Degrees of Separation: 14/?
by Nan Smith
Previously:
CJ laughed. "Don't kid yourself, Mr. Church; I'm not half anything. Superman is my father and Ultra Woman is my mother. Kryptonians aren't human, in case you hadn't noticed." He smiled his father's smile at the astonished crime lord. "Now, there are a couple of police officers just about a block away who might want to see all this, so why don't I make sure that you stick around while I go get one of them?"
**********
And now, Part 14:
Tying the three men with their own belts was the matter of only a few seconds. The belts probably wouldn't hold them for too long, but CJ didn't plan on taking more than a few minutes. Leaving Tanya to watch the trio, CJ vanished out the window and headed straight for the place where he had seen the police car and its occupants.
It was still there. CJ had been considering how best to get their cooperation with minimal skepticism, and it seemed to him that the best way would be to make sure that there was no doubt in their minds as to who he was.
Accordingly, he dropped out of the sky to a landing in front of the car, making sure they saw him. Once his feet were firmly on the pavement, he stepped around to the driver's side and knocked politely on the glass of the window.
After a startled second, the officer behind the wheel rolled it down. "Yeah?"
"I hate to bother you, Officers," CJ said mildly, "but I need your help."
The man was staring at him. "You aren't Superman," he said after a pause. "Who are you?"
"I'm Superman's son," CJ said. "I just stopped a man from breaking a woman's fingers, over at the Silver Spoon nightclub. Can you help me?"
The two officers looked at each other, and then the older man nodded. "Sure. Come on, Al." He opened the door and got out, followed by his partner.
As CJ led them across the jammed street toward the club, the younger man asked, "What do we call you, kid?"
"I guess Superboy is probably all right," CJ said. "This way. I went in through a window, since the side door is locked, and I can't go into the cocktail lounge."
Al, the younger cop, laughed. "I guess not. Okay, Superboy, lead on."
**********
It was nearly an hour later before CJ was able to leave.
While the two police officers were taking Tanya's statement and dealing with the arrest of Bill Church Junior and his henchmen, he stood with his arms folded, trying to look unruffled and businesslike. He figured that his dad and mom would expect it of him. When Tanya finished her statement, Al glanced at Bill Church, who was still sitting in his chair, now confined with a rather more professional set of handcuffs, and grinned. "Bill Church, no less." He'd said that before, with considerable satisfaction. "I'd say that parole violation is going to be the least of his worries after tonight. I guess Superman's kid isn't likely to start small. Nice work, Superboy."
"Thank you, sir," CJ said.
"I didn't know Superman was married," the man added. "Who's your mom?"
"Ultra Woman is my mother," CJ said.
"Yeah, I guess that would follow," Al said. "We're just about done here. Our backup should be here in a few minutes, if they can make it through that crush outside. Do you need a lift home?"
CJ shook his head. "I have my own transportation," he said. "Do you need me anymore?"
The older cop looked up from the low-voiced conversation that he was having with Tanya Myers. "I think that will be all. After you sign your statement, you're free to go. How can we get in contact with you, if we need you?"
"Just tell my father," CJ said. "You can probably get in touch with him through Mayor Henderson, or through the Daily Planet."
"Of course." The man looked him over. "You look like your dad," he said after a pause. "You act like him, too. I'm glad you were nearby, tonight."
"So am I," CJ said. "I'm not really supposed to do this stuff until I'm older, but it was an emergency. I couldn't do anything else."
Al laughed. "Yeah," he said. "You do act like your dad. Sign this, and I guess that's all."
CJ took the pen the man held out to him and signed his new alias in the space provided. He carefully wiped the pen with the hem of his shirt to remove his fingerprints from the plastic and handed it and the paper back to the officer.
Al folded the paper and tucked the pen into his pocket. "Thanks, kid."
He looked around as someone knocked on the door. A voice said, "Mike? Al?"
Al went to open the door and two more uniformed police entered. The older cop, who was evidently Mike, waved at the prisoners. "Here they are, all done up in a package. Superboy, I'd like you to meet Tim Grant and Harry Poole. Guys, this is Superman's son. I get the feeling we're going to be seeing more of him in the future. I guess you can go, now, kid. Are you sure you don't need a ride?"
CJ grinned and lifted from the floor. "I'm sure," he said. "Bye." With that, he whisked out the window.
Behind him, he heard a low whistle from one of the cops. Al's voice spoke, sounding almost awed. "Just like his old man."
"Yeah," Mike said.
