Superman - Son of Krypton

Chapter Eighteen - One Man Against A City

Clark knew what he had to do. In order to get away from the U.S. Army and save the Mayor, he would have to do something that he had never wanted to do. He would have to fight back against them and in doing so, declaring war against the United States. Not to mention becoming a terrorist. All Clark could hope for was that the ends would in some way justify the means. Until then, he'd have to do some things he wasn't proud of. Like stand against an army.

Clark rose up into the air, and like he knew they would, the soldiers all trained their guns on him. Clark grabbed a police car and was able to bring it up to himself like a shield by the time the bullets started firing. At least, that's what Clark thought they were. The "bullets" had been altered—most likely by Lex Luthor—to contain a tiny particle of Kryptonite inside of them. A single bullet had a minor affect on Clark, but a whole barrage? That would take Clark down for the count. And he couldn't let that happen.

When the firing paused, Clark slid the police car across the parking lot and into the first wave of soldiers with just enough force to knock them off their feet. Clark then used his freeze breath to slow down the next wave of soldiers. Then he used his heat vision to draw a line between him and the soldiers.

But it wasn't long before the soldiers realized what Clark was doing. They knew he was holding back and going to non-lethal attack methods, so they started becoming more confident in their attacks. A stray bullet hit Clark's shoulder and he winced and felt himself sink a little. But he held himself up and kept dodging the bullets and slowing down the soldiers. But he couldn't keep it up forever. He knew that, and the soldiers did too. The soldiers had seen the affect their bullets had on him, and they began to realize that they could win the fight. And they kept coming. Clark was flying all over the place, dodging bullets, attacking where he could, and searching for away to escape the soldiers without harming them.

Clark made the decision to be a little less gentle. He flew in and knocked about a dozen soldiers off their feet. He used his heat vision a little more recklessly and warmed up some toes. He used his increased speed to fly around and knock the soldiers off their feet. Before long, the soldiers were tripping over each other trying to get a clear shot on Clark. But they managed it.

A bullet hit Clark suddenly in the side, catching him by surprise. During this pause, another bullet found its way into Clark's leg. Clark stumbled backwards and the soldiers followed, closing in on him. Clark noticed Luthor and Lane out of the corner of his eye, both just standing and idly watching the outcome. There was a hostage situation going on, and all they cared about was taking down the one person who could actually help them. It was sickening.

Clark knew he couldn't beat the soldiers without hurting them, so there was only one other option—talk with them. He knew it was probably pointless, but he figured he'd try nonetheless.

"Look, I'm not the one you guys want, okay?" Clark pleaded to the men in the front of the advancing line.

"Oh yeah?" said one of the soldiers. "And who is it exactly that we want?"

"Lex Luthor," Clark said. "Or maybe the guy in there holding the mayor hostage."

"Lex Luthor?" the soldier feigned ignorance. "Oh, you mean the guy who gave us the alien-kicking weapons and just spent some million dollars on our military program?"

I hate politics, Clark muttered to himself.

"And according to him and our general, you're the one who took the mayor hostage. So I think you are the one we want."

That man wasn't going to budge, so it seemed like talking wasn't going to do much good after all. He needed to get out of there. That way, the soldiers could focus on the real criminal. Clark turned to find something to fling at the soldiers for a distraction, but when he turned he was nose to nose with another soldier. He was surrounded.

"It's over, Superman," a deep voice growled and General Lane forced his way through the crowd of soldiers.

"Think again, scruffy," growled another voice, just as monotone. Clark turned to see Sergeant Cloud, along with some soldiers of his own. Squad K had come to the rescue.