Supercop: 3/?
by Nan Smith
Previously:
He snorted. "I'll watch my step. Seriously, honey, is Ultra Woman back?"
Her laughter died. "Well, I have your powers. I'm not so sure about Ultra Woman. You weren't too happy about it the last time."
"That was different," he said. "Ultra Woman had my powers and I didn't. I still have them, this time." He ran a finger over the place where the wound had been. "All in all, I'm pretty happy you have them. If someone tries to shoot you again, he's going to be in for a shock."
"That's true." She started the engine. "Let's get out of here. I need to go home and change."
Absently, he pulled the seat belt over his shoulder, regarding his wife as she backed the Jeep expertly out of the parking space. "This kind of changes the situation," he said.
"That's for sure." Lois pulled out on the street and inserted the nose of the Jeep firmly into a space about half the length of her car between a pickup and a minivan. The driver of the van blew his horn and braked to avoid her. Tires screeched and more horns blew. Lois ignored them. So did Clark.
"Who do you suppose was behind the shooting?" Lois asked. "And why?"
"Chances are, whoever sent that email," Clark said. "With luck, Jimmy will track him down. As to why; somebody doesn't want Quigley convicted, at a guess."
"But why? Who would support a monster like him?"
"Somebody with something to gain," Clark said. "I guess that's where we start looking, next."
**********
And now, Part 3:
"That's probably the only lead we've got unless Jimmy manages to come up with a better one," Lois said. She changed lanes under the nose of a bus, and turned left at the intersection, just as the yellow light turned red. "Maybe we should start checking out relatives, business partners, Intergang ..."
"Somebody could make a financial killing if the experiment actually succeeded," Clark agreed. "Maybe we should check out his finances. I'd like to know who his financial backers are. He didn't come up with all that equipment on his own."
Both of them were silent as Lois expertly negotiated the crowded streets of the Metropolitan rush hour.
"Before we look for anybody, I'm going to change my clothes," Lois said finally, glancing distastefully down at her ruined skirt. "Dried blood was never my color."
"I can't argue with that," Clark said. "I guess we could go hunt for the car. I got a good look at it, even if you didn't."
"Henderson didn't, either," Lois said, a little defensively.
"I was pushing him against the planter, too," Clark said. "Neither of you were in a position to see much ..." His voice trailed off at a sudden realization. "Oh boy."
"You were touching Henderson when the lightning hit you," Lois said at the same time. "Do you suppose ...?"
"I don't know," Clark said. "I guess it's possible. This has never happened when I was touching two people at the same time."
"When Jessie got super powers from you through the plane, he was the only one," Lois said, sounding hopeful. "Wouldn't that mean that maybe just the person closest to you would be affected?"
"Maybe. But that was through the plane," Clark said. There was a sinking sensation somewhere about the level of his gut. "This wasn't through a plane or anything else. I was physically touching both of you."
"We have to find out," Lois said. She turned the Jeep into Hyperion Avenue. "Let me just get changed and maybe Superman could make a visit to Henderson's office."
"What kind of excuse is he going to give?" Clark asked. "Besides, how would Superman know that Henderson might suddenly be super-powered?"
"You're talking about yourself in the third person again," Lois said.
"Wait until you have to talk about Ultra-Woman to somebody else," Clark said absently. His mind was still on how to explain to Henderson his sudden burning desire to have a conversation with him.
"Anyway," Lois said, "if he did get your powers, we'd better come up with an explanation of why. After all, there's no public information about how Waldecker got his, and we didn't explain exactly how it happened to Jessie, either -- just that lightning hit the plane and that you saved it. People are going to figure out that lightning has something to do with it, and since the powers are identical to yours, they're going to know that it's related to you, somehow -- but they don't know that you have to be hit by the lightning, or that you have to be touching the person. Of course with Jessie, you weren't even touching him. The powers were transmitted through the metal of the plane to him. Maybe we can spread the theory that there's some kind of contagion or something. Maybe ..."
"Honey," Clark said, grinning slightly, "you're babbling."
"I'm not babbling! I'm just trying to cover all the possibilities!"
