[Superfreaks/ACRA] Superfreaks Season 2 #2

[Martin Phipps]

Michael King, Mary Bailey and Frank Lopez: crime scene
investigators.  John Phelps, Mark Johnston and Tom
Jackson: police officers.  Jack Greenspan and Edward
Bailey: medical examiners.  Alan Russell and Roger
Roeper: lawyers.  These are the men and women who
aretruly our last line of defense.  But what about
thecapes whose cases they have to investigate?  Should
they be considered a help or a hindrance? 

                SUPERFREAKS SEASON 2 #2

                  "THE ANTI-DIMENSION"

                         PART I

7:01 am

  "Joanne!  It's time to get up!"
  Diane Cryer, the mother of Joanne Cryer, opened the
door to Joanne's room
  "Joanne?  Where are you?"
  Diane went back downstairs to speak to her husband
Bob.  "Bob, have you seen Joanne?"
  "No.  Why?  Isn't she in her room?"
  "No," Diane said.  After a moment's consideration,
she started to panic.  "Oh my God!  Where is she?"

9:32 am

  "I want to thank you for your help yesterday,"
Detective Michael King told the Super Soldier.
  The Super Soldier smiled.  "You could have told me
that over the phone.  Why are you really here."
  Michael laughed.  "You are very perceptive.  You
would have made a good detective."  He nodded. 
"Alright, I don't want to seem ungrateful..."
  "But?"
  "But the victim's family in the Sax and the City
case needs closure.  They can't get that if I tell
them the killer is being held in some secret
undisclosed location."
  "Why not?"
  "Try to put yourself in their position.  Imagine it
is your father or your son who was killed.  Wouldn't
you want to see justice done?"
  "What would you have me do?  Turn a dangerous
superpowered criminal over to ordinary police?  I
thought that was why you contacted us in the first
place."
  "We wanted your help in apprehending a dangerous
criminal."
  "And help we did."
  "But you didn't hand him over to us."
  "I told you that if we take a case it becomes our
case."
  "We still have jurisdiction over crimes commited in
our city."  Michael sighed.  "Look, is there some way
I can confirm to the victim's family that he is indeed
being held somewhere."
  "You have my word."
  "I'm sorry but that just isn't good enough.  A year
ago, Harry Roy was in your 'custody' and he ended up
almost joining your team."
  "That was different."
  "Why?  Because the man he killed deserved to die."
  "Okay.  I see where you are going with this."
  "I want to see where you keep people prisoner."
  "It's top secret."
  Michael took out a piece of paper.  "I have a
warrant."
  The Super Soldier laughed.  "A warrant from a judge
here in Pepperton is not good enough."
  "So you officially not co-operating with this
investigation?"
  "So this is an investigation now?"
  "I want to know where the suspect is being held.  I
also want to know what happened to the Brotherhood of
Masters, Zon and all the Zon clones you captured."
  The Super Soldier considered for a moment.  "I'll
have to discuss this with my superiors."
  "You do that." 

9:59 am

  "When did you last see your daughter?" Detective
Mary Bailey asked.
  "Last night when we went to bed," Diane Cryer
replied.
  "Was she upset?  Is there any reason to think she
might have left without telling you?"
  "She's only seven years old."
  "It's not unheard of for--"
  "Mary, I'm sorry to interupt," Frank Lopez said,
"but you need to see this."
  Mary and Diane followed Frank over to the side of
Joanne's bed.  "Is this what I think it is?"
  "It looks like blood," Mary said.
  "Oh my God!" Diane said.
  "Don't panic, Mrs. Cryer," Mary said.  "We'll need a
sample of your daughter's DNA to compare it to."
  "You think it's her blood?"
  "We can't be sure.  That's why we have to run a
comparison.  Does your daughter have a hair brush?"
  "Yes," Diane said.  "Over here."  She handed the
hairbrush to Mary.  It had several hairs on it.
  "Can I keep this?" Mary asked.
  "Sure," Diane said.
  Mary placed the hairbrush in a plastic bag.  "Frank,
collect a sample of that blood."
  "Okay."
  "Please find my daughter!" Diane told Mary.
  "We'll do our best," Mary said.  "We have to hurry
back to the crime lab right now.  We'll be in touch."

