Well, here's another story for you guys to read, but I will be posting this one post at a time; I'm currently working on it, so it will be a little more spaced out - one or maybe two posts a day! That aside, here's my latest story. It takes place after Shockwave, and Deja Vu, so please read those first (this is a series). I take no credit for any of the characters, and if you want a further explanation of who they are, I will gladly post links at the end. It's PG rating, and, as usual, feedback is welcomed! Enjoy!
Title: Deck the Halls With Double Helixes
Author: Jaxie
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None that I'm aware of, but it's part of a series; read Deja Vu and Shockwave before reading this one.
DISCLAIMER: I claim none of the characters. They are all DC's; a good majority of the characters are from the Superman comics, but there are a few of them from the Supergirl comic series. I've also reworked certain plot elements from the
comics into the story. In short, they're not mine; I'm just borrowing them. I'll return them, I promise!
- - - -
Snow was falling lightly from the night sky as ‘Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer’ played from the stereo system inside Linda’s apartment. The young woman was nowhere to be seen, but Clark and Lois were both inside. Dressed casually in jeans and t-shirts, listening to the music as they decorated a medium-sized tree off to one side of the entrance banisters with ornaments and tinsel and lights. Opened boxes were sporadically on the floor around the living room, some on the couch.
“You know, this is kind of exciting,” Clark said as he hung some colorful glass ornaments on branches.
“Well, it’s not every day you get to teach your cousin about Christmas,” Lois replied as she hung tinsel. “Cookies, hot cocoa, decorations, shopping.” She nodded toward the window. “Snow.” She stood back and admired her work. “Well, what do you think?”
Clark stood back after he put on the last ornament. “Perfect. Now, it just needs the finishing touch.” He went over to the coffee table and picked up the large silver star that was laying on it. He picked it up and walked over to the tree, carefully putting the star on the top. Both stood back to admire their work. “Think she’ll like it?”
“I think she will,” Lois replied as she leaned against her husband’s broad chest, looking around the apartment. Various decorations were hung around the ceiling and walls. “We gotta thank Jimmy for getting her out of the house so we could do this tonight - even if he didn’t know he was helping us. Speaking of which, he should be dropping her off soon, so we should start cleaning up. ”
“Well, it helps to know that he was taking her out to dinner,” Clark smiled, resting his head gently on top of hers.
“You were eavesdropping,” Lois smacked him playfully.
“So?”
“So, I thought you were going to stop that. You said you were okay with them dating.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t promise I’d stop trying to meddle,” Clark grinned. He and Lois looked over at the front door as they heard the lock click. Clark raced around the apartment, grabbing the boxes and putting them neatly in a small stack next to the television set. He stopped near Lois a moment later, and they both stood facing the door, smiling as the door opened. Their smiles faded when they saw Jimmy and Linda standing on the other side. Linda had her arms wrapped around Jimmy’s neck, Jimmy had his arms around Linda’s waist, and the two were sharing a slow, tender kiss, oblivious to the world around them, especially to the fact that they were being watched.
Clark finally cleared his throat, loudly. The couple, startled by the noise, let go of each other and glanced into the apartment. The expressions on their faces were mixed: surprised at not noticing Lois and Clark when the door was opened and embarrassed at having been caught, their cheeks a bright crimson.
“Are we interrupting anything?” Clark asked, folding his arms and looking at the young couple. He didn’t look angry, but his expression was clear enough for the couple to know he wasn’t exactly ecstatic.
“Uh, I, uh,” Jimmy stammered. “Uh, this, uh . . . it, uh, doesn’t look like what you think it looks like, guys.”
“Looks to me like you were kissing,” Lois replied, smiling.
“You know, that’s what it might look like to the unfamiliar eye,” Jimmy said, trying to sound confident as his voice wavered, “but in reality . . .” He trailed off, realizing that they weren’t going to buy any excuse he came up with. He looked sheepish. “It . . . uh, it just kinda happened.”
Clark smiled, and replied, “It’s okay, Jimmy, really.”
“Huh?” Jimmy asked, not sure if he heard what Clark actually said.
“It’s not like Clark expects you two to be monks,” she replied.
“That’s not a bad idea, though,” Clark said, smiling.
