Chapter 73 The Cameraman, The Reporter, And The Pilot

Metropolis....

For this rather bustling city, the most eye-catching thing happening right now would be... the screams.

Around the area, there were droves of fleeing civilians, scattering in all directions like mice in front of a cat.

Of course, the cat in this situation looked nothing like a cat at all. It stood above two meters, had purple skin and looked like a beast from the novels.

"It's a monster!"

"Run!"

A male pointed towards a certain direction and screamed before running away in terror.

Parasite stood in place, looked at the fleeing crowds in the immediate vicinity before walking forwards at a steady pace. The shrivelled corpses under his feet were ignored.

"You're all not the one I want". His voice was low yet sounded beastly.

At that moment, a passing train suddenly caught his attention. Feeling the huge electrical energy within, he felt a pang of hunger once again.

"More". Seeing the speeding train, his monstrous figure flashed with electrical arcs all over before speeding after it.

"Mommy mommy, look. I saw people running outside".

A little girl said with wide eyes as she turned her head towards the disappearing scenery and poked her mother beside her.

"Oh..... Yeah, that's nice dear". The mother said nonchalantly, rummaging through her handbag.

"Now If I could just find my mirror".

"Mom! You didn't look". Seeing this scene, the girl yelled aloud with a pout.

"We're on the train sweety, don't be so loud. Just give your momma a few seconds and then...".

The mother stopped speaking as she noticed the train suddenly stop moving. She wasn't the only one.

"What in the world...."

Unfortunately, a loud sound interrupted her sentence. Everyone onboard was startled by the sound. The roof above their heads was ripped apart and a large, black shadow fell over them.

As soon as their eyes met with what was above them, everyone froze with shock which quickly turned into fear.

Parasite didn't care for their shock, dropping straight down before grabbing the two closest living beings it could lay its hands on.

Many exclaimed in fright, but the next scene that happened caused their faces to turn pale.

"Mommy!" The little girl screamed in terror. The sight of her mother being held by a monster, her skin growing older and older by the second before becoming completely shrivelled scared her out of her wits.

Except for the little girl who couldn't move due to fear, everyone else had cleared the area, scrambling to move from there positions.

The life force of both humans was quickly absorbed. Parasite had no plans to stop. The corpse of the absorbed male was dropped to the floor.

"There it is".

"Make sure you get it on Camera".

At that moment, a helicopter appeared, hovering over the train. A man carried a large camera on his shoulder and pointed it towards the hole in the train roof.

On live TV, the monstrous body of Parasite was revealed.

"God! What is that thing?" The cameraman asked with obvious horror.

Still, his professionalism made him perform his work without succumbing to fear. After all, shit like this happens almost every week in Metropolis.

Eventually, people would build up tolerance to all of it.

This kind of monster was new though.

Nevertheless, their news helicopter didn't go unnoticed.

Before parasite let go of the female corpse, the news helicopter caught his attention.

Seeing the monster turn to face them, the camera man was startled.

"What's it doing?" The thought was quickly given an answer.

Many people watching saw the purple monster lift the hand holding a human being and throw it towards the flying aircraft.

"Oh my God!" The pilot exclaimed as a corpse flew towards the rotor.

Bang! Without enough time to react, the collision was unavoidable and the spinning blades on the helicopter roof was smashed into by a human body causing flesh and blood to fly in all directions.

The helicopter immediately showed a downward trend.

Seeing the nuisance disappear, parasite turned its attention back to his surroundings. Everyone else had fled to the other cart leaving the shivering young girl whose face was already in snot and tears.

Without pity for youth, it stretched out its demonic looking hand, aiming to grasp the girl's throat.

The girl squealed and buried her head into the seat.

"Get away from her!"

It happened then. Parasite seemed to hear someone yell in a loud voice. This thought was proved correct in the following second as a red and blue figure slammed into the monster's large body from the side of the train cart, pushing him right through the other end.

Parasite was smashed off the train, flying into a building in the distance.

Superman stopped his flight midair. A frown registered on his face at the thought of the monster he just confronted.

It didn't settle there for long though. His body turned into a blur, speeding off in the direction of the descending helicopter that was about to crash into a busy street.

.....

"What do you think about this one?"

Looking at the blonde female who was almost at the point of gobbling down the ice cream in the bowl with her sppoon, Megan asked with a happy smile.

".....oh... My..... Rawo!" The kryptonian talked uttered with her mouth full. She took a deep gulp, swallowing everything in before exclaiming.

"It tastes so sweet".

"Don't take too much at a time, you'll get brain freeze..."

"Huh? What's that?"

"... Oh right, hello Megan! you're not like the others". Kara was kryptonian, getting brain freeze was impossible.

"Hehehe". Megan giggled sweetly.

"Yep. That is Earth's most famous desert. You're welcome". A smug grin was plastered on her face.

