Superfreaks/ACRA: Superfreaks Season 3 #11

[Martin Phipps]

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 #11 

                      "LATE NIGHT"

                         PART I 

3:00 pm

  "From Pepperton... the only city that gets tourists
from all over the world _and_ beyond... it's Late
Night with Larry Davison!"
  Larry Davison walked out on stage and greeted his
fans with a smile.
  "Well hello there!" he said.  "Welcome to Late
Night.  We've got one hell of a show for you tonight. 
Isn't that right, Saul?"
  Saul Phizer, the band leader, leaned forward and
spoke into his mike.  "That's right, Larry.  It's a
hell of a show."
  Larry laughed.  "That's right, Saul, just parrot
back what I said.  No, but seriously, we've got a
great show: Eva Lopez is here."  The audience
applauded.  "She's got a new movie called Your Pal Hal
and she'd going to try to convince us to go see it,
although I'd watch any movie that she's in.  Right,
Saul?"
  "Right, Larry."
  "Yeah, sure, Saul.  You're probably going to go see
it because of Brad Thomas Boyd."
  Saul grimaced slightly.
  "And our musical guest tonight is Crushing Walnuts! 
Take it away Saul!"
  Saul's band did a quick musical number as Larry went
to sit down at his desk.
  "Wow, Saul, that really sucked."
  "Excuse me?"
  "Couldn't the band play something more hip hop for a
change?"
  "Hip hop?  With trumpets?"
  "Just a suggestion.  Anyway, let's start the show
with today's top ten list!"  Larry paused so that the
top ten list graphics can be added in later for the
show's broadcast.  "Today's list comes from the home
office in Cocacola, Kansas: the top ten reasons why
people would want to marry their own clone.  I don't
know if any of you have seen the news but they have
now made it legal for somebody to marry their clone."
  "Their own clone?" Saul asked.
  Larry shook his head.  "No, because that would be a
same sex marriage and that is still outlawed in some
states.  Sorry, Saul.  No, I mean if you own a clone
you can now legally marry it and those at the home
office in Cocacola, Kansas sent us a list of reasons
why people would want to do that.
  "Number ten!  When she gets too old and you want to
replace her with a younger model you can actually
replace her with a younger model."  The audienced
laughed.
  "Number nine!  Angelina Jolie's clone is just as
pretty but doesn't want to adopt any children."  The
audience laughed.  "Of you, Saul, would probably be
more interested in a Brad Pitt clone."
  Saul finally snapped.  "Screw you, Larry."
  "Excuse me?"
  "You heard me."
  There was an awkward silence for half a second with
Larry looking at Saul in amazement before he
continued.
  "Alright then.  Number Eight.  Clones can be
preprogrammed not to want to wear clothes indoors."
  Suddenly there was a scream from one of the women in
the audience: Saul Phizer had collapsed.  He wasn't
moving.  One of his band members rushed to take a look
to see what was wrong.
  "Is he alright?" Larry asked.
  The band member shook his head.  "I think he's
dead."

3:44 pm

  Detectives John Phelps and Michael King arrived on
the scene.
  "Victim was in his late forties," John said. 
"Appears to be natural causes.  No sign of foul play."
  "We'll know more when Jack does an autopsy," Michael
said.  He looked at the cameras.  "Were they taping?"
  John nodded.  "Appears they were in the middle of a
show when it happened."
  Michael nodded too.  "Alright.  I'm going to want to
see that footage."

