Degrees of Separation: 9/?
by Nan Smith

Previously:

Clark watched as Lois was led toward the center of the huge structure. One man pulled up a trapdoor, and the other shoved Lois toward it.

Now, Clark decided, was the time to intervene. He dived downward.

Two seconds later, all five men were tied hand and foot with various pieces of packing material and Lois was free. Clark glanced coolly at the infuriated city councilman. "Are you all right, Lois?"

"Yes, thank you, Superman. Do you see my purse anywhere?"

"It's in the car," he said, nodding to the vehicle that had brought her to this location. "You probably shouldn't touch it until all the formalities are dealt with. If you'll stand guard here for a few minutes, I'll bring a police officer to take care of the situation."

Lois's lips twitched. "I'm not going anywhere," she said. 'Don't take too long,' she added silently. 'I want to get home and work on this with you and the kids. This is great!'

**********

And now, Part 9:

"I have to stop by the apartment to let Mom know I'm going over to your place," Ally said. "She works this evening, starting at four, and won't be home until after midnight."

"That stinks," Wyatt said. "I guess she's been paying this private detective all her money to look for your brother, huh?"

"Pretty much," Ally said. "If it turns out he knows where Ben is and hasn't said so, I hope they throw him in jail for a thousand years."

"We don't know anything yet," CJ said. "Dad said he was going to get my Uncle Jimmy to do some research on him today. Jimmy can find out anything about anybody."

"My mom doesn't have any brothers or sisters," Ally said, "and my dad's brother got killed in a plane crash when I was a baby."

"Uncle Jimmy isn't our real uncle," Marta explained. "Actually, he's CJ's godfather, and my brother, Jimmy's, too. If you read the Daily Planet you've probably read his stuff. His name's James Olsen."

"Oh, sure," Ally said. "I've seen his photographs, too. Is he really as cute as his picture?"

"Uncle Jimmy?" Marta giggled. "He's *old*! He's about thirty, and he's married and has a couple of kids. His little boy is three, and his baby girl gets into everything whenever we go to my Grandma and Grandpa Kent's for Christmas."

Ally grinned. "I wish I had a baby brother or sister."

Marta giggled. "*I* wish I didn't have so many! Jonny and Jimmy can be real pains sometimes, and so are the triplets!"

"So were you when you were littler," CJ said, raising his eyebrows exactly the way her dad did when he was amused at something. "You nearly put me off girls for life."

Marta resisted the urge to kick him in the shins. "I guess so," she said in an attempt to be fair. "But so were you."

CJ shrugged and pursed his lips in a silent whistle. Marta glared at him for a moment and then decided it would probably be more dignified to ignore her brother's teasing.

Maria giggled. "My mom says she and her brother and sister fought all the time," she said. "But after a while she found out that they were her best friends. The only thing was, it was after she was married."

Wyatt and CJ grinned at each other and Marta again had to resist the urge to kick her brother, as well as Wyatt. She knew better, of course. Super-powered people didn't do that kind of thing to non-super people. Her father's face rose warningly in her mind. The only time she was supposed to use force was when she had to, but it was still tempting.

They reached Georgia Street and Valerie waved as she turned left toward her home. "See you later," she said, before heading away down the block. Marta knew that Valerie's mother would drop both her and her brother, Alex, off about five. Most of their "Super School" sessions were on Saturday morning, but now and then they had special ones, like today. Ally was about to learn a lot more about what she and the others could do.

After another block, Maria left them at her apartment, and then they stopped at the gate of Ally's complex, while Ally hurried in to tell her mother that she needed to go to the Kents' place again today.

She emerged a few moments later. "Mom left me a note," she said. "She had to go in early. I'll call her once we get to your place."

"Okay," Marta agreed. "I sure hope Mom and Dad can find your brother. Maybe your mom will be able to get a better job if she doesn't have to spend all her money on a detective."

"I hope so," Ally said.

"What does your mom do?" Wyatt asked curiously.

