Superman: The Animated Series 'Fan Fiction Story'
By Tayla Drago
Episode # 29 – The Late Mr. Kent
A group of mourners from the Daily Planet, Helen, and Jake attend a memorial at the local cemetery. For Jake and Helen looked strong for this one, as Jimmy tries to be there by Helen's side to be holding hands.
"This must be hard on you more than is with me too, huh Helen."
"(Play it cool, Helen, just like Jake and I've been practicing a lot...)" she says this to her boyfriend. "I know, Jimmy, but I'm hanging in there."
"If there's anything you need, I'm here for you." he tells Helen that. "Maybe...when everything's taken care of on what 'he' left out, you and I can could...I mean if you want to..."
Jimmy's trying to ask Helen out on a date.
"I would love to later."
Jake brings back to the topic at hand 'to ace like he cared'.
"More later, we're here for a certain someone, remember?" Jake said to the couple.
"Understood." Jimmy tries to wipe his tears away. "Thanks."
At least they were going out some more for Helen and Jimmy.
"I know, this is about him right now." Helen gets back to her 'acting'.
I bet you all want to know why Jake and Helen had to come along to act so calm for someone to be dead...or for others to believe in that part. For you see...This is funeral of Clark Kent's. Now you may ask yourself, huh?! Since Clark's Superman for Helen, Jake, Batman, Megan, Alfred, Gidget, Lana, and his human parents know about his secret, what happen to his other character, Clark Kent? Now you guys were going to ask that next question next, right? Well, there was a lot to explain for Jake and Helen to help their friend with a murder mystery. Another one!
Superman: [Luck. That's what it all boils down to, doesn't it? The smallest break one way or the other. It can save a life or destroy one. And you can't fight it, no matter how strong you are.] Superman watches from nearby and recalls how this all began...
A few days ago, Clark was assigned to interview Ernest Walker, a petty thief convicted of murder for 5 years, and now scheduled for execution in a week. As Jake saw the scene on his way home with his friends as Helen was cleaning up their apartment during the time to happen almost next to them; for the two siblings tell Clark all about it.
"Clark, be happy that Perry's allowing you to solve the case for Maggie and Dan to find the real killer before Ernest gets killed...We like the guy, he's bee doing so well with the pizza delivery until that day from five years ago. Tell him, Jake!"
With Helen telling her little brother, Jake tells Clark on what happened.
"It started out after a Birthday party with my friends to walk back home before Helen had one of her worriness freak outs again. It was the same old thing to come back right away to take the bus only; for Ernest Walker use to be thief and such to work part time as a pizza guy; not a bad person to get off to a rough start to give the man some tips when we get our snacks, and then...as Helen was fixing up the place during the time...bam!" Jake makes gun sound affects. "Just as I got back...I heard gun shots for Helen heard me come back for us to run in that area to see...a woman who was shot and killed! For Ernest was on the ground to get knocked out after getting a hit to the head really hard. I think someone who's the real murder got to the house, kill a random person who was living on her own, and then Ernest came in just as it happened." he said. "Detective Bowman was on the case back then to find proof of Ernest robbing the woman and has been in jail for five years now...found guilty to sentence him to death in a few days!"
What he said was all true.
"Jake and I did testify in court to tell him about Ernest's story to have some proof...but nothing happened..." Helen sounded upset. "Besides having Jake unharmed, we need your help, Clark, maybe then we can save our friend from getting killed by the law. Please! We're begging you!"
With Helen begging for Clark's help, the same goes for Jake too.
"Please save Ernest!"
This sounded serious for Clark to do just that to hear Walker out for himself next in person. Walker was caught trying to fence the murder victim's necklace, but swears he found it outside his door for Jake and Helen to witness that part to believe in the man, and he claims he is innocent. Using his super senses, Clark determines that Walker is telling the truth just as the two siblings told their super hero friend all about it.
"Jake. Helen." he tells them on the phone. "You're right, Walker's innocent. Let's do what we can to free him."
They were in to solving the case too, so you all know what that means.
"It's murder solving mystery time!" Helen gets her hat. "Sherlock Helen's in the house!"
"And me too!" same with Jake to have the glasses in check. "Jake Watson here to back his sister up!"