4:31 pm
  
  "Mr. Davison?"
  "Yes?"
  "I'm Detective John Phelps from the Pepperton Police
Department."  He showed him his badge.  "I'm afraid
I'm going to have to ask you a few more questions."
  "Alright."
  "You're sure that there was nobody who would want to
kill Saul Phizer?"
  "That's right."
  "We watched the footage from the show that was going
to shown tonight and just before he died Saul said
'Screw you, Larry'."
  Larry laughed.  "Yes, that's just how Saul used to
talk.  It was our playful banter."
  "It looked very serious to me."
  "What are you suggesting?  That I killed Saul
Phizer?  I was on camera the whole time.  How could I
have done it?"
  "We're not sure yet."
  Larry sighed.  "What?  Are you suggesting I have
super powers?  I've been a talk show host for twenty
years!  When have I ever displayed super powers?"
  "But this is Pepperton.  If you don't have super
powers then you could acquire them."
  "Really?  How?"
  Juhn shrugged his shoulders.  "Have you been exposed
to high levels of gamma radiation lately?"
  "No."
  "Taken any designer drugs?"
  "No."
  "Been in contact with a magical artifact?"
  "No."
  "Abducted and experimented upon by aliens?"
  "No.  Are we finished?"
  "For now.  We'll be in touch."

11:32 pm

  "But Amazing Woman, you don't understand!  My palace
of comtemplation is my own place to get away to
contemplate things!  You're not getting it in the
divorce settlement!"
  "Ha!  You think I want that frozen block of ice!"
  "So why did you send your lawyers there?"
  "They're looking for evidence."
  "Evidence of what?"
  "Evidence that you've been having sex with other
women!"
  "But I can't have sex with women other than you! 
Don't you remember what happened when I last did
that?"
  "That's right.  That's why I asked them to be on the
look out for dead women."
  "You can't be serious!"
  "Oh can't I?  It's over, Extreme!  I've just got one
thing left to say!"
  "What's that?"
  "LIVE FROM PEPPERTON IT'S FRIDAY NIGHT!"
  "It's Friday Night Live with Arnold Fredricks, Frank
Williams, Harold Bane, Hank O'Conner, Mike Sayer, Pam
Ayers, Ruby May, Sam Andrews, Kevin James, Thomas
Kendall, Wilma Cristian, musical guest Carter Museum
and your host, Brad Thomas Boyd!"
  The curtains opened and Brad Thomas Boyd stepped
out.
  "Hello everybody!" he said.  "Welcome to Friday
Night Live.  It's great to be hosting tonight.  It's
great timing for me to be here tonight what with my
movie, Your Pal Hal, coming out this weekend.  In it I
play an unlucky guy who ends up with Eva Lopez. 
That's right, everybody: I got paid to kiss Eva Lopez!
 Is that cool or what?
  "And as if that wasn't enough, I'm lucky enough to
be hosting on a night when Larry Davison is showing a
rerun.  That's right, Paul Phizer died today while
they were taping the Late Show with Larry Davison so
they cancelled the taping of the show and they are
showing a rerun instead.  Anyway, I hear police are
questioning Larry Davison as we speak.  What do you
think?  Did he do it?  Did he off his long time
partner right in front of the studio audience?  Is
Larry Davison going to jail?  Well, hey, the way my
luck is going, I might end up as the next host of--
of--"
  Brad Thomas Boyd collapsed on stage.  MBC went to a
commercial. 

                        PART II

10:01 am

  Detective Michael King went to the morgue to speak
to Pepperton Chief Medical Examiner Jack Greenspan.
  "Any evidence of foul play?" he asked.  "Any reason
to think the two deaths might be related?"
  Jack shook his head.  "I can't even pin down cause
of death.  It's like one minute they were alive and
the next they were dead."
  "Like magic?"
  "I don't think magic was involved."
  "I wouldn't be so sure."

1:25 pm

  Detective Michael King returned to the scene of Brad
Thomas Boyd's death.  He had brought an expert with
him.
  "Well?"
  Professor Stomper of Pepperton University nodded in
affirmation.  "I sense the same residual energies here
as at the other scene."
  "So they were both killed by magic.  Were they have
been killed by the same person?"
  "Probably.  I'd be more certain if you had a suspect
and I could detect what energies he gave off.  Keep in
mind, however, that this sort of psychic sensitivity
isn't admissible in court as evidence."
  "I trust you enough personally to lead us to the
right person," Michael said.  "Would it have been
possible for somebody to have done this from home?  It
was a live broadcast, after all."
  "No, it would have had to have been somebody here. 
Somebody in the audience, perhaps."
  "Okay, thanks."