CJ paused a hundred feet in the air and took a deep, relieved breath. So far, so good. He was going to have to tell his mother what had happened. She and Dad probably wouldn't be too happy that he'd had to show himself, but he was sure they would agree that he couldn't have done anything else. He couldn't have allowed that goon to break Tanya's fingers when he was in a position to help. He really hadn't had a choice, and he'd known it. He guessed he was just lucky that the media hadn't been able to get here in time, or he'd be facing a horde of rapacious newsmen with microphones and video cameras. Speaking of which, he'd better get out of here, just in case.
With a last glance at the Silver Spoon, CJ headed home.
**********
Ally Myers sat down on the sofa in the Kents' living room and closed her eyes so that she could concentrate more easily. 'Ben?' she broadcast. 'Ben, are you there?'
The answer was immediate. 'Ally?'
'Yes. Where are you?'
'I'm not sure,' her brother's voice said. 'We're somewhere in Metropolis.'
'We?'
'Dad and me.' The impression of anger colored his words. 'He locked me in, like always.'
'Are you all right?" Ally asked. 'Did he hurt you, after I got away?'
'Not much,' Ben's voice said. 'He didn't have enough time. He was scared you'd bring the police.'
'I did, but you were already gone.'
'I figured.' Ben sounded resigned. 'He's never going to let me go.'
'Ben, you can break out. You're strong enough. We're --'
'I can't. Dad won't let me go. He says no one will want me if they know my father was Nor.'
So, their dad knew. Once Ben's powers started to come in, he must have figured it out. 'He's lying! I have friends that know about me, and they don't care. I can fly, Ben! Superman's *son* taught me to fly!'
'Dad has something that makes me weak. He says he'll use it to keep me weak if I try to get away.'
'What does it look like?' she asked.
'It's a rock. That green stuff that can hurt Superman. It hurts when he gets it near me.'
'Where is he now?'
'I don't know. He went out a while ago. I don't know when he'll be back.'
'Mom has been hunting for you for two years,' Ally said. 'She hired a private detective to find you, but he's been cheating Mom. Do you still want to get away?'
A surge of hope, swiftly followed by despair. 'Of course I do! But I can't!'
'Yes you can. Keep talking to me. Or sing in your head. I can tell which way to go if you do that. I'm coming to get you out, Ben! Do you hear me? I'll get you out if it's the last thing I do!'
'He'll catch you again!'
'No he won't,' Ally said. 'I know some people who can help me. They've been trying to find you, too, and they'll help. You know that rhyme out of Alice in Wonderland that Mom taught us when we were little? Start saying it over and over so I can hear you. Don't stop; okay? "'Twas brillig and the slithy toves...." Say it, Ben!'
'...."Did gyre and gimble in the wabe,"' Ben took up the lyrics after a moment. '"All mimsy were the borogroves...."'
Ally got to her feet and went to the Kent dining room, where the family was having dinner, while Ben's voice, repeating Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky," echoed in the back of her mind. "Mrs. Kent?"
Lois Kent was sitting at one end of the table, just finishing her salad. She looked up when Ally spoke. "Did you --"
"I know where Ben is," Ally said. She glanced at Lucy. "Could I talk to you somewhere?"
Lois got up quickly, almost knocking her chair over. "Come on into the kitchen," she said. "Excuse me, Luce. This is important."
As the door closed behind them, Ally spoke quickly. "I talked to him. Dad's still keeping him locked up, and Dad knows about Ben. He's got a piece of Kryptonite, and --" She repeated the important parts of the conversation from her eidetic memory. "What should I do?"
"How far away is he?" Lois didn't waste time asking unimportant questions.
"I'm not sure. Not very far -- maybe about three or four miles," Ally said.
"Well, we're not going to get there in the Jeep," Lois said. "I wonder ...." Ally could almost see the wheels turning in her head as she paused. "Marta!" she called, "are your bicycle tires okay?"
"My bicycle?" Marta sounded a little surprised. "Sure. It's fine. Why?"
"I need to go out for a little while, and I'm going to need it. Lucy, can you watch Jonny and Jimmy, and the Terrible Trio, if Marta helps you?"
Lucy's voice sounded slightly alarmed. "Watch the triplets? I guess so, but what's going on?"
"There's no time right now," Lois said. "It's important. Ally and I need to go somewhere right away. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Well -- okay." Lucy still sounded doubtful.
"Marta, you and Wyatt help your Aunt Lucy; all right?"
"Sure," Marta said. "Is it about Ben?"