Nicely done, with them looking around the crime scene, Clark goes to see Detective Bowman, who was the lead investigator on the case. Clark receives the case files, and Bowman tells him there is no question Walker is guilty.
"Just watch out for trouble like Walker if I were you, Kent." the detective said. "There are lots of nuts-o's in our town. Sad to say it, and I'm a detective."
Clark reads through the case files, and is about ready to believe Bowman, when he decides to eat some leftover pizza. As Helen sees that Clark will be a bit as Jake looks up on some profile on Ernest Walker from the Daily Planet, Helen does the same to have a break for a bit with Jimmy to be going out again.
"Oh, Jimmy, your girlfriend's waiting..." Lois teases him.
"Helen, hi!" Jimmy hugs Helen. "I thought we can spend some time tonight, you and me around town. Just a little break. Want to get some burgers?"
And for that, she tags a long with them.
"Well, I don't see why not, okay."
"Awesome!" Jimmy was happy. "A little fun time will do some good for you, Helen, trust me."
Lois follows them.
"Come on, Jake, play some more detective time in a bit." said Lois. "Can't work on an empty stomach."
"Okay, then. Wait up, Helen!" he follows the others to let Clark know something from a little magic. "(Clark, something about the pizza box, look there.)"
Helen hear that part to keep posted with Clark in a bit for her and Jake after a quit break.
"(You heard my weird brother, Clark, give up the scoop in a bit.)" she gives Clark the sign and headed out. "Good luck, Clark, we'll solve this for Ernest yet!"
Thanks to them finding a clue, Clark is reminded from Walker's alibi: he was at home, eating pizza.
Superman: [Dinner was hard to pass up. I hadn't eaten all day...not that I needed to. It was thanks to Jake and Helen's smart thinking, I would've known about the pizza place he had to eat something from there where he worked, he paid for one.]
Following up on this, Clark goes to the pizza parlor nearest to Walker's home. While the parlor's delivery boy didn't work there anymore, the manager unearths a set of disks containing old delivery records. That's a start! And enough for Jake to get something out of them from his computer to tell Clark about it and Helen the next night.
"I got it!" he tells the two. "Listen here, Ernest was working during the time to get his own to pay for to be home...He then heard a noise of a woman getting killed to lose her necklace from that part, for me to come back home, the man who delivered the pizza left to see a murder scene to forger the delivery, and the killer to make his or her get away for the police and Bowman to arrive. Right here, on that day, on that time, and such."
All on record thanks to the man in charge of the pizza place. Sweet! For Clark knew on what to do next for Helen and Jake to keep on searching for more clues.
"That's clue number one for us!" Helen said with a peace sign.
Later, Clark calls Lois in triumph: He has found a record 'with Jake and Helen helping him out' confirming that a pizza was delivered to Walker at almost the exact moment the murder was committed. Proud of his accomplishment, Clark drives to the governor's mansion in his car, rather than go as Superman and raise some questions. He also feels that it would be better if it were Clark's victory for once. Good point there.
Superman: I suppose I could have flown to the governor as Superman and given him the disk, but that could have raised some awkward questions. It was also best for Jake and Helen to stay put for me to carry out the task for them, just in case I need them for backup later when things might go deep. Maybe there was some ego involved too. I wanted this to be Clark's victory, not Superman's.
However, someone had planted a bomb in his car, which explodes and sends his car careening into the ocean and destroying the disk. For Jake to sense Clark was in danger, and Helen to hear it a mile away, they have to drive to the area to help Clark out and fast.
"Clark's in danger!" the two said at once.
Though he survives, Superman sees a fisherman nearby, and realizes he can't emerge from the ocean without revealing his secret identity, so he swims away. For him to see Jake and Helen locating Clark as Superman, he talks quietly to try to come up with a plan right away, they can't let the fisherman know that Clark Kent was killed or something to come out like magic, they must keep his secret as Superman to themselves.
"Jake. Helen. You two keep me posted while I have Lois to help me. Or me as Superman." he said. "Hurry. I'll come back for you two later. Act like you're worried about Clark."
"Oh, right..." Jake gets it to leave the area. "Helen, you're the loudest to sound dramatic. Get the man's attention about Clark who was blown away...sort of!"
She has no other choice.