"She's a bartender over at the Silver Spoon nightclub," Ally said. "She hates the hours, but the pay is better than it was when she was a librarian. When guys have a few beers they tip higher, especially if the bartender is pretty, and Mom needs every penny she can get." She bit her lip and then seemed to shake off the mood. "Oh well, maybe she can get back her job over at the Metro City Library if we can find Ben."

The little group continued on toward the Kent townhouse. Marta was frowning at the sidewalk as they proceeded. The thought of Ally's mom having to work at a job she hated just so she could afford to pay a crooked detective made her really hope that her mom and dad could find a way to make this Graham Jersey guy sorry he was ever born, but she didn't say so. After all, as CJ said, they didn't really *know* anything yet. Still, it made Marta wish she could do something. She was going to be Supergirl some day, wasn't she? And eventually Superwoman. Or maybe Ultra Woman, like her mother had been, a long time ago. Maybe it was time she gave the choice of a name for her super hero self some thought.

CJ's head came up in a way that Marta had learned to recognize. Her brother was hearing something that had caught his attention. Marta strained with her enhanced hearing, but other than the normal sounds of a big, busy city, she heard nothing.

"What are you hearing?" she asked.

"Dad," he said. "He's 'talking' to somebody. I think it might be Mom."

"Oh," Marta said. "What's happening? Are they 'discussing' something?"

"They're not arguing," CJ said, instantly recognizing her euphemism. "And he's not talking out loud. He's *thinking* at her. I can 'hear' him, but not her." He frowned, obviously listening to the one-sided conversation. "I think she's in some kind of trouble."

"Thinking at her? But Mom can't hear --" Marta broke off at CJ's gesture.

"Dad says 'They're coming to get you out.' That must mean she can hear him."

"Is she okay?"

"I think so. Besides, Dad knows where she is," CJ said. "He won't let anybody hurt Mom for anything."

"How did she get into trouble?" Ally asked.

"My mom is Lois Lane," Marta said in a matter-of-fact way. "These things happen to her sometimes." She strained her mental ears, trying to hear her father's telepathic voice. CJ had always found it much easier to hear their dad when he was 'talking' to someone besides one of them, she knew. She couldn't hear anything. "What's he saying?"

"Nothing right now. Listen for him. You'll hear him when he says something else."

Marta did, and was gratified a moment later by hearing her father's mental voice. "Who's Henry Carruthers?" she asked.

"That was the guy that ran against Mr. Henderson for Mayor," CJ said.

Marta grimaced, striving to recall. "Yeah, I remember Mom and Dad talking about him, a little."

"Yeah, well it looks like they were right," CJ said. "He had Mom kidnapped for something or other."

Wyatt was frowning. "What does this Carruthers guy have to do with Intergang?"

Ally's eyes widened. "Can *you* hear him, too?"

"Sure," Wyatt said, with a hint of a grin. "I learned how three years ago."

"He could hear me," Marta said proudly. "Even though he couldn't hear any of the others. After that, he learned how to hear the others, too."

She saw CJ and Linda glance at each other, but neither of them said anything.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," CJ said. "We'd better get home. Dad will be here pretty soon, as soon as he finishes talking to the cops. I guess Mom will probably be at the police station for a while."

"Is your mom all right?" Ally asked.

"Yeah," CJ said. "Superman came in and tied up the bad guys. Maybe Dad'll tell us about it when he gets home, if we ask him."

They speeded up a little, and within twenty minutes the townhouse came into sight. Jim Olsen's car was drawn up in front of it, and he was shepherding Jonny and Jimmy toward the steps.

"Uncle Jimmy!" Marta called.

He glanced around, and his face broke into a grin. "Hi, kids. Your dad told me to tell you he'd be a little late, and you should start your homework right away. He's going to want to start working with you as soon as he gets here." He looked straight at Ally and held out a hand. "You must be Ally. I'm Jim Olsen."

