I can't believe it's been over a year since I posted anything on this;
Here's the
TOC -----------------------------------------
Justice Redeemed (part 1)
The next morning brought cloudy skies but that didn’t dampen Lois or CJ’s spirits. They were ready to get to work before Perry had his first cup of coffee.
A quick check on the internet showed that former New Troy District Attorney Grant Clemens was living in Metropolis. He now had a small legal firm over in Queensland Park that specialized in criminal law. They wouldn’t have to hunt for him.
Megan called his office and made and appointment for the three of them later in the day.
“What do we do in the meantime?” CJ asked Lois.
Lois’s face screwed up in thought. “We know St. John was involved with Mazik.”
“And St. John was Luthor’s right hand man until Luthor’s empire was deconstructed after his alleged death and later conviction and imprisonment,” CJ put in. “I don’t know if anyone really looked into Luthor’s part in all of it. I know he was in prison at the time but he was released not all that long after Lois Lane died. And we know the judge that overturned his conviction was later indicted on corruption charges.”
“Maybe we should see what Luthor’s been doing the past twelve years,” Lois suggested.
“And Asabi and Mrs. Cox,” CJ added.
-o-o-o-
“Well, what have you got?” Perry asked them over lunch in his office.
“Well, we talked to Polly over in Business. Luthor was still a prisoner on Stryker’s Island when Lane died,” Megan started. “But, the stories at the time were that even behind bars, he was still giving orders as ‘the Boss’. The story also goes that when he found out about Lois Lane’s death, he swore vengeance against Superman and everyone else involved. A year later both Mazik and Superman were dead.”
“But there’s absolutely nothing that links Luthor to Superman’s death,” Lois pointed out.
“That’s because if there is a link it’s very indirect,” CJ said. “On the other hand… Mazik was under the care of Doctor Elias Mendenhall at the time of the Kent kidnapping. Mendenhall had links back to Luthor through research grants from LexCorp supporting his work on memory restoration and reconstruction.”
“Reconstruction as in brainwashing?” Lois asked.
CJ nodded.
“Do you know why Mazik was under a doctor’s care?” Perry asked.
“His brother and sister said he’d started acting odd after he began going through their late father’s stored papers. One of the boxes had books and papers that belonged to an uncle, Harvey Benton. His father, Jacob Benton, was one of the doctors at the Kansas City Insane Asylum in the late 1860s,” CJ answered.
“And that box contained Tempus’s journal,” Lois stated.
“Apparently,” CJ said. “But Jason Mazik also had a history of mental issues. He was suspected of poisoning his own father after Mazik senior cut off his allowance when he got involved in some college frat-boy stuff that ended in a fatality. But nothing was ever proven. The father’s murder still listed as unsolved.”
Listening to the two of them was uncannily like listening to Lois and Clark so many years before – the odd leaps of logic, the multiple threads, the almost psychic ability to follow the trail. Lois Lane’s preternatural ability to find the truth had failed her only twice in her life – when looking into the criminal mastermind, ‘the Boss’, she didn’t recognize Luthor, nor did she recognize that her partner was Superman. But then no one at the time had picked up on those facts either.
“I remember your dad working to expose Mendenhall’s link to a series of mysterious assassinations that occurred not long before…” Perry let his voice trail off. “But he couldn’t prove anything and Mendenhall was in prison on a drug conviction when Mazik was killed.”
“But Mazik’s death had all the earmarks of one of Mendenhall’s programmed assassins,” CJ pointed out earnestly. “A crafted, professional hit by someone no one would ever expect, who would honestly have no knowledge of having done it.”
“CJ, your dad never proved Mendenhall was responsible for the assassinations,” Perry said gently. “All he had were suspicions. We never printed those.”
“But there is a link to Luthor there,” CJ insisted.
“A very tenuous one,” Perry pointed out. “What about Luthor himself?”
Lois answered. “After his release he tried regain control of his former companies. That didn’t go over very well with the new boards of directors. Sheldon Bender and whoever he was really working for did a good job of transferring everything away from Luthor’s control and wiping out Luthor’s fortune.”
