When Chruches Come Crashing Down
Folc4evernaday
Part 41
***
Lucy watched Jimmy from across the room. Ellen had taken Jordan to Lois and Clark; leaving her and Jimmy alone for the first time all evening. Jimmy had a wistful expression across his face as he looked towards her. She smiled at him, “Long day, huh?”
“Huh?” He looked up, confused.
“I said it’s been a long day,” Lucy repeated.
“Yeah,” He agreed. “I’ll say. Jordan can be quite a handful. I don’t know how Lois and CK do it,”
Lucy smiled, “You were pretty great with him,”
“You think so?” He asked, “I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing,”
“I don’t think anyone knows what they’re doing when it comes to kids,” Lucy said. “I know my family sure didn’t,”
“You turned out all right,” Jimmy pointed out, “You’re alive, no missing body parts, and you don’t wake up screaming from what I’ve noticed,”
Lucy laughed, “No, I guess not,”
“So, why don’t you cut your parents a break?” Jimmy suggested. “I’m sure they did the best they could. I mean, look at Jordan. The poor guy got kidnapped at birth then he went from one person to another; then back to his real parents again. I’m surprised at how resilient he’s been. Most people would be screwed up from something like that,”
“I never thought about it like that,” Lucy acknowledged.
“Life happens,” Jimmy shrugged. “Just try not to let it take over your life.”
“You think that’s what I did?” Lucy challenged.
“Do you? You’re the one that ended up here in the psych ward. What put you here?” Jimmy shot back.
Her first instinct was to defend herself. He was always making her angry by reminding her of the short-comings in her past. This time, however, there was something different in his tone and expression. The genuine concern in his eyes tore at her heartstrings. It was hard to be angry at him when he looked at her like that.
“Jimmy,” she began. She really wasn’t ready to talk about what had gotten her to where she was. She had been shot in cold blood and lost her baby. She didn’t want to discuss it. It hurt too much.
“Yeah?” He prompted.
“I don’ t want to talk about the baby,” She pleaded with him.
“I’m not trying to make you talk about the baby,” Jimmy reassured her, “I’m trying to bring your attention to something else.” He explained, “You keep pushing everyone in your life; holding everything in, Luce. You used to be so open; now you only open yourself up to your sister. That’s not good for you. You keep blaming your parents for the way you are but I don’t believe that. I think it has to do with what you went through last year,”
“That’s not…”
‘You deny it, but you know it’s true, Luce,” Jimmy added.
Lucy opened her mouth to respond but was cut off when Ellen reentered the room. “How are you two doing? I brought back some goodies,” She held up a bag from the bakery on 57th Street.
Lucy forced a smile, holding back the unshed tears that were threatening to overtake her as she swallowed the bitter bile in her throat. “Sounds great, mom,”
***
Amanda Marshall stood outside the gate of the playground in Metropolis Park. It was so tempting. She could easily take any of the children that were playing on the swing set without anyone noticing. There were so many kids. The parents were distracted. It would be so easy.
The sound of the gate being closed and the vibration of the metal against metal echoed through her hands. She grimaced, recalling the sound of the prison doors closing. She couldn’t do that to herself again.
***
“I think he’s mad at me,” Lois commented, glancing at Jordan who was clinging to Clark as he stared her down with a scowl on his face. She looked down at their sleeping daughter. “He’ll get over it.”
“He’s just jealous,” Clark commented. He looked down at their sleeping daughter, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes. “She looks so much like you, it’s unreal.”
“Well, I’d think after this one,” she gently tousled Jordan’s hair and he pulled away, “coming out just like you; I’d have one that looks like me,”
“Let’s just hope she doesn’t get your stubborn streak,” Clark said dryly.
“Hey!” Lois thwacked him across the chest lightly. “I am not that stubborn!”
“Well, Ms. Not – That – Stubborn, any idea what you want to name her. Or are we taking her home as ‘baby girl Kent?’” Clark teased.
“It does have a nice ring to it,” She shot back.
“Lo-is,” Clark groaned.
“I’m kidding,” She sighed, “Sheesh!”