The happy atmosphere was surging.

"You know, thanks a lot Megan. It really means a lot that you came out with me to do this". Kara said with a slight smile on her face.

The smile faded slightly as numerous thoughts came to mind.

"Especially since my cousin's been a bit busy lately". Her words were mixed with a tinge of sadness.

The happy atmosphere was stifled slightly.

"You know you shouldn't feel bad. After all, he's probably the busiest man in the world with his Job and all. And with all that's happened lately, it's normal for you two to be apart for a while. I'm sure once things go back to normal, you guys will have the quality time you deserve". Megan said, attempting to cheer up the kryptonian.

"Thanks. I know". Kara said with a wry smile.

The meeting with Kal-El had gone better than she had expected.

The fact that there was still another kryptonian in existence, effectively making sure that Clark truly wasn't the last of his race thrilled him immensely.

Especially when he was the one that blasted General Zod and his kryptonian compatriots into a black hole to stop them from destroying the earth.

The thrill was multiplied a dozen fold when he realized that they were also blood relatives.

The atmosphere was joyous... The follow-up however was much less desirable.

Kara hadn't left the cave since the moment she was dropped off by that "hateful" fellow.

After going through multiple tests conducted by other leaguers to make sure she and Kal-El truly were related, the other aspect that needed worrying came into view.

Her control.

Since that night, Kara's strength had improved by leaps and bounds under exposure to yellow sunlight.

Problems she never had to face back when she was still at the Axiom began to surface. Her poor control over her abilities made her a literal safety hazard.

Wally had tried to high five her and got his arm broken. Many objects throughout the cave were also "accidentally" broken as well.

If not for the fact that Clark was too busy, he would have taken her to the fortress of solitude where she would be isolated for months until she learnt her to control her exaggerated strength.

Her emotions also needed some proper checks too. Too much excitement could make her heat vision come on without her consent.

Thankfully, she was receiving help and the rest of the team were being nice to her. Well.... Some of them anyway.

Staying in that hole for more than a week was almost suffocating. She had to sneak out.

Thankfully.... She wasn't alone.

"Don't worry about it. Honestly, I should be the one thanking you". Megan replied.

"If it weren't for you..... Connor probably wouldn't be alive right now". She said in a low tone.

Kara was silent.

"How's Artemis?"

"Still a bit shaken up. Tornado say's she'll be fine though".

The kryptonian fell into deep thought before shaking her head and replying.

"I don't deserve thanks for that. I wasn't the one that healed him".

"Maybe, but you're the reason why he's healed. It means a lot to me..... To the team".

".... Everyone in the team?"

Hearing let words, Megan forced out a smile.

"Robin will come around. He's... had a hard time recently". This was true.

The recent crippling of Batgirl struck a heavy blow to the boy wonder. First, he had a spinal fracture when fighting with Amari. If not for Green Lanterns ring, it would take months, probably years before he would be able to walk properly again.

Even then, he might kiss his hero life goodbye.

Then, Batman was trapped in a coma by the same person.

And as if that weren't enough, Barbara was crippled by the Joker. Despite the fact that Amari wasn't the culprit this time, he was involved in the issue.

What's worse, unlike him who could be healed, Barbara would really have to stay in a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

The Blaster The Joker used didn't cause a fracture but directly took out a huge chunk in the vertebrae column.

She had a gaping hole in her waist. How she was still alive to receive treatment was a miracle among miracles.

For this amount of damage, Green lantern couldn't do anything about it even if he wanted to. The willpower required to reach that level of regrowth wasn't something he currently possessed.

The difficulty was almost the same as regrowing a severed hand.

When learning that Kara had some sort of relationship with Amari, Robin didn't give any good looks. The welcome was uncharacteristically cold.

If Kara wasn't a beautiful girl, Wally would probably have the same attitude as well.

For this, Kara could only sigh.

Her resentment towards "him" increased a bit more.

"Hehehe, it doesn't matter. You could, deliver my thanks to him if you ever get the chance. Connor wants to do the same". Megan giggled again.

"Hump! If I ever see him again, what I'm gonna deliver is a piece of my mind". Kara said in a threatening tone while raising her little fist.

"You know, your impression of him is very different from everyone else's".

"Yeah? So what?" Kara said with a bit of evasive action.

Megan hesitated a little.

"... How's he like?"

"Huh?"

".... I mean... Is he like, evil the same way Wally always portrays him to be?"

"... Why would you ask that?" Kara let out a slight frown.

She felt uncomfortable for some reason.

"Nevermind". Megan thought for a bit before shaking her head.

"Anyway, let's bring our focus back to the outing. So you've gone for a tour, Check. Seen the movies, check. Eaten ice cream, check.....".

At that point, the Martian put her hand on her chin before her eyes lit up.

"Then all that's left is to complete the final initiation to truly become an earthgirl".

