Author: Allison Forbes
Email: blue_eyes2143@hotmail.com or amazinggrace28@sbcglobal.net
Rated: PG
Lois wondered how she managed to get herself into these situations. It had all started with the investigation into a supposed “invisible man”. First there was the one who hijacked the truck to feed the homeless, but then a second popped up and started robbing banks. “Golden Boy” Barns had stolen Alan Morris’ stealth technology and had been using it to rob banks, jewelry stores, and a wealth of gold bars. Now she found herself stuck in a vault with Alan Morris, aka the “invisible Robin Hood”, and Barns was closing the door on them, locking them in.
“This should work out perfectly. I can just see tomorrow’s headline; `Invisible Man Found Dead, Along With Hostages, Daily Planet Star Reporter’.” He moved to the other side of the door, standing just outside. “By the way, did you know that this room is airtight? With the door closed, I’d guess there’s only about two minutes of air left. So if I were you, I’d say my prayers,” he gloatingly informed them.
“I’d say one for you but it won’t help,” she shot back with more confidence than she actually felt. How had it come to this? Where was Clark? Or more importantly, where was Superman??
“I’ll be seeing you!” he said gleefully as he closed the vault door, laughing. The moment the door was shut, she ran to it and tried to force it open. It didn’t budge. Knowing it was hopeless, she turned around, and leaned heavily against it.
* * *
The Metropolis Police Dept. had the building surrounded. Squad cars swarmed the area, and the metro police waited anxiously for Barns and his gang to emerge.
* * *
“‘Danger is my business’,” she muttered to herself in disgust as she tried again to move the heavy metal door. How? Why did these things always happen to her? And why did she always think she could get out by herself? Sighing, she slowly walked back over to the opposite wall, and leaned into the corner.
* * *
Outside, the police were still waiting, poised and anxious, wondering what was taking so long. Moments later, the doors opened to reveal…no one. With guns drawn the police watched the doors open and close by themselves. Suddenly, gunshots rang out seemingly from nowhere; the cops dove for cover and began shooting, only stopping when reminded that they, even though there’s no one there, might have hostages.
* * *
It was getting so close in the vault. Too close, Lois realized. With each passing second, it became increasingly more difficult to breathe, as if the walls were closing in on her.
* * *
Superman flew back to the bank as fast as possible, carrying a large bag of phosphorus. He’d realized he could make Barns and his gang visible by pouring the phosphorus over them, which would coat their suits, reversing the effects of invisibility.
* * *
She was growing weaker with each passing second. Not having enough strength to try the door again, she pushed against the wall, took a couple of steps forward, and tried to call for help. But there was so little air left she could barely whisper his name.
“Superman…” she gasped.
* * *
Superman finally made it to the bank and wasted no time in exposing the invisible gold robbers, who were rather surprised to find their cover blown from above. Barns looked to his left to see a man standing there imperiously, with a bright red S emblazoned on his chest, hands on his hips. “Nice to see ya, Barns,” Superman smiled.
Barns immediately lifted his rifle and fired, only to watch the bullet bounce harmlessly off his victim’s chest. Superman casually approached Barns, non-chalantly demolished the gun in his hand, and grabbed the stunned man by the collar of his silver suit. Too surprised to resist, Barns numbly allowed himself to be taken into custody.
With the threat of invisible bank robbers gone, Superman went to the police to ask about Lois, whom he was certain would be there, trying to get the story. Only when asked about her, the police lieutenant had no knowledge of the reporter’s whereabouts. Superman became very worried, wondering why she hadn’t come rushing up to him to badger him for information. He stood still for a moment, focusing his senses on trying to locate her.
* * *
This was it. There was no air left to breathe. Lois could feel her lungs constricting, straining with the effort to draw in air. Her vision began to fade, turning gray around the edges. With one last-ditch effort, she opened her mouth to cry out.
“Superman! Where are you…” she gasped, before she was overcome by darkness. Morris watched, dismayed, as her eyes rolled back, and her slender form fell to the floor.
* * *
Within seconds, he’d found her heartbeat, but noticed it was becoming sluggish. With a sense of growing panic, he made his way to the vault, and burst through the wall. Once in, the first thing he saw were two security guards slumped against the wall on the side of the vault, then he saw Morris, who looked utterly panicked. Then he turned his head, and his heart jumped into his throat.
She was lying, unmoving in the center of the vault. In an instant he was kneeling over her, checking for life signs. Behind him, he could hear Morris wailing in distress.
“Oh, my goodness! Superman, it’s too late! Ms. Lane is…” the little man trailed off, unable to continue.
Terror wrapped itself around Superman’s heart like a vice. Her heartbeat was fading, and pressing his fingers to her throat, he couldn’t find a pulse. She was turning a sickly gray, and her lips were turning blue.
`No, I can’t lose you!’ he thought miserably. `Not when I’ve just found you…’
Bending over her, he tilted her head back, and began to breathe into her. For what seemed like an eternity, he breathed air into her mouth, willing her to come back to life. He was beginning to despair of her ever opening her eyes, and was about to lower his head to hers again, when suddenly she gasped sharply, and began to breathe on her own again.
Relief washed through him, and he had to fight the urge to gather her in his arms and hug her tightly to his chest. Instead he simply waited for her breathing to return to normal. He realized he needed to get her out of the confining vault, so he gathered her limp body in his arms, amazed at how light she was, and hurriedly carried her out through the hole in the wall he’d created when he first came barreling through barely a moment before.
He quickly made his way down the back stairs and onto the sidewalk. Kneeling down, he gently released her legs, keeping his other arm under her shoulders. After a moment, her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him. The afternoon sun shone on them from behind, brightly illuminating him. They stared into each other’s eyes for the longest time, and then she reached a hand slowly up to his face, to gently touch his cheek.
“Are…are you an angel?” she asked, still slightly dazed. He couldn’t help but smile, and shook his head lightly.
“No, Lois,” he said softly. “It’s me, Superman.”
“Oh,” she replied wistfully. “Well, you look like an angel.” He smiled again, blushing slightly. She blinked, dissolving his `halo’, and finally seemed to realize where she was. “What happened?” she asked, and sat up. He took her hand in his, and put an arm around her waist to help her stand up.
“I found you unconscious in the vault. Apparently Barns locked you and Morris in, and you ran out of air and passed out.” He didn’t mention how horrible he felt about not finding her in time to keep her from fainting. He was just glad that he did find her and that she was all right.
“That’s the second time you’ve saved my life,” she said, her voice full of awe. He was still holding her hand in his, and he found himself unwilling to let it go.
“Glad to be of service,” he replied softly, wishing he could take her in his arms again, but made himself contend with the little contact they had. He was about to fly off when suddenly that annoying little man in the bad plaid suit popped up again. Murray Brown, the Artist Representative who wanted to represent him. He listened politely to his pitch, but his thoughts were still with the woman who stood next to him. He was extremely grateful for the enhanced senses which had allowed him to find her, but was still cursing himself somewhat for taking as long as he had. He squeezed her delicate hand, just barely, to remind himself of what he had, and promised himself that if he could help it, he would never be a few seconds too late again.
The end.