|
|
Lodestone
" Just Like Dad " by Martin Maenza
Clare Harper's blue eyes traveled intently back and forth across the computer screen, reading column after column of black text on an off-white background. A single click of the mouse, and she instantly accessed a related article, all from the Victoria Journal-Constitution's online website. She let out a long and curious "hmmmm".
At the same moment, Beverly Harper appeared in the teenager's doorway and observed her daughter's intense concentration. "Reading the latest about Leonardo DiCaprio?" she asked as she slipped on a gray pinstripe vest over her soft pink blouse. The vest matched the medium-length skirt worn by the woman in her forties.
"What? Leo?" Clare responded. The blond girl in a floral tank top then looked up, with a rather long expression, from the screen. "Oh, Mom, nothing like that. I was hoping to find something in the news connected to the hi-tech thieves that snatched Cynthia's dad's computer from the exposition a couple weeks back. "I did, however, find some stories relating to recent crimes around town." Clare's eyes grew wide with excitement as she recounted the details. "It seems there have been some break-ins at various jewelry stores and such. The interesting pattern is that the security systems all seem to have been overloaded or shorted out, not cut or disabled by normal means. I wouldn't be surprised if they were all done by the same person."
Beverly's own facial expression, however, conveyed a bit less enthusiasm. "Clare, you should be doing your homework instead of following local crime stories." The words had barely left her lips when she thought now I'm starting to sound like Kyle.
"Relax, Mom. I've already finished everything for tomorrow." Then she added "I've even started studying some for finals in a few weeks. I've got it all covered."
Now it was Beverly's turn to smile. "Good to hear that." Her daughter's school work up through her junior year had been exemplary. Even with the recent extra extracurricular activity which Clare now pursued, the young woman still stayed focused on her academics. Beverly hoped that would continue to be the case through the next school year, graduation and beyond. Last time she checked, being a teenage super-heroine was not something that one could put on college applications. She started to chuckle at the idea of someone doing that only to remember why she stopped at her daughter's bedroom in the first place.
"Then you can do me a favor," Beverly continued. "Mrs. Daniels should be here any minute to pick me up for tonight's PTA meeting. Your father's working late at the office on a new project, and I was hoping you could run some dinner over to him. You know how absent minded he gets when he's working on new designs."
"It'd be midnight before he remembered to eat," Clare joked as she activated the animated screen saver for her computer. Flying toasters appeared on the screen, accompanied by Wagner's Flight of the Valkyries. "I'd be glad to do it." The seventeen year old girl paused a second to grab her blue backpack from its resting place on the floor and her wallet from the desk. Then she gave her mother a curious look. "I can take the van, right?"
"Keys are in the kitchen on the hook by the door. The plate's already fixed and on the counter." Beverly gave Clare a quick hug as she came out the doorway. "Thanks for helping out, honey."
"Any time," Clare said as she headed downstairs. Though I'd much rather use my own powers to get downtown, some more time behind the wheel is almost as good as clocking in extra flight time.
***
Forty minutes later, Clare arrived at the Welkes office complex, parked the van, and took the elevator to the seventh floor. The main door to the office suite was open, so she headed down the dimly lit hall, plate in hand. As she peered through the open doorway, Kyle Harper sat hunched over his architect's table, working out some details on a blueprint. Clare opened the door slightly and gave a slight knock as she did so in order to attract his attention. "Someone here place a delivery call for some home cooking?" she asked cheerfully.
The man in his mid-forties with sandy brown hair turned to the doorway at the sound of the familiar voice. "Hey, Clare! What are you doing here?" he asked his daughter as he stood up from his black swivel chair and shook out a slight cramp in his right foot.
"Mom figured you could use some food." Clare folded back the plastic wrap on one side of the plate. "Fried chicken and green bean casserole."
"What would I do without the two of you looking out for me?" he said as he gave her a slight peck on the cheek and took the plate with his right hand. "I'll just pop it into the microwave around the corner for a re-heat. I'll be back in a moment, Clare." He stepped out of his office, turned left down a darkened hallway and disappeared.
