This part's posted a bit faster than usual, but I've had it mostly completed for awhile. For those of you keeping score this should be our last *guest star*. His purpose obviously was to take a lot of punishment
. **Warning ahead for some violence.**
CHAPTER 16Police cars came screaming to a halt at the curb and Maggie Sawyer jumped out of the lead cruiser and ran toward Superman. He sat on the ground, his cape spread out around him like a great shroud. A large metal box lay mangled beside a larger crater in the ground of the construction site. Maggie could hear the young girl’s sobs, but as she approached she realized Superman was rocking and singing to the child as he held her close. Maggie was struck by the beauty of the tune, but could recognize neither the words nor the language.
“Superman,” she said as she drew close attempting to get his attention, but the Man of Steel continued to rock and sing ignoring everything around him except the child in his arms. She said his name a couple of more times but still was unable to elicit a response. She was about to touch his shoulder when she realized that the girl did appear to be calming somewhat and so she took a step back and motioned for her people to do the same.
“How pathetic,” a voice said from above interrupting Maggie before she could act further.
Turning toward the voice she observed a man of middle-eastern origin dressed all in black except for yellow boots, a yellow belt and a yellow lightning bolt on his chest descend from the sky. He ignored her as he landed and she realized his comment had been addressed to Superman.
Black Adam. The name came to her instantly. Ordinarily he was seen around Fawcett City where his usual sparring partner was Captain Marvel, but apparently he was taking his act on the road these days. Maggie tried to dredge up any facts she could remember, but they all amounted to the fact that Black Adam was a very bad person and had enough power that he could stand toe to toe with Superman if he chose to. She stepped back and signaled her men to fan out around the villain who contemptuously continued to ignore them focusing his attention solely on the Man of Steel.
“I told Wilson we didn’t need to persuade you to stay out of our affairs. I could have handled you well enough. You act like a ‘woman’ and the day Black Adam cannot deal with a woman will be the day I am cold in my grave.”
Superman stopped singing and looked up at Black Adam with a dullness in his gaze seeming to only partially be aware of what was going on around him. The little girl became wide-eyed and attempted to hide her face against Superman’s shoulder and held more tightly to him.
“Look at you,” Black Adam continued, “you rock and sing to children like a wet nurse. It wasn’t even worth my time to bury this urchin.”
Superman’s expression at that last comment showed that he was finally starting to comprehend what was going on and he didn’t like it one bit. Seeing this a grin split Black Adam’s face.
“That’s right, Man of Milk. I’m the one who buried her. How else do you think she got a half-kilometer below ground? My associates thought it necessary to have leverage by which to persuade you to un-involve yourself from our affairs. My thought was that a man too afraid to use his powers to their fullest and impose order upon these wretched masses was not someone we needed to fear, but they insisted. Her hiding place was my idea though. I couldn’t abide her sniveling any longer and felt she needed some alone time.”
Black Adam began to laugh at his own joke.
“You buried her alive,” Superman spoke for the first time.
“Yes,” Black Adam responded still laughing.
“And you think that’s funny?” Superman asked almost conversationally.
“Very.”
Superman stood and passed the young girl to Maggie. He then turned back to Black Adam, but remained silent.
Black Adam snorted at what he perceived as more cowardice and continued his speech.
“These mortals live and die by our will and our whim. The weak serve only to benefit the strong. Indeed, they beg for the strong to guide them and if you are too weak for the task then other leaders must step up.”
“You terrorized a small child.”
Black Adam rolled his eyes and shook his head in exasperation.
“You still fail to see. She was a means to an end, nothing more. If she becomes stronger because of the incident then she will benefit her people. If she becomes crippled by it then she joins the rank of victims, which are already legion. Either is inconsequential to me because she has already done what the majority of these mortal cattle will never do, she has served a higher purpose. Her individual concerns are of no importance.”
“…of no importance,” Superman repeated sounding somewhat distant.
“She means nothing,” Black Adam said emphasizing what he felt was a simple fact of life.
Superman remained silent for several seconds staring dully at Black Adam.
“Super…” Maggie began to ask, but stopped as Superman’s face suddenly twisted into a hideous visage of rage and his eyes began to glow.