“You’re kidding? If your mother comes in here one more time demanding to know what her granddaughter’s name is going to be; I may go insane.” Clark prodded, “You do have a name for her, right?”
“Of course I have a name for her.” She smiled up at Clark, “Her name is Laura. Laura Lane Kent,” She picked Laura up so she was looking at her, being sure to hold her neck steady as she did so, supporting her with her legs.
Clark kissed her on the cheek, “Perfect,” He whispered.
“Jordan, meet your sister,” She reached out for him. He pulled away, stubbornly burying his face into his father’s chest. “Or not,”
A knock at the door was followed by a familiar face, “I wasn’t sure if you were taking any visitors,”
“Daddy?” Lois looked up at him in surprise.
***
“Long night, Inspector?” Detective Wolf asked, walking into the interrogation room where Inspector Henderson stood with the pictures of all the bodies that had been dug out of Hobb’s Bay in the last year.
“What’s the connection, Wolf?” Henderson asked.
“What do you mean?”
“We’ve got a famous surgeon, a private doctor, a talk show host, and another reporter that could possibly be a part of Intergang. Then let’s not forget our DEA Agent and our meteorologist.” Henderson tapped his hand against the board. “What’s the connection?”
“I don’t know maybe they all went to the same coffee shop and pissed someone off there?” Wolf guessed. “It’s too late for this stuff, Henderson,”
“It’s too late for a lot of stuff but I still do it. Bodies are popping up left and right in Hobbs Bay and I want to know why ” Henderson muttered.
“Well, you got two doctors. Maybe they worked together?” Wolf suggested.
“And the reporters?”
“Wrong place; wrong time?”
“And the rest?”
“The same?”
“You’re no help,” Henderson sighed.
“Go home,” Wolf sighed, exasperated. “We have bigger cases to deal with right not and…”
“We can’t solve that case on the clones until we solve this. I know they’re connected.” Henderson explained.
“Fine, don’t listen to me,” Wolf sighed. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
<<’Working Together’>>
The words stuck in Henderson’s mind. There was something so familiar about the names. He wasn’t sure what it was.
***
“The ultimate test will be how Superman reacts to the Synthetic Kryptonite.” Mrs. Cox explained. “I still don’t understand why you weren’t able to get your hands on the real meteorite.”
“This is just as good,” Miranda assured. “I mixed it myself. I’m confident Superman will feel the effects from this material; just as much as the real Kryptonite.”
“The question is how we get the material near Superman to test him,” Arianna explained. “Then we can see how potent this material really is.”
“Well, we can always do it the old-fashioned way,” Mindy suggested.
“Which is?” Mrs. Cox asked.
“Help, Superman?” Mindy suggested.
***
Three Week Later…
Jack stared at the empty desk in front of him as he gathered the last of his things. It was weird going from job to job. He’d emptied out his desk after turning in his resignation at Top Copy. After the fiasco with Barry Dunning and Dianna Stride, he hadn’t been comfortable working there anymore.
“Well, another one bites the dust,” Jack muttered, grabbing the box off his desk and heading towards the elevators.
***
Arianna Carlin was a woman that enjoyed being in control. After her divorce from Lex she had used the company, “ACL Industries” to begin her own fortune after losing her family fortune during their divorce. Lex had taken more than just money during their marriage. He had taken the company her family had built and turned it into his own. Lex Corp had begun with the Carlins.
Now that she was beginning to realize that Lex would never look at her the same way she had for so many years; she began to plan her comeback. Her family name would reflect through the streets once again and Lex Luthor would be nothing but an inconvenient footnote barely remembered by the people of Metropolis.
***
James Turner flipped through the police file as Ryan Knox watched in rapt attention. “It’s a shame what happened to one of our own district attorneys, Mr. Knox, under your watch,”
“Yes, Mr. Turner, it’s a tragedy, but I can’t control everything in this city.” Ryan Knox pointed out.
“What are you doing to deal with this?” Turner asked.
“Pardon?” Knox asked, uncertainly.