"Hey! I don't sound that loud unless I use my Kryptonian powers. I mean come on, Jake. But for the time being, I got no choice." she puts on a show. "(If you say so, Clark, we still need to solve this for Ernest's sake.) Ah! Oh, my God! Clark Kent! He was in that car and...it just blew up! My co-worker from the Daily Planet might be dead! Oh, why?! Someone, get a coastguard, or Jake and me to help out! Please! Anyone, save Clark Kent! He can't be dead!"
Well, that worked...maybe a bit too well. For Jake to look at Helen after that was hard to swallow.
"(Dramatic much, Helen? Give me a break...)"
Later, Superman retrieves Clark's car for the police, under Bowman's direction. Lois attempts to convince Bowman that Walker is innocent, as only the real killer would try to kill Clark.
"Who else but the real killer would have done this? He was probably afraid Kent was getting too close!" she said to the detective.
But Bowman dismisses her and states that as he was a reporter, Clark would be prone to a number of enemies. Lois then argues that Clark could still be alive, but Bowman points out the eyewitness.
"Kent was a reporter. Who knows how many enemies he had!" he thought about it. "This might come as a kick in the pants, Lane, but nobody likes you guys!"
Helen sticks her tongue out at Bowman to really hate the man.
"Oh, yeah?! Shows you, Bowman-!" she then sees some type of pearl piece on the ground for her to pick it up. "Hmmm... (This looks like the same pearls from the necklace left out from the murder scene five year ago...) Jake, look at this."
Once Helen shows it to her brother, they found another one.
"A piece of the murder woman's pearl necklace? Where did it come from?"
"Right here...In the sands..." Helen was lost. "It just showed up out of nowhere.
"(Okay, now that's very weird.)" Jake was confused too.
"Too confusing..." Lois said to fear of Clark getting hurt or killed. However, Lois notices that the fisherman had to wear glasses to read a clipboard, and goes to question him. "You two, keep working. Help me out on this to get the credit instead, and I'll free Walker to give you two some pizzas later."
Sounds like a deal to have a partner ship with Lois Lane for Jake and Helen.
"Okay!"
Jake agrees, for Helen goes over to Superman on what he'll do as himself to not be Clark, on what will happen next.
"Hey, I hope we'll figure this problem out somehow...For your other self and for Ernest..." she was worried.
"It'll be fine." he said. "I'll find something out, but this comes first."
"I understand. (But we better hurry and fast.)"
That night, Superman goes to see his parents, but even they can't figure out how to bring Clark back after Jake and Helen told them all about what happen. For Superman says he needs to be Clark Kent, as being Superman all the time would drive him insane, but regardless, he still needs to clear Walker.
"I know we're stuck, Helen, but we need to find out about..." Jake might have something in mind to look through a phone book really fast. "Helen, help me look up a number to call up."
She gets right to it right away.
"Fine, but it'll get us somewhere to Clark Kent to come back soon!" she said.
"It does! Trust me!" he said back.
I hope it does, as we saw what happened to get back on where we left off. Back in the present, on where Superman seeing the funeral, as he watches Lois depart early from Clark's funeral.
Superman: [Well, so much for sentiment.]
Later on, Superman decides to go to the governor as Clark Kent and explain Walker's innocence, prepared to reveal his secret identity if need be. He heads to his apartment to change, and is surprised to find Lois already there. She explains that she was hoping he'd left some evidence of his investigation behind, but couldn't find anything. They both realize that someone has been through the apartment already: Clark's computer has been taken, and his phone has been bugged. As they talk, Lois begins to shed tears over Clark's death and tells Superman that despite all her teasing she liked and respected Clark a lot, and now regrets not having told him this.
"I always teased him. But I had so much respect." Lois started shedding tears. "And I liked him too, I really did. I wish I'd told him."
Lois mentions that the eyewitness to Clark's 'death' is unreliable, as he has extremely poor eyesight, and wasn't even wearing his glasses when the crash occurred. Although Superman realizes that he can plausibly claim that Clark could have swam to shore without the fisherman noticing, Lois tells him that, to her, the fact Clark hasn't contacted her or anyone is the real proof that he's dead. Looking through Clark's bookshelf, Lois sees a bomb placed inside. Superman flies her out just before it goes off. With Jake in his beam bubble giving Helen a ride to see what was going on.