Under normal circumstances Superman’s heat vision is invisible to the naked eye. The few times it has been intense enough to register in the visible spectrum of light it has evidenced itself as ruby red beams reminiscent of a laser. The beams that left Superman’s eyes now did so as twin icy blue beams of heat millions of times hotter than the surface of the sun and they super heated the air like a blast furnace in their wake forcing Maggie to jump back. Even with the speed of Heru, Black Adam was unable to dodge the surprise attack before the beams pierced his shoulder and continued on to strike and vaporize part of the parking garage wall across the street.
Black Adam screamed in agony for the first time in thousands of years as the beams of heat seared through him. However, the scream was cut short as 220 pounds of dense, Kryptonian mass slammed into him snapping two of his ribs in the process and carrying both of them across the street and into the parking structure.
Black Adam was caught off guard by Superman’s initial actions, but as his magic began to knit his wounds he rallied and moved to go back on the offensive. Ignoring the torturous pain in his shoulder he head butted the Man of Steel to loosen his grip and then kicked him into a parked car, which collapsed under the impact. Black Adam’s respite was short lived, however, as Superman quickly recovered and again slammed into him inflicting more damage to his ribs and shoving him back against a wall. A vicious backhanded blow knocked Black Adam’s head sideways and was followed by two equally hard punches to his stomach.
Black Adam responded with a hard right cross to Superman’s jaw knocking him back and enabling Adam to follow with a left jab to the face, which split Superman’s lip and bloodied his nose. The smile of triumph that crossed Adam’s face was short-lived though as he attempted a third punch only to have his fist stopped in mid-flight as it was caught in the grasp of Superman’s left hand. His surprise quickly turned to pain as Superman twisted his wrist and a dry snapping sound issued from his arm.
Black Adam had little time to feel astonishment or pain though as the Man of Steel hit him hard in the face and knocked him backwards. Without a word Superman continued forward and delivered a left hook that backed Adam up still more and then a right cross that put him on the ground. As Black Adam stumbled backward from the onslaught he quickly discovered that it was almost impossible to do more than simply defend himself.
For the first time in his memory Superman lost control and he gave free reign to the madness of his anger. He had become a raging engine of destruction and ignored the blows that Black Adam attempted to hit him with. As he pummeled his opponent, fists that could shatter tempered steel began to at first keep up with and then overcome magic that healed wounds almost instantly. No longer was he pulling his punches. No longer was he concerned about the well being of his adversary.
Black Adam was beginning to keenly feel his injuries and was quickly coming to realize that he had finally met an opponent that was perhaps more powerful than him. Making the decision that discretion was the better part of valor he shoved at the Man of Steel and springing backward took to the air to escape. Before he could rise more than a few feet in the air he felt a vice-like grip around his ankle and he was summarily slammed into the ground.
“You’re not going anywhere, animal. I’m not finished yet.” Superman said speaking his first words since the battle began.
Still grasping Black Adam’s ankle Superman swung him against one of the garage pillars and then slammed him into a wall. Before Black Adam could regain his footing a knee slammed into his stomach causing the air in his lungs to leave his body in a violent cough and then a steel hard fist drove him back to the ground with a punch to the jaw.
A second punch lifted him off the ground and sent him flying into a car with enough force to demolish the vehicle and throw it several yards.
As Superman started again toward his opponent Black Adam threw up his one good arm and waved him to stop.
“I…surrender,” Adam choked out between swollen lips.
Superman’s advance did not slow and his answer was punctuated by his violent reaction.
“I”
Superman delivering a right cross to Adam’s face initiating a sound not unlike that of a piece of pottery breaking as Black Adam’s jaw was fractured.
“Don’t”
He followed with a left hook the slammed Adam back into a concrete pillar.
“Care!”
Adam was smashed through the pillar and into the wall behind him.
As Black Adam attempted to rise to his feet Superman began raining body blows to his stomach and sides at super speed keeping him pinned to the wall and breaking still more of his ribs.
“Is it still funny, Adam? The suffering of another being? Am I finally using my powers in the appropriate fashion? Do you still think might makes right? Do you?!!!!”
