章 32: 3.4
6:34 PM, 18th April, 1989.
Location: Metropolis
A very different city from Paris. Metropolis has a somewhat friendly tone from the locals.
Well, most.
I found a group of unusual people, who stood out fairly quickly. They were all wearing weapons that looked like toys. However internally the weapons were highly complex electronics and mechanisms.
Now, I could have swooped down and started terrifying and torturing them for information, aka the Batman method. But this was Supes' home turf. It would be wrong, more than taking the law into my own hands… because I'd be violating trust boundaries.
However things quickly became complicated as I saw someone recognisable. A black haired woman stalking the thugs, wearing sunglasses and hiding behind a corner. Hi Lois Lane.
Now, while I'm not one to spoil people's fun… Lois Lane's the epitome of kidnap victim. So, being a good sport I landed silently behind her and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Wha… stay back I have a…!" She hissed… before recognising me. "Bubbleboy? What?"
"Hello, I thought it was someone I recognised. Just thought I'd drop by and say hello. Also the men you're snooping after are walking away right now." I grinned as she turned, looking flustered. "If they get away I am going to bury you in the next article: Bubbleboy interrupts investigation, allows suspects to flee!"
"Calm down, Miss Lane. They aren't very far, I can sense them." I held out my left arm. "If you want to follow, hold on tight."
She looked at me suspiciously, but gingerly grabbed hold. Gasping as I took flight, gently. I sealed us in a barrier to provide her somewhat stable footing.
"See there they are." I pointed. "Besides, we're better hidden up here."
She looked sulky.
"Look I'm sorry for bothering you out on business, but I'm simply doing my part as a concerned tourist. After all, I can sense they are carrying weapons provided by that villainous inventor, the Toymaker." I smiled.
"Toyman. His name is Toyman." Lois insisted.
Okay, Toyman it is.
She folded her arms. "So, a tourist? Come to the Big Apricot to see the sights?"
"Mostly just to pay a friendly visit to Superman, but somewhat, yes. I came to see the places that most interest me. I've seen them already, so I'm just helping take out the trash while I'm here." I chuckled. If there was one thing that has Miss Lane obsessed it's…
"You talked with Superman in Paris, I saw the photos of your handiwork together. What did you discuss?" She asked, pointedly eyes never moving from the crooks below shuffling down an alley.
"Eh, mostly it was dull stuff. Hobbies. Pastimes. Backstories." Her head snapped to look my way so fast, I swear she nearly got whiplash. "All of it private, Miss Reporter. His, I mean… you already know my story."
Her eyes narrowed. "There is absolutely nothing you can tell me?"
"Superman is a very idealistic person, but also down to earth in attitude and very humble. With a streak of good humour. I respect the man, greatly. Which is why I'm going to be behaving to my best standards while I'm in his city." I laughed. "Not least of all because he could punch me into next week and there wouldn't be a thing I could do about it!" Well, besides red kryptonite exposure…
"Huh. Really? He always looks so untouchable..." She muttered.
"I wouldn't hesitate to say, he's an inspiration to me. One day, in the future I'm sure this city and perhaps even the world will owe him a debt of gratitude." I smirked. Dead certain.
Wait… no time for introspection.
I speed up and find the thugs are using their weapons. Pulses of light spraying at the target.
"What the… they're firing on that building!" Lois shouted.
They stopped firing.
"Come out Superman, we know you're in there!" One shouted. The other five readied their weapons.
"I'm not your damn Superman, fools!" A voice shouted. "Now stop shooting up my home!"
"That's certainly not Superman." I remarked. The voice was too deep. Also I'm getting some odd sensations in my senses. "Wait… they pissed off a completely different meta!"
Out stepped an African American man, in black leather.
"Leave now, or I'm going to bust some heads!" He declared.
"Oh… He's brave, or he has the power to back that statement up." I remarked, secretly wracking my brain for the name of this guy…
"Shoot him!" The leader ordered the other thugs. But he was already gone. The sound of thunder echoed as he reappeared inside their group with a flash of light. With a short touch two thugs dropped like stones.
"Wha..." The thug leader began, before an arc of electricity leapt out from the Hero's hands to knock him flying backwards. However he hesitated a moment too long and the last two got a bead on him. I blocked the shots with a barrier, satisfied as they deflected off just like Brain's particle beam weapons. Have the villainous inventors already been comparing notes?
Black Lightning, I suspect, staggers as if he's been struck.
Huh?
Well, better save him. I send down a swarm of sewing needles, piercing the hands holding weapons as I descend.
"You… who… what are you?!" Black Lightning demands angrily.
Sending a length of wire to each thug to restrain them, I hold up my hands in placating gesture.
"Bubbleboy, the French Superman knockoff." Lois says.
"No, I mean what the hell are you doing to me? My powers are glitching out!" He shouted.