“I’ve put a lot of money into your campaigns this year, Mr. Knox, I want to know my money is well spent. What are you doing now that one of your own was gunned down in the middle of Metropolis’ streets?”
“I…” Ryan Knox looked around uncertainly, unsure of how to answer.
“I’ll assume nothing then?” Turner asked.
“No, no, we are investigating it's just…”
“Yes?”
“Well, it’s hard to investigate when no one wants to talk.”
“I’d like to see something done, Mr. Knox, it’s disconcerting to see criminals get away with attacking the very officials that work so hard to put them away. It creates panic in the streets; people begin to talk and pretty soon you’re out of a job. Do you catch my drift, Mr. Knox?”
“Completely, Mr. Turner,” Ryan Knox nodded, understanding what James Turner was hinting at subtly.
***
Lois checked one glanced over at the bassinet across the room, assuring herself that Laura was still asleep. Jordan sat on the bed with her playing with his play remote, pressing the light up buttons. She was reading over the police report on Lucy’s shooting. Clark was out on patrol and she was taking advantage of the rare quiet time to review the details on the case. Just because she was on maternity leave didn’t mean she had to drop the ball on a case that affected her family. Jordan yawned as he played. “Getting sleepy?” she asked him.
He yawned, rubbing his eyes this time. “Let’s get you to bed.” She picked him up and carried him into his room and laid him in his crib, turning on his glow worm to play his lullabies. He rolled over, holding his glow worm as he drifted off to sleep. “Good night sweetie,” she turned off the light and headed back to her room where Laura was sleeping. She checked to make sure Laura was still asleep then resumed her place on the bed.
“You’re not supposed to be working,” She heard her husband whisper in her ear as two strong arms wrapped themselves around her, pulling her against him. He kissed her cheek as she turned towards him, putting the file down.
“This isn’t work; it’s personal,” She shot back. “How was your patrol?” She tried to change the subject.
“Quiet,” He commented. “I had a couple of situations with a few petty thieves trying to break into a pawn shop on 3rd but other than that...” He shrugged.
She nodded, “Hopefully it stays that way.”
Clark laughed, nuzzling the side of her neck as he whispered, “You don’t want to have any big headlines on the front page of the Daily Planet?”
“Not while I’m on leave,” She answered, rolling her shoulders as he gently massaged them.
“Figures,” he whispered, placing a peck on her neckline, “still thinking about that Pulitzer,” He teased.
“You bet,” She smiled, “No seriously I want to find out more about…” She let out a low moan as his hands continued to work their magic on her tense muscles, “Mmm, right there,”
“About what?” He asked as he continued to massage her shoulders, “You’re really tense,”
“And sleep deprived,” Lois added with a smile.
Clark laughed, “Well, at least you know she’s healthy,”
“Yes, that’s true,” Lois sighed, leaning back against him, “She’s very healthy.”
Clark tightened his arms around her waist, “You are going to drive me insane,” He whispered.
“That’s the idea,” She teased, moving her hand upward. He caught her hand before she reached her target, removing it from his leg as he leaned down to kiss her. She hated this. Both Jordan and Laura were fast asleep. They were both definitely in the mood but they couldn’t do anything.
“Lo-is,” He chastised, wrapping his hand over hers.
“A little friendly flirting won’t hurt anyone,” She purred, turning around in his arms. She linked her arms around his neck, pulling him towards her.
“Three more weeks,” He murmured.
“Doctors orders suck,” She harrumphed.
***
Lucy nervously tapped her fingers against the wood grain of her dresser as she examined her reflection in the mirror. She still felt like something wasn’t right. Why was she doing this? It was just going to end in disaster. Everything with Jimmy in the past had ended the same; with them fighting.
She cared about Jimmy. She did love him, but she wasn’t sure if she loved him as more than a friend. She knew there were deep feelings there, but to what extent those feelings were was still unclear. When Jimmy had suggested they go out on a date she’d been hesitant. After gentle prodding over the last few weeks she’d agreed. Now she wasn’t so sure anymore.
A knock at the door interrupted her reverie.
‘Too late to back out now,’
She got up and headed for the front door.
