Lori and Clark – The New, New Adventures of Superman – MMC V 6 06/32
By Ken Janney
Warning: This story is rated PG-13.
Disclaimers: The characters in this story are property of DC, December 3rd productions and Warner Bros. No Copyright infringement is intended. I have just borrowed the characters for a short time.
Previously:
Chagrined Liz said, “I didn’t mean to say that ...” She stopped because all those gathered around burst out in laughter at their discomfiture.
Lori stepped over and put her arm around her sister’s shoulder and pulled her into a hug as she said, “Sis, we knew it would happen, sooner or later and frankly we had been *hoping* for sooner.” She turned to Jeb and asked, “What took you so long?”
Jeb said to Liz, “I guess you can show them.” As Liz reached into her pocket and pulled out an engagement ring and put it on he continued, “I just started at the Foundation and I wanted to make sure Liz would be willing to relocate to Metropolis. As soon as she let me know it would be okay, I went out and got the ring for her before I asked.” Liz held her hand up for inspection. All of the girls gathered around as Liz showed off her engagement ring oohhing and aahhing as they did so.
Rich walked over and put a fatherly arm around his son’s shoulders and turning to Liz, said, “Welcome to the family. This guy takes after his grandfather in a lot of ways, so, if this lunkhead gives you any problems, you call me, okay?”
Liz laughed and looking into Jeb’s eyes said, “I think I can handle him.”
Jessica laughed and said, “If you’re anything like your sister, I can believe that.”
Lori and Clark both laughed at that and then Lori asked, “When do you plan to tell Mom and Dad?”
Jeb replied, “We were planning to tell them when I flew her home tomorrow.”
Clark asked, “I have a suggestion, don’t tell them. Ask them. Ask if you can marry their daughter, that’s the proper way to do it. Once that’s done, when do you plan to have the ceremony?”
Jeb looked at Liz and asked, “How soon?”
Liz replied, “I don’t want to wait any longer than necessary. Sis got married the same day as she and Clark met.”
Lori jumped in and said, “Whoa, hold on a minute there, Sis. That is a horse of an entirely different color. We had memories of being together for a long time.”
Liz retorted, “Jeb and I have known each other for almost three years now. How much longer do we need to wait?”
Clark said to Lori, “She’s got you there, Honey. How long do they have to wait?”
Lori gave in, “Alright, why don’t you let Mother and Daddy decide. Go on, get out of here and go tell them. You can let us know what the decision is when you get back.”
And now:
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Chapter 5 – Wanda
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Universal Locator designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -124 Alt-Prime
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While everyone was waiting for Liz and Jeb to return from LA, Lori made a decision. She decided that she was going to still use the name Ultra Woman, after all, she was used to it and there wouldn’t be any confusion with Lara because of the different uniforms. Lara had made a copy of Lois’ original uniform in reversed colors from her original. It was teal blue with a pink cape and other trim. Lori’s new uniform was in Clark’s color scheme.
When Liz and Jeb returned Lori could tell from the expressions on their faces that it had gone well. Liz said, “Mother and Daddy are happy and think that a short engagement would be okay since we’ve known each other for so long. Mom wants at least two months to plan the wedding, so three months from today, November 12.”
“Congratulations Sis, all of the girls will want to help with the planning I’m sure. That’ll make it easier on Mom.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
That following Monday, Lori wore her new uniform under her business attire. The skirt of her uniform was so short that it wouldn’t be a problem for her to wear any type of clothes. Today she was wearing a skirt that came to the knee with a slit to mid thigh on the left. The slit ended several inches below the skirt of her uniform.
When they got to the bullpen they settled down at their desks and started their daily routine of checking e-mail and voice-mail. They were waiting to hear back on some feelers they had put out.
Finally, later in the morning one of their snitches contacted them. Initially they had sent out requests for information because they had heard about a dramatic increase in drug usage in the suburbs. But, when he called he told them about Zombie, a new drug on the street. It was a so called designer drug which was so new that no samples had been obtained as yet for analysis and the DEA had no information on it as a result.
Based on his lead they started searching the recent archives and found some reports of unusual behavior in the most unlikely citizens. The reports that they found said that the people had been ordinary people placed in extraordinary situations. The apparent victims had been apprehended by the police after committing crimes which ranged from muggings to bank robbery. In all cases they were identified by the victims or from videotapes from the facility.