"Oh. Sorry. Electricity." I pointed at him. "Magnetism." I pointed at myself. I guess I lock down his energy form just from being nearby. I'm a direct counter to his abilities. "I guess I neutralise or suppress your powers?"
"Shit. Makes sense, this day just keeps getting worse." He remarked. "These damn fools were lucky my kids were in a different room. Or I'd be frying their asses."
"Then, we should give these fellows a gentle bit of persuasion and find their boss and make sure no more of them drop by." I suggested.
"Good idea. I'll provide all the persuasion you need." He smiled, as electricity arced between his hands, crackling. He looked at the nearest conscious thug. "Spill the name and the place, or you'll be cooked like bacon."
"The old, abandoned toy store on Fifth and Main." The thug responded, hurriedly as the arcs came toward his face.
"Good." Black Lightning turned to call up to the house. "Honey, any word on the cops?"
"On the way!" A young female voice called from inside.
"I can stay until the police arrive or head on without you." I suggested.
"Go, I'll be fine with my powers working properly. I'll catch up." I nodded, turning.
"So… Miss Lane. Which way is Fifth and Main?" I asked sheepishly, to my reluctant companion.
She lit a cigarette and sighed helplessly.
章 33: 3.5
6:53 PM, 18th April, 1989.
Location: Metropolis, flying with Lois Lane
"So, Miss Lane… just to clear the air… what were you thinking when you decided to follow the world's dumbest mooks?" I asked. "Since their thought process would certainly have been, hey isn't that the Reporter that knows Superman? Let's kidnap her!"
She groaned.
"Worse..." I continued. "You weren't subtle about it. I could spot you from further away than the thugs, even with your sun glasses." Whoa, deja vu moment. Clark, she's just too much like you. "Do you have a death wish?"
"I didn't know they were that trigger happy, kid." She retorted.
"So how does this whole investigative reporter thing work, because I'd be worried you would foul up any police investigations doing stupid things like that." I remarked.
"Is this about the knockoff Superman crack?" She asked.
"It's about your whole attitude, actually. Here you are, front seat in a story and you're insulting the driver." I jabbed back.
"I can see how you might think that, I just hate being passive, y'know? I want a role as more than observer." She began before shutting her mouth. Finally she added. "Oh, that is bad. I'm supposed to be objective."
"Yes, what it sounds like is that rather than be writing the article, you want to be the person in the article, taking down the criminals." I commented.
She blushed at that. "Kinda. I do like that element of my job the most, rooting out and exposing crimes."
"You want to be even more involved, however that's dangerous. Even if you've got a lifeline named Superman. Do you really understand how he has to choose between crimes? He has to triage the most desperate cases. Someone he knows throws a wrench in that. After all, everyone else is a stranger." I explained. "So please, for his sake, don't put yourself in excessive danger relying on him. He might have to choose you over a bus full of kids on fire or something equally awful."
"Okay, I can see your point." She responded sullenly.
"Now, think about what happens when his enemies are people on a relatively equal footing in terms of power. Like our new acquaintance Black Lightning… or whatever he calls himself." She began to protest. "I don't mean him personally, just someone with a similar level of power. Who decides to hold you hostage against Superman. Things aren't quite so easy as they are with regular humans, are they? Because they could potentially use you to seriously injure or kill him."
She slumped.
"You're his most obvious Achilles Heel. Remember it." I summed up. Then smiled. "So why not get some training? Self defence from an expert could help against anyone with human physical abilities. You also threatened me with something…?"
"I have… a can of mace." She finally admitted.
"Good for a quick escape. But perhaps you should invest in a taser? The close range multiple use kind. Some surveillance gear like listening devices would be better than loitering within earshot. Also always keep an ally on hand. So that the police or ambulance can be notified if you do end up abducted or worse shot." I suggested. "Because in some ways your current method of loitering seems frankly, suicidal. You could one day, simply vanish and no one would know."
She was silent for the rest of the ten minute flight. Until we found a toystore with blacked out windows.
I circled around, probing the building… and holy moley that's a lot of metal.
The entire basement and upper floor are packed wall to wall. I had a bad feeling about this.
"Uh… Miss Lane… this seems to be a trap." Pulling iron dust from the surroundings I formed a map of the building in 3D over my hand. "See here and here? All of it is humanoid mechanical figures. Robots. Somewhere in the order of four hundred."
"Two humans as well. This guy is probably Toyman. He has a stupid helmet. The other is… odd. He's absorbing whatever powers my senses use like a blackhole." I glanced back at mystery man. He jerks and looks back, his head shaped void pointed my way. "Oh shit, the other guy knows I'm here!"
Leaping through glass windows to the street and into the main building from the basement, Toyman's robots start to move. They unleash bursts of those beam weapons in a concentrated wave from mouths of teddy bears and weapons in the hands of action figures. And here come toy planes and rockets… with actual lasers and micro missiles.
