Fic: Man of Steel: A Risk Worth Taking (18/?)
Title: Man of Steel: A Risk Worth Taking (18/?)
Author: Babette babettew54
Canon: Superman (MOS)
Pairings; Characters: Clark/Lois, Martha Kent, Sam Lane, Lucy Lane, Lex Luthor, Bruce Wayne, Original Character(s)
Rating: M
Word Count: 5,200
Summary: Lois couldn’t decide whether to ask him out or bombard him with questions hopefully to achieve the ‘Story of the Century.’
Spoilers: None. It is just speculation about hand touching in the trailer and what it could mean for Clois. The story continues with more speculation about Clois and the upcoming sequel.
Disclaimer: DC Comics/Warner Bros. Entertainment owns these characters. This is strictly for my own amusement.
Author's Notes: In this next chapter, which is fast-paced, Clark and Bruce realize what they may be up against with Lex’s diabolical schemes, Erica makes an ill-advised move with shocking results, Lex moves ahead with his plans, and later Lois and Clark have their prayers answered. Read on. I hope you enjoy it! :D:D
X-posted: (FFN); (A03)
Previously:
ACT I: The Only Thing That Matters
( Chapter 1)( Chapter 2)( Chapter 3)( Chapter 4)( Chapter 5)
( Chapter 6)( Chapter 7)(Chapter 8)( Chapter 9)( Chapter 10)
( Chapter 11)( Chapter 12)( Chapter 13) ( Chapter 14)( Chapter 15)
ACT II: All I’ve Ever Wanted
( Chapter 16)( Chapter 17)
Chapter 18: Lies, Lies, Lies
Still at the base, General Lane's office:
Clark and Bruce exchange thoughtful glances. Both of them in turn explained the latest updates about Lex.
Now Lois was truly worried. She had a question for them. She stood up and paced for a bit. "So let me get this straight, Erica's brother was involved with mysterious experiments and may have died because of that. At least, that is what we think happened. Now we have to worry about Lex and whether he knows about the green-k and what it can do to Superman?"
"That's correct, we have no way of knowing what those experiments were, and why it was so important to Lex to keep Erica quiet for over ten years," Clark replied.
"This really worries me," Lois said. "We know Lex is obsessed with you. Those images he showed us in that make-shift lab could mean that Lex may have some crazy idea about using Zod's DNA in some way. After what you told me about your biological family on Krypton, Lex could be building more Kryptonians. I know that sounds far-fetched, but it's the only thing I can think of." She paused and then she gasped. "If Lex knows about the green-k, then …" She hesitated.
Clark closed her eyes and couldn't even think about another invasion of Kryptonians. The world would not survive it. Lois and Clark glanced at each other with the same thoughts.
"General, we need to speak with Jones as soon as possible. Could you have him brought to the interrogation room right away?" Bruce asked.
"Of course, but how do we prepare for another Kryptonian attack or whatever Luthor has on his mind? Goodness, the city is already in shambles. What does he want?" General Lane thoughtfully asked.
Lois glanced at her fiancé again. "It's pretty clear, Daddy. He wants Superman dead, and he does not care who gets in the way," she sadly stated.
"We need proof and Jones could give us that." Bruce sensed the urgency of the situation.
General Lane got a beep from his assistant. He took the call. "Jones is waiting for you, Batman."
"I'm headed over there now. This won't take long," Bruce said, and then he left.
Lois, Clark, and Sam watched him leave. Clark then raised his eyebrows at his fiancé. Sam caught their looks.
"Is there something I should know?" Sam asked.
"There won't be a perfect time for this, so here goes," Lois said. She walked over to Clark and stood beside him, then reached inside her purse, pulled out her ring and placed it on her finger.
Clark squeezed her ring hand. "General Lane, Sir, Lois and I are in love, and we want your blessing. After everything has calmed down, we want to get married."
Sam gave a bark of laughter then he shook his head and realized they were not joking. "But how can something like that be legal? You are an alien."
"Daddy, Clark and I realize that there are certain areas of this that will have to be worked out but …" She paused as she walked over to him and took his hand. "Our lives over the past few months are so intertwined that we couldn't be apart even we wanted to. It's as simple as that. There can never be anyone else for me and Clark feels the same way." She watched him for a moment, and he was holding tears back. "Oh Daddy, I didn't mean to make you unhappy."
He pulled her close. "I'm not unhappy, sweetie, not at all." Sam pulled away then he touched her cheek. "I've never seen you like this before, neither determined, nor happy, and nor in love. I'm delighted. I just wish your mother was here to see it." Lois hugged him close for a moment. He turned to Clark and held out his hand. "You have my blessing."
Clark was so relieved. They shook hands. "Thanks … Dad." A slow grin appeared on his face.
"Ok, not sure if I'm ready for that yet," Sam grinned.
They all smiled. There was a knock at the door. It was Bruce.
"I have unfortunate news. Lex knows."
~o~o~
Meanwhile, in upstate New York:
Henri arrived at the estate a few hours after speaking with Lois and Clark. He entered the house and realized something was not right. "Ellen, Ellen!" He yelled for the housekeeper. No answer. He found her in her room, and she was tied up and gagged. He removed the gag and untied her. "What happened?"
Ellen took several deep breaths to calm down. "Two men came to the door forced their way inside. There's nothing I could do. They tied me up, but then I could hear them upstairs."
"How long ago did they leave?" Henri was thankful that they hadn't killed her or worse.
"Not long, about an hour maybe. I'm not sure."
He squeezed her shoulder. "I want you to call the police, and I'm going upstairs to make sure they're gone."
"Yes, Sir, but be careful, they had guns." Ellen then called the authorities and Henri headed upstairs.
It appeared as if they were now gone, but Henri was cautious and truly worried. This is Lex's doing, he thought. Paul had been extremely secretive and of course, hiding his things made perfect sense, and it appears I was right.
Henri checked all the bedrooms upstairs and they had all been torn apart looking for something. Paul's room saw the worst of the damage. Even the mattress had been torn open. He immediately went into the closet, looked up, and the access panel was still in place. He went back into his room and pulled out a step ladder and brought it back to Paul's room. He then stepped up and removed the panel, and they were still there. Two boxes full of Paul's belongings, specifically taken from his office and his apartment in Metropolis.
