Superfreaks/ACRA: Superfreaks Season 3 #14 (Series Finale)

[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 #14

                  "EXTREME RETURNS"

                       PART I

6:15 pm

  "Hi and welcome back to Larry King Live.  Tonight
I'm talking to Extreme Force Six leader Waterlord. 
Waterlord, its been a full two months since Extreme
vanished.  Do you have any idea where he went?"
  "None at all."
  "So you don't know when he'll be coming back?"
  "No."
  "Is there any chance he won't be coming back?"
  Waterlord sighed.  "We've been very lucky in that
there haven't been any large scale emergencies that
have warranted Extreme's intervention.  For all I
know, he could just be taking personal time."
  "But he didn't mention anything about taking
personal time to you, did he?"
  Waterlord shrugged his shoulders.  "If he had then
it wouldn't be personal time."
  "If Extreme had told you he wanted to take time off,
would you have said no?"
  Waterlord smirked.  "I wouldn't have been able to
stop him."
  "But do you think Extreme will return when we really
need him?"
  Waterlord sighed.  "I can't answer that, Larry.  I'm
sorry."

FBI Headquarters,
Washington DC
9:15 am (the next day)

  "Agents Unger and Madison..."
  "Yes, Sir!" FBI Special Agent Oscar Unger said,
addressing his superior, FBI Deputy Director B. F.
Pavlov.  His partner, Special Agent Felix Madison,
simply nodded.
  "I'm assigning you to investigate the Extreme
disappearance."
  Oscar nodded.  "So we're going to Pepperton?"
  "No.  You're going to Northern Canada."
  "Canada?" Felix asked.
  "You'll be working with RCMP Constable William
Cattish.  He'll be taking you by helicopter to
Extreme's Castle of Contemplation which is located
near the Earth's north pole."
  "Extreme is Canadian?" Felix asked.
  "He's actually from planet Neon."
  "I think what Felix is wondering is if Extreme is
classified as an American citizen or a Canadian
citizen."
  "That's classified," Pavlov told them.  "You are not
to inquire about Extreme's civilian status."  He
sighed.  "You're only investigating one angle in this
case.  I want you to let us know if you find anything
that indicates that he might have been in his Castle
of Contemplation at any time over the past two months
or, alternatively, any evidence as to where he might
have gone."
  "Understood."
  "Alright then.  You'll be taking a civilian flight
to Edmonton Alberta where you will meet with Constable
Cattish.  Good luck."

Spriteville, Kansas
8:45 pm

  It had been lonely for Joan Clark, living alone on
the farm, since Mark died.  But she had always had
Kenneth.  Kenneth would call everyday.  Sometimes he
didn't bother calling: he just flew over.
  Kenneth hadn't called in two months.  Nor had she
seen him in two months.  She wondered if he was
alright.
  Suddenly, she felt the ground shake.  She looked out
her window and saw a glow in the distance.  She took
off her apron and went out to get into the truck so
she could drive down to the crash site and see what it
was.
  What it was was an alien spacecraft.  It had
disintegrated on impact but she recognized it as alien
from the debris.  It was Neonian, just like the
spacecraft that had brought Kenneth to Earth all those
years ago.
  "Kenneth?"
  There he was.  He seemed hurt.  How could that be?
  "Oh, Kenneth!"
  "I'm alright, Mom."
  "Let me get you back to the house."

9:11 pm

  "So... did you find what you were looking for?"
  Kenneth sighed.  "They're all dead, Mom.  Everyone
on Neon is dead.  I'm the last one."
  "What about your clone?"
  "He's got my DNA but he's not really Neonian.  He
was made here, on Earth, using a human surrogate."
  "Does it matter?  You're not alone.  You have me. 
You have your wife."
  Kenneth nodded.
  "How are things with you and your wife?"
  "Not too good.  We had an argument.  Then I left.  I
was feeling sorry for myself and I left."
  Joan raised her eyebrows.  "When you storm off you
really storm off."
  "I'm sorry."
  "Don't be.  It was a very human thing to do.  We all
get upset sometimes.  You needed time to yourself. 
I'm sure she'll understand."
  "Will she?  I'm not so sure."