Dodging, I pulse my power toward the mass of flying weapons. They simply crumple and fall in the wake. I focus fire on the humanoid ones, setting off a small scale EMP in their midst. This it turns out, is much less effective. Either they aren't as vulnerable as Brain's creations or they have light EMP protection built in. Instead of shutting down, they go into a frenzy attacking everything friend or foe.
Physical force it is. I slam down with a large cone of magnetic energy, crushing the robots in the affected area like aluminium cans under a boot. With a pull I suction up dozens in a ball and compress them together, before using them as a wrecking ball against those below. Lois shouts out a warning and I veer left as my last position is peppered with laser fire from miniature artillery formations on the roof. Damn green plastic army men. I pulverise them with the robot ball.
Then my backup arrives with a flash.
He takes one look at the scene with a look bordering on bemused horror. Oh, god this would be when the golliwog dolls advance, wouldn't it?
"I'll handle this rabble. You take the sides." He declares angrily.
I sense what he's doing, he's charging the atmosphere directly above the enemy formations.
I help, by pulling down with my own powers as well. Apparently, I can do more than hinder him, because he staggers back in surprise as he is too successful. The sky discharges in streams of lightning, all at once onto the crowd annihilating them completely and setting the road alight.
Overkill.
Lois yelps at the suddenness and overwhelming power.
"Now we just have to..." Black Lightning began to say, before I cut him off.
"Get back now! The other guy is coming!" I yelled, throwing a barrier up in his defence. The barrier however shattered as a very ugly humanoid lashed out at superhuman speed, to grab hold of my ally.
Oh no. It's Parasite.
Black lightning tries to blast him off, with a strong bolt but this merely feeds his opponent. I think he's feeding off my ambient magnetic field too. But he isn't immune to robot wrecking ball! The collision separates the two and Parasite is knocked for a loop since pure kinetic energy is perhaps one of the few things he can't absorb easily. He lands badly, tumbling down the street.
"Don't let him touch you, he sucked some of my powers from me!" Black Lightning shouted, standing up, shakily.
Parasite grinned in a most unwholesome manner and then for a moment became lightning, pouncing at me.
I chuckled as I caught his energy form, unravelled it and with a flick of my hand threw him back to Earth like a meteor.
"Try again, fool!" I yelled after him. He dared to come after me?
I followed up with more wrecking ball, straight down while he was stunned.
He met it with brute strength and he stopped it almost dead. He wasn't prepared for when it melted down and wrapped around him as molten metal. He roared out in fury, while it didn't seem to be burning him seriously, it must still be painful. He struggled.
But I was already done, with a gesture I raised him into the air.
"Tag team him!" I shouted to Black Lightning.
He grinned before raising his hands and focusing all his energy, releasing a bolt of jet black electricity. In return I twisted the magnetic fields and increased his output by as much as I could, effectively supercharging the attack.
The Parasite screamed as he took entirely too much energy, his body breaking down in places.
I slammed him down again, sealing him in a cocoon of solidified metal. He was no longer conscious. Still alive however as I left air holes. His powers are temporary boosts, for the most part… I think. When he powers down I'll let him out. How he got so strong is something to explore…
Oh yes… Toyman.
I drift inside the building and drag out a hiding figure in a silly mask.
All it takes is a few lengths of wire to capture him.
"This creature, the Parasite… you made some device to feed it, didn't you?" I stated, holding him over his destroyed army. I sensed a chair like device. Which I ripped out, holding it in view. "It was this thing, right?"
"Yes..." The Toyman nodded.
"Good." I crushed the chair into wreckage.
"Well, it looks like we got the ones that matter." Black Lightning announced.
"I'd say so. These would be the ringleaders." I replied.
"Was that you, making my powers stronger?" He asked.
"Yes. Seems I can help or hinder you." I chuckled.
"Nice work, but I'm a little concerned about that last attack. We could have killed that… man." He noted.
"He was tougher than a normal human, he could take a lot. But it wasn't the attack that stopped him, it was the excess energy he leeched off it which did him in. He took in too much and his power started to short out. More and he might have completely self-destructed." I replied.
"Ah, a power interaction. That makes more sense." He agreed.
"He was stealing energy from me too, from my aura of magnetic energy." I added. "Nothing worth mentioning, but he did get you. I'd guess his power is temporary boosts with maybe a few small permanent gains."
"I really hope he didn't steal anything of mine." Black Lightning responds.
"Still, that was incredible teamwork from you both!" Lois added. "Well done, apprehending the menace and his secret monster."
"He's a meta. But a criminal one, by how he jumped straight to assault. I wouldn't be surprised if he has a body count from his feeding." I added.
Lois nodded. "I'll look for unusual deaths."
"Try looking through the reports for dehydration or abnormal decay." I suggested.
"Will do." She added. Then blinked.
A blank spot entered my senses at high speed. I turned waving. "Hey Superman. Good to see you again."
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