Before he could go through everything, however, police sirens could be heard in the distance.
A half hour later, after taking statements from Ellen and Henri, they left with little hope of finding them. They had on masks and gloves, of course. After the police had left, he gave Ellen the rest of the week off. Ellen thanked him and left to be with her family.
Henri sat in Paul's room staring at the boxes and wondered again what could cause this much chaos and confusion. Instead of searching in his things from LexCorp, he went back further and found a few folders of his work at Wayne Enterprises. Apparently he had been let go when they found out that he was working on cloning experiments on company property. All of this work was there in this box.
He then checked the LexCorp box, and there wasn't much there. He worked there for over eight years. He looked some more and found the folders on the cloning. There were also medical bills and discharge papers from the hospital. Paul had been alive after the accident, but how was that possible? His son could be alive, but where was he?
He had to get these documents to Clark Kent. He will know what to do with all of this information. He immediately pulled out several suitcases, packed up all the documents and headed back to the airport. Once he arrived at the airport, he then texted Mr. Kent with news about Paul.
~o~o~
Back at the base:
Clark read the text messages from Henri then he frowned.
"What is it?" He did not look happy. "More bad news?" Lois asked
"Yes, it appears as if you were right Lois. Paul was into cloning experiments when he died, but according to his papers, Henri says that he may still be alive."
"We need to move quickly." That was Bruce. "Meet me at Spencer Avenue and 10th Street." Then he was gone.
"But …" What was at that address? Clark wondered.
"Go, go!" Lois said and shoved him out the door.
General Lane was astounded at the speed of both men. "Honey, the Army cannot deal with another Kryptonian assault. We need to stop this before it happens," Sam said, truly worried about the people still in the city.
"It may be too late to stop it, Daddy." She paused. "We need to evacuate the city. No one else needs to die. No one."
~o~o~
Meanwhile, back at the LexCorp Tower:
Lex opened the door of his suite, and two men handed him several small suitcases. They shook their heads, meaning that they had not found anything. Lex fumed and shut the door in their faces.
"Who was that, Lex?" Erica asked. She walked into the living room with Lena behind her.
Ignoring her question, he walked over to Lena. "I have your things, sweetie," Lex said and smiled.
"Thank you, Father," Lena was truly thankful. She took the bags and headed back into her room.
"Thank you, Lex," Erica said. "We need to talk."
"Make it quick, I just got a call from my other business office, and I have to move quickly if things are to go as planned."
Erica sensed what this was about. "What things? Can I help?"
He pulled his eyes from his phone and glanced at her. "Help me? How?" He was curious.
She sashayed over to him and then flirted with him. "Well, you haven't talked about your work since I came back. We worked well together before we got married. I miss that, don't you?" She smiled at him. Her eyes moved over his face.
He had to agree with her. "Yeah, I do miss it."
She smiled even wider. "So, can I come with you to your business meeting?"
"What about Lena?"
"I have a sitter."
He thought about it for a minute. "Ok, let's go."
~o~o~
A few minutes after leaving the base:
Clark flew over the address that Bruce had given him. It was uncommonly tall building, but it appeared to be vacant. A lot of businesses had closed up shop and moved away. He wasn't surprised by this. It will take time for the city to rebuild, not only the infrastructure, but the confidence in the city would come back in time.
He then peered through the windows and the top floor was not vacant, but there were machines, computers, and various individuals were standing around waiting for something. One of them spotted him and waved him in.
Clark frowned and flew over to a balcony. The doors opened, and a woman opened the door. He landed easily, and she had her hand out as if she wanted to shake it. His instincts were never wrong, at least leading up to this point. He shook her hand.
"Hi, my name is Diana. You must be Superman."
"Yes, I am."
She chuckled. "Of course, you are. Come in, come in. Everyone is here, including Batman."
Clark walked in, cape flapping from the wind. The door behind him closed. He stared at the rest of Diana's friends. He did not know what to do.
Batman suddenly looked up from a monitor and came over to him. "Superman, let me introduce you to everyone."
"What's going on, Bruce? We have to prepare for an attack." He did not have time to meet new friends. He had things to do.
Also, there waiting to be introduced were Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, the Flash, and Hawkgirl.
They all shook hands and proceeded to tell Clark their brief histories, they abilities and the reasons why their activities were hidden up until this time, but it appears that will not be the case anymore.
Clark had a question. "So how long have you been together like this, years, weeks or months and what do you call yourselves?"
"Actually, this particular group you see here have been together since you arrived, only a few months, but I've worked with a few of them for years. Our name, which is new, is Justice League of America." Bruce responded.
"I see," Clark murmured, then the decided to take a closer look. "I like the name, by the way." Hands behind his back he approached each of them in turn.
"An Amazonian princess, you possess super strength, endurance and flight," he said to Wonder Woman. "Anything else?"
"Well, see this lasso attached to my hip? All I have to do is wrap it around anyone, it can bring out the truth, no matter what it is," Diana responded.
"Interesting ability, and we may use it," Clark thoughtfully said. He then moved over to Green Lantern. "You possess a power ring, you're a former marine, and you've been trained by the Green Lantern Corp. Is that correct?"
"Yes, that is correct," John said. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course, fire away," Clark replied.
"So it's true that you've been on this planet since you were an infant?"
Clark nodded and wondered where he was going with that question.
"So where have you been all this time?" Clark stiffened. "I see I've touched a nerve. You do not have to answer that."
"No, it's alright. I will answer your question after the introductions are complete." He stood in front the Flash. He had to grin. "So, you're the fastest man alive, and you possess the ability for dimensional time travel, that's fascinating but not quite true," he said and grinned.
Barry was not amused. "I consider that a challenge, Superman."
"If you wish," Clark said and grinned again. Another woman on the team stood before him with a grin on her face. "Is something funny Hawkgirl?"
"No, it's just that no one is faster than Barry," Shayera stated.
"Really, we'll see about that." He watched her for a moment. "The wings are a telling sign. You can fly as well, you're strong, and you can hold your own in any fight. Can I assume that's true?"