Ally took the hand. "I'm Allynda Myers."

"I know. I did the computer age-progression on your brother's picture. You look a little like him, but not much."

Ally nodded. "I know. I look like my mom."

Jim nodded. "Your mother must be very attractive," he said. "While you guys get your work done, I'm supposed to keep an eye on these two wild men, and see that they do their homework," he added to CJ, waving at Jonny and Jimmy.

"Good luck," CJ said a little dryly.

"Yeah." He unlocked the front door. "Get busy. I don't know how long I'll survive this."

Marta giggled. Her Uncle Jimmy's kids were a lot younger than Jonny and Jimmy, but she was pretty sure he was joking. He'd baby sat her and CJ a lot when they were smaller, and he hadn't seemed to have any trouble.

Jim looked sternly at the two younger boys. "You two go get a snack from the kitchen. I think your dad left something for you. Then get your homework out and start in on it. After you're all done, you can watch cartoons."

Jonny and Jimmy took off like stampeding cattle. Jim watched them go and then looked back at the older children. "Your mom and dad will be home with the others pretty soon," he said, "but they might be a little later than usual. Your mom's headed over to the police station right now. Somebody tried to kidnap her again."

"Yeah, we know," Wyatt said. "We heard part of it. What happened?"

"I'm not really sure," Jim said. "Your dad called me by cell phone and told me a little, and asked me to make sure Jimmy and Jonny got here and did their work until he could get home. Superman has to go give his statement to the police as well."

"Henry Carruthers was there," CJ said. "He ordered it."

Jim's eyebrows rose. "Henry Carruthers? The city councilman? *That* Henry Carruthers?"

"I think so," CJ said. "Dad recognized him."

Jim pursed his lips. "The Intergang connection again."

"Intergang?" Linda asked. "What does he have to do with Intergang?"

Jim glanced at her. "What do you know about Intergang, Linda?"

"After CJ told me about it this morning, I did some research on one of the computers in the school library at lunchtime to find out what I could," Linda said. "After Bureau 39, I wanted to know about anybody that might make trouble for us. It was a world-wide crime syndicate. There were a bunch of Lane and Kent articles about it, and I read most of them. Intergang was big. It was started by Bill Church. He ran it, with the help of his son, Bill Jr. Then he married Mindy Church, and a little while later he and his son went to jail. Anyway, Intergang killed world leaders and put its puppets in their place, and blackmailed and bribed lots more. It was even here in Metropolis, and replaced one of our mayors with a duplicate, but CJ's mom and dad figured it out and exposed her. It turned out that Mrs. Church took over, after her husband and his son went to jail, and she was the actual head of Intergang for years afterwards. Lane and Kent, and you and Mayor Henderson -- only he was a policeman, then -- exposed her and broke them up. It was a huge deal. Hundreds of people got arrested in different countries, and there are still trials and investigations going on everywhere about it."

Jim looked impressed. "That's a pretty good summary," he said. "Well, back when Mindy Church was arrested, she had a boyfriend named Henry Carruthers. He claimed he didn't know anything about her Intergang connections, and nobody could prove any differently. Lois and Clark, and Henderson and I were always suspicious, though -- and now maybe we'll be able to prove something. Kidnapping Lois is always a risky thing to do. You'd think the criminal community would have figured that out by now."

"I guess," CJ said, "that Intergang is trying to come back?"

"It looks like it," Jim said. "And it looks to your dad and me like they're looking for their own Superman. That's why we've got to find Ben before they get their hands on him, outside of the fact that he needs to be brought back home. And you guys are going to have to teach him how to control his powers, so he doesn't give himself away -- assuming that he hasn't already done it."

"When I -- and later, Ben -- started to be able to hear things a long way off," Ally said softly, "we decided between us that we weren't ever going to let Dad, or anyone else, know what we could do. We didn't know what was going on, but we thought it might not be a good idea to tell him. So maybe he's still keeping it secret. I hope he is, anyway."