Michael King's apartment,
Pepperton,
10:54 pm

  "Michael..."
  "Yes?"
  Lana, Michael's wife, sat up in bed.  "I just had
another contraction."
  Michael checked the time.  "The last one was only
twenty minutes ago."
  Lana nodded.  "I think this is it.  I think I'm
going to have the baby."

                       PART II

9:15 am

  FBI Special Agents Oscar Unger and Felix Madison had
arrived in Edmonton the evening before and met with
RCMP Constable William Cattish.  They all decided to
not fly up to Extreme's Castle of Contemplation in the
middle of the night and, instead, get a good night's
sleep and make the trip early the following morning. 
By nine fifteen, they were in visible range of
Extreme's northern home.
  "There it is," Oscar said.
  "It just looks like a big hunk of ice," Felix said.
  "That's why you can't see it unless you know what to
look for," Constable Cattish observed.  "Anyway, make
sure you zip up those coats all the way because we're
coming in for a landing and it's damn cold out there. 
Believe me!"
  "I believe you!" Oscar said.
  Cattish landed the helicopter and the three of them
left the helicopter and entered the castle.
  "It's just ice," Felix said.  "Everywhere."
  "I guess Neon was a cold planet," Cattish suggested,
"and this is how they lived."
  "It isn't ice," Oscar said as he ran his hands along
the surface of the walls.  "It's crystal.  He must
have built this place out of material from his home
planet."
  "Hey, guys," Felix said.  "I think I found
something.  It looks like a computer keyboard."
  As Felix approached it, a holographic image appeared
in front of him: there were four coloured boxes with
the word "Windows: Interplanetary Edition" in front of
them.
  "Jesus!" Oscar swore.  "Is there a computer anywhere
in the universe that isn't now running on Windows?"

Extreme Force Headquarters,
Pepperton,
9:25 am

  "Hey, guys," Extreme said.  "I'm back."
  There were only three other Extreme Force members at
Extreme Force Headquarters: Weapon Alpha and both
Human Spiders (one in the original blue and red
costume and the other in a slick new black costume).
  "Where the Hell have you been?" Weapon Alpha asked
bluntly.
  "Neon," Extreme said, matter of factly.
  "I thought you said Neon had been destroyed?" one of
the Human Spiders said.
  Extreme nodded.  "It was.  It still is.  I just
wanted to go see for myself."
  "So you just up and left?" the other Human Spider
asked.
  "Well, yeah," Extreme said.  "Look, I'm sorry about
that.  I was travelling at relativistic speeds.  For
me it seemed like I was gone only a few minutes and I
forgot that so much time would pass here on Earth."
  "Wait," Weapon Alpha said, "isn't Neon like twenty
light years away?  How do you get there and back even
as fast as you did?  Shouldn't it have taken forty or
fifty years round trip?"
  "Well, I may have exceeded light speed on the way
there," Extreme said.
  "Cool!" both Human Spiders said.
  "And on the way back apparently," Weapon Alpha said,
"but I was under the impression nothing could do
that?"
  "Hey, I'm Extreme!" Extreme said.  "I can do
anything!  Anyway, I need to go talk to Amazing Woman.
 Is she here?"
  "Nah," one of the Human Spiders said.  "She went
back home."
  "Home?"
  "To Haven Island."

Pepperton General Hospital,
Pepperon
9:35 am

  Michael King had brought his wife, Lana, to the
emergency room the night before.  After filling in all
the necessary forms, Lana was brought to the maternity
ward.  Exhausted from all the work he had done the day
before, Michael was allowed to crash in one of the
vacant hospital rooms.  His wife's obstratician came
in to wake him up.
  "Mr King?" he asked.
  "Yes?"
  "Congratulations, you have a new baby girl."

