" Leslie asked before angrily turning to Wilson. "I said come alone!"
She kicked at the table sending Wilson knocked back, but he quickly recovered just as Leslie was about to push her detonator. He whipped out a couple of electric batons and sent the detonator out of Leslie's hand and flying across the bistro.
"You're right." Wilson said. "I am Black Ops." He swung his batons at Leslie, who dodged them all and leaped over him leaving a trail of electric sparks.
"And you're right…" Leslie said removing her jacket revealing a high-tech armor around her arms and shoulders generating electricity. "I AM the smartest one here." She shot out a jolt of lightning at Wilson launching him far across the bistro.
"Hey, what's going on?" Sonic called up to Lois and Jimmy.
"Willis is fighting some guy and shooting lightning everywhere!" Jimmy yelled out.
"She lost her detonator and I see it, but it's chaos up here!" Lois said noting the electric storm sparking everywhere. "Innocent people are gonna get hurt!"
"What?" Sonic gasped beginning to worry about the citizens of Metropolis up above. He readied his feet, but he knew that if there was a crowd of people, he'd be discovered for sure. He was at a crossroads on what to do.
"Jimmy, you start taking pictures while I stop the explosives from going off." Lois said running to the detonator.
"Lois, wait!" Jimmy said before finding himself approached by Leslie.
The electrical villain readied to fire a destructive blast at him, but Agent Wilson attacked her to get her attention. The two of them continued fighting until Leslie used the electricity in the ground to launch him up into the air. Once he landed, he quickly recovered, but Leslie did the same trick on a nearby car sending it over to Wilson was. He looked up, but knew he didn't have time to dodge it.
"That man's going to get crushed!" Jimmy yelled.
His words reached down the sewer where Sonic was. Hearing it, he acted immediately out of instinct just like he did at the did at the docks the other day. He ran over to where Wilson was and jumped up toward the car. He shattered it to pieces just before it crushed him beneath it.
To Wilson, he car just exploded all on its own. He looked around trying to find the cause and stopped when he noticed Sonic standing right beside him. His eyes widened seeing a giant, blue hedgehog brushing the fur on his arm.
"What…" Wilson gasped silently.
"Yeah, you're welcome for the save, silverfox." Sonic said. "Now, if you excuse me, I've got an electrical psycho to ground." He ran ahead toward Leslie while Wilson just watched him run.
"The bosses are gonna want to know about this." Wilson said to himself.
Sonic ran around Leslie to get her attention. When he did, though, she was less than pleased to see him.
"You!" Leslie shouted.
"Me!" Sonic shouted back.
"You're barbecued, you giant rat!"
Leslie fired lighting bolts at Sonic as he ran luring her aim away from the civilians. Once some of them reached a distance, however, they pulled out their phones and aimed their cameras at the super-fast hedgehog fighting the criminal.
"Missed me!" Sonic taunted in between shots. ZAP! "Too slow!" ZAP! "I gotta say, I'm really proud of myself being able to outrun lightning."
"Do you ever SHUT UP!" Leslie yelled out blasting out a sudden wave of electricity that Sonic was unprepared for. It hit him full-on knocking him across the bistro. He landed right the feet of Lois and Jimmy, who helped him back up to his feet.
"Sonic, you okay?" Lois asked.
"I think I just got a bonus life." Sonic groaned.
Leslie knew this was her chance. While Sonic was still disoriented from her blast, she used her powers to raise up a large, white truck, which she then threw over at him, Lois, and Jimmy. The three of them braced themselves for what they knew was coming.
The truck made a thumping sound, but it wasn't when it landed on Sonic, Lois, and Jimmy. It didn't even hit them. They looked on up and saw that a single man was flying above them with the truck carried with his bare hands.
The man who saved them had a chiseled-shaped head and black hair. His costume was mostly blue with red shorts, red belt, and a yellow-and-red logo on his chest shaped like the letter S. His red cape flowed to the wind.
One look at him, and the three knew the same man who helped them at the docks had come back to save them again: Superman.
"Well, you wanted Superman." Sonic said.