"... Gulp! And what's that?" Kara asked, slightly nervous and excited.

"Shopping of course". The Martian said with a big grin.

Despite being aliens, their eyes lit up simultaneously at the word, Shopping.

Looks like in any universe, no matter what race, beautiful females and shopping are eternal mates.

"I'm in". The blonde said excitedly.

"Argh!" The screams coming from the distance immediately put a stop to the joyful mood.

Kara turned her attention outside the Cafe. The sight of dozens of people running in one direction wasn't difficult to notice.

"Hi there, um.... What's happening?" Stepping out of the establishment, Megan couldn't help but ask one of the fleeing civilians.

"There's a monster over there. Turned several people into skeletons like it was sucking the life out of em. Don't ask, just run for it". The man didn't waste much of his time an answered the two females while moving in haste.

"We need to check it out". Kara said, her words immediately gaining approval.

The two aliens didn't waste much Tim and both ran into a nearby alley.

.....

Parasite was smashed off the train, flying into a building in the distance.

It didn't look like a regular housing building but a special centre of some sorts.

From deep within the rubble, a clawed fingered hand broke through. Pieces of block and stone were pushed aside, revealing the terrifying facial features.

"Finally...".

And so, the parasite monster leaped out of the hole it had created, landing on the paved concrete floor.

"..... You're here".

Clark held the crashing chopper firmly by the tail end. Laying the helicopter firmly on solid ground, the three news employees immediately rushed out of the aircraft as if running for their lives.

The pilot took off his helmet, squatted on the his knees and kissed the floor.

Never had he been so happy to have his feet on firm soil. Now hey understood why the last pilot quit his job after one year of service.

The guy's poor heart probably couldn't handle anymore.

"Thank you Superman. We owe you our lives".

The reporter said with lingering fears.

"It's ok, you're safe now. But you're not out of danger as long as you continue to stay here. The monster...". Clark stopped as his ears twitched.

"It's here. You guys go back now, I'll take care of it". Clark said before turning around and turning into a fist of wind.

The three were slightly stunned. The cameraman looked at the disappearing Superman then back at the reporter.

"Should we leave?"

"Are you crazy?" The male reporter scolded in a high tone. Then, his voice turned solemn.

"This is firsthand scoop on Superman's defeat of the mysterious monster. We're the first responders and are most likely to get it on video. If we go back now, Chief will kill us".

"Hell no, I'm not going anywhere close to that area". The pilot said with an expression of fear, pointing towards the direction Superman disappeared to.

"Don't listen to him. He's the pilot. People like him are hard to find, so he can regarded as a rare talent. Plus, the Chopper's busted. He'll get off just fine".

The male reporter said before turning to the cameraman.

"Two of us on the other hand...". He didn't have to finish his words. The cameraman finished it for him.

"We could get fired".

"Bingo. So Scottie boy, we have to go. Besides, it's Superman we're talking about here. With him, our safety is basically guaranteed".

"Um...." The cameraman was slightly hesitant.

Too bad, the reporter whose eyes were fiery for the scoop of the month had already taken the lead. The poor cameraman who was still hesitating could only bite the bullet and follow.

"Idiots. Idiots I tell you". All that was left was the pilot who let out a few cusses before turning around and fleeing.

He had had enough for one day.

.....

Superman flashed and appeared in the area near the building. His gaze instantly locked on the purple monster a considerable distance away.

Seeing its appearance. Clark frowned.

"Alright, let's finish this quick". He thought to himself and activated his laser vision.

The two lasers shot towards Parasite who raised both hands in front of it and blocked.

The lasers slammed straight on his crossed arms, pushing him back several meters. But that was all to it.

Slowly, the purple monster began to advance forward under the laser offensive.

Step by step, it drew closer, with each step much lighter than the last one, u til eventually, it removed both arms from the way allowing the lasers to strike on you his chest without any form of protection.

Seeing this scene, Clark who was releasing heat vision was stunned.

"Hehehe!" The monster let out an eerie chuckle, it's body reacting to the laugh.

"Finally...."

Then..... Blue lightning arcs flashed around his body.

"..... You're finally here".

And with that, he rushed forward at super speed.

Seeing the attacking parasite displaying speedster traits, Superman was shocked.

He wanted to react but the slight surprise and the extreme speed caught him off guard. Before he could react, Parasite had already slammed into him.

The two dug a deep gully on the floor as they were pushed forward, parasite's body on top of Superman's.

"So much.... Power".

And with that, he used his right hand and grabbed the head of the man of steel.

"Ugh!" Clark let out a groan as parasite's hand glowed yellow. He felt something leaving him, like he was being sucked dry.

Meanwhile,

On the roof of the building, a few meters above the parasite's impact point. The space suddenly distorted, forming swirls in the area.

Amari stepped out of the void, looking into the distance.

"Oh, looks like I didn't miss anything".

.....

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