"Yeah," Lois said, pushing through the kitchen door. "Come on, Ally. I've got to get Marta's bicycle out of the garage."
**********
Linda Lennox stepped through the door, after Ally. "I'm going too."
"Linda, it's dangerous. Ally's dad has Kryptonite," Lois said in a low voice.
"Yeah, I heard. I'm still going."
"Yeah," Wyatt Dillon stepped through after her. "So am I. Kryptonite can't hurt me."
"No, kids." Lois found herself facing two determined children. "You can't. It's dangerous."
Linda Lennox looked her straight in the eye. "If you don't take us, we'll follow you. I can carry Wyatt. We're not going to let you and Ally do this alone, and we're not going to let Mr. Myers get away with Ben again. Let's hurry. We're wasting time."
Now she knew why CJ had bonded with Linda, she thought, looking into the redheaded girl's determined face. Linda was more like her than she had realized at first. And Wyatt was almost glaring at her. Marta's soulmate was a lot more assertive than she had expected. She met his stare eye to eye, but he didn't flinch.
"All right," she said finally, "you can go. But you do what I tell you. Got it?"
Linda and Wyatt nodded.
**********
It had been a long time since Lois had ridden a bicycle, but the old skill came back quickly.
She took a few minutes to change into a pair of jeans, jogging shoes and a sweatshirt, and to grab the bag that she generally took with her on black bag jobs. It looked like an ordinary purse, and wouldn't cause suspicion in anyone who saw it, but it had everything in it that she needed for the job.
Linda took charge of the other two. She grasped Wyatt around the waist and rose into the air. Ally followed her, and Lois, looking up, could barely make their shapes out against the dark sky. They moved ahead of her and Ally waved, beckoning her on.
She wove her way through massed traffic until she reached Centennial Park, and from there she was able to cut directly through the park on the walking paths. It was dark enough that she might have become turned around, or lost her guide if Linda hadn't produced a small penlight, which looked like a tiny star that guided Lois through the darkness.
Emerging on the other side of the park, she walked her bicycle across the street and then rode it down a narrow alley. On the other side, they turned right and, a moment later, left, down another, equally narrow, street. The traffic wasn't particularly dense here, since it wasn't one of the city's main arteries, although a number of cars had been pulled to the side of the street and abandoned by their drivers. Occasionally a car crept past, moving slowly on the cracked pavement. Except for her, no pedestrians seemed to be nearby.
Lois stopped. The children, it seemed, had vanished.
Just as she was starting to think that maybe they had left her here to go on the rescue mission by themselves, three dark figures dropped silently out of the sky.
'He's in that apartment house, over there,' Ally's mental whisper informed her, and the girl pointed silently toward a somewhat dilapidated apartment building, a short distance away. 'He says Dad locked him in.'
"Is --" Lois broke off and formed the words in her mind. 'Is he alone, or is your father there?'
Linda turned and looked in the direction of the apartment house. 'He's alone.'
'Good. Let's go. Ally and I are going in. I want you and Wyatt to stay out here and keep watch. Maybe one of you should keep an eye on the front and the other on the back.'
Wyatt and Linda looked at each other, and then nodded. 'We'll go up to the roof,' Linda said. 'That way we can see anyone coming in time to warn you.'
Lois nodded. 'If you see anyone coming, let us know but don't try to stop him by yourselves. Is that clear? If he's got Kryptonite, it could get bad real fast. Especially for you, Linda.'
'I understand,' Linda said. Wyatt nodded.
'All right, then. Go.'
Linda put an arm around Wyatt and lifted off. Lois looked at Ally. 'Are you ready? Does he know we're coming?'
'Yeah. He's locked in a bedroom. It's an inside one, with no windows.'
Lois and Ally crossed the street. Lois stashed Marta's bicycle in the deeper shadow next to the flight of steps leading up to the building's main door and went up the short stairway. The door, understandably at this hour, was locked.
'Can you take a look with your x-ray vision and see if there's any alarm attached to this?' she asked. 'Look for any wires attached to the lock. Anything that doesn't look like part of the lock, itself.'
Ally swallowed and bent over the lock. 'I don't think there is,' she said finally. 'I don't see anything but the lock.'
Well, there probably wasn't anything, Lois thought, hopefully. The section of town was better than Suicide Slum, but it wasn't particularly affluent. She reached in her pocket and took out her trusty lock pick.
The lock was easy to pick. Lois got it open within less than a moment and she eased the door open.
**********
tbc