After setting the truck down, Superman floated over to his friends. "Lo…" He cleared his throat to stop himself. "Miss, are you all right?"
"Yes." Lois answered. "Do you have a comment for the Daily Planet?"
Before anything though, Superman got shot with lightning by Leslie. He quickly recovered and flew back at her direction.
"Or maybe we talk after this!" Lois called out.
"Hey, don't leave me out of the action!" Sonic said before running over to join in the battle.
"Freaks!" Leslie shouted at Superman and Sonic trying to blast them both with her lightning and cars which she threw with her powers. "YOU made me lose my robots! YOU ruined my operation! YOU PUT A TARGET ON MY BACK!"
"Hey, flying dude, look out!" Sonic yelled just as he saw the car being tossed to his companion. He shot up as fast as he could and knocked him out of the way before continuing to run avoiding the hail of lightning that was thrown at him.
"So… here we are again. We've been through so much together. Now you understand why there's a psychotic lightning woman shooting bolts a supersonic, blue hedgehog and a flying man in a colorful costume. Wanna know how it ends? Yeah, me too."
While Sonic continued to run, Leslie succeeded in dropping a truck on top of Superman. She then looked over at the open sewer planning to detonate the bombs below with her powers.
"Not so fast, shock jock!" Sonic exclaimed running at Leslie. He hit her in the chest making her slide backwards. However, much to his surprise, some of the electricity that came from his attack was absorbed into her suit.
"I've had enough of you, rodent!" Leslie yelled. She fired another lightning blast, but before it could hit Sonic, Superman jumped in front of him taking the full force of the lightning for him. He fell to his knees after the painful shock.
Meanwhile, Wilson saw a glowing gem on the back of Leslie's armor and came up with an idea. He readied his electric baton for a strike.
"Superman!" Sonic cried out. "Why'd you jump in the way?"
"I… Well, it was the right thing for me to do." Superman responded.
"It's the LAST thing you'll ever do." Leslie said. "Why don't you two just die and get out of my—"
Suddenly, Agent Wilson carried out his surprise attack. He thrusted his baton deep in the gemstone on the back of her armor and set it to overcharge. Leslie screamed in pain as her lightning powers began sparking out of control forcing everyone nearby to step back. She hovered in the air surrounded by an electrical orb that was magnetic enough to lure in metal objects around the bistro. Part of her armor was torn off in the process and her skin became infused with the strange technology.
"We've got to stop her!" Superman yelled.
"No kidding, Sherlock!" Sonic yelled. "Any ideas though?"
Superman looked around and noticed the energy coming from the nearly-broken gem on Leslie's back. "There! That gem! It must be the power source! If we get rid of it, we might just stop her powers!"
"Good a plan as any, I guess!" Sonic said. "I'm gonna run around and build up energy. Problem is, I think she can absorb my electrical energy. I don't want to know what happens if I go at her now that she's unstable."
Superman thought for a moment before getting an idea. "Wait. What if it can be too much energy?"
"You lost me."
"If you build up enough energy and go for a direct strike for her power source, it might give her suit more energy than it can handle."
"That's a bit insane." Sonic said before nearly getting electrocuted by multiple lightning strikes. "But due to lack of better plans, I guess I'll go along with it. Though I'm going to need time to build up enough energy to hit her with. I need time."
"And I can give you that." Superman said flying over to Leslie.
"Well, I guess it's good to know he's on our side." Sonic said. He turned to the other humans. "Lois! Jimmy! You might want to get clear! And make sure no one else is either! It's gonna get messy!" He ran off and started going in circles while Lois and Jimmy cleared the bistro.
Superman entered the orb, but got struck by lightning almost immediately. Leslie, who's entire body was changing into electrical energy at that point, flew over to him and roughly grabbed him by the front of his suit.
"IF I'M GOING DOWN, I'M TAKING YOU WITH ME, FREAK! AND YOUR LITTLE RAT TOO!" She grabbed onto Superman's face and delivered a powerful shock to him.
"I'm not here to hurt you!" Superman cried out enduring the shocks. "We're here to help!"
