Fic: Superman: Aftermath | DCU/SR | Clark/Lois | PG-13 | 22/56
Title: Superman: Aftermath
Author: Saavikam
Fandom: Superman Returns
Pairings: Lois/Richard, Clark/Lois
Rating - This Chapter: PG-13
Chapter Word Count: 7,438
Summary: In the days following the events of Superman Returns, both Clark and Lois are reeling from events that have changed their lives forever, and the city of Metropolis is in shambles. Things only get worse as Lois's relationship with Richard takes a nosedive, the US government wants to send a survey and potential mining mission to New Krypton, and vast amounts of kryptonite show up in the hands of criminals on the streets of Metropolis.
Chapter Summary: After a nightmare of epic proportions, Lois has trouble working with Clark, and when she gets an unexpected call, everything seems to fall apart around her. Elsewhere, the astronauts of the upcoming Atlantis launch deal with their new mission plan, and later, Clark visits Maggie Sawyer to compare notes.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fan-fiction. Superman and the DC Comics universe are property of DC Comics and Warner Brothers. No money has been made or will be made from the production of this work. Darn it.
Author's Notes: Three new scenes in this chapter that you won't want to miss! ^_~ And only 1 more chapter to go in this arc!
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Chapter 22
Concentrating on typing her article, Lois didn't notice the hand on her shoulder until a voice accompanied it. “Ahem, Lois?”
Startled, she spun in her chair and looked up to see Clark standing behind her, without his glasses on. “What the hell?” she demanded of him. “How can you think I'd ever be fooled by that getup?” She grabbed his wrist with one hand, and pushed up the sleeve of his shirt, exposing blue underneath. “What the hell is this?” She tugged on his shirt sleeve. “A costume?”
Clark backed away, stumbling past desks and chairs behind him. “I had to, Lois. I had to lie to you. You can't possibly love the real me. You can't see me. You've never seen me. I'm invisible to you like this.” Clark disappeared.
“Dammit, you're not Kal-El!” she screamed loudly at the now empty space where Clark had stood. Expecting to have drawn everyone's attention in the bullpen, she looked around quickly. But the newsroom was empty. “Where did everybody go?” she wondered out loud, rising from her chair and moving to the middle of the room.
Turning, she saw Jason sitting at the table in the conference room, coloring quietly. “What are you doing?” she asked him, suddenly finding herself standing beside her son as he drew.
He looked up at her and smiled. “Hi Mommy. Wanna see my picture of Daddy?” He held up the picture he had drawn, and she saw that it was a man in a business suit with huge glasses. His shirt was unbuttoned, and a large red “S” lay beneath it.
“Who is this?” Lois asked her son.
“Mommy,” he rolled his eyes, “it's Daddy!” With a blue crayon he wrote at the bottom of the page in huge letters, “CLAR-”
“No!” Lois stopped him, grabbing the crayon from his hand. “That is not Clark!”
A sudden voice behind her made her jump. “But it is, Miss Lane.”
Lois spun around. Holding a barrel-shaped, green, glowing crystal in one hand, Lex Luthor stood before her.
“You! What do you want from me!?” she screamed. “Get away from my son!”
“Tsk-tsk, Miss Lane. Such an attitude,” he waved the crystal lazily in front of her. “Your son is as good as dead. His father is dead. He can't help you now.” Luthor grinned like a wolf ready to devour its prey, then stepped aside.
Behind him, Kal-El lay on the floor, bleeding from a gunshot wound. “Lois, help me,” he said weakly, holding out a hand toward her.
Panic rushed through her. Kal-El was dying, he was....
“Mommy!!” Jason screamed from behind her. She spun again, this time to see Luthor holding Jason by the throat, the crystal pressed into his belly, only now the crystal had become a shard of kryptonite, long, slender, and sharp. It was the one she'd pulled from Kal-El's back.
“No! Jason! Please, let him go!” she sobbed, pleading with Luthor.
He grinned again, then plunged the blade deep into Jason's gut, pulling a scream from Lois like she'd never screamed before in her life.
“Mommy,” Jason called out weakly, just as Kal-El had. “Help me....”
Another voice sounded from what felt like very far away. “Lois, you can't see me. I can't help if you don't see me.” It was Clark's voice.
Lois whipped around, looking for him. The place Kal-El had lain on the floor was now simply a pool of blood. He was gone. “Clark? Where are you. You can't help us. Where's Kal-El?”
Lois found herself on the roof of the Daily Planet, Jason standing next to her. “Where's Daddy, Mommy?” he asked her.
“What? Daddy's in Washington, sweetie,” she replied.
“Not that Daddy. Him!” He pointed up to the sky, and Lois looked up.
Kal-El descended from the brightly sunlit sky, his cape so red in the light that it seemed to be on fire. But it was awash with blood. It dripped and burned and fluttered behind him as he landed. “Lois, look at me,” he demanded.
Lois looked up to his face. His hair fell down over his eyes, over a pair of dark-rimmed glasses. “Why are you doing this?” she asked.
“How many ways do I have to show you, Lois. I've been here all along. I'm always around,” he explained, giving her a lopsided smile.
Lois began to yell, “No, dammit, you're not always around, you were gone for over five years!”
“I've been gone for five years,” Kal-El said in Clark's voice.
From behind her, an arm snaked around her throat and tightened its grip, pulling her off balance. “Billions of people will die, Miss Lane,” Luthor's voice whispered in her ear. “Starting with you and your son.” Lois felt herself hauled up and dragged to the ledge of the rooftop. She couldn't breathe, the grip on her neck was so tight.
“Lois,” Kal-El said in Clark's voice again, “I can't help you if you don't see me.”
The pressure released from her throat. “You're not Kal-El!” she screamed again, pulling herself up from where Luthor had let go of her.
“Don't you love him?” another voice said from beside her. She turned to see Richard standing where Luthor had been.
“What? How did you get here?”
Richard shook his head. “Don't you love him, Lois?”
“What? I-”
In a swift move, Richard reached out and shoved her. Lois fell backwards, hitting the ledge with the small of her back. She cried out in pain.
He asked again, “Don't you love him? If you did, you would have seen him!” With another hard shove, Lois went cartwheeling over the ledge. As she fell, she screamed.
No one caught her.
* * * * *
Lois woke with a start, breathing hard. Sitting up quickly, she wrapped her arms around herself. For a few moments she tried to hold onto the dream, to what it meant, but it slipped away from her memory like rushing water. Whatever it was, it was gone, leaving her with only panic and fear and a hollow ache in her chest. She shuddered as she began to cry, fresh tears finding their way down her cheeks. Had she had this dream before? She didn't know.
