Wine and Cheese

Quickly regaining his strength and standing up under his own power, Superman looked over to the police cuffing Livewire at the park’s exit. Whatever fight the woman had was long gone after whatever she had endured to make her surrender so quickly. Taking a few steps forward and feeling his head clear more, the man of steel looked around for Lois, but she was nowhere to be found. Walking down the park path to regain his strength, Clark managed his way to the park entrance and leaned against a tree. Breathing in deeply, he worried for his wife, wherever she was. Looking up, he set off and flew up into the air until he was at least high enough to crest the highest floors of the city’s skyscrapers.

Looking out into the horizon, Superman winced that his vision had not returned yet, all he could see was what everyone else could on Earth. There had to be some way of finding her or help her with what was going on and what she was going through. Then it came to him. Looking down at the hem of his belt line, he plucked the smooth black scale out that he kept from earlier this morning and held it up to his face to get a better look. The scale was like a shard of polished obsidian between his fingers, one with a glint of metallic green when it was tilted just the right angle in the sun.

“Hamilton…”

Dr. Hamilton from Starr labs, he had been helping him for years with Kryptonian technologies and minerals in the past. If there was a way of finding Lois or helping her with what she was going through, he would be the one to speak to. Seeing the lab over the horizon of the city by the pier, Clark smiled and flew towards the research facility. He just hoped the man could find a solution quickly before things got any worse.

Landing at the front doors of the lab where a trio of scientists stepped back to the sight of the man in red and blue, Superman opened the door and made his way inside. If he was lucky, the doctor was in. If he was lucky, he’d have a chance.

*

Somewhere, miles away from Metropolis...

“If we’re lucky, she’ll probably keep her mouth shut.” Smirked John Corban, getting up from his seat and turning off the television after the news showed a traumatized Livewire being carted off into a police cruiser and into custody. In front of him were several of his crew, still reacting to the metahuman villainess giving up after dealing with whomever they were hired to stop.

“I dunno boss… She don’t look like the type to keep her mouth shut.”

“Yeah… Former radio host? Surprised she wasn’t yappin all the way to the car.”

“Which means whatever got her to stay quiet spooked her pretty good.” The chuckling from the dozen or so armed mercenaries died down when their employer made his way to a glass of wine sitting next to the bottle on a small table next to food and bread. The man easily popping the cork and pouring himself a glass but leaving it on the table, nodding to one of his men. “At least we know the woman we’re after is in Metropolis after that little stunt, and if I’m right, it shouldn’t be hard to flush someone like that out into the open.”

Gesturing with his hand to the wine glass to the man who stepped close to the table and picked it up, Corban watched intently as the other man hesitantly took a sip. As he did so, Corban’s eyes raised, a look of longing in them as he watched every split second of the man finishing his sip and placing the wine glass back down.

“Well?”

“It’s, uhm… It’s got a smokey flavour to it boss, with a hint of… Strawberry?”

A slight smile on his face, Metallo nodded before diverting his attention to the slices of rich bread and aged cheese near the wine bottle. “Ah yes, the French vintage of 1952, what a good year… With an oak after taste? Tell me there’s still the oak.”

“Uhm… Yeah…”

“And the rest? Tell me, how does the rest taste? Try the cheese man.”

Looking back at the man, the guard plucked a slice of cheese off a plate and ate it with a slice of French bread, taking his time to sample the flavour and dart his eyes back to Corban who watched him the entire time with great interest. In all honesty, John Corban, or Metallo as he was also known by was nothing more than a brain in a near indestructible exo-skeleton. He may have appeared human, but the appearance was all he had left. Numb to the world and denied even the simplest sensations, this little demonstration was all he had left.

“Tastes… Crispy boss, and the cheese is pretty old.”

Looking down at the half-bitten piece of cheese in his hand, the man didn’t hesitate to answer his employer, knowing full well what happened to the last of their crew who didn’t humour their boss. Taking another bite, he slowly shifted his eyes between the man and the rest of the crew behind him, nodding as he spoke with his mouth full. “Yeah… Bread’s a little dry too.”

Closing his eyes and leaning back with a smile, the man looked like he was experiencing a fond memory.

“Ah yes, I DO love the flavour of it…”

One of the mercenaries leaned to the other to whisper. “This is some Pirates of the Caribbean shit right here man.”

Then they all went silent when they heard a soft tremor, the wine bottle rattling on the small table before going still again. Looking around, they found the place was still, quiet, shrugging at the event. Until it happened again, with a little more intensity. And again. Looking around, Corban snapped his fingers and one of his crew tossed him a grenade launcher.

“Well then gentlemen, seems our target is coming to us.”

Another tremor echoed out across the warehouse Corban and his crew were hiding in, making everyone arm up and aim discriminately, not knowing where the tremors were coming from. I was almost like listening to distance thunder, slowly getting louder with each ‘thum’ that drew near. Then it stopped. Looking around and lowering their guard, the crew of mercenaries looked back to each other and shrugged. Some even chuckling to themselves from getting so worked up over nothing.

“Huh… Maybe it was a storm or something…”

“heh… Yeah… Look at us hide from the sound of…”

The ceiling caved in, sending sheet metal and girders to rain down with a near deafening clamour when something crashed down like a dead weight and cracked the concrete flooring when it landed. Everyone else dove out of the way, baking away with their weapons trained on what just picked herself from the ground as if falling from several thousand feet in the air was no different than jumping off a trampoline. Standing to her full height, the rest of the men blinked at the sight of the tall and athletic woman who stood a good head taller than any of them… And looked like she could lift any one them easily with one arm. She didn’t even bat an eye when they all aimed their weapons at her, instead she sniffed at the air and looked around wild eyed, like a predator… Or a junkie.

“Lois? Lois Lane?” He could hardly believe what he was looking at. Lowering his weapon and taken back for a split second, Metallo was surprised by who the proverbial giantess was who stood meters away from him wearing a tattered red dress and was built like some buxom warrior queen. “What the devil happened to YOU?!”

Hearing her name, Lois turned her attention to John Corban and inhaled sharply. Sniffing the air and narrowing her eyes as she focused her attention on Metallo, or more specifically his chest. Sluggishly taking a step forward and making every man in the warehouse cock their weapons back ready to fire, they all thought they heard something that sounded like the low growl of a crocodile from the woman as she sniffed the air one last time and sneered back at the stunned man in front of her.

“Kryptonite…”