SteelCorp

Chapter 12

Lena knocks on one of the big front doors. She is worried when Kori answers the door with a look of confusion.
    “Lena! I’m sorry but Thalia isn’t here. She called to say she was stopping at the office before returning home.” Bursts Kori with surprise.
    Turning around and running back to her car Lena shouts back over her shoulder. “Thanks Kori!”
    Lena drives to the FBI field office as fast as traffic would allow. Once there, she walks over to Chadwick’s desk.
    The man jumps up when he sees Lena approaching. “Miss Luthor if you are looking for Thalia, she just left. She also requested two weeks leave.” 
    Thanking the agent, Lena returns to her car. Sitting in the driver’s seat, she takes some time to try and figure out what Thalia is up to. “The airport! She is going back to Copper Canyon. That would explain the two weeks of leave.”
    Lena rushes through the crowds in the busy airport and makes her way to the nearest information desk. “I need you to stop Thalia McGrath’s jet from taking off right now!” She says desperately.
    “I’m sorry Miss, it’s too late to stop the jet. It is taking off right now.” Says the person at the desk pulling up the file on the plane. 
    After stopping at the office and getting her request for leave approved, Thalia heads home and gets to work packing her favorite duffle bag.
    “Lena stopped by a little while ago. She was looking for you, and she seemed worried.” Says Kori as she walks into the room to help with the packing.
    Thalia walks out of her closet with one of her leather jackets and tosses it into the bag absentmindedly. “Hhhmmm.”
    “Hey are you even paying attention?” Asks Kori noticing the blank expression and waving her hand in front of Thalia’s face. 
    Thalia snaps back to reality. “Huh? Did you say something Kori?”
    Kori only sighs in defeat as she helps Thalia carry her bags to her car.
    At the airport, Thalia heads straight to her private jet already on the tarmac and ready to go. Sitting in a window seat while waiting for take off, Thalia looks over at the terminal’s wall of windows. Just as the plane begins to move towards the runway, the display in her glasses lights up zooming into the building revealing Lena rushing up to an information desk. With a sigh Thalia takes off the glasses and closes her eyes in an attempt to keep herself from crying.
    When she opens her eyes again, the pilot announces an incoming storm and the possibility of being forced to land in Capital City.
    “Where the heck is Capital City?” Asks Steel as he floats over to his docking station to recharge.
    Closing the storm shields on the windows, Thalia answers. “If I’m remembering my geography right. Capital City is the approximate halfway point between Copper Canyon and National City.”
    The plane begins lurching as it is buffeted by the winds from the incoming storm. The fasten seatbelt light comes on and the pilot announces rough turbulence but the full force of the storm will miss them entirely, meaning that they will not need to land in Capital City.
    After finally making it through the rough winds, Thalia settles back in her chair and reads a book in the hopes of falling asleep again.
    This time when Thalia wakes up, Steel pipes up before the pilot's announcement. “Wow kid. You must have been really tired, you slept for 16 hours. Also, we are approaching the airport so you might want to be sitting up.”
    “Thank you for not pestering me while I slept. Also stop calling me kid.” Responds Thalia just as the pilot makes his announcement.
    As Thalia disembarks from the plane, she notices that her mother, Sydney, has come to greet her and drive her back to their house.
    Once they arrived, Thalia immediately kicks off her shoes and locks herself in her second-floor childhood bedroom.
     Lena tries to get her pilot to submit a flight plan to follow after Thalia, but they are informed of an incoming storm. Now unable to leave by plane for several days, Lena decides she is going to drive to Capital City and catch a flight from there.
    Two days later, Lena arrives at the Capital City airport exhausted but not willing to slow down. She needed to talk to Thalia and tell her how she feels about her.
    As she walks through the airport, Lena tries calling Thalia multiple times but her phone goes straight to voicemail each time. “Come on Thalia, pick up your phone. Why aren’t you answering? You always answer my calls.” She grumbles becoming increasingly more frustrated with each unanswered call.
    Lena boards her flight and five and a half hours later lands in Copper Canyon. She asks around until she finds the address to Thalia's childhood home.
    Thalia is lying on her bed with the door locked when she hears the door bell ring. She stays there curled up in a ball as she listens to her mother cross the living room to answer it.
    It is then that she hears Sydney exclaim. “Oh! So you’re Lena Luthor, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Is there something I can help you with?”
    “I just need to speak with Thalia about something but she took off right after returning. I mean I understand why, but still.” Says Lena sounding tired.
    Thalia hears Sydney hesitate briefly before answering. “Um…well Thalia has gone up to the NTek base with Max…but she should be back later tonight. You seem tired, you're welcome to stay here until then and rest up.”
    “Oh…um…that makes sense. Thank you for the offer Mrs. McGrath but I have a room at a hotel not to far from here. Would mind letting Thalia know I’ll be at the Canyon Hotel in Suit number 605 when she gets back? Oh, also that I want to talk to her.” Says Lena with disappointment in her voice as well as some traces of skepticism.
    Sydney replies with a sigh of relief. “Absolutely, will do Lena. Have a good evening and enjoy your stay here in Copper Canyon.”
    After Lena leaves, Sydney heads to Thalia's room and knocks on the door. “Hey want to let me in and have a chat sweetheart?”
    Thalia merely presses a couple buttons on a remote making the door unlock and open. Sydney crosses the room and sits on the edge of the bed placing a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder.
    “So, I’m sure you heard everything. Are you going to go? I mean she came all this way just to see you.” Says Sydney trying to comfort Thalia.