Something important lay in the dream, but she couldn't quite catch it. Only a vague impression of Kal-El and Luthor remained. Something about Kal-El. Dammit, what is wrong with me? Sobbing quietly for a moment, she tried to reclaim the dream. There was... Jason? And a picture? But.... Breathing deeply, she tried to calm herself and concentrate on the confusion and terror she'd felt, hoping it might bring back something... anything....
The image of Kal-El wearing Clark's glasses flashed through her mind. Clark? More images from the dream began to return. Jason's drawing, Clark's voice, Luthor dragging her to the ledge and Richard pushing her over. More tears slipped from her eyes and more confusion set in as she tried to wrap her mind around the ideas the images represented. Frustrated, she threw back her covers and padded to the bathroom.
A few splashes of cold water on her face helped calm the panic and uncertainty, and as she stared at herself in the mirror, she couldn't help but wonder if the possibility truly existed that Kal-El and Clark could be one in the same. If they were the same person, it would make everything he'd ever told her an outright lie. Well, almost everything. The very idea left her feeling empty and betrayed.
Then, just as she began to think it could very well be true, a cold voice in her head snapped at her, No! Absolutely not! She mentally fought to let herself accept the idea, but lost out to the need for proof beyond a doubt. If Kal-El is Clark, he'll tell me. Until then, no dice. Dammit, I need a stiff drink....
A few minutes later she went back to bed, but not before digging out an old bottle of scotch she'd stashed away a few years before, pouring herself a glass, and tossing it back in one long gulp. As sleep began to take her again, she hoped she would forget the last half hour entirely.
* * * * *
At the ass-crack of dawn on Thursday morning, Atlantis Mission Commander Brad Janner found himself and the rest of the crew of STS-115 seated around a conference table, waiting for their Flight Director, Graham Ellis, and their Mission Plan Coordinator, Barb Hertzog, to tell them just why they'd all been dragged out of bed so early. Considering what had been going on in Washington, it wasn't a huge leap to assume the worst.
Glaring at them from the head of the table with an expression that betrayed his as-of-yet-uncaffeinated state, Ellis cleared his throat, then began, “Ladies and gentlemen, your mission's just been officially extended by three days.” At the muffled groan that arose around the table, he continued, “Word came down from Washington two hours ago, after an all night session with the G8 and an emergency meeting with the Joint Chiefs. STS-115 and Atlantis have been given the final go-ahead to conduct an initial survey of New Krypton, including spacewalks for the collection of rock samples.”
“And just how are we supposed to alter our flight plan now?” Janner cut in, feeling the need for a caffeine IV himself, at this point. “My crew's ready for anything, but we need time to made the necessary adjustments, never mind planning the logistics for a geological survey.”
“Which is exactly why we're changing the flight roster,” Hertzog put in calmly from her seat next to Ellis. “Assuming we can get him cleared to go up, Rover Specialist Marc Gentry will be joining you.” With that, the dark-skinned woman stood and stepped around the table to hand a thick binder to each member of the crew. “This is essentially the rough draft of your new mission plan. Gentry will be filling in the blanks as we go, and he'll be in charge of Rover preparation and the actual handling of it once you get up there.”
“We're actually taking a Rover up?” the blonde Mission Specialist, Heidi Metner, spoke up as the crew began to flip through the thick binders. “That's a pretty tall order.”
Hertzog nodded to her as she sat again, “Nothing you can't handle. Two of you will be setting it down on the surface of New Krypton by hand, and it'll be run by remote from the shuttle once it's in place. Besides, if there are any problems, that's what Gentry'll be there for.”
Janner looked up from his mission plan, an index finger tapping a particular page. “I take it the addition of this Zubko character on the Soyuz has something to do with Russia's involvement?”
The Mission Plan Coordinator nodded again. “Exactly, but Yvgheny Zubko's the best in his field outside the US. Plus, alien landscapes are his specialty. He'll be invaluable to the mission. We'd have had Sung Guo from China on the mission, too, if their president had agreed to assist on this part of the survey. But we can work without a crystallographer for now. He'll likely be added to the next crew that goes up.”
Jean LaFayette, a tall, lean woman with dark hair pulled back into a severe braid, and the crew's pilot, spoke up next, a twinkle in her eyes as she skimmed another page in the mission plan, “This should prove an interesting mission.”
“As long as you can fly Atlantis upside down in close proximity to that thing,” Ellis shot back with a smirk.
“Child's play,” she returned quickly.
“Good. There's nothing too risky in the flight plan, of course; all the physics have been considered,” he explained.
“That thing has gravity?” LaFayette asked, skimming another page.
“Oh, yeah. Minuscule, but it's there,” Ellis said. “You'll need to compensate during flight, but the numbers have been crunched to handle the basics. Any other questions?”
A round of head shakes answered him.
Hertzog supplied a tight smile. “All right, then. You'll all be meeting with Gentry in a few hours. Until then, I suggest you all get real cozy with the new plan.”
Six nods and a murmur of assent met her from around the table. In a few days, three of them would be on their way to New Krypton, with two currently untested additions along for the ride.
* * * * *
After another sleepless night Clark dragged himself into work, feeling like he could curl up into a ball and sleep for two days if he could just get the chance. Another night of fighting the effects of kryptonite while trying to do some good for the city of Metropolis had left him more worn out than he'd expected, even with a good five minutes of pure sunlight this morning before switching gears.
Yawning as he passed through the doors to the bullpen, he noticed Lois was already settled in at her desk, typing away and talking on the phone simultaneously, while Jason was stashed in the corner reading a new book. Clark checked his watch. Only eight o'clock? He marveled at Lois's motivation on their current investigation. She'd worked all through the previous afternoon and evening to connect some of the names on Danny's list, and was back at it already.
His own efforts had barely panned out, uncovering only thready business connections between the names he'd taken, nothing solid at all. Their companies had traded stock, bought and sold properties from each other, thrown an international contract or two back and forth, but none of that pointed to anything nefarious. It was all on the up-and-up. Disappointed in his own findings, he hoped Lois had had better luck.
Maneuvering to his own desk, he caught sight of yet another press conference being broadcast over the major networks, and he stopped before situating himself to listen to whatever new announcements were being made.
On most of the screens, the White House Press Secretary was prefacing forthcoming remarks from the president. “...following his address to the UN Security Council, the President spoke with several of the members of the Group of Eight in order to finalize the details for this weekend's launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis and the launch of the Russian ISS Soyuz 13. The President will address the details of the launch in just a few moments, and will say a few words concerning the UN Security Council's response to yesterday's address.” He paused a moment, then continued, “Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.”