When the police picked them up they all claimed to have no memory of the activity. Blood tests were not able to identify a causative agent but that really had no meaning since there was no clue as yet as to what to look for. Various chemicals had been isolated from the blood samples and analyzed at STAR Labs but it was a set of extremely complex components and there was no way to relate how the various components interacted. Aside from the presence of the same chemicals in the blood stream of all of the subjects, the descriptions of their behavior were consistent. All of the victims of the robberies had described the perpetrators as zombies, the walking dead. No expression, no communication just a purpose. That was the limit on what they were able to find. Somehow they would need to get a sample.
It was a rather uneventful morning. They had to do some interviews and after those they had gone out to lunch. Since they were out in what used to be the Suicide Slum area, they had chosen to visit a club that they suspected of being a front for organized crime. After they were seated Clark nonchalantly pulled his glasses down his nose and scanned for the office. When he found it he sent Lori a thought, /The office is over your left shoulder. Looks like some kind of meeting going on. See if you can hear anything./
They both tried to tune in with their superhearing. It took a few seconds to filter out the ambient noise and pick up on the conversation. What they heard confirmed their suspicions. Clark hadn’t said anything about who was in the office, but all Lori heard were male voices.
(Voice 1) “We just heard from Detroit. The operations there are proceeding as planned. So far we have prostitution, drugs, gambling and protection.”
(Voice 2) “We need to ramp up our efforts here if we are going to stay on top. If we’re not careful they could challenge us for control.”
(Voice 1) “They’ve got it lucky. They don’t have any of the supermen or superwomen to contend with. We have to be constantly on the lookout for them. They could shut us down in no time.”
(Voice 2) “We do have one thing going for us. We have money coming in and we don’t have to risk any of our people. We just slip a pill in someone’s drink and ten minutes later we tell them what they have to do. They do it and turn the proceeds over to us. They leave and don’t remember anything about what they have done so they can’t lead the cops back to us.”
(Voice 1) “That coupled with our regular drug trade is keeping us on top. When is the next shipment due in from Mexico?”
(Voice 2) “It should be making its way over the border in a couple of days. That’s another sweet deal. The cartel loads it onto a truck coming into the states from Mexico and the driver doesn’t even know it. When it arrives we get it as regular goods under a false name and address. We can’t be traced and if the driver is stopped he doesn’t know squat. We are clear both ways.”
Lori sent, /Wow, there’s a lot there. We have a couple of days until the drug shipment. Do you want to take a road trip? We’d be less likely to be recognized in Detroit. Besides, I hear Detroit is lovely, this time of the year./
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The next day Clark and Lori went to their editor, Frank Edwards, and told him that they had a lead on organized crime and would like to follow up on it. It might involve going undercover for a time. “Frank, what we have could be really big, but in order to do it right we might have to be out of the office for a while. Would you be okay with that?”
Frank asked, “Can you give me an idea of what you’ve got?”
Lori replied, “Yeah, we have a multi-city organization. We were planning to start in Detroit. They have their fingers in several pies, prostitution, protection, gambling and drugs at the very least. We need to find out just how many things and just who is behind it all. We’re convinced they have ties to a group here in Metropolis. It sounds like they are all parts of one larger organization, but there appears to be a competition to see which division is in control. We want to get to the bottom of it.”
Frank said, “Okay, sounds interesting. How long do you think it would take?”
Lori replied, “it could take at least a few weeks.”
“Try to keep it as short as you can. Keep me posted and I’ll expect to see you in here at least occasionally, just so that I know you’re still alive. Clark I expect you to take care of Lori.”
Showing a little irritation Lori replied, “Now just you wait a minute. I *can* take care of *myself*, thank you.” Realizing that she might be saying too much she added, “I am a black belt in Tae Kwan Do, you know.”
Frank put up his hands in a defensive gesture and said, “Hey, I didn’t mean anything by it. Those kind of guys don’t play by the rules, you know. They use guns.”
With a smirk Lori replied, “So do *I*, occasionally.”
Frank said, “I had forgotten about that. Still, be careful out there, okay?”
Clark said, “We will be. Don’t worry.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Later as they were preparing for their undercover assignment Lori said, “You know, Frank gave me an idea. We might just be able to infiltrate the mob easier if we show some muscle and no I don’t mean brute strength. I have my concealed carry permit. I could carry one of my guns. It should be easy to convince them that I can shoot. With that on my resume, we might just have an entrée.”
“Okay, I can be the strong silent type enforcer. I can use the karate that you’ve been teaching me. With the moderate use of superspeed I should be able to make it look convincing.”
