#44: Ring of Fire, Part 3 (of 3)

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Issue #44: "Ring of Fire" Part 3
Written by: Pat Owen
Cover by: Reebokesh
Edited by: Brian Burchette[/center]

The slowing heartbeat of Maggie Sawyer rang through Superman’s ears as he flew through the starry night sky with great haste, nothing more than a crimson comet to the people far below. Maggie’s body remained unmoving in his arms and he glanced down at her with sorrow in his face. Finally, Metropolis General Hospital came into view.

“Just hang on, Maggie. Please.”

Superman descended gently in front of the entrance to the medical center, walking through with Detective Sawyer still in his arms, the shards of glass still imbedded into her skin.

“I need a medic!”

***

“How much for it?”

“This? Oh it’s not for sale.”

Tyler McKnight stood in a back alley in the heart of Suicide Slums staring into the trunk of arms dealer, John Osborne’s car.

“Why not?”

“I only have one and you never know when you might need it.” Osborne said.

“I think I’m a bit more need of it than you, Osborne. I mean you’re last fight with him was awhile back. I doubt he’s still looking for a low level like you. Me on the other hand, I need it now. Surely you can understand that.”

John Osborne stared hard into Tyler’s face and could see stone cold determination in his expression. After a moment of thought, Osborne nodded in agreement handing Tyler the object of his desire.

A chunk of Kryptonite.

***

“She’s going to be fine. We managed to get the glass shards out of her, she lost a lot of blood but she’ll recover. Will just have to take it easy at work for awhile.”

“Thank you, Doctor.”

Superman stepped into Room A123 to find Maggie sitting up weakly and looking at him.

“Hi.”

“How are you doing?” Superman took a few steps closer to the bed.

“Alright, I guess.” There was a pause. “I can’t believe Tyler would do that though.”

Superman said nothing, still trying to figure out what would be appropriate in light of the circumstances.

“I know.” Was all he could muster. “Detective Sawyer…let me know if you’d rather not talk about it…but…why exactly did McKnight attack you like that?”

Maggie’s gaze dropped onto the bed sheets and she seemed to be struggling to speak.

“It’s perfectly fine if it’s too perso-“

“I told you about how Mirror Master murdered Tyler’s family. His wife and little girl and how he tried to chase after him through one of his mirror portals-“

“And that there was an accident, yes.”

“But I didn’t tell you exactly what that accident was.”

Superman sat silently, his blue eyes fixed on what Maggie was struggling to say. She looked back down at her sheets, holding back tears that were forming in her eyes. Superman put his strong but comforting hand onto Maggie’s own and she glanced up at him, finding an inner strength, knowing that he was there to help her.

“I had ran into the house to find Teri, his wife, on the floor in front of the hallway mirror, blood everywhere. I armed myself, as any cop would and proceeded upstairs. I found little Maddie in the bathroom doorway, a toothbrush still in her hand.” Maggie bit her lip. “I could hear shouts and when I ran into the bathroom, Mirror Master was jumping into one of the mirror above the sink, I fired…”

The Kryptonian hero watched while tears rolled down Maggie’s face.

“I didn’t know Tyler was jumping in after him but by the time I fired, Tyler was already halfway through the mirror…the bullet hit the mirror and shattered it…and then Tyler ended up in a coma, like I said.”

“And now that he’s woken up, he has the power to control glass.”

“Yeah…” Maggie said, examining the cuts on her arms but Superman could tell her thoughts were still on that night. “D-do you know where Tyler went?”

“No. I had to get you to the hospital fast. I didn’t have time to chase him down.” Superman said disappointedly.

The door to the room swung open and Nemo Jones stormed in.

“Maggie!? You alright?”

“I’ll live.”

Superman managed a slight smile at the sight of seeing Jones rush to Maggie’s bedside and kneel beside her.

“Ross and his wife are safe and we have all of the other Freaks in custody. We just need to pin down Tyler.” Jones said.

“I’m going to go see if I can find, McKnight.” Superman opened up the window to the room and looked out into the night sky but before he departed he turned his head back around. “Are you sure you don’t know where he would go next? You were partners with him.”

Maggie shut her eyes for a moment and Jones gave Superman a suspicious glare.

“Wait…Arkin said that Tyler was only using The Freaks, using them so he could eventually get his revenge…on me. But what if he doesn’t blame just me? What if there’s one other person to blame for everything that’s happened to him?”

Nemo Jones glanced from Maggie to Superman as if he had missed the biggest plot twist of his life. Superman lightly bobbed his head in understanding.

“Mirror Master.”

***

“McCulloch!!”

