Chapter 7:

-Coast City, California

-21 February 2003

"There goes my heroWatch him as he goesThere goes my heroHe's ordinary" sings the car radio. Suddenly, the voice of the Foo Fighters disappeared with a click.

"Hey! I was listening that!" Carol Ferris shouted.

"Sorry, sis. But I'm trying to keep us from getting lost, and the music's distracting," her brother, Clark Ferris, replied.

"Why are you so worried, Clark? The worst that could happen is we take a few wrong turns," Carol complained.

"Carol," Clark said, using that big-brotherly voice he used when trying to be responsible. "We're in a city we don't know well. You don't want to make a wrong turn here, especially at this time of night. We could end up in a dangerous neighborhood."

Carol, still annoyed, muttered something under her breath.

"I'll never understand why you want to study art here after you finish high school. You already got a full-ride scholarship to Opal City University. I've heard it's a great place for art lovers, with all those old buildings and stuff for inspiration."

"I don't need a scholarship. I'd rather let someone who really needs it have it," she responded. "Besides, Opal City's got nothing on the size of this place."

"If you want the big city, why leave Metropolis? You could go to Met U with me," Clark pressed.

"Ugh! I don't want to go to the same school as my brother!"

"And why not?" he asked.

Carol, realizing she had been a little too harsh, tried to soften her tone.

"Well... it's just that people always say, 'Hey, are you related to Clark Ferris, the oldest son of aerospace mogul Carl Ferris?' And I just have to be like, 'Yeah, yeah, he's my brother.'"

"C'mon, Carol, what's the real reason?" Clark pressed, knowing full well when she was lying.

Carol sighed, knowing he wouldn't drop it.

"Fine, fine… It's just that having you there would be like having Dad around."

"I can't believe it!" Clark gasped. "You think I'd spy for Dad if you came to school with me?"

Carol felt a small sense of pride for actually surprising her brother for once.

"Well, yeah… I mean, I'm seventeen, Clark. I've lived in Metropolis my whole life. You know as well as I do what that means—supervillains, monsters loose in the streets, giant robots, all kinds of weird stuff... Whatever this city throws at me, I've already faced worse in the Big Apricot."

"It's true that living in Superman's city keeps you on your toes…" Clark nodded. "But why here? You know there's no one like Superman in this city, right? It may not attract criminals like Metropolis, but having someone like Superman around is better than nothing. I'd hate to turn on the TV one night and find out you became some criminal's latest victim"

"Oh, come on. Do you know how low the odds are of…?" Carol trailed off as she spotted the street sign ahead. "Clark, I think this is where we're supposed to turn!"

Clark tried to make the turn, but he was going too fast. He lost control, and they crashed into a stop sign. The car hit hard.

Carol blinked her eyes open, seeing the front of the car completely smashed, the stop sign in even worse condition. She glanced over at Clark, who was okay.

"Nice going, big brother. Wait until Dad finds out. You might lose that golden chance to run Ferris Aircraft with him after you graduate."

"Oh, shut up, Carol!" Clark groaned as they got out to inspect the damage to their luxury BMW M3.

"Well, looks like the engine's still good. But this car's not going anywhere. We're stuck," Clark muttered as he looked over the wrecked front end.

"Buddy, you have no idea how stuck you are," said a deep voice behind them.

Carol turned and knew they were in trouble. Two rough-looking guys were pointing guns at them. One was short, white, with a shaved head and leather jacket. The other was tall, Black, wearing a Bulls jersey.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Carol asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"I'm Cuff, and this here's my partner, Slide," the white guy grinned. "And what we want is your money. Right now!"

"Just do what he says, Carol. Do what he says, and we won't get hurt," Clark said, but Carol could tell he didn't really believe that.

In seconds, the thieves had stuffed all their valuables into their pockets.

"That's it?" Slide asked, suspicious. The car they were driving and the clothes they were wearing screamed wealth.

Then Cuff's eyes fell on Carol, and he smirked.

"Not quite everything," Cuff said, grabbing Carol's arm. "Ever been with a real man, baby?"

"Hey, creep! Let go of my sister!" Clark yelled, taking a step toward Cuff.

"Oh, a hero, huh?" Slide sneered. "Let me show you how we deal with heroes around here!"

The next few moments happened in slow motion. Slide fired his gun. Carol screamed. Clark jerked and hit the ground.