“Here goes nothing,” She muttered to herself.
***
Arianna stared at the map of Metropolis on display in front of her. She circled various buildings, marking each with different numbers. “What’s with the coloring?” Mindy asked, stepping into the office.
Arianna turned around, surprised at the intrusion, “I’m planning,” She corrected.
“Right,” Mindy nodded, “So, when do we conduct the first test with this Synthetic Kryptonite. I’d love to unleash Intergang on this city, but we can’t afford to send everyone with little boy blue still flying out there,”
“Oh, we’ll handle him soon enough, Mindy,” Arianna promised. “First, I need to extract my revenge on someone that has been deserving repayment for quite some time,”
“Who might that be?” Mindy asked.
“Your partner,” Arianna smiled back at her, “Oh, I’m sorry, former partner. I forgot he tried to kill you,”
“Yeah, well, I have my plans for him,” Mindy shrugged.
“I’m sure you do, but this plan is necessary,” Arianna added. “In order to bring ACL Industries forward in the US I need to reclaim what is rightfully mine,”
“Which is?” Mindy asked.
“LexCorp,” Arianna stated coldly.
***
“Wow, you look awesome, Luce,” Jimmy complimented when she opened the door. She was dressed in a deep violet dress. It was short sleeved with a v-neck and the hem of the dress came up to her knees.
She smiled back at him nervously, giving him a once over, “You clean up pretty good yourself, Jimmy Olsen,” She smiled at him as she grabbed her purse and headed out the door with him.
***
Clark held Laura against his chest, watching her sleep as Lois finished rinsing her bottle out. “She’s out like a light,” He commented.
Lois smiled, “She seems to have adapted to her sleeping schedule pretty easily. Do you want to go ahead and put her back to bed?”
Clark nodded, walking her upstairs. He loved watching Laura when she slept. It was one of the many things that reminded him of Lois; and Laura was the spitting image of her mother. Jordan seemed to have adapted to having Laura around. During the day, he tried to ‘help’ feed and change her; feeling like he was a big boy. He and Lois allowed him to help as much as he could; wanting to keep him involved so as to prevent him from feeling left out.
The doctors had reassured them Laura would be fine, but Dr. Lee had cautioned Lois not to push herself. After pregnancy it wasn’t uncommon for complications to occur with mothers; especially those that had had a caesarean. Dr. Lee still wanted to watch Lois’ blood pressure to make sure there were no more complications. Even though Lois complained about all the restrictions and joked about her doctor being paranoid he knew she was just as concerned.
Once upstairs, he laid Laura down in her basinet across from the master bed. She stretched her little arms over her head, rubbing her little fist against her cheek as she wiggled around; trying to find a comfortable spot. He smiled down at her, tugging the soft cotton blanket over her little body. “Get some rest, little bit,” He told her.
Lois came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her chin on his shoulder, “She’s probably out for the rest of the night,”
Clark glanced at the clock on the night stand. It read, ’11:15’. “You’re probably right,” He nodded, turning to hug her. He noticed the file on the bed that Lois had been reading earlier, “What’s this?” He asked, picking it up and scanning it.
“Lucy’s police report,” Lois said, taking a seat next to him on the edge of the bed.
Lois cut him off before he could respond, “I know I’m not supposed to be working but it won’t hurt for us to look into this. Lucy’s just now starting to recover and I’d like to know who’s responsible for doing this to her.”
Clark cast a sideways glance at her. Every instinct within him was screaming ‘no’ but there was something else nagging at him to pursue this as well. Lucy had been through a lot in the past year. The shooting and miscarriage were just icing on the cake. He couldn’t really argue with Lois.
“This says the police have already classified this as a ‘cold case,” Clark observed.
“Exactly,” Lois pointed out, “Which means they aren’t going to be investigating this. We have to find out who shot Luce. If they did it once they could do it again,”
“Why would they call it a cold case so early? There’s hardly any investigation notes here,” Clark sighed, running a hand through his hair, “Whoever did this knew what they were doing. No signs of the bullet casing or shells anywhere on the scene.”
“Maybe they know someone in the department,” Lois pointed out.
