The Return of Ultra Woman
Chapter 14
I was hoping be woken up by Clark getting home. Unfortunately, it’s just the alarm clock. Waking up alone is a triple-whammy. First, it means Lara has to go another morning without seeing her daddy. Second, it means I’m going to have to go for at least part of another day without my partner and husband. Finally, and most importantly, it means Clark is still down there dealing with all that death and tragedy.
On the way to work, I get the chance to see how our competition did on reporting my debut yesterday. I have to admit I’m pleased by the fact that I see many blurry purple pictures. About half of our competition seems to have gone with over blown-up images of me in front of police headquarters with the armored car. Others have various images of me in flight that are either blurry from my speed or from the same over-enlargement problem plaguing all the others. Then there’s Jimmy’s shot. I guess I was cheating a bit but I’m glad he’s going to get credit for it.
As soon as I arrive at the office, I can tell this is going to be one of those celebration mornings. National and international wire services picked up the story along with the picture. They’re running together all over the world. I’m glad our story is the one getting the play because it means most of the more outlandish speculation stories are being left on the sidelines. Even so, there’s plenty of guesswork to go around.
The prevalent opinion is that this is the return of Ultra Woman. Obviously that’s reasonable, and we ran our own version in a separate article as the Planet’s speculation as to my probable identity. I was only slightly surprised at the other ideas I found. There seem to be many people who share the opinion of my misguided admirer from yesterday that I’m Superman’s sister. The next most common idea is I’m another Kryptonian, not Ultra Woman, that’s taken up residence on Earth. There were even a few who think I am a female clone made by replicating Clark’s X-chromosome. There were some other ideas, but they made the clone suggestion seem reasonable.
A few brave reporting agencies actually got part of my identity correct. I was hoping no one would guess that I’m Superman’s wife, but I knew that wasn’t realistic to expect. I wondered if we should go with this angle, but argued against it in a short talk with Perry yesterday. We don’t need to be “ahead of the curve” on this news. Our front page is strong enough without having to worry about being “right” on this ahead of time. Besides, it’s purely speculative and would have the potential to raise the unwanted question of “How did you know?”
I spend the morning trying to keep an ear on the city, but it seems the calm which descended yesterday afternoon, is still holding. There are a few police reports but nothing like before. I should check with Henderson later and see if I can find out if there have been any more looking-for-a-date criminal acts. I still don’t intend to write that story but I would like to know if it is going to be a pattern.
It’s a quarter to eleven when I finally get the call I’ve been hoping for all morning.
“Lois Lane”
I hear a weary, but oh so sweet, voice. “Hi honey, I’m home.”
“Clark! I’ll be right there!”
I have to remind myself to leave the office at normal human speed, but once I hit the stairwell all bets are off. This is super-speed air-Lois all the way from the Planet stairwell to our balcony and I don’t stop to switch into the suit. Only a second or two after hanging up the phone, I’m in our living room. Clark is in street clothes sitting on the sofa next to the phone. He looks so worn down.
I move over to him and sit beside him. I’m trying to decide whether I should just hug him or say something when he solves the problem for me. In a movement conveying a great weariness, he reaches out and pulls me into a gentle hug that seems to radiate both physical and emotional fatigue. I shift around so our embrace is more comfortable and do my best to return his silent but intense greeting.
After a moment, I hear barely a whisper in my ear. “I missed you.”
I hope my reply conveys the same level of feeling. “I love you so much. I’m glad you’re home.”
A few seconds go by before he speaks again. “I don’t know how I ever did this without you.”
“You did it because your real strength doesn’t have anything to do with what’s in your blood or what planet you come from. Your strength comes from your heart, and no one has a bigger heart than my Kansas farm boy.”
He seems to ponder for a few seconds before bringing his lips to mine for the “welcome home” kiss I’ve been waiting for since I entered the room. After a few intimate moments spent getting our lips reacquainted, something tells me he’s ready to talk some more. I pull back just a few inches so I can look him in his face. “Do you want to talk about the trip?”
He seems to consider for a second. Then his eyes go toward the floor. “Not really. Not yet. I’ll want to talk later. Is it okay if we wait on that for now?” He sounds so very tired.
“Clark, why don’t you go to bed for a while?”
I see a hint of a grin on his face. “Is that an invitation?”
That’s more like it. “Do you want it to be?”
Now I see that killer Clark Kent smile. “Always. But I really am tired right now and should use the bed for rest.”
