Chapter 1 - Super hearing, flies out of sight

Living on the riverfront, away from the melee of traffic and city noise, did have its advantages. The sound of the water gently lapping against the boards of the deck, the slight chirping of the first birds of the morning – were all things Lois had become acutely aware of since she'd moved out here with Richard. Had she been in another frame of mind, Lois might have simply dismissed these sound experiences away as the result of being 'out in the sticks' – or the closest thing to it. But now, after spending the entire night standing out on the deck of her fiancé's house, having watched the form of a certain 'man in blue' fly out of sight – all the sounds of early morning nature strangely comforted the reporter.

A warm summer breezed wafted across the water. Lois stared down at her hands, turning the smooth form of the cigarette lighter over and over in them. When had her life - which at one time, had been successful and relatively ordered – been thrown into the blender with the purée button jammed?

"How did this happen?" Lois muttered under her breath, staring down at the water. A tiny niggling fear in her brain hoped the resident hero wasn't using his super-hearing at that moment.