The Ticket to Tomorrow
Chapter 32 - Robot Rumble
Chapter Summary
Previously, after the gang met Ship Three's GeoPlant, Luida departed. Lois and Clark went off to have some alone time. Until their intimate time together was rudely interrupted by emergency alarms.
Now, with intruders reported in the Plant chamber, Superman arrives on the scene in a blur. What trouble awaits this time?
Meryl tugged Lois's arm, grabbing her attention. "C'mon! We need to go find them, right?" The other woman unholstered a small silver pistol, opening the chamber to check if it was loaded.
Lois nodded. "Right!" She took a step. "Oh, wait! Gimme one sec!" She pivoted, stepping back into the room.
She grabbed her bag sitting on a side table. Lois reached inside and snatched the stolen League blaster. As soon as she was out the door, the two women dashed side by side, following the crew's trail.
Emergency lights washed the walls in a red haze, and roaring alarms drowned out the thudding of their rapid footsteps and racing heartbeats.
Clark shot down the halls of Ship Three toward the lower decks faster than a speeding bullet. Barely a few seconds passed before he arrived at the Plant chamber.
Still warped by superspeed, Clark observed the surroundings. Everything and everyone around him stood frozen in place. All sounds muted except for his own heartbeat and breathing.
Like at December's facility, a horde of robots crowded the chamber's central platform. A giant hole had been ripped or blasted into the nearby wall, making an opening into the bowels of the ship. Another robot was in the middle of clambering through the jagged hole, joining the others.
These hunks of metal weren't extraordinarily coordinated or fast. However, if they were as tough as the Task Force X or Kryptonian robots, Superman would be up against some worrisome odds.
Since he'd been distracted by fighting Lobo before, Superman never had a chance to stop the robots during the December City heist.
Not spotting that Lobo guy in their midst, Clark heaved a sigh of relief. Regardless, he needed to stay cautious.
Clark's relief didn't last long.
A concerning number of SEEDS crew members still occupied the room.
They wore the typical gray and white uniforms. Some held holo-screen tablets or other maintenance tools. No one was bearing weapons for defense. So merely scientists or engineers?
Clark unsurprisingly outpaced the security crew here in his haste.
Over on the circular maintenance platform, a few brave personnel hunched over control panels typing frantically. Most of the crew raced towards the exit with wide, panicked eyes, though.
Everyone appeared still-framed in the middle of their actions.
Returning to normal speed, Superman appeared as if from thin air. His cloak whipped to his side with the whooshing gust of air.
Shrill cries of alarm and fear filled the cavernous Plant chamber. The robots' clanging footsteps echoed as they spread out along the raised corridor. And the combination of the ship's alarms and a high-pitched ringing Clark couldn't pinpoint was almost deafening.
"Everyone, evacuate now!" Clark shouted.
Most of the crew swiveled their heads his way. They gave a mix of fearful and confused expressions and reactions to the chaos and to Superman's sudden arrival. Some stood unmoving with gazes locked onto the invaders.
The suspended metal platform creaked under the numerous robots' combined weight. With each footstep, the surface trembled, its structural integrity straining. Because the walkway was only so wide, the largest robots could barely fit single-file.
After a moment of surprise, more crew members scrambled to follow those who'd already evacuated.
"Help! Someone, p-please, help! D-don't leave us!"
Clark's gaze snapped to the far side of the chamber. He swore (even Ma and Pa never heard him use such language!) under his breath, noticing that a group of people were trapped, unable to make it past the robots and escape.
Before Superman could fly over, a huge, bronze-coated robot closest to the computer consoles ambled forward. It stepped within reach of the desperate crew, who were focused on their terminals.
"Watch out!" Clark yelled. But before anyone could react, he sped forward.
Superman swooped in, grabbing two engineers around their waists. He just barely prevented them from being trampled under the bulky, metal legs of a machine twice their height and ten times their weight.
He deposited the pair near the exit. After a few seconds of disorientation, they quickly ran off, too frightened to linger and give thanks. Clark sighed in relief again, knowing they got out safely.
But a looming shadow crept up from behind him. "Active survey disruption detected. Engaging perimeter control protocols."
Superman spun around just in time to raise both hands and block the robot's hammer fist strike. From the force of the impact, the metal grates under his feet trembled with a thunderous crraaackk.
"Threat assessed. Adjusting power levels."
Clark grimaced. "Oh oh…"
The robot raised its fist. And struck again.
Before he could even react, Superman rocketed down, slamming onto the identical platform below. At the same time, the metal cracked and snapped in multiple places.
Clark instinctively covered his head as the bent and broken walkway panels collapsed and crashed around him.
Clark experienced a wicked sense of déjà vu—assuredly from the fight in December.
