Author’s Note: I wrote this extended ending (Epilogue) of
Karaoke at the Red K Corral back in January. I took another look at it last night and, while I still liked it, it doesn’t have the WAFFy oomph the ending to
Part 3 had. It does, on the other hand, answer some of those dangling questions some of you had mentioned were missing from Part 3. The reason I have marked it as “Part 4” is that it’s as long as a normal part length and usually I consider epilogues to be shorter. Enjoy, and please let me know if I should include it when submitting this story to the Archives.
Part 4 (The Epilogue?)Ultra Woman floated down from the historic building on the corner of Jordano and Adams with a blonde businesswoman in her arms. She wasn’t cradling the woman as she had with Clark the night before, much to his chagrin, but flew side by side with the woman’s head resting on her shoulder.
The woman was acting strangely. Then again, the woman had wanted to kill herself just a minute ago and Lois…
Ultra Woman had stopped her. Ultra Woman set her down on the street. She felt as if she should say something, but comforting people had never been her forte.
“Would you like to talk to someone? A doctor?” Ultra Woman suggested hesitantly.
“No,” the woman replied. She looked at Ultra Woman almost with derision and snidely added, “But I would like a hug.”
The last thing Lois wanted to do was embrace this woman. Actually, it sounded as if it was the last thing this woman wanted to do as well. “Um… well…” Ultra Woman sputtered, almost saying ‘no’.
The woman had just embraced her coming down from the building, mostly because she didn’t want to fall, but it felt stiff, weird, and not at all thankful. A part of her knew that Superman would’ve said ‘yes’ and she needed to talk to him about that policy. Any loony with Kryptonite might be asking, and this woman certainly was giving off those kind of vibes. Lois hoped she wasn’t obsessed with Ultra Woman like Jimmy was.
“O-kaaay,” Ultra Woman agreed, not even a quarter-heartedly. She set her hands on the woman’s shoulders and patted her more than hugged her.
As Ultra Woman went to step away, the woman grabbed her around the torso and squeezed Lois to her chest, not tight… well, not tightly for Ultra Woman, but undeniably too closely. Lois decided that this woman without a doubt fell into the creepy stalker category. This was the last hug Ultra Woman would ever give another adult, who wasn’t…
“No! It’s her!” she heard Clark cry from behind her.
Ultra Woman didn’t even have time to turn and ask ‘her who?’ when she felt something hit her between the shoulder blades and drain out her life force. The world felt heavier and quieter. Clark seemed twice as far away. Her stomach rumbled with hunger and she felt bone-tired, as if she had been up all night flying.
She knew, even before the woman lifted her off the ground with a gloating grin, that the hug had been a terrible mistake. Lois wished she had stuck to her gut reaction with this woman. Now, Lois had given away her ultra powers to someone even less deserving of them than she. Was one of Superman’s abilities Super naïveté?
Lois glanced helplessly over her shoulder at Clark as the woman grabbed her around the throat, hoping he would help her. But what could Superman do against someone as powerful as himself?
Clark had stepped between her and the video camera of that journalist near him and stopped, gazing back at her equally helplessly as if he too were at a loss at what to do. At least, he had blocked her error from the evening news.
“I’m an empowered woman!” announced the woman who held Ultra Woman, and Lois realized that only seconds had passed since she had lost her powers. The woman cackled with laughter as she bobbed Ultra Woman up and down beside her with one hand. If Lois had her ultra strength, she would have kicked her in the gut.
Lois guessed this woman was one of the Newtrich sisters who had kidnapped Clark. The woman was lucky that Lois hadn’t realized this until after she lost her powers or she might have hung back and let the woman jump.
“Well, let’s see just how strong I am,” the woman who had stolen Ultra Woman’s powers said, appearing as if she were about to toss Lois into the nearest building.
Suddenly, a whistle cut through the air. “Hey!” Lois heard Clark call out to them. “YOU! In the dime-store dress.”
What is he doing? Lois wondered.
Trying to get me killed?“Over here,” Clark said, waving towards them. “Remember me? I’m the man you abducted and tried to blow up last night for no good reason.”
The triumphant grin disappeared from her captor’s face. “I had a good reason,” the woman replied. “Although, apparently you’re not good enough bait for Ultra Woman.”