After the Press Secretary stepped away, the usual fanfare brought the president to the podium. “Good morning. I trust it's not too early for y'all,” he chuckled. Cameras clicked in the brief pause. “Let me start out here by saying I have utmost respect for the UN Security Council and what it represents. However, I cannot agree with their analysis of our upcoming mission, in conjunction with Russia and with the cooperation of the Group of Eight nations and China, to survey and mine New Krypton. Their reluctance to support the mining of the mineral kryptonite is in my opinion a show of weakness. Heck, even Superman himself supports the idea. Didn't Mister Oshima bother to read yesterday afternoon's Daily Planet?” The president chuckled again with a snide grin, clearly proud of himself, smug and quite amused.
Clark clenched his fists at his sides. He hated having his statements used in such a way, but there had been no way to avoid it.
The president continued, “The world cannot afford to not be prepared when the threat of attack from other Kryptonians is still a possibility. It took us way too long to recover from the damage General Zod inflicted upon the Earth, and I'm not about to stand by and watch that happen again. Anyone that thinks otherwise is playing right into the hands of potential aggressors. Now, I'll take a few questions before moving into the details of the Atlantis launch.”
A flurry of questions flew at him, mostly concerning the need to mine kryptonite when so much of it had surfaced in Metropolis, but Clark was through listening to the press conference. As he shrugged off his coat and settled in to get to work, he thought about how much he disliked this particular president. The man would have anything he wanted, and no one could tell him no. It reminded Clark a lot of another spoiled, power hungry individual he knew, and it made his stomach turn.
From across the bullpen, Lois's voice drew his attention away from his thoughts. “So this particular sale took place when? Uh-huh.... And there are no details on that property? I see.... Yes, you've been incredibly helpful. Thank you.”
He couldn't help his interest being piqued, as Lois had clearly found something. Forgetting about the president for the time being, he rose from his desk and crossed the bullpen quickly to find out what she'd uncovered.
Lois hung up the phone just as Clark approached her desk, and she looked up at him, wanting to both scream with excitement and relief for having discovered something they could run with, and ask him if there was anything he needed to tell her. Her body deciding on a compromise, she felt the color rising in her face. Her knees wobbled slightly as she stood up, and her voice trembled a little when she spoke. “Oh, morning, uh, Clark.... Have you found anything?”
“Morning, Lois. No, I haven't. You?” He looked at her expectantly, his eyebrows raised and his expression calm.
Lois tried not to look at his eyes as he gazed at her, waiting for a response, and she crossed her arms in front of herself defensively. “Um, yeah, I think I might have stumbled across something pretty important, but I'll need to dig a little deeper to make sure.” A voice inside her head mocked her. And just what are you digging for, Lane?
She tried to quiet the thoughts. Clark is not Kal-El. Stop it.
“Lois, is there something wrong?” he asked carefully.
“Um....” She realized then how odd she must be acting, and straightened up, pretended to look him in the eyes, and flashed a quick smile to cover her confusion. “No, everything's fine. I just... just had a little trouble sleeping last night, is all.” She continued on with barely a moment's pause, “Anyway, I was looking at some of the recent transactions made by the people on our list, and you'll never guess what came up.”
Clark shook his head, pressing his lips together, and shrugged.
“Apparently, about three months back, the third guy on the list, this Dmitri Fedorov, sold some undisclosed property to Gertrude Vanderworth. The thing is, by the time the sale was made, Gertrude Vanderworth was already dead.” Lois uncrossed her arms and placed her hands on her hips in mock triumph.
“So we have a solid connection between Dmitri Fedorov and Luthor?” Clark couldn't believe the luck. It was something. They had something.
“Looks that way. The sale was buried beneath so much paperwork I wouldn't be surprised if the Vanderworth lawyers still haven't found it. And since most of the Luthor investigation has been scattered between a dozen different organizations, the information's probably still out in limbo somewhere.” For a moment Lois's focus had drawn her away from the increasing discomfort of not knowing whether she knew something else important, but as soon as she paused for a breath, her heart beat began to quicken with anxiety. Oh, this is just ridiculous, she chided herself, rolling her eyes.
“Lois, are you sure you're okay? You seem a little, I don't know, off....” As excited as he was about connecting this mess with Luthor, he was more worried about her. She'd barely looked him in the eye since he first walked over, and she seemed distant. Maybe she'd finally put two and two together.... His own pulse growing more rapid, he waited for her to respond. If she'd figured it out, then.... No, this was not the place for it all to come out....
After a quick breath, she finally replied, “Yeah, I'm fine, really. Like I said, just had a rough night and-”
The ring of her desk phone cut her off, and she nearly jumped. “Dammit,” she swore under her breath before picking up the receiver. “Lois Lane.”
Clark heard the muffled wail at the other end of the line. “...have to listen to me! ...Lex, he's gonna....” A scream followed from the other end.
Panic swept over Lois. “What? He's going to what!?” A click ended the call from the other end.
Lois dropped the phone.
* * * * *
As another dawn broke over Gotham, Kitty was determined to get the hell off of The Heracles. Having spent most of the last twenty-four hours cooped up in her cabin recovering from Lex's assault, her anxiety over his plans had grown with every passing minute until she'd resolved to do something about it. He'd most likely kill her if, and when, he caught her, but someone needed to be warned. She had to get off the yacht and get to a phone.
She thought about the myth that Lex had likened their situation to, the Titanomachy. She'd read the story so many times now that it felt like an old movie to her, a classic whose lines she'd memorized ages ago. And a classic tale it was. Lex's Prometheus was a traitor to his own kind, willing to help the 'gods' destroy the Titans. This wasn't about bringing fire to the people, as Lex would have had her believe. It was a story about gaining power and punishing enemies. In this story, Kitty knew the Titan Atlas would be Superman. He'd lifted New Krypton into orbit, after all, and wasn't Atlas's punishment for being Prometheus's enemy to hold up the Earth and the sky for eternity? He was a hero who was being punished for his good heart. And now that Lex's scavenged kryptonite was being used against him, Kitty felt even worse for being a part of those horrible schemes.
She also knew that in this story she was the Titanides, the female Titans who remained neutral in the war between the gods and the Titans. No wonder Lex had made such a point about her wondering why the gods didn't punish the Titanides. She really was stuck in the middle, she realized, doomed to stand between Lex and Superman. But here was where Lex's ideas about the story were wrong. She wouldn't remain neutral. She wouldn't remain quiet. She would do everything in her power to see that the right side won. Superman's son, if that boy was really his son, was going to need help, and Kitty would be the one to give it, no matter what. At least her death would mean something if somebody else could be helped and Lex could be stopped.