He groaned, wiping the smallest trickle of blood off his lip and chin. Then began to push himself to stand.
However, more grinding and creaking metallic noises from above had him glancing upward. Clark's eyes went wide, and he immediately rolled out of the way as the robot came crashing down too.
The machine twitched wildly for a moment as it attempted to get up, but it appeared to be too severely damaged to successfully right itself.
Superman spared a moment to x-ray vision through its metal armor. He wanted to make sure there wasn't some lifeform inside controlling it.
Thankfully he didn't detect any organic life.
Certain this robot was out of commission, Superman flew up and under the platform. He needed to prevent it from collapsing further. His eyes lit up red, beams of heat vision rapidly melted and rewelded the compromised panels.
More screaming from the few remaining engineers snatched his attention, though. Finished with the last weld, Superman zoomed over.
"I don't think so! How about you pick on someone your own size!" Superman flew with both fists forward. He crashed into a grayish-green robot that was getting too close for comfort to the trapped crew members, backing them into a corner.
At this point, Clark wasn't going to hold back. These robot invaders were done testing his endurance, patience, and willingness to solve things without a fight.
While he'd been distracted by the first scuffle, many of the other robots had shambled over to the Plant tanks. They had set up a row of those hovering transport lifts and were now busy ripping the Plants from their housings and lashing the tanks down.
Clark screamed internally. He refused to fail again—refused to allow more Plants to be stolen like last time.
In his short time on No Man's Land, and through his travels with Meryl and Milly, he'd learned that the Plants were people in their own right too.
At the same time, Superman couldn't help the desire to rescue the crew too. But how could he decide which lives took priority?
The robots were actively trying to physically harm the humans, and at least the Plants were being "handled with care." As much good that did them.
A smaller, less bulky robot turned to Superman, reacting to its companion getting smashed into scrap metal. Rather than outright attacking, the robot's "mouth" lit up yellow as it began to talk, or rather broadcast a half-scripted message.
"Interference with business operations of the Intergalactic Shopping Network by civilians of Delta Trianguli 4 is not permitted. Residents must refrain from engaging with surveyor drones deployed by The Cluster. Negotiations are to be conducted solely with an authorized trade representative. Thank you for your cooperation and business!"
"Oh, enough already for Pete's sake!" Clark groaned, rolling his eyes. "Ever heard of 'no soliciting!'"
Superman punched the robot square in the jaw. The machine lurched and toppled backward over the platform railing to the void below.
Clark began flying over to try to knock out another one, but —
"Take this, ya rusted bucket of bolts!"
Clark stopped short. His gaze swept to the entrance just as a thin beam of blinding turquoise light pierced through the Plant chamber. It cut straight through the armor of multiple robots.
The robots tripped backward, falling one by one like dominos, coming to rest motionless and completely inoperable. The sight was almost comical if not for the dire circumstances.
Clark blinked, clearing the residual streak of light from his eyes. He squinted at the source of the beam and caught eyes with that shady guy in the black suit.
Wolfwood swung that huge cross of his to rest over his shoulder like some… some kind of RPG launcher or something…
Clark gaped. No wonder the man had been giving him a weird vibe, constantly carrying around an oversized concealed weapon.
The dark metal of the weapon was lit from inside by an identical turquoise glow. The light was a slightly different hue than the Plant tanks' vibrant blue, which filled the chamber.
An alarmed expression came over Wolfwood's face while Clark stared. The man shifted his weapon in Clark's direction. "Get down, idiot!"
Despite Superman's usual superspeed and swift reactions, he just "huh'ed?" and turned around slow as molasses.
Of course, he immediately got down. But only because yet another robot smashed downward with its blocky fists, sending Superman careening to the platform below yet again.
"Oof!" Clark huffed, smacking face and chest first into the grated floor.
A resounding metallic crrrr-clanggg rang out. Now this platform creaked and groaned, angry from a third impact.
"Ugh… Real smooth, Kent. Hit me once, shame on you, hit me twice, shame on me…" he mumbled. Clark grunted, pushed himself up first to hands and knees, and then stood.
Superman took a deep breath and launched into the air. He sped up, arm and fist raised. Then barreled into a rusted red robot manning a hover lift. A second later, its mechanical limbs were ripped apart and tossed to the sides. He then took out another handful of robots in similar fashion.
At this point, Clark had lost track of the number of robots left standing. It felt like he took out more bots than there were to begin with. With a sense of dread, he remembered the one climbing through their crude, makeshift entrance.
Clark glanced at the opening and saw, to his dismay, the blue glow of one of the Plant tanks fading into the shadows through the hole. A second robot was attempting to maneuver another Plant tank toward their escape route.