"You better believe it," Shayera replied grinning. He turned from her. "Last but not least, we have Martian Manhunter." J'onn was not in his true form. "You can fly as well, you can render yourself invisible, and you can read minds. That is truly a remarkable ability." He paused as he watched him closely. "What do you look like behind your human form? May I see the real you?"
Instead of answering him, J'onn transformed into his true self. "I enjoy orioles."
Clark frowned not understanding. "Are you referring to the baseball team or oriole cookies?"
"I meant oriole cookies, of course. How long have you been here?" J'onn shook his head.
Clark chuckled. He then glanced at all his new friends and wanted to start out with the truth. He turned and walked over to the window. Looking up at the sky, he told them everything. "My father believed that the world would never accept me, never understand the things I could do, and so after he died to protect my secret, I went in search of something, anything that would lead to me to the truth of why I was sent here to this planet and what my true purpose could be." He turned to face them. "I found that truth and so here I am."
"And so are we," Bruce said. "Superman, these people are here to help you. You know what's at stake."
"I know that, but …" Clark wasn't sure about this.
"We know everything." Bruce paused he gave him a look. "You need us. You can't do it alone, not again."
Clark hesitated, still doubtful. He glanced at his new friends, all superheroes, all willing and ready to help him.
"Everyone here is trustworthy. You don't have to worry about that." Bruce was firm.
Bruce was right. He needed help. "My name is Clark. Clark Kent."
"We are alike in some ways and not in others." J'onn spoke up. "We are in some ways human, but in others we are different. I think that is the reason why we all get along so well." He paused. "Like Bruce said, we are here to help."
Clark was immensely pleased. "Thank you, J'onn." It was a blessing, and he was truly grateful.
"Well, now that's settled, let's get to work," Bruce began. "Clark, I checked into Lex's finances from the time before he married Erica, and you were right, the company was barely above water, and another divorce would have spelled disaster for him."
"Definitely, a motive for what he did to her. If only she had known the truth.…" Clark let that hang for a moment.
"Maybe now, she will leave him." Bruce was hopeful.
After a few minutes of back of forth information about a possible Kryptonian attack. Clark reminded them about a possible hindrance to winning this fight. "If the green-k is exposed to me or if they have Kryptonian abilities, there will be no way of stopping them. They will be too strong."
"There must be some other way of stopping them." That was J'onn.
Clark frowned then he thought about it. "My biological Father was here for a short time, and there may be a way for me to contact him. Bruce and I managed to retrieve the ship, and I took it to the Arctic. Almost every night I've gone there in the hope of repairing it to speak to him. He may have the answers we're looking for."
"And do you think it may be ready?" That was Bruce.
"I think it is." He turned to his friends. "If there's any way of stopping this before it happens, then we have to take it. My city cannot withstand another attack."
"We agree. What can we do?" That was Green Lantern.
"Help with the evacuation. Lois and her Father, an Army general are spearheading it as we speak."
"You should go to the ship." That was Bruce.
"I appreciate all your help, but there can be no more loss of life, and that includes all of you." Clark was firm in his statement. "If at all possible, we have to move the fighting away from the city."
"I agree. Go now, we'll contact Lois and her Father," J'onn said.
"Thanks, J'onn." And then he was gone.
~o~o~
Lex's clone lab on the outskirts of town:
After travelling for nearly an hour, Erica realized where they were headed. "Lex, where are we going?"
He turned to her with a curious smirk. "Don't you know? You've been here before."
Erica was calm. "Do you mean when that drug deal that fell apart? I remember."
He narrowed his eyes. "You are remembering everything. That's good. We'll need your expertise on a few things."
"That's why I'm here." Erica was upbeat but worried. What if Alan mentions my earlier visit?
"Here we are," Lex said. His chauffeur opened the door for them.
Erica began to shake. Her heart was pounding like a drum.
"You don't look well; come inside and you can relax for a minute. This won't take long." Lex guided her to one of the buildings, but miraculously, it was the second building, not the one she had gone to before. She immediately relaxed.
Lex used a specific key to enter the building. He then called out to one of his scientists. "Bill, this is Erica, my … my wife. Can you show her around? I have an urgent meeting to attend." He paused as he stared at him. "We should be moving tonight."
Bill understood. He held out his hand to Erica. They shook hands. "Mrs. Luthor. Welcome. Please follow me." Erica glanced at his name plate, and his name was Bill Anderson.
"Thank you, Bill," Erica said. She followed him around the lower floors, but then he headed upstairs. She braced herself for another gruesome scene. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she climbed the stairs, but what greeted her almost made her pass out again.
It was her brother, but he wasn't inside a growth tube, he was standing over by a desk looking over some papers. He was alive and breathing.
Erica tried to hold the tears at bay. She failed miserably. They slid down her cheeks. "Paul, is that you?"
Paul glanced up at the woman coming towards him. She did look familiar. His memory implants had been successful, but now they were going to be put to the test. "Erica?"
"It is you?" She held out her arms.
He hesitated for a moment. "Erica, it's so good to see you." He held her close. It was the first time he had held anyone. It felt personable and knowing that they were related by blood, he liked it.
"Let me look at you." She pulled away then she touched his cheeks with both hands, but then she stared into his eyes. He's not my Paul. She slowly removed her hands from his face and backed up. Her strong will came to the forefront as she turned from him. "So, tell me about your work here."
"Of course, come this way."
Erica was now torn about what to do. This was not her Paul. He was obviously a clone but wasn't a clone better than no Paul at all. She had no answers. The tour was over and she had made it through without losing her breakfast.
"Thank you, Paul. Here's my number. I'm currently staying with Lex. Call me if you need anything." She paused. "You must come by and meet your niece. Her name is Lena, but she's leaving in a few days for school out of state. Oh, well, maybe you two can meet once she has a break later in the year. How does that sound?" Erica was rambling a bit.
Paul was a bit shocked by her rambling. He shook his head to clear it. "Of course, I'll call you."
She had to continue the charade then she leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Goodbye, Paul."
"Goodbye," he said and tried to smile.
She left him staring after her.
