Post by Stardrifter on Nov 30, 2011 23:25:32 GMT -5
by
Stardrifter001
Vendetta
Shock wears off quickly. The sight of Superman on his knees before the creature is enough to sway them for a moment. A loud voice jars them back to reality.
"Open fire!" Lex shouts at his men and the police alike. Shots ring out. The creature raises its arms in a protective stance, letting go of Superman, who falls to the floor.
"Aaargh!" the creature yells as the bullets speed toward him. His yell quickly turns to laughter. The gunshots slow to a halt as the room collectively realizes what's happening. The bullets are ricocheting off the creature.
"Well this is interesting," the creature says to no one in particular.
One of the braver security guards pulls out his billy club and swings at the creature. His club cracks into splinters on the back of its head. In response the creature backhands the guard. He flies through the air and crashes into the wall, his skull caved in.
The creature casually walks out of the lab and into the hallway. A fragile silence fills the room as everyone waits to see what will happen next. The creature stands in front of the security surrounding Lex and asks, "Where is this place?"
"This is LexCorp headquarters," Lex tells him, his voice unwavering.
"LexCorp?" The name sounds familiar to him. The creature takes a moment to gather his thoughts. His memories are all a jumble. "LexCorp? LexCorp!" It comes back to him in fits. LexCorp. Metropolis. S.T.A.R. Labs. Morgan Edge.
"Edge...EDGE!"
All but Lex cower at the sound of fury that comes from the creature. In a blink the creature flies straight through the ceiling. The building shakes and screams erupt as he flies through floor upon floor until he reaches open sky.
As the dust settles, Lex turns to his men and issues orders. "Track him! Get a drone in the air after him! If he's too fast then get satellite imaging. I want to know where he is at..."
"Who do you think you are, Luther? Patton?" Turpin yells. "You're a private citizen! Leave this to the police!"
"Detective, this has gone far beyond Metropolis Finest," Lex retorts calmly.
"And the great Luthor is going to mobilize an army aft..."
"Gentlemen!"
They turn at the interruption to see Dr. Irons and Maggie helping Superman to his feet. Its plain to see he's weak. It's a strange sight for Lex. He's never viewed Clark as anything but powerful.
"I think we have more important things to deal with than who is going after the freak," Maggie tells them both with a condescending tone.
Lex gives Turpin a glare and walks over to Superman. His friend looks pale and tired, but he can see he's trying to put on a brave face. "Are you all right, Superman?"
"I'm okay," Superman breathes heavily. "I've...I've never felt anything like that before. Like all my strength just went away."
"And into the creature, it would seem," Dr. Irons postulates. "I think we're dealing with more than a creature that kills with his touch. I believe he's actually absorbing life energy from his victims. It would explain why he suddenly gained all of Superman's abilities after absorbing his energy."
"So this...Parasite...can steal powers from super powered beings?" Maggie asks.
"I can't say for certain, Detective," Dr. Irons explains. "This was a single instance. Hardly enough to offer a pattern. It could simply be Superman's physiology specifically that would grant him abilities. There's just not enough information."
"Anyone else notice that he got real talkative after touching Superman?" Turpin asks suspiciously.
"Indeed," Lex says more to himself than the others, the wheels in his mind already going over all the possibilities. "It seem Superman's energy brought him back his intelligence as well. And what he said at the end..."
"Edge." Maggie's tone is a haunted one. It all seems to come back to Morgan Edge. It all started with Rudy. "Rudy!" Maggie blurts out. Everyone looks at her with confusion. "Dr. Irons, did you get a DNA sample from the Parasite?"
"Well yes..."
"Run it. Immediately. I have a hunch there is more to the Jones deaths than we realize."
Superman finally manages to stand up on his own. He's a little shaky at first, but he starts walking toward the elevator.
"Superman we should really take a look at you!" Dr. Irons calls out after him. Lex puts his hand up to silence the doctor and walks after his friend and enters the elevator with him. As the doors shut, Superman leans up against the wall for support.