Clare ambled over by his drafting table and glanced down briefly at the blueprints. It appeared to be the layout for the lobby of an office building or hotel.
Then she made her way over to the large window; the blinds were still drawn open and the Victoria skyline sparkled in the night sky before her. As Clare leisurely scanned the other buildings in the downtown area, a slight flash of something caught the corner of her eye. Focusing across the street and down about half a block, she believed that the flash came from the direction of the top floor of Birch's Department store. Birch's was one of the largest stores in the downtown area; Clare and her mother made at least one trip there every Fall for back-to-school shopping. The small restaurant on the top floor of Birch's had an open garden area that was used for outdoor seating in good weather. They serve the best cheesecake there.
Suddenly another flash occurred, and this time Clare positively confirmed it came from the garden area. Looked like lightning or sparks of some kind. Very strange and definitely something worth investigating. Clare clutched her blue book bag and realized that bringing it along would prove beneficial after all.
Kyle Harper returned to the office at that moment, and the smell of re-heated chicken and casserole filled the room. "Mmmm," he said as he inhaled the aroma. "Pardon me for eating in front of you, honey." He set the plate down on his desk and picked up a drumstick. Given his appetite, Kyle didn't even bother to sit.
"Um, that's okay, Daddy," Clare replied as she made her way across the office in a slightly brisk walk. "I, um, better get going anyway. I have some homework to, um, get to before bed tonight." She half-slung her book bag over her shoulder, gave her father a kiss on top of his head and made her way towards the door. "Don't work too late, okay?"
"Mm-I-won't," he said with his mouth still full of the delicious chicken. Before he could say another word, Clare had vanished down the hallway. He shrugged his shoulders slightly and concentrated on the food before him.
Clare's quickened pace carried her to the elevator in record time, and she unzipped her book bag as she went. At this hour of the night, there was hardly anyone left in the office building. In fact, as she recalled, the cleaning crew had gone home for the night just as she arrived. Clare boarded the empty elevator car, pressed the down button and, as the doors closed, pulled out a familiar gray costume with red piping from the book bag.
When the doors opened to the vacant lobby on the first floor, it was Lodestone who emerged from the elevator, dressed in the gray costume with the red mask in place. Now, let's see what's going on over at Birch's. Placing the bag behind her, she slipped her arms through the straps, and the book bag now containing her civilian clothes doubled as a back pack.
Reaching the rooftop garden of Birch's was as easy as crossing the street for Victoria's young heroine, thanks to her powers of flight. The meta-human abilities that she inherited from her mother allowed her to counter act with the Earth beneath her, propelling her through the air. Even after all these months, Lodestone still found it exhilarating when she soared through the air.
She glided over the wall at the far corner of the garden, beneath the shadow of a cluster of peach trees, and set her red booted feet down gently in the grass. Don't want the sound of my clicking heels to alert whoever's here, especially if they are still outside. Staying to the shadows as much as possible, Lodestone cautiously made her way through the garden. All the while, she looked from side to side for any signs of movement or further electrical flashes. She arrived at the building's entrance without encountering opposition.
It didn't take much examination of the door to determine that someone had recently entered the building. The electronic locking mechanism to the door's right had a charred blackness to it, as if someone had overloaded its system. A pair of barred wires stuck out as the keypad tangled from it's mounting. That would explain the flashes she had witnessed from her father's office.
Lodestone used her magnetic powers to latch onto the door's handle and it opened with ease. Figured it was now unlocked but there is no sense disturbing any finger prints that might be there. The police might find those useful later. She let the door swing open wide enough that she could slip inside, then she slowly closed the door behind her again.
Darkness cloaked the fourth floor of the store. The only sources of light came from illuminated exit signs and the occasional single light now and again. Luckily, Clare was familiar with the store's general layout and would have no problem maneuvering in the dark. Still, she moved along carefully and hoped to keep the element of surprise her's.
