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. In short, they're not mine; I'm just borrowing them. I'll return them, I promise!
Extra kudos to you if you can tell me which song Jimmy is referring to during the stakeout.!
- - - -
Jimmy’s car was parked on a lone street in Suicide Slum, parked down and across from the long ago abandoned Red Horse Garage. The street was dark, only one of the many streetlights lit; the rest had burned out long ago. Most of the buildings in the vicinity were run down, the structures barely supported by worn-down bricks; graffiti and broken windows peppered the walls, separated by boarded doorways. The sidewalks and curbs were littered with garbage and trash, and occasionally a homeless person would stumble past the car, muttering under their breath about society or the end of the world.
Jimmy and Linda had spent the entire day going through piles of stories about the Guardian and finding the locations. Using that information, they mapped out the general area that the first Guardian had been seen in or around, using a computer program that Jimmy had created; the majority of the sightings had been in and around the Red Horse Garage, located right in the heart of Suicide Slum. They presented their findings to Perry, who was adamantly against them going to the rundown neighborhood. They managed to convince him after some time, only because Perry said he would go with them. They left together, grabbing some takeout Chinese along the way, before beginning their stakeout. Inside the car, Jimmy sat in the driver’s seat, Linda next to him, and Perry was in the back. They had been watching the garage for over an hour now, immersed in a heated topic of discussion.
“You can’t be serious!” Perry said loudly.
“I’m dead serious,” Linda replied calmly.
“How can you not like the King?” Perry asked.
“I just don't like him,” Linda said. “Is it a crime to not like Elvis Presley?”
Perry started ranting on to the young couple as Linda discreetly pulled her glasses a bit down her nose and focused on the Red Horse Garage, seeing it up close with her telescopic vision.
There was nothing spectacular about the ancient structure. It was made of worn-down concrete, with its windows boarded up, and an adjoining garage, bolted and locked tightly. She could see the main entrance - a single garage door - near the first bay. Large, worn down, red block letters spelled ‘Red Horse Garage’ over the windows, the faded letters hardly visible surrounded by years of graffiti. The young woman stared at the front wall as she pulled her glasses down her nose to see inside. She growled when she found out she was able to penetrate past the concrete, but the interior walls were lined with the one thing that she couldn’t see through.
“Lead,” she whispered.
“Huh?” Jimmy asked quietly as Perry still ranted.
“The outside is made of concrete,” Linda said softly. “But the inside is lined with lead.”
“Weird,” Jimmy replied.
“No joke,” Linda said.
“Okay, Linda,” Perry said, turning to the young woman. “If you don’t like Elvis, then who do you like?”
Linda froze. She hadn’t really listened to many musicians since arriving on Earth; she’d been too busy with trying to learn about other things. She glanced over at Jimmy for help.
If there was one skill Jimmy Olsen had strengthened and honed, it was the ability to think fast on his feet - or on his seat, as the case seemed to be. Linda could practically hear the thoughts whirring behind her boyfriend's eyes. Then, after a moment, he grinned, and Linda didn't quite understand the sarcastic glint in his eye as he came through for her.
"Well, I seem to remember that you were in tune with Klaatu.” He chuckled lightly at her look of utter confusion - by the planets, she was cute when she needed something from him. “Yeah, don't you remember? You really related with their hit song.”
Linda’s eyes were wide with questions but she did her best to go along with it; she had no idea what he was talking about, but she figured he knew what he was doing . . . she hoped. She grinned sheepishly at Perry, but before she could say anything her superhearing picked up noises coming from the direction of the garage, and she reflexively looked out through the windshield.
“What is it?” Jimmy asked, seeing that look in her eyes.
“Uh . . .” Linda said. “I think I’m going to go take a closer look inside the garage.” Before either of the two men could say anything she quickly got out of the car and closed her door, carefully heading in the direction of the garage.
“Oh, Judas Priest,” Perry said. “That girl is going to -” He stopped when he saw Jimmy opening his door. “Jimmy, where are you going?”