Perry nodded. “I remember he was pretty upset. Made lots of threats. Then he dropped out of sight.”
“He went overseas for a couple years,” Lois said, reading from the report in her hand. “France and Germany. According to Polly’s research it looks like he was trying to get back control of his international holdings but that didn’t go well either. Two years ago he was back in Metropolis and hooked up with Asabi.”
“And Mrs. Cox?”
CJ handed Perry a print of a photo. Mrs. Cox was clearly recognizable in the picture. With her were a sandy-haired man of about thirty and a swarthy-skinned man with his face hidden by a large fedora. “Mrs. Cox skipped bail and disappeared not long after Luthor took his dive. Not a trace for two years, then she showed up in Melbourne, working for Lawrence Luckabee, the man who managed to get control of Luthor’s companies in Hong Kong and Tokyo. He also claimed to be Luthor’s son. The man in the hat is a Mister Smith, Luckabee’s body guard and assistant. Never leaves his side.”
“I remember there were some odd things with Luthor’s reaction to the news that his son had shown himself,” Perry said. “At first he denied he even had a son and then all of a sudden he changed his tune. You might want to ask Polly about that, too.”
“We did,” Lois said. “Information on Lawrence Luckabee is pretty sparse, but what there is strongly suggests he really is Luthor’s son. The two men met face to face in Hong Kong in late 2003. Supposedly Luthor was preparing to publically denounce Luckabee as an imposter then he suddenly changed his tune and proclaimed that Luckabee was his long lost son and heir. At last report, Mrs. Cox is still working for Luckabee and hasn’t returned to the U.S. even though the judge that let Luthor off also dismissed all charges against her.”
Perry nodded thoughtfully. “It would be nice to know what changed Luthor’s mind about Luckabee but I doubt we’ll ever know. So, after meeting with Luckabee, Luthor settles back in Metropolis with his man servant and opens a book store. That had to be a pretty big let down for somebody like him.”
“I’m not so sure,” CJ said. “I think he has full control of the ACL Corporation. It owns the store and the building and has been investing in the companies Luthor used to control.”
“That was the company that handled Arianna Carlin’s annuity, wasn't it?” Lois asked. “Why wasn't it deconstructed too?
“My dad left some notes on it,” CJ said. “ACL was a real estate investment company and on paper it was wholly owned by Arianna Carlin, even if she didn’t have any control, so it wasn't deconstructed like Luthor’s other companies, and Bender wasn't involved in it once the art was auctioned off according to Luthor’s will. But here’s the kicker, on Carlin’s death, ACL reverted back to Luthor, just like what happened with LLL Corporation when Lois Lane died.”
Perry’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t remember Lois or Clark ever mentioning that Lois had an annuity from Luthor.”
“I don’t think she ever knew,” CJ said. “There was nothing mentioned about it during the reading of his will. But when he came back from the dead and she died he regained control of that company so he had about a hundred million dollars to play with while he was trying to get control of his other companies back.”
“CJ,” Perry said solemnly, “that means Luthor had a motive for Lois’s death. A lot of motive.”
CJ sighed. “I don’t know why Dad didn’t see it.”
“He was convinced Superman was guilty,” Lois answered. “So it didn’t matter if anyone else had a motive. But we know better now.”
-o-o-o-
Grant Clemens’ office was in an elegant brick building in an older part of Queensland Park. For someone who left the New Troy DA’s office in disgrace, he seemed to be doing quite well.
The polished middle aged receptionist let Megan, Lois, and CJ through after a wait of only a few minutes.
Clemens seemed surprised when he saw them. “I was expecting a couple of reporters from the Daily Planet, not three kids,” he complained mildly after they introduced themselves.
“We didn’t want to mislead you, but would you have agreed to see us if you knew it was Lois Lane’s niece and Clark Kent’s son looking into Lane’s death?” Megan asked.