"How are you feeling?" Lex asks, concerned.
"Not good. Kinda sick. Haven't felt like this since I was a kid."
"Maybe Dr. Irons is right. We should see..."
"I'll be fine, Lex," Clark interrupts his friend, standing up straight to make a point. "All the other people this Parasite touched that weren't killed were fine. I just need to get my strength back."
"And how long is that going to take? Parasite is out there, most likely hunting down Morgan Edge, with your powers. While I wouldn't cry a river at the loss of Edge, who knows what kind of damage he could do trying to get to him."
"I know."
***
Parasite crashes through the roof of the LexCorp building, his new found powers lifting him through the air at an amazing speed. Finally coming to a stop high above Metropolis, he looks down upon the city and stares in awe for a moment. It seems so small. So insignificant to his new found power.
His mind quickly returns to Morgan Edge. He thinks to himself, wondering where Edge might be right now. A flash out of the corner of his eye catches his attention briefly. As he focuses on it, he suddenly finds himself overwhelmed as the glint of sun off a window he was looking at seems to grow in size until it's right in front of him. At first he thought he moved toward it, but he didn't feel any motion, further disorienting him.
Next thing he knows the window disappears. Then the floor behind it. He sees people in cubicles briefly and then they disappear as well. Then floor, then another office, and another floor. "AAARGH!" he screams, closing his eyes and covering them with his hands. The disorientation dissipates. He hovers still for a moment, his eyes closed, trying to gather his thoughts. He listens to the wind as it whips by him. The sounds of the city below droning in the background. They get louder.
HONK! HONK!
Move it asshole!
This morning at the White House, the President vetoed a bill...
I just don't think he loves me anymore. He's always out with his friends. We've...
Faster! Faster!! Faster Mommy!
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Hey Jimmy, how many t's are in unforgettable?
Swin to reach the end! But I am steady not to offend! On whom can you depend? Swin to reach the end!
Just a little off the top.
VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Where is it? I had it here just a second ago.
All the sounds come at once, deafening him. Parasite shuts his eyes tight and grabs his ears, pressing his hands into them in a vain attempt to block the noise. Curling up into the fetal position, he begins to fall back down to Earth. He's vaguely aware of the crashing sounds and the feel of concrete and wood hitting his body until he finally comes to a stop. There are screams now. He focuses on them and is able to gauge their distance. Close. Closer than all the other sounds bombarding him. He concentrates harder and pushes the distant sounds away until they're nothing more than a background hum. A hum he realizes he can focus on at his choosing to pick out individual sounds.
Finally opening his eyes, Parasite gets to his feet and discovers he's inside some sort of coffee shop. The name escapes him but he feels he should recognize it. The patrons are mostly already gone, save for the ones injured or trying to help the injured. He looks down at a young woman, cradling a broken man in her arms, and feels the hunger again. He reaches out toward her.
"Please!" the woman cries, black tears streaming down her cheeks, her mascara ruined. "P-Please don't h-hurt me!"
His hand stops just shy of her quivering face. He's hungry. He wants to feed. He wants her. But she's innocent. She hasn't done anything to him. It wouldn't be right. Right...
"I'm...sorry..." he whispers and storms out of the coffee shop. Once outside, more people scream and run away. He pushes all the noise out of his mind and listens. Listens for the one he wants. One who isn't innocent at all. The one he will feed on.
***
Clark rushes through the crowded street and spots Lois outside the ruined Starbucks. The lights from the ambulances, firetrucks, and police cruisers are flashing like wild. He reaches Lois as she finishes speaking to a witness. Lois turns and gives him a wicked grin. He can't help but be charmed by it.
"I see I finally beat you to a story, Smallville. What's wrong? Your sources not come through." Her voice drips with playful sarcasm.
"Not really," Clark mutters.
