Confronting her fears, she remembered her therapist saying, was one of the best ways of dealing with them.

"Really?" Mary said. "That's odd. The guard had your keys. He was trying to return them to you."

"Oh." Ellen smiled mechanically. She'd been sure she'd lost those keys at the Daily Planet. Was it possible she'd been mistaken?

No, it wasn't. She'd driven to the Planet, and she'd had to use her keys to do it. The security guard had lied, and there was only one reason he would do that. Ellen gulped down the lump of panic that tried to rise in her throat. This time she couldn't tell herself that it was all her imagination.

There was a chime as the elevator slid to a stop and the doors opened.

Another rush of footsteps, and again, silence.

She felt as if she were spotlighted in front of the elevator, a target for whoever it was that was stalking her so frighteningly. She couldn't stay here!

You can scream your head off, and nobody will come.

she aimed the little canister of teargas and sprayed her captor full in the face.

Ellen sprayed him again, for good measure.

There was a whoosh of air, heralding the arrival of Superman, but held tightly in Sam's arms, Ellen barely noticed.