Clemens didn’t answer. Instead he gestured for them to take the chairs opposite his desk. When Clemens was the New Troy District Attorney he was known for his matinee idol good looks – light-brown hair, blue eyes, square chin and an easy smile. However, the past twelve years hadn’t been easy on him. The man looked haggard and there was a lot of white in his hair now.
“What do you want to know?” Clemens asked.
Megan placed her recorder on his desk and made a show of turning it on.
Lois asked the first question. “We’ve talked to Doctor Sprengler about Lois Lane’s autopsy and the M.E.’s report on her death. When you discovered that report had been tampered with, why did you ask that the report not be made right?”
Clemens swallowed hard. “You have to understand something. I was elected to the District Attorney’s office on the promise that I would make sure that no one was above the law. Not Lex Luthor, not the police, and not Superman. So when the first report came through that Lois Lane was dead and Superman admitted to freezing her, it was a golden opportunity. Only there was a catch. A big one.”
“And that was?” CJ prompted.
Clemens studied the boy for a moment. “Clark Kent’s son, huh? You sound like him.” Clemens sighed and went on. “An election, even for D.A., takes a lot of money. It turns out I should have been more suspicious of some of my larger contributors.”
“Luthor?” Lois asked.
Clemens nodded. “And Church. I don’t know which group contacted me, but they wanted to be sure Superman was convicted of Lois Lane’s murder.”
“So you suppressed the evidence that he might not have been guilty,” Megan observed.
“Yes, and no,” Clemens said. “I knew there was something ‘off’ about the whole thing starting with the investigation into the Mazik robbery. The cops had Kent dead to rights. There was no doubt it was him on those security tapes but they hardly even talked to him about it. Then Lane shows up dead and it turns out Mazik was a kidnapper
and a blackmailer.”
“So, you think that if Clark Kent had been taken into custody for the robbery…” Lois urged.
“I think he would have told us what Mazik was up to and we could have stopped him,” Clemens said. He sighed. “I know you won’t believe me, nobody does, but the last thing I wanted was for Superman to be convicted of a crime he may not have committed.”
“Then why were you pressing for a trial for second degree murder?” CJ asked.
“Because a trial would have been public, out in the open. And during the trial it would have been shown that the M.E.’s report had been tampered with and Superman wasn't responsible for Lane’s death. That would have led to an investigation that might well have led back to whoever was pulling the strings on the entire operation and who was threatening me and my family.”
“Why didn’t you tell anyone you were being threatened?” Megan asked.
Clemens snorted. “Because I couldn’t prove it. As D.A., I got threats nearly every day – people I’d convicted, families who thought justice hadn’t been done, crazies. But these threats were different, more subtle. I’d get messages asking if I knew where my kids were, what my wife was doing. Then money started being deposited into my bank accounts from overseas. It would show up one day and disappear a week later. I even changed banks but it still kept happening.”
“Why didn’t you tell Judge Diggs what was happening?” CJ asked.
“Because I had no way of knowing if she was involved,” Clemens said. “I still don’t because if she had read the full autopsy report, she wouldn’t have accepted his plea of guilty on involuntary manslaughter. It would have been reckless endangerment and since that wasn't one of the charges brought against him, he should have gotten off.”
“Do you think she was under the same pressure you were?” Lois asked.
“I don’t know,” Clemens admitted. “I never asked.”
“Mister Clemens, you do realize we may be going public with this?” Megan asked.
“Ms. Gordon, I resigned from the D.A.’s office for a number of reasons all stemming from Lane’s death. My wife left me and took the kids because she couldn’t handle being married to the man who accused Superman of murder. It may be a little late, but I think the truth about what happened has to come out sometime.” He reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a folder. He pushed it across the desk to them. “Maybe you can use this.”
Megan opened the file and flipped through the papers inside. “LLL Corporation?”
“The both banks claimed the deposits were all clerical or computer errors and the withdrawals were the ‘corrections’. But one of the things I did find out was that all the deposits came from accounts controlled by that company. They denied any knowledge of the transactions and since it was an overseas company, I couldn’t find out much more.”