After drawing up the courage to escape from Lex's floating prison, Kitty found herself slinking down the narrow hallway, moving as silently and as quickly as possible, praying Lex and his crew would miss her escape and overlook her disappearance. In only a few moments she managed to reach the rear deck of the boat, and with the swiftest moves she could muster considering the pain that still held her body, she scurried down to the dock and ran for the closest building, what she assumed was the office of the marina.
A sign over the door to the building confirmed her assumption, and she rushed inside, breathing hard. A quick look around the office found only a large desk, behind which sat a rough looking older man who was busy filling his time with computer solitaire. He looked up at her as she came further into the room. “Can I help you, miss?” he offered.
Kitty nodded eagerly, “Yes, I need a phone. It's an emergency.”
“A nine-one-one emergency?” He looked her up and down, his gaze pausing on the injuries to her face.
“Um, sort of. I need to make an important call. Right away.” She glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one had followed her into the office.
“Hmph,” the man said, propping his feet up on the desk, suddenly unconcerned with the quite obviously beaten woman standing in front of him. “Pay phone's around the side of the building.”
“But, I don't have any money. Please, just let me use your phone!” she practically squealed.
The man reached into a cup next to his computer and drew out two quarters, then slapped them down on the edge of the desk top, not looking at her. “Pay phone's around the side, I said.”
Kitty was taken aback by the man's rudeness. Here she was, practically screaming for help, and all he could do was tell her to use the damn pay phone? No wonder everyone hated Gotham so much; the people here were as horrible as their reputation had promised.
Horrified, she scooped up the two quarters, not knowing if it would be enough for a call to Metropolis, and made her way outside to the other side of the building. From the back, she couldn't see The Heracles, which she realized was a good thing. It meant that Lex and his men couldn't see her, either. Shivering, she dialed 411 for information first, and the operator came on the line and asked her the name of the phone number she needed. “Daily Planet, Metropolis,” she requested.
To her relief, the operator gave her the Planet's toll free number, and she hung up, then dialed it quickly. After listening to the usual automated instructions and options, she waited for another operator to come on the line. “Extension, please?” the operator asked.
“Lois Lane, please,” Kitty said, her voice shaking. Her whole body trembled as she waited for the line to click over and the particular extension begin to ring. She still wasn't sure what she would say to the reporter, but somehow, she'd get it all out.
The line picked up. “Lois Lane,” the voice on the other end greeted.
Kitty wasted no time. “Oh, my God, Miss Lane. This is Kitty, uh, Katherine Kowalski. Please, you have to listen to me!” she wailed, beginning to cry. “It's Lex, he's gonna try to hurt you and your so-” Kitty was cut off as a strong arm encircled her waist and yanked her back from the phone. She screamed as loud as she could, but as she was thrown to the ground, the force of the impact knocked the wind out of her, leaving her breathless and momentarily silent.
Looking up at her attacker, she saw Luthor's man, Carlos, hang up the phone as the reporter's voice came back from the other end of the line, demanding to know what Lex was going to do. Kitty began sobbing in earnest now. She hadn't been able to warn Miss Lane about Luthor's plan, and now Lex was going to kill her anyway.
Carlos hauled her roughly up to her feet, sneering at her. In his thick accent he breathed, “No wonder Mister Luthor wanted us to keep an eye on you! I don't know why a man like him would keep a little backstabbing whore like you around, anyway.”
With one hand gripping her arm and the other holding her by the throat, he forced her back to The Heracles to face Lex, possibly for the last time.
* * * * *
The color drained from Lois's face as she dropped the phone, her breaths coming quick and her eyes wild, not knowing what to do, only filled with an immediate panic and dread. “Oh, my God,” she breathed, “It, it was Kit-Katherine, uh, Kowalski. She said-”
Clark put his hands on her arms to try to calm her down as she panicked from a phone call for the second time in three days. Looking her in the eyes, he spoke firmly to her. “Lois, calm down. Shhh.... What did she say?” he asked, barely able to control his own racing heart, already knowing just what Kitty had said.
She looked up at him, wide-eyed. “She... she tried to warn me about Luthor. She said he was going to try to hurt us. But I think he must have gotten to her. I heard her scream....” Her chin trembled with fear and she shook her head.
“Mommy?” Lois felt a tug on her pants leg and looked down at her son. “What's wrong? Did something bad happen again?” His face was filled with worry as he gazed up at her.
Her mouth fell open at that; she had no clue what to say to Jason. He'd seen, and most likely heard, the entire interaction.
Kitty had warned her that Lex was going to try to hurt them. Oh God, he does know about Jason.
“Mommy?” her little boy's scared voice prodded her.
Seeing Lois completely incapacitated, Clark knelt down to Jason's eye level to answer him. “Your Mom just got a pretty weird phone call, and she's just a little worried about it, okay?”
Jason eyed him, not looking convinced.
“I know a lot of weird things have been going on lately, but you know that we're doing our best to make everything okay, right?” Clark brushed an errant lock of hair out of Jason's face, then tried his best to give his son a hopeful smile, though he knew instinctively that it came out looking more worried and not at all believable.
After giving him another concerned look, the little boy looked back up at his Mom, who had clamped a hand over her mouth in shock. “Mom?” he asked again.
Lois heard her son speak to her as if from far away, and she realized through a haze of terror that Clark had tried to answer him, though Jason was still waiting for her own reply. Blinking, she pulled herself together, and shoved aside the fear long enough to come to her senses. She knelt down to face her son, giving Clark only a sideways glance before speaking. “Oh, Jason. I'm sorry. That phone call... it just scared Mommy a little bit, okay?”
Jason nodded.
“I'm okay now, sweetie. Are you okay? I didn't mean to scare you.” She placed a hand on her son's cheek and kissed him on the forehead.
“I'm okay,” he answered. After a pause, he asked, “Mommy, is that bald man really gonna try to hurt us again?” He looked from his Mom to Clark and back.
They both stared back at Jason for a moment, not quite sure what to say. It was perfectly clear to them how quick Jason was, especially with his hearing developing so fast. Lois finally replied, “Well, I don't know, Pumpkin. He's, um, a pretty bad guy, but we're doing everything we can to try to find him and make sure he goes to jail for a very long time, so he can't ever hurt anyone again.”
Jason looked back and forth between them again, as if to make sure they were in agreement, and, seeing their matching half-smiles, he shrugged, “Okay.” Then he reached up to hug his mom close, and scampered back to his chair to read more of his book.
Lois's shoulders slumped with relief as she and Clark rose from the floor. Whether or not Jason had truly accepted her explanation for her brief episode of panic, he seemed less concerned now. She knew she would have to have a long talk with him, maybe when she and Kal-El were able to sit him down for their other discussion.
Clark placed a hand on her arm again, and she turned to face him, suddenly aware of how very warm his hand was.