2:45 pm

  "Brian O'Conner," Detective John Phelps said.  "He
was the only person in the audience for both of the
shows."
  "Thanks.  Do you mind if I question him?" Michael
asked.
  "Go ahead."
  Michael turned to speak to Professor Stomper.  "You
stand outside and observe through the mirror.  You can
see him but he can't see you."
  "Got it."
  "When I'm done, I want to hear your opinion."
  Michael went into the interrogation room.
  "Mr. O'Conner."
  "Yeah?"
  "I'm Dectective Michael King."
  "Okay.  Maybe you can tell me why I am here."
  "You were at the taping of Late Night with Larry
Davison yesterday afternoon when Saul Phizer died and
last night you were there when Brad Thomas Boyd died
on Friday Night Live."
  "Yeah?  So?"
  "You're a big fan of Larry Davison, are you?"
  "Yeah."
  "So you don't like it when people talk back to him
or make fun of him, do you?"
  "Not particularly, no."
  "Is that why you killed Saul Phizer and Brad Thomas
Boyd?"
  "What?  I was in the audience."
  "For both shows.  We know."
  Brian sighed.  "Look, think of it from my point of
view: I go to two shows in one day and _both_ of them
get cancelled because somebody died on stage.  And now
you're saying _I_ did it?  Give me a break!"
  Michael considered the suspect's argument.  It made
sense.
  "Don't go anywhere."
  "Is that some kind of joke?"
  Michael got up and left.  He spoke to Professor
Stomper outside.
  "Well?"
  "He's definitely your guy," Professor Stomper said. 
"I can tell from looking at his aura."
  "He says he didn't do it."
  "No, he said he had no rational motive.  And I
believe him."
  "Okay.  Explain to me what you mean."
  "I think he's a natural magi.  Untrained.  He's not
even aware of his power."
  "Really?"
  "Which means he's very dangerous: he can kill people
with a single thought and not even realize that it was
him doing it."
  "So what can we do?"
  Professor Stomper reached into his bag and pulled
out a Ken doll.
  "A doll?"
  "An action figure.  I bring such items along with me
whenever I have to do this.  The doll doesn't have to
be an exact match.  A couple of years ago I used two
barbie dolls on a pair of high school girls who had
used magic to kill their classmate."
  John nodded.  "I think I remember that case!"
  "So you're going to steal his power?"
  "Not steal.  Suppress.  You're welcome to stand here
while I do this.  It's a simple spell."  Professor
Stomper took a shoe lace out from his bag and started
tying it around the doll.  "I bind thee, Brian
O'Conner, from doing any harm, harm to yourself or
anybody else.  I bind thee, Brian O'Conner, from doing
any harm, harm to yourself or anybody else.  I bind
thee, Brian O'Conner, from doing any harm, harm to
yourself or anybody else."  Professor Stomper smiled. 
"That's it.  You can release him now."
  "Good," John said.  "I don't think we would have
been able to hold him for much longer."

6:34 pm

  Trevor O'Toole arrived home to find somebody in his
study.
  "Who are you?"
  "I'm Philip Martin."
  "Hey!  You're the guy I've been arguing with on the
internet!"
  "Calm down."
  "I'm calling the police!"
  "There's no need for that.  Put the phone down.  I
just want to settle this."
  "What do you think you're doing barging into my
home?!"
  "Calm down.  Here.  Take my hand."
  "What for?"
  "Just do it.  I want to end this."
  Trevor O'Toole shook Philip Martin's hand.  Then a
bolt of electricity ran through Trevor's body.
  "It ends... with your death."
  Trevor dropped to the floor.  Philip walked over to
Trevor's computer and grabbed the modem.  In a flash
of light, he disappeared.