“Mister Clemens,” Lois said. “LLL Corporation was and is controlled by Lex Luthor. I’m surprised you didn’t know that.”
-o-o-o-
“Do you believe Clemens?” Lois asked on the way back to the Daily Planet.
“I think he has an interesting twist on the facts as we know them,” CJ admitted. “But he did admit that he knew Superman was innocent and he basically did nothing.”
“Maybe we should talk to Judge Diggs tomorrow,” Megan suggested. “Maybe even his defense attorney, Hunter. She should have realized there was something wrong with the report. She could have used that to discredit Clemens’ entire case.”
“You don’t think Grandpa Perry will mind us taking all your time like this?” CJ asked.
“It’s more interesting than making the coffee,” Megan answered with a grin.
-o-o-o-
CJ had a hard time sleeping that night. Everything seemed so loud – Grandpa Perry’s snoring, the street sounds, even the distant airport seemed loud and raucous. Closing his eyes didn’t help. In his mind’s eye he could see grownup Lois lying in a rat filled culvert. He swooped down and saved her. Or rather Superman swooped down to save the day.
Luthor was standing there watching, laughing his head off.
“Maybe you'd like to let me in on the joke,” Superman asked. Luthor’s maniacal laughter was annoying.
“Me! I'm the joke! Twice I've had the chance to kill you and twice the game has gone your way,” Luthor said. He wouldn’t stop laughing.
Superman wasn't amused. “The game's finally over, Luthor.”
“No! I will not give you the satisfaction of taking me alive!” Luthor shouted. He ran toward the high voltage wires that he’d been stealing power from.
Gretchen Kelly’s body was on the floor. Her heart wasn't beating and from the burns on her body, she’d been electrocuted. Superman cut the lines with his heat vision, plunging the underground lair in darkness. Luthor howled in rage.
“You can't cheat justice twice,” Superman said, grabbing Luthor’s arm to keep him from getting away.
“Don't be so smug,” Luthor spat. “Tell him Lois. Tell him that you really love me. Tell him we’re meant to be together. Tell him. Tell him!”
Luthor was gone and Lois was lying on the concrete floor in Mazik’s underground lair.
She was cold. Deathly cold. Nigel St. James was there, standing with Jace Mazik.
“Well, well… Dream all you want...” Nigel said musingly to no one in particular, “...but nothing quite prepares you for the sheer thrill of the moment.”
“Not a mark on her. How'd you do it, Superman?” Mazik asked.
Superman ignored the question. He had done what Mazik had wanted. Lois was there and she wasn’t breathing. For all intents and purposes, she was dead.
“Where are my parents?”
“Where are my parents,
sir?” Jace sneered.
Superman grabbed Mazik by the collar. He was tired of the madman’s games.
Nigel clicked his tongue. “Now boys, boys, let's not fight, particularly, since...” The Englishman pulled out a small gray metal box and opened the lid. “It wouldn't exactly be fair… To Superman.”
The pain was excruciating. He backed away from the malevolent crystal but Nigel kept moving forward with the crystal in his hand.
“It's relatively simple to use, Jace. Very few moving parts,” Nigel was saying conversationally. “Short term exposure leads to lasting effect. Give it a whirl.”
Nigel handed the crystal over to Mazik who taunted Superman with it.
“Superman... do the words 'Nyah-nyah, nuh-nyah-nyah' have any meaning to you?” Jace sneered as he forced his victim into the room beyond. Superman tripped, falling into a heap on the floor.
“Clark!” he heard his mother cry out.
“I know you must be in a lot of pain but here's the good news… It'll all be over soon,” Mazik said before he and Nigel backed out, tossing the kryptonite into the room before the door closed.
There was a hissing noise and white gas started to billow out from the ceiling vent. Superman tried to move but he was too weak. His parents dragged him to one side of the room even though they were barely able to stand.
“Dad, get the kryptonite,” he ordered. His dad did so, but stayed on the far side of the room.
He summoned what little strength he had left and blew a stream of freezing air up to the vent. It turned white with frost.