Her gloating over, Lois takes a good look at Clark and puts her hand on his arm. "Are you sure you're okay Clark? You look pale."
"I'm all right. Just something I ate I think," Clark coughs and holds his stomach for effect. "So what happened?"
"That purple monster," Lois tells him as they walk along, surveying the damage. "Witnesses say he crashed through the roof of the building. It killed three people and wounded a half dozen others."
"Why didn't he attack more? There's plenty of people around here."
"That's just it," Lois stops and turns to him. "He didn't attack anyone. Those were just the casualties of him crashing into the building. Apparently he reached toward one girl, but stopped and headed outside. He stood there for a minute and then flew off."
"Flew?" Clark asks, feigning surprise.
"Yeah flew. Like Superman."
"Did they say which way he headed?"
"East," Lois halfheartedly waved her arm east. "Toward who knows what."
Clark turns toward the east. He lowers his glasses slightly and stares. It's difficult, his vision isn't as strong as normal. He can't X-Ray at all yet, leaving his view obstructed and not much use. Ever since he got outside in the sun, though, he's felt much better. Hopefully it won't be long before he can track Parasite.
"AAAIIIIIEEEEEE!!!"
Clark spins around at Lois' scream and sees a man standing behind her. Faster than he should have gone to hide his identity, he rushes over and grabs the man by the t-shirt. "What are..."
"Clark, it's okay." Lois puts a hand on his arm, trying to calm him. "He just bumped into me. It startled me."
He looks down at the man in his grasp. Middle aged and unassuming. Completely calm. Lois, despite the scream, is calm as well.
"I'm sorry," Clark apologizes as he lets go of the man's shirt.
"It's all right. Was an accident." The man looks over at Lois and continues on his way. Clark looks around to see everyone staring at them, including two police officers. He waves that it's okay and looks away, embarrassed.
"I'm sorry Lois, I just thought..."
"I understand, Clark. It was sweet." Closing her notepad, Lois turns to start making her way out of the chaos. "We should get back to the Planet. Need a ride?"
"No thanks. I have a hunch I want to follow up on." He walks her to her car anyway.
***
The phone rings again. Ang again. It's a painful ring, driving itself inside the hungover skull of Morgan Edge.
"Uhhhh..." he groans, turning over in his bed to wrap the pillow around his ears. "Would one of you get that?"
The brunette on his right sits up in bed, lifting the sheet to cover her naked form, and answers the phone. "Morgan Edge's phone."
Edge squirms under the covers to try to get even further away from the noise. He plants his face in between the breasts of the redhead on the left and sighs.
"Morgan?" the brunette tries to get his attention. When he doesn't answer she gently shakes his shoulder. "Morgan? It's the police."
"I don't give a fuck who it is!" he snaps at her. She draws her hand back like a wounded puppy.
"But...they're saying you're in danger. Someone..."
She's interrupted by a crash as Parasite breaks through the wall of his 40th floor condo. The girls scream and Edge lifts his head up in shock. "EDGE!!!"
Edge doesn't miss a beat. He flings the redhead toward Parasite, using her as a distraction while he pushes the brunette out of bed and runs over her to the door. Parasite grabs the naked woman and begins to feed on instinct. He stops quickly and drops her unconscious form to the floor.
Enjoying the hunt and the fear he can smell coming from Edge, Parasite walks at a casual pace after him. Two large men in suits wielding machine guns enter the room. They're of no consequence.
As Edge runs naked though his home, desperately seeking the elevator to the roof and his awaiting helicopter, he can hear the screams of his men. More guards go to face the intruder. The sound of gunfire is brief. The screams are not.
The elevator in sight, Edge dives inside and spins around to push the button for the roof. As the doors close, he sees Parasite round the corner. He breathes a sigh of relief as the elevator begins to ascend. A few seconds later he reaches the roof.
"Get the chopper going now!" Edge yells at the guard and pilot waiting on the roof. They both give him a confused look for a moment, raising Edge's ire. "NOW! And give me your jacket!"