    Rolling over to face her mother, Thalia answers with tears in her eyes. “I can’t do it mom. I just can’t. You don’t even know what happened before all of this. I can’t face her now that I’ve ruined everything.”
    “Oh sweetie what happened? You know you can tell me.” Replies Sydney wrapping Thalia in a tight hug as she cries into her shoulder.
    Trying to calm herself down, Thalia responds. “We went to grandma's party and well you know how that usually goes. Well Lena and I escaped to one of the balconies to get some air and to chat for a bit, and I just kissed her out of the blue. No warning, I didn’t even ask, I just did it.”
    “Oh ok. How do you know you ruined everything? I mean she did follow you here and she didn’t seem angry. She must have feelings for you if she is willing to follow you across the entire country.” Says Sydney hugging her daughter.
    Thalia looks up at Sydney with a frown. “Well first of all mom, she messaged me saying that we needed to talk but the composition seemed off, it wasn’t at all like her usual messages, and then when we met at the café in the parking lot, she wouldn’t even look me in the eye, heck she didn’t even look at me period.”
    “Thalia, those things are more likely to mean that she has feelings for you too but she was just nervous about admitting it, than her hating you now.” Replies Sydney with a sigh and a light chuckle.
    Pouting, Thalia rolls over on her bed. “If you’re going to laugh, you can go away now.” 
    “Hahaha! Alright I’ll leave you alone to mope. By the way I’m making beef stroganoff for supper.” Laughs Sydney getting up and leaving Thalia's room.
    Three hours later, Sargent Forge, Thalia's great uncle, bursts into her room. “Thalia! Extroyer has escaped and he is calling you out! Also, he has a hostage who we are working on identifying right now.” 
    “Do you have the location?” Asks Thalia jumping up and transforming to her flight mode.
    Forge pulls up a holographic tracking screen. “They are heading towards the warehouses at the docks.”
    “Warehouses? What is with bad guys and warehouses? Forget it, do you have a visual?” Says Thalia as she follows Forge out to his truck.
    Hitting some buttons on his dash while Thalia flies over head, Forge sends the video feed to Thalia. “Yup sending you the video now.”
    “Oh no! No, no, no, no, no!” Replies Thalia with dread and a sinking feeling in her gut as she sees who the hostage is.
    Following Thalia in his truck, Forge asks. “What’s the problem kid?”
    “The hostage is Lena Luthor!” Answers Thalia with panic clear in her voice.
     Lena is walking back to the hotel after exploring the city for a while, when she notices smoke billowing from a near by building. Curious, she makes her way closer and peeks in through a window.
    “I know him, that’s Extroyer!” Gasps Lena as she recognises the shape shifter from stories Thalia told her.
    Backing away slowly, Lena tries to call Thalia when she suddenly bumps into something behind her. “Whoops.” She turns around to find a huge black gorilla with purple crystals protruding from a shoulder towering above her. “Oh, big Whoops.”
    Before Lena can react, Extroyer raises a fist and hits her into a wall knocking her out. He picks her up and carries her with him to one of his warehouse hideouts near the docks.
    Finally waking up, Lena realises she is stuck to a giant spider web. As she begins to struggle against the sticky fibers of the web, Extroyer enters the room. Lena instantly freezes under the large man’s piercing gaze.
    “Well, well, well, look who has finally woken up. Its about time, having an unconscious hostage is so boring. Plus, it will be that much better when I beat down that pesky FBI agent Thalia McGrath and force her to watch as I kill the woman she loves.” Says Extroyer with a sneer leaning in close to Lena's face.
    As Lena tries to reply, she realises that there is more of the spider web over her mouth preventing her from speaking. Instead she merely frowns defiantly and struggles harder against the webs.
    Extroyer simply laughs darkly before grabbing her chin and forcing her to look him in the eyes. “Well aren’t we being aggressive. I have a feeling that this is going to be a lot more interesting than I originally thought.”
    Just then, Extroyer is blasted away by a wave of blue energy. When Lena opens her eyes, she sees Thalia as Max Steel stepping though a hole she made in the wall.
    “Why don’t we take a step back there ugly.” Says Thalia as she makes her way across the room to stand between Extroyer and Lena.
    Bursting out of the rubble with an angered roar, Extroyer glares at Thalia. “Max Steel, your timing is as impeccable as ever I see. Bring me that annoying FBI agent Thalia McGrath.”
    “And why would I do that? I’m not a gopher for some second-rate super villain.” Says Thalia trying to come off unperturbed but keeping and eye on Extroyer’s every move.
    Shifting into a giant scorpion and pressing the stinger of his tail under Lena’s chin, Extroyer replies. “Because I will kill her if you don’t.”
    “Whoa, Whoa okay. Don’t do anything rash. Agent McGrath is right outside, I will go and tell her you are asking for her.” Says Thalia putting her hands up in surrender and backing up out of the hole in the wall.
    Once out of sight and ear shot, Thalia activates the armor’s camouflage. She checks her NTek pistol and tucks it into her bag before walking towards the hole.
    “Extroyer! This is Special Agent Thalia McGrath! Before I agree to enter, I’m going to need proof of life!” Shouts Thalia stopping just outside of Extroyer's line of sight.
    “Ask Max Steel! They know she is alive!” Shouts Extroyer in response.
    Remaining where she is, Thalia shouts back. “That’s not good enough and you know it! I’m going to stay right here until you do!”
    “Thalia no! Don’t come in here! He’s go…mmpff!” Shouts Lena before her sentence is cut short with an angry grunt.
    Stepping into Extroyer's line of sight, Thalia calls out. “Alright Extroyer I’m coming in!”