1:01 pm

  "Okay," the Super Soldier said.  "It's all agreed. 
You're going to come with us on a tour of our
Anti-Dimension facility."
  "Anti-Dimension Facility?" Michael asked.
  The Super Soldier nodded.  "The prison where we keep
superpowered criminals is in another dimension.  So,
you see, there is nothing for you to worry about
because there is no way anybody can ever escape from
it.[*]"
  "Then how do we get there?"
  "There's a portal.  Follow me, please."
  Michael was led to a laboratory ran by senior
Extreme Force Headquarters scientist Richard Reed.
  "Detective Michael King!" he said, extending out his
hand in offer to shake Michael's.  "I've heard so much
about you!"
  "All of it good, I hope," Michael said.
  "Oh, of course!"  Richard directed them to the
portal to the Anti-Dimension: a high tech piece of
equipment that looked pretty much like an empty
gateway with a lot of wires coming out of it.  "Here
it is!  The portal to the Anti-Dimension!"
  "This will take you to another dimension?" Michael
asked.
  Richard smiled.  "I know it doesn't look like much
because it isn't switched on."
  "Switch it on then," Michael said.
  "Of course.  It'll just take a few minutes for
everything to power up."
  "Fair enough," Michael said.  "So how is this
possible?  I mean, I try to keep up with the latest
advancements of science but I would have thought
interdimensional travel was beyond our capabilities."
  "Oh I stumbled across the possibility while I was
researching the possibility of generating stable
microscopic wormholes," Richard explained.  "I was
under government funding, you see, so when I presented
my preliminary results they had me move my lab here. 
That was several years ago.  Construction was
completed early last year."
  "Construction on what exactly?" Michael asked.
  "You don't know?" Richard asked.  He looked at the
Super Soldier quizically.
  "He's here so we can show him."
  "Oh.  Alright then," Richard said.  "The portal
should be ready soon."
  The portal switched on and what had been an
unimpressive gateway was now shimmering with blue
light.
  "Shall we go?" the Super Soldier asked.
  "If you are sure it is safe," Michael said.
  The Super Soldier smiled.  "Don't worry.  The
prisoners are all held securely."
  "I was thinking about radiation."
  "Ah."
  "Oh, don't worry!" Richard said.  "Radiation levels
are minimal!  No more than you would get on a sunny
summer day."
  Michael sighed.  "I was afraid of that," he said. 
"I didn't bring any sunblock."
  "We'll make this quick then," the Super Soldier
said.
  They passed through the portal and into another
laboratory which mirrored the one in our dimension. 
Beyond that was the prison itself: Michael was
surprised by how ordinary the prison was.
  "It doesn't look to be any more secure than a prison
back on Earth," Michael said.
  The Super Soldier laughed.  "Those prison bars are
made from titanium steel!  Extreme himself couldn't
bend them!  And even if the prisoners were to escape
there would be no way they'd know how to operate the
portal to get them back to Earth.  They are trapped
here!  There's no way anybody can escape from
here![*]"
  "Show me where the suspect in the Sax and the City
incident killing took place."
  "He's right over here," the Super Soldier said.
  As Michael passed through the prison, he was able to
spot not only Zon, his clones and the various members
of the Brotherhood of Masters but also some prisoners
he didn't recognize.
  "I want to know what all these people are being
charged with," Michael said.  "Holding prisoners
without charges and without a fair trial is a
violation of the constitution."
  The Super Soldier sighed.  "This is another
dimension.  The American constitution doesn't apply
here."
  "These people are Americans," Michael pointed out.
  "These people are dangerous.  They are a threat to
our very way of life."
  "Prove it."
  The Super Soldier nodded.  "Okay.  I'll present full
disclosure in writing as to the prisoners being held
here, but in return I want you to acknowledge that
this facility is outside your jurisdiction.  I only
brought you here for your own peace of mind."
  "This facility may not technically be part of our
jursidiction but your Headquarters still is and we
have a right to know what sort of prisoners you've
brought through here."
  The Super Soldier nodded reluctantly.  "We're here."
  The suspect in question pulled on the bars of his
cell but they didn't move.  "I'll get out of here one
day!  You'll see!  You can't hold a god!"
  The Super Soldier smiled.  "The man is obviously
delusional.  Extreme beat him easily.  He's no god."
  Michael sighed.  "And yet Extreme himself clearly
fills the definition of what we commonly think a god
would be like.  And this guy did give Extreme a run
for his money."
  "I could crush Extreme!" the would-be-god said.
  "But you didn't, did you?"  The Super Soldier
laughed.  He turned back to Michael.  "Are we done
here?"
  Michael nodded.  "Sure.  I've seen what I wanted to
see.  I'll let others worry about the legality of what
you've set up here."