As Edge ties the jacket around his waist, they hear a rumble below them. The guard and Edge jump out of the way just in time as Parasite explodes through the roof, sending concrete flying. The pilot isn't so lucky and ends up on the other side of the roof, motionless.
"Heheheheh," Parasite lets out a sickening laugh. "You didn't really think you could escape, did you?"
"Look I don't know what this is about," Edge stammers. "But I'm sure we can settle this like gentlemen." Parasite's only reply is to raise what would have been an eyebrow. "How much do you want?"
"Money? You think this is about money?" Parasite growls and turns toward the helicopter. Grabbing it in both hands, he lifts it over his head and turns menacingly toward Edge. "Money isn't everything! This...this...thing! You bought it. With...money! Will it save you?"
The guard frantically opens fire with his machine gun. The bullets are wild but many manage to hit Parasite before the clip empties. Parasite staggers back a step or two. As the echo of gunfire fades, the three men look down at Parasite's chest. Three bullets remain lodged in his chest. They barely penetrate the surface, but blood can be seen flowing down from behind them.
As if his Achilles Heal had been found, Parasite starts to feel weaker. The helicopter above his head begins to feel heavy. His arms buckling, he begins to drop it in front of him while trying not to get caught himself.
Edge and the guard jump out of the way in different directions. Edge runs to the downed pilot and rummages in his coat for his sidearm. The guard loads another clip and both men turn to take aim at Parasite, who is on one knee and breathing heavily.
"RAAAARGH!" he screams as they open fire. He turns and runs for the side of the building. With a leap he takes to the air, flying unsteady and no where near as fast as before.
"Power. My power," Parasite moans. "Need the...colorful man. Need...power..."
***
Dr. Irons does his best to ignore the pacing woman right behind his left shoulder. He used to think Lex could be bad at hovering. Some people just assume by the nature of them being present and impatient, the answers will somehow come faster.
"How much longer?" Maggie asks for the fourth time. She is tired of the uncertainty. She isn't sure which answer would be better, or worse, but the not knowing is killing her. Turpin, not caring one way or another, left hours ago.
"Just another minute, Detective," Dr. Irons says calmly while typing on his computer. "You really should sit down. There's some tea in the pot on the counter. Might calm your nerves."
"My nerves don't need to be calm."
"Suit yourself." Dr. Irons sighs as she continues to pace just out of eyesight behind him. It's distracting to say the least.
After another few minutes, Dr. Irons sits back in his chair and announces, "It's done."
Maggie almost pounces on the office chair next ot him and looks at the DNA sample on the screen. "This doesn't seem right."
Dr. Irons raises an eyebrow and grins slightly. "No it doesn't. I'm surprised you noticed. I suppose in your line of work you see enough DNA samples to know when something this unusual occurs."
"So what is it?"
"It's human. Or at least it was." Dr. Irons points at a part of the DNA strand on the screen. "This section here is mutated. It's not like anything I've seen before. It bears much more study before I can say anything specific."
"Can you run it through our system?" Maggie asks, turning to the computer next to his and logging in to the MPD database.
"I seriously doubt this guy is going to be in there," Dr. Irons says with a chuckle. Maggie turns back and gives him a glare he'd hate to see from the other side of an interrogation table. "Of course Detective."
Dr. Irons punches in the command and sits back as the computer runs through the DNA database. Maggie focuses intently on the screen, her legs shaking with a mixture of impatience and nervousness. The search ends and one name comes up.
"Rudy Jones." There's no celebration in Maggie's voice about being right.
"The match is only 63% positive. There's no guarantee it..." Dr. Irons pauses when the names rings a bell. "Jones? The husband and father of the...my God."
Maggie gets up to leave. As she's about to leave, Dr. Irons turns to ask her, "What now?"
"I pray I can use this...somehow...before it's too late."
-to be continued-