“I’m going after Linda,” Jimmy said. “Stay and watch my car, Chief?” He didn’t wait for an answer as he closed his door and hurried to catch up to Linda. Perry mumbled under his breath and crossed his arms as he watched Jimmy disappear into the shadows.
Linda slowly approached the front door of the garage. She glanced behind her as Jimmy came walking up. “Jimmy, what are you doing here?”
“Keeping an eye on you,” Jimmy replied. “What are *you* doing here?”
“I heard noises inside the garage. I’m going to check them out.”
“I’m coming with you.”
Linda shot him a look, but she knew it was pointless to argue. “Fine.” She and Jimmy walked over to the front door, and she reached for the doorknob, but Jimmy stopped her.
“Are you going to scope the place out?” he asked.
“The walls are made of lead; I’ve checked.” She grabbed the doorknob and twisted, easily breaking it off. She handed the knob to Jimmy. “Hold this.” The young woman carefully pushed open the door. There was nothing but darkness; her eyes adjusted as she walked in, Jimmy behind her.
“So, what do you see?” Jimmy whispered, not able to see much in the total darkness.
“Heat trails,” Linda replied.
“Huh?”
“I’m looking at everything in infrared vision,” Linda explained. “There’s a heat trail here; footsteps, and they were made recently.” She reached behind her and took Jimmy’s hand, guiding him as she slowly followed the footsteps further into the garage. She felt Jimmy squeeze her hand tightly, letting her know that he was trusting her, and it made her smile. The footsteps stopped at a wall. Linda stopped short, and Jimmy almost bumped into her from behind.
“What is it?” Jimmy asked.
“The footsteps stop here,” Linda replied. She looked around. “And there’s no sign of them anywhere.” She was very confused. “But, but how can that be?” The room was bathed in floodlights, blinding the young couple. The shut their eyes reflexively, and after a few moments Linda slowly opened her eyes to look around. She gasped softly.
Jimmy heard her gasp and he slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times. When his sight was normal again he glanced over and saw Linda staring at something, her expression set and hard. He followed her gaze and almost jumped at what she was looking at.
The Guardian was standing about ten feet from them, his hands crossed, his feet planted firmly, his mouth set straight, eyes staring at them from underneath his golden helmet. Behind him were ten soldiers, their guns poised to fire.
“I think we have ourselves a couple of intruders,” the Guardian replied.
“Intruding on what?” Linda asked. “An old garage?”
“Detain them for questioning,” the Guardian said to his soldiers, never taking his eyes off Jimmy and Linda. “We’ll take them back to HQ.”
“Uh, are you sure that’s wise, sir?” one of the soldiers asked. “What about the Director?”
The Guardian turned and faced the soldier. “Are you questioning my orders, Private?”
“N-n-no, sir,” the private stammered. He motioned to the others, and the group surrounded Jimmy and Linda. Two of the soldiers put their guns away and took handcuffs from their belts. They approached the young couple to handcuff them, but Jimmy stopped one of the soldiers from going near Linda.
“Leave her alone,” Jimmy said.
“Back off, junior,” the soldier said. Jimmy glared and advanced on the soldier, but he was suddenly hit from behind with the butt of a gun. His eyes rolled up, and he crumpled to the floor.
“Jimmy!” Linda shouted and tried to go over and help him, but she was stopped by one of the soldiers pointing a gun at her head. She was tempted to beat the whole lot of them up, but she controlled herself for two reasons: she didn’t want anyone to find out about her being Supergirl, and the Guardian might beat her up again. Besides, she did want to find out what was going on. She allowed herself to be handcuffed and blindfolded and led out of the garage though a back exit.
