Ultimate Superman #5: Eyes On Argus, Part One

[DiscipleofBob]

Ultimate Superman #5:
Eyes On Argus, Part One

Detective Olsen watched from his unmarked car a few blocks away as the black truck finished packing up. He wondered if he should call his partner, but he couldn't be sure if Dan Turpin would approve of an off-the-books stakeout on their day off. It was based on a tip from a very reliable source, one that the detective couldn't ignore.

When your best friend calls in a favor, you don't refuse, especially when said best friend happens to be Superman.

The men in black with the truck were not unfamiliar. For years these federal black budget blowhards would shove their nose into crime scenes and take away metahumans and other supercriminals to god knows where. The local cops were left filling in a lot of blank spaces on paperwork without any real explanation. If he could find out anything about them, maybe he wouldn't be able to do much as an officer of the law, but he still had friends back at the Planet who could make things very interesting for these classified creeps if some of their secrets went public.

The truck finally finished loading up and pulled away. Following behind was a black limousine that may have remained inconspicuous if Olsen hadn't already been tipped that Lex Luthor might be involved.

Tailing them was an option, but if they left the city then to do so without being caught would be impossible. When Olsen noticed one of the MIB's escort sedans off to the side, he got an idea.

Detective Olsen stepped up to the black sedan just as its lone occupant was finishing packing up. "Scuse me," Olsen said as he interposed himself between the agent and the car.

"Step aside. This is an official-"

"I'm sure it is," Olsen said as he suddenly grabbed the agent by the collar and swung him against the door.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"You're parked in front of a fire hydrant. I'm afraid I'm going to have to take you in. Zero tolerance policy," Olsen said with a smile hidden from the agent pressed against the car.

"You're just some city cop! You have no authority..."

"I've got plenty of authority. Unless you've got some kind of official identification," Olsen hinted, but was met with silence. The problem with a top-secret operation, military or otherwise, is that any form of identification would be considered classified, leaving agents like this one to try to command respect and compliance without the weight of a badge. "Fine then. Civilian with a parking violation it is."

"When I contact my superiors..."

"Oh, you mean with this phone here?" Olsen asked as he patted down the agent and grabbed the burner cell phone from the inside pocket.

"YES! Now hand that phone over this instance!" the agent spat as he struggled against his captor's hold.

"What phone?" Olsen asked as he casually tossed the phone into a nearby sewer grate. "I don't see a phone."

"If you only find yourself without a job consider yourself the luckiest man alive!" the agent yelled through grinding teeth.

"Officer?" Olsen flagged down a nearby beat cop as he put the agent in handcuffs. "Take this guy downtown and book em."

"On what charges, sir?"

"Resisting arrest, threatening an officer, impersonating a federal agent... Let's see, there was one more... Oh yeah, and a parking violation," he added at an increasingly undignified MIB,

The officer looked over the arrested 'suspect' with about as much suspicion as Detective Olsen expected. "Are you sure he's not a federal agent, sir?"

"If he is, we'll issue a very sincere, very formal apology to whatever Jason Bourne wannabes claim him. Shame he doesn't have any identification that could prove otherwise," Olsen explained as he forced the agent into the back of the nearby squad car. "Also make sure to remind him that the booking process might take a few hours, and afterwards if he wants a phone call, he can wait in line like everyone else." Satisfied, Olsen went back to the black sedan with the keys he'd 'acquired' when he pat down the agent earlier. "In the meantime I'm commandeering this vehicle for an investigation. Ooh, heated leather seats. Nice!"

The beat cop shrugged and started reciting, "You have the right to remain silent..."

Olsen drove at the rear of the convoy in a standard mobile security escort formation, figuring that wouldn't raise any red flags. The giant black truck and the trailing limousine weren't exactly difficult to follow. As he expected, they both got on the freeway and drove out of the city. On the way, Olsen began thinking up excuses in case they decided to pull over and question him. And just in case they weren't interested in questions, Olsen checked his gun to make sure it was loaded. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

"No sign of Big blue. Camouflage on," said a voice over the radio. A strange hexagonal energy pattern enveloped each vehicle in the convoy, changing he black truck to a commonplace semi, and the limousine and other cars into ordinary-looking vehicles, at least by appearance.