Mirror Master sat in solitude, in the dead center of a funhouse full of dozens of mirrors that surrounded him. This had been one of his getaway spots. All of the Rogues had them, hell even Cold. A place to get away from it all; crime, police, speedsters, and most importantly…

Each other.

“Aye!?”

Mirror Master looked up from where he had been gazing into his own distorted reflection in one of the trick mirrors. He scanned around the room, but the wall of mirrors didn’t show that anyone was there.

He drew his blaster and began to inch his way toward one of the mirrors, his weapon steady in his hand. He stared into his own pupils and then at the areas behind him through the mirror but still no sign of anyone. He took a step back from the mirror and stifled a laugh.

“Ye really think this scares me? Sorry to disappoint ye but it doesn’.”

There was a loud crack and the mirror in front of McCulloch now had a long thin scar stretching diagonally across it. Another sound of cracking glass rang and Mirror Master swung around, his eyes wide with tension.

Suddenly, the whole room started to quake, and Mirror Master held his head, attempting to shield himself from the loud echoes of the clattering glass. The mirrors vibrated wildly until they shattered, the shards dropping onto the floor.

“No mirrors for you to run to this time, McCulloch.”

Mirror Master found himself standing in the middle of a black walled room where the pieces of what were once the mirrors lay spread around. A thin smile flashed on McCulloch’s face but just as he was about to hop into the reflection of one of the shards, the pieces of glass completely disintegrated. He gazed up at the blond haired man that was now strolling towards him.

“Like I said, you’re not getting away.”

Mirror Master held his blaster pistol out in front of him, locked onto the man who grew closer with each passing second.

“Ye know breakin’ a mirror gives ye seven years o’ bad luck, lad? Tha’ means ye must have a’ least seventy.”

“That’s perfectly fine with me. I have no luck left to turn bad.”

***

Rain splashed down onto the Man of Steel while he soared above the skyscrapers of Metropolis. He stopped in mid-air, hovering slowly, and closed his eyes. Sounds poured into his ears, millions of people speaking, phones ringing, and dogs barking. He could hear it all but he needed something specific.

And then…he heard what he was searching for.

“Just stay th’ Hell back!”

Superman’s eyes popped open and just as he was about to propel himself into the stormy night, he heard a strange noise behind him.

“Hey Clark.”

Conner Kent, Superboy. The son of Superman who had only been under the wing of his father very shortly. He had speed, strength, flight, yet had not mastered his other abilities though he had been working on heat vision the previous morning.

“Conner? I told you to go back to the farm. It’s not safe here.”

“Yeah I know but honestly how am I supposed to learn anything if you’ve got me cooped up in Hicksville all day?”

“It’s Smallville.”

“Yeah…I said that.”

“I’m serious, Conner. Someone already got hurt and-“

“I’m just as tough as you! If you can go and fight this guy, then I should be able to too.”

“You lack exper-“

“Experience? How am I supposed to gain any if you never let me help you?” Conner said.

Superboy folded his arms, stubbornly. Superman looked hard into his son’s face. A face so much like his own.

“…fine. You can come along…but you have to promise to stay close to me, okay?”

Conner raised his hand a smile spread across his face.

“Scout’s honor.”

***

Tyler McKnight’s fist collided with Mirror Master’s nose, throwing him onto his back, his mirror gun sliding across the floor. Mirror Master held his face, beginning to sit up.

“Wait. I kno’ you…tha’ cop.”

“Of course you do, McCulloch. You took everything I had--everything.”

McKnight advanced on the Rogue, picking up the fumbled mirror gun. Mirror Master crawled backward in fright.

“Easy there, lad. Let’s just let bigons be bigons, aye?”

“No it’s too late for that, McCulloch. This one’s for my daughter, you piece of-“ McKnight’s index finger pressed down on the trigger.

And- - nothing happened.

McKnight glanced down at where he was holding the mirror gun to find that it had vanished from his grip. He saw a shape out of the corner of his eye and turned to find Superman standing boldly in front of him, the mirror gun crushed in his hand.

“I’m sorry for what happened to your family, Mr. McKnight. But that doesn’t give you any right to take another man’s life.” Superman said.

“And what do you know about losing a child, alien?”

McKnight reached into the insides of his jacket and just when he was about to pull out his surprise, Superboy came rushing in through the wall, his shoulder accidentally bumping McKnight’s. Tyler was thrown through the opposite wall and out into the carnival grounds outside.

“Whoops. Sorry about that. I kinda…well…lost control. Heh.” Conner said, scratching his head.

“How’d ye find me?” Mirror Master gasped, staring up at Superman.

Superman looked down at the Rogue and tapped his own ear.

“I was expectin’ Flasher to be th’ one to come to me rescue.” Mirror Master climbed to his feet.