"So do I," Jim said. Marta thought he looked worried. "Anyway, you kids go and get your homework done. You've got a lot of things to do this evening."

**********

CJ looked up at the sound of the front door opening and looked through the wall with his X-ray vision. His father was holding it for Lois and the triplets, and as CJ watched, turned to lock the panel behind him.

Wyatt slipped a paper into his notebook and closed it. "I'm done," he announced. "I'm glad I've got a smart friend when it comes to writing essays."

"That's okay," CJ said absently. "You're probably the reason I do as well as I do in math." He glanced over at Linda. "I'm finished. How much more do you have?"

Her hand moved across the paper with commendable super speed. "All done."

"How are you kids doing?" Lois asked, sticking her head into the den.

"We just finished," CJ said. "Are you okay, Mom?"

"Fine," she said briskly. "I've got a headline article for the paper, Henry Carruthers is in jail for kidnapping, and Allan Packard is right there with him as an accomplice, and the diversion of those funds to decorate Packard's office that were meant for the inner city schools is going to be very thoroughly looked into by the city -- with the Daily Planet looking over their shoulders every step of the way. This is going to be fun."

Maybe that would let Intergang know that they weren't going to get back into Metropolis without Lane and Kent getting on their case, CJ thought. What was it with these crooks, anyway? Lane and Kent cleaned their clocks for them once, so they came right back to the place where they'd run into trouble before and started it up again.

Lois pulled off her high heels. "I'm going to go change. My feet are killing me. This being kidnapped thing is getting harder than it used to be. And after we're done this evening, I want to do a little more research into Carruthers. There has to be more behind the kidnapping than just the stuff about the school money. I wonder what else he's up to." She wiggled her toes. "Ah! That feels better!" Turning, she ascended the stairs briskly enough to make CJ blink.

"How about that private investigator?" he inquired after a moment. "Did anyone find out anything about him?"

"As a matter of fact, your Uncle Jim did," Clark said. "And I need to talk to Linda about that."

Linda sat up straight, a look of immediate interest on her pretty features. CJ didn't know what it was, but she looked even prettier this year than she had before. She might be wearing a little makeup, he thought, not that he could see any of it, and he sure liked the cologne or whatever it was that she was using. CJ didn't like heavy perfume. It tended to make him sneeze. Even his mom used just a little scent that had a faint, flowery smell to it -- probably so it didn't overwhelm Dad's nose, he thought. Linda was using something that smelled different, but it was really nice, and light, and it made her smell more like herself than ever.

He realized that his father was speaking. He'd let himself get distracted by Linda again, which happened a lot, and he dragged his attention back to the conversation.

"...Need to visit three kids that were born about the same time you were," his father was saying. "Jersey was investigating them, so we have to be sure about them one way or another. With your ability to spot Kryptonians, all you'll need to do is get somewhere close to them, and we'll know if we need to worry."

Linda nodded. "When?"

"Right now, if you're done with your work," Clark said.

"Okay," Linda said. She slid out of the chair. "I guess we're going to fly?"

Clark nodded. "CJ, I'd like you to take over teaching Ally the basics of telepathy. You and the kids figured it out in the first place, so I think I can trust you to get her started. If we're not back by the time Valerie and Alex get here, you start the class with the regular exercises. Your mother will help you if you need it. We'll be back as soon as we can. We've got another student this afternoon, too," he added.

"Mom?"

Clark looked surprised. "How did you know?"

"I heard you 'talking' to her while she was being kidnapped. I couldn't hear her, though."

"Well, work with Ally and do the best you can with your mom. Try whatever it was that you did to help Wyatt learn, and see if it works. We'll be back as fast as we can."

**********

CJ and Wyatt climbed the stairs to the attic playroom. Marta and Ally were parked in front of the videogame, and Marta was showing Ally the moves to the latest battle game -- at which, as usual, she excelled. They looked around as CJ and Wyatt opened the door.

"Hi," Marta said. "Where's Linda?"