Realizing he had to follow suit or be discovered, Olsen frantically pressed a few buttons. He activated the radio and the windshield wipers before he realized the literal camouflage-painted button was what he wanted. Olsen guessed it was more practical than full invisibility which could cause serious problems on the highway. He was also fairly certain the camouflage was designed specifically to counter Superman's vision.

They drove for over an hour, heading into the mountains. Olsen followed along with one hand on the steering wheel and the other hand on a camera, taking pictures periodically, on the off-chance that he might need photographic proof.

It wasn't long before the base came into view: a fully staffed complex with armed guards, hidden in the side of a mountain. No doubt it used similar cloaking technology as the vehicles to keep hidden from any flyover superheroes. Knowing better than to try and follow them all directly into the base he pulled into a side road before footing it to the front entrance, making sure his detective badge was visible.

Two guards in black uniforms armed with army-issue combat rifles blocked the path into the base. "Halt! This is a restricted area."

"Easy, easy boys. We're all on the same side here." Olsen smiled, pulling out his badge, though the guards remained unimpressed.

"State your business."

"Well, you guys took a suspect from a crime scene without processing him first. I need someone in charge to sign some stuff so I can give a full report to my boss." Of course Olsen didn't actually have any papers to sign, but he was willing to bet that he wouldn't need them.

"Turn around and go back the way you came. This isn't your jurisdiction." He was right.

"You sure about that? You've got a suspect from a Metropolis crime scene."

"Your suspect is the property of the United States military."

"Really? What branch? I don't see any Army or Air Force logos, that's for sure."

The guard clicked the safety off his gun as a very audible warning. "You need to leave right now. Or would you be preferred to be treated as a spy?"

Olsen threw his hands up in defeat. "All right, all right, I'm going. Excuse me for doing my job." Before the guards could change their minds and detain him, or possibly even shoot him on the spot, Olsen turned around and left the way he came. When he was sure the guards were out of sight, he reached deep in his inner coat pocket and pulled out an old good luck charm: what appeared to be an ordinary novelty Superman watch that of course was always off by between 5 and 15 minutes depending. As a timepiece it was useless, but it was more than just a sentimental gift from an old friend. He clicked the side button, and although he couldn't hear anything, a flock of birds took off nearby. Superman would be there shortly. After all, he was expecting the call.

"I'm afraid I couldn't find out much. I've got a few hunches, but nothing concrete. I do know they took whatever's holding that crazy Superman-zombie-thing into the main building, and I'm guessing there's more to it than just what's visible. I saw Lex Luthor's limousine pull inside as well."

Superman, Power Girl, and Detective Olsen looked over the compound from a vantage point well-hidden in the trees.

"Difficult to tell," Superman said after taking a good look over the compound. "There's an unusually high concentration of lead in the ground."

"Probably why they chose it," said Power Girl. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go bust up the place!"

Superman grimaced, mulling the situation over. "It's more complicated than that. If they really are U.S. military, attacking them head on would mean treason."

"Are you kidding me?! Look, that thing may have been a freakish abomination, but he was at least part Kryptonian, and I'm not going to let them throw him away in a dungeon or run experiments on him or worse!"

"I'm not planning to let anyone suffer, including the creature. There's a lot more to this than what we're seeing though," Superman quickly responded before Power Girl could fly off on her own again. "Detective Olsen, you said you couldn't find anything to prove they were military or federal agents?"

"No, and I got a pretty good look at the place. They're going through a lot of trouble to stay anonymous."

Superman paused as Power Girl only grew more impatient. "We don't know if they're military or some kind of mercenary or terrorist group," he reasoned with a knowing smile. "We certainly can't just let them be if they're the latter."

"Speaking of plausible deniability, as much as I love to watch you guys work, I'm going to get going before the show starts," Olsen interrupted, turning towards Power Girl before leaving. "Hey, Power Girl, I don't suppose you might be free this weekend?"

Superman shot a protective glare that Olsen tried his best to ignore. "Wrong tree," Power Girl shot down without even looking.

"Can't blame a guy for trying," Olsen shrugged off the rejection and waved as he left. "Knock em dead, Superman. Figuratively of course."