The woman with the video camera joined Clark out on the street, vying to get a better shot.
“Is that
real polyester?” Clark continued to taunt the woman. “Because it goes great with that cheap make-up and that bad wig.”
Terrific, Lois groaned. Was this payback for taking him flying the night before? She
had apologized! Well, okay, she hadn’t, but she had meant to. He had said he wouldn’t hold it against her. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who could hold grudges. She shook her head, telling him non-verbally to cut it out.
“Don’t you talk about my sister’s hair like that!” demanded the video camerawoman to Clark.
“Shut up, Nell,” the woman, who must’ve been Lucille Newtrich, hissed at her sister. “I can fight my own battles.” She dropped Lois to the ground.
“Yeah, but you’re losing the one with taste,” Clark said with a cocky grin.
Lucille started striding down the street towards him, announcing, “I’m going to ram you into next Thursday!”
Clark laughed and motioned for her to try it.
Lois held her breath.
Lucille went into super speed mode just as Clark dived out of the way, grabbing the video camera out of Nell Newtrich’s hands before landing on the street. Lucille hit her sister and the two of them flew around the corner and into what sounded like another building.
Ultra Woman pushed herself to her feet, just as Clark jogged over. He held up the video camera triumphantly in one arm. She scoffed and rolled her eyes. What good was that going to do them?
“That’s the nasty thing about those super powers. They’re hard to control with a bad temper,” Lois said, as Clark gave her a winning grin.
“Well, then, let’s get out of here before she calms down,” he suggested.
Lois agreed as they headed through the collected crowd in the opposite direction from the one the Newtrich sisters had gone. “I guess I’m going to have to get used to being Earth bound again,” she joked softly.
“Um…Not necessarily,” he whispered once they were out of the crowd.
“Not necessarily
what?”
“You’re not Earth bound. I am,” he said, giving her a sheepish smile.
Lois stopped and faced him. “What did you do?”
“I wanted to prove to you that you’re just as much a hero as Superman,” Clark replied.
She put her hands on her hips. “I’ve never doubted that for a moment, Kent. I’m just a different type of hero,” she said. “One who is mightier with the pen than the sword.”
“Well, now you’re mightier with the fist than me,” he said. “Than Superman, that is.”
He must have transferred his powers back into her when he had stepped in between Lois and Nell Newtrich. She stretched out with her senses and was able to hear and see further than Lois Lane should be able to.
“Why did you do that?” she hissed. “I’m not as good with these powers as you, Clark.”
“Lucille had her hand around your throat, Lo…
Ultra Woman,” he reminded her. “One little squeeze and they would’ve had to clean you off the street with a mop.” He brushed back a lock of hair from her face. “And you’re more important to me than having my powers.”
Lois glanced down at the camera in his hand, and grinned. “But, now,
we have all the power.”
He looked at the camera. “I think I damaged it when I crashed landed on the ground.”
She went to open the compartment holding the red Kryptonite to investigate, when Clark’s hand stilled hers. “That’s not a good idea.”
“Right,” Lois replied with a nod. She didn’t want to be drugged on crazy juice again. “So, what do we do now, Sherlock? It’s not much of a fight if both she and I are ultra powered. We’re liable to do more damage to Metropolis than to each other.”
He held up the camera. “Then we’ll have to even up the numbers a bit more.”
***
“Smack, punch, and grab!” Lucille said, giggling as she leafed through the handfuls of cash in her fists.
“We’re rich!” Nell agreed. “We’re rich! We’re…”
“Ladies!” Ultra Woman announced from outside the mail truck the Newtrich sisters had just robbed. She had her hands on her hips. “May I have a word?”
“Ultra Woman?” Lucille said, giving her sister a glare before moving to what was left of the door of the truck. “Excuse me, but don’t you qualify for protection under the endangered species act?”
Nell followed, standing right behind her sister.
“You’re the one up for early extinction. You see, I’ve still got all my powers.”
Nell rolled her eyes.
“You make me so mad my hair hurts,” Lucille grumbled at her sister.
“She’s lying,” Nell insisted.
“Let’s just see,” Ultra Woman returned.
Lucille jumped out of the truck and was standing behind Ultra Woman in a split second. “Why do I think you’re bluffing?”