"Man, what did you do that for? Now we've got a murder on our hands!" Cuff cursed.

"Forget it! Let's grab the girl and get out of here!" Slide hissed.

"No! Let go! Clark!" Carol screamed, struggling. She knew her brother kept a gun in the car for personal protection, and right now, that was her only shot. Either she did something now and called for help, or her brother could die without medical attention.

"Shut up!" Slide snapped. "Or I'll—"

"Leave her alone!" said a new voice. Before they could even turn around, Slide was hit hard by a figure that sent him flying into the street. His head smacked against the pavement with a thud, and he didn't move.

"What the hell?" Cuff started, pointing his gun toward the figure.

Carol could now see a tall man in a red and gold suit, with a white cape and hood covering his face in shadow. Before Cuff could react, the man—Captain Marvel—snatched the gun out of his hand with lightning speed.

"Let her go," Captain Marvel said.

Cuff shoved Carol aside and advanced toward the man.

"It's a little late for Halloween, buddy. Why don't you run along before I have to hurt you?"

"If you don't give up now, someone's getting hurt, and it won't be me," Captain Marvel warned.

Cuff, ignoring the warning, charged at him. But Captain Marvel moved with superhuman speed and strength, dodging the attack and knocking Cuff out with a single punch. In seconds, Cuff was on the ground, just as unconscious as Slide.

"Whoa! How'd you do that? Are you like Superman?" Carol asked, amazed to see a hero like Superman here.

"Superman? Not really. But you can call me Captain Marvel," he responded. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but… OH MY GOD! CLARK!" Carol screamed as she ran to her brother, who wasn't moving.

"Oh, Clark, please don't be dead! Please don't be dead!" she begged.

"Carol?" Clark whispered. Carol was so relieved she started crying.

"I'm here, big brother. Please don't die on me!"

In the background, she barely noticed that Captain Marvel had picked up one of the thugs' phones and was calling someone.

"Yeah, 911? There's been a shooting at the corner of Robinson and Harris. We need an ambulance immediately."

"Are those… guys… are they…?" Clark asked weakly.

"They're gone, Clark. I'm safe. Now, PLEASE don't die on me!"

"I've called for an ambulance," Captain Marvel said. "I could take him to get medical attention myself, but I'd rather not move him and make it worse. I don't have much medical knowledge."

Carol barely heard his words. In that moment, everything blurred. And after what felt like forever, but was probably just a few minutes, the ambulance arrived.

Carol barely registered that Captain Marvel had flown off as soon as the paramedics arrived, or the ride to the hospital, or that a doctor was checking her over while Clark was in the ER.

But she would never forget the moment the surgeon came out and said everything would be okay. She felt a massive weight lift off her chest and started crying again. Afterward, they moved her brother to the best private room money could buy, thanks to their father, Carl Ferris, who made sure both criminals would pay for what they'd done for the rest of their lives. According to the doctors, if Clark had arrived just a few minutes later, he probably wouldn't have made it.

If it hadn't been for the quick intervention of the hero known as Captain Marvel, who had handled the robbers and immediately called for emergency help, Carol Ferris would now be the only child of aerospace mogul Carl Ferris… and his sole heir.

…

...

"What's this?" Clark asked as Carol handed him a long, thin package wrapped in shiny paper. It had been a few days, and Clark was recovering well.

"It's a gift, dummy. Open it," Carol teased. It felt good to joke around again.

Clark tore open the paper and his jaw dropped.

"Oh my god, Carol… this is… this is the best work you've ever done!" he exclaimed, and he had seen countless amazing drawings of planes she'd done over the years.

Carol was glad he liked the gift. It was a drawing she'd made of Captain Marvel, standing in his red and gold suit with his white cape and hood casting shadows over his face, looking heroically over the city streets from the sky. It was a reminder of the hero who had saved their lives.

"Thanks. I guess nearly getting killed inspired me," Carol said with a smile.

For a second, Clark gave her a strange look, then burst out laughing.

"Only you, Carol! Only you could get a creative boost from what happened to us!"

Carol grinned back and leaned in to give him a big hug. After a second, Clark hugged her back. Carol had never felt happier in her life. She was alive, and most importantly, her brother was too.

It was strange, though. She'd lived in Metropolis her whole life, and Superman had never saved her directly…