“Yeah, and it’s not like Clark and Lois haven’t been caught,” Linda added. “Just yesterday Perry was talking about . . .”
“Hey, would you look at these decorations!” Lois interrupted, waving at the decorations. The young couple came in and looked around.
“Wow,” Linda replied, looking around at her newly decorated apartment. “So, these are Christmas decorations?”
“Yep,” Clark replied as Linda examined the tree. He glanced at Jimmy quickly, then at Lois. “We, uh, know you didn’t really celebrate Christmas before coming here, so we thought we’d make your first one a bit special.”
“That’s just very weird,” Jimmy replied as he glanced around the apartment.
“What?” Linda asked.
“That this is going to be your first Christmas,” Jimmy answered.
“Is that wrong?” Linda looked worried.
“No, no,“ Jimmy replied, reassuringly. “It’s not your fault, Linda. You led a different lifestyle.” He shrugged, smiling. “Just means I’ll have to get you something special.”
Linda smiled as she leaned over and kissed him. Clark and Lois gave each other a look that said ‘we’re out of here.’
“We’ll be back for the boxes later,” Lois replied as they brushed past the still kissing couple and started up the stairs. Suddenly, Clark and Linda’s supersonic hearing picked up sounds of shouting:
“Help, police! Ruffians! Hooligans! They’re going to knock me over and rob an old woman blind!”
Linda pulled her head away from Jimmy and looked at Clark, who looked right back at her. He glanced at Lois for help, and she understood immediately what was going on.
“Oh, Clark,” she said, “remember you were going to take Linda to go get some poinsettias?”
“Aren’t all the greenhouses closed?” Jimmy asked.
“Uh, it’s, uh, a friend,” Clark answered. “He has a private collection; really beautiful. Ready, Linda?”
“Sure,” Linda replied. She gave an apologetic look to Jimmy as she kissed him. “We’ll be back as soon as possible.” She hurried, with Clark, up the stairs and out the front door, closing it behind them.
Lois looked over at Jimmy, seeing the disappointed look on his face, knowing from experience what he was feeling. She walked over and put an arm around his shoulders. “Come on,” she replied. “We’ll make them some hot cocoa; I’m sure they’ll be wanting it when they get back.” Jimmy reluctantly accepted the offer and headed off to the kitchen with Lois.
- - - -
A couple of feet of snow was already on the ground of Centennial Park as a group of five boys - all in their early teens - were busy shouting with an old woman, who was waving a cane and shouting for help. Superman and Supergirl landed nearby and took stock of the situation. The woman was in her seventies, possibly eighties, with gray hair, dressed in a simple outfit with a heavy black coat and a black shawl over her head.
“One old woman,” Superman replied, “and five teenage boys. Never a good sign.” Especially when he couldn’t really tell who was the problem, because at the moment, it looked like the boys were more in danger of the woman than she was of them. The two heroes approached the six. “Excuse me, is everything okay here?”
“Oh, jeez!” one of the boys replied. He was short, with red hair sticking out of a dark green newsboys cap, and his green eyes clearly showed his annoyance. “It’s Superman! Now we’re in -” He and his comrades noticed Supergirl, and their eyes visibly grew to the size of dinner plates, a reaction both of the heroes were used to the young heroine receiving.
“Great,” another boy replied. He was as short as the boy who first spoken, but he had dark hair, big ears, brown eyes, and he was wearing a blue sweater, jeans, and black converse all-stars. “Now, we’re really in trouble.”
The old woman immediately ran over to Superman, brushing Supergirl out of the way and all but throwing herself at the superhero. “Oh, thank goodness you’re here, Superman,” she said tearfully. “They were going to rob me.” She shot the boys a dirty look. “Hooligans.” She glanced at Supergirl, her expression looking stern. “And did anyone ever tell you that your skirt is too short, young lady? Aside from your obvious lack of moral fiber, you’re going to catch your death of cold!”
“Actually, being invulnerable helps minimize my ability to catch any form of infectious disease,” Supergirl replied.
“Well, you're still dressed kind of cheap, aren't you, dear?” the old woman said curtly, turning up her nose.
“Well, yes, the fabric was on sale" Supergirl replied innocently, “but I don’t think it was cheap.”