“Throw it!” Martha ordered. “At the vent!”
Jonathan wound up and threw the crystal at the vent. The frozen metal shattered and Superman could hear the crystal rattling in the ductwork above the lead coated ceiling.
He was still weak but managed to kick the door open.
Nigel was on the floor next to Lois. His heart wasn’t beating but Superman didn’t care. It was Lois who had his full attention.
“Oh, no... Lois...” his mother murmured.
He aimed a diffused heat beam across Lois’s body. Her body softened, to a more normal tone, but her heart didn’t start. He grabbed her hand. “Live,” he ordered.
Nothing.
He began CPR. His mom moved in to help. Puff puff, thirty compressions, puff puff, thirty compressions.
“Lois, come back, you come back to me...” Clark begged.
Nothing. Another round of heat vision. Her body was now at normal temperature. Still nothing.
“You come back now! Do you hear me, Lois, don't go! Don't go! Fight!”
He and Martha kept going. Puff puff, thirty compressions, puff puff, thirty compressions.
“You are not dying on me, you are not giving up, now breathe! You breathe, dammit!”
“Son, the EMTs are here,” Jonathan said softly. “They’ll take over.”
Clark moved back to allow the EMTs do their work. Lois was intubated and shocked, drugs injected into her heart. Nothing.
Lois Lane was declared dead on arrival at Metropolis General Hospital. Clark Kent wanted to die with her. The longing was sudden and overwhelming, like a cold bitter wind blowing through his soul.
“CJ!” CJ woke up with a scream to find Grandpa Perry shaking him.
“CJ?”
The boy gazed wide-eyed at the old man, tears running down his face.
“I had a real bad dream,” CJ whispered.
“Want to tell me about it?” Perry asked.
“I was Superman and Lois was dead…” He started sobbing again and Perry pulled him close.
“It was just a dream,” Perry assured him.
“No it wasn’t. He wanted to die with her, Grandpa Perry,” CJ said. “It was like all the color went out of the world and he didn’t care anymore. But it wasn't a dream.”
Perry pulled back and studied the boy he was cradling. “CJ, how did you recognize Lex Luthor the other day?”
“I just did,” CJ said.
“You have Clark’s memories, don’t you?”
CJ nodded.
“Who else knows?”
“Grandma and Grandpa and Lois. Grandma thinks I’m his reincarnation and I came back to finish the job he couldn’t finish before because… he died.”
“And what do you think?”
“I don’t know,” CJ admitted, wiping his runny nose on his pajama sleeve. “I’m just a kid.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t have let you and Lois start on this project,” Perry said.
“But we wanted to, Grandpa Perry,” Lois said from the doorway. “We can’t stop now.”
The feeling of uncanny familiarity hit Perry once again. “Lois hon, is that you?”
“Yes,” the girl said solemnly. “I have her memories. Makes being in grade school kinda bizarre.”
“Look, I don’t want to get into trouble with your grandparents for giving you nightmares, okay?” Perry said, turning back to CJ.
Familiar brown eyes looked back at him. “It wasn't a dream, not really. I think Dad is trying to tell me something about what happened. Something everybody missed.”
“Like what?” Lois demanded. Her arms were crossed over her chest in a stance that was eerily familiar. The realization sent shivers down Perry’s spine. He discovered he had absolutely no trouble believing the two children in the room with him were Lois Lane and Clark Kent trapped in ten year old bodies.
CJ frowned. “Like why he never came to terms with her death and what made him go into the suicidal depression that finally killed him. He should have been able to move beyond it and he didn’t. Why?”
“We know that red kryptonite effected Superman’s mental state,” Perry said thoughtfully. “Maybe there was more out there than the pieces he knew about.”
“Gene Newtrich found the first pieces,” Lois said, coming over to sit at Perry’s other side. “He was working for Billy Church and Intergang.”
“Well that’s something you can look into tomorrow, okay?” Perry announced. It was nearly midnight, and whether they were his late star reporters reborn or not, they were kids. Besides,
he needed his rest.