“Um, Lois?” he started quietly, looking a bit flustered. “If Luthor's planning something against you and Jason, um, it might not be a good idea for you two to stay at your house for the next few days, or, at least until we can get a good idea where Luthor is, anyway, and-”
“No, you're right, Clark. It, it's probably not safe for us if he knows where to find us,” she agreed reluctantly, her voice beginning to tremble a little. “But what do you suggest? We move into a hotel for a while? What if we can't find him? Who knows how long we'd have to stay in hiding.”
She eyed him sideways as his hand dropped from her arm, and he put his hands in his pockets, taking a deep breath. “Um, no, actually. I was thinking, um....”
“What, Clark?”
Looking her in the eyes, he calmed himself, knowing this was the only way he was going to be able to tell her the truth. “Why don't you and Jason come stay with me for a few days? I mean, it's the least I can do, and technically it's your apartment anyway,” he finished with a shrug, giving her a slightly crooked, closed-lipped smile and looking at her hopefully.
Crossing her arms in front of herself again, Lois shut her eyes, breaking the brief contact, attempting to process Clark's request. He'd asked her to stay with him. If she hadn't been so upset by the call from Kitty Kowalski, she would never even consider it.... But she and Jason were in danger.... And Kal-El? Well, if Clark was Kal-El, then this was his big chance to come clean with her and make everything right. If he wasn't, then Lois would know it by the next morning.
After taking a deep breath, she gave him a narrow-eyed look. “All right. Um, yeah. We'll, um, stay with you for a few days.”
Clark's shoulders relaxed and he smiled more softly at her. “Great. Well, until then, we should probably try to get some work done, try to see where this connection between Dmitri Fedorov and Luthor takes us.”
Lois blinked at him, still too shaken up to change course. “Right. Of course,” she said after a moment, and as Clark shuffled back to his own desk, she turned to get back to work on her computer, trying to remember where she'd left off. But her mind was spinning too fast for her to get started. Luthor was planning something. He was going to try to hurt her and Jason. And she'd agreed to stay with Clark.... Clark....
She gave him a quick glance as he settled in to get to work at last. Could he really be Kal-El? The reasoning part of her mind still held out for evidence, but... all the signs were there, the coincidence of Clark's five-year absence with Kal-El's disappearance, the way Clark sometimes spoke, as if he were used to speaking with greater authority and confidence than a bumbling, shy office nerd, the warmth of his hand on her arm, the square of his chin, the color of his eyes.... Why hadn't she ever looked into, and seen, his eyes before? They were the same cobalt blue... weren't they?
Her thoughts and her gaze settled on his face. She wondered about his lips. Were they the same lips she'd kissed two nights before? Were they the lips that had kissed her passionately so many years earlier? Was his smile the same smile Kal-El had given her? Could this possibly be the man she'd fallen in love with on a rooftop, high above Metropolis? Was this the man she'd made love to?
Dizziness washed over her as the notion became suddenly overwhelming, and she gripped the edge of her desk to steady herself. Lady, this is insanity, she told herself. If Clark Kent is Kal-El, then that would make Clark Jason's fa- The thought refused to resolve itself as the possibility became clear to her. She turned to look at her son, who was once again absorbed in his reading, then turned back to look at Clark.
As the shock of the idea became too much to bear, Lois pulled up every bit of “Mad Dog Lane” she could muster and shoved her speculations aside. Sitting up ramrod straight in her chair, she set back to work, not noticing how much her hands had begun to shake.
* * * * *
Taking a quick break to go grab lunch, Clark headed first for Metro PD's First Precinct to have another chat with Inspector Sawyer about Intergang and to clue her in to the potential threat against Lois. Sweeping through the station in a primary-colored blur and a gust of wind, he stepped into her office and pulled the door closed behind him before the rest of the officers on duty could try to listen in.
“Inspector?” he said gently.
Her blonde head whipped up from her close scrutiny of a particular file spread over her desk, and she startled at the sight of him, once again appearing out of the blue. “Jesus, don't do that!” the scolded him with narrowed eyes.
“Sorry,” he apologized quickly, “I seem to be making that a bad habit lately.” With far too many people.
“No kidding.” Sitting back in her chair, Sawyer looked him over and waved him toward a seat, which he graciously took. “Pardon my bluntness, but you still look like crap.”
“A little too much kryptonite exposure, I'm sorry to say,” he admitted quietly.
“Sounds like an understatement, to me. You haven't exactly been taking it easy, like I told you to.”
Clark couldn't help a sheepish look as he felt his cheeks warm a little. “I know.”
Sawyer chuckled lightly. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
Sitting straighter, he pulled a folded paper from his hidden cape pocket and handed it across the desk to her. “This. I have it on good authority that there's a link between Mindy Church and these people. Is there anything you can tell me about them, besides the obvious?”
The Inspector shook her head, smirking darkly as she read the names on the paper. “Unfortunately, I can't tell you a damn thing.” Her eyes came up to fix his with a pointed look. “Except that your sources, whoever they might be, have pointed you in the right direction. You might say that they have common staffing interests.”
The unexpected meaning wasn't lost on Clark in the slightest. “I see,” he nodded with raised brows, taking the paper back from her and tucking it away.
“You have any time to check up on Eiling yet?”
“No,” he sighed. “But I promise, first chance I get.”
Sawyer nodded with a grim smile.
“I do have other news, though.”
“Oh?”
Shifting forward with his hands clasped and elbows resting on his knees, he started quietly, “Lois Lane received a call from Katherine Kowalski this morning.”
The Inspector nearly came out of her chair. “What!?”
“Apparently, Luthor's planning something against her and her son, to try to get to me. Miss Kowalski was trying to warn Miss Lane about it.”
“So, what, he's here? In Metropolis? Shit,” she spat.
“I don't know,” Clark answered quickly. “The line apparently went dead before Miss Lane could get any other information.”
Heaving herself back in her chair again, Sawyer crossed her arms and clenched her jaw for a moment. Then, “I'm not gonna try to guess why Luthor is going after Lane again. Not my business, if you catch my drift.”
Clark nodded, again taking her meaning easily despite the slightly anxious knot it left in his gut, and she continued, “But if he's after her, we need to have a protective detail on her. And that's essentially out of the question in light of our leaks. Word would get to him in a heartbeat.”
“Exactly.”
“I suppose...” she started thoughtfully, “we could have a car watching the Planet for anything out of the ordinary, citing an unspecified threat against the paper.” Then her eyes focused on him again, and she sighed heavily. “I can't put anyone on her house; it'd be too obvious.”
“That's already taken care of,” he assured her. “They'll be staying in a safe location for the next few days.”