Everyone eyed her oddly for a moment, and Superman allowed himself a small smile at her innocent remark. Then he turned to the old woman. “Now, ma’am,” he said, “why don’t you just tell us what happened?”
“I was minding my own business,” the woman replied, “when these hooligans” she shot a glare at the five boys “started causing a ruckus.”
“We didn’t start nothing!” another boy replied. He was black, with brown eyes, black hair, and he wore jeans, green shirt, and black shoes.
“We were just minding our own business,” the boy beside him added. Standing beside him was another boy. He was wearing a purple shirt, matching blazer over it, jeans, and black converse all-stars. He had dark hair and blue eyes, and he looked almost guilty at the superheroes. “We were just having fun. Honest.” The heroes glanced at each other and smiled slightly, knowing there was nothing going on more serious than a simple misunderstanding.
“Look,” Superman turned to the old woman, “why don’t I give you a lift back to your place, Miss . . .”
“Gertrude,” the woman replied, smiling. “Gertrude Smith. And that would be wonderful.”
Superman turned to his cousin. “You think you can handle them on your own?”
Supergirl nodded. “I’ll get them back home and, uh . . .” She trailed off, not wanting to accidentally give anything away.
Superman nodded, understanding what she didn’t say, then he turned back to Gertrude, picking her up. He gently lifted off the ground and flew up into the night sky.
Supergirl turned back to the five. “Alight, guys, let’s get you back to your homes, okay?”
“We’re not going,” the red-haired boy replied, crossing his arms. “We’re havin’ fun out here; we’re not leavin’!”
“Scrapper, hush!” the boy with the blazer kicked him in the shin, glaring at him. The redhead, presumably Scrapper, kicked back.
“Perhaps we can come to some kind of an agreement,” the fifth boy replied. He was taller than the others and appeared to be the same age, with brown hair and eyes framed with glasses, but he looked vastly different from his friends. He was gangly, with big hands, and he wore a dark, three-piece suit and matching loafers.
“Really?” Supergirl raised an eyebrow as she put her hands on her hips. “Let me enlighten you gentlemen on something here: none of you look old enough to shave, let alone old enough to be outside this late at night by yourselves, which means you belong in your homes. Now, I know what it’s like to not want to have people telling you what to do and all, but there are rules for a good reason; it’s to keep us all safe. Now, that being said, let’s say I take you boys home, okay?”
“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll take over now,” an unfamiliar male voice replied from behind her.
Supergirl was a bit shocked to hear someone behind her; people rarely, if ever, were able to sneak up behind her without her hearing them. She turned around and found herself staring at the last thing she expected to see. There was a man about six feet tall, with a muscular appearance, standing twenty feet from her, dressed in a blue spandex outfit with a yellow triangle going from the chest to a spandex mask that covered everything from his nose up. Over that was a matching yellow helmet, and he also wore yellow gloves, shorts like her cousin (only they were yellow instead of red) a yellow belt, and yellow boots. A large, yellow shield in the shape of a police badge was strapped to his right arm, and he looked sternly at Supergirl.
The young heroine wasn’t the least bit impressed with the appearance of the costumed stranger. She glanced behind her and saw the five boys cowering behind her, like they were scared of the newcomer. She looked back at the man, folding her arms, standing tall. “And you are?” she asked.
“I’m the Guardian,” he replied.
“You’re guardian of all five of these boys?”
“That too.”
Supergirl furrowed her eyebrows. “Would you care to clarify that?”
“There’s nothing to clarify, Supergirl. These boys are my responsibility. I appreciate you finding them and gathering them up for me, but I can take over from here.” He started walking toward them, but Supergirl stepped in front of him, stopping him dead in his tracks.
“I don’t even know who you are. How can I trust you with five young boys who should be at home safe in their beds?”
“Hey!” Scrapper shouted. “Who you callin' little boys?”
Supergirl noticed the Guardian shot him a stern look as one of the boys kicked Scrapper in the shin again before turning his attention back to the young super heroine. “I can assure you, Supergirl, I’m authorized to look after these boys.”
Though he appeared to be sincere in his demeanor to the young woman, Supergirl knew that not everyone could be trusted at face value, something she learned quickly after arriving on earth, and this Guardian character was quickly shaping up to be in that category. “Well,” she replied sarcastically, “you seem to be doing a fine job of it, what with their playing in the streets after dark and all.”