~o~o~
Meanwhile, in Lex's meeting with his scientists:
"Were you able to synthesize the green rock?" It was crucial to his plan. Lex was determined to destroy Superman. Now that the Zod scandal had been cleared up, he was desperate to discredit all that he had accomplished. The city still worshipped him and everything he did. It made him feel inadequate and useless as if his entire life had led him to this moment with him. He couldn't explain it, but it was true.
Alan, from the other building, was the last to join the meeting.
"There wasn't enough time to complete the process on all the clones, only a few," Alan stated.
"Dammit." Lex paced back and forth, back and forth.
"Do you still want to go ahead with your plans tonight?" Bill asked.
"Yes, it will only be a matter of time before they find out what's going on here. We can't wait another day." Lex replied. He stopped pacing when it became quiet. "What is it?"
Everyone looked around the table, not saying anything for a minute. "Mr. Luthor, we all have families who live here. This battle could destroy what's left. Then what we are supposed to do?"
"I could care less what you do. I paid each of you a small fortune to do as I say."
"Yes, sir," they answered him in unison.
Erica returned from meeting with Paul and just missed Alan as he entered the meeting. She had heard every word. It was time for her to leave to warn Superman and Clark Kent. She knew they were friends. She turned and entered the ladies room and sent several text messages to Clark and her Father. No one was in there, not at first.
A few minutes later, a young woman walked in and then Erica tried not to stare at her, but she couldn't help it. "Hello, I'm Mrs. Luthor. Are you new here?"
"Hi, my name is Lena?"
Erica paled then she swallowed. How is this even possible? Lex must have gotten Lena's blood sample when she was a baby. "Did you say Lena? What a lovely name." Apparently, this Lena was also a clone, the same clone she had seen in the other building. How could I have not known it was my own daughter? She looked to be about twenty years of age. This time Erica could not hold it in. "Excuse me."
She barely made into the bathroom stall and emptied her stomach. A few minutes later, after the clone had left, and the managed to clean herself up, Lex walked in.
He watched her for a minute. "Seen enough?"
Her eyes widened. "You knew all along." It was a statement.
"Of course, I knew. I have live feeds on this place day in and day out. I knew the moment you walked in here."
"Why Lex? Why are you doing this?" Erica was incredulous.
"You can't see the whole picture. Superman is a menace. He cannot be trusted. He killed Zod and who knows when he may turn and go insane and kill us all?"
Erica was stunned. He actually believed that. She ran to him and tried to claw his eyes out. "How could you do this to my family? How could you?" She was on the verge of tears.
He held her arms away from him. "You, Paul, Lena, and even Henri were just pawns on a game of chess. I played it well, don't you think?"
"We're people, Lex. We're human. We have feelings and emotions." She paused as she stared at him. "But you have none, I see that now. None at all." She tried to walk past him.
He grabbed her arm. "Where do you think you're going?"
She snatched her arm away. "Oh, are you going to drug me again and stick me in a mental hospital?"
"No, but I can't have you in the way. Hand it over." He held out his hand.
She handed him her cell. "It's too late, Lex. Clark Kent knows, and if he knows, so does Superman."
"It doesn't matter, because after tonight, no more Superman."
"But why Lex, Superman is not here to hurt us?" She paused. "But you are. You are the one who should be locked up because you are the one insane, Lex. Insane!"
He backhanded her across the face, she fell against the wash basin, her head hit the basin in an awkward way, and then she fell to the floor unconscious.
~o~o~
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world:
Clark wanted Lois with him when he inspected the ship one more time. Her presence could be a difference between Jor-El making an appearance or not. After picking her up from the base and hurriedly changing into heavy Army clothes, they headed north.
"Wow, you're flying so fast," Lois commented as she ducked her head under his chin. He wrapped his cape around her.
"Sorry, Lois, but there's no time to spare because of Erica's text."
"So, we have to prepare for a clone war. It's actually happening." Lois could not believe it.
"It's true. Erica's text did indeed confirm what we have known for several days now. Lex is planning to destroy the rest of the city with clones."
"But didn't he commit money to rebuild?"
"No, he never did. His campaign fell apart days after his announcement, and he reneged on the deal," Clark responded.
"Now why doesn't that surprise me," Lois deadpanned.
"We're here," Clark said.
They both looked down at the ship. It was still a bit damaged, but it was mostly intact.
"Clark, you know we don't have a key," Lois sadly said.
"I know that, but Zod was able to pilot it with his key and maybe we can access Jor-El's consciousness with the same key."
"I don't know, Clark. The "S" key was for you and Jor-El, not Zod."
"I know it's a long shot."
"We'll be upbeat and hopeful. It may work," Lois said.
They entered the ship, and it was undeniably in better shape than the last time she had seen it fall from the sky. Once inside, Lois immediately felt warmer.
Clark took her hand as they walked inside. "I remember this spot right over there. You saved my life."
"I remember." He squeezed her hand. Clark walked further inside and then they came upon the console with Zod's key still inside. He removed the key.
"Now what?" Lois asked.
Clark sighed as he glanced around hoping for a sign or something to happen. A few minutes later, one of those watcher drones appeared and hovered before them. It spoke to them. "Kal-El?"
Clark grinned. "You know me?"
"Yes, may I help you?" The drone asked.
"Yes, we need the "El" key in order to access my Father's consciousness. Can you help us?"
"Yes, I believe I can." A few minutes passed then the "S" key materialized from the drone's face and Clark took it. "Thank you."
He placed the 'S' key inside the slot. It took several minutes, but nothing happened.
Lois squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry, Clark."
"Maybe it was just too much damage to the ship. It was worth a shot."
They turned to go, but then. "Kal."
Jor-El appeared before them.
"Father?" Tears sprang into his eyes.
He glanced at Lois, and her eyes matched his own.
TBC!
~o~o~
Song Inspiration: Lies, Lies, Lies, Toni Braxton.
A/N: Wow, that was a wild ride. Takes a deep breath and glares at Lex. It took a bit of moving things around, but Clark seeing his Father again had to happen in this story. I wanted that for him so much. I hope Jor-El doesn't chew him out about killing Zod. I don't think Clark could take that from him. He already did in another MoS story entitled 'On My Own' if you want to read it (shameless plug)! Comment, please, please, begs unashamed. Ok, you don't want to miss the next chapter. *just saying* Thank you for reading!
