Lori and Clark – The New, New Adventures of Superman – MMC V 6 21/32
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:
She turned on her heel and resumed her journey. She had been walking for over an hour and was very thankful for the foresight she had used in selecting her footwear. She was wearing comfortable walking shoes as part of her waitress role and not a pair of heels. She continued walking. She walked until 5:30 AM when she whispered, “I’m going to duck into this alley. Come pick me up. I need to go home. It’s past time for me to feed CJ.”
She walked into the alley and Clark was already there, waiting for her. She threw herself into his arms and said, “I don’t think he’s going to show. Let’s go home.”
No sooner were the words out of her mouth then he picked her up and took off. A couple of minutes later they landed in the back yard and moved to the house.
Martha had already given CJ a 3 AM bottle so Lois expressed some milk to take the pressure off and they all went to bed.
CJ awoke at 7:30 and a bleary eyed Lois got up to feed him. As soon as he was done she put him down for a nap and she went back to bed. A little later in the morning Clark called Perry and explained what they had done the night before and Perry told him to take the day to recover.
When Lois got up they called Inspector Backstran and were told that the Werewolf Murder had struck again. This time in the Suicide Slum section. The girl was seriously injured but she would be okay.
Disappointed at her perceived failure, Lois said, “Well, I guessed wrong. I think we need to repeat in the same area. If we move he could go into Hobbs Bay when we move away from there.”
Clark replied, “Okay, after all, you’re the top banana.”
She smiled and poked him in the chest and said, “Just you remember that and we’ll do just fine.” Then she broke down laughing at the old joke. He always knew how to lighten her mood.
A little later in the morning they had a call from Inspector Backstran. “Clark, a report finally made it to my desk. Last night a woman walked to a local post office box to mail a letter. As she was turning to return to her apartment our subject pulled up and tried to grab her. She got lucky. The pavement was uneven and he tripped on the broken sidewalk and she was able to run into her building. There’s one good reason to thank the city for being derelict in their duty of repairing the infrastructure. Anyhow she called in to report the incident. It was our man alright. The nice thing we got out of it was a description of the vehicle. He’s driving the gray Ford Mustang convertible. Now we know what to look for. We are putting out a description to all officers, uniform and plain clothes to be on the lookout.”
Clark said, “Thanks, Inspector. We will withhold that information until you have him so that he doesn’t know that you have a description of his vehicle. None of our snitches had any information. If we hear anything, we’ll let you know.”
And now:
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Chapter 20 – Winner and Still Champ
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That night Lois went back to the café and worked a shift. At 3:00 when the clean-up was finished they all left and again the rest of the staff stayed together to the parking lot while Lois headed off on her own.
About 4:30 Lois saw a gray Ford Mustang convertible parked down the street in front of her. She was instantly on the alert and started scanning the area. She saw an alley adjacent to where the car was parked. She continued walking hoping that he hadn’t noticed her hesitant step.
Her nerves were at fever pitch. She knew that she was only seconds from the confrontation. She thought about CJ. When she did she almost turned around and ran. Almost, but, not quite. She steeled her nerves. She had to do this; after all, she was Lois Lane. She had to put this scum behind bars before he hurt or killed any more women. <Besides,> she thought, <I’ve got the best backup possible.> Nodding to herself her steps firmed up and with deliberation she moved ahead.
Afraid that if she turned her head to look into the alley she would give herself away, she started to cross the alley opening. She concentrated on her hearing and was rewarded for her effort. She heard a heavy shambling tread which rapidly turned into a run. She turned her head when she knew he was nearing and seeing him barreling towards her she spun to her left which initially took her into the same direction of travel as her assailant.
Seeing this, her assailant tried to put on a burst of speed thinking this was going to be a simple foot race. He saw her veer to the left as she continued her spin and he tried to change his direction but his bulk was such that quick movements were not possible. His rush carried him beyond her. As he was passing her she completed her spin which took her to his left side, beyond the stretch of his arms and she performed a snap kick taking him in the side of the near leg, at the knee. His leg collapsed and he fell forward on his face. Unnoticed by Lois, just as she unleashed her kick, Superman landed behind her. Lois danced around the man like a prizefighter in the ring. Her hands were clenched into fists and were up in guard position. As he started to get up she kicked him again, this time knocking his arm out from under him causing him to fall on his face again.
Superman crossed his arms over his chest and simply watched.
Her assailant was still on his belly, but he reached with his right hand and pulled a sheath knife out and rolling over attempted to threaten Lois with it.
Lois closed with him and used her feet again. The kick impacted his arm between elbow and wrist sending the knife flying. It impacted a telephone pole about ten feet away with a solid thwack and embedded itself in the wood.
After kicking the knife away she danced away again and flipped her head so that her hair swished around and fell back out of her face. She said, “You’re under arrest!”