She saw him tense up by her comments, and she smiled inwardly, not a bit worried as he walked up to her, towering over her. “Listen, little miss, I know you think that hanging with Superman automatically makes you an authority figure around here - but it doesn't. You've got to earn the respect to fly this city, and you aren't even close.”
Supergirl, kept her face set and arms folded. “Well, *old man,*” she replied, adopting his attitude, “if you think wearing tights and running around with a helmet and shield is going to earn *you* any respect, then you are seriously mistaken. I hang with Superman because I happen to be his cousin, which entitles me to a few things you might not be aware of.” She hovered a couple inches off the ground and floated until she was at eye level with the Guardian. “I have Superman's blessing to protect his city - our city. And I won't even mention the sanction given to me by the Governor AND the President to aid where I can. What do you have, aside from your small outlook, bitter disposition, and tacky outfit?”
“Wow,” the shortest boy whispered with a bit more than awe in his voice. “Bet no one's ever given it to Guardian like that.” The two costumed individuals ignored the remark as they stared at each other.
Supergirl was getting tired of this little tête-à-tête; she wanted to get the boys back to wherever they belonged and get back to her apartment to learn more about Christmas. She narrowed her eyes before continuing. “If you really want these boys, you're going to have to go through me.”
Guardian shrugged. “If you insist.” He hung his head, as if in defeat, but then he charged the young heroine, using his shield as a battering ram.
Not prepared and still hovering, Supergirl was thrown back by the force. The five boys managed to duck as Supergirl sailed over them and slammed into a lamppost. She hit it with enough force to cause a grunt of frustration from her, but not enough to harm the post as she fell to the ground. She was stunned for a moment as she looked up at the Guardian. His head was cocked slightly as though he was mocking her, just as surprised as she was by his ability to knock her back. She stared at him, using her x-ray vision to attempt to see inside his helmet, but she was met with lead lining.
Lead lining, she thought as she got to her feet. Why does *everyone* seem to know about that? She brushed herself off and turned her attention back to the Guardian. Her cousin had told her that during any fight she had to work on controlling her emotions, because of her added abilities and strengths, but she was getting mad.
“Okay, you wanna play rough?” she asked, her eyes narrowing. “Let's play rough.” She charged at him at superspeed, but the Guardian was ready for her, holding up his shield and bracing himself. She hit the shield, but instead of knocking the man back, she was abruptly knocked to the side. Unprepared for this, she hit a nearby parked car, knocking all the snow off it. She lay for a moment, dazed slightly, snow covering her hair and shoulders.
The Guardian looked satisfied. “Like I said, Supergirl, you aren’t even close. Maybe that'll teach you not to rush into things.”
Supergirl growled in frustration, the snow flying off as she leaps to her feet again. To hell with control, she thought. It was now *very* personal.
The Guardian waved the shield like a bullfighter, taunting her. He knew it was probably stupid, but she needed to be taught a lesson. “You really want to try again?”
Supergirl charged him once more, but feigned to her right and ran behind him. She stopped behind him, tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned around, she used her superbreath to knock him off his feet. He flew through the air, landing farther up the street, the shield knocked out of his grip, landing away from him and sliding under a nearby-parked car.
“Man, she’s ticked!” one of the boys whispered loudly.
“He’s gonna get beat by a girl,” Scrapper replied, almost excitedly. He was kicked in the shin again. “Ow!”
“You boys get out of here!” Guardian growled as he slowly got to his feet.
“Maybe we should expedite our departure before the carnage piles up,” the boy with glasses replied.
The black boy nodded and said, “Yeah, what he said.” The five youngsters took off in the opposite direction, scattering. Supergirl turned around, quickly gauging and calculating how she’d round up the boys, when she heard a small whooshing sound behind her. She turned back around and stopped short. The Guardian was gone. She searched the area, using her visual abilities, but she was unable to locate him. She turned around to get the boys, but she found they had vanished as well.
“That’s impossible,” she whispered as she heard the sound of approaching sirens. She used her x-ray vision to see if the shield was still where it had been dropped, but it was gone as well. Supergirl sighed, frustrated, as a couple of police cars turned the corner and stopped about thirty feet from her. She glanced one last time over her shoulder before she made her way to the officers as they got out of their cars.