Using her x-ray visions, she focused past the blindfold and surreptitiously ‘watched’ everything around her while staring straight ahead. She was loaded into the rear of a military Jeep, surrounded on both sides by soldiers, and she saw Jimmy, still unconscious, get loaded into the back of another Jeep in front of the Jeep she was in. The Guardian straddled an unusual motorcycle at the front of the small caravan as the rest of the soldiers took their places in the Jeeps. The engines started and the Jeeps drove off into the night.
“Where are you taking us?” Linda shouted over the wind as she ‘struggled’ against her binds.
“Shut up!” the soldier to her left shouted back. “Or you’ll be joining yer boyfriend in la la land.”
Linda could have easily reached out, grabbed the guy by his neck and crushed it before he even knew what hit him, but she held her tongue and faced forward, keeping an eye on where they were going, inwardly smiling to herself. They think they’re so smart by blindfolding me, she thought. She had the advantage: she could not only be able to find out what was going on, but she’d know where it was taking place, and she’d be able to nail them to the wall with one heck of an exposé. Lois and Clark would be proud of her.
“Please don’t hurt me,” she said, meekly, trying hard not to laugh. “I’ll be quiet; I promise.”
The Jeeps headed north out of Metropolis. Linda recognized the forests and mountain range, but this was the first time seeing it at ground level. Clark had explained to her a while back that the lands there were part of a restricted government area, that even the airspace was restricted. Linda began to wonder if there was a connection between the government and the soldiers and the Guardian. She shuddered at the possibility: if the government was involved, then things just a little more complicated.
They traveled further and further north until the Guardian turned his motorcycle onto a dirt road. The Jeeps followed, and the caravan bumped along. Linda could see they were approaching the base of Mount Curtiss, and she wondered where a base could be kept without her or Clark knowing about it. She thought for a moment that she and Jimmy weren’t being taken to a base; they were being taken out to the middle of nowhere to be killed. That thought quickly went away when part of the base of the mountain lifted up like a garage door opening.
Linda had to control her emotions as the vehicles drove under the ‘door’ and into a large, metal tunnel. The door closed behind them, and Linda tried to penetrate the walls of the tunnel, but they were lined with lead. Her anxiety and her guard up, she wondered if she should just risk exposing herself and get Jimmy out of there before something bad happened, but something told her to stay put.
The tunnel seemed to go on for miles, but finally the vehicles entered a large room, with other heavy-duty vehicles. The Jeeps stopped, and Linda was pulled out by the soldiers and led down a hall. She couldn’t risk looking behind her, but she could hear soldiers behind her, and she hoped that Jimmy was with them. She was led through a maze of sterile, metal corridors, memorizing every turn in case she had to get Jimmy and make a quick escape, until the soldiers stopped outside a door. One of the soldiers held Linda’s arm, while the other punched in a key pad: 061938.
“Put him in here,” the solider barked to the soldiers with him. He nodded to the soldier with Linda, who pushed her roughly a few feet farther down the hall to another door. The first soldier typed another code on another keypad: 051959. He then pushed the door open, and the second soldier pushed her through the door. Linda managed to get keep footing quickly as she was roughly guided over to a chair in the middle of room. He pushed her down into the chair, and she yelped - more for dramatic effect than actual physical discomfort. The soldier removed the blindfold, almost taking her glasses off at the same time.
“Stay here,” he said.
“You going to leave me in these cuffs?” Linda asked, annoyed, doing her best to hold them up from behind her.
“You gonna act nice?” the soldier sneered.
“Why don’t you take these the cuffs off, and we’ll see,” Linda retorted.
“You better watch it, Missy,” the soldier growled as he got in her face.
“You know, you’re think you’re so big and bad with your gun and your uniform,” Linda said calmly. “You wouldn’t stand a chance against me in a fair fight.” The soldier balled up his fist and brought it up.
“That’s enough!”
The room reverberated with the loud voice, and everyone looked toward the entrance. The Guardian was standing there, arms crossed, the light from the hallway shining behind him, making him appear as a silhouette. He glared at the soldiers, who stood at attention as he came over, getting nose to nose with the soldier who almost hit Linda.
