The Cat and the Bullet

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

WHAM

My head splits against a wall and I moan. Ultra-violet light blinds me, the heat searing away my flesh. I struggle to breathe. My insides writhe and twist in agony. I scream and crumble to the ground. This is no earthly weapon.

Bullets zip towards the robber but they skid off him harmlessly. He's wearing some sort of futuristic black suit that has a built-in force field. The weapon he aims at me is as big as an IP-2 machine gun but ten times deadlier. I clench my teeth. It feels like I am being torn in half, my other half stranded in another universe.

I imagine a steel vault and lock my emotions inside. A scream tears out of my throat as I push through the deadly ray. The screams of the civilians huddled inside the bank echo in my head. Their desperate pleas give me the will to go on. There are people that need me to stay strong for their sake. I can't curl in a ball and hope for the best. There's no one between this psycho and the civilians except me. I can't afford to fail, even if I die trying.

I give one last desperate burst of speed and rip the plasma rifle out of the robber's hand. The impact causes him to fall back against the front desk. The receptionist shrieks and runs away. Smart choice.

"Honestly," I wheeze, stumbling to my feet. "You'll think after an alien invasion, you'll learn not to play with things you don't understand." I hover above him. The robber watches horrorstruck as his precious Apokolips tech resorts to a ball of ash. I turn my fiery gaze on him. He cowers at my feet.

"I have rights!" he screams. "It's my right to protect myself from the likes of you!" His voice trembles. Instinctively my eyes flare, the pain rattling my teeth.

"I'm not the one aiming a gun at innocent people," I bend down, my muscles grinding in protest, and haul him to his feet. I slam him against the wall and don't pause when I hear the snap of his back. Another memory crawls to the surface, but I lock it away and throw the key away. "Who's your provider?" I snarl.

His breath reeks of whiskey and it awakens an old wound. I tighten my fingers, enough for him to know I mean business. He claws at his throat, his eyes bulging out. The tender flesh feels good in my grasp. "I don't take Apokolips tech in my city lightly. Start talking." I glare at him. "Is it Intergang?" I punch a hole through the wall. "Answer me!" I shake him and he starts to cackle. "Is Manheim your supplier?"

"There's no . . . stopping," he wheezes. "What's coming. You're a dead man, Superman." His face morphs and twists till I'm staring at the grinning face of Moxie Manheim. He mocks my pain. The sharp cackle suffocates me. All those terrible nights alone with him soar through my mind. My fist connects with his jaw and I hear a satisfying crack. I see red. My red blood stains the laboratory's walls. Nobody will miss you, Kal El. The acidy prick of Kryptonite coursed through my veins. Voices echo in my head. Some sound familiar, but I hear nothing beyond the cacophony of my heart. You're a monster, Kal El. An abomination.

A rough calloused hand rests on my shoulder and I tense. "Kal El, you're killing him!" Turpin's terrified face swims through the red haze. "Release him now, son! Don't make me use this on you."

I feel the hard point of a gun on the small of my back. It's no ordinary handgun. The scent of toxic kryptonite makes my eyes sting. My heart leaps to my throat. There's only one man I know with access to such a weapon. My body is riddled with the evidence of his toys. The robber gasps as I release him and he crumbles to the floor. I act on instinct, arm lashing out and throwing the gunman across the room. I'd die before I allow Manheim to take me again. Two armored crooks surge toward the fallen gunman and help him up.