“Sorry to disappoint you, McCulloch. But once we have Tyler, we’re making a pit stop to Keystone on our way back to Metropolis.” Superman’s attention shifted to Conner. “I’m going to go after McKnight. Stay and make sure he doesn’t go anywhere.”

“Okay.”

In a streak of red and blue, Superman rushed outside, scanning the area with his x-ray vision. He saw Tyler limping into the tent labeled ‘The Man Who Feels No Pain’. In a flash, Superman stood at the entrance to the entrance to the tent. He walked in to find dozens of weights trapped by a net on the ceiling.

“This guy is truly fascinating.”

Tyler was standing on the other side of the small tent, examining a poster of the man who usually performed in the tent. Tears were falling down his cheeks and he didn’t even look over at Superman.

“He can feel absolutely no pain. Even when they drop all of these weights onto him…nothing. Heh. I wish I knew what that was like; to not feel...well I guess it wouldn’t feel like anything but you know what I mean.”

“Tyler...what Mirror Master did was terrible, I know. After everything you did, fighting for justice as a police officer…none of this should have happened to you. But it did. You can’t bring back your wife or your daughter and I know it will be the hardest thing you will ever do but you have to find a way to forgive yourself and move on with your life. Don’t let this anger destroy the man you used to be.”

“Inspiring speech. Truly. But the thing is, Superman. The man I used to be is already dead. He died with his family. A family you could have saved if you are truly the messiah everyone says you are.”

A piece of glass shot through the air and shattered against Superman’s chest. He slowly looked down at his suit and then back up at Tyler. Using his great speed, Superman was suddenly directly in front of a Tyler, his hands on his hips.

“Did you think that would actually work?”

“Not really. That’s why I got my hands on one of these suckers.” Tyler whipped the glowing green rock from out of his jacket, slamming it onto Superman’s chest, causing the Kryptonian to crumble to his knees. “I appreciate all of the hard work you’ve put into trying to clean up the streets but let’s be honest with ourselves, you don’t have what it takes to really rid the world of crime.”

The Man of Steel glared up at Tyler while the former policeman held the Kryptonite above the kneeling hero.

“You just don’t have what it takes.”

***

“So now we ‘ave a ‘Superboy’?”

Mirror Master was sitting against the wall insides the wrecked fun house, fiddling with his destroyed mirror gun. Conner stood a short distance away, focused and ready for anything but so far the Rogue hadn’t even seemed to care.

“Where do all ye sidekicks keep poppin’ up from anyway?” McCulloch asked, tossing his mirror gun away and standing up. “First I hav’ to deal with Kid Flash everyday and now we hav’ you…the other Rogues aren’t goin’ to believe this.”

“You won’t be seeing your pals again. Sorry.” Superboy said, trying to put on the most confident voice he could muster.

“Well isn’t tha’ a shame. Nice jacket by th’ way. Always loved leather cause it gives off such a nic’ shine.”

Mirror Master leapt at the unsuspecting youth. The villain’s outstretched hands when into Conner’s jacket sleeve, followed by the rest of his body and in that small moment, Mirror Master had managed to escape.

***

“I’m really sorry it has to be like this. You’ve inspired so many people to hope. But I see now that you aren’t willing to go the extra mile to get rid of evil.”

Tyler stood over Superman who now lay on his back with the Kryptonite beside him.

“Extra mile? Y-you mean murder.” Superman said, struggling to push through the all too familiar pain from the Kryptonite.

“Sometimes it takes murder to bring about justice.”

Tyler raised his hand and there were the sounds of shattering glass nearby. Dozens of shards tore through the tent’s walls and hovered around him. He glanced up at the weights held back by the net on the ceiling, directly above the Man of Steel.

Tyler pointed his finger at the net and the shards of glass whisked into the air, slicing through the ropes on the net until all of the weights started to fall out of it and plummet down toward the floor.

At that exact instant, Superboy came flying into the room, only a few inches from the ground. The weights were about to make impact with Superman and Conner held out an arm, trying to reach his father in time.

“NO!”

Suddenly, a blast of what seemed to be an invisible wall of power was released from his outstretched hand. With the power of a moving train, the blast smashed into the weights, throwing them in the opposite direction. The Kryptonite rock was also pulled by the invisible power, knocking it away from Superman.

The weights spun through the air wildly, a few striking Tyler in the head and he was hit onto the floor, unconscious. The rest crashed into the tent wall before sinking onto the ground. Conner’s hand was still out in front of him as he stood still in disbelief of what had happened.

“Conner? Are you alright?”

Superman had a gentle on Conner’s shoulder while the young man stared down at his palm.

