Here is my second fanfic. I inspired myself from an episode of the show "The Adventures of Superman" with Georges Reeves to write this story. I even borrowed the title of the episode. So any resemblances are not accidental.
And I hope you'll enjoy my story, even if it begins VERY SLOWLY before becoming interesting.
Any feedback is very welcome, the bad ones like the good ones.
SUPERMAN'S WIFE
PART 1: THE MESSAGE
Like every night, Andrea went home alone. She didn't have anybody to share her life with. She had decided long ago that her job was more important than a social life. And since her job was a dangerous one, it would be irresponsible to start a family, anyway.
But sometimes, like tonight, she thought that it could be great to have a boyfriend who would be waiting for her when she got home. Someone to talk to about her day at work. Someone to help her relax.
She had thought about that all day. Maybe she was wrong to consider her career more important than her personal life. And when she finally went home, she felt depressed at the sight of her empty apartment.
Most of the time, that was okay, but some days, she didn't want to be alone, and she doubted that her job was worth it.
She put a pizza in the microwave and sat in the kitchen waiting for the ringing that would tell her she could eat. While she waited, she thought that maybe she felt this way because nothing had happened at work for some time now. She had become a police officer because she wanted to catch the bad guys. So when there weren't bad guys to catch, after a few days, she began to think that her work wasn't worth the sacrifice of her personal life.
She was a young and pretty girl, and she could find a boyfriend easily if she wanted to, and when the crime rate was so quiet in Metropolis, she really had trouble remembering why her job was more important.
The ringing of her phone interrupted her thoughts.
"Andrea Flynn," she said tiredly when she picked up the phone.
"Andrea, it's Murray."
Immediately Andrea forgot her bad mood and felt adrenaline rise. Her heart raced. She'd known Murray for months. He lived in the street and always heard very interesting things. When he called her, it was always because something was happening. Maybe the city wasn't so quiet after all…
"Yes Murray. What's going on?"
"I heard something that will interest you. But it's really big, so I can't tell you on the phone. Come see me; you won't regret it. I'm pretty sure you will have that promotion you're waiting for after this."
"I'll be there in half an hour. Wait for me."
Forgetting the pizza in the microwave, she put on her coat and her
shoes and went out with a smile on her face. She remembered pretty well, now, why her job was important. Even if the bad guys went quiet sometimes, they were still there.
And anyway, if she had a boyfriend, he would probably be kind of upset right now to see her go out at this time of the night for work, she added mentally to herself. So it was definitely better this way.
On the road, she smiled again, remembering the comments Murray made about the promotion she'd been waiting for.
She'd finished her classes to become a police officer a little more than a year ago, just before Superman came to town. She was the best student at the police academy, so she was sent directly to Metropolis's central police station after the exams. Since then, she'd worked for Inspector Henderson. She liked him; he was her friend and a good detective. It was great to work for him.
But since childhood, her dream had been to become a police inspector herself, and do all the things she saw in the police movies: working under cover, setting traps for the criminals…
When she grew up, she understood that being a police detective wasn't like in the movies, but she still wanted to become an inspector. She hoped that her boss, Inspector Henderson, would help her to get the promotion she wanted. And to convince him that she'd be a great inspector, she had decided to help him to do his job in any way she could.
She began to develop friendships, or become acquainted with, people who knew people… to know what was happening on the street. Murray was one of them. He was a very reliable source. He never told her anything that wasn't true. He was a good guy, and if he told her that he knew something important, she could trust him.
She didn't have a clue about what it might be, but she was sure that Henderson would be happy when she repeated to him what Murray told her tonight. And maybe soon, she'd become an inspector.
The ringing of his phone woke Clark up in the midst of a very pleasant dream about Lois. He looked at his clock. 3:18 in the morning. He sighed but picked up the phone anyway. Who else, apart from Lois, could be phoning him at 3:18 in the morning? And hearing her voice for real was probably better than dreaming about… Err… Or maybe not.
"Yes?"
"Clark Kent?" asked a male voice. The voice was familiar but definitely not Lois's.
"Yes. Who is this?"
"Inspector Henderson."
Clark was incredulous.
"Inspector Henderson? It's 3:18 AM."
"Really Kent? Sorry. It's important. Can you contact Superman quickly and discreetly?"
"Superman? Why? What's going on, Inspector?"
"Sorry Kent. I can't tell you. Can you contact Superman?"
"Yes. He will be at the police station in a few minutes. I'll contact him right away."
"Than… No, Kent, wait. Hang on a minute, please."
Clark waited. Through the phone, he heard Henderson talk to someone else, a woman, but he couldn't really understand the words that were spoken, even with his super-hearing. He began to get anxious. Henderson had never phoned him before to ask for Superman. Apparently, something really serious was happening.
"Kent? You still there?"
"Yes, Inspector."
"Sorry to have awakened you at this hour of the night. I won't need Superman to come right away. Can you tell him to come to the police station tonight, please? At 8:00 PM? That will be great."
"You sure? He can be there in a minute."
"Yes. I need to make some things happen before he comes."
"Okay, Inspector. I'll pass the message on to him."
"Thanks Kent. Oh, and… say nothing to Lane. Say nothing to anyone, but especially not to your partner. Can I count on you?"
"Yes."
"Thanks again. Goodnight, Kent."
As the policeman hung up, Clark was really puzzled. Something was
wrong, really wrong. And he wouldn't know what that was for many hours. Why would Henderson want to see Superman? And why so much discretion? The comment about not telling Lois was worrying him still more. What was going on?
Clark got out of bed and put his Superman suit on. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep any more tonight. He needed to make a patrol of the city to be sure everything was still quiet. And maybe check on Lois's apartment as well. Just to be sure she was all right.
He launched himself towards the sky, really tense, all memories of his sweet dream about Lois forgotten.
Clark arrived early at the Planet. Jimmy and some other co-workers
seemed surprised to see him. He had a habit of being late. And even when he was at the Planet on time, he still came in after Lois, except when she picked him up at his apartment to go to work together. But today, he was there before her, and that was the first time ever.
He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the surprise of his colleagues.
His patrol over the city hadn't revealed anything. Everything was very quiet in Metropolis, but obviously something was going on. Henderson wouldn't have phoned in the middle of the night for nothing. But he couldn't figure out what was wrong.
He had talked to his sources and nobody knew anything. Apparently,
everything was as quiet as it looked. But obviously not. When he had checked on Lois's apartment during his patrol, he had seen two guys waiting in a car, watching her building. He knew those guys. They were policemen; they worked for Henderson, and they were watching Lois's apartment in civvies.
Seeing that hadn't calmed down his anxiety. Henderson wouldn't do such a thing without a strong motive. Why was he spying on Lois?
He checked the time. Only 8:04 AM. He still had twelve hours to wait before he'd know.
When he saw Lois come out of the elevator, he mentally hit himself. He had to act normal or Lois would guess something was wrong, and Henderson had been very precise about that. Lois couldn't know a thing.
Still, he was on alert the entire time, ready to protect her if there was trouble. But the workday went pretty well. Nothing happened, and Clark was beginning to go crazy. He was wary of everything, since he didn't know what the danger was. Still, there must be a danger. When Lois and he were going out of the mayor's office, after the interview the mayor gave them, he noticed two other men who were following them.
He knew them, too. They were also Henderson's men. He'd seen them many times when he was dealing with emergencies as Superman.
Just… what was going on?