"Of course. Stay safe, Jimmy."

"Hey, it's Detective now. I got a badge with my name on it and a decoder ring and everything."

Once Detective Olsen was gone, Superman and Power Girl shared a look and nodded. "Let's do this."

Lex Luthor stepped out of the limousine, accompanied by his two musclewomen bodyguards. Meeting him in the hangar was a very stoic, annoyed woman with the frame of a cinderblock.

"Mr. Luthor. This is an unexpected surprise," Amanda Waller said with all the joy of a piranha.

"Well, with all the excitement from earlier today I thought I'd stop by and make sure there weren't any other lax security problems I should know about." Luthor, Waller, and their respective escorts marched down the hallway, its architecture purposefully twisting and turning to throw off intruders, but both knew exactly how to get to the main control room.

Waller's eyes narrowed. "You don't run the operation here."

"No, but it is my money, and I feel as an investor I have the right to know I'm not wasting my money," Luthor said before she could continue.

Waller grimaced, knowing full well Luthor was involved in this particular project as more than just a financial donor. Much of their weapons and technology came from LuthorCorp and even a good portion of their staff were hired directly from Luthor's men. "There was a small glitch. The problem has been dealt with and precautions have been taken to make sure this doesn't happen again."

"You'll forgive me if I decide to take a look for myself." As if on cue, flashing red lights flooded the hallway accompanied by a loud buzzing alarm. "You were saying?"

They all rushed to the main control room where men were either furiously working away at various consoles or scrambling to arm themselves. "Report," Waller demanded.

"It's them! Both of them!" Waller grimaced at the unwelcome arrivals while Luthor scowled in disappointment.

"They shouldn't be able to see us!" Waller said before a sonic boom shook the room, followed by the loud crash of something, or rather two somethings, landing in the center of the base. "You led them here!"

"I came under the supposed protection and discretion of YOUR people, Waller. Now are you going to do something about the alien menaces in your base or do I have to clean up this mess too?" Luthor said without losing his cool or his condescension.

"We don't have anything that can take down one Superman, much less his angrier counterpart!" Waller had to yell over the alarm.

"You have nothing? What about those metahumans you have in custody? Weren't they supposed to be reeducated or something?"

"They're not at this facility," Waller had to say through gritted teeth,

"Oh good, the strongest being on Earth is tearing apart your front door, and all you can do is watch," Luthor said with a disappointed sigh. He snapped his fingers as Mercy stepped forward with a large metal case. The loud thud it made when it was slammed into the nearest table betrayed just how heavy the large case was and how strong Mercy and her companion had to be to lift such a thing. "Lucky for you I didn't come unprepared. Get KGBeast, I have a toy for him to try out for me." After a momentary death glare from Waller, Luthor had to roll his eyes. "Oh don't look at me like that. It's easier to say and remember than Agent Anatoli Knyazev and you know it." He flipped open the thumbprint-locked latches on the case and unsealed the prize within. "Since you're not properly equipped, I'll have to take charge here."

"And exactly what are you planning to do?" Waller asked.

Luthor smiled. "I always come armed with Mercy and Hope."

From above it looked like an empty mountain range, but both Superman and Power Girl had been close enough to know better. They flew straight down at top speeds, easily shattering the barrier that was designed more for camouflage than for durability. They left two craters as they crashed into the asphalt suddenly visible, the shockwaves from their landings alone knocking the majority of the guards away.

The guards still standing with assault rifles didn't even bother trying to fire, tossing their weapons and heading to the nearest armory for the heavy artillery.

Something struck Power Girl like a punch in the back and sent her to the ground. Although she suffered no real damage, the sheer force was surprisingly able to actually hurt her.

Atop two of the compound's buildings were turrets the size of minivans. The shells they were firing were the size of Power Girl's fists, solid rounds about twice the weight of a bowling ball, hurled with enough force that they may just bruise her.

Of course once Power Girl knew about the turrets, the shells moved far too slowly for her to be hit again. In a fraction of a second she flew to one of the turrets before ripping it from its base and hurling it into the other.