He snarled an invective and this time reached for a gun.
Before it cleared its holster Lois closed with him again. This time her kick took him under the chin. His head snapped back and he lost all interest in the conflict as his gun went flying from his nerveless fingers.
Lois danced over and kicked the gun out of reach. Once she had done this she suddenly realized that Superman was there acting for all the world like this was a spectator sport. She stopped and put her hands on her hips and asked, “Well, are you just going to stand there?”
He gave her that megawatt smile and said, “You’re doing just fine *all* … by … yourself. I just like to watch you work.”
She gave him a hard stare and reaching into her pocket, pulled out her cell phone and dialed 911.
“911 What is the nature of your emergency?”
“This is Lois Lane. I just caught the Werewolf Murderer.”
She instantly had the dispatcher’s attention. She asked, “Location? Are you hurt? Do you need an ambulance?”
“Bay Street half way down the block from Windsor. I’m not hurt, but, he’s a little the worse for wear. I don’t think he needs an ambulance, just a police car.” Before she was even finished, as soon as the address had been given she heard the dispatcher on the radio sending the police. Lois added, “You might want to send Bill Henderson and Ed Backstran.” Lois could hear sirens in the distance and approaching.
The Werewolf came to and started to stir and Lois moved over and kicked him again, this time in the stomach. She said, “Didn’t you hear me? I said you’re under arrest! Now, stay down!”
At her kick, he let out a grunt of pain and he said, “Superman, don’t just stand there, do something! Save me from her.”
Superman could hardly keep a straight face as he replied, “You brought this on yourself. I think she has made a Citizen’s Arrest and who am I to interfere in the course of justice?”
The Werewolf collapsed back to the sidewalk.
Less than a minute later a black-n-white screeched to a stop. The patrolman jumped out of his car, with his gun drawn. He shouted, “Freeze!” Then he looked around and took in the complete scene. He saw Superman standing off to one side. He saw a petite brunette dressed as a waitress in a fighting stance and a large man sprawled out on the sidewalk. As he started to move over closer he could see the woman relax, dropping her arms to her sides. He addressed Superman, “What’s going on here Superman?”
Superman inclined his head in Lois’ direction and said, “I think you need to talk to her. She just caught your Werewolf Murderer for you. That’s him on the sidewalk.”
The cop did a double take and asked, “Are you serious? She took him out?”
Superman said, “The she to whom you are referring happens to be Lois Lane of the Daily Planet and yes, I’m serious. She made a Citizen’s Arrest.”
The man held his hands up for the cop to put the cuffs on and said, “Please, take me into custody. Get me away from this b*tch.”
Superman said, “If you have no further need of me I need to finish my patrol.”
The cop said, “That’s fine, thanks Superman. I think we can handle it from here.”
Superman flew off. A minute later Clark came running up apparently breathless from running. He gasped out, “Sorry Lois. I had car trouble. What happened?”
“You missed all the action, Clark. Fortunately Superman was here,” her voice began to hold a scolding tone as she continued, “But all he did was stand there watching while I did all the work.”
In a somewhat defensive tone he said, “I’m sure that if there had been any problem he would have intervened. He wouldn’t have let you be hurt. I’m sure he felt that you were competent to handle the situation so he chose not to interfere.”
Just then two more cars pulled up. Out of one stepped Bill Henderson. Ed Backstran exited the other. They both approached slowly, taking in the scene. Bill was shaking his head and chuckling. He said, “Lois Lane, I should have known.”
Ed turned toward Bill and said, “I should have taken your warning more seriously. Now I see what you were talking about.”
Bill said, “I’m curious, but, I’m going to wait until we have some pictures before I satisfy my curiosity.” He turned to the officer and asked, “Did you read him his rights?”
“Not yet. I was told that she’d performed a Citizen’s Arrest. What’s the procedure?”
Bill turned to Lois and asked, “Lois will you turn your prisoner over to MPD?”
Lois got a mischievous look as she asked, “Do I get credit for the collar?”
Bill chuckled and said, “I should have known. Yeah, we’ll give you credit for the collar.”
Lois jumped up and down and clapped her hands. After a few seconds she stopped and said, “Yes, I turn my prisoner over to the MPD.” Then she got an ornery look and said to the officer, “Read him his rights and book him!”
Bill, Ed and Clark all started laughing. Lois said, “I’ve always wanted to say that!”
Bill nodded to the patrolman and said, “You heard the lady, uh, arresting officer. Read him his rights and book him.”
More black-n-whites and a few plain cars had been arriving all the time this had been going on. The officers had all exited their cars to see what was happening.
The patrolman told the man to roll over on his stomach and put his arms behind him. He cuffed him and then helped him to stand. While Lois, Clark, Bill and Ed stood there as witnesses the patrolman read him his rights and then assisted him in getting into the black-n-white.