Ultra Woman crossed her arms. “Well… I don’t know.”
Lucille stared at her. “I see fear in your eyes.”
Ultra Woman raised an eyebrow, but doubted that Lucille could see it under her mask. The only fear Lois had was if Clark’s plan didn’t work. Planning had never been his strong suit. “That’s just….”
Oh crap! Her mind went blank. “Um… Extreme modesty.”
Really? Extreme modesty? Could she have come up with a more lame answer?
Lucille scoffed, clearly not buying Ultra Woman’s excuse. “Oh, Nell,” she sang to her sister. “Let’s do a little test. Pick up the guard’s gun, there…”
Nell jumped out of the back of the postal truck and picked up the guard’s gun, aiming it at Ultra Woman.
Lucille looked back at Ultra Woman. “You’re familiar with the phrase ‘faster than a speeding bullet’.”
Ultra Woman glanced over her shoulder at Nell. It wasn’t that she feared the Newtrich sisters discovering that she had powers again, but more that Lois really didn’t want to test the whole invulnerability to bullets thing.
“Lucille?” Nell said, the gun shaking in her hand. “I… I…”
“Nell! She knows who we are, what we did. Now, there isn’t a jail on Earth that could hold me, but you…
you’d be in a lot of trouble if she talked to the police,” Lucille said to her sister.
Ultra Woman slowly started backing away from the crazy sisters, a hand raised. She glanced down the road and through the neighboring buildings, wondering where Clark was. He should have been here by now. She knew they should have switched roles. There hadn’t been time to do anything before the alarm about the postal truck had gone out over the police band and Clark had told her to go. ‘
I’ll be right behind you,’ he had said.
“Soooo,” Lucille continued. “If you’re so sure that your little laser worked, finish the job.”
Nell pointed the gun directly at Lois, her eyes steeling with resolve. Unfortunately, her hands were still shaking. Lois was sure that Nell might manage to hit her with one of the bullets, but the others could ricochet and hit one of the guards still lying on the ground nearby. She didn’t have Clark’s experience with the powers. Could she stop a bullet in midflight?
A yellow 1950s taxicab screeched to a stop outside of the alley in which they were standing, and Superman stepped out with the red Kryptonite video camera, newly fixed by Dr. Klein… at least, Lois hoped it was fixed.
Nell’s attention and gun moved towards this new target. Lucille used her super breath to knock Superman back to the cab, but not before he tossed the camera high over Lucille’s head. Ultra Woman caught it and, while hovering in midair, she pointed it straight at Lucille and pressed the button.
A red light flashed through the air, striking Lucille in the center of her chest and knocking Clark’s powers back into him.
Superman grabbed Lucille’s hands, pulling them behind her back and holding them there, as he lifted her off the ground to prove to her that he once more had his powers.
“Oh, no! No! No!” Lucille whined.
Landing, Ultra Woman tucked the camera under her arm and took the pistol away from the stunned Nell.
“I don’t understand it. The blast should’ve left you powerless,” Nell grumbled.
Ultra Woman glanced over at Superman and smiled. “Your laser didn’t work as you thought. The transfer was only temporary. Superman had his powers restored last night. Just as I regained my powers after you struck me this morning.”
“You mean I would've lost my ultra powers in time?” Lucille asked, before turning to Superman. “But I knocked you over with my breath just now.”
“Anyone can be surprised, even Superman,” he replied as a couple of police cruisers pulled up to the mouth of the alley.
“That sucks,” Lucille mumbled. “So, you’re not Lois Lane?”
“Ms. Lane is just as powerless as her fiancé,” Ultra Woman explained, leaning towards the sisters. “She was extremely perturbed that you almost killed Clark Kent and, between you and me, I think you two will be safer behind bars.”
“If you’re not Lois Lane, then who are you?” Lucille asked.
“I’m just one of Superman’s friends from the league of super heroes called… um… The Justice League,” Ultra Woman said, floating into the air. “He calls on me for assistance from time to time.”
Superman passed Lucille and Nell over to the cops. “You need to get these two behind bars.”
Nell pulled away from her sister. “I’m not riding in the same car as
that woman.”
“Nah, nanny nah nah,” replied Lucille, sticking out her tongue at her sister.