“That sure wasn’t heat vision.”

***

Sirens blared while police officers walked by with Tyler in tow. They had taken out the windshields and windows of their cars but found that it was unnecessary due to McKnight being unconscious.

“So Mirror Master got away?” Superman said, floating high above the scene with Conner.

“Yeah. Climbed up my sleeve.”

Superman raised an eyebrow in confusion and Conner just shook his head.

“I’m not even exaggerating.” There was a moment of silence between the two. “So…what I did back there…what was that? That’s not a normal Kryptonian power, is it? I mean can you do that?”

“No. What you did looked like some form of telekinesis or something to that degree. I’ve never heard of any Kryptonian who has been able to do anything like that, until now.”

“What’s it mean?”

“I’m not sure. But for now Conner, we shouldn’t be worried about that.”

Superman put his arm around his son.

“Today, you did well.”

***

“What’d you guys find?”

Edward Lytener typed up a story on garbage disposal in the city while Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen came back into the office.

“Nothing. By the time we had gotten anywhere, Pete Ross was saved and Superman had already stopped the bad guy. Not a good day for reporting.”

“I’m sure tomorrow will be better.” Edward said.

“I really hope so. I’m zero for two in the last day. This story was just as unsuccessful as my Morgan Edge one.”

***

Morgan Edge walked into his dark office and when he had closed the door, the lamp on his desk had flickered on. He could make out the silhouette of a man sitting in his chair.

“Hello, Morgan.”

Lex Luthor sat comfortably at the desk, his gray eyes fixed upon Morgan’s own. Morgan stepped forward and walked over to his wine glasses.

“Lex Luthor. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Morgan offered Lex a glass but the former head of LexCorp turned it down. Morgan poured some wine into his own glass while Lex began to speak.

“I just wanted to stop by for a visit. Being a fugitive, constantly on the run from the law, it’s been shall we say, a bit frustrating.”

Morgan took a sip of his wine, listening closely to what Luthor had to say.

“But I must admit, being this close to the criminal underworld has its advantages.”

Morgan nodded casually while Lex got to his feet, walking over a bit closer to Morgan.

“You see, Morgan, I’ve heard some very strange rumors floating around the community. Rumors that have really captured my full attention.”

Morgan stopped his drinking, the glass still up to his lips, and glanced over at Lex.

“Rumors that say you are dead.”

Morgan hesitated for a moment before putting down his glass and a wide smirk stretched across his face.

“Well as you can see, Lex, those rumors aren’t true. Honestly I never took you for the type to believe in gossip like that.”

“I don’t think they’re just rumors, ‘Morgan’.”

Morgan paused for a second, his eyes narrowing.

“So what, you think I’m a zombie or something?” Morgan chuckled.

“No. I know you’re not Morgan.”

Lex grabbed hold of Morgan’s wrist where there was a hard object beneath his sleeve. Morgan gasped in surprise as Lex pulled his sleeve up a bit to reveal a metallic device strapped tightly around his wrist. Lex gripped it a little harder and Morgan’s face and hands began to distort, as if they were nothing more than a hologram.

In that brief second, Luthor saw a face.

Beneath the holographic image of Morgan’s features, stared a green emotionless face with red circle on his head.

“It seems you humans are far more intelligent than you appear.” The cold, soulless voice of the green skinned man said.

“I’m the most intelligent human you’ll ever meet.”

Lex tightened his grip on the wrist device and the man looked down, appearing neither worried nor angry at the turn of events. His lifeless pupils flicked back up and he grabbed Lex’s arm with his free hand, prying Luthor off of his wrist with ease. The face of Morgan returned, but he still kept the same unfeeling façade as the imposter underneath.

‘Morgan’ tossed Lex crashing into the office door, knocking it to the floor.

“You believe that you are the Kryptonian’s greatest adversary but you will soon discover that that is a false assumption.”

“We’ll see.”

Lex Luthor got up, gave one last demeaning look at the face of his opponent, a face he now knew was nothing but a fake. Then, without another word, he departed out the door.

As Lex walked outside to where his ride waited, he tried to come up with a plan of how to deal with this new enemy but in the middle of his thoughts, he heard a strange noise from behind. It was late in the night, nothing visible but shadows and darkness.

He looked hard into the blackness to find nothing.

Suddenly, he felt his legs get pulled from underneath him and he fell onto his stomach. His body was being tugged backward toward the darkness, and he was trying desperately to find something to grab onto.

This couldn’t be happening.

At first he thought it was ‘Morgan’ again but soon realized it was something else entirely.

Something different.

<You are now mine, Lex Luthor. Forever>

****

TO BE CONTINUED!

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