I've been working on this - off and on - over the past year or so, writing it on my Palm when I had a chance. Since telling where the idea came from would be a spoiler, I'll put that into the comments folder, but it is just a "what if?" that occurred to me when I read a post.
I suppose there should be a Wham warning since it talks about the death of a main character.
include Standard.Disclaimer;
Sometimes things aren't what they seem, and when the truth comes out it hits like -
A Bolt from the Blue-Book
by docward (Frank)
Lois could hardly believe it. Jimmy Olsen - dead! And to be run over by a tank in the middle of the street in downtown Metropolis -will the weirdness never end? Of course, the idea of "weirdness" is relative in Metropolis, where every week there seems to be a new super-villain trying to take over the world. What was this - Pinky and the Brain?
Slightly shocked by the irreverent tack her thoughts were taking, she glanced up at her husband. The guilt-tinged grief she saw on his face was more intense than the typical "I couldn't get there fast enough" look.
"Clark, You know it wasn't your fault. He was just on an assignment to take pictures at the Veteran's Day parade. No one could have known he would slip and fall under the tracks. Besides, you were rescuing that plane in England at the time."
"I know, Lois. It's just that ... it was senseless. He was so young. He was like a little brother to me - annoying at times, but from what I've heard, they all are."
"Sisters are too. Yes, he was the 'annoying little brother I never had' too. Perry is still in shock - and so am I, along with the rest of the newsroom.
No one has been able to contact his father either. My contacts at the NIA claim they have never heard of any Jack Olsen."
"Maybe we can find a phone number or address in his apartment. We need to clear it out anyway."
"You're right. With his mom dead, and no way to contact Jack, we're the closest thing he had to a family. Let's go."
-- 20 minutes later --
After Lois had parked the jeep, the pair made their way to Jimmy's apartment.
The main room was almost exactly like Lois expected it to be. There were a couple of empty pizza boxes on the coffee table next to the slightly ratty old couch. The built-in bookshelf was nearly full of music cd's and video tapes, with a few photography books in one section. Against the opposite wall, there was a small desk with a computer complete with a joystick for games. All available surfaces were covered with random scraps of paper.
Other than that desk and the pizza boxes, there was fairly little clutter in the main room. Maybe Jimmy is - no was - growing up a little.
"Lois, why don't you start looking through the desk, while I pick up the pizza boxes and look around for other address books and such?"
"That's probably the best approach. His dad may have asked him to hide the contact information for 'security reasons', so it could be anywhere."
"And with all the time he spent at 'Spies-R-Us', the hiding-place could be anything too."
"I remember telling him - several years ago - that a good reporter or news photographer should always have a good place to hide evidence so it couldn’t be found when his place is broken-into and searched"
"In other words - look for secret compartments."
"Yup. That shouldn’t pose a problem for you, should it, Mr. Secret Compartment?"
Clark chose not to dignify that remark with a response - beyond rolling his eyes - and began clearing the trash from the living room.
Lois chuckled slightly at his 'non-response' response, then sighed as she turned to start looking at the notes near Jimmy's computer.
It didn't take Clark long to dispose of the trash. "Now, where to start? Hmm... where would I put a secret compartment, if I had one?"
Lois snorted as she tried, almost successfully, to suppress her amusement at Clark's silliness. A little humor to lighten the sadness was welcome as far as she was concerned.
"Why don't you start with the bedroom closet?"
"Nah. No one would be silly enough to put a secret compartment in a bedroom closet."
Clark laughed as he ducked the ball of wadded paper Lois aimed at his head, and started down the short hallway to the bedroom.
"Lois, you're not going to believe this, but there seems to be a lead-lined compartment hidden in his closet."
"WHAT?!! You're kidding, right?" <thud> "Clark? .... CLARK!"
Lois ran into the bedroom to see her husband collapsed on the floor, writhing in pain.
"Kryptonite! Where?", she thought in near panic. As she turned, she saw the open closet door, and beyond that, what appeared to be a small metal box, embedded in the back wall. On the bottom shelf of the box, she saw an ammunition clip containing glowing green bullets!
