Issue #20: "Friends and Enemies"

WARNING, YOU MAY WANT TO READ JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. AMERICA #1 BEFORE READING THIS[/b]

Even in Metropolis, the cleanest city on earth, the cabs smelled like urine.

“You don’t reckon Perry is on drugs or something do you Lois?” Clark asked.

“I don’t reckon? Reckon. What is that smallville some sort of mid-western cowboy talk?” Clark started to answer but Lois cut him off. “I don’t know Clark, all I know is something is very wrong, you read that editorial. That’s not at all like Perry.”

“I don’t know Lois, this thing with the government and the JLA really have a lot of people questioning where there loyalties lie.”

“Clark Kent, you know as well as I do that Superman and Perry have some sort of quasi-father/son relationship. That editorial is going to cut into Superman’s heart as much as if Perry drove a piece of kryptonite through it.”

Clark turned and looked out through the cab window. “I know,” he mumbled.

Jimmy Olsen showed his press pass to the guard at Star Labs.

“Hello there Olsen, it’s been a while what brings you around?” The guard took his camera laid in the tray and pushed it to the other side of the large walkthrough metal detector and waved him through

“Chief wants me to get some pics of the new hydrogen engine.” Jimmy walked through the large archway.

“Ok, you know where to go, energy research is in level 3. Here’s your pass.”

Jimmy clipped the pass to his shirt. “Thanks Todd, see ya on the flip side.”

Professor Periwinkle stood beside his hydrogen engine. “Like this? Mr. Olsen?”

“Yeah, cough, that’s it.” Jimmy answered.

“I guess the high fuel prices have renewed interest in my engine, huh?”

“Cough, I don’t know, cough cough, I just take pictures. How about removing your lab coat, show more of the man instead of the scientist. ”

Professor Periwinkle removed his lab coat and folded it neatly in a table and adjusted his tie. “Should I expect a call from a reporter?”

“I don’t, cough cough, know. I told you I’m just here, to take, cough cough, a picture. Which I can’t do very well with this cough would you mind getting me a drink? Something fruity usually helps.”

“Sure, something fruity. I’ll be right back, may take me a minute, I’ll have to go to the cafeteria.”

“Take your time, I’m in no hurry.” Jimmy said as the Professor left the room. He waited for a minute and then unfolded periwinkles lab coat and put it on. He slowly opened the door making sure Periwinkle wasn’t coming back yet then quickly walked to the elevator and made his down to level five. At the end of a long corridor Jimmy took the professor’s magnetic ID card and swiped it into the door marked K-STORAGE RADIATION DANGER.

Jimmy replaced Periwinkles lab coat and made his way back to the lobby.
“Get what you need Jimmy?” Todd asked as he took Jimmy’s camera and slid it to the other side of the counter.

Jimmy walked through and picked up his camera on the other side clutching it tightly to him. “I sure did Todd, I sure did.”

Clark was a wanted fugitive, he couldn’t change that. The presidential order had been given. These men were merely doing the job they had been assigned. He hated being on the other side of the law. Jonathon and Martha Kent had given Clark many life lessons through how they lived their own life. One of those was when Jonathon and a group of farmers opposed a Smallville city sanction land sell for the new interstate. The old quarry would have to be drained and blasted and they were concerned about the damage that would do to the water table. They stood their ground and won, the new interstate went elsewhere without doing any damage. Later, Clark noticed his father talking and joking with one of the city council members. “I thought you and him were enemy’s pa?” Clark asked. “Enemies? Land-o-goshen no, son. Ben Hubbard is my best friend. Why would you think that?”

“You and he were fighting over that interstate thing.”

“Clark, sometimes the people who we want to run stuff for us, do things we don’t think are right. When that happens you have to question it and get everybody’s opinion to figure out what’s best for everybody.”
“But pa, he’s a city councilman”

“You’re right son, and as such he deserves our respect but not our unquestioning loyalty.”

“How will I know when to ask a question pa?”

“Trust your instincts son; don’t ever do anything that someone tells you to do if it doesn’t feel right. And you can always come to me.” Jonathon tousled Clarks black curly hair.

Clark sure wished his father was here now.

Thank goodness that was over Clark thought as he approached his apartment building. Skulking about in the shadows was a Bruce thing, he hated it. Flying was one of his most passive powers but it was the one that gave him the most pleasure, being unbound by gravity, watching the world roll past beneath him, it was peaceful, and if there were anything he needed after the last few days it was some peace. He did a quick x-ray scan of the building to make sure there were no surprises waiting for him.

“Aww shoot.” He thought, Lois was knocking on the door.

He opened the door to his apartment, and looked at Lois Lane as she entered. She didn’t say ‘Hi, how you been?’, but instead: “Where have you been, Smallville?”

Clark shrugged nonchalantly. “Nowhere. Asleep.”

She looked around awkwardly, and then continued. “Perry’s been asking for you. I told him you’d be back when you’re up to it.”

“I know. It’ll be soon, I think. I might fly back to Smallville, I don’t know--”

She looked at him, a fierce look in her eye. “You shouldn’t be doing anything strenuous, not after your injury…” Her words trailed off.

