Issue 3: "Black Magic Woman"

It’s a hot summer day in Metropolis, and the blazes and the thick smoke coming out of the building at the bay was not making it any cooler. Out of the fuss the firetrucks, the news crew, the police cars and the bystanders, you could still identify the tone of the man standing by a hot dog cart, named Joey's, saying as proud and as loud as he could, "Look at him," And he pointed at the man in blue, red and yellow landing smoothly with many people attached to his arms and neck "Will ya just look at him! Years he's been in the city and still people can't get enough of him!"

"OK folks," said Superman with a comforting voice "You are all safe and sound now. Please make sure to check with the paramedics for them to run a full check on you."

"Thank you Superman, very much" Said one of the Super-rescued ladies.

"You are more than welcome ma'am" said Superman smiling.

"Can't get enough of you Superman." Yelled the smiling chubby face of Joey. "That's what I've been telling them out-of-towners. You are this city's favorite son. Our own hero!"

"Hi, Joey!"

"It seems that the smoke eaters are taking care of the rest of it."

"Yeah, the real heroes are taking care of it just fine."

"Say, Superman, 'care for a 'dog? It's on me!"

"Maybe next time, but thanks a lot Joey!"

"What you are on diet or something?" Joked Joey, and then he noticed that Superman was looking at a bystander, a young girl who was looking at his hero directly in the eyes, without any expression he could identify.

"Them chicks are all over you all the time aren't they Superman?" Asked Joey with a smile trying to let the uneasy feeling the girl gave him fade away. "Superman?" Asked Joey when he noticed that the Man of Steel was motionless as a statue, with a weird expression on his face, like he was in pain.

Joey felt really worried when he saw the man that can survive a cruise missile in such a situation, so he turned around looking for help and that's when he noticed the blond weird girl. She was standing just two feet away from them, and for the first time he noticed that she was whispering some foreign words on a steady rhythm.

"Hey!!" Screamed Joey. "Hey, lady what are you doing to my buddy?" The girl gave no attention to Joey and continued her whispering.

Superman was still motionless, with a worse expression on his face. "HEY!" Screamed Joey again pointing his spatula at the girl. The girl blinked, looked at Joey and then left and right noticing that Joey's screaming had brought the attention of a couple of policemen who were advancing toward her with their hands on their guns. She turned back to Superman to find him on his knees gushing like he was recapturing health after a severe pain.

"Shtaakh!" Screamed the girl, like a one word order, and Joey’s spatula turned into a cobra.

"Aaaaaargh!” Screams Joey from the shock, throwing away the cobra that slithered on his arm and aimed its deadly fangs at his face.

"Lady! Hold it right there!" The first policeman shouted, "Right where you are, hands out of your pockets and spread your arms, NOW!"

"And stop the muttering" Shouted his partner.

She instantly stopped. The first policeman approached her with extreme caution, looking at his partner who was approaching the fallen Superman.

"You're OK there Superman?" Asked the policeman. No answer came from the seemingly recovering hero. "What have you done to him?" Shouted the policeman. The answer came as a rumble in the ground followed by an explosion in the septic tank. The air erupted in a thick dark mass of hundreds of sewer rats, heading straight at the two policemen and the people around.

Screams of horror, pain, and shouts asking for help filled the surroundings. The only one who was standing calmly was the weird girl that caused it all.

Superman raised his head, still fighting a razor sharp pain in his muscles, and looked around. He tried to stand, but he felt like it would take him an hour to accomplish that. Then he noticed the weird girl getting a black piece of chalk out of her pocket and started drawing a circle around him.

Superman was still being tortured by inner pain when he felt an unseen set of hand strangling him. The hands felt like steel, strong and pressing to snap his neck within seconds and to add more shocks, the hands were burning his flesh!

Superman figured that he had less than a minute before Kryptonians would be an extinct race! He threw a couple of desperate punches in the air trying to hit his unseen enemy, but his fists grabbed only air. He opened his eyes and x-ray-scanned around him, and still his enemy was not to be found. "Find the source!" his Kryptonian logic offered, he turned violently toward the place he has seen the weird girl, and she was standing there whispering. In a second, he calculated, aimed and shot a heat vision ray from his eyes hitting his target at the girl's shoulder.

"Ow" Screamed the girl with pain. At the same moment the phantom that was killing Superman materialized, a moment that was more than enough for Superman to punch him in the face, throwing him a couple of feet away. Superman, suppressing all his pains, advanced and punched the alien-looking creature in the face sending him flying and then smashing through a nearby building wall.

Superman knew that he had only seconds to finish this or he would be dead. He turned on his blond attacker and found her looking him directly in the eyes with fury pouring out of her face. He stepped forward and smacked her on the face, to find that he smacked nothing but air, she was there and not there, like a mirage. It seemed like his mind could not calculate the right distance between him and her. He acted fast. He closed his eyes and concentrated on listening, it was a long shot, but it was the only one he had, listened to heartbeats, and WHAM! it hit him, one that was still beating with a weird rhythm, just normal, calm, undisturbed by all the action around, one that was close by. Weird and close, all that Superman needed, he estimated and smacked again, and this time he hit something. It was barely a touch, he opened his eyes and saw the girl trying to stand up. He blew an estimated freezing breath and left her motionless.

The beast Superman threw away moments ago came back like a projectile, grabbing Superman and hitting the bus next to them, splitting it in half. Superman turned and hit his relentless enemy in the face, stood up and hit him again. His enemy was injured but not enough to stop him from trying to aim for Superman's neck again. This time Superman held his fists and used his head to hit the creature right in the face. This time the alien was dazed and confused, and Superman took advantage of it. Punch after punch Superman kept giving his enemy, until the creature was just standing there. Superman stood for a couple of seconds panting, and then advanced and gave his enemy one straight punch that sent him hurtling to the ocean.

It took Superman another couple of seconds to come around and notice his surroundings. Chaos all around him, but there was no rats, cobras, or weird blond teenage girls. He stood still and started checking on the injured.

"It takes more than a million rats to break this Irish head!" The policeman told Superman.

Injuries were many but no lethal ones. After Superman made sure that everybody was OK he scanned the whole area looking for the mysterious girl or her soldier and he found nothing.

What was all that about? he thought.

Metropolis bay area was still hot and humid, the police, paramedics and firemen were busy taking care of the damage that occurred that day, and out of all the fuss you still could identify the loud tone of Joey screaming while chatting on his cell phone.

"God woman, it was even weirder than seeing that blind man driving a Ferrari years ago! .....what?.... Yes, I am OK, ...and no, for the millionth time I am telling you it was not my hot dogs that made Superman sick!"