Nodding, Sawyer responded, “Good, good. I don't want to know where, and for that matter, don't tell anyone where they're staying. Too much risk.”
“Of course.”
“All right. Got anything else for me?”
For a second, Clark started to feel like he was answering to Perry's orders, and he couldn't suppress a small smile at the thought's suddenly supplied relief from the tension of the day. “I'm starting to think I should be on your payroll, Inspector.”
At that, her brow furrowed for a moment before she relaxed and chuckled quietly. “Might as well be, except I get the feeling you don't have any personal info you can share with HR, besides 'Steel, Man of', to put in the name field of the paperwork.”
“Well, not as such,” he admitted.
“But you do have a job somewhere, right? Unless you're independently wealthy. Gotta eat, after all.”
“Um... yes. I do have a job,” he answered slyly, thinking for a moment of his friend in Gotham.
She chuckled again, putting up her hands in mock surrender. “Well, I wouldn't want to know, even if you could tell me. Plausible deniability, and all that. Besides, that kind of clearance is above my pay grade.”
“Noted,” Clark smiled. “And no, I don't have anything else to share at the moment.”
“Okay,” she nodded, standing to come around the desk and shake his hand as he stood as well. “One last thing before you speed off,” she started, her voice low. “You need to stay off the streets of Metropolis for a while. With this kryptonite thing heating up, none of us can afford for you to take any chances. You didn't hear it from me, but Chief Simms is issuing a statement this afternoon to the press, a directive for you to lay low. Heed it, all right? Go take a long sun-bath or something. And get some rest.”
“All right,” he hesitantly agreed. He wasn't sure he could make good on that promise, but he could at least try to keep his head down for a while. “I will. Thanks, Inspector.”
“Welcome.”
And with another burst of speed, Clark headed out, this time to actually go pick up lunch.
* * * * *
As the wind trail from Superman's exit died down, Maggie gave the roomful of officers a stern glare and closed her office door on the wave of murmurs still floating about. Damn, but his visits had always been a little more than insane, and now she had to deal with potential department leaks on the matter. Church and Luthor would know he'd been here within the hour. Superman, you stupid fool, she cursed to herself halfheartedly. She'd have to lecture him on how not to compromise an investigation the next time she saw him.
Getting back to work on the file she'd been going over when she was interrupted, she read over the notes she'd made about Dmitri Fedorov's dealings. It was clear that he was linked to both Church and Luthor-she had more than enough evidence to prove it, staffing considerations aside-but how he was involved in the kryptonite fiasco, she couldn't quite figure out. The Russian was as slippery as an eel, which of course made him a good match for Church's organization.
She wished she could put a tail on him, except that he was in Gotham at the moment-according to the last flight plan of his private jet, at least-and was technically out of her jurisdiction. Well, maybe she could get around that, if she talked to the right people. Smirking to herself, she made a mental note to give Gotham PD a call and see if she could enlist a little help on the matter.
With a shake of her head, she shut the folder. This would have to wait a little while, and she needed a break from this end of the investigation, anyway, to ease the headache that was starting behind her eyes. Picking up her phone, she got to work on sending a car to watch the Planet building. One officer in the lobby and one at the parking deck entrance ought to do it....
* * * * *
Author: Saavikam
Fandom: Superman Returns
Pairings: Lois/Richard, Clark/Lois
Rating - This Chapter: PG-13
Chapter Word Count: 7,438
Summary: In the days following the events of Superman Returns, both Clark and Lois are reeling from events that have changed their lives forever, and the city of Metropolis is in shambles. Things only get worse as Lois's relationship with Richard takes a nosedive, the US government wants to send a survey and potential mining mission to New Krypton, and vast amounts of kryptonite show up in the hands of criminals on the streets of Metropolis.
Chapter Summary: After a nightmare of epic proportions, Lois has trouble working with Clark, and when she gets an unexpected call, everything seems to fall apart around her. Elsewhere, the astronauts of the upcoming Atlantis launch deal with their new mission plan, and later, Clark visits Maggie Sawyer to compare notes.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fan-fiction. Superman and the DC Comics universe are property of DC Comics and Warner Brothers. No money has been made or will be made from the production of this work. Darn it.
Author's Notes: Three new scenes in this chapter that you won't want to miss! ^_~ And only 1 more chapter to go in this arc!
* * * * *
Previous :: Table of Contents :: Next
Chapter 22
Concentrating on typing her article, Lois didn't notice the hand on her shoulder until a voice accompanied it. “Ahem, Lois?”
Startled, she spun in her chair and looked up to see Clark standing behind her, without his glasses on. “What the hell?” she demanded of him. “How can you think I'd ever be fooled by that getup?” She grabbed his wrist with one hand, and pushed up the sleeve of his shirt, exposing blue underneath. “What the hell is this?” She tugged on his shirt sleeve. “A costume?”
Clark backed away, stumbling past desks and chairs behind him. “I had to, Lois. I had to lie to you. You can't possibly love the real me. You can't see me. You've never seen me. I'm invisible to you like this.” Clark disappeared.
“Dammit, you're not Kal-El!” she screamed loudly at the now empty space where Clark had stood. Expecting to have drawn everyone's attention in the bullpen, she looked around quickly. But the newsroom was empty. “Where did everybody go?” she wondered out loud, rising from her chair and moving to the middle of the room.
Turning, she saw Jason sitting at the table in the conference room, coloring quietly. “What are you doing?” she asked him, suddenly finding herself standing beside her son as he drew.
He looked up at her and smiled. “Hi Mommy. Wanna see my picture of Daddy?” He held up the picture he had drawn, and she saw that it was a man in a business suit with huge glasses. His shirt was unbuttoned, and a large red “S” lay beneath it.
“Who is this?” Lois asked her son.
“Mommy,” he rolled his eyes, “it's Daddy!” With a blue crayon he wrote at the bottom of the page in huge letters, “CLAR-”
“No!” Lois stopped him, grabbing the crayon from his hand. “That is not Clark!”
A sudden voice behind her made her jump. “But it is, Miss Lane.”
Lois spun around. Holding a barrel-shaped, green, glowing crystal in one hand, Lex Luthor stood before her.
“You! What do you want from me!?” she screamed. “Get away from my son!”
“Tsk-tsk, Miss Lane. Such an attitude,” he waved the crystal lazily in front of her. “Your son is as good as dead. His father is dead. He can't help you now.” Luthor grinned like a wolf ready to devour its prey, then stepped aside.
Behind him, Kal-El lay on the floor, bleeding from a gunshot wound. “Lois, help me,” he said weakly, holding out a hand toward her.
Panic rushed through her. Kal-El was dying, he was....