“We have rules and procedures to follow when dealing with interrogations, soldier,” he said through his teeth.
“But, uh, sir,” the soldier said nervously. Linda could hear his heart rate double in seconds, and she almost smiled - almost. “She was -”
“Get back to your quarters, Private,” the Guardian said. “Both of you. I’ll deal with you two later.” Linda watched as the soldiers practically bolted from the room, then she glanced up at the Guardian. He towered over his, arms folded, glaring at her, and the young woman swallowed nervously.
The Guardian stared at her for a few moments and then walked over to the door, closing it. He came back over and pulled a set of keys from his belt. He held them up. “If you behave, I’ll remove the cuffs,” he said. “You don’t, they stay on? Understand?” Linda slowly nodded. “Good.” He leaned over and unlocked the cuffs. “Now, who are you?”
“What difference does that make?” Linda asked.
“It makes quiet a difference,” the Guardian replied. “*Miss Lee.*”
Linda jerked her head up. “How did you -”
“We know quite a bit about you,” the Guardian interrupted. “Born in Midvale, Illinois, January 8, 1977, to Fred and Sylvia Lee; both died overseas. No siblings, but three surviving relatives: the Kents, Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Martha, and Cousin Clark Kent, who happens to work at the Daily Planet in Metropolis - which is where you happen to work as well, Miss Lee.”
“Well, aren’t you just a fountain of knowledge,” Linda muttered.
“Not quite,” the Guardian replied. “I still don’t know why you and Mr. Olsen were poking around in the Red Horse Garage.”
“Looking for a muffler for a ‘77 Chevy,” Linda replied.
“Miss Lee,” Guardian said warningly, “don’t try my patience.”
“I don’t know anything, okay?” Linda frowned. “I’m not a reporter; I’m just a research assistant. Jimmy’s a photographer, but did you see a camera on him, no? And if you’ve really hurt him, I swear you’ll pay for it.”
There was a knock on the door. The Guardian went to answer it. A soldier was standing at attention on the other side. The Guardian stepped out into the hall, closing the door, but Linda was easily able to listen in.
“What is it?” the Guardian asked, his voice low.
“Mr. Olsen is still unconscious,” the soldier replied, “but his other vitals are stabilized.”
“And Johnson?”
“He’s in his quarters,” the soldier replied. “As per your orders, sir.”
“Good.”
“Uh, sir, with all due respect, he was just following orders.”
“I said to detain for questioning, not knock unconscious.” She heard his sigh. “Does Westfield know what’s going on?”
“No, sir.”
“Keep it that way. The last thing I need to have is him butting in and screwing everything up before I can figure out what do to.”
“Yes, sir.”
“For now, take Miss Lee to the holding cell. And, Peters - be civil.”
“Yes, sir.” She heard the Guardian walk away as the door opened and the soldier walked in. “Come with me.”
Linda wanted to tell him to shove it, but Jimmy’s welfare was far more important to her. She allowed the soldier to lead her by the arm out of the room and down the corridors to the room Jimmy was being held. Johnson punched in the code on the keypad and opened the door, gently pushing Linda inside. He closed the door behind her, and Linda could hear his footsteps fade as she turned around.
The holding cell was roughly square-shaped, about seven by seven, made of a silver metal. She guessed it was made of lead, as had every other wall in the compound had been; she confirmed her suspicions when she tried X-raying the walls. There was no furniture anywhere, but a thick, narrow, metal bench coming out from the wall with no under space, about six feet long, not quite the width of a twin bed but close enough. Jimmy was laying on his back, still unconscious, on the bench. The young woman quickly hurried over and knelt beside him.
“Jimmy?” she whispered as she gently shook his shoulders. No response. “Jimmy.” He wasn’t stirring. Linda was almost tearful; this was the first time that Jimmy had really been physically hurt since she met him. She lowered her glasses a bit and did a quick visual scan of his head, checking for any serious injuries. Thankfully, there was only a bruising at the base of his head where he’d been hit; no other damage. She sighed with relief as she pushed her glasses back up in their proper position. He was going to be fine, but she had no idea how long he was going to be unconscious.