"Helen! Jake! I'm going to need your help!" he tells them. "Someone place a bomb in Clark Kent's apartment to have Lois almost killed!"
Sure looks like it.
"Quickly, help him stop the fire!" Lois tells them.
Superman puts out the fire 'with Helen using her water arm to soak down the leftovers and Jake with his wand to keep the flames from spreading anywhere else' just in time.
"Surf up!"
"Shamoo! Can do!" Jake sees someone trying to shoot at Helen. "Duck! (Now this person's getting nervous!)"
That same killer try to have Helen murder next, this was getting crazy!
"Hey!" she looks around the city. "Who try to shoot me?! Its pointless for bullets to reflect off me, loser! Come out and shoe yourself, and quit being a coward!"
Jake sees the leftover bullet to look at it.
"Who in the right mind wants us dead this badly-?" Jake stops to see something on the bullet. "Helen! Look, this bullet is from the Metropolis Police Department!"
Helen sees it.
"Yeah, it is...only higher up members in the force uses it to be strong fire power. Maggie does, same with Dan, and Bowman...Bowman..." Helen felt something to smell like Bowman from the pearl part and the bullet. "Wait...He was there to know quickly about the murder that Ernest was step up on, and yet he likes to not talk it so much to make up the fisherman saying that he couldn't see the car flying into the waters..." she figures it out. "Ah! Superman!"
I think they were on to something now. From stopping the fire thanks to them, both Superman and Helen use their x-ray visions, scanning the crowd with his x-ray vision, sees Bowman near his apartment.
"What's wrong, Helen?" Superman asks her.
Using Jake's bubble to float to Superman, for Helen sees Bowman who was watching it all happen before everyone else did.
"I think I know who the real murder is. Framing Ernest, trying to sort of kill you, me, and Jake. Over there. Do you see him?"
And from there, they have their murder for Jake to see that himself.
"Bowman." Superman said.
But how will they prove that Bowman did it?
"Lois, I'm glad you're on our side, because we might need your help to getting one more proof on him. Are you in?" he asks her.
For Lois was ready for anything.
"Since when haven't I been ready for anything else?"
Yeah, this next part could be dangerous to do...Later, at the Metropolis Police Department, Lois confronts Bowman: He was the detective on the Walker case, happened to be the one closest to Clark's wreck, and Bowman was spotted near his apartment after the bomb went off to also try to shoot Helen with his police gun. An increasingly nervous Bowman dismisses her, but Lois holds up the phone tap — standard police issue — and says she will have it checked for fingerprints from the pearl piece from the necklace and the bullet of the police force that uses it. So he did do it! He did it all! Bowman cracks and throws Lois off the stairs. Unfortunately for him, Superman was listening and saves Lois. As well as Jake using his beam rope to trap Bowman and Helen with her metal claws out.
"Free, you fake loser detective!" Jake and Helen said it together.
"Hey, what took ya?" Lois questions Superman.
But they did arrive to not let anything bad happen to her and Superman was always there for Lois to be saved a lot.
"You were proving that Bowman did everything with evidences if Jake and Helen didn't find anything, but they did."
Bowman runs to the roof and steals a helicopter. As Jake and Helen chase after the man they wanted to know to use a bubble to keep them a float to go after the murderer.
"So, it was you two who were butting in!"
"In kidding!" Helen said to try clawing at the helicopter to get Bowman out of it. "Answer us, why did you do it? Why kill a random woman and frame Ernest for it?"
"Do you have grudges against thieves who still to try to make a living somehow to learn the hard way?" Jake asks Bowman. "Ernest's our friend to try having him set up for murder! He's going to die because of you setting him up!"
With Superman confronting him for Jake and Helen to help him out, but is shot with bullets strong enough to pin him and Helen for a few seconds. Jake uses his shield to helping the other two out in time.
"You want to know why? I'll tell you...I did it because I wanted to stop Walker for years! People think that they have a chance to change, but they never do! I'm just trying to bring justice to save some lives, even if he's a weak little thief, that's why!" Bowman said. "And neither of you three will live to tell about it after tonight."
