Rules of Battle
Folc4evernaday
Chapter 3
After two hours of going through hospitals and jail records with Henderson, there still was no sign of Johnny Corbin. Lois left her information with Henderson, and she and Clark made their way to Broad Street to find the hot dog stand run by the ex Mrs. Vale.
“Any idea what we’re going to say to her?” Clark asked, looking around the rundown street they were on. A line of construction crew workers was huddled around a stand, but they couldn’t make out what food was being served.
“I guess, ask if she knows where Emmet Vale’s known to hang his hat?” Lois shrugged. “I’m not really sure.”
Clark lowered his glasses and saw the woman in her mid-forties serving a hot dog to one of the construction workers. He heard one of the workers thank her and call her ‘Louise’ the name he’d been given for the woman. “This is her.” He told Lois.
They waited for her to reach the end of the line, handing the last hotdog to a man in a tan and blue. “Be glad I’m out of onions. Your girlfriend might kiss you for a change.” The man nodded with a smile and left.
Lois and Clark approached, and the woman smiled at Clark, “What’ll it be, handsome?”
Lois cleared her throat, “Uh...Mrs. Vale?”
“Who wants to know?” the chip on the woman’s shoulders was the size of Mount Everest.
Lois fumbled for her words, and Clark listened to the woman’s heart rate. “We’re reporters for the Daily Planet. We’re trying to locate your ex-husband.”
“So am I. Try lookin’ in a sewer.” the woman snapped irritably.
Clark could sense the tension in the air and pulled out his wallet, “Uh, how are your hot dogs?”
“They’re delicious.” Mrs. Vale snapped.
“May I have one? Mustard, no onions.” He said, sighing as he felt the tension slowly clear.
Lois continued to ask questions to Mrs. Vale while she prepared his hotdog. “We think your ex-husband may be involved with that robot that robbed a jewelry store?”
“Good.” she snorted. “Maybe I’ll start gettin’ my alimony and quit this stinkin’ job.”
“So you think he could be behind it?” Clark asked, taking his hotdog from her and handing her the cash.
“Well, the jerk was obsessed with robots, and his dream was to create a cyborg. What do you think?” Mrs. Vale asked.
“Cyborg? You mean a robot with a human brain?” Clark asked.
“The perfect playmate for Emmet.” Mrs. Vale shook her head, “Y'know dumpin' him was the best thing i ever did. Creep couldn't do anything unless there was a mechanical device involved. And I mean
anything... you get my drift?”
Clark cleared his throat and Lois looked away. He noticed her cheeks turned a slight pink at the mention of what Mrs. Vale was getting at. “Ah... did he set up a laboratory somewhere after he was laid off from Lexcorp?”
“I doubt it. He's got no brains for finance. Now his brother Rollie, he was the really smart one. Rollie could do anything. I should have married him.” Mrs. Vale’s lips pursed into a smile as she recalled Rollie Vale.
“Do you know where Rollie is?” Lois asked.
“Last I knew he was tryin' to be a writer for some science magazine. Futureplex? Futurewhiz... Future something.” Mrs. Vale shook her head.
Lois and Clark exchanged a look and made their way to Lois’ Jeep where they had parked earlier. “What do you think?” Lois asked.
“I think Emmet Vale is definitely a suspect, but…” He stopped mid-sentence hearing the sirens.
“What is it?” Lois asked.
“Someone just got held up at the Metropolis Savings and Loan ATM. Another robot.” He said grimly.
“I’ll meet you there,” Lois said with a smile as he turned toward the alley and began jogging to the end of the abandoned street. He looked behind him, checking to make sure no one was around before changing into the Superman suit and flying into the air.
***
Lois pulled her Jeep up to the side of the street where a crowd of police were huddled around the gaping hole in the ATM machine. A young blonde woman in her early thirties sat with Detective Tuzzolino, a short, overweight detective from the Metropolis P.D. with a jacket draped over her shoulders.
