Superman - Son of Krypton

Chapter Nineteen - The Mayor And The Hero

It turned out that Squad K's arrival was just what Clark needed. Half of the army focused their attention on Squad K, which gave Clark just the opening he needed to throw another police car and fly into the building.

It took Clark a little while to find the mayor. Clark went from floor to floor while trying to avoid the soldiers that had followed him inside. Eventually, Clark found the mayor tied to a chair on the fourth floor with his mouth gagged. The mayor's eyes widened in fear when he saw Clark. Clark glanced behind himself, but then realized that the mayor was scared of him. He thought that Clark was the one that had kidnapped him, and was there to finish the job.

Clark stepped toward the mayor to untie him, but stopped dead when he heard a camera shutter. He whipped around and saw a man with a ski mask in the corner.

"And that's the end of your career," the man said happily.

Clark sped forward and caught the ski mask man by the throat. He ripped the mask of the man's face, revealing someone he recognized. Glen Glenmorgan.

"You're the one who kidnapped the mayor," Clark said, tightening his grip.

The man choked a little. "Y—yes."

"You're going to prison," Clark said.

"I don't think so," the man replied smugly. "The mayor won't be able to talk for long, and no one's going to believe a word you say when this picture gets leaked. You'll be arrested for his murder."

Glenmorgan waved the camera in Clark's face and Clark grabbed it and smashed it onto the floor. "How about now?"

Glenmorgan just laughed. "The picture went out automatically to Lex Luthor, who will forward it to Sam Lane. Lex Luthor really is a mastermind for planning all this out. I'll be surprised if they're not marching up the stairs to arrest you this minute."

"That's not going to happen," Clark said, throwing Glenmorgan against the wall. The man sank to the floor, knocked out.

Clark quickly untied the mayor and removed the gag.

"Thank you," the mayor coughed.

"Did you get all that?" Clark asked.

"Yes," the mayor said weakly.

Just then, the door to the staircase burst open and soldiers filed in, followed by reporters. Clark recognized some of them from the Daily Planet.

"Mayor Berkowitz, thank god you're safe. We'll deal with Superman, here," a soldier came forward to usher the mayor out of the room, but the mayor protested.

"No," Berkowitz said. He stared into the cameras that now surrounded the room. "I have an announcement to make."

The room was quiet now. The mayor stood in the center, staring at the cameras. Clark was off to the side, with a couple dozen guns pointed directly at him, daring him to make a move.

"Superman is innocent!" the mayor said, surprising Clark. "It was not him who took me captive. The criminals are, in fact, Lex Luthor and Glen Glenmorgan."

No one seemed convinced. Clark still had the guns trained on him. Berkowitz glanced at him and motioned him over beside him, making the soldiers even more tense. Clark noticed Luthor slip out the door. He wouldn't get far.

"I would like to publicly deputize Superman," the mayor announced, causing Clark's mouth to drop. "For saving me and this city even when all odds were against him. I don't care that he's dangerous, or that he's an alien. He has proven to me today that his intentions are to make our city a better and safer place. And for that, he deserved all of our upmost gratitude and respect."

The soldiers lowered their guns slowly, as if they expected Clark to lash out as soon as they withdrew. Clark could tell that they didn't trust him in the slightest. But that was okay. He could live with gratitude and respect. Clark nodded at everyone and stood beside the mayor as cameras flashed. Clark spotted Jimmy Olsen in the crowd and made sure that he only looked at his camera. Jimmy flashed him a knowing smile and Clark realized that maybe things were going to work out after all, in both parts of his life.