Now I know he’ll be fine. “Come on then.” One advantage of having those abilities is I get to help my husband stand up when he’s feeling this worn down. In his present state, it would probably be easier for me to pick him up and carry him to the bedroom, but I think that would make him feel awkward. Instead of a potentially ego-threatening show of strength, I just put my arm around him and provide encouragement as we make our way to our room.
When we reach our bedroom I realize there are a few things wrong with this picture. “Darling, you’re out of the suit. Why didn’t you just lay down in bed and rest?”
He looks a little confused and embarrassed. “I don’t know. I guess I was just on autopilot. I got out of the suit and my first thought was that you and Lara are at work and I wanted to see you so badly. When I got changed, I just felt so tired I sat down and called.”
He’s not thinking straight. If he would have come walking into the office, there would have been all kinds of questions. I’ll remind him of this later but it would feel like nagging if I said anything now. “You seem clean. Did you take time for a shower?”
“No. After I left Guatemala, I took a quick dip in the ocean. That cleaned off just about everything. Then on my way back, I flew through the heart of some severe storms over Georgia. I flew fast enough to scrub off the rest of the grime and rinse away any remaining seawater. A little friction induced heat and I was clean.”
He sure looks clean enough to get into bed. He lets me undress him. For an instant my mind flashes back to our exchange downstairs. However, Clark is certainly too tired to follow up on that thought. Shortly, he’s lying down and I’m sitting on the edge of the bed next to him. “Please do your best to get a few hours of sleep. It’s been quiet so far today and if something does come up, the woman in purple will handle it.”
His eye’s open just a bit. “Is that what they’re calling you?”
“Yeah. A lot of people have guessed Ultra Woman has returned, but the ‘S’ has them scratching their heads. My favorite was the second most popular guess. Did you know you have a… um, younger sister?”
This evokes another smile. “Sister, eh? I think we need to straighten this out as quickly as possible. Somebody might think my ‘sister’ is available.”
I lean over and kiss him again before standing up to head back to work. “I’ll come home early tonight so we’ll be able to have a nice long evening together. Lara has missed her daddy a whole bunch.” I’m about to make one more plea for him to try to get some rest when I realize his eyes are sliding shut. My last thought as I leave the room is that I’m a very lucky woman.
***~~~***
As soon as I’m back at work, I head for Perry’s office. His door is closed but he signals me to come in as soon as he hears my knock. I enter and quickly shut the door behind me. “Clark’s home.”
It’s funny to watch his reaction now that we both know he’s aware of what that really means. “How is he?”
“Tired. These sorts of disasters wear him down.”
He seems to be considering just what that means. “Was he working continually the whole time he was gone?”
“I didn’t ask, but I think so. Perry, it’s not so much the staying awake, it’s the stress of the situation. You know how Clark is. From what I’ve seen on the reports coming out of there, he’s spent much of the past day and night pulling bodies out of the muck and rubble. That’s the hardest part of the job.” My voice had grown quiet. “I know.”
Perry’s eyes widened a fraction. “That’s right. Ultra Woman was involved in a couple of disasters the first time around.”
My eyes had drifted down to his desk. When I lift my eyes, I see a look of concerned compassion from my editor and friend. “It’s one of the reasons Ultra Woman wasn’t going to come back. Perry, it’s the hardest thing about being… um, ‘super’. You get into situations where you see so many you… can’t save.”
My eyes have drifted down again. “Darlin’, do you need to head home?”
That breaks the spell and I’m fine again. “No. Clark is sleeping and he’ll rest better in a quiet house. I’ll stick around here for most of the rest of the day.” I stand up and reach for the door when I realize Perry may be able to help with another matter. “Perry, the woman in purple wants to call a press conference for tomorrow morning at city hall to announce herself. Do you have any suggestions as to how to make that happen?”
I swear the look on his face is almost one of shock. “What! You mean The Daily Planet isn’t going to get the official exclusive story of her debut?”
I didn’t expect so strong a reaction. “I’m sorry Perry, but Clark and I thought about this carefully. Superman was too closely tied to this paper for a long time, and we’ve put a lot of effort into trying to get past those early days. Sure, we got some great exclusives but the association put all of us in danger. We don’t want to do that again.”