She got out of the car and walked toward the scene. As she got closer, she recognized the familiar red cape and her boyfriend’s voice as he spoke with one of the officers.
“Have any other instances like this occurred?”
“These robots keep coming out of the woodwork.” the officer talking to Clark said.
“And destroying everything in their wake.” Clark looked at the ATM and then to the victim that was leaving the scene.
Detective Tuzzolino approached her, shaking his head. “Lane, what are you doing here?”
“I, um, heard the commotion.” Lois lied, motioning to the crowd of police on the scene. “Another robot?” She pasted on a smile, hoping to distract Detective Tuzzolino from her quick appearance on yet another crime scene.
Detective Tuzzolino pulled out a small Ziploc bag of what looked to be skin but had no tissue or blood on it. He nodded to Clark and grunted, “Our witness decided to take a bite out of crime...literally.” He handed the sample to Clark. “Not sure what that is, but victim said he had a metal hand underneath.”
Clark lowered his gaze to the Ziploc bag, “Looks to be some type of latex.”
“You said ‘he.’” Lois prompted, pulling her notepad out. “Did your victim get a description?”
“Better.” Tuzzolino beamed, pulling a snapshot out of his jacket. “Got a photo from the ATM’s security camera.”
Lois’ eyes widened when she saw the image in front of her. Johnny Corbin. “Johnny Corbin?!”
Tuzzolino looked at Lois in surprise, “You know this guy?”
“I, uh,” She glanced at Clark, then realized he couldn’t help supply an explanation given he was here as Superman. “Saw him yesterday. He seemed….normal,” then quickly added with a sarcastic roll of the eyes. “for a neanderthal.”
Tuzzolino chuckled, “Well you just made my job easier.” He moved through the crowd. “Thanks for the ID.”
Lois watched him leave then turned to Clark, “We need to call Lucy.”
“And Henderson.” Clark agreed.
Before she could respond, Jimmy approached with his camera in tow, “Wow, Lois, how’d you get here so fast? The Chief just now sent me here to cover the robbery.”
“I, um,” Lois stammered. “Just can’t tell you.” She finished weakly.
***
“Lucy, it’s Lois. I need you to call me as soon as you get this!” Lois spoke into her phone as she climbed into the Jeep.
Clark took his seat next to her as her face tensed with worry. “Still no luck?” He asked.
“I don’t know what her deal is,” Lois muttered, fumbling in her purse to replace her phone in the right spot.
“I left a message with Henderson. Hopefully, he and Detective Tuzzolino can exchange notes and …” He stopped mid-sentence. “Great.”
“What is it?” Lois asked.
“Assault. A few blocks from here.” Clark explained with a frown. “Stay here.”
Lois nodded, “Be careful.” She watched as Clark ran toward the alleyway behind the bank and sighed. It was probably a really bad idea to follow him. An assault wasn’t page one news, but there was something about the expression on his face just now.
“Hey, Lois!” Jimmy held his camera up with an excited grin, tapping on the driver’s window of her Jeep. “I got some great shots. The kind that could finally add another zero at the end of my paycheck.”
“That’s great,” Lois said with a pensive look.
“You okay?” Jimmy asked.
Determination crossed her face, “Get in.”
***
Against the brick wall of the alley the sound of a man gasping for air as he wheezed out. “I thought I was helping you!”
“I think you mean helpin' yourself. I hear you got ten bills for me, Angel. I want half... or I'm snappin' your neck like a pencil!”
Clark heard Corbin threaten as he took the scene in. No one was around but the two men. The normal homeless people and gangbangers seemed to be avoiding the alleyway for good reason.
“Okay, John, whatever you say…” Corbin’s grip on the man loosened. He lowered him to the ground. Clark breathed a sigh of relief as he came in to land outside the alleyway. Then he saw it. The metal pistol aimed at Corbin. “You should have kicked it the first time, John!”