- - - -
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Superman asked as he stood with his cousin as they talked with a few officers. After dropping Gertrude off at her apartment, he was heading back toward Linda’s place, but he had heard the multitude sirens, picking up the radio transmissions that said witnesses had seen Supergirl fighting with an unidentified costumed figure. Worried, he headed over, but he landed to see his cousin talking with the police already, telling them everything that happened.
“I’m fine,” she replied as the fifth car pulled up to the scene and three people, two men and a woman, got out. The heroes recognized the driver to be Inspector Henderson, dressed in a suit and overcoat, but neither of them recognized the other two. The other man was older than Henderson, dressed similarly, but a little on the heavier side with a gruff expression, a weathered appearance, brown eyes, and a bowler hat atop his thinning brown hair. The woman was dressed in slacks, a dark blouse, heels, and an overcoat, with short, reddish-brown hair and hazel eyes.
“Inspector Henderson,” Superman replied as the trio approached, the woman and man flanking Henderson.
“Superman,” Henderson replied. He nodded at the young heroine. “Supergirl. Heard you had an interesting night.”
“Don’t I always?” Supergirl replied wryly. She nodded at the two unknowns. “Who are these two?”
“Inspector Dan Turpin,” Henderson replied, “and Captain Maggie Sawyer. They’re in charge of the -”
“Newly formed Special Crimes Unit Division of the Metropolis P.D.,” Superman interrupted.
The S.C.U., as it was more widely known as, was formed just this past week ago at the behest of the Police Commissioner. In short its mission was designed to handle unusual disturbances in Metropolis, especially those involving any super-villains, but this was the first time that either of the heroes had met the persons in charge.
“Our reputations precede us,” Sawyer replied, “considering how the public doesn’t even know about us yet.”
“It helps to have close ties with the manufacturers of the weapons you use,” Superman replied, referring to S.T.A.R. Labs, which had been asked to assist in providing the S.C.U. with the latest technology to be successful.
“Dat’s right,” Turpin replied with an accent that reminded Supergirl of the young Scrapper’s accent. “Dey’re chummy wit’ S.T.A.R. Labs.” He tipped his hat back, looking less than pleased.
“What’s the S.C.U.’s involvement in this particular incident?” Superman asked.
“Supergirl fought an unknown costumed person,” Sawyer explained, “and by her own account, she was unable to subdue him. It is possible that he could have superpowers as well.”
“And since he’s in Metropolis, and we have no idea who dis person is, where he’s from, or why he’s here,” Turpin continued, “the S.C.U. has been ordered to investigate and take appropriate action.”
“Is there anything you can tell us about this costumed person?” Maggie asked Supergirl.
Supergirl sighed and rolled her eyes. “I’ve already explained what happened to the past five officers who had to fill out their reports.” Not to mention getting ogled and asked for autographs. “I give very detailed reports. You want to know what happened, ask them.” She turned and leaped into the air, flying away.
“What crawled up her skirt?” Turpin asked.
Superman frowned, getting defensive at someone taking a poke at his baby cousin. He reached out, grabbed Turpin by the collar of his shirt, and lifted him off the ground a few inches, effectively halting all police activity as the officers stared. Superman didn’t care that everyone was staring at him as he got in Turpin’s face, eyes narrowed, nose-to-nose with him. “I don’t know who you think you are,” he quietly growled, “but you were out of line, Inspector.” He dropped the surprised man then turned and leapt into the air, leaving a group of surprised officers in his way, aside for Henderson and Sawyer.
“I know you haven’t been around them long,” Henderson replied, glancing at Turpin, “but never insult Supergirl in front of Superman or vice versa. They tend to take it personally.”
“Nice going, Dan,” Sawyer replied wryly, giving her partner a glare. “We might need their help later on; I don’t need to be at odds with them when that happens.”
“Sorry,” Turpin looked apologetic, though his voice was a bit harsh. “I was just asking a question.”
“Just watch how you say things around them from now on, okay?” Sawyer didn’t wait for an answer as she turned and walked over to a few officers, hoping one of them would be able to tell her exactly what happened between Supergirl and the unknown costumed person.
(End of Chapter 1)