His stern expression breaks and now he’s laughing. “I can sure see Clark’s influence on you. He could have given me the same speech. I know why Superman has kept his distance and I understand you want to continue to do that. I guess I was hoping… Well, after you posed so nice for Jimmy’s picture…”
I was wondering if he was going to bring that up. I smile back at him with a blush of embarrassment. “I shouldn’t have done that, but this is my paper and you are all my family. I can’t give you the coming-out story so I did the next best thing.”
“It’s okay Lois. I understand. I’ll arrange for the press conference in the morning. Do you want to go for 9:00 am?”
“That’ll be fine,” I reply, as I head out the door.
Once I’m out of Perry's office, the day becomes almost routine. I keep listening for emergency calls, but never hear anything. Either the city is unusually quiet or I have a lot to learn about tuning my hearing to pick up on those. I spend much of the rest of the day making phone calls relating to ongoing investigations. I’m just about to stop for the day when I get a call from Bobby Bigmouth wanting to meet.
I’m tempted to put him off, but something in the tone of his voice makes me believe I’ll regret it if I miss this meeting. He’s used to the exotic treats Clark is so skilled at supplying, but I’ve known what Bobby likes for a long time. A gourmet burger place is on the way to the meeting point and for today, it will have to do.
One of the reasons I decided to meet with him today is the particular location he specified. He’s generally not fussy about being seen with us, but when he has something especially important, he’s more careful. Today he wanted to meet in an obscure corner of a tiny park at the edge of the city. This is in the oldest part of town, and this park was among the best places to meet without being seen. I’m only waiting on the bench for a minute or so when I hear a familiar voice from behind me. “So the hubby is still with super-guy in Guatemala?”
My head whips around just in time to see Bobby coming around to the front of the bench. As he sits beside me, I realize my mouth is hanging open. “How did you know Clark was down there?”
“Lois, you know I never reveal my sources.”
This will bear some thought later but for now, I want to get through this as quickly as possible. “Bobby, I’m pressed for time today. What do you have for me?”
He tries to look uninterested. “It depends. What do you have for me?” I can tell it’s a line, as it’s clear the smell from the food in the bag next to me has already caught his attention.
I lift up the bag. “A complete meal from Burgervana. A Master Burger, fries, rings, a side of chili and a triple chocolate shake.”
“Well, I guess it will do.” Considering what he does, he’s a lousy liar. The bag is already in his hands and he’s taking the first bite of the burger. After that first bite, he continues to talk while chewing. “There were some people who were very upset by the appearance of the purple girl yesterday.”
“Bobby, if that’s all you have, then you owe me something for the future.”
“Relax Lane. I’m getting to it. You probably already know that the stuff at the end, the banks and the thing with the armored car, was all the same group.”
This is getting annoying. “I’m used to better than this from you.”
“Well, how about this. It was a test run of a new syndicate. The bank jobs were Intergang and the jewelry job was a new group. They’ve been dancing around each other for a month or so when someone high up in Intergang came up with the idea of a cooperative job. The new group has enough money and resources behind it so that even Intergang was looking for an alternative to a war. They each found out the other was planning something for the next time the big guy was out-of-the-way, and decided to plan a joint operation.”
This is more like what I expect from Bobby, but I have a feeling there’s something else. “Okay, that’s better. But for this sort of meeting…” I wave my arm to indicate the park. “I expected more than just that information.”
“Lane, you’ve gotten really demanding since you became a mother.”
“If that’s all you have then I need to go.”
“Fine, but you just might want to take an extra close look at the guys that purple girl snagged yesterday.”
“Okay, you have my attention now. What’s so special about those guys?”
Now he’s wearing a grin that makes me think this may have been worthwhile after all. After a dramatic pause, he answers. “The word is they were so confident this was going to work, that there was a high-ranking guy from each organization mixed in among the rest of the crew. None of the other members of the team knew it, but they were there just the same. If you do a thorough background check on everyone that was captured by ‘purple’ yesterday, there should be a few diamonds in among the coal.”
It’s for this kind of information that I feed Bobby. I need to get back to the office and start an investigation. “Thanks Bobby. You’re right, this is good information.”
“You know I always come through.”
I’m about to stand up when my own curiosity gets the better of me. “Bobby, what’s the reaction to the woman?”
He just shrugs. “It’s a mix. There are stories on the street of a few people trying to get her attention and one guy even managed to have her respond to a robbery attempt. There is a general feeling that with another ‘super’ in town, Metropolis just isn’t worth it anymore if you’re in… well, certain professions.”
I have to say I like that reaction. “So what do you think of her?”