The shots fired, and Clark started to move in, but stopped. A weakening sensation washed over him. He shook his head, trying to gain his wits and watched as Corbin crushed the gun in the other man’s hand then lifted him over his head. At the last minute, Clark caught the man and set him down.
“Good catch. Maybe you oughta look into a new career in the majors.” Corbin called, approaching Clark with a smug expression.
Another nauseating feeling washed over him but Clark fought to stand strong, “Then there’d be nobody to clean up the filth like you, Corbin.”
“Oh,” Corbin grinned happily. “You know my name. I’m impressed.”
Clark shook his head again, feeling the weakening sensation. He knew this feeling. Flashbacks from his fight with Trask pushed through the forefront of his mind and the memories of the green glowing rock he’d found in Smallville.
Corbin lifted his arm to throw a right hook at him, “Now show me what you got.”
Clark ducked to the side at the last second and threw a punch to Corbin’s jaw. To his astonishment, he found Corbin had caught his fist and then threw another punch back at him. Clark flew through the air, landing in the back of the alley where recycled goods were being stored.
“What a wuss. I hardly laid a hand on you.” Corbin called out.
***
Lois parked across the alleyway and motioned for Jimmy to follow her as she approached. He had his camera ready, taking shot after shot of the fight with Superman and Johnny Corbin. As they approached the entrance to the alleyway, she could hear Corbin threaten Clark as he grabbed him by the throat,
“I’ll let you walk away...if you beg.”
Both hands went to her mouth as she looked around. Clark was struggling to fight Corbin. He seemed weaker. Something she wasn’t used to seeing. There was only one thing that caused that: Kryptonite. She looked around, trying to find where it could be hiding but saw nothing. No green glowing rocks. No green glowing anything.
‘Unless he’s made of it.’ the thought popped into her head.
She had to get Corbin away from Clark. “Jimmy, stay back,” she ordered, running to where she parked the Jeep.
“Where are you going?” Jimmy asked in a hushed whisper.
“Just stay back,” she repeated.
***
Clark felt Corbin’s grip tighten on his throat and grabbed his hand, peeling the digits back one by one to the horror of his assailant. Corbin may be strong, but he was stronger. He could feel the affect of the Kryptonite on him, but just like he had with Trask and with the Kryptonite cage, he fought through it. With a cold hard snap, he jerked Corbin’s arm out of its socket and snapped it in two.
“My arm!” Corbin gasped in horror. “Look what you did to my arm!” Corbin lifted his other arm to swing it at him but before he could headlights blinded them both as a familiar silver Jeep barreled through the alleyway and knocked Corbin and himself a few feet back.
Lois opened the passenger door. “Get in.”
Clark looked back at Corbin who was struggling to stand to his feet then to Lois who was holding the door open for him. “I thought I told you to stay back.”
“Do you really want to argue about this now?” Lois asked with an annoyed expression.
Clark looked back to where Corbin had been a few moments ago and frowned. “Where’d he go?” He was still weak from his encounter with Corbin and hurting from his collision with Lois’ Jeep.
“Are you okay?” Lois turned the engine off and stepped out of the Jeep, approaching him.
“Lois?” Jimmy called out, running toward them with his camera.
“Fine,” Clark said weakly, holding onto the passenger door for support as he put on a brave face for Jimmy.
“Superman, you okay?” Jimmy asked.
Clark held his head in his hand, and he heard Lois instruct, “Jimmy, no pictures.”
“Okay.” He heard Jimmy say before asking. “Do you want me to call for an ambulance?”
“No,” Clark shook his head, recalling the words that had been drilled into his head for so long.
‘Dissect you like a frog.’ The idea of being under any doctor’s care no matter how hurt he was sent a chill down his spine. “I’ll be okay.” He said hurriedly then nodded to Jimmy and Lois. “Lois, try and be more careful where you park next time.” With that he was in the air, flying home.
***
TBC...
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