The young woman positioned herself on the floor and rested her back against the bench as she took in the rest of the room. There was a waist high partition on the other side of the room, near the back, extending from the wall about three feet. On the other side was a molded toilet built into the floor; there was only a button above it, Linda guessed, for flushing.
“I think I’ll hold it,” she muttered. She sighed and looked around the room, seeing if there was anything she missed. There was a grate and vent near the ceiling above the toilet; Linda would have almost thought of using it as an escape route, but it was narrow - too narrow for a human being to fit through.
“Well, at least the floor’s clean,” she said. She stopped when she realized what she just said as she glanced around the room. “It’s . . . clean.” A closer inspection of the floor, walls, benches, and ceiling revealed nothing. Not a speck of dust anywhere. “So clean you could eat off of it.” She thought it odd, given the fact that it was impossible to be totally free of all dust in a room, no matter how clean a person was; there were always microscopic particles in the air.
Linda kicked herself as she got to her feet and started pacing. What was she doing agonizing over microscopic dust particles when Jimmy was unconscious, and they were both trapped in an underground mountain fortress that was lined with lead and no one knew where they were; Perry must be past the point of worried sick and straight into frantic worry.
The young woman was conflicted: should she stay put with Jimmy and see what their captors had in store for them? She didn’t think it would be good, but she sensed the Guardian was somewhat genuinely concerned for Jimmy’s well-being, though she wasn’t sure if it was concern as in caring, or concerned that he’d be in trouble if his prisoners were injured. Part of her was tempted to just throw caution to the wind, risk turning into Supergirl, and bust Jimmy and herself out.
“I could do it,” she whispered as she sat down beside the bench. “I’m fast enough; they won’t see me . . . I hope.” Unsure about which course of action to take the young woman’s resolve melted, and she tucked her knees under her, rested her elbows on her knees, and put her head in her hands as she started crying quietly.
After a few moments she felt a gentle, reassuring touch on her shoulder, and a soft voice whispered, “Hey.” Linda slowly turned around and saw Jimmy propped up on his side, barely able to support himself. He was a bit pale and his eyes were barely open, but he was looking at her with concern.
“You’re awake,” she whispered with relief.
“You okay?” he mumbled. Linda chuckled slightly. “What?”
“You have a concussion, and you’re asking if *I’m* okay?”
“You’re crying. They didn’t hurt you, did they?” Jimmy tried to frown, but it came out as more of a grimace.
“They only hurt me, because they hurt you,” Linda replied.
Jimmy slowly sat up and leaned against the back of the metal wall. He took Linda’s hand and gingerly pulled her up until she was sitting beside him. He put his arm around her and guided her until she was leaning against him, her head resting on his shoulder.
“So, what did I miss?” he asked.
“A lot,” Linda answered. She filled him on everything that had happened since he was knocked unconscious, including where they were. When she was done, Jimmy whistled appreciatively.
“Man, we’re really going to have a story,” he mumbled. He carefully rubbed his head. “Ow.”
Linda sat up and looked concerned. “You okay?” she asked.
“My head hurts,” Jimmy mumbled.
Linda narrowed her eyes. “Ooh, they’re going to pay.” Her resolve back, the young woman got to her feet and marched for the door, intending to tear it off its hinges. “They’re going to wish they had never tangled with us, or my name isn’t Linda -”
The door suddenly swung open. Linda stopped in her tracks and stared, wide-eyed. The five young boys she met from Centennial Park were standing on the other side, grinning smugly at her.
“Lee,” she finished.
“Man, Big Words,” the black kid whistled, “you didn’t say she was so fine.”
“Excuse me?” Linda frowned, crossing her arms.
