Superfreaks/ACRA: Superfreaks Season 3 #10
Martin Phipps
martinphipps2 at yahoo.com
Sun Nov 25 06:31:36 PST 2007
Michael King, Lana Lewis and Mary Bailey: 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 men and women are truly our
last line of defense. But what about the capes whose
cases they have to investigate? Should they be
considered a help or a hindrance?
SUPERFREAKS SEASON 3 #10
"CLUE"
PART I
5:15 pm (one week ago)
BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM
"Die, you freakin' robot, die!" Gun Guy swore.
"We'll handle this," Weapon Alpha told him just
before lunging forward and slicing at the robot's leg.
"You civilians need to go somewhere where you'll be
safe!"
"What?!" Mr. Angry asked. "Civilians? Who are you
calling civilians?"
"With all due respect," Human Spider A said, "we're
professionals. You're not."
"Is that so, Spider Boy?" Mr. Angry asked. "Anyway,
I forget. Which one of you is the clone?"
"Um, guys," Raymond Heck said, interrupting, "some
robot just grabbed Chess Pawn! He's flying away with
him!"
BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM
"Rob! Stop shooting!" Psychic Girl ordered.
"You'll hit Carlos!"
"And what if I do?" Gun Guy asked. "He'll get
better. He always does."
"It's too late!" Raymond said as the flying robot
disappeared into the distance. "They're gone!"
"What do the aliens want with our little buddy?" Mr.
Angry asked.
"They want to experiment on him," Psychic Girl
guessed. "Probe him."
"Ew," Gun Guy said.
9:15 am (today)
"That's how it happened," Psychic Girl told
Pepperton Police Detective Michael King.
"I don't understand," Michael said. "If your friend
was abducted by aliens what do you want us to do?"
"I _thought_ he was abducted by aliens," Raymond
Heck told him.
"You don't think it was aliens?"
"Not anymore."
"What was your clue that it wasn't an alien?"
Raymond showed him his cellphone. "I took a picture
of the robot with my cell phone before it flew away.
As you can see, the robot was just a little bit taller
than Carlos himself. The other robots were fifty feet
tall!"
"Hmm." Michael looked at the picture. "Do you mind
if I borrow this?"
"Go ahead."
"Because if this robot didn't come from space then
we need to find out where it came from."
"And where it took Carlos!" Psychic Girl said.
"Exactly."
9:20
"Hey, guys, what are you doing?" Edward asked.
Pepperton Chief Medical Examiner and his assistant,
Jason Smythe were sitting at a table on opposite sides
of a board game.
"It's Clue," Jack said.
"Clue?" Edward asked.
"The board game," Jason said.
"Can we play too?" Junior CSI Frank Lopez asked.
"Sure," Jack said. "Grab a chair. Frank, Edward,
this is my assistant, Jason Smythe. Jason, these two
work at the Precinct."
"We've met," Frank said.
"So you're the guy who Jack gets to transport bodies
from the crime scene to the morgue," Edward said.
Frank nodded. "I also clean up before and after Dr.
Greenspan performs the autopsy."
"It's a very important job," Jack said. "The body
is the most important piece of evidence: it can't be
mishandled."
"Speaking of evidence," Edward said, "could you
remind me how to play this game?"
Jack nodded. "We're trying to figure out who killed
Mr. Boddy. And also where and with what weapon. The
suspects are Colonel Mustard, Miss Scarlet, Professor
Plum, Mr. Green, Mrs. White and Mrs. Peacock. The
possible weapons are a rope, a lead pipe, a knife, a
wrench, a candlestick and a gun. The rooms are the
hall, the lounge, the dining room, the kitchen, the
ballroom, the conservatory, the billiard room, the
library, and the study. The cards with the names of
the killer, the weapon used and the room in which the
murder occured in are kept in the envelope in the
centre of the board."
"Don't you know where the murder took place?" Edward
asked. "I mean, surely it would be where you found
the body."
"Presumably the body was moved," Jason suggested.
"Ah."
"Anyway," Jack continued, "there are six suspects,
six weapons and nine rooms so that's twenty-one cards
altogether, minus three in the centre. As there are
now four of us, two of us will get four cards and two
of us will get five. Is that okay?"
"Sure," Edward said.
"Based on what cards you have in your hands, you
know something about the cards that are in the case
file."
"You mean that they aren't the ones I have."
"Exactly."
"Then what?"
"Then you spin the dice and move your token one
space at a time until you get to the room where you
believe the murder took place. You then say who you
think killed Mr. Boddy and with what. We will tell
you if you are right or wrong, starting with the
player on your left, in your case Frank. Frank would
then have to tell you specifically that it wasn't Mr.
Green or it wasn't with the gun or it wasn't in the
conservatory and he'd have the card to prove it. The
winner is the person who correctly guesses which three
cards are in the centre. Got it?"
"Sure," Edward said.
"So is this what you guys do when there's no body
here to examine?" Frank asked.