"We?" Leslie asked looking around. "Wait! Where's the little one?"
She continued to look until she realized where Sonic was. He built up enough momentum and speed to have his entire body covered in blue lightning just like it did back at the docks. Once he had enough, he ran ahead and jumped over to the flying metal objects on his way to the orb. Jumping from one car to another, Sonic made his way in and dashed his way to the back of Leslie's back.
As soon as he made direct contact with the gemstone, though, both he and Superman bore witness to a strange vision.
The vision showed an entire armada of black, white, and red spaceships firing their weapons. After that, another vision showed a red portal shaped like an upside-down pentagon. It opened up right above an Earth field in front of several soldiers.
As quickly as the visions came, they left. Sonic bounced off Leslie's back, and all the electricity was quickly drawn into the gemstone itself, which then shattered. Leslie groaned falling unconscious until Superman saved her from falling before gently placing her on the steps.
Sonic landed on the ground as soon as soon as the metal objects dropped as well. Without Leslie's electro-magnetic field, everything landed on the ground.
"Are you okay?" Superman asked Lois and Jimmy.
"I am now, Superman." Lois said.
"That… was… AWESOME!" Sonic cheered. "First, there was her with her 'Ooh, I'm going to kill you because I'm evil', and then, there was us with the whole 'No way, because we're good guys'! Man, I don't know about you, but I could go for some celebratory chili dogs. Who's up for chili dogs?"
"Okay. Take it easy, you hyperactive little alien." Lois eased. "First, let's just get Willis over at…"
Everyone looked to where Superman left Leslie, but much to their surprise, she was nowhere to be seen. She wasn't on the steps of the bistro. On top of that, Agent Wilson was nowhere to be seen either.
"Where'd she go?" Jimmy asked.
"She couldn't have just left on her own. She was unconscious." Sonic said.
"I don't know." Superman said looking around noticing the mess that came from the battle. "But I think the thing we should do is clean up."
"That'll be easy. Race ya!" Sonic said before running off.
"I'm not looking to race." Superman chuckled. He joined Sonic on the cleanup.
Within a few short moments, all the cars were brought back on the streets, all the fires have been extinguishes, and the bistro tables have been restored. All the while, Jimmy took his pictures.
Once he was done, Sonic looked around and noticed that from far off, citizens were coming out of their hiding places to point their camera phones at him and Superman. At first, he was utterly distraught. But then, his spirits were lifted when he heard one of them clap their hands. He looked out and saw one woman smiling and growing her applause. Beside her, a man joined in and clapped with her. Soon, just about everyone around them were clapping and applauding.
"They… They like is." Sonic said just about choked out. "They really like us."
"They do, don't they?" Superman asked softly. He then flew out into the sky without another word.
After leaving the scene, Superman returned to his apartment and took a look at himself in the full-length mirror. That's when his phone started buzzing. He took it and answered it in his Clark Kent tone.
"Hey-o, Lois!" he asked before regretting what he said. "Hey-o?"
"Hey-o to you." Lois returned with a nervous chuckle. "Open your front door."
"Uh, one sec." Superman then quickly changed out of his Superman clothes and into his regular clothes. After a bit of tidying up, he opened the door and found Lois standing on the other side of his door.
"Surprise!" Lois greeted. "I was gonna call, but then I thought, 'hey, why stop at calling you', and then, I kinda just started walking, and then I…" She was suddenly cut off by Sonic who rushed into Clark's apartment.
"So this is where you've been hiding out while we've been in mortal danger?" Sonic asked zipping everywhere. "I admit, it looks comfy, but it could use something to spruce up the place."
"Oh. You're here too." Clark said nervously.
"Sorry. I didn't know where to put him, so I decided to have him tag along." Lois explained. "Anyway, Clark, we got the story! Perry literally stopped the presses. I wish you'd been there to see it."
"Oh, yeah! You should have seen it, Clark." Sonic said. "There was a lot of lightning and fighting and events so frightening. I don't know why I started rhyming. It just came up naturally. But that wasn't even the best part. The best part was that everyone in Metropolis saw me, and they already liked me! I can't believe this actually happened! I NEVER thought this would happen!" He laid himself on a chair. "This is the best day of my life."