Author: Babette babettew54
Canon: Superman (MOS)
Pairings; Characters: Clark/Lois, Martha Kent, Sam Lane, Lucy Lane, Lex Luthor, Bruce Wayne, Original Character(s)
Rating: M
Word Count: 5,200
Summary: Lois couldn’t decide whether to ask him out or bombard him with questions hopefully to achieve the ‘Story of the Century.’
Spoilers: None. It is just speculation about hand touching in the trailer and what it could mean for Clois. The story continues with more speculation about Clois and the upcoming sequel.
Disclaimer: DC Comics/Warner Bros. Entertainment owns these characters. This is strictly for my own amusement.
Author's Notes: In this next chapter, which is fast-paced, Clark and Bruce realize what they may be up against with Lex’s diabolical schemes, Erica makes an ill-advised move with shocking results, Lex moves ahead with his plans, and later Lois and Clark have their prayers answered. Read on. I hope you enjoy it! :D:D
X-posted: (FFN); (A03)
Previously:
ACT I: The Only Thing That Matters
( Chapter 1)( Chapter 2)( Chapter 3)( Chapter 4)( Chapter 5)
( Chapter 6)( Chapter 7)(Chapter 8)( Chapter 9)( Chapter 10)
( Chapter 11)( Chapter 12)( Chapter 13) ( Chapter 14)( Chapter 15)
ACT II: All I’ve Ever Wanted
( Chapter 16)( Chapter 17)
Chapter 18: Lies, Lies, Lies
Still at the base, General Lane's office:
Clark and Bruce exchange thoughtful glances. Both of them in turn explained the latest updates about Lex.
Now Lois was truly worried. She had a question for them. She stood up and paced for a bit. "So let me get this straight, Erica's brother was involved with mysterious experiments and may have died because of that. At least, that is what we think happened. Now we have to worry about Lex and whether he knows about the green-k and what it can do to Superman?"
"That's correct, we have no way of knowing what those experiments were, and why it was so important to Lex to keep Erica quiet for over ten years," Clark replied.
"This really worries me," Lois said. "We know Lex is obsessed with you. Those images he showed us in that make-shift lab could mean that Lex may have some crazy idea about using Zod's DNA in some way. After what you told me about your biological family on Krypton, Lex could be building more Kryptonians. I know that sounds far-fetched, but it's the only thing I can think of." She paused and then she gasped. "If Lex knows about the green-k, then …" She hesitated.
Clark closed her eyes and couldn't even think about another invasion of Kryptonians. The world would not survive it. Lois and Clark glanced at each other with the same thoughts.
"General, we need to speak with Jones as soon as possible. Could you have him brought to the interrogation room right away?" Bruce asked.
"Of course, but how do we prepare for another Kryptonian attack or whatever Luthor has on his mind? Goodness, the city is already in shambles. What does he want?" General Lane thoughtfully asked.
Lois glanced at her fiancé again. "It's pretty clear, Daddy. He wants Superman dead, and he does not care who gets in the way," she sadly stated.
"We need proof and Jones could give us that." Bruce sensed the urgency of the situation.
General Lane got a beep from his assistant. He took the call. "Jones is waiting for you, Batman."
"I'm headed over there now. This won't take long," Bruce said, and then he left.
Lois, Clark, and Sam watched him leave. Clark then raised his eyebrows at his fiancé. Sam caught their looks.
"Is there something I should know?" Sam asked.
"There won't be a perfect time for this, so here goes," Lois said. She walked over to Clark and stood beside him, then reached inside her purse, pulled out her ring and placed it on her finger.
Clark squeezed her ring hand. "General Lane, Sir, Lois and I are in love, and we want your blessing. After everything has calmed down, we want to get married."
Sam gave a bark of laughter then he shook his head and realized they were not joking. "But how can something like that be legal? You are an alien."
"Daddy, Clark and I realize that there are certain areas of this that will have to be worked out but …" She paused as she walked over to him and took his hand. "Our lives over the past few months are so intertwined that we couldn't be apart even we wanted to. It's as simple as that. There can never be anyone else for me and Clark feels the same way." She watched him for a moment, and he was holding tears back. "Oh Daddy, I didn't mean to make you unhappy."
He pulled her close. "I'm not unhappy, sweetie, not at all." Sam pulled away then he touched her cheek. "I've never seen you like this before, neither determined, nor happy, and nor in love. I'm delighted. I just wish your mother was here to see it." Lois hugged him close for a moment. He turned to Clark and held out his hand. "You have my blessing."
Clark was so relieved. They shook hands. "Thanks … Dad." A slow grin appeared on his face.
"Ok, not sure if I'm ready for that yet," Sam grinned.
They all smiled. There was a knock at the door. It was Bruce.
"I have unfortunate news. Lex knows."
~o~o~
Meanwhile, in upstate New York:
Henri arrived at the estate a few hours after speaking with Lois and Clark. He entered the house and realized something was not right. "Ellen, Ellen!" He yelled for the housekeeper. No answer. He found her in her room, and she was tied up and gagged. He removed the gag and untied her. "What happened?"
Ellen took several deep breaths to calm down. "Two men came to the door forced their way inside. There's nothing I could do. They tied me up, but then I could hear them upstairs."
"How long ago did they leave?" Henri was thankful that they hadn't killed her or worse.
"Not long, about an hour maybe. I'm not sure."
He squeezed her shoulder. "I want you to call the police, and I'm going upstairs to make sure they're gone."
"Yes, Sir, but be careful, they had guns." Ellen then called the authorities and Henri headed upstairs.
It appeared as if they were now gone, but Henri was cautious and truly worried. This is Lex's doing, he thought. Paul had been extremely secretive and of course, hiding his things made perfect sense, and it appears I was right.
Henri checked all the bedrooms upstairs and they had all been torn apart looking for something. Paul's room saw the worst of the damage. Even the mattress had been torn open. He immediately went into the closet, looked up, and the access panel was still in place. He went back into his room and pulled out a step ladder and brought it back to Paul's room. He then stepped up and removed the panel, and they were still there. Two boxes full of Paul's belongings, specifically taken from his office and his apartment in Metropolis.