Superman, meanwhile, took stock of all the soldiers. Military or not, they were going to shoot first and ask questions later with some particularly large and unique-looking firearms. Some of them had glowing cannisters instead of ammo cartridges, but thankfully nothing looked excessively green to be a real danger. Still, not wanting to find out just how much damage these weapons could do to him, Superman quickly used his heat vision to melt every barrel he could see, rendering them useless.

"Let's not waste more time here than we have to. Remember, we're here for a reason," he called out to Power Girl who was being a little too thorough in dismantling some weapons and other defenses.

"Right, let's go!" Before the soldiers could even think about regrouping they flew into the nearby hangar, ripping open its doors easily.

The hangar was carved out of the mountain, and was large enough for several experimental aircraft including a troop transport, as well as several military and maintenance trucks, including the one that picked up Bizarro earlier.

"We could just burrow straight down and see if there's a sub-level," Power Girl suggested.

Superman shook his head. "There probably is, but we don't know if it's directly below us. And with all this lead in the ground, we don't know if just breaking through will cause any tunnel collapses. Remember, this is still a rescue mission, and we still want to avoid killing anyone if possible."

Power Girl sighed. "Fine, scenic route it is."

Before they could find the right entrance into the compound, the inner doors opened, and two women in sunglasses and pantsuits stepped forward, blocking the door like bouncers.

Power Girl stifled a laugh. "You really might want to think about what you're doing right now."

"Luthor's orders," the brunette said stoically as they both removed their shades and jackets.

"And I don't have time to place nice!" Power Girl shouted before charging forward, holding back just enough to hopefully avoid seriously injuring them.

She was caught by surprise when the blonde grabbed her by the arm and tossed her straight up with her own momentum. The brunette had already leapt into the air some twenty feet and spun her leg around to slam Power Girl back like a volleyball with far more force than she could ever expect.

"Care to try that one again?" the blonde said with a smirk.

In a blind rage, Power Girl lifted her head as red heat beams shot from her eyes.

Somehow moving their arms before Power Girl's heat vision fired, the lasers reflected off of the brunette's now-revealed silver bracelets to leave scorch marks in the far wall. With their jackets off, the heavily muscled arms and stylized tribal tattoos were also visible.

Superman was instantly by Power Girl's side. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Power Girl said picking herself up. "I just didn't expect anyone here to actually put up a fight."

"We'll take them together," Superman offered.

"No, we're on a time limit as is. I'll keep these two busy, you move on ahead."

"But..."

"I've got this. Don't worry, I'll be careful. Plus I know you don't like to hit girls."

Superman hesitated before nodding in agreement. "Just take care of yourself."

Power Girl nodded as both Kryptonians rushed the entrance. The two bodyguards couldn't fly, but they ran as surprisingly comparable speeds to meet them. Superman cut to the side to fly around them, but the two bodyguards didn't seem to pay him any mind. "Luthor's orders. We only need to take care of one of you."

Power Girl and the two muscled women raised their fists simultaneously to meet with a violent clash.

Superman raced through the dark, narrow, surprisingly deserted halls, looking for an elevator or another way down. He tried not to worry about Power Girl. She could take care of herself after all.

With his super speed it only took a few moments to scour the labyrinth of halls and empty rooms before he came across an elevator at the end of a widened room. He rushed to the elevator doors, reinforced with thick titanium, but he could still pry them open in a few seconds without too much trouble.

As soon as he tossed back the remains of the door, a blast of sickly green all-too-familiar energy blasted him from behind. Superman grimaced in pain and collapsed, his strength almost immediately drained from him. "Metallo? Corben, is that you?"

The metal humanoid figure faded into existence as he deactivated his cloak. It looked like Metallo, with the robotic steel armor and the glowing green veins of energy, but the voice was not that of John Corben. "Nyet, Superman." Superman looked up as his assailant, and a quick scan showed that this wasn't an android. This was a man in a high-tech suit of armor, using Metallo's Kryptonite-fueled technology, the perfect weapon against the Man of Steel. "I want you to know this is nothing personal, Man of Steel. I hold you in the highest regard and consider defeating you to be the greatest honor I could hope for," the armored man spoke before raising its wrist-mounted energy blaster again.

To Be Continued...