2:34 pm

  "Edward, did you run the DNA on the blood and hair
from the Joanne Cryer case?" Mary asked Edward.
  "Yeah."
  "And?"
  "It's not Joanne's blood.  In fact it isn't even
human blood."
  "What is it then?"
  "It's rabbit's blood."
  "Rabbit's blood?  Oh God."
  Edward frowned in confusion.  "Isn't that good news?
 It means that Joanne's probably alive somewhere."
  Mary sighed.  "Edward, think.  What kind of guy
would bring a dead, bleeding rabbit with him when he
kidnaps a young girl."
  "Oh God!"
  "Exactly."  

                         PART II

9:14 am

  "Okay," Detective Michael King said.  "I need to be
brought up to speed on the Joanne Cryer case."
  "Frank found blood at the scene," Detective Mary
Bailey explained, "but it wasn't human blood: it was
rabbit blood."
  "Rabbit blood?"
  "That's what Edward said."
  Michael grimaced.  "So you're thinking that it's
some daemon cult that was behind the kidnapping?"
  "It certainly looks that way."
  Michael nodded.  "Alright then.  We need to go speak
to an expert."

9:31 am

  "So who is this Professor Stephen Stomper?" Mary
asked.
  "A few months ago there was a case involving two
dead teenagers, John Marx and Mitch Rogers.  They died
only minutes apart and they knew each other because
they had both been on a bus that had had a bomb on it:
the bus was on its way to Florida but then their
classmate, Julia Perez, got this vision of the bus
exploding and she, John, Mitch and Max Grimes all got
off the bus before it exploded.  Anyway, Professor
Stomper was able to determine that some daemon was out
to kill all four of them based on the notion that they
were meant to di on that bus."
  Mary frowned.  "I don't remember that case."
  "Of course not," Michael said.  "You had the day off
because you and Edward were going to get married. 
Then you two went on your homeymoon.  I told Edward
but I guess he didn't tell you."
  "Not a peep," Mary said, "but then I didn't want to
talk shop.  So Professor Stomper is a Professor at
Pepperton University?"
  Michael nodded.  "Yeah.  In the Department of
Paranormal Phenomena.  It's in that building over
there."
  "Alright then.  Let's go talk to him."

10:15 am

  "Detective Michael King!  So good to see you again!"
  "Professor Stomper, this is Detective Mary Bailey. 
She's a collegue of mine in the Pepperton Police
Department."
  "What can I do for you both?"
  "We have a case involving a kidnapped girl," Michael
explained.  "And the only clue we have is a drop of
rabbit's blood found at the scene."
  "Rabbit's blood?  Oh my!"
  "Indeed.  Can you help us?"
  Professor Stomper nodded.  "You're in luck.  Today I
have a light schedule.  I am free for the rest of the
day.  I'm supposed to be here for office hours but I
think this qualifies as an emergency."

10:53 am

  "I don't mean to be rude," Diane Cryer said, "but
who are these people?"
  Mary smiled.  "It's alright, Mrs. Cryer.  This is my
collegue Detective Michael King and this is Professor
Stephen Stomper from Pepperton University."
  "A university professor?" she asked.
  Professor Stomper nodded.  "Yes," he said, "a
professor of Paranormal Phenomena, to be exact."
  "I'm sorry professor, but I don't understand. 
Parawhat?"
  "Paranormal Phenomena," he reiterated.  "The basic
idea is that there are things that we would consider
supernatural which probably actually have scientific
explanations but as long as these explanations elude
us they are considered paranormal phenomena.  I have
become an expert in such phenomena, to the extent that
anybody can be said to understand them."
  "But how are you going to help us find our
daughter?" she asked.
  Stomper stood there with his mouth open.  "If you'd
rather I left..."
  "No, no," she said.  "I didn't mean to be rude.  I
just wanted to understand what was going on."
  "It might be a longshot," Michael explained to her,
"but we need to cover all possibilities if we are
going to find your daughter."
  Diane nodded.  "Yes.  Yes, of course.  Go ahead."

11:02 am

  Stomper stood there for a few minutes in Joanne's
room, just taking everything in.
  "Any ideas how the kidnappers got in and out?"
Michael asked him.
  "Yes.  They teleported in."
  "Teleported?"
  "These people don't just worship a daemon: they draw
power from it."
  "Perhaps we should contact the Extreme Force Six
then," Michael suggested.
  "That would be prudent," Stomper agreed, "but I fear
time is of the essense in this case."
  "Can you figure out where they took her?"
  "I can do better than that.  I can follow them:
there is a trace remaining of the spell they used to
teleport in and out.  I can follow them to where they
took her."
  "I want to go with you."
  "If you want, but your partner needs to stay here. 
The fewer people are placed in danger the better."
  Mary nodded.  "That's fine," Mary said.  "Just keep
your cell phone on."
  "Hopefully I will still be able to get a signal
where ever we're going," Michael said.
  Professor Stomper closed his eyes and concentrated. 
His ordinary clothing transformed into the red and 
yellow robes of a master of the mystic arts!  He then
raised his arms and waved them around until he and
Michael had disappeared.