“Maybe.” Clark sighed, “I really think you should be resting, though,” He half-heartedly argued.
Lois crossed her arms over her chest defiantly, “Clark, she’s my sister.”
“I know,” He sighed, “I just don’t want...”
She cut him off, shaking her head. “I need to do this.” She argued, “Besides it’s not like I’m doing this on my own. You’re going to be helping,” She winked at him.
“I know,” He sighed, “but the doctor did say to watch your stress levels the first few months.”
“I’m fine,” Lois pressed, “I delivered Laura just fine without any complications. I will be fine; please help me do this for Luce,” She pleaded.
“Fine, where do you want to start?” Clark asked.
Lois opened the nightstand drawer next to the bed and pulled out a large stack of files, laying them on the bed in front of them. “Lucy’s cases in the last year,”
“How did you...?” He asked bewildered when he saw the large stack of files in front of them.
“Less talking; more reading,” She said, handing him half of the stack as she leaned up to kiss him on the cheek.
***
Miranda poured the neon green liquid into the valve carefully as she continued to mix everything carefully. She readjusted the clothes pin that squeezed her nose; preventing the fumes from getting to her.
Mixing the Kryptonite with her Revenge Formula always took great precautions; even more so now that they were using a man-made Kryptonite. She wasn’t sure what kind of effects to expect from the formula. Arianna wanted to test it on their next venture; ‘Turner Banking and Loan.’
Arianna said James Turner had taken everything she’d held dear and valued in this life. She wasn’t stupid. She knew James Turner was Lex. She’d done her homework before signing on with ACL Industries.
She knew about Arianna’s plan to win Lex back and how she had murdered Dr. Benzen and Dr. Kelly after they had brought him back to life. What she didn’t know was why Arianna had taken such a drastic turn. She refused to discuss James Turner or Lex Luthor unless she was planning her revenge against him.
One thing was for sure; if this Synthetic Kryptonite worked the same way it had before then Superman would be out of commission for a long time. Miranda glanced at her reflection in her mirror. She hated having to change her image. She missed the curly blonde locks she’d once sported. Being a fugitive; she didn’t have such luxuries to keep fashionable hairstyles. She couldn’t afford to be recognized and returned to prison.
***
Lucy nervously tapped her foot against the marble floor beneath the table. This was uncomfortable. A museum. They were having dinner at a French restaurant in the Metropolis Museum of Fine Arts. It was beautiful and elegant, but it just wasn’t right. None of this felt like her or Jimmy. He was trying to impress her. She knew that and she was doing her best to humor him, but there was only so much she could put up with. She didn’t care about the different artists that had come to the Metropolis Art museum and she didn’t care about the music Mozart listened to when he was a child. She had listened to boring facts like this when she was dating Lex and she’d hated every minute of it.
“Luce?” Jimmy waved his hand in front of her, “Earth to Lucy!”
“Sorry,” She apologized.
“Am I boring you?” He asked confused.
She smiled apologetically, “A little,” He threw his napkin down in frustration, “I’m sorry, Jimmy, I know you’re really trying but I would have been fine just going for pizza.”
“But that’s not what you do on a first date,” Jimmy argued. “You’re supposed to impress the girl and let her get to know you and…”
“Jimmy, no offense, but I think we’re way past the first date stereotypes,” She pointed out.
Jimmy sighed, “I guess you’re right.” He thought about it a moment, “I guess we’re like on our …what? Fifteenth date?”
Lucy laughed. “I suppose.”
“So, you want to ditch this place?” He asked, looking around at the snooty waiter that way eyeing their table and looking at his watch.
“I thought you’d never ask,” Lucy sighed in relief, grabbing her purse as she stood up to leave.
***
Nigel was losing his cool. Lex was growing more and more out of control. The clone he had Sam Lane create was nowhere to be found and his plans for taking over Metropolis were falling apart with each passing day.
Mindy Church had failed to die; leaving another person he had to deal with on his own. He had readied himself with Kryptonite; preparing to confront Superman on his own and finish the job, but first his enemies had to be taken care of.