Before he could go through everything, however, police sirens could be heard in the distance.
A half hour later, after taking statements from Ellen and Henri, they left with little hope of finding them. They had on masks and gloves, of course. After the police had left, he gave Ellen the rest of the week off. Ellen thanked him and left to be with her family.
Henri sat in Paul's room staring at the boxes and wondered again what could cause this much chaos and confusion. Instead of searching in his things from LexCorp, he went back further and found a few folders of his work at Wayne Enterprises. Apparently he had been let go when they found out that he was working on cloning experiments on company property. All of this work was there in this box.
He then checked the LexCorp box, and there wasn't much there. He worked there for over eight years. He looked some more and found the folders on the cloning. There were also medical bills and discharge papers from the hospital. Paul had been alive after the accident, but how was that possible? His son could be alive, but where was he?
He had to get these documents to Clark Kent. He will know what to do with all of this information. He immediately pulled out several suitcases, packed up all the documents and headed back to the airport. Once he arrived at the airport, he then texted Mr. Kent with news about Paul.
~o~o~
Back at the base:
Clark read the text messages from Henri then he frowned.
"What is it?" He did not look happy. "More bad news?" Lois asked
"Yes, it appears as if you were right Lois. Paul was into cloning experiments when he died, but according to his papers, Henri says that he may still be alive."
"We need to move quickly." That was Bruce. "Meet me at Spencer Avenue and 10th Street." Then he was gone.
"But …" What was at that address? Clark wondered.
"Go, go!" Lois said and shoved him out the door.
General Lane was astounded at the speed of both men. "Honey, the Army cannot deal with another Kryptonian assault. We need to stop this before it happens," Sam said, truly worried about the people still in the city.
"It may be too late to stop it, Daddy." She paused. "We need to evacuate the city. No one else needs to die. No one."
~o~o~
Meanwhile, back at the LexCorp Tower:
Lex opened the door of his suite, and two men handed him several small suitcases. They shook their heads, meaning that they had not found anything. Lex fumed and shut the door in their faces.
"Who was that, Lex?" Erica asked. She walked into the living room with Lena behind her.
Ignoring her question, he walked over to Lena. "I have your things, sweetie," Lex said and smiled.
"Thank you, Father," Lena was truly thankful. She took the bags and headed back into her room.
"Thank you, Lex," Erica said. "We need to talk."
"Make it quick, I just got a call from my other business office, and I have to move quickly if things are to go as planned."
Erica sensed what this was about. "What things? Can I help?"
He pulled his eyes from his phone and glanced at her. "Help me? How?" He was curious.
She sashayed over to him and then flirted with him. "Well, you haven't talked about your work since I came back. We worked well together before we got married. I miss that, don't you?" She smiled at him. Her eyes moved over his face.
He had to agree with her. "Yeah, I do miss it."
She smiled even wider. "So, can I come with you to your business meeting?"
"What about Lena?"
"I have a sitter."
He thought about it for a minute. "Ok, let's go."
~o~o~
A few minutes after leaving the base:
Clark flew over the address that Bruce had given him. It was uncommonly tall building, but it appeared to be vacant. A lot of businesses had closed up shop and moved away. He wasn't surprised by this. It will take time for the city to rebuild, not only the infrastructure, but the confidence in the city would come back in time.
He then peered through the windows and the top floor was not vacant, but there were machines, computers, and various individuals were standing around waiting for something. One of them spotted him and waved him in.
Clark frowned and flew over to a balcony. The doors opened, and a woman opened the door. He landed easily, and she had her hand out as if she wanted to shake it. His instincts were never wrong, at least leading up to this point. He shook her hand.
"Hi, my name is Diana. You must be Superman."
"Yes, I am."
She chuckled. "Of course, you are. Come in, come in. Everyone is here, including Batman."
Clark walked in, cape flapping from the wind. The door behind him closed. He stared at the rest of Diana's friends. He did not know what to do.
Batman suddenly looked up from a monitor and came over to him. "Superman, let me introduce you to everyone."
"What's going on, Bruce? We have to prepare for an attack." He did not have time to meet new friends. He had things to do.
Also, there waiting to be introduced were Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, the Flash, and Hawkgirl.
They all shook hands and proceeded to tell Clark their brief histories, they abilities and the reasons why their activities were hidden up until this time, but it appears that will not be the case anymore.
Clark had a question. "So how long have you been together like this, years, weeks or months and what do you call yourselves?"
"Actually, this particular group you see here have been together since you arrived, only a few months, but I've worked with a few of them for years. Our name, which is new, is Justice League of America." Bruce responded.
"I see," Clark murmured, then the decided to take a closer look. "I like the name, by the way." Hands behind his back he approached each of them in turn.
"An Amazonian princess, you possess super strength, endurance and flight," he said to Wonder Woman. "Anything else?"
"Well, see this lasso attached to my hip? All I have to do is wrap it around anyone, it can bring out the truth, no matter what it is," Diana responded.
"Interesting ability, and we may use it," Clark thoughtfully said. He then moved over to Green Lantern. "You possess a power ring, you're a former marine, and you've been trained by the Green Lantern Corp. Is that correct?"
"Yes, that is correct," John said. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course, fire away," Clark replied.
"So it's true that you've been on this planet since you were an infant?"
Clark nodded and wondered where he was going with that question.
"So where have you been all this time?" Clark stiffened. "I see I've touched a nerve. You do not have to answer that."
"No, it's alright. I will answer your question after the introductions are complete." He stood in front the Flash. He had to grin. "So, you're the fastest man alive, and you possess the ability for dimensional time travel, that's fascinating but not quite true," he said and grinned.
Barry was not amused. "I consider that a challenge, Superman."
"If you wish," Clark said and grinned again. Another woman on the team stood before him with a grin on her face. "Is something funny Hawkgirl?"
"No, it's just that no one is faster than Barry," Shayera stated.
"Really, we'll see about that." He watched her for a moment. "The wings are a telling sign. You can fly as well, you're strong, and you can hold your own in any fight. Can I assume that's true?"