"Okay," he agreed. "Anyway, I think the less said to anyone, the better. As for Bill, *if* he has the powers, we'll have to see what happens. He's a smart guy. It's possible he may figure out more than we'd like, but the first thing to do is to find out if there's a reason to worry. If there is, he's going to need some help or he's going to hurt someone without meaning to. At least it's Henderson that it happened to. If I have to have anyone else know the secret, at least we know we can trust him."
"Thank heavens for small favors," Lois said, as she pulled the Jeep to the curb in front of the Kent townhouse. "Why don't you drop by his office to see if he's all right? If Superman heard about the shooting, he might want to talk to Henderson about it, and find out if there's anything he can do to help."
"Now *you're* talking about me in the third person," Clark pointed out mildly, opening his door. "That's not a bad idea. By the way, you never answered my first question."
"Which one was that?"
"Is Ultra Woman back?"
"Does Superman want her back?"
Clark grinned. "You bet he does! She was the sexiest woman he ever met in his life."
Lois elbowed him in the ribs. "All right, you're on. I guess Ultra Woman is about to make a comeback."
**********
William Henderson paced his office. He was wearing a trench in the carpet, he thought, trying to figure out what to do, all because he was nervous about going out among his fellows on the chance that he might hurt one of them with this new and dangerous weapon that he had become.
How did Superman do it, day in and day out? To his knowledge, the man had never injured anyone with his enormous strength. Of course there was that guy who had sued him for injuries sustained when the hero had saved his life, but what little injury there was had been caused by a piece of equipment or something falling on him, not Superman. Obviously, he controlled it, probably every second. On the other hand, maybe it was instinctive by now. Ordinary people learned to control their strength very early in life. If they didn't, they could kill a kitten or a puppy just by picking it up. He hadn't torn anything up earlier while he was thinking about being careful; it had only happened when he hadn't, so he could control it if he thought about it. He didn't have to stay cooped up in this office for the rest of the day.
He glanced at his watch. It was nearly quitting time anyway. He'd better give his wife a call and tell her he was going to be late, and then go someplace where he could move around without risking his fellows. He definitely needed to talk to Superman, however.
Well, normally, when Henderson needed to get in touch with him, he called Clark Kent. Kent knew how to contact the Man of Steel; maybe he had his cell phone number.
He squelched the whimsical thought at once. This was serious; if he didn't figure out how to handle these powers fast, he was going to have to sleep on the couch tonight. There was no way he was going to risk inadvertently hurting his wife with his suddenly acquired super-strength.
He reached for the phone. He'd just ask Kent to get hold of Superman for him; he didn't have to tell him why. This was definitely something he didn't want to advertise.
**********
"I found it," Clark announced. He held up the pink suit with its trailing cape. "It's not even dusty. Not that I expected it to be, wrapped in five layers of plastic."
"That was fast," Lois said. She had barely stepped out of the shower and was drying her hair.
Clark gave her towel-wrapped form an approving look. "Too bad we've got things to do," he remarked. "It could be an interesting experience."
Lois didn't bother to ask what he was talking about. "Later, Loverboy," she said. "Give me that, and you'd better head over to Henderson's office before he gets off work."
He glanced at his watch. "He gets out in a few minutes. I ..." At that instant, Lois caught what he had to be hearing as well.
"Oh no," she whispered.
"I'm afraid Henderson is going to have to wait," Clark said. "This takes precedence."
An 8.6 earthquake would take precedence over just about anything, Lois knew, especially in a thickly populated country like Japan. In an instant, Clark was in his Suit, and Lois was in hers. It sounded bad, she thought, as they took off in two blurs of color. Buildings had collapsed all over Kyoto, and the death toll was bound to be ... well, horrifying. It was a good thing Superman had super-help, this time. He was going to need it.
**********
Henderson carefully put down the telephone receiver with a disgusted grunt. Just when he needed to contact Superman, Kent wasn't answering his phone. He glanced at his watch. It was five minutes after quitting time.
Well, somehow he had to figure out how to control these abilities of his. Sue wasn't expecting him home for some time. Maybe there was something he could do on his own, at least until he could get hold of Superman. If he practiced a little, maybe he could gain some idea of what these powers could do and make himself less of a danger to the people around him.
He got carefully to his feet and strode to the door. His jacket hung on the hook behind the door and he appropriated it, shrugging his shoulders automatically into it and wondering at the same time if the temperature outside had stayed within reasonable limits after the rain had stopped.