With the rise of so many malls in more convenient locations, Birch's and many other downtown Victoria businesses had been experiencing decreases in sales traffic. Most of their business came from the weekends or during the work week days, the latter due to lunch hour shopping stops. A number of the stores found it more economical to cut back on their operating hours, especially on weeknights. That was the reason that the store was empty at this hour on a Thursday night.
Lodestone didn't hear much activity on the upper floor. It was mostly house wares, linens and the like as well as the restaurant area. None of these things would interest typical thieves. She made her way to the escalator at the center of the floor that, as expected, had been shut off for the evening. She simply walked off the top step and gently glided down the opening to the floor below under her own power. I wonder where the security guards are? Surely Birch's would still have a need for a few during the evening hours.
The answer to her question presented itself when she reached the third floor. Just to the left of the escalator landing, she spied the boots of a figure on the floor. She approached cautiously, finding a man in a security uniform unconscious beneath the rack of women's sportswear. Lodestone reached down to his neck and felt along the side. There's a pulse. That's good. She leaned closer to his face. Shallow breathing too. She concluded that whoever had broken into the store also managed to get the drop on the security guard. He didn't appear to be seriously injured.
Suddenly, the sound of shattering glass came from the floor below. Second floor, jewelry. Lodestone jumped to her feet and glided down the escalator opening, keeping as close to the ceiling and shadows as she possibly could. The jewelry display cases were towards the front of the store.
As she approached, Lodestone could barely make out the silhouette of someone about her own height and build rummaging through one of the cases. Then the figure stepped back and her voice, female, said "Let's see what we have in the next one." Suddenly the woman's right arm began to spark with electricity. The sparks danced down her arm and arched through the air to the next display case. The surging power hit the glass, causing it to shatter. The woman's power then subsided; she moved forward to collect more items.
"Not so fast, sparky!" Lodestone ordered as she released a magnetic force-blast at the woman, knocking her backwards to the floor. The heroine landed but did not approach. "You've been caught red-handed! Put your hands in the air where I can see them."
The woman, in a kneeling position on the floor, slowly raised her arms in the air. "All right, all right," she said, "if that is what you want." Beneath the stylish goggles she wore, the woman's eyebrows rose and a smile crossed her ruby lips.
Suddenly, sparks began to dance around both her arms, much more quickly and violently than before. The power illuminated the woman's body, allowing Lodestone to see that she wore a body suit with some circuit-like pattern to it. Twin bolts of electricity arched from the woman's hands toward the place where Lodestone stood. The force of the strike knocked the heroine backwards into some darkened display.
The woman continued to smile and the sparks continued to dance across her body as she stood. "You best be prepared for a shocking time when you mess with the new Doctor Ion!" The woman began to move to where her unexpected guest had been thrown.
"Doctor Ion, huh?" Lodestone's voice came from the darkness. "Couldn't think of something original?"
The thief tried to follow the moving sound in hopes to zero in on the young girl's position. Being able to maneuver with flight in an enclosed area tipped the scales in Lodestone's favor
"Or did you name yourself after a loser on purpose?"
With that last taunt, the sparks around Doctor Ion began to surge even more. The words struck a nerve and the effect on the wearer's emotions projected through the body suit's circuitry. "My father was not a loser!" she screamed as she hurled a round of electric bolts in various directions. "I honor his memory by proudly taking up where he left off!"
"Sounds like you could use some therapy. Too bad house wares are on the fourth floor or I'd offer you a couch. Perhaps we can still make do."
Suddenly an inventory cart on wheels came rolling out of the darkness towards Doctor Ion, slamming into her backside and knocking her to the floor. The thief fell to the floor with the cart on top of her, and the sparks around her began to dim but did not completely extinguish.
The entire third floor was quiet. Then Lodestone approached the unmoving woman. "So much for another villainous dynasty," the heroine said as she grabbed the metal cart by the handle to move it off of her downed opponent.