As she fumbled in her purse for the lead-foil she kept for emergencies, she muttered, "Where is that foil? Won't he ever listen to me? If I've told him once, I've told him a million times, don't open strange lead boxes alone. Is that so hard? Just wait till someone is there to close it for you - that's all I ask. How many people keep a hidden lead box without kryptonite in it? But no, he nev -ah there it is."
Clark relaxed and began breathing easier as soon as Lois wrapped the foil around the clip. "I'm sorry I didn't wait for you, but I never thought there'd be kryptonite in Jimmy's closet."
"I know. Are you ok?"
"I'm better than I was before you wrapped up that rock. Why in the world would Jimmy have kryptonite?"
"Not just kryptonite, kryptonite bullets!"
Clark was speechless at that revelation.
Lois turned to examine the remaining contents of the box. There were several file folders, two handguns, and six clips of non-glowing ammunition.
Among the file folders, Lois noticed a hard-bound notebook. As she pulled it out of the box, Clark asked, "What did you find?"
"It seems to be some kind of journal. Let's see... 'Lt. Gerald Johnston, USAF. Personal'."
"Who's Gerald Johnston?"
"I have no idea. Let's see... the first entry is dated, hmm ... about a week before the Planet re-opened after the bombing. ' I've just been given a deep-cover surveillance assignment. Col. Ralston tells me that I was chosen because of my training in computers, photography and acting before I joined up. I'm also supposedly the right physical type, but looking at the pictures of this Olsen guy I'm supposed to replace, I don't see it.
The cover story is: 'I' was injured in the car crash a few weeks ago that actually killed Olsen, and needed extensive reconstructive surgery on my face. I'm not sure it will work - the two I'm supposed to watch, Lane and Kent, are supposed to be extremely good investigators. They'd have to be galactically stupid to buy it since I don't look anything like him. But they're the closest human contacts the alien has.' Jimmy?!?"
Clark could only stare at Lois with his jaw on the floor as she flipped over a few pages.
"Here is one from a couple of weeks later. 'It's a challenge to play this part. The hardest thing is pretending to be enthused about everything, and very immature. I hope to be able to 'grow him up' in time. Fortunately, Lane and Kent have been too busy with their own personal issues to notice any slip-ups.
I've been given some strange ammunition - it glows green - that the Col. says will be effective against the alien, but I'm not to use it unless specifically ordered. He told me that an earlier commander of the bureau - who had been with the organization since it had been part of Project Blue Book - had come close to killing it with this green stuff. He didn't manage, and died in the attempt. The Col. said that it was just as well, since the alien did take care of the asteroid, and the previous commander was becoming increasingly unstable.'"
"Humph", Lois snorted. "That's the understatement of the century!"
"More like the understatement of the millennium!"
"Yea. Anyway, 'The current doctrine is to keep the alien and his friends under continuous surveillance, but otherwise don't interfere unless there are signs of him trying to take over.
Col. Ralston will be my control contact. His cover will be my - or more properly Olsen's - father, should it be necessary to be associated in public.'"
"So, Jack Olsen wasn't really Jack Olsen, and for the last few years, Jimmy wasn't Jimmy!". Clark put his head in his hands. "I can't believe we didn't catch on! Maybe I'm Galactically Stupid!"
"Oh Clark! He fooled everyone. I know I don't have a lot of room to talk, since I was fooled by a pair of glasses for two years, but even Perry was fooled.
Oh, Perry! How are we going to break this to him?"
"That will be hard. He won't take it well, I'm sure. And I know you're right, but it's hard to take being fooled for so long - especially by a 'friend'. It's hard to even get my mind wrapped around all this. I had even considered letting him in on the 'Secret', but he never seemed to mature. I guess it was all an act."
"It's a good thing he kept up that act, or you might have. The wrong people would have found out for sure. It will take us some time to figure all this out. What we need to do now, though, is get all of these files and this journal out of here before they 'evaporate'. "
"Maybe the files will tell us what they know about us and about Superman. There should be some clues to get us started on bringing down Bureau 39 once and for all."
"And maybe pull in that Pulitzer you've always wanted. "
THE END