                        PART III

11:19 am (the same day)

  "This is it," Professor Stephen Stomper said.  "This
is where they took here."
  "And there she is!" Detective Michael King said. 
"On that altar!  Surrounded by dancing daemon
worshippers!"
  "We're too late!" Stomper said.  "That one's got a
knife!  They're going to kill her!"
  "Do something!"
  Stomper concentrated and managed to throw a bolt of
bedevilment that threw off the aim of the kidnapper
ever so slightly and caused him to only graze little
Joanne Cryer.  Nevertheless a drop of blood managed to
drip down onto the altar.  Behind the altar, a portal
openned.
  "What's happening?" Michael asked.
  "They must have recited a spell to open a portal to
another world.  The daemon they worship is trying to
come through it."
  "What now?"
  "If the daemon gets through then I will have to
fight it.  In the meantime, we need to get Joanne off
the altar."
  "Right."  Michael took out his gun and his badge and
held them close together in two separate hands. 
"Pepperton police!  Move away from the girl or I'll
shoot!"
  The cultists backed off at the sight of Michael's
gun.  Meanwhile, the daemon started coming through the
portal.
  "It's too late, copper!" one of the cultists said. 
"Our lord has come to claim this world as his own!"
  "Stephen?"
  "I say... NAY!" Stomper said as he struck 
the daemon with a bolt of energy.  The daemon struck 
back but Stomper had put up shields to deflect the
creature's attack.  Stomper similarly found it
difficult to land a second strike on the daemonic form
he faced.  But get through he did!  And every blow
that struck the daemon weakened it and forced it back
to the other side of the portal.
  "I've got the girl," Michael said as he took Joanne
off the altar.
  "Wipe the blood off the altar," Stomper said.  "Then
I'll be able to close the portal."
  Michael wiped the altar with his sleeve and then
carried Joanne back up the stairs.  Meanwhile the
portal began to close with the daemon still on the
other side.
  "NO!" the cultists all screamed.
  "Don't go anywhere!" Michael said.  "You're all
under arrest."  He took out his cell phone and used
speed dial to call Detective John Phelps.  "John. 
It's Michael.  Send everybody down to my location. 
I'm going to leave my cell phone on so you can follow
the signal to where I am."

3:01 pm

  After the police arrived at the cult's hangout, the
cultists were all arrested and Joanne was taken to
Pepperton hospital.
  "The doctor says she'll be okay," Mary told her
parents.
  "Thank you so much!" Diane Cryer said.
  Mary smiled.  "Don't thank me.  Thank Detective King
and Professor Stomper.  They saved her."
  Diane sighed.  "Yes.  Thank you both so much!"
  "Just doing my job," Michael said.
  "Me too," Stomper said.  "I mean, that is, I was
happy to help."
  Diane frowned.  "Why my daughter?"
  "We may never know," Michael admitted.  "The
cultists aren't talking.  We're not even sure which
one of them took her."
  "But we've got one of them for attempted murder."
  "Absolutely.  I was a witness," Michael said.
  "Oh dear," Stomper said.  "Will I have to testify
too?"
  Michael nodded.  "I understand how it might be
difficult.  That's why we'll focus on the attempted
murder charge: we can't prove that the cultists
actually took Joanne from her bedroom; mystic
teleportation is not recognized as a credible means of
transport.  Suffice to say we followed their trial and
found them trying to sacrafice her."
  "Those bastards!" Bob Cryer said.
  "Luckily we got there in time to stop them."
  "What about my daughter's testimony?" Diane Cryer
suggested.  "Perhaps she can identify the ones who
took her."
  Michael nodded.  "As soon as she's well enough we'll
show her some pictures of the cultists we arrested. 
You're right.  She might be able to tell us which ones
took her."
  Diane sighed.  "I just wish this could be over."
  Michael nodded.  "It will be.  We'll find a way to
make sure they all serve time in prison for what
they've done.  I promise you that.
  
                        THE END

Martin
[*] I'm guility of sledgehammer foreshadowing here.


 
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