"Ironic, isn't it?" Jason answered. "I guess we
just really like our jobs."
9:30 am
"The killer is Colonel Mustard in the conservatory
with a candlestick," Frank decided.
"Anyone care to disagree?" Jack asked.
Jason and Edward shrugged their shoulders.
"Alright then, let me check." Jack opened up the
case file and found Colonel Mustard, the conservatory
and the candlestick, exactly as Frank had predicted.
"You're right," Jack said. "How did you figure it out
so quickly?"
"Easy," Frank said. "There was blood spatter on the
walls of the conservatory, blood on the candlestick
and the fingerprints on the candlestick matched
Colonel Mustard."
"Ha ha ha," Jack laughed.
"What _is_ a conservatory anyway?" Edward asked.
"Is it a place where people keep jams?"
"It's a room for old republicans," Jason joked.
"I see."
Just then Michael walked into the morgue.
"Edward! There you are! I've been looking for you
for fifteen minutes already!"
"My cell phone is on!" Edward told him. "You could
have just called me."
"You should have been waiting in the lab."
"Sorry."
"Okay, never mind," Michael said. "I have something
I want you to look at."
PART II
6:20 pm (one week ago)
The robot carrying Carlos Faulkner flew down into a
warehouse at Stern Industries. It placed Carlos down
on a chair. Carlos flopped over so the robot
straightened him up. The robot then stood back and
removed its face mask.
Under the mask was the face of Terry Stern, chief
executive officer of Stern Industries!
Terry noticed there was blood on his armour. He
then noticed that Carlos was bleeding. Carlos was, in
fact, dead. For the time being anyway.
"Damn you, Gun Guy!" he said. "You shot and killed
your own teammate!"
1:10 pm (today)
"Any luck with that picture I showed you?" Detective
Michael King asked Edward.
"Yeah," he said. "It definitely wasn't alien."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. The alien robots all looked like samurai
warriors. This guy looked like a baseball umpire."
"Did you check with any experts?"
"Yeah. I e-mailed the picture to somebody in Japan
whose been studying these alien attacks for a year
now. The alien robots always look like samurai
warriors. This robot, whereever it is from, is not
from the same planet."
"Okay," Michael said, "so let's assume then it was
from Earth. Where on Earth?"
Edward shrugged his shoulders. "Doesn't look like
anything Goodhead Corporation could come up with.
Maybe Stern Industries."
"Stern Industries?"
"Yeah."
"As in Terry Stern's company."
"Yeah."
"As in recently released from prison for shooting
Carlos Faulker a year and a half ago Terry Stern's
company."
"I see where you're going with this."
"Thanks, Edward," Michael said. "Thanks a lot."
7:45 pm (one week ago)
Carlos Faulkner woke up and found himself tied to a
chair. He recognised the man standing in fron to him.
"Terry Stern!" he said. "What is this all about?"
Terry smiled. "You remember how a year and a half
ago I went to jail for your murder. Except you
weren't dead?"
"So what is this?" Carlos asked. "Revenge?"
"Not at all," Terry told him. "On the contrary,
I've learned the error of my ways."
"Really? You could have fooled me!"
"I should never have shot you."
"Okay. I won't argue with that."
"Because I now realise that your blood has special
healing properties. If I can isolate the agent in
your blood that heals you then I could cure all
disease."
"True," Carlos admitted, "but you could have just
asked."
"Granted," Terry told him, "but in the meantime I
can just drain blood from you everyday and build up a
supply of it that rich buyers everywhere will pay a
fortune for!"
"You're mad!" Carlos told him. "You can't drain my
blood against my will!"
"I can and I will!" Terry laughed. "All these years
I was sitting on a gold mine! The fountain of youth
was within my grasp and I never took advantage of it
until today! I could have made billions by now." He
shook his head. "How ironic!"
2:45 pm (today)
"Is Terry Stern in?"
"Name please?"
"Detective Michael King of the Pepperton Police
Department." He flashed his badge.
"I see. And what do you want to talk to him about?"
Michael sighed. "I just need to speak with him."
"Do you have a warrant?"
"I don't need a warrant," Michael insisted. "I just
want to ask him a few questions."
"About what?"
Michael showed her a print out of the picture from
Raymond Heck's cellphone. "About this."
The receptionist shrugged her shoulders. "I don't
know anything about that."
"Are you confirming that this robot was made here?"
"I'm not the one to ask about that."
"That's why I want to talk to Mr. Stern."
The receptionist nodded. "Alright. I can set up a
meeting for you at 3:30. Will that be alright."
"Peachy."
PART III
3:32 pm
"So, Detective, what can I do for you?" Stern
Industries CEO Terry Stern asked Detective Michael
King.
"I'm investigating the disappearance of Carlos
Faulker. He was abducted by a large robot."
"A giant robot, you say?"
"No, not giant, just large. About seven feet tall,
in fact."
"I see."