Well, that's a selfish reason why. Taking flight, Bowman then fires a missile at Superman, which hurls him away then explodes, but Superman is unharmed. For Jake to back him up, to shocking the helicopter with his electrical beams; leaving Helen to some strong chain arm to pull Bowman down with Superman to lend her a hand, for Jake, Helen, and Superman capture Bowman and he and Lois together will tell the governor of Walker's innocence: It was Bowman who killed the woman, and framed Walker for the crime.
"Strike three, Bowman, you're out!" said Helen.
The cops arrest Bowman, but will they make it for Walker's freedom in time?
"Ah, you guys." Jake tells the three the bad news. "We caught the real murder and all to do the right thing, but...Walker's death sentence is happening in a few hours tonight!"
Unfortunately, at the last minute, the governor had gone to watch Walker's execution.
"We better hurry!" said Lois.
Superman rushes to the prison and manages to save Walker from the gas chamber at the last minute. Jake and Helen arrive in to tell them to stop with enough evidences to prove that Walker's innocent and Bowman was really the guilty one.
"Stop! Stop!" Jake said. "Here! We have everything that Bowman did it all! Take it!"
"(Thank you, Clark!)" Helen was happy to see that they made it from the car of theirs. "Listen, Bowman set Walker up for him to snap thinking that he would cause a very bad crime than robbery, but he's clean! Please let him go!"
And from there and some evidences to take Bowman away for good, Walker was now a free man to thank Superman, Helen, and Jake for saving him to start a new beginning for this man afterwards.
"Thank you, Helen. Jake. Thank you both, and Superman. You guys really saved me. I'm free!"
That was too close. So, now what happens? For Clark Kent to come back was next for the three had something in mind...The next day, Lois reads her story on Walker's exoneration, but takes no satisfaction in her byline; Clark is still gone. Just then, she gets a phone call and bolts up from her desk in shock.
"What?! Kent's alive?!" she said.
"Wait!" shock Jimmy. "Clark Kent's alive?! That's great!"
At Lana Lang's penthouse, Lois finds Clark alive and well, but with a bandage around his head. He claims that he washed ashore, found a phone and called Lana, but was too weak to call anyone else until later.
"I don't believe it!" Lois was upset but happy at the same time. "You've been sitting here in the lap of luxury while I'm out risking my neck!"
At least this plan was working thanks to Helen and Jake's help for Lana to aid them.
"He was recuperating." she said to check on Clark. "Poor thing, when I picked him up he could barely remember his own name."
"But he sure remembered yours, and your telephone number."
Shocking to Lois, she finds that hard to believe from Lana's words.
"Clark and I go back a long way. Are you...jealous?" Lana questions Lois.
Lois is outraged, considering all she went through, but accepts the story.
"Yeah, jealous of his endless luck." she said back.
For Jimmy to tell Helen and Jake the news, they act happy for that to be heard, Clark Kent was back to be something else afterwards for Lois to get over it afterwards. Thanks, Lana. As Helen and Jimmy go out on their date 'as promised', to have fun for the two siblings have done well to aid Clark once again.
"Great work, you two."
With Clark/Superman saying that, this made Helen and Jake's day to solve another murder mystery once again.
"And so once again, the day is saved to having an old friend, saving a man, and stopping a real murder. Thanks to Sherlock Helen and the real hero, me. Jake Watson-!"
Helen throws a box of half eaten pizza near Jake's face.
"Oh, shut up!" she said to walk out with Jimmy. "Come on, Jimmy, lets go see a movie."
"I know of a good one you'll like. See you later, Jake." he said.
With them out, Jake just smiled to get cleaned up and eats the other pizza to have this to say to look happy than not in pain this time.
"(I'll take this better than getting smack on the head a lot.)" said Jake. "(And for Bowman, he's going to get his last breath of life after tonight death sentence, serves him right.)"
You said it Jake! Some time later, Bowman sits in his prison cell, and growls as he angrily reads the story of his own scheduled execution written by Clark Kent before noticing the officers who escort him to his execution much to his horror. As he sits in the gas chamber, he quietly wonders aloud how Clark survived the car bomb.
"How did he survive that car bomb? How?" he realizes. "He's Superman!"
Bowman suddenly realizes to his shock that Clark Kent is Superman right before the lever is pulled, taking his revelation with him to his grave. Well, good night, you loser. Don't you just love solving murder mysteries like this one? It was something else in this chapter/episode. Loved it!