“Mommy!!” Jason screamed from behind her. She spun again, this time to see Luthor holding Jason by the throat, the crystal pressed into his belly, only now the crystal had become a shard of kryptonite, long, slender, and sharp. It was the one she'd pulled from Kal-El's back.
“No! Jason! Please, let him go!” she sobbed, pleading with Luthor.
He grinned again, then plunged the blade deep into Jason's gut, pulling a scream from Lois like she'd never screamed before in her life.
“Mommy,” Jason called out weakly, just as Kal-El had. “Help me....”
Another voice sounded from what felt like very far away. “Lois, you can't see me. I can't help if you don't see me.” It was Clark's voice.
Lois whipped around, looking for him. The place Kal-El had lain on the floor was now simply a pool of blood. He was gone. “Clark? Where are you. You can't help us. Where's Kal-El?”
Lois found herself on the roof of the Daily Planet, Jason standing next to her. “Where's Daddy, Mommy?” he asked her.
“What? Daddy's in Washington, sweetie,” she replied.
“Not that Daddy. Him!” He pointed up to the sky, and Lois looked up.
Kal-El descended from the brightly sunlit sky, his cape so red in the light that it seemed to be on fire. But it was awash with blood. It dripped and burned and fluttered behind him as he landed. “Lois, look at me,” he demanded.
Lois looked up to his face. His hair fell down over his eyes, over a pair of dark-rimmed glasses. “Why are you doing this?” she asked.
“How many ways do I have to show you, Lois. I've been here all along. I'm always around,” he explained, giving her a lopsided smile.
Lois began to yell, “No, dammit, you're not always around, you were gone for over five years!”
“I've been gone for five years,” Kal-El said in Clark's voice.
From behind her, an arm snaked around her throat and tightened its grip, pulling her off balance. “Billions of people will die, Miss Lane,” Luthor's voice whispered in her ear. “Starting with you and your son.” Lois felt herself hauled up and dragged to the ledge of the rooftop. She couldn't breathe, the grip on her neck was so tight.
“Lois,” Kal-El said in Clark's voice again, “I can't help you if you don't see me.”
The pressure released from her throat. “You're not Kal-El!” she screamed again, pulling herself up from where Luthor had let go of her.
“Don't you love him?” another voice said from beside her. She turned to see Richard standing where Luthor had been.
“What? How did you get here?”
Richard shook his head. “Don't you love him, Lois?”
“What? I-”
In a swift move, Richard reached out and shoved her. Lois fell backwards, hitting the ledge with the small of her back. She cried out in pain.
He asked again, “Don't you love him? If you did, you would have seen him!” With another hard shove, Lois went cartwheeling over the ledge. As she fell, she screamed.
No one caught her.
* * * * *
Lois woke with a start, breathing hard. Sitting up quickly, she wrapped her arms around herself. For a few moments she tried to hold onto the dream, to what it meant, but it slipped away from her memory like rushing water. Whatever it was, it was gone, leaving her with only panic and fear and a hollow ache in her chest. She shuddered as she began to cry, fresh tears finding their way down her cheeks. Had she had this dream before? She didn't know.
Something important lay in the dream, but she couldn't quite catch it. Only a vague impression of Kal-El and Luthor remained. Something about Kal-El. Dammit, what is wrong with me? Sobbing quietly for a moment, she tried to reclaim the dream. There was... Jason? And a picture? But.... Breathing deeply, she tried to calm herself and concentrate on the confusion and terror she'd felt, hoping it might bring back something... anything....
The image of Kal-El wearing Clark's glasses flashed through her mind. Clark? More images from the dream began to return. Jason's drawing, Clark's voice, Luthor dragging her to the ledge and Richard pushing her over. More tears slipped from her eyes and more confusion set in as she tried to wrap her mind around the ideas the images represented. Frustrated, she threw back her covers and padded to the bathroom.
A few splashes of cold water on her face helped calm the panic and uncertainty, and as she stared at herself in the mirror, she couldn't help but wonder if the possibility truly existed that Kal-El and Clark could be one in the same. If they were the same person, it would make everything he'd ever told her an outright lie. Well, almost everything. The very idea left her feeling empty and betrayed.
Then, just as she began to think it could very well be true, a cold voice in her head snapped at her, No! Absolutely not! She mentally fought to let herself accept the idea, but lost out to the need for proof beyond a doubt. If Kal-El is Clark, he'll tell me. Until then, no dice. Dammit, I need a stiff drink....
A few minutes later she went back to bed, but not before digging out an old bottle of scotch she'd stashed away a few years before, pouring herself a glass, and tossing it back in one long gulp. As sleep began to take her again, she hoped she would forget the last half hour entirely.
* * * * *
At the ass-crack of dawn on Thursday morning, Atlantis Mission Commander Brad Janner found himself and the rest of the crew of STS-115 seated around a conference table, waiting for their Flight Director, Graham Ellis, and their Mission Plan Coordinator, Barb Hertzog, to tell them just why they'd all been dragged out of bed so early. Considering what had been going on in Washington, it wasn't a huge leap to assume the worst.
Glaring at them from the head of the table with an expression that betrayed his as-of-yet-uncaffeinated state, Ellis cleared his throat, then began, “Ladies and gentlemen, your mission's just been officially extended by three days.” At the muffled groan that arose around the table, he continued, “Word came down from Washington two hours ago, after an all night session with the G8 and an emergency meeting with the Joint Chiefs. STS-115 and Atlantis have been given the final go-ahead to conduct an initial survey of New Krypton, including spacewalks for the collection of rock samples.”
“And just how are we supposed to alter our flight plan now?” Janner cut in, feeling the need for a caffeine IV himself, at this point. “My crew's ready for anything, but we need time to made the necessary adjustments, never mind planning the logistics for a geological survey.”
“Which is exactly why we're changing the flight roster,” Hertzog put in calmly from her seat next to Ellis. “Assuming we can get him cleared to go up, Rover Specialist Marc Gentry will be joining you.” With that, the dark-skinned woman stood and stepped around the table to hand a thick binder to each member of the crew. “This is essentially the rough draft of your new mission plan. Gentry will be filling in the blanks as we go, and he'll be in charge of Rover preparation and the actual handling of it once you get up there.”
“We're actually taking a Rover up?” the blonde Mission Specialist, Heidi Metner, spoke up as the crew began to flip through the thick binders. “That's a pretty tall order.”
Hertzog nodded to her as she sat again, “Nothing you can't handle. Two of you will be setting it down on the surface of New Krypton by hand, and it'll be run by remote from the shuttle once it's in place. Besides, if there are any problems, that's what Gentry'll be there for.”
Janner looked up from his mission plan, an index finger tapping a particular page. “I take it the addition of this Zubko character on the Soyuz has something to do with Russia's involvement?”