“Given the extreme urgency of implementation of our plan,” Big Words replied as he pushed his glasses further up his nose, “I felt it was unimportant to disclose the physical appearance of the Project’s captives to ensure that we complete everything according to our allotted schedule.”
“Huh?” Scrapper asked as he took off his cap and scratched his head.
Big Words looked almost annoyed. “Nevermind,” he replied.
“Come on, we gotta get you two outta here,” the shortest of the five said.
“We’re not going anywhere until we know what’s going on,” Linda said. “Starting with who you five are.”
The boys glanced at each other, then looked over at the one who looked the most serious. He shrugged, then he glanced at Linda.
“I’m Tommy,” he said. He nodded to the other boys. “And this is Scrapper, Gabby, Big Words, and Flip. We’re the Newsboy Legion.”
Linda’s eyes went wide as she glanced back at Jimmy. He looked surprised, but Linda could see he was also very tired. He met her eyes and shrugged; he was trusting her. The young woman sighed as she faced the five boys. There were so many questions she had, but getting out was the most important.
“I’m Linda Lee,” she replied. “And that’s Jimmy Olsen. We’re from the Daily Planet.”
“So, you must’ve really ticked off Cadmus,” Gabby said. “What, you find out about the Guardian and Dubbilex, and -”
Scrapper quickly smacked a hand over Gabby’s mad. “Hush, ya moron!” he hissed.
Linda would have been amused if the situation wasn’t so serious. “Look, guys, we kinda know what’s going on . . . sorta . . .” They shot her questioning looks. “We’re friends with Supergirl. She asked up to help her and figure out what was going on.” She hesitated. “I guess that means you really *are* clones, huh?”
The five boys stopped and stared wide-eyed at her.
“Oh, great,” Scrapper said, “they’re gonna rat us out. They’re gonna -”
“Look,” Linda interrupted, “I don’t care about this anymore, okay? I don’t care about the Guardian or Dubbilex or clones or . . . or even why this place is here. I just want to get out of here with Jimmy.”
“Really?” Tommy asked.
“Really,” Linda answered. She walked over and helped Jimmy to his feet, putting his arm around her shoulders and supporting him with an arm around his waist. “Now, if you want to help, fine; if not, get out of my way.”
Linda had spoken with all the strength she could muster in her voice, leaving the five boys just standing and staring at her, their mouths slightly opened. Linda supported Jimmy as she started out the room, but Tommy stopped her.
“You can’t just walk out of here, you know,” he said. “They’re going to catch you. Let us help.”
Linda glanced at Jimmy then back at the boys. She nodded once, and the boys motioned her to follow them. With Jimmy in tow, she headed out of the cell as quickly as she dared. She followed the five boys down the corridor and around corners; it reminded her of a large maze. She stopped suddenly.
“Wait,” she said. The boys stopped and looked back.
“What is it?” Tommy asked.
Linda tilted her head as she stared past the boys. She could hear multiple footsteps approaching from an intersecting corridor a few yards from them. She visibly tensed.
“Someone’s coming,” she said. “At least three people, probably soldiers.”
“Aw, man, we’re toast!” Flip said.
Linda glanced at Jimmy, then looked at the boys. “Guys, get behind me.”
“What are -”
“Now!” she ordered, the halls reverberating with her voice. The boys were too scared to disobey. They hurried over and stood behind the couple as Linda stared down the hall.
“What are you planning on doing?” Jimmy whispered.
“I don’t know, Jimmy,” Linda whispered. “I might have to do *something.*”
“Linda, don’t, okay?” Jimmy whispered back. “You can’t.”
For a moment time and her heart seemed to slow; Linda figured it was a reaction to stress, to the fact that five young boys and her wounded boyfriend were hunching helplessly behind her and she couldn’t promise them safety. She could become Supergirl at will, but at this moment neither half of her knew what to do. Jimmy was right - she couldn’t risk revealing her identity here, but she had a duty to do whatever it took to safeguard her charges.