Just as Superman swept towards the drone and the Plant on the transport lift, a streak of gray passed in front of his face. The gray object, a thick, cylindrical projectile was about the length of his arm. Clark slowed and watched as it sprung open like a claw and smashed into the robot's side. Despite its massive size and weight, the robot tipped to the side.
Two more projectiles shot the robot with reverberating thunk, thunks!
The third one was the charm. The bot was knocked completely off center, tipping to its side until it fell over the short railing along the walkway. A moment later, another loud crash resounded from below.
"Gotcha, you naughty robot!" a feminine voice cheered from closer to the chamber entrance.
Again, Clark glanced that way, where he saw a beaming Milly standing next to Wolfwood, both with their ridiculously large weapons raised and at the ready. Milly lifted her multi-barreled stun gun onto her shoulder. The pose matched Wolfwood's in a strange yet kind of endearing way.
Milly cautiously stepped over to the railing and peered down with a pout. "Stealing Plants is wrong!"
The woman then spun on her heel and gave Superman a big thumbs up. "Hi, Mr. Superman! We're here to help!"
Clark gaped a second time, floating closer to his new acquaintances and resting his feet on the floor.
Of all people, Jimmy peaked his face out from behind Milly. "Yep! Here to help my best pal! Best alien robot fighting pros around." He waved with a sheepish expression and a nervous laugh.
Clark slapped a palm against his face and peered to the ceiling with a heavy sigh. "No!"
—T&J—
With Milly and Wolfwood's help, Clark was able to guide the rest of the crew over to safety. Jimmy then helped one of the Plant tech supervisors get everyone out of the chamber in an orderly fashion. Just as the last few engineers evacuated, a meager first wave of Ship Three security forces arrived.
Then the trio (Jimmy excluded, sorry buddy) and security finished taking out the remaining robot thieves.
Once the bots were all out of commission, Jimmy and Milly decided to go run for more help. They'd need to get at least some engineers back who'd know what to do next with the Plants.
Wolfwood looked like he wanted to go with them, but for whatever reason decided to stay. As opposed to his restraint earlier, he eagerly pulled out a cigarette, flipped open a lighter, lit up, and took a long drag.
"Is this really the time for that?" Clark asked. He realized the reprimand came out more bitter and weary than he intended.
"Tch. I hear that enough from Little Lady. Ya gotta be on my ass about it too, Boy Scout?" He tucked his lighter and carton into his jacket lining pocket. Then trudged over to sit on a blocky robot arm that'd been ripped off. "Take a breather, will ya? Nothin' we can really do till the engineers get back."
Clark frowned, not agreeing. He supposed Wolfwood didn't have much scientific or technical background with that sentiment.
"There's more we can do until then," he said. "I'll be right back."
Zooming off in a blur, Superman flew through the maze of smashed-opened holes the robots made in their break-in. He came to an abrupt stop at the lip of the ship's exterior hull.
Clark peered out, but the sandstorm cloaked the robots' escape. He shifted his vision just in time to see a small shuttle in the far distance racing toward outer space. Superman could try to follow, but he decided to finish up repairs on Ship Three first. And make sure everyone was okay.
Still, Clark gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, knowing the thieves got away with one or more Plants. Again.
He whooshed back to the Plant chamber to find Wolfwood stomping out his cigarette. The man gave him a briefly narrowed look but then grinned toothily.
"Ya got some pretty nifty moves there, Big Blue," Wolfwood said, his voice shifting into a joking tone.
"Uh, thank you?" Clark replied, raising a brow. "You have a pretty nifty… laser beam weapon."
Wolfwood grinned and patted his weapon. "Punisher's always got my back. She hasn't been singing this sweetly in years."
"'The Punisher?'" Clark repeated with a raised brow. "Bit of a crude name, don't you think?"
Wolfwood narrowed his eyes again but then burst out into laughter, slapping his knee. "I woulda named her Angelina if it were up to me. I was even thinkin' bout renamin' her, but it wouldn't feel right, ya know?"
"Uh, sure. I suppose…"
"Oh! By the way, I have somethin' for ya," Wolfwood pulled out a small folded piece of paper and held it out between two fingers.
Clark took the paper, curious but also confused. He unfolded it and blinked, further baffled. The paper read:
Nicholas D. Wolfwood
Pastor & Undertaker
Invoice:
$$38,000
For services rendered and associated expenses
"Wha—" Clark began.
"'The calvary has arrived!'" Jimmy's upbeat voice grabbed his attention.
Additional security forces escorting the returning Plant technicians trickled into the chamber. Jimmy jogged up while waving enthusiastically, having spotted Clark and Wolfwood.
Clark was startled to see that not only had Milly returned with him but also that Lois and Meryl had caught up with them somewhere along the way.
"I always wanted to say that," Jimmy said, a wide grin.