Bill Church had served his purpose and he’d had him taken care of. Even though it had cost him a good employee; the job had been done. Mrs. Cox continued to report news of Arianna Carlin’s plans for Lex. He found it amusing that such an intelligent woman couldn’t tell when she was being played for a fool. It was no matter to him. He would use her to her full potential and eventually have her taken care of.
Dianna Stride’s murder had shocked him and surprised him at the same time. He knew the bodies that had appeared in the Hobb’s Bay were the result of Arianna’s failed attempts of recreating Dr. Lane’s cloning procedures; so he didn’t know where Dianna Stride’s body had come into the mix.
Lex had come unhinged since Lucy Lane’s shooting. He had let his company go lax; unable to keep up with the daily pressures of maintaining it. This would be the very thing that destroyed him. His obsession with Lucy Lane had driven him to his death in the end. He had had the opportunity to run and escape before the police had come for him, but Lex had insisted on taking Lucy with him. That had been his downfall.
Nigel couldn’t understand this obsession Lex had with Lucy Lane. She brought him nothing but pain. He had no chance with her, yet he kept pursuing her. It was as if he enjoyed the pain she brought on him.
He would never put a woman above everything else the way Lex had. He worked too hard to sacrifice his organization for someone that barely acknowledged him. Never would he make that mistake. Soon he would find a way to get Lex out of the way. His distraction was proof that he wasn’t fit to run his company. It was merely the act of an old friend helping him out. He’d understand eventually.
***
The next morning, Clark left early to do a quick patrol around the city before heading over to the Planet. His anxiety level seemed to have heightened after Laura’s birth. Knowing that there were so many things out in the world that could potentially hurt her scared him.
Her skin and Jordan’s was penetrable. They had both had shots by Dr. Klein for immunizations. They had both bled. He knew for now anyway, they weren’t invulnerable and that knowledge scared him. He had grown up being completely invulnerable; never seeing blood until his first bout with Kryptonite. Now, the responsibility he’d taken on by becoming Superman seemed minuscule compared to his responsibility to protect his family.
“Morning, CK, beautiful day, isn’t it?” Jimmy beamed, patting him on the shoulder as he passed by him on his way to the elevator.
“Yeah, I’d say so,” Clark commented, observing Jimmy’s out of character upbeat attitude, “You seem a bit…”
“I know isn’t it great?” Jimmy interrupted happily. “I’m happy; happier that I’ve ever been in my life!”
Clark smiled, patting Jimmy on the back, “Good, I’m glad. I guess your date with Lucy went well?”
Jimmy’s smile broadened, “She’s doing better and starting to go back to the real Lucy. I finally got a glimpse of her last night,”
“Olsen! I thought I told you to pull that report of missing persons!” Perry bellowed across the newsroom, “I’m not paying you to have a social hour with Kent there!”
Jimmy grimaced, “Sorry, gotta go!”
Clark finished making his way down the ramp and approached Perry who looked like he’d been up all night, “Chief, everything all right?”
Perry shook his head, “No, I ... I don’t know. I’m not all right.”
“What’s wrong?” Clark asked.
“Uh, Jack hasn’t been home all week,” Perry whispered in a low voice as he entered the Editor-in-Chief’s office, closing the door after Clark entered. “We filed a missing persons report this morning,”
“I’m sorry, Chief,” Clark empathized. Jack had come to be like a son to Perry. He had helped to get Jack placed in foster care with Perry and Alice. Now, it looked like their efforts had gone to waste. It appeared Jack had run away again.
***
“Dadda,” Jordan pouted, crossing his arms over his chest as he pouted.
Lois sighed, exasperated, “is at work. Come on, Mr. Man, you need to eat so we can get you to school,”
“No, dadda,” He argued.
Lois shook her head in frustration, “Jordan, we don’t have time for this,” She argued. “Your sister is dressed and ready to go. You need to eat your waffle,”
“No, momma,” Jordan argued.
The doorbell rang and Lois sighed, looking towards the door, uncertain who could be at the door this early in the morning. “Eat,” She pointed at the plate in front of Jordan before turning to answer the door.