Electric current surged through the cart and into the unsuspecting heroine. Lodestone's blonde hair stood on end as thousands of watts of power coursed through her body. "Aaaaaaaaaaaah!" she screamed out in surprise and pain, then fell backwards into one of the display counters.
Doctor Ion, meanwhile, had emerged from beneath the cart that she had just used as a conductor. "If anyone's dynasty is coming to an end, sweety, it's yours!" she laughed. She pointed her arms at the area above the unconscious Lodestone and let loose a powerful surge of electricity. The blasts tore through the ceiling, showering the various materials - plaster, metal framework, pipes, insulation and the like - down upon the prone heroine. "That should do it." Yet the suit didn't respond to her initial request, and the blasts ended up tearing completely through to the floor above. A few more requests and the power finally stopped as a rack of clothing fell down atop the pile.
Satisfied that the girl was sufficiently buried, the still laughing Doctor Ion grabbed two more handfuls of jewelry, stuffed them into the bulging sack she had been filling, and made her escape into the night.
Three hours later, after digging herself out from under the rubble, answering a few questions for the police, finding someplace convenient to change clothes, retrieving the van, driving home, explaining to her parents where she was, and taking a shower to get the plaster dust out of her hair, Clare Harper continued to berate herself. Stupid stupid stupid. I let myself get caught with my guard down and Doctor Ion nailed me.
As she was about to turn out the light, Clare glanced at her computer monitor and an idea came to her. Mom always says "know your enemy". Maybe, just maybe, I can catch this new Doctor Ion with her guard down. She turned off the light, settled down in her bed, and gave in to the exhaustion.
***
The next afternoon, Clare returned home immediately after school. She grabbed a Diet Coke from the refrigerator, made a quick stop up to the attic to retrieve a scrapbook from her parent's old trunk, and settled down in front of her computer.
The scrapbook contained various newspaper articles, many yellowed after 20 years or more. The articles centered around her parents' exploits as the super-hero team Magnet and Steel. Her mother had shown the book to Clare once or twice while she told her daughter stories about the heroic days gone by. Today, Clare was particularly interested in one specific article - the obiturary of one Doctor Francis Kelley.
Doctor Francis Kelley studied science in California during the early 1970's. He specialized in theoretical physics and particularly on the subject of super conductivity. He developed a model of an ion gun for a research proposal but along the way decided to use his invention to benefit himself rather than mankind. He robbed a bank in Helvecia, California, late in 1975, embarking on a career of crime as a costumed criminal named Doctor Ion.
For about a year, Doctor Ion and his gang crossed the country, committing various acts of robbery, grand theft, assault and destruction of public property. They finally arrived in Victoria, Georgia, only to cross pathes with the city's heroes. Magnet and Steel foiled his grand plans and captured Ion. Kelley was put on trial and was sentenced to over fifty years in jail.
He ended up serving only two years of his sentence.
In February of 1978, during the final days of the alien invasion that had gripped the planet for many many months, Doctor Kelley was released from prison in exchange for his assistance. His knowledge and skills were needed to help liberate El Dorado, California, one of the last alien outposts on the Earth. Details of the mission remained classified by the military. However, it was made known that Doctor Kelley died while serving in the liberation efforts.
Clare, however, was most interested in the last paragraph of the article. She read aloud "'Doctor Kelley is survived by his wife, Catherine Branning Kelley; and a daughter, Noreen Ann Kelley.'"
Clare closed the scrapbook and turned to her computer. "Noreen Ann Kelley," she said. "Let's see what we can find." The teenager selected one of many Internet search engines and used the full name in quotes as a search argument.
The first thing she discovered were a number of hits on articles published in scientific journals by one Doctor Noreen Ann Kelley, in the area of conductivity. Why am I not surprised by this? Like father like daughter. She skimmed a few of the articles and then bookmarked a couple for future reference.