"Really." Clark said with a smile. "That must have felt good."
"I still can't believe we pulled it off." Lois said. "I mean, we did, but I can't believe it."
"Well, I knew you'd make it happen." Clark assured Lois.
"You just want in on the byline."
"No, it's the truth. There was never any doubt in my mind that you'd find Superman. Because you, Lois Lane, are extraordinary." Clark's remark made Lois blush. "And, uh, driven and smart and… and funny and… smart."
"You said that already.
"Well, I stand by it."
"Yeesh!" Sonic said averting his eyes. "Get a room, you two. There's a sixteen-year-old right here."
All of a sudden, Jimmy appeared in between everyone interrupting Clark and Lois' moment. "Oh, good. You're all here. You have to see this." He pulled out a newspaper to show everyone. "Flip gave me an advance copy of tomorrow's paper."
Lois reads the headline out loud. "'Daily Planet confirms, the Superman and Sonic the Hedgehog are real'. WE MADE THE FRONT PAGE!"
Jimmy, though, wasn't as enthused as Lois was. "Read the byline."
Lois took another look at the paper. "'By Cat Grant, Ronnie Troupe, and Seve Lombard'? WHAT?!"
"Who are they?" Sonic asked.
"They're a bunch of story-stealing jerks who have nothing to do with this story!" Lois yelled. "Cat Grant's a gossip queen, Steve Lombard's more of a sports guy, and Ronnie had NOTHING to do with all this! Why would Perry give them credit for the story? He wouldn't even know Superman and Sonic existed without us!"
"Maybe he credited someone else since our investigation was unofficial." Jimmy said earning a killer glare from Lois.
"Yikes." Sonic said with an uneasy expression. "That kinda… makes what I'm about to say a little harder to say."
Lois sighed. "Go ahead, Sonic. What is it?"
"Well, I'm sorry you didn't get the credit on the Superman story, but technically, I DID help you get it. So… you know…"
Lois looked at Sonic before exhaling a big breath. "All right. A deal's a deal. Let's head back to the docks."
"The docks?" Clark asked. "Why are we going to the docks?"
"To find my rings." Sonic said.
"Rings?" Jimmy asked.
"Yeah, this bag of magic rings he had, but dropped at the robot battle." Lois explained. "They apparently open portals to other planets or something."
"Wait, THAT'S what these are for?" Jimmy asked. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the bag full of rings he had on him.
Sonic nearly fell out of his seat seeing his lost items back in his sight. "My rings! You had my rings the entire time?"
"Well, no one said anything about rings." Jimmy said handing Sonic the bag. "I found these things at the docks and figured it was some kind of alien currency or something. How was I supposed to know they open portals?"
"How do they even work?" Clark asked.
"Watch." Sonic pulled out a ring and tossed it to the air behind him. Suddenly, the ring grew and opened a window to another space on the other side. The portal led to a large, sunny field covered entirely with mushrooms. Sonic frowned seeing it before turning to everyone. "Well, it's been fun."
"Wait," Lois said, "You're going there? Is there anyone there at all?"
"Nope." Sonic shook his head. "Just an empty, lifeless planet full of nothing but mushrooms. No video games. No movies. No comic books. No… Nobody else. So… goodbye." He turned and was about to take his first step through.
"Wait!" Clark spoke up interrupting Sonic. "You're actually leaving? You make that place seem awful."
"It is, but I don't have a choice." Sonic said.
"You always have a choice." Lois said. "Why do you think you don't?"
"I told you, if people knew I existed, there'd be trouble." Sonic said. "And now, everyone in Metropolis knows my secret. Maybe even people outside. I was warned that people are gonna either want my power for themselves or hate me for even having it. It's safer for everyone if I just leave."
"After what happened today, do you really think people hate you?" Lois asked. "I was there. I saw that heroic thing you were doing with Superman. And so did everyone else in Metropolis. They see you as a good person, just like I did when I first saw you."