“Sounds like a plan. Where should we start?”
“I think we should let them come to us. If we start our own little protection racket by taking some of their customers away we should be able to get their attention. We can tell the businesses we deal with that we are setting up a sting to get them to cooperate.”
“How do we start?”
“Those kind usually collect on a weekly basis and depend on fear to keep the ‘clients’ in line. I think we start by staking out a couple of businesses and see if they are visited.”
Lori said, “I guess I’ll need to wear something flashy, at least when we meet the organization. Until then I’ll be conservative. I think a business suit, like I normally wear.”
“I’ll do the same. When we are going to meet them I’ll probably wear leathers. Are you ready to start the surveillance?”
With a chuckle, Lori spun into her uniform and said, “Am I ever! It’s just a shame that my vision thingies and flight haven’t come on yet. At least I’m invulnerable, strong and fast. You’ll have to fly me there and I might as well be in uniform.”
Clark spun into his uniform and they exited the back door heading for the trees in the back yard. Instead of picking Lori up in his arms he stood next to her and put an arm around her as they took off. They landed in an alley in Detroit and spun into their business clothes. Once they exited the alley they headed for the outskirts so that they could observe some businesses.
They found a café that had a decent view of the street from a table near a window. It was nearing closing time for a lot of the businesses so they settled at a table and ordered. While they waited for their order they watched the street. Clark saw a man dressed casually enter a shop up the street. When he came out his hands were empty, indicating that he hadn’t made any purchases. The guy entered another shop two up from that one, was inside a short time and came out. Again he was empty handed. Clark said, “I think I’ve got one already. Across the street, blue polo shirt and khaki pants. He’s gone into a couple of shops but he hasn’t purchased anything.”
He was just coming out of a third shop and Lori said, “I see him. He doesn’t look like a crook, but, who does now days?”
When their order was delivered they quickly ate and Clark paid the check. He sent a thought, /Let’s get started. I know the shops he visited. Let’s go right down the line./
She thought back, /Lead and I’ll follow you anywhere, husband mine./
They exited the café and Clark led them to the first shop. When they entered they saw that it was a florist shop and when they entered the owner was behind a counter. As they entered Clark closed the door and turned over the sign to read ‘closed’.
Seeing this, the shop owner started to get worried. He said, “What are you doing? Why are you here? I just paid!” He was starting to sweat and fear was etched into his face the closer they got to him.
In a soothing tone, Clark said, “Please, relax, we are not here to do you any harm. Can we have a few minutes of your time to talk? We want to help you.”
Still not sure just what was going on the shop owner was still worried, after all this could be a trick.
Clark pulled out his Daily Planet ID and showed it to the shop owner. As he was perusing this Clark said, “My partner and I work for the Daily Planet and we would like to ask if you would be willing to participate in a sting so that we can put the people behind this protection racket where they belong.”
The shop owner was stunned and still somewhat wary as he asked, “Sting? Put them in jail? You really think you can do that?”
Lori replied, “We sure intend to try.”
The shop owner asked, “Okay, how do you plan to do it?”
Clark could see that they had their foot in the door at least. He said, “We plan to take some of their customers away so that they come to us to try to make us stop.”
The shop owner said, “Hmmmm that might just work. By the way, my name’s Dan, Dan O’Brien.”
“Pleased to meet you Dan, how often do they collect?”
“Once a week.”
“Wow, we really caught a break on that one. Was the guy in the polo shirt doing the pickup?”
“Yeah, that was one of the pickup men.”
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. Next week, when he comes in you refuse to pay. When he threatens you, you say that you have subscribed with another agency for your protection. If he asks who you tell him Charlie King and Wanda Detroit are the representatives. Got that? Charlie and Wanda.”
“Charlie and Wanda, got it.”
“Okay, we’re going to go visit a few more of his clients. Do you have any names for us?”
“Sure there’s five on this block alone. Jim’s Re-upholstery, Frank’s Corner Market, Mary’s Crafts, Jake’s Cakes and my shop.”
“Okay, we’re going to visit each of them. Thanks. If things go the way we plan, we should have them within a couple of weeks.”
“I hope so, because of them I’m barely making a profit.”
“We’ll do what we can. Just be patient. Do you want your sign turned back over?”
“No, don’t bother. I’m closed for the night. I’ve had enough for one day. Thanks.”
They went down the line and the same scene was repeated, with some minor variations, at each shop in the block.
By the time they’d finished they felt that they were ready to muscle in on the protection racket.
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