Keeping his hands firmly stuffed in his pockets, he strode down the hallway toward the exit, being extremely careful not to bump into any of his fellows that passed him. As he passed the office where Olsen still labored over the computer, he stuck his head in the door. "Any luck?"
"Maybe." The young computer expert was frowning at the screen. "Mr. Henderson, would you mind if I make a record of my results and take them home? I can work on them more, tonight."
Henderson shrugged, reminding himself to move with caution. "Go ahead. Just make sure nobody else gets hold of them. Call me if you find out anything even remotely useful. Do you have my private number?"
"No, sir."
Henderson couldn't help grinning sardonically. "It's refreshing to hear a little respect, sometimes. Here." He dropped his card on the table next to the computer. "If you do call me, try to be sure it's important."
"I will, sir," Olsen said, picking up the card.
"I'm sure you will," Henderson told him in a milder tone. "Good luck, kid."
**********
The rain hadn't entirely stopped, he discovered when he stepped outside. A light but steady sprinkle was still filtering down as he made his way to his car. He glanced at the piece of broken key still protruding slightly from the lock on his door and grimaced, then a thought occurred to him. Carefully, he gripped the tiny stub sticking from the lock with the tips of his fingernails and tugged lightly.
Under ordinary circumstances, probably nothing would have happened. His fingernails would have slipped from the tiny piece of metal and the key would have remained stuck until someone with the proper tools had come along to remove it. As it was, it came loose without resistance, and he surveyed the results of his experiment thoughtfully. On the broken end, where he had gripped it with the nails of his thumb and middle finger, were two tiny grooves -- the marks of his fingernails, he thought with some amazement. He wasn't only extraordinarily strong, it seemed, but probably invulnerable, and it was quite possible that he had the rest of Superman's abilities as well.
The idea was a little frightening, but it presented interesting and even exciting possibilities. Again, the question of how this had happened crossed his mind. He had been in contact with Superman some four hours or so before the bolt of lightning had just barely missed him. Was that a possible connection? He didn't see how it could be, but none of this incident exactly made sense. He really needed to get hold of Superman, he thought, as he got carefully behind the wheel and just as carefully started the engine. Without much hope, he took out his cellular phone and once more tried Clark Kent's number, with no result. Well, he supposed that he could go to Centennial Park, since no one was likely to be there in the rain, and yell for Superman. The idea wasn't particularly appealing, though. Maybe there was a reason that Kent wasn't answering, he speculated. It was possible that there was a breaking story somewhere and the man was just too busy to answer; perhaps he had even turned off his phone. If that was true, Lane would probably be there with him.
Gingerly, he reached out to turn on the radio, trying not to damage the thing. He must have succeeded, for the knob clicked on and he adjusted the sound with a mild feeling of accomplishment. If anything in the way of an emergency were going on anywhere near Metropolis, he might pick it up on a news broadcast.
" ... Has hit Kyoto, Japan," the newscaster's voice was saying. "The destruction is incalculable. Hundreds are trapped and the emergency services are overwhelmed by this catastrophe ..."
It must have been an earthquake, Henderson thought, grimacing silently. He backed slowly and cautiously out of his parking space. It looked as if he was going to have to go it alone for a while. Superman was undoubtedly already on his way to the shattered city. The best thing he could do right now was to go somewhere that no one was likely to see him and try to learn how to handle these new and frightening abilities, at least until the Man of Steel got back to Metropolis.
"Superman has arrived in the city." The announcer's voice broke through his thoughts. "He is accompanied by Ultra Woman, who made a brief appearance some two years ago. Together, they have begun to rescue victims of this horrific disaster, moving tons of shattered concrete and metal that would otherwise take ordinary machinery hours to dig through, locating the injured by means of their super senses. The United States and several other nations have promised to send aid as soon as a relief effort can be organized ..."
Henderson pulled out into traffic, driving with a caution that he hadn't exercised since his days in Driver's Education at Metropolis High School. It was interesting that Ultra Woman had chosen just this time to make a reappearance. Of course, if she was going to reappear, he guessed that now was a good time for it.
