DARKLIGHT
By; Gerald A. Polley
All rights reserved.
Chapter 1
Officer Bill Murphy ducked behind some rocks just as a hail of
bullets exploded where he was. He popped up long enough to fire
back a couple of rounds then ducked again to reload his assault
rifle. One of his companions hollered to him.
"Murphy! Has anybody thought of calling Superman?"
"He's busy in The Ukraine," Murphy answered,
"handling a nuclear emergency. We're going to have to handle
this one ourselves!"
"If we can!" another member of The Metropolis City
Police SWAT Team answered. Whoever was raiding the chemical plant
must have known Superman was occupied or they would never have
attempted such a thing in Metropolis. Murphy picked another
hiding place and bolted for it. He was almost there when one of
their adversaries rose from cover with an RPG and fired it.
"Aw, s**t!" Murphy screamed.
Suddenly a dark figure descended from the sky, a man in a black
costume with a cape. The man spread his arms, lifting the cape.
The rocket propelled grenade hit him in the chest and detonated,
but all the fragments flew back towards those that had fired the
grenade. The man landed and with incredible speed rushed to the
three vehicles that were the attackers' main cover. He proceeded
to pick up the vehicles, shake them until all of their occupants
were strewed on the ground then he threw the vehicles over the
buildings into the river! The SWAT team, taking advantage of the
criminals' confusion, charged in and scooped them up! The man
came back to Murphy. In a very deep voice he spoke.
"Can I render any further assistance, officer? Does that
wounded man need evacuation to a medical facility?" Muirphy
looked to the medic treating the wounded officer.
"No, sir," The medic answered. "Thanks to you his
wounds are just superficial. We can handle it!"
"Very good!" the man in black commented. "Busy
night, gentlemen! I must be off!"
"Sir," Murphy cried, 'Thank you very much! But who are
you? I'm going to need a name for my report."
"Ahhh," the man in black commented, and Murphy could
tell even with the mask that covered his face that he was
smiling. "I'm called Darklight," he continued.
"Good evening, officers! May They be with you!"
The man rose his left fist into the air and sailed away into the
sky.
"Who in the hell was that?' one of the other officers
commented coming up.
"Somebody called Darlklight," Murphy answered,
"and it looks like he's somebody the bad guys aren't going
to want around!"
"Yeah!" one of the criminals being dragged along
moaned, "Another freak from some alien world who has to
meddle in other peoples' affairs!"
"Well," Murphy answered, "from now on we'll be
meddling in your affairs, me lad! Keep it movin' son!"
Some miles away a woman climbed up on the supports of a bridge
over a busy river and looked down at the swirling water.
"It's a long way down!" a deep voice commented,
"And that's really not the solution."
The woman looked up, startled. The man in black floated in front
of her in mid air! "You're not Superman!" she muttered.
"No, the man in black answered, "just someone with his
abilities. Come on! Let me take you home." "You
couldn't know where I live!" the woman answered with a
giggle.
The man extended his hand. The woman took it. Instantaneously she
found herself spun around and held to the man's chest as they
soared skyward. "Whoa!" she cried, "You definitely
DO have Superman's abilities!" They landed in a desolate
area. The man opened a steel door and motioned the woman to
enter. They made their way down through glowing tunnels until
they entered a brightly lit area that was filled with electronic
equipment and expensive furniture. Two of the men sitting in some
of the chairs jumped up and rushed towards the intruder.
"Mr. Luthor! Mr. Luthor!" one of them cried,
"We've got a visitor!"
A bald man came around one of the banks of computers, stared at
the woman and the man with her. "Have the boys sit
down," the man in black remarked. "I want to have a
little chat, Lex, about the thought you just had."
The bald man looked at the intruder, bewildered. "What
thought did I just have?" he asked.
"That you can never get the best of Superman by committing
evil criminal acts. The only way that you can prove yourself
better than him is to commit criminal acts that do more good than
harm, and keep Superman from catching you. Nice quarters, by the
way! Who would've thought the greatest criminal mind of the era
would set up operations in an old naval coal bunker that no one
knows exists any more?"
The man walked over to a bin that was still heaped high with
large chunks of coal. He picked up three large lumps and they
seemed to flow together. He squeezed them smaller and smaller
until finally he held up a large diamond. He walked over and gave
it to the woman."Sell that for her," he remarked.
"Open her a bank account. It's her money, you don't use it
for any of your sickness. And by the way, there's an error in
those calculations, 222nd line, 5th symbol!" The bald man
quickly went through the papers he was carrying, then stared at
the intruder. "He's right!" he muttered.
"Now!" the intruder continued, "Can we talk?"
"Why not?" the bald man answered. "You've
definitely got my attention! Why don't you lose the cape and
mask?" "I don't think so!" the intruder answered,
"Maybe some time in the future, but not right now." He
motioned towards an eating area. The bald man nodded, and they
went over and sat down at one of the tables.
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