Lois called him over and said, “Over there, in that telephone pole you will find the knife he pulled on me and over by the wall you’ll find his gun.”
As she was saying all of this Bill and Ed had startled expressions. Bill was the first to speak, “He pulled a knife and a gun on you? Why didn’t Superman do something?”
Her expression was one of self-satisfaction as she said, “He didn’t want to spoil my fun.”
Bill nodded to the patrolman and said, “Evidence kit. Collect everything.”
As the patrolman was going into his trunk for the evidence kit he was looking at Lois with even more respect.
Bill turned to Lois and asked, “When can you come in and give us a statement and the whole story? I can’t wait to hear the details.”
Lois said, “Clark and I will stop on our way in to work. Considering the time, that won’t be until afternoon. We’ll bring CJ with us. The story might be in the afternoon edition before we get there. I’m going to file it as soon as we get home, but, it’s after the morning edition deadline.”
Bill chuckled and said, “I can’t wait to read it. Okay, I’ll look for you tomorrow afternoon.”
Clark put an arm around Lois and they started to walk away. Bill stopped them and asked, “Can I give you a lift home?”
Clark said, “Thanks Bill, yes you may. I’m sure Lois has walked enough for one night.”
Lois and Clark amused Bill by discussing the write-up of the article that they would be submitting to the paper while he drove them home.
After he dropped them off, they thanked him and went on in. Lois headed for the computer while Clark went to check on CJ. He was fussing so he picked him up and carried him downstairs. When he saw Lois he settled down.
Holding out her hands, Lois said, “There’s my boy. Come … to … mama.” Clark handed him over and Lois prepared to feed him. While she did that Clark typed up the article. When she was finished she handed CJ to Clark so that he could burp him and she proofed the article. After making some minor additions she sent it off to the Perry’s e-mail account.
Finally, at 6AM they put CJ back in his crib and they went to bed for a few hours sleep.
The next afternoon the headline of the Daily Planet read:
“Werewolf Killer Nabbed”
By Lois Lane and Clark Kent
“The so called Werewolf Killer was arrested in the early hours of the morning. The individual was captured while attempting to assault and rob what would have been his twenty-first victim. He was subdued and a Citizen’s Arrest was performed. The individual was held until the police arrived and assumed custody. …”
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Early that afternoon Lois, Clark and CJ entered the twelfth Precinct and were immediately sent back to Bill Henderson’s office.
It took some time to get down to the business of the arrest because Bill was becoming acquainted with CJ.
Finally Lois asked, “Okay Bill, what do you have for us?”
Bill reached into his top drawer and pulled out a manila folder. He handed it to Lois who opened it and started flipping through the pictures it contained. Clark was looking over her shoulder and he let a whistle escape from between his teeth.
The first few pictures were of the man at his initial entry. In the light of day he looked even weirder than he had when he had accosted Lois. He had black hair which was rather long. He had bushy eyebrows and a full beard which was long and scraggly. His hands were also covered with hair.
The next pictures were of a clean shaven individual with close cropped blond hair. Lois blurted out, “What’s this?”
Tapping the picture with his forefinger Bill said, “That’s your capture. After we took the first series of pictures we discovered that all that hair was false. The guy had been an actor and was down on his luck. He used his skills at makeup to change his appearance when he went out to assault the women. He had been thrown over by a girlfriend who happened to be an aspiring actress working as a waitress until she would be discovered. He was attacking waitresses to get back at her and robbing them because he didn’t have a job. Problem is, he may try to cop an insanity plea.”
Lois looked over at Clark with a look of pure fury then looked back at Bill, “Don’t let him get away with that Bill. There’s no excuse for what he did to those women.”
“We may need you to testify when this goes to trial, if it ever does. His public defender has already been to see him. I know this guy. My guess would be that he’ll dissuade him from the insanity plea because if he tries that the state will go for capital murder, first degree. In previous cases that this guy has handled he has plea bargained to a lesser charge. The state could realistically go for murder one because the death occurred in the course of a felony. That would make him eligible for the death penalty. I don’t think his lawyer will want to chance that. He could plead down to second degree and go for life in prison. Okay, so much about him. I need to hear the story. Let me start the tape.”
When Lois finished Bill sat back in his chair and applauded. “Wow, that’s some story. I’ll get it typed up and you can stop by and sign it, oh, how about tomorrow?”
Lois said, “Sure, tomorrow will work.”
Clark started to reach for CJ’s car seat. Bill stopped him and said, “You know Lois, believe it or not, this is the first really important Citizen’s Arrest we’ve had in this city. I’ve heard rumors of a citation and certificate from the mayor’s office. Don’t let on that I told you. Act like it’s a surprise.” Bill held out his hand and said, “Put ‘er there, champ.”
Lois giggled and shook his hand.
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