Sometimes being a hero really sucked.
She’d thought her heartbeat would speed up, but it was getting slower and slower, the colors in front of her eyes shifting out of phase and then into a curious clarity. Her arms and legs were heavy and she didn’t have the will to try to move, despite the urgency of the moment. She knew she was still breathing, but she was aware of every heartbeat, and part of her was waiting for it to stop. Linda shook her head sharply, trying to regain her mental focus, but it was more difficult than she thought it should be. She wasn’t used to being scared, and there was definitely fear here; silly as it was, she found herself wishing that those coming down the hall would somehow just completely miss what was right in front of their eyes and keep going. With that thought, the colors around her snapped as though brushed by a camera flash, and she thought dimly of Jimmy’s Nikon - except that she knew he didn’t have his camera with him.
Then, in the long space between heartbeats, the footsteps changed decibels and she didn’t have any more time to think. Already frozen, Linda could only hold her breath as the flash effect wore off and she prepared to defend the boys. Three soldiers turned the corner, heading directly for them, and the motley group tensed.
They all held their breaths as the soldiers came towards them - and everyone one of them was floored at the soldiers headed right past them, but no one even dared to breathe until the soldiers turned a corner and disappeared.
“What are they, blind?” Scrapper asked.
“Who cares?” Flip snorted. “Let’s go before they come back!” The boys bolted ahead of the couple, who followed behind them at a distance. As they made their way through the maze, Linda glanced over and saw Jimmy looking at her, wide-eyed.
“What?” she asked.
“I can’t see real well right now,” he said quietly, “but I saw that! Did you do that?!”
Linda shrugged and said in a stunned voice, “Uh, yeah, actually, I think I did.” It took her a moment to realize she was having to strain a little harder to support Jimmy. “Remind me to drink something with lots of caffeine before I do that again, okay? I’m wiped.”
After what seemed like an eternity, the group stopped in front of a large grate. The boys were busy taking out the screws with small tools as Linda and Jimmy approached.
“What’s this?” Linda asked.
“It’s an escape duct,” Tommy replied. “It leads miles away from this place, and it ends about a mile outside Metropolis. It’ll be your best bet; there are no sensors or anything in it. We’ll distract everyone long enough for you to get away.”
“You sure you’ll be okay?” Linda asked.
Tommy shrugged. “Yeah, we won’t get into too much trouble.”
“Why don’t you just come with us?” Linda asked.
“This is our home,” Tommy replied. “We belong here. It’s not the best place in the world, and we hate it sometimes, but . . . .” He shrugged as the last screw was removed and the grate was taken down. “Look, you better get going now.”
Linda smiled gratefully at the five boys. “Thank you,” she replied. She eased herself and Jimmy into the tunnel, and the boys watched as the couple disappeared into the darkness before putting the grate back on and screwing it in place.
- - - -
“Here,” Linda said as she propped up Jimmy against the tunnel wall. Linda made sure Jimmy was able to support himself before she walked over to the grate standing between them and Metropolis. She could see the lights from the city in the distance as she ran her hand along the grate, taking in its dimensions; it was roughly two inches thick and about five feet in diameter.
“Piece of cake,” she said. Freedom was so close she could taste it, and nothing was going to keep her and Jimmy from it. She felt much stronger when they reached the end, so she had no qualms as she drew her hand back, fist balled tightly, and slammed her knuckles into the hard metal with all her strength. The sound of her hand hitting the grate echoed down the tunnel as the grate exploded outward, landing fifty feet away with a loud thump, completely unscathed.
“You know, I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to the fact that my girlfriend can do something like that,” Jimmy mumbled, smiling.
Linda smiled as she walked over and supported him with one hand around his waist, holding his other arm over around her shoulders. “Well, then, you’re going to probably need longer to get used to the fact that your girlfriend can do *this,* huh?” Supporting Jimmy, she leapt into the air, heading for the city.
(End of Chapter 16)