His next punch caught Adam in the face and pushed his head back into the concrete wall, which began to crack under the strain. His followed that up with several more blows to Adam’s head, which virtually buried it into the concrete wall. Finally he grabbed Black Adam by his neck and pulled the almost unconscious man from the indention that he had made in the wall and began to slowly and unerringly squeeze the hand that held the man aloft.
“That’s enough, Superman,” He heard Maggie Sawyer’s voice from behind him. “Put him down.”
“No,” was the only answer he gave her as he continued to squeeze the life from his opponent.
Adam was grasping futilely at the hand that held him, but his struggles were getting weaker.
“Listen, Big Guy…” Maggie said coming around into his view and holstering her weapon. She paused in shock at the sight in front of her. A mask of cold fury covered Superman’s face as blood ran freely from his mouth and nose. The most frightening aspect though was the dull red glow that rose and faded in his eyes in time with his ragged breathing. Maggie noticed that Black Adam’s gaze never wavered from those eyes and she could imagine each rise and fall of that glow making him more and more aware of his mortality.
Taking a deep breath she continued, “We both know that there’s nothing the M.P.D. has that can stop you if you don’t want to be stopped. Only you can do that. God, knows this monster deserves what’s coming to him and the odds are there’s probably not a court in the land that would convict you after what he’s done, but you don’t want to do it. Trust me, Big Guy, you don’t want to cross that line because when you do there’s no coming back. I know that’s a line used in every movie during a scene like this, but it’s a cliché only because it’s true. I’ve been there, Superman. Believe me it’s true. Please, don’t do that to yourself. He’s not worth it. Please.”
Superman continued to hold Black Adam aloft for a second looking into his face before suddenly slamming him into the wall, causing Sawyer to jump.
“Say the word,” Superman said addressing Black Adam and only loosening his grip enough to allow him to get a breath of air.
“Uh, I…” Adam gasped in answer and Superman quickly reapplied his grip and slammed Adam’s head twice into the wall.”
“Say it!” he roared.
“Sh-Shazam,” Adam croaked out without hesitating a second time.
A bolt of lightning lit the room for a second and Superman stepped back as it transformed Black Adam into his mortal form, Theo Adam and removing all traces of the savage beating from his features.
“Superman, I…” he started to say, but was quickly silenced by a blow to his forehead from Superman’s index finger, which knocked him unconscious.
“Shackle him and prevent him from speaking. You won’t have any trouble from him if he can’t say his magic word,” Superman said to Maggie without turning to face her.
Maggie somewhat stunned by the sudden turn of events quickly signaled for her men to take custody of Adam and ordered a sonic gag originally intended for Silver Banshee brought up and put on Adam while he was still unconscious.
“How’s the little girl?” Superman asked still not facing her.
“She’s fine.” Maggie replied.
“Fine?!” Superman’s fist lashed out turning a concrete support pillar to dust before spinning around on Sawyer who had stepped back in surprise her hand automatically going for the gun at her side.
“How can she be fine after what that monster did?!” he screamed advancing on the startled officer.
The surrounding cops had also swung their weapons around at the sudden outburst, but stood there helplessly knowing that they were about as useful as water pistols against the Man of Steel.
“Whoa, Big Guy,” Maggie said bring her hands up and holding them palms forward between them “she’s physically fine. Yes, she traumatized by what happened, but she wasn’t injured and her parents should already be with her. She’s going to be Ok, thanks to you.”
“Thanks to me? She was only in danger because of me! They kidnapped her to control me!” Superman was getting louder as he spoke and continued toward Sawyer who continued to backpedal keeping her hands in front of her.
“No, she was in danger because some bad men broke the law. You’re no more at fault for their actions than I am. If it hadn’t been you they were focused on then it would have been someone else. You saved her. But you need to calm down because you’re starting to scare the hell out of me.”
Hearing that Superman suddenly seemed to become aware of what he was doing and looked down at his clenched fists. His knuckles were cracked and bleeding. He stared at them in horror for a few moments before speaking as if realizing for the first time what had happened here.
“Maggie, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…”
“That’s Ok, Superman. You’ve been though a lot today. Let’s go sit down away from all this and we’ll talk for a bit.”
“No, I...I can’t. I…I need to go.”
Before Maggie could react to stop him he simply disappeared. She stood stunned for a minute surprised at the suddenness of his departure. Taking a deep breath she steadied her frayed nerves and looking around her finally spoke.