Superman floated up above the crime scene and joined Ultra Woman. “Who or what is the Justice League?”
“Beats me,” Lois shrugged. “Sounded good, though, didn’t it?”
Clark chuckled and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest. “Our investigation is over, the criminals caught, and our powers restored. How about a kiss?”
Ultra Woman gasped. “
Superman! How many times do I have to tell you? I don’t date my co-workers,” Lois teased, wagging a finger at him. “Keep that up and I’ll have to turn you over to Batman for censure.” She flew up high over the city, where no one could hear her peals of laughter.
Superman followed. “What was that about?” he asked, crossing his arms and he floated sternly nearby.
Lois calmed her laughter. “I figure we have enough to deal with for a while without adding a super romance into the mix.” She floated up to him and laid a hand on his chest, sliding it up to his shoulder, pulling him in for a kiss.
“So, Superman is a super dud in Ultra Woman’s eyes only in public?” he whispered, turning his head slightly so she missed his mouth. “First Lois dumps him, and now Ultra Woman. The poor man can’t catch a break.”
She chuckled. “Perhaps I’ll have Ultra Woman reconsider after Lois marries Clark,” she countered. This time her super kiss hit its mark.
***
Perry marched out of his office and over to where Clark, Jimmy, and Lois stood at Lois’s desk. “This is great stuff, kids, but we still don’t know where this Ultra Woman came from and if we’re ever going to see her again.”
Clark looked at Lois, and hesitated, “Um…Well…”
“She said that she’s a really close friend of Superman’s, and…” Lois replied, interrupting him. She gave Clark a knowing smile. “And that’s about all that either of them would say.”
Her fiancé returned her smile, taking her hand in his and raising her fingers to his lips for a kiss.
“All right. Let’s slap this on the front page and head for home,” Perry said, tossing them back their copy.
“Hold on a moment, there, Chief. There’s another headline you’re missing,” Jimmy said.
Lois’s eyes widened as she glanced over at her boss. “That’s right, Jimmy,” she said, standing up and squeezing Clark’s hand as she lowered hers out of sight. “I spoke to Ultra Woman before she flew off and, Jimmy, she said to tell you that you’re ‘cute’.”
Jimmy jumped to his feet and started dancing through the newsroom to crows of “I’m cute!”
Clark chuckled.
Perry merely shook his head and wandered back to his office.
Clark drew Lois to his chest, kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear, “Are you telling me that Ultra Woman turned down Superman for the likes of…
Jimmy Olsen?”
“Only in Jimmy’s dreams, Clark,” she murmured back.
“At least,
I don’t have to spend every waking moment worrying about your safety now,” Clark continued.
“Ha-ha. You and I both know you didn’t do that before,” Lois said, tapping his chest.
“Yeah. Sure, honey. Whatever you say,” he replied, glancing away and towards the ceiling as if he were avoiding her gaze.
Her brow furrowed. “Clark, are you crossing your fingers?”
His cheeks reddened a little and he cleared his throat. “Of course not, Lois.”
Uh-huh. “How about now?”
“Hey! Romeo and Juliet!” Perry’s booming voice roared over the newsroom, causing Lois and Clark to jump apart. “The front page!”
“Right,” Clark said, picking up their article. “Let me…”
“You do that,” Lois said, flicking his tie as her fingers danced across his chest. “Meet you later.”
He grinned and bounced his eyebrows, leaning towards her for another kiss. “I’ve got some ideas about later…”
She pointed to the paper in his hand. “The article.”
Clark nodded, starting to back up but keeping his eyes on Lois. “Right. Right. Article. Uh-huh.”
Jimmy came dancing back into the newsroom at that moment, distracting Clark’s gaze from Lois long enough to remember where he was supposed to be going.
“Lois!” Jimmy called as Clark zipped out of sight. “The other headline. I totally forgot to tell you.”
“Tell
me?” Lois echoed. She had thought he’d noticed her engagement ring was about to blab it all over the newsroom that she and Clark were engaged. “What headline?”
Jimmy grabbed a tabloid off his desk and held it up for her view. The grainy photo gracing its cover was from a security camera video and was of Ultra Woman standing at the microphone at the dive bar in Oklahoma. The headline blared:
Ultra Woman Sings the Blues for Superman. ***The End***Comments