"You better believe it," Shayera replied grinning. He turned from her. "Last but not least, we have Martian Manhunter." J'onn was not in his true form. "You can fly as well, you can render yourself invisible, and you can read minds. That is truly a remarkable ability." He paused as he watched him closely. "What do you look like behind your human form? May I see the real you?"
Instead of answering him, J'onn transformed into his true self. "I enjoy orioles."
Clark frowned not understanding. "Are you referring to the baseball team or oriole cookies?"
"I meant oriole cookies, of course. How long have you been here?" J'onn shook his head.
Clark chuckled. He then glanced at all his new friends and wanted to start out with the truth. He turned and walked over to the window. Looking up at the sky, he told them everything. "My father believed that the world would never accept me, never understand the things I could do, and so after he died to protect my secret, I went in search of something, anything that would lead to me to the truth of why I was sent here to this planet and what my true purpose could be." He turned to face them. "I found that truth and so here I am."
"And so are we," Bruce said. "Superman, these people are here to help you. You know what's at stake."
"I know that, but …" Clark wasn't sure about this.
"We know everything." Bruce paused he gave him a look. "You need us. You can't do it alone, not again."
Clark hesitated, still doubtful. He glanced at his new friends, all superheroes, all willing and ready to help him.
"Everyone here is trustworthy. You don't have to worry about that." Bruce was firm.
Bruce was right. He needed help. "My name is Clark. Clark Kent."
"We are alike in some ways and not in others." J'onn spoke up. "We are in some ways human, but in others we are different. I think that is the reason why we all get along so well." He paused. "Like Bruce said, we are here to help."
Clark was immensely pleased. "Thank you, J'onn." It was a blessing, and he was truly grateful.
"Well, now that's settled, let's get to work," Bruce began. "Clark, I checked into Lex's finances from the time before he married Erica, and you were right, the company was barely above water, and another divorce would have spelled disaster for him."
"Definitely, a motive for what he did to her. If only she had known the truth.…" Clark let that hang for a moment.
"Maybe now, she will leave him." Bruce was hopeful.
After a few minutes of back of forth information about a possible Kryptonian attack. Clark reminded them about a possible hindrance to winning this fight. "If the green-k is exposed to me or if they have Kryptonian abilities, there will be no way of stopping them. They will be too strong."
"There must be some other way of stopping them." That was J'onn.
Clark frowned then he thought about it. "My biological Father was here for a short time, and there may be a way for me to contact him. Bruce and I managed to retrieve the ship, and I took it to the Arctic. Almost every night I've gone there in the hope of repairing it to speak to him. He may have the answers we're looking for."
"And do you think it may be ready?" That was Bruce.
"I think it is." He turned to his friends. "If there's any way of stopping this before it happens, then we have to take it. My city cannot withstand another attack."
"We agree. What can we do?" That was Green Lantern.
"Help with the evacuation. Lois and her Father, an Army general are spearheading it as we speak."
"You should go to the ship." That was Bruce.
"I appreciate all your help, but there can be no more loss of life, and that includes all of you." Clark was firm in his statement. "If at all possible, we have to move the fighting away from the city."
"I agree. Go now, we'll contact Lois and her Father," J'onn said.
"Thanks, J'onn." And then he was gone.
~o~o~
Lex's clone lab on the outskirts of town:
After travelling for nearly an hour, Erica realized where they were headed. "Lex, where are we going?"
He turned to her with a curious smirk. "Don't you know? You've been here before."
Erica was calm. "Do you mean when that drug deal that fell apart? I remember."
He narrowed his eyes. "You are remembering everything. That's good. We'll need your expertise on a few things."
"That's why I'm here." Erica was upbeat but worried. What if Alan mentions my earlier visit?
"Here we are," Lex said. His chauffeur opened the door for them.
Erica began to shake. Her heart was pounding like a drum.
"You don't look well; come inside and you can relax for a minute. This won't take long." Lex guided her to one of the buildings, but miraculously, it was the second building, not the one she had gone to before. She immediately relaxed.
Lex used a specific key to enter the building. He then called out to one of his scientists. "Bill, this is Erica, my … my wife. Can you show her around? I have an urgent meeting to attend." He paused as he stared at him. "We should be moving tonight."
Bill understood. He held out his hand to Erica. They shook hands. "Mrs. Luthor. Welcome. Please follow me." Erica glanced at his name plate, and his name was Bill Anderson.
"Thank you, Bill," Erica said. She followed him around the lower floors, but then he headed upstairs. She braced herself for another gruesome scene. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she climbed the stairs, but what greeted her almost made her pass out again.
It was her brother, but he wasn't inside a growth tube, he was standing over by a desk looking over some papers. He was alive and breathing.
Erica tried to hold the tears at bay. She failed miserably. They slid down her cheeks. "Paul, is that you?"
Paul glanced up at the woman coming towards him. She did look familiar. His memory implants had been successful, but now they were going to be put to the test. "Erica?"
"It is you?" She held out her arms.
He hesitated for a moment. "Erica, it's so good to see you." He held her close. It was the first time he had held anyone. It felt personable and knowing that they were related by blood, he liked it.
"Let me look at you." She pulled away then she touched his cheeks with both hands, but then she stared into his eyes. He's not my Paul. She slowly removed her hands from his face and backed up. Her strong will came to the forefront as she turned from him. "So, tell me about your work here."
"Of course, come this way."
Erica was now torn about what to do. This was not her Paul. He was obviously a clone but wasn't a clone better than no Paul at all. She had no answers. The tour was over and she had made it through without losing her breakfast.
"Thank you, Paul. Here's my number. I'm currently staying with Lex. Call me if you need anything." She paused. "You must come by and meet your niece. Her name is Lena, but she's leaving in a few days for school out of state. Oh, well, maybe you two can meet once she has a break later in the year. How does that sound?" Erica was rambling a bit.
Paul was a bit shocked by her rambling. He shook his head to clear it. "Of course, I'll call you."
She had to continue the charade then she leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Goodbye, Paul."
"Goodbye," he said and tried to smile.
She left him staring after her.