She then returned to her main screen and clicked on People Search. Let's see if we can track down an address for our prime suspect. Clare entered in the last name and first name, clicked submit, and got back even more surprising results. Brookhaven, GA. Just outside of the Victoria city limits! Excellent! She scribbled down the address on a pad.
One more thing to check. Clare brought up the Victoria Journal-Constitution's online website and plugged Doctor Kelley's name into the archive search routine. Sure enough, there was a recent article with her name in it. Clare's eyes grew wide. I've got you pegged, "Doctor Ion".
***
Sitting behind the wheel of the imperial jade '98 Lexus GS400, a young woman with long red hair tied back in single ponytail steered the car off the exit of the Interstate and headed up I-410 towards her Brookhaven home. The radio was tuned to 97.5 WROC, Victoria's classic rock station; Meatloaf's Paradise By the Dashboard Light had just come on and the woman sang along. Her white lab coat, with a badge clipped to the pocket, lay on the passenger seat over some files she planned to review at home. The name on the badge read "Doctor Noreen Kelley".
The Lexus made its way past a number of small shopping plazas before turning down Cherry Blossom Way and entering a residential subdivision. The homes here started in the two hundred thousands. The car then turned left down Clearview Court and then into the driveway of number 117.
Putting the car in park, Noreen then turned off the engine, removed the keys and grabbed her items from the passenger seat. She then opened the driver side door and stepped out. As she closed the car door, she heard a young woman's voice above her say "Excuse me, doctor. May I have a word with you?"
She turned just in time to see a teenaged woman in a grey bodysuit with red trim drop down slowly out of the sky. "You're Lodestone, right?" Noreen asked of the masked arrival who landed in her driveway a few feet from her. "Sure. What can I do for you?"
"Actually, it's about the robbery recently at the research facility you work at," Lodestone began. "That happened a few weeks ago, right?" Noreen put the files down on the car hood, crossed her arms and nodded in agreement. "I understand that something that you personally were working on was taken, is that correct?"
"Yes," Noreen answered. "My research focuses on electric conductivity, and it was one of my prototypes that was taken during the break-in. Is that what you're asking?"
Lodestone took a step closer. "Was it some kind of bodysuit that was taken? One that incorporates the technology that you are working on?"
"In fact, yes it was."
"I think I might know who has taken the suit." She took another half step. "I believe it is someone who has decided to take up after your father Doctor Francis Kelley, to make a name for themselves as a criminal using similar technology."
"My father?" Noreen asked surprised. "Why would anyone want to do that? My father has been deceased for almost twenty years. I find it hard to believe anyone would even remember his accomplishments much less take after him."
Lodestone took one more step closer. "I think it's a legacy thing." There was now less than four feet between the two women. "I think the person feels your father's career was cut short, that he's only a footnote in the history books. I think the person wants to change that, by taking on his name." The heroine pointed her index finger in an accusing manner. "And, I think that person is...you! 'Doctor Ion'!"
Noreen's jaw dropped slightly and she stared silently at Lodestone. Then, slowly at first, she began to laugh. The sound continued for over a minute, growing from a chuckle to a deep laughter. "You....you....ha ha ha ha." She covered her mouth for a moment, trying to regain her composure long enough to speak clearly. "You think...ha ha ha... you think I'm...ha ha...that I would..."
Lodestone did not appreciate being laughed at. "Yes, I think you stole your own prototype and are now committing crimes all around Victoria as a new Doctor Ion." The blonde then grabbed the woman's left wrist. "And I am here to take you in!"
Noreen pulled her arm away and stopped laughing. "You are wrong! You're obviously still new at this because you are way off base." The woman took a step back defensively.
"Surprisingly, she isn't ," another woman's voice came from behind Lodestone. The heroine turned and saw a woman in a familiar circuitry patterned bodysuit.
"Doctor Ion?" Lodestone quickly glanced at Noreen and then back to the arrival.