He maneuvered his way through traffic, trying not to overcompensate. It would be so easy to overreact to a careless driver, to try to dodge and as a result actually cause the accident that he was trying to avoid. He knew that his caution was probably excessive but what else was he supposed to do while trying to handle these strange, new talents? His respect for the Man of Steel had been steadily rising ever since he had realized that he now possessed Superman's powers. The amount of control the man had over himself and what he could do was truly awe-inspiring. If Henderson could just get to the point where he didn't feel he was a danger to his fellows, he'd probably decide that he was managing pretty well.
Centennial Park was completely deserted, as Henderson had expected. He slipped on the raincoat that he had put in the back seat this morning in the faint hope that the weather forecasters might be right, and got out, locking the door of his car. It would be best if he could find a place with a certain amount of cover. It wouldn't do for the local police patrol to see him doing some of the things that he was going to have to do to figure out how to handle these abilities.
The spot he had in mind was a picnic area, shaded by big, leafy trees and enclosed on all sides by bushes. The spot provided the cover that he was looking for, as the only ways in and out were several twisting paths that had been designed to wind artistically through the area, providing pleasant, scenic walks for visitors to the park.
He glanced around, seeing no one, and listened intently.
The patter of raindrops falling softly on the grass sounded like drums, and the rustle of some small creature in the bushes made him jump; then he forced himself to relax and listen, trying to identify all the sounds that were suddenly audible to his newly enhanced hearing.
The raindrops were a distraction, but he forced himself to focus on other sounds. He heard clearly the scurry of tiny paws: probably a mouse or other small rodent, he thought; the fluttering of wings from a bird somewhere above him; millions of noises produced by the tiny insect life in the area; the sounds that normal visitors to the picnic area never heard.
As he focussed in on each sound, the steady drumming of the rain faded into the background, and so did the sounds that he wasn't concentrating on. So that was the secret, he thought, with a sense of discovery. Superman could actually control what his super hearing picked up. If he couldn't, all the noises would have rapidly driven him insane.
Well, that covered one ability. What other powers did the Man of Steel have? He strode to one of the big, decorative boulders that dotted the picnic area and hefted it. It came easily up from the ground, although it must weigh a couple of hundred pounds. He returned it to its spot and looked around. The problem wasn't his strength but the damage that he could cause if he wasn't careful. He was simply going to have to relearn how much strength to put into any motion, and he suspected that came from practice. He hadn't broken anything since he had become aware of his abilities, so maybe his brain was already reprogramming itself to handle the problem. He fervently hoped so.
Well then, how about x-ray vision? How did one see through things? He picked his target: one of the big trees that lined the picnic area. Concentrate, he thought. Of course, if it didn't work it wasn't exactly an emergency. He could always wait and ask Superman when he got back from Japan. It was too bad he wasn't able to go to Kyoto and help out, he thought, wistfully. He was quite certain that Superman and Ultra Woman could use the help but he hadn't even figured out how to fly, much less how to do all the other things that they could do ...
Concentrate, he told himself, firmly. What is on the other side of the tree?
It was as if a window had opened suddenly in the trunk, except for the fact that the faint outline of the tree trunk was still there. He could see the sparrow hopping around on the wet grass just beyond the tree, pecking at the ground.
As quickly as it had appeared, the picture vanished. Henderson blinked and took a deep breath. This was almost too much to take in.
And at that moment, his new super-hearing picked up a scream.
"Give me your purse, lady!" a harsh voice ordered and Henderson heard the sound of a blow.
He was running toward the sounds before he thought, grasping his police special in one hand. He could hear the sobbing of the woman, and then the voice of her assailant. "Ten bucks!" Another blow. Then, he was on the scene, seeing a hefty individual bending over the cowering form of his victim, the contents of her purse scattered around on the wet ground.
"Police!" Henderson barked. "Put your hands on your head and don't move!"
It wasn't until after a pair of uniformed police officers escorted the mugger away and Henderson had accepted the fervent thanks of the elderly victim, retrieved her poodle for her, and seen her driven away by the paramedics to be checked for injuries, did the realization occur to him.
Centennial Park's picnic area was not far from the eastern border of the park. The mugging had occurred on the western side, nearly two miles away. He had crossed the entire distance in less than fifteen seconds.
Maybe learning to use Superman's powers wasn't going to be so difficult after all.
**********
(tbc)