                      PART III

9:43 am 

  Haven Island was just that: a haven for women.  No
man was allowed there.  Of course, Extreme was not
technically a man, at least not a human.
  "I want to speak to my wife," he told one of the
island denizens.
  "Maybe she doesn't want to speak to you," he was
told.
  "Maybe she does," was his reply.
  The woman nodded.  "Follow me."

9:50 am

  The doctor had told Michael that the procedure went
perfectly.  Mother, father and daughter were soon
reunited.
  "Are you okay?" Michael asked.
  "Yeah."
  "And how's Monica?"
  "She's fine."
  "So it's official then.  We're calling her Monica?"
  "Okay."
  The doctor smiled.  "If you've decided on her name
then we can go ahead and type up the birth
certificate."
  "Sure."
  "It will only take a few minutes to type up.  Then
you'll have to sign off on it to make it official."
  "Okay."
  "We'll also ask you to sign the hospital bill.  You
know, for the sake of medical insurance coverage."
  Michael smiled.  "Alright."  He said to his wife:
"I'll just be gone for a few minutes."
  "No problem."
  "When can she go home?" Michael asked the doctor.
  The doctor considered the question.  "Your wife is
strong and healthy but she just had a baby.  I
recommend you wait a few hours before taking her home.
 Anytime this afternoon should be fine."

9:58 am

  "Amazing Woman..."
  "Extreme."
  "Amazing Woman... I'm so sorry."
  She sighed.  "We have an argument.  You leave.  You
don't come back for two months."
  "Okay.  I'm _very_ sorry.  I completely lost track
of time.  Really."
  "Where did you go, anyway?"
  "Neon."
  "Why?  Is a dead world."
  "It's my home planet."
  "And had you gone there before?"
  "No.  So I didn't realize I would be gone for two
months.  You see, well, have you heard of the
grandfather paradox?"
  "Wait.  Why did you go to Neon?"
  "I wanted to see for myself if there was anybody
left alive."
  "And?"
  "Nobody.  Everybody died in the war against Zon."
  "I'm sorry."
  Extreme sighed.  "I'm the last of my kind."
  "You're not the last."
  Extreme rolled his eyes.  "Right.  My clone.  Mom
brought him up to."
  Amazing Woman closed her eyes and shook her head. 
"That's not what I mean."  She sighed.  "Look at me."
  "Excuse me?"
  "Look at my stomach."
  He did.  "Well, I wouldn't worry about that."
  "Huh?"
  "I mean, you just need to get on an exercise program
and you'll lose that extra weight in no time."
  Amazing Woman grimaced.  "Oh!  You idiot!"
  "What?"
  "I'm pregnant!"
  "Pregnant?"
  "Yes.  Almost three months now."
  "But we weren't sure if... I mean human DNA and
Neonian DNA..."
  "Well apparently it's possible."
  "Wow."
  Women who had been hiding in the bushes around them
and had been listening in the whole time started
clapping.
  "I'm going to be a dad!" he said.

12:44 pm

  "Lana?"
  "Yes?"
  "There's some people here to see you and the baby."
  "Oh?"
  Seven people enetered the room: there were
Detectives John Phelps and Mary Bailey, her husband
Edward, Officers Mark Johnston and Tom Jackson,
Medical Examiner Jack Greenspan and District Attorney
Alan Russell.
  "Wow.  It's great seeing everybody!" she said.
  "Congratulations!" Mary said.
  "Do you mind if I take a picture?" Edward asked. 
Lana didn't mind so he did.  "I'll make copies for you
and Michael, okay?"
  "Great!"
  Alan stepped closer to get a better look at the
baby.  "What's he name?"
  "Monica."
  "Good name.  So, do you think she'll grow up to be a
police detective?"
  Lana thought back to the incident from a year ago
when she spoke on a phone to a woman who claimed that
she was her daughter from thirty years in the future. 
"You know, I think she just might."

                        THE END

Martin


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