"She went with Dad. They've found three other kids that the PI was checking out. Dad wants to be sure they're not Kryptonians."

"You mean Linda can tell?" Ally asked.

"Yeah," CJ said. "Dad said that the Lady Zara -- the Kryptonian woman that he was supposed to marry -- told him that sometimes the noble Kryptonian families had someone who could do more than the usual telepathic stuff. You and Linda must both be from the noble families. Dad was, too, but he can't do it, and neither can I. Marta, either."

"Neither can Valerie," Marta said. "I asked her, and her father was a noble, too."

"Oh," Ally said. She looked at her shoes. "My mom told me that my father --" She broke off for a moment, and then lifted her chin. "My father was Lord Nor," she said. "I asked her. I'm glad your dad beat him in that fight. He deserved everything he got."

CJ shrugged. "Nobody can help what happened before they were born," he said. "Linda doesn't know who her dad was, either, but there was only one other Lord who chose Nor's side. That was Jen Mai. He was Valerie's father. I think Lord Nor was probably Linda's father, too. So does my dad, cause he was sort of a redhead, and all the others that came with him were his and Jen Mai's flunkies."

"Nor was a loser," Wyatt said. "Who cares about him, anyway? Mr. Kent said CJ and Marta -- and me, too -- are supposed to teach you about telepathy, since we figured out how to do it, ourselves. And we're supposed to try to teach Mrs. Kent how, if we can. She's gonna be here in a few minutes."

Marta scrambled up off the floor. "Great! Ally already heard me yell for you during the fight, yesterday, so she can hear thoughts. We'll just have to think really quietly, so Jonny and Jimmy don't hear us."

CJ nodded, feeling somewhat self-conscious. He'd helped his dad teach some of his classes lately, but he'd never done it on his own before. He took off his glasses and laid them on the computer desk. "Let's all sit down at the table," he said, pointing to the small table that had been up here ever since their dad and Uncle Jim had converted this part of the attic into a playroom. The table was more suited for someone of Jonny or Jimmy's size, but it would work.

When the four of them were seated around the table, CJ said, "First close your eyes, Ally. It helps you to concentrate. I'm going to think at you. Listen for my voice in your head. It'll sound just like me, except you're hearing it with your brain instead of your ears."

"Okay," Ally said. Obediently, she closed her eyes. CJ aimed the stream of thoughts directly at her, almost able to see the bright swarm of thoughts targeting the girl. 'Do you hear me?'

Ally's eyes popped open. "Oh!"

"Don't talk," Marta said. "Think back."

At once Ally closed her eyes and CJ listened intently. Inside his head, a soft, hesitant voice said, 'I can hear you. Do you hear me?'

Just as it had been with Linda and Marta in the beginning, Ally's voice wasn't very loud, but it was clear enough. 'I hear you,' he said.

'So do I!' Marta's voice chimed in. 'How about you, Wyatt?'

'I can hear her, too,' Wyatt's voice said, not as loud as Marta's, but definitely clear and distinct. 'Can you hear me, Ally?'

Ally's eyes flew open again, but this time she didn't speak aloud. 'I really *can* hear you! Oh, wow! This is amazing!'

'It sure is,' Marta said. 'Try to aim your thoughts directly at us, though. You don't want anybody else to hear -- like Jonny and Jimmy. They don't get to find out about this stuff until they're ten.'

'Okay -- sorry,' Ally said. Her mental voice was quickly becoming firmer and more confident. 'Is this better?'

'Some,' CJ said. 'Try to look at what I'm doing. You try to send your thoughts directly to one person. Don't let them scatter. There's at least one other kid in Metropolis that Dad hasn't found yet, who can hear us, if we're not careful. Or there was, three years ago. I don't want to take chances.'

Someone knocked at the door, and CJ turned his head as his mother stepped inside. "Are you ready for me, yet?"

"Sure," CJ said. "Come on in."

**********
tbc


Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.