“Ok, people, lets get this place cordoned off and somebody call the city planning office and get a building inspector down here ASAP with a crew to shore this place up before it collapses like a bad game of Jenga.“
She shook her head and continued out to her car. For the first time in years she was considering calling in sick tomorrow. That is if she could finish the mountain of paperwork this fiasco had generated before the end of the shift today.
**********
A nanosecond after he left Maggie Sawyer standing in stunned silence Superman was clearing the upper atmosphere heading into space. The darkness that surrounded him, however, only seemed to heighten the anxiety he was beginning to feel and a man who didn’t need to breathe suddenly found himself short of breath and was forced to re-enter the atmosphere.
Only partially conscious of his actions, Clark turned toward the Arctic where his landing could have been termed more of a crash than anything remotely resembling a controlled descent. Once he was on the ground he unconsciously assumed a fetal position bringing his knees into his chest trying to control his shaking body.
He lost track of how long he remained there on the ground shaking, but finally lapsed into sleep having rolled onto his side while still hugging his knees as the falling snow covered his body.
**********
“A little harsh don’t you think?” Perry said tossing the article down on Clark’s desk the next day.
“He lost his temper and almost killed a man, Perry. No, I don’t think it was too harsh.”
“The man in question kidnapped a three year old girl and buried her alive. I think a little loss of temper wouldn’t be outside of the human norm.”
“Superman isn’t human, Perry. He’s Kryptonian and has enough power to level a city if he doesn’t keep it under control. He can’t afford to lose his temper no matter what the provocation.”
“Don’t you think you’re asking just a bit too much from him?”
“No, I don’t. He has to be accountable for his actions. ‘I was angry’ doesn’t cut it. That shouldn’t work for people who break the law if things don’t go their way and it shouldn’t work for him either. Maybe you should ask yourself if perhaps you’re not asking enough of him.”
Perry paused for a bit studying Clark before speaking.
“How much do you think he expects from himself?”
“A lot more than he gave us yesterday,” Clark snapped.
Perry nodded his head absently. “Either way, I can’t print your piece as is. The Op Ed section has already been filled and I need a news story. Give me a re-write in twenty minutes.”
“Yes, sir,” Clark responded more calmly sinking back in his chair and lowering his head and shoulders almost seeming to deflate.
When Perry walked off Clark closed his eyes briefly and tried to center himself. He had lost his temper again and it was beginning to be a bad habit that he wanted to break. Keeping his eyes closed and taking a deep breath he suddenly had the sense of being closed in and could hear the sound of something banging on the walls around him. He began to shake involuntarily and opened his mouth to speak, but a hand on his shoulder caused his eyes to snap open and the feeling faded.
“Are you Ok, Clark?” Lois asked.
“What? Oh, I mean, yes. I mean I think I might be coming down with something, nothing serious though. I think I should go to the bathroom.”
He rose up from his desk so quickly that Lois had to jump back to keep from being knocked over. Muttering an apology he hurried toward the bathrooms.
Lois stood watching his back, eyes narrowing. Entering the newsroom that morning she had been unsure of how to approach her partner. Should she tell him what she knew or keep her discovery to herself? The news last night had covered Superman’s rescue of young Emily Rosen as well as Superman’s battle with Black Adam, but had not gone into a lot of details. She glanced down at the article Clark had left on his desk and quickly read through it.
Armed with the knowledge she now had she realized that the article wasn’t a criticism of Superman so much as an angry blow directed at himself. Self induced penance for what he saw as the worst kind of action he could take on another human being.
Something was wrong and she knew it. Something more than just a loss of temper. The problem was that she had no clue what “it” was. And she had no idea how to approach Clark. Still, that had never stopped her before and she saw no reason to develop bad habits now. Squaring her shoulders she headed toward the bathrooms as well.
In the Men’s room Clark leaned heavily on the washbasin trying to gain control of his rising anxiety. He had no idea where his sudden case of claustrophobia had come from nor why he was hearing things. The only thing he knew for sure was that before Lois had interrupted him he was about to say a Kryptonian word aloud. He just didn’t know why he was about to say that word. It was the Kryptonian word for “mother.”
TBC…