Lois and Meryl both breathed heavily. Meryl tucked her tiny pistols back into holsters under her jacket and then bent over, hands on her knees. Lois placed a hand on her lower back and stretched. She winced at an ache likely caused by the long sprint across the enormous ship.
In her other hand, Lois held that kryptonite energy blaster. The sight made Clark instinctively take a step back.
"Looks like… we missed… all the action," Lois said, between catching her breath.
"And to think… my favorite… humanoid localized disaster… wasn't even here," Meryl added.
Meryl glanced around the room. A concerned look crossed her face. A bit of relief sparked in her eyes as Wolfwood stepped closer.
"Sorry, Little Lady. Party's all over," Wolfwood replied, patting her shoulder. "If ya weren't so busy working all the time, maybe you wouldn't always miss out on all the fun."
"Pftt. When's the last time you did an honest day of work?"
"Today, actually!" he gestured around the whole chamber.
Clark jumped a bit when Lois tugged the piece of paper out of his hand. "What's this?" she asked.
"Uh…" Clark wasn't sure what to say.
"38,000 double-dollars?!" Lois cried. "For services and expenses?"
Meryl peeked over at the outburst just as Lois waved a familiar looking invoice in front of Wolfwood's face.
"Nicholas D. Wolfwood!" both women shouted between clenched teeth with matching scowls.
"Like I said. Honest living! Cross my heart! Ow! Not the shin!"
—T&J—
A number of Plant tanks were still detached from their housings, and a concerning amount of damaged wiring and machinery littered the floor.
Clark used whatever material he could find to patch the numerous holes leading out to the exterior hull.
With most of the repairs done, the scrap piles of robo-remains hauled to a storage warehouse in the mechanical engineering ward, and the techs busy rehousing and restabilizing the Plants, Superman's job here was mostly done.
He brushed his palms together as he looked around for anything else to help with.
He spotted Jimmy huddled over a computer terminal with one of the engineers. Clark floated over to his friend and overheard the engineer explaining something about the Plants' programming commands used for material generation and other such technical babble.
Clark cleared his throat. Jimmy and the older man looked over their shoulders. "Sorry to interrupt. Jimmy can I borrow you for a minute?"
"Sure thing, pal," Jimmy said, briefly looking his friend over. "Hold that thought Dr. Stephenson, I'll be back in a sec."
Clark and Jimmy walked to a quiet corner out of the crew's way. "You wouldn't believe how crazy awesome the Plants are, Kansas. They can literally generate practically anything out of nothing! Can you imagine—"
"Jimmy," Clark interrupted. "I need to go after those drones that escaped. At least one, if not more, stole another Plant."
"Go after…? Wait, just wait a minute. You know where they went?"
Clark nodded. "I checked outside and saw their shuttle flee into space. That Cluster mothership, or whatever of theirs, is out there, orbiting the planet. "
"No way, man. You can't go up there alone!"
"I might be the only one that can go."
Before Jimmy tried to talk him out of it, Clark rose from the floor and began to float toward the Plant chamber exit.
"Clark! Wait! Don't go!" Jimmy shouted.
Clark closed his eyes, feeling guilty about not listening to his best friend.
"Wait! Clark! Where are you going?!" Lois cried, pushing through the crew and not so carefully climbing over broken equipment. She'd clearly heard Jimmy shout and began to rush over.
Clark slowed and floated closer. "I have to go after them. This needs to end," he replied. "I couldn't stop them in December, and we couldn't stop them here. This needs to be taken straight to the source of the problem."
She grasped his hand as tightly as she could. For a second, Clark didn't want her to let go either. He let her tug him, his feet touched down, resting on the grated platform only a few yards from the chamber's airlock door.
Lois's eyes went wide. "The source? As in that worldship? In space? Is that even possible for you? You might be able to fly, but outer space?"
Clark stooped down to pull Lois into a reassuring embrace. He closed his eyes again, letting himself soak up the strength she radiated so easily.
The deep whir of the huge sliding vault-like doors opening disturbed the private intimacy of their hug. Clark sighed, stepping back. But he didn't take his eyes off Lois. She didn't either.
"I don't—" he shook his head. His brow furrowed, stopping to think. "I have to try."
"Don't be crazy. You can't just fly into space on your own," Lois pleaded, her voice cracking.
"Lois is right. It'd be unwise to go alone."
The voice coming from the Plant chamber's entrance made Lois and Clark both turn in sync.
"You!" Clark gasped.
—T&J—
AN: Thank you all for your patience on this next chapter. I hope you enjoyed!
It's been difficult to make time and muster the energy to write lately after moving, but I do have one more chapter after this prewritten. I will try to post that again in a few weeks after I do another round of editing. Thanks again for all your support! Each and every comment makes my day!
Next Chapter 33: Memorable First Impressions