~o~o~
Meanwhile, in Lex's meeting with his scientists:
"Were you able to synthesize the green rock?" It was crucial to his plan. Lex was determined to destroy Superman. Now that the Zod scandal had been cleared up, he was desperate to discredit all that he had accomplished. The city still worshipped him and everything he did. It made him feel inadequate and useless as if his entire life had led him to this moment with him. He couldn't explain it, but it was true.
Alan, from the other building, was the last to join the meeting.
"There wasn't enough time to complete the process on all the clones, only a few," Alan stated.
"Dammit." Lex paced back and forth, back and forth.
"Do you still want to go ahead with your plans tonight?" Bill asked.
"Yes, it will only be a matter of time before they find out what's going on here. We can't wait another day." Lex replied. He stopped pacing when it became quiet. "What is it?"
Everyone looked around the table, not saying anything for a minute. "Mr. Luthor, we all have families who live here. This battle could destroy what's left. Then what we are supposed to do?"
"I could care less what you do. I paid each of you a small fortune to do as I say."
"Yes, sir," they answered him in unison.
Erica returned from meeting with Paul and just missed Alan as he entered the meeting. She had heard every word. It was time for her to leave to warn Superman and Clark Kent. She knew they were friends. She turned and entered the ladies room and sent several text messages to Clark and her Father. No one was in there, not at first.
A few minutes later, a young woman walked in and then Erica tried not to stare at her, but she couldn't help it. "Hello, I'm Mrs. Luthor. Are you new here?"
"Hi, my name is Lena?"
Erica paled then she swallowed. How is this even possible? Lex must have gotten Lena's blood sample when she was a baby. "Did you say Lena? What a lovely name." Apparently, this Lena was also a clone, the same clone she had seen in the other building. How could I have not known it was my own daughter? She looked to be about twenty years of age. This time Erica could not hold it in. "Excuse me."
She barely made into the bathroom stall and emptied her stomach. A few minutes later, after the clone had left, and the managed to clean herself up, Lex walked in.
He watched her for a minute. "Seen enough?"
Her eyes widened. "You knew all along." It was a statement.
"Of course, I knew. I have live feeds on this place day in and day out. I knew the moment you walked in here."
"Why Lex? Why are you doing this?" Erica was incredulous.
"You can't see the whole picture. Superman is a menace. He cannot be trusted. He killed Zod and who knows when he may turn and go insane and kill us all?"
Erica was stunned. He actually believed that. She ran to him and tried to claw his eyes out. "How could you do this to my family? How could you?" She was on the verge of tears.
He held her arms away from him. "You, Paul, Lena, and even Henri were just pawns on a game of chess. I played it well, don't you think?"
"We're people, Lex. We're human. We have feelings and emotions." She paused as she stared at him. "But you have none, I see that now. None at all." She tried to walk past him.
He grabbed her arm. "Where do you think you're going?"
She snatched her arm away. "Oh, are you going to drug me again and stick me in a mental hospital?"
"No, but I can't have you in the way. Hand it over." He held out his hand.
She handed him her cell. "It's too late, Lex. Clark Kent knows, and if he knows, so does Superman."
"It doesn't matter, because after tonight, no more Superman."
"But why Lex, Superman is not here to hurt us?" She paused. "But you are. You are the one who should be locked up because you are the one insane, Lex. Insane!"
He backhanded her across the face, she fell against the wash basin, her head hit the basin in an awkward way, and then she fell to the floor unconscious.
~o~o~
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world:
Clark wanted Lois with him when he inspected the ship one more time. Her presence could be a difference between Jor-El making an appearance or not. After picking her up from the base and hurriedly changing into heavy Army clothes, they headed north.
"Wow, you're flying so fast," Lois commented as she ducked her head under his chin. He wrapped his cape around her.
"Sorry, Lois, but there's no time to spare because of Erica's text."
"So, we have to prepare for a clone war. It's actually happening." Lois could not believe it.
"It's true. Erica's text did indeed confirm what we have known for several days now. Lex is planning to destroy the rest of the city with clones."
"But didn't he commit money to rebuild?"
"No, he never did. His campaign fell apart days after his announcement, and he reneged on the deal," Clark responded.
"Now why doesn't that surprise me," Lois deadpanned.
"We're here," Clark said.
They both looked down at the ship. It was still a bit damaged, but it was mostly intact.
"Clark, you know we don't have a key," Lois sadly said.
"I know that, but Zod was able to pilot it with his key and maybe we can access Jor-El's consciousness with the same key."
"I don't know, Clark. The "S" key was for you and Jor-El, not Zod."
"I know it's a long shot."
"We'll be upbeat and hopeful. It may work," Lois said.
They entered the ship, and it was undeniably in better shape than the last time she had seen it fall from the sky. Once inside, Lois immediately felt warmer.
Clark took her hand as they walked inside. "I remember this spot right over there. You saved my life."
"I remember." He squeezed her hand. Clark walked further inside and then they came upon the console with Zod's key still inside. He removed the key.
"Now what?" Lois asked.
Clark sighed as he glanced around hoping for a sign or something to happen. A few minutes later, one of those watcher drones appeared and hovered before them. It spoke to them. "Kal-El?"
Clark grinned. "You know me?"
"Yes, may I help you?" The drone asked.
"Yes, we need the "El" key in order to access my Father's consciousness. Can you help us?"
"Yes, I believe I can." A few minutes passed then the "S" key materialized from the drone's face and Clark took it. "Thank you."
He placed the 'S' key inside the slot. It took several minutes, but nothing happened.
Lois squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry, Clark."
"Maybe it was just too much damage to the ship. It was worth a shot."
They turned to go, but then. "Kal."
Jor-El appeared before them.
"Father?" Tears sprang into his eyes.
He glanced at Lois, and her eyes matched his own.
TBC!
~o~o~
Song Inspiration: Lies, Lies, Lies, Toni Braxton.
A/N: Wow, that was a wild ride. Takes a deep breath and glares at Lex. It took a bit of moving things around, but Clark seeing his Father again had to happen in this story. I wanted that for him so much. I hope Jor-El doesn't chew him out about killing Zod. I don't think Clark could take that from him. He already did in another MoS story entitled 'On My Own' if you want to read it (shameless plug)! Comment, please, please, begs unashamed. Ok, you don't want to miss the next chapter. *just saying* Thank you for reading!