Here is chapter 2 of this project. All the rules from the opening of chapter 1 still apply.

Over The Rainbow
By Max Hass
Copyright August 2006

Chapter 2

Six Days Later...

A female figure cut across the sky from the same Gotham City rooftop Batgirl had left days earlier. However, this figure flew without any of the technology that the heroes of Gotham made use of.

Having been summoned by a deeply disturbed Commissioner Gordon, Supergirl made haste to answer his call. With Batman deeply involved in an overwhelming crime wave in Gotham, the commissioner used his influence to contact the golden heroine and briefed her on what mission his police chief had sent her on.

"The reports of the last crime several nights ago offered very little help, but it did provide one vital lead. One camera escaped vandalism by the criminals who broke in that night. And we got a good look at the person responsible for Batgirl's disappearance." Supergirl took a good look at the surveillance camera image and saw the face of the man accompanying the restrained Batgirl from the lab.

"So, I get to meet this Rupert Thorne and close out this situation for the police. The risks of such a powerful man with a hostage doing something rash in the face of an all out assault by the police are understandable" she thought to herself as she floated over the cityscape after she finished her meeting. The police were reasonable in their latitude, given the amount of footwork The Batman and his 'associates' had provided the community. Since none of them were readily available, the Justice Legion would offer its support in the form of Supergirl.

"Things have taken a profound turn for the worse this week around the world. Superman has his hands full in Metropolis. The majority of the Justice League are tied up in one situation or another. Something is going on" she finished as she located the industrial complex that Thorne was connected with in past dealings. "This is as good a place to begin my search as any."

A swift X-ray exam of the complex exposed many individuals in the buildings. Knowing what he looked like, Supergirl scanned for a particularly large man and found a good match. A quick listen with her hearing exposed a one sided phone conversation, the name of Thorne being spoken more than once. Dropping to the ground slowly, Supergirl moved to find a window near the room to confirm the identity of the criminal in question.

Resolving any doubts about his identity, Supergirl chose a more overt entrance, given the nature of his record and who he was most likely holding. None of her scans from the sky showed anyone who remotely looked like Batgirl inside the building, but there was much of the complex she could not examine from afar without doing great harm to those in the way of her enhanced vision and other senses.

What she found odd was the fact that she could see Rupert Thorne's office clearly. He didn't seem to want to hide his presence in this building. "Time to pay the master of the house a quick visit" thought Supergirl to herself as she selected a point to land. Floating quietly to a rooftop patio by an ornate french door opening into the office suite, the blond heroine set foot on enemy territory. Another brief scan with her x-ray vision showed only small handguns in hidden drawers in the large desk that the man sat at. Secure in the knowledge that he could not harm her with such weapons, she swiftly opened the door and moved to where Thorne could see her.

Once Supergirl came to a stop before the notorious gangster, she noticed that he was deep in concentration, lost in a leather bound book he was reading. Thinking to herself "Must be something important to him", Supergirl was dumbstruck at his lack of interest with the event that had just occurred in front of him. "Excuse me, but are you Rupert Thorne?" asked Supergirl politely as if to shock him back to face her. Rather than answering her, he ignored her outright.

Having never suffered from a lack of attention, Supergirl was unprepared for such a response. Again, she asked if he were Rupert Thorne. And again, the burley man sat behind his desk, all of his attention affixed on the words printed on the pages he read.

"I wondered when someone would come knocking on my door. I hardly dreamt it would be you, Supergirl. Since you seem to know who I am already, I will spare you the usual exchange of snide remarks and get right to business. Please turn around and look at the large flat screen monitor on the wall." Rupert pressed a large button on a television remote control laying on his desk.

Believing that a mere human ruffian would pose no significant physical threat, Supergirl simply turned as the gangster boss asked. The screen was blank, but the power indicator blinked green. Then a scene appeared on the monitor that made Supergirl's blood run cold. On the screen was Batgirl. Her uniform in tatters and her limbs in steel bondage rods, holding her upright for the camera. Two burley men stood beside her, one on each side. They appeared pleased with their task.

"Before you state the obvious, Supergirl, bear in mind that your associate crime fighter is not in this or any other building I own or lease. She is far beyond anyplace you can reach without my guidance. And should anything happen to me, those two are quite capable of ending her life in moments, should anything prevent me from stopping them. There is a 24 hour a day security wall around Batgirl that will insure my wishes will be carried out if you do anything to me."

Supergirl paused to take in the weight of what this human just said. She had no reason to doubt that what he was saying was perfectly true. But she had several advantages that she would try to employ before surrendering totally to this criminal. "You have my full attention, Mr. Thorne. As long as Batgirl is safe, I will listen to what you have to say. If she dies needlessly, all bets are off, as you might say." Thorne smiled at the response he heard. "Very wise. child. My men will not harm her any further than what she has already endured at their hands. But now, to business."

"What do you want of me, Thorne?" came the cold as ice response to his presentation to this point. "Actually, I propose that you go now. I will inform you with this cell phone when I have need of you again. And as I said, Batgirl will not be harmed in any way unless you break our current agreement. You will hear from me within the hour. Be ready to travel when I call." Thorne held up a cheap cell phone and offered it to the heroine standing before him.

Considering that she would have time to report what she had to the authorities in the time she had free, she accepted the terms of the next meeting. "Know this, Thorne. You understand that I am not the only person capable of bringing this situation of your to an end. This is a matter of time. Yours is running out swiftly." With that, she floated off the carpet and back out the way she entered.

"She's left. You may resume your tenderizing of the thorn in my side. Make sure she's ready for the next step in my plan." The faces of the two men in the hidden cell containing Batgirl's restrained body lit up like children on Christmas morning. "But keep her in one piece. She's worthless dead!"

As the screen went black, Rupert opened the center drawer and removed the same object he fondled the night he captured Batgirl. "She didn't even notice this little gem. So far, so good."

Picking up a phone, Rupert pushed a button and waited to hear a voice at the other end of the line. "Yes, she has the cell phone. You may begin stage three of this plan when you are ready. The sooner, the better!" A wicked smile came over the lips of the elderly gangster. "We'll teach these amateurs who runs this city!"

CHAPTER 2 END NOTES:

Warning: plot spoilers galore just up ahead!




For those who are wondering about some of the plot points used in this story, I wrote this after watching a rerun of a Nova PBS television show about the U.S. government military program on biological warfare and the methods that were developed in the 20th century to create an aerosol dispensing system for powdered toxins.

At first, I had thought to use this along with a synthetic form of kryptonite as the primary weapon against Supergirl. But then another paper came to my attention concerning the discovery of another fantastic accident of nature.

In the course of researching the materials found in historic layers of geography, scientists found that, under extreme focused pressures and heat from a meteorite or comet striking the planet, the carbon locked in the geography would be crushed into microscopic sized diamonds. Millions of tons of so-called nano diamonds are now being found in what are commonly called extinction layers: layers of soil that were created as the dust and pollutants that dropped out of the sky after a large meteorite or comet impacted our planet.

Thus, I did alter the story slightly to invoke the plot point of a cross pollination of a kryptonite laced comet that left a layer of nano diamonds that were reasonably available thanks to a freak discovery after an earthquake changed the path of a river. The balance of the plot of my story was outlined in August of 2006, over half a year before Joe Kelly wrote a similar Supergirl story line for a 2007 comic. I was there first, baby!

Sweet. but more needed.

Thanks!

More is almost ready. I'm a real pain when it comes to editing. I promise. This and a far more juicy chapter are on the way.