“It’s hard to say much yet. I think she’s the same person that showed up as Ultra Woman a few years ago. But, well, she’s wearing the big guy’s shield. That says a lot about what kind of person she’s likely to be. I guess I’ll just have to wait to find out more just like everybody else.”
I can tell he’s fighting the temptation to ask me what I know. I think he would, except he knows that if I do know anything about her, I won’t say a word. I need to go if I’m going to do something with his tip today. As I stand, Bobby turns his full attention to the meal on the bench beside him.
“Thanks Bobby. I’ll see you around.”
He nods at me in reply. “Say hello to Clark for me when he gets back.”
My first thought is to head back for the office. In this case, I decide to go with my second idea. A few minutes later, I’m at the downtown MPD building and on my way in the see Bill Henderson. As I enter his office, his greeting isn’t particularly cheery. “Lane! What are you here to withhold from me today?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t tell me you didn’t know about the girl!”
I have to be careful here. An outright denial will be too obviously a lie. I move slowly to a chair and sit. It takes him a second, but soon he’s also seated. “Yes, we knew about the girl. But when and if she ever chose to reveal herself, was something we weren’t sure about.”
“You could have at least warned me there might be some help.” He sounds more hurt than angry.
I meet his touch of anger with my own. “How can you say that? Clark and I are in a unique position to know things we can’t share with anyone. We talked about this very issue when we all met the other day. As much as we would like to have told you there might be help, we just couldn’t. Besides, you know as well as I do that we weren’t even sure anything was going to happen.” My voice has taken on a note of pleading. Clark and I have worked to develop the level of trust we have with Bill and I don’t want to lose that. There’s a lot of truth in what I’m saying even if he doesn’t understand the facts behind my words.
He seems less upset now. “So who is she?”
“Bill!”
His reply is immediate. “Don’t you think you can trust me?”
Now it’s his voice that sounds almost pleading. This has the feel of a point that’s going to prove important for our future relationship. “This has to be for your ears only.”
His reply is very serious. “I understand.”
“Do you remember Ultra Woman?”
He smiles for the first time since I’ve been in his office. “I knew it was her. She was the only decent Kryptonian other than Superman. So, why is she back now?”
I figure this is as good a time as any to practice the cover story. “You had part of it yesterday. Remember when you asked why Superman cut back on his activities about a year ago.”
“You mean she’s been here all this time?”
I don’t want to spill too much now. “Bill, please let that be enough for now. I think she plans to announce herself as soon as Superman is back from Guatemala. I’d like to see what she chooses to reveal before I say any more.”
“You’re right. We got word a few hours ago that she wants to stage a press conference in front of City Hall at 9:00 tomorrow morning.”
I put on my best “shocked” look. “You knew this all along and still put me on the spot?”
“I’m sorry Lois, but I need to know that, when push comes to shove, you trust me. Anyway, what did you come to see me about today?”
“Those men that – she brought in from those robbery attempts… Are they still in custody?”
“Sure. There have been some attempts for bail, but the crimes were too serious with too many witnesses to get out easily.”
“I have information from a very reliable source that while most of those men are garden variety hired thugs, there are a couple of high ranking people in the mix. I’ll be starting my own background check and I suggest you do the same. One of them is supposed to be a higher up in Intergang, and other is some sort of senior boss in an organization that I have no name for yet.”
This news seems to have gotten his attention. “Are you sure? The preliminary checks on these people didn’t turn up anything.”
“Bill, this is one of my most reliable sources.”
“Okay. Like I said, the circumstances make it easy to hold them. I’ll have the data collection specialists run a deeper review of our guests.”
My eyes wander to the clock on the office wall. It’s getting late so I stand up to leave. “I need to get back to the office. I’ll let you know if we find anything useful on these guys.”
As I reach for his door, he asks one more question. “Are you going to be at the press conference tomorrow?”
“Maybe. It’s complicated.”
This triggers a laugh. “Now *that* I can understand!” No Bill, you really don’t, I think to myself as I leave.
Once I’m back at The Planet, I put Jimmy on a deep background check on those men. Then I spend a few minutes typing up my notes from meeting with Bobby and outline an investigation on this new organization. I didn’t plan to put in a full day today, but I’m happy about both of the afternoon meetings. After a quick stop at the day care center to pick up Lara, we’re on our way home to give a proper welcome back to the most important man in our lives.
TBC
Bob