                        PART III

8:01 am

  "Cause of death appears to be electrocution," Jason
said.  "You can examine the body now.  I'll take it to
the morgue when you're done."
  "Thanks, Jason," Detective Michael King said.
  "I just got a call," Detective John Phelps said. 
"There's another body.  It's in midtown park."
  "I'll go," Detective Mary Bailey said.
  "Me too," Detective Lana King said.  She looked at
her husband.  "If that's alright with you?"
  "No, you go ahead," Michael said.  "Frank and I can
process this scene by ourselves."

10:31 am

  "Has the body from the park come in yet?" Mary asked
Pepperton Chief Medical Examiner Jack Greenspan.
  "I'm examining it right now."
  Mary sighed.  "I can't figure out this chest wound. 
Any idea what weapon would cause this?"
  "My guess is that it was something biological."
  "Biological?"
  Jack nodded.  "Something burst out of the victim's
chest cavity."
  "Gross."
  "I sent a sample for your husband to look at."
  "Okay."
  Just then, Michael King walked in.
  "Jack, that electrocution victim, did you have a
chance to look at him yet?"
  Jack nodded.  "I did.  Come here."
  Michael followed Jack to where the body was.
  "The electrocution seems to have originated with the
right hand.  Look what we can see if we look at it
with a UV light."
  "What am I looking at, Doctor?"
  "It seems the victim was shaking hands with somebody
when he died."
  "Really?"
  "Yes.  Here, I'll show you."  Jack shook hands with
the corpse.  "As you can see, these marks correspond
to where you would grip somebody's hand when you are
shaking it."
  "Amazing.  So now we need to find a suspect who can
kill people with a shake of their hands."
  "I think I might be able to help you with that.  I
seem to recall that there have been similar such cases
all over the country.  You might want to investigate
whether or not the cases are related."
  "How many cases are we talking about?"

2:02 pm

  "I found nine cases in all," Edward Bailey told him
later that afternoon in the crime lab. "And that's not
all: I found a connection between them."
  "Really?"
  "Yep.  Every one of them participated on online
forums and was considered a bit of a troll by other
users."
  "A troll?"
  "A person who deliberately tries to start arguments
on discussion groups."
  "Would somebody get angry enough with somebody to
want to kill somebody they were arguing with online."
  "Definitely.  I've felt angry enough myself at
times.  And all I would have to do is track the person
down based on their IP address."
  "Sorry.  What?"
  "Their internet provider address.  Everone is
provided with an IP address by their internet service
provider when they go online."
  "I see.  Did you happen to notice if anybody had
argued with all nine of our victims?"
  "Sure did.  And I got his IP address and then his
name and address.  He's right here in Pepperton."
  "Good work."

4:35 pm

  Detective John Phelps had brought Philip Martin into
the interogation room so he could talk with him.
  "Nine victims," he said as he spread their photos
over the table.  "From all over the country."
  "So?"
  "So the one thing they have in common is that they
all had arguments with you over the internet."
  "Again.  So?"
  "We've found trce DNA at all of the scenes and they
all match.  How much do you want to bet they all match
with yours?"
  Philip sighed.  "Look, am I under arrest?"
  "Depends.  Do you want to confess?"
  "I think I want a lawyer."
  "We can appoint one for you."
  "Thanks, but no thanks."
  "Do you need a phone?"
  "Actually, I was wondering if you could let me go
online and search for a lawyer."
  "Fine.  Make it quick."

4:40 pm

  "Mary?"
  "Yes, Edward?"
  "I've got a problem."
  "What is it?"
  "The samples I got from your victim this morning. 
They're biological but they're like nothing I've ever
seen."
  "What do you mean?"
  "Mary... I think the sample are... alien."

4:50 pm

  "Okay, here's a computer.  It's all set up.  Go find
yourself a lawyer."
  Philip reached over and touched the modem.
  "Hey!  What are you doing?!"
  Philip smiled.  "Suckers."  In a flash of light he
disappeared.

     TO BE CONTINUED... QUITE POSSIBLY IN MARCH!

Martin



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