She opened the door and smiled when she saw her in-laws on the other side. “Jonathan, Martha, what are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming until next week,” She hugged them as they entered the townhome.
“We got an earlier flight,” Martha explained, “and we couldn’t stay away for another week,” She hugged Lois tightly before pulling away, “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine,” She said, walking towards the dining room table to check on Jordan, “We’re just trying to get breakfast eaten,”
Jonathan followed them into the dining room, smiling at Jordan who was still refusing to eat his waffle, “What’s wrong with you, buddy?”
“Dadda!” He pouted.
“And a little attitude on the side,” Lois said dryly.
Martha smiled warmly at Lois, “It comes with the territory.” She peered down at the car seat where Laura was sleeping, “She is just the most precious thing. She’s gotten so big,” Martha cooed.
Lois smiled down at the tiny baby. “She’s getting bigger every day,” She sighed, turning her attention back to Jordan. To her surprise, he was eating his waffle with the help of his Grandpa Jonathan. She looked up at him and smiled, “You are my hero,”
Jonathan laughed. “Let’s get this little guy ready for school now,”
***
Amanda watched from across the street as Lois loaded Jordan up into the Jeep. She could feel a rush of envy wash over her as she watched the scene unfold. She had been the one to take care of Jordan at one time. She’d fed him and sung him nursery rhymes when he slept. She couldn’t help but feel a pang in her chest as she watched the Jeep pull away. She missed the feeling of having a child in her arms to care for.
She turned the corner and continued to watch the townhome with envy. “You shouldn’t stare that hard; someone might think you’re up to something,” A voice behind her spoke.
She turned around in surprise. “You,” She breathed a sigh of relief. “So, what if I am? Back off!” Amanda hissed, turning away from him. She got up and left, walking down the street away from the townhome.
***
Dianna Stride’s files had been sent to a warehouse in the police’s criminal organization division. Nigel had a few officers on his payroll and was able to get his hands on all her files; hoping to find some insight on Intergang that he didn’t already know.
Most of everything was VHS tapes of her shows. He skimmed through the boxes looking for something more useful. He found one envelope with large black ink on it. In large letters, ‘Top Secret’ was written across the envelope.
Curious, he ripped open the envelope and a blank VHS tape fell out. He glanced at it suspiciously. Would it be worth his while? He shrugged. It wasn’t like he had anything else to do at the moment.
He turned on the television and put the tape into the tape player. “Let’s see what’s so top secret,” He murmured to himself.
***
“Help, he’s getting away!” A large man with a balding scalp and a sauce covered apron chased Jack out of his restaurant. “You thief! Get back here!”
Jack raced down the street with his arms filled with the food he’d grabbed on his dine n’ dash. He turned around the corner and looked behind him, assuring himself that he had escaped. He was just about to round the next corner when he came into collision with a solid chest with a familiar blue, yellow, and red emblem on it.
“What the…?”
Superman stared coolly down at Jack, “Going somewhere?”
Jack dropped the box, shaking his head, “You here to take me to jail?” He held out his hands for Superman to take him in.
Superman picked up the box at his feet and opened it up. “Food? You were stealing food?”
“I’m kinda short on cash, but my stomach didn’t get the memo,” Jack explained. “So? You taking me in or what?”
Superman handed him the box, “No,”
***
Turner Banking and Loan was a large building. They dealt with thousands of businesses every day and many elite members of the upper crust of Metropolis’ society. They had the best of the best for their customers.
Mary Tollins was the head clerk at the bank. She greeted all the customers as they entered the bank. “Welcome to Turner Banking and Loan. How may we help you today?”
The woman smiled warmly at her, “You can start by emptying out your safe,” She pointed a gun at the woman’s temple, “This is what you would call a holdup,”
***
“And based on the evidence before us, we can conclude that Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for the Daily Planet is, in fact, Superman. This concludes tonight’s Top Copy segment. Thank you and Goodnight,”
Nigel rewound the tape once more. He still couldn’t believe his eyes.
Clark Kent was Superman?
***
TBC...
