THE SUPERWOMAN FROM KRYPTON

THE ETERNAL COURSE. PART V

A night of Spring, 1946

Batman cursed his luck as he felt himself and the Batmobile soar through the air. Through the fogged window, he barely could see the dockside warehouses beneath his feet. He had one chance to open the door and jump. That damn Kryptonian flying woman couldn't drop the car on a warehouse where night shift workers were. He was in time for a not too painful fall. If he was able to fire the grappling gun in time, he could hang unharmed from a roof. Now or never. He had no doubt that the damned Kryptonian would turn him in to the police. One, two, three... Batman opened the door and jumped. Rain whipped at his face as he tried to reach for the grapple, but a red blur enveloped him, and he felt an irresistible pull. Suddenly, he found himself back in the Batmobile, banging against the roof and hearing the door slam shut. The Batmobile rocked violently, then steadied itself. He heard a muffled but firm female voice below.

"Don't try anything foolish, Mr. Wayne, I'm taking you home. I'm being very generous. This is the end of the escape."

The Batmobile soared above the clouds carried by Superwoman, out of sight of the city. Bruce Wayne tried to calm down. The radio was not working; it was impossible to warn Alfred or Lucius Fox. They began to descend with speed. The Batmobile carried by the red caped lady broke through the clouds. The rain and darkness prevented Batman from seeing nearly anything, but he recognized the aspen path that surrounded Wayne Manor. The vehicle was deposited softly on the wet gravel. Batman readied the gun and two batarangs. He had always refused to use the gun. It was a last resort that he'd only used once, and he wasn't sure he'd ever used it on a human. He wished that Robin and Catwoman were still by his side. He had been Batman for seven years; this couldn't be the end. The red-caped woman stood at the door. The rain distorted her image behind the window. It looked like she was opening the door of the Batmobile for him, but instead she was ripping it off. Through the rain and darkness, he could see a pair of deep blue eyes and the red cape glowing.

"Get out of this thing, please, Mr. Wayne, I beg you. You're home."

Batman quickly aimed the pistole at Superwoman's bent knee, but in a split second, Superwoman smashed the gun in front of him, turning it into a strange mess of metal.

"Stop making a clown of yourself."

The woman they had been calling Superwoman for a few months, now grabbed him violently by the armor, deforming it with her super-strength, and threw him out of the Batmobile into a puddle. The rain was now torrential. He turned and threw a batarang at the beautiful alien's face, but it bounced hard and missed. The caped woman did not change her gesture and continued to look at him severely.

"I guess you haven't figured out that bullets bounce off me yet."

Batman sat up. Seven years as Batman and he had never encountered such a creature. Through the poplars and cottonwoods, he saw a light go on in the mansion...Alfred!

Superwoman approached him. Her hair was soaked. Water dripped from her suit and cape, which seemed to be completely waterproof. Her blue eyes seemed to glow. Her appearance was soft and graceful, but her touch was brutal. She tore off his helmet with one hand, crushing it into a tangle of metal and plastic and stomping on it with her red boot. Then she gently removed the black velvet mask he wore under his helmet. Water began to trickle down Bruce Wayne's face.

"Mr. Wayne, your fascistic rich boy adventures end here. I could turn you over to the police, but I understand the shades of gray in this city and the life you've led. Consider this a retirement gift for the Bat."

Bruce was furiously silent.

With grace, Superwoman lifted the Batmobile above her head and hurled it through the treetops. Leaves and branches rained down on them. The superheroine rose like a bolt of lightning and shot through her eyes a sort of fiery beam at the flying Batmobile... it exploded, sending pieces of burning metal raining down on the grass. Superwoman shielded Batman with her giant red cape. Bruce watched as one million dollars from 1940 and four years of engineering work went up in flames.