"Me too." Jimmy agreed.
"And who knows?" Clark asked. "Maybe Superman feels the same, that people aren't going to accept him for who he is, but he still goes on despite not knowing what may happen."
"You said so yourself, Sonic. Today was the best day of your life." Lois said. "Do you really want it to be your last day on Earth when you know there are other days just like it?"
Sonic heeded the advice of his three friends and glanced back at the portal to the mushroom planet. He looked down at his rings again before taking a deep breath. He turned his back on the portal letting it close behind him.
"All right, guys. You twisted my arm. I'm staying."
"Well, this will be interesting." Clark commented.
"Really? That's awesome!" Lois shouted. "And hey, if you like, you can stay at my place. I mean, according to you, you practically live there anyway."
"Oh, that'd be awesome!" Sonic exclaimed. "It's certainly an improvement over the cave I've been hiding in for the past ten years. And hey, Lois! As a way of saying thanks, I'd like to help you even more with your reporter career. I'm going to give you something so ironclad, that Perry has no CHOICE but to credit you."
"You will?" Lois asked. "What?"
Sonic gave a dramatic pause. "An exclusive interview with… ME!"
Leslie Willis gasped as she woke up finding herself strapped to a table in the middle of an empty room along with a metal collar around her neck. Not only that, but her veins were blue and glowing. She was still feeling the electricity active under her skin. In front of her was a window that wasn't transparent. A voice came from it, but she immediately recognized it as Agent Wilson.
"Leslie Willis. We found the rest of your explosives. Your plan failed. Now, you're going to tell us everything."
Leslie scoffed. "The explosives were a distraction. While you wasted your time on them, your tech was carted away by every low-level criminal in Metropolis, because I sent a message telling them where I hid it."
"We'll get it back." Wilson promised. "Nemesis Omega. Zero Day. Task Force X. Tell us what you know."
"Tell you what a bunch of gibberish means?"
All of a sudden, her collar quickly lit up causing her to scream feeling a jolt of red lightning shooting through her. She was in agonizing pain as this wasn't the kind of electricity she was accustomed to earlier. Once the pain ended, she had a frightened face.
"Zero Day. Tell us what you know."
"Nothing!" Leslie answered before feeling the painful shock again causing her to fall to the floor. "I have no idea, okay? I'm not lying!"
"The flying man. The blue hedgehog." Wilson said. "Tell us what you know."
"They're not with you?" Leslie asked. "Who are you people?"
Wilson chuckled. "That's easy, Willis. We're the good guys. Now, tell us everything you know about Superman and Sonic the Hedgehog."
"I swear!" Leslie answered desperately. "I don't know anything! I thought they were with you! Please, please, spare me!"
On the other side of the window, Agent Wilson had two other people watching over his interrogation. One was a middle-aged Asian-American man with a stern look on his face. The other was an African-American woman with the same expression.
"Well, General?" the black woman asked the man beside him.
The one called the General sighed. "I don't think so, Waller. It seems like this two-bit crook knows even less than we do. Let's just hold her until we figure out what to do with her."
"Sounds like a plan." Waller said. "What about this 'Sonic the Hedgehog'? The Daily Planet describes him as a super-fast, super-powerful hedgehog capable of human speech. Do you think it's any relation to…"
"I don't want to think about it." the General answered. "All I care about is ending this before things get worse."
"Very well then." Waller said before hearing a notification sound on her phone. When she checked it out, she widened her eyes and gave out a groan.
"What is it?" the General asked.
"It's Checkmate." Waller answered. "He just gave us confirmation. Our 'specialist' is on his way."
"You're kidding." Agent Wilson said turning to the conversation. "And to think, I was only bluffing when I told our sparky pal about him."
"Well, after the loss of our tech and the sudden appearance of this flying alien as well as this fast hedgehog, our superiors decided we needed additional brains, which is what you-know-who provides. I don't like it, but unfortunately, it's out of our hands."
The General sighed. "Fine. I'll get things ready for our 'special' guest, Dr. Robotnik."