The Mission Plan Coordinator nodded again. “Exactly, but Yvgheny Zubko's the best in his field outside the US. Plus, alien landscapes are his specialty. He'll be invaluable to the mission. We'd have had Sung Guo from China on the mission, too, if their president had agreed to assist on this part of the survey. But we can work without a crystallographer for now. He'll likely be added to the next crew that goes up.”
Jean LaFayette, a tall, lean woman with dark hair pulled back into a severe braid, and the crew's pilot, spoke up next, a twinkle in her eyes as she skimmed another page in the mission plan, “This should prove an interesting mission.”
“As long as you can fly Atlantis upside down in close proximity to that thing,” Ellis shot back with a smirk.
“Child's play,” she returned quickly.
“Good. There's nothing too risky in the flight plan, of course; all the physics have been considered,” he explained.
“That thing has gravity?” LaFayette asked, skimming another page.
“Oh, yeah. Minuscule, but it's there,” Ellis said. “You'll need to compensate during flight, but the numbers have been crunched to handle the basics. Any other questions?”
A round of head shakes answered him.
Hertzog supplied a tight smile. “All right, then. You'll all be meeting with Gentry in a few hours. Until then, I suggest you all get real cozy with the new plan.”
Six nods and a murmur of assent met her from around the table. In a few days, three of them would be on their way to New Krypton, with two currently untested additions along for the ride.
* * * * *
After another sleepless night Clark dragged himself into work, feeling like he could curl up into a ball and sleep for two days if he could just get the chance. Another night of fighting the effects of kryptonite while trying to do some good for the city of Metropolis had left him more worn out than he'd expected, even with a good five minutes of pure sunlight this morning before switching gears.
Yawning as he passed through the doors to the bullpen, he noticed Lois was already settled in at her desk, typing away and talking on the phone simultaneously, while Jason was stashed in the corner reading a new book. Clark checked his watch. Only eight o'clock? He marveled at Lois's motivation on their current investigation. She'd worked all through the previous afternoon and evening to connect some of the names on Danny's list, and was back at it already.
His own efforts had barely panned out, uncovering only thready business connections between the names he'd taken, nothing solid at all. Their companies had traded stock, bought and sold properties from each other, thrown an international contract or two back and forth, but none of that pointed to anything nefarious. It was all on the up-and-up. Disappointed in his own findings, he hoped Lois had had better luck.
Maneuvering to his own desk, he caught sight of yet another press conference being broadcast over the major networks, and he stopped before situating himself to listen to whatever new announcements were being made.
On most of the screens, the White House Press Secretary was prefacing forthcoming remarks from the president. “...following his address to the UN Security Council, the President spoke with several of the members of the Group of Eight in order to finalize the details for this weekend's launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis and the launch of the Russian ISS Soyuz 13. The President will address the details of the launch in just a few moments, and will say a few words concerning the UN Security Council's response to yesterday's address.” He paused a moment, then continued, “Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.”
After the Press Secretary stepped away, the usual fanfare brought the president to the podium. “Good morning. I trust it's not too early for y'all,” he chuckled. Cameras clicked in the brief pause. “Let me start out here by saying I have utmost respect for the UN Security Council and what it represents. However, I cannot agree with their analysis of our upcoming mission, in conjunction with Russia and with the cooperation of the Group of Eight nations and China, to survey and mine New Krypton. Their reluctance to support the mining of the mineral kryptonite is in my opinion a show of weakness. Heck, even Superman himself supports the idea. Didn't Mister Oshima bother to read yesterday afternoon's Daily Planet?” The president chuckled again with a snide grin, clearly proud of himself, smug and quite amused.
Clark clenched his fists at his sides. He hated having his statements used in such a way, but there had been no way to avoid it.
The president continued, “The world cannot afford to not be prepared when the threat of attack from other Kryptonians is still a possibility. It took us way too long to recover from the damage General Zod inflicted upon the Earth, and I'm not about to stand by and watch that happen again. Anyone that thinks otherwise is playing right into the hands of potential aggressors. Now, I'll take a few questions before moving into the details of the Atlantis launch.”
A flurry of questions flew at him, mostly concerning the need to mine kryptonite when so much of it had surfaced in Metropolis, but Clark was through listening to the press conference. As he shrugged off his coat and settled in to get to work, he thought about how much he disliked this particular president. The man would have anything he wanted, and no one could tell him no. It reminded Clark a lot of another spoiled, power hungry individual he knew, and it made his stomach turn.
From across the bullpen, Lois's voice drew his attention away from his thoughts. “So this particular sale took place when? Uh-huh.... And there are no details on that property? I see.... Yes, you've been incredibly helpful. Thank you.”
He couldn't help his interest being piqued, as Lois had clearly found something. Forgetting about the president for the time being, he rose from his desk and crossed the bullpen quickly to find out what she'd uncovered.
Lois hung up the phone just as Clark approached her desk, and she looked up at him, wanting to both scream with excitement and relief for having discovered something they could run with, and ask him if there was anything he needed to tell her. Her body deciding on a compromise, she felt the color rising in her face. Her knees wobbled slightly as she stood up, and her voice trembled a little when she spoke. “Oh, morning, uh, Clark.... Have you found anything?”
“Morning, Lois. No, I haven't. You?” He looked at her expectantly, his eyebrows raised and his expression calm.
Lois tried not to look at his eyes as he gazed at her, waiting for a response, and she crossed her arms in front of herself defensively. “Um, yeah, I think I might have stumbled across something pretty important, but I'll need to dig a little deeper to make sure.” A voice inside her head mocked her. And just what are you digging for, Lane?
She tried to quiet the thoughts. Clark is not Kal-El. Stop it.
“Lois, is there something wrong?” he asked carefully.
“Um....” She realized then how odd she must be acting, and straightened up, pretended to look him in the eyes, and flashed a quick smile to cover her confusion. “No, everything's fine. I just... just had a little trouble sleeping last night, is all.” She continued on with barely a moment's pause, “Anyway, I was looking at some of the recent transactions made by the people on our list, and you'll never guess what came up.”
Clark shook his head, pressing his lips together, and shrugged.
“Apparently, about three months back, the third guy on the list, this Dmitri Fedorov, sold some undisclosed property to Gertrude Vanderworth. The thing is, by the time the sale was made, Gertrude Vanderworth was already dead.” Lois uncrossed her arms and placed her hands on her hips in mock triumph.
“So we have a solid connection between Dmitri Fedorov and Luthor?” Clark couldn't believe the luck. It was something. They had something.
“Looks that way. The sale was buried beneath so much paperwork I wouldn't be surprised if