"I have a picture of the robot here," Michael said,
showing him the print out of the picture from Raymond
Heck's cell phone. "Any chance you've seen it
before?"
"Why would I have?" he asked dismissively.
"Because I believe that the robot was built here,"
Michael told him, "and that you've got Carlos Faulkner
hidden away here at Stern Industries."
Terry pretended to be offended. "So I'm building
alien robots now? Abducting people?"
"No. Just one robot for all I know and one person
abducted."
"This is harassment!" Terry said. "I served my
time!"
"The only reason you are out of prison so soon is
because your victim didn't die!"
Terry smiled. "Ah but Carlos can't die, can he?
Carlos never will die?"
"What do you want with him?" Michael asked.
Terry laughed. "I'm afraid, Detective, if you want
to solve this missing person's case then you'll have
to look elsewhere. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got
work to do."
Michael sighed. "This isn't over."
"Is that a threat?" Terry asked.
"It's a promise." Michael said.
4:02 pm
"Let me see if I understand what you are asking of
us," Water Lord, the leader of the Extreme Force Six
said. "You want us to break into Stern Industries?"
"That's correct?"
"Because you think he's holding Carlos Faulkner?"
"Yes," Michael said, "a member of the Legion of
Extreme Fans. Your official fan club."
"We don't actively endorse them."
"Fine. But he's a human being in danger."
Water Lord shrugged his shoulders. "Hardly. As I
understand it, he can't die."
"No," Michael said, "but he can feel pain. And I
have no idea what they are doing with him."
"You are sure he's there?"
"Positive."
"So why don't you send a SWAT team?"
"Because I can't get a warrant."
"Why not?"
"I know that Terry Stern is lying to me but no judge
will be satisfied with that."
"And so you want me to violate the constitution by
just going in there and busting heads?"
"It's what you people do, isn't it?"
"I'm not sure if it's our jurisdiction."
"I think it is." Michael showed him the picture.
"This is the robot that kidnapped Carlos Faulkner."
"Looks pretty tough."
"So I figure it's a job for you guys."
"Looks like it," Water Lord admitted.
4:45 pm
"You're doing very well," Terry told Carlos.
"You're producing ten pints of blood every day!"
"I feel so weak," Carlos said.
"Don't worry," Terry said. "You're never going to
run out of blood."
Just then, the Extreme Force Six (Extreme, Water
Lord, Amazing Woman, Weapon Alpha and Human Spiders A
and B) arrived.
"Stop what you're doing, Mr. Stern!" Water Lord
said.
Terry ran off to another room. Extreme ignored him
because he was no threat. He let the Human Spiders go
after him.
"Are you okay?" Extreme asked Carlos.
"Just a bit woosy," Carlos said.
Just then, what looked like a giant robot emerged
from the other room! It was Terry dressed in armour!
He casually threw the Human Spiders away.
"You're messing with the wrong people, Bub!" Weapon
Alpha told him as he extended his claws.
"Ah, yes," Terry said under his face mask, "you have
a davidbowium skeleton, don't you? Did you know that
davidbowium is highly magnetic?" Terry used a
magnetic repulsor beam in his armour to knock Weapon
Alpha clear to the other side of the room.
"Hmm," Water Lord said. "He's pretty tough. We're
going to have to use extreme measures on this guy.
Right, Extreme?"
Extreme plowed into Terry Stern but with Terry's
armour on he didn't feel a thing!
"Ha ha ha!" Terry laughed. "With this armour I am
invincible!"
"What's so funny?" Extreme asked. He then focused
his eye beams onto the slits in Terry's face mask.
Terry screamed. He collapsed.
"Deanna," he said to Amazing Woman, "help me get his
helmet off!"
They got his helmet off and found that Terry's eyes
were completely burned out.
"Goddess!" Amazing Woman said. "You've killed him!"
Extreme used his superspeed to go find an IV and a
pint of Chess Pawn's blood. As soon as they had
gotten Terry out of his armour, Extreme inserted the
IV into Terry's arm. They waited.
Suddenly, Terry's eyes regrew. A minute later, he
was coughing.
"I was dead, wasn't I?" Terry asked.
"Yeah," Extreme said.
"Amazing, isn't it?" Terry asked.
5:20 pm
Extreme flew Carlos back to Legion of Extreme Fans
Headquarters.
"Thanks for saving me," Carlos said.
"Your welcome."
"In return, I won't tell anyone what you did."
"Excuse me?"
"You killed that man."
"Yes, but I brought him back."
"With my blood."
"That's right."
"How did you know it would work."
"I overheard what Mr. Stern said about taking your
blood and I realised what he was using it for."
"You still took a big chance."
"Yeah," Extreme admitted. "I did." He nodded.
"Alright. It's probably best you leave that part
out."
"Agreed."
Carlos was still a fan of Extreme. He did rescue
him, after all. But Carlos could see that his hero,
like all heroes, had feet of clay.
THE END
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