Clark nodded in agreement. For all she knew, beneath this shirt and tie was a barely healed bullet wound, caused by his taking one from an assassin, who’d had Lois’ death on his agenda.

“I’ll be fine. I’m a quick healer. Like my Pa…” He grimaced. “Anyway, anything new happen in the world of news since I left? Any news on the Justice League? On Superman?”

Lois shrugged her shoulders exasperatedly. “Nothing. No word from Superman, no word from any of them.”

“Can I get you a drink?”

“Sure.”

There was a knock at the door. “Can you get that?”

She laughed. “Sure!” He headed into the kitchenette and then paused. He recognised the heartbeats behind the door. Perry and Jimmy. There was something strange though. He heard something else. A flutter of something else? He tensed slightly. He was not a paranoid man, by any means. But… their heartbeats were strange. Rhythmic. Together. Together exactly! Which was virtually impossible. He put down the jug of coffee, and hurried into the lounge. Lois was at the door, and she was about to open it.

“NO!” He moved her out of the way, and then gunshots rattled through the door, wood splintering and plaster crumbling.

KABLAM! KABLAM![/i]

“Something’s wrong!” A fist punched through the splintered doorframe, and Clark recognized it as Perry’s. “Something’s very wrong!”


Perry swung his bloody knuckles at Clark. Clark intended to let him connect but roll with it to avoid crushing Perry’s hand further, but something slowed Clark down and Perry connected for real. The blow sent Clark reeling, crashing to the floor.

“Perry! Jimmy!” Lois screamed. “What are you doing?”

Jimmy grabbed Lois around the neck and placed the gun to her head.

“Soooppeerrrmmmaannn” Jimmy spoke as if his mouth were full of tar.

Lois brought her elbow back into Jimmy’s Solar plexus knocking the breath from him. She grabbed his hand that held the gun and brought his wrist crashing down onto the end table. Several bones snapped. “Gaaaahhh”, Jimmy cried out in pain and dropped the gun. Perry was standing over Clark about to hit him again Lois smashed the end table across his back.

“How’s that for a dot above your eye.”

Perry slumped to the floor. Clark groaned. Not that Clark would be any help normally but with his injuries, he was even less. Lois thought. “Clark, get out! Go contact Superman!”

Clark stumbled to his feet. What did Perry hit him with, what was going on he wondered. “Lois I don’t . . .” Jimmy was stirring.

“Clark, this is no time to play dumb! Go!” Lois pushed Clark out the front door.

Did Lois know about him he wondered? Time to worry about that later he flew threw the window at the end of the hall, shed his Clark clothes and flew around the building and in the open window. As soon as he was back in the apartment he began to feel weak. Jimmy was now awake and he and Lois struggled for the gun. A pinpoint blast of super breath blew Jimmy back against the wall hard and he collapsed in a heap on the floor.

“Superman look out!” Lois shouted.

Superman turned as Perry came barreling down upon him. Perry caught him under the chin with his forearm and pushed him back against the wall. “Why am I suddenly so weak”, Superman wondered. He began to sweat as Perry pushed harder choking him. Superman got his foot up on Perry’s chest and pushed. Perry stumbled backwards and fell over the couch. He scrambled as he fell and his hands flew open. The small quarter size sliver of Kryptonite he held in his right hand flew out and skittered to the floor.

“Lois.” She didn’t have to wait for further instructions. She grabbed the sliver from the floor, no time to think she pitched it out the window as far as she could. Perry ran toward her hands outstretched intent on wrapping them around her throat. With a blur Superman was standing in front of her. He grabbed Perry by both hands and held him. Perry squirmed, but now with the Kryptonite removed he could only struggle as Superman held him fast. He looked at Perry; the man who like Lois had said was so much a father figure to him even more so after the death of Jonathon. Perry face was twisted with rage. Superman looked past it. His vision peeled back the skin, the muscles, the bone, his brain. There attached to the skin on the back of his neck, some kind of small star shaped parasite with tendrils reaching into his brain.

Superman spun him around and with a small low amplitude zap of heat vision the small layer of skin and the parasite went up in smoke.

Perry collapsed into Superman’s arms.

A quick exam of Jimmy revealed another creature, zap, it was gone.

The phone rang. Lois and Superman exchanged a glance. “Answer it.” Lois said. “It might be Clark, I sent him out looking for you.”

So she didn’t know, Clark breathed a mental sigh of relief.

He picked up the receiver.

He listened for a second, Lois was attending to Perry and Jimmy, and they were coming around.

“Batman, now isn’t a good time--” he whispered.

Suddenly a voice filled Clark’s head. “Friends, I have grave news! J’onn!”

The line went dead.
Superman stepped back into the living room. “Was that Clark”, Lois asked. “Uh no, telemarketer, Lois I have to go can you handle this here?”

“Is this somehow connected to what’s going on with the League?”

“I don’t know for sure Lois, but I’m going to find out.” Lois recognized that tone of voice. It was more than a statement it was a point of fact. Superman stopped at the window and turned back to Lois.

“Lois, take care of them, and be careful.”

“I will.”

He was gone.