Electricity began to crackle around the bodysuit. "She is right, more or less. The new Doctor Ion is carrying on in her father's footsteps. Sweety here just got the wrong daughter." Doctor Ion pulled off her goggles, revealing her striking facial features. "What, 'Reenie? No hello for your little sister Iona?"
"Iona?" Noreen went from a puzzled expression to a more knowing one. "Iona Kosopolis." The look she gave the new arrival could freeze water.
Lodestone looked totally confused. "Sisters?"
"Half sisters, actually," Noreen answered flatly. "When my father left my mother and me to embark on his criminal career, he fathered a daughter with one of his gang members. Iona here is that illegitimate child." Then she added, "Daddy never married her mother, thus the difference in our last names."
The electricity around the bodysuit crackled louder, reflecting the emotions of the suit's wearer. "Don't you dare throw that up in my face again, 'Reenie! Father loved me and my mother very much. Why else would he have provided for our future long after he left you and your mother behind?"
"Oh really," Noreen crossed her arms. "I seem to recall that the money he left you wasn't his to leave behind. And there wasn't much of that as it was. I also recall the time your mother and you came out to El Dorado, about five years after Daddy's death, and she tried to contest his will."
The energy around Doctor Ion continued to surge as Noreen spoke.
"Face it, Iona. Your mother was a schemer and so are you. You'd do anything to get by, even steal my own prototype for your personal usage."
"Yeah, prototype!" Doctor Ion spat. "The damn thing is as flawed as your so-called memories of the past! One battle with blondie there and the suit's no longer completely reliable." She gestured to Lodestone as she made that statement. "I need you to hand over all the notes on the suit so I can get someone with real brains to work out the flaws!"
"Dream on, Iona!" Noreen said firmly. "There is not a chance in hell I'd turn the specifications over to you! You're on your own, like always." The scientist made a dash in the direction of her car, hoping to get to her cellphone to call the police.
"Uh uh, 'Reenie, you ain't going anywhere until you help me," Doctor Ion insisted. The electricity crackled from her hands and arched through the air.
Lodestone was learning to recognize the pattern of Ion's power, so she had a split second to react. "Doctor Kelley, look out!" The heroine used her telekinetic powers to push the woman far across the lawn and away from Ion's discharge.
The electricity bolt instead struck the rear portion of the GS400, tearing through the frame and igniting the gas tank. The back end of the Lexus exploded with a loud boom, and the car quickly was engulfed in flames!
The force of the explosion slammed into Lodestone's protective field and knocked her to the ground. The heroine shook it off after a second, and realized she still had a job to do. She got to her feet and turned, only to see that Doctor Ion had upped the stakes.
"Stay right where you are, sweety!" Doctor Ion warned. She held Noreen in a headlock in front of her, using her step-sister as a human shield. "One false move and 'Reenie here gets a permanent permanent!" With her free left hand, Ion threatened to channel 10,000 volts through her. However, there didn't appear to be much of a spark coming from the suit after the last powerful discharge.
"Wait, Iona!" Noreen said. "I'll get you the help you need."
"Really?" Doctor Ion asked loosening the neckhold ever slightly.
"Yes." Noreen paused for a second, then slammed her right elbow firmly into Ion's gut. Air rushed from the costumed woman's lungs. Noreen continued her assault by grabbing her step-sister's arm firmly, pushing her own back into her and then used all her strength and leverage to flip Ion forward. The villain slammed back first onto the ground before them. "I think we'll start with a little psychoanalysis, Iona." Noreen gave her a swift kick to the head to keep her down and out. "Consider that on the house, sister."
Lodestone clapped her hands slowly. "You took a big risk there but you handled yourself like a pro." Then she added, "sorry about the false accusation before."
Noreen brushed the dust off of her green skirt. "A woman has to know how to defend herself these days. You should remember that."
Lodestone smiled. "Guess I'll take it from here. We'll get her out of that bodysuit and into something more fitting. Prison orange, I think."
1
See issue #8 for "The Color Purple". -
the Editor.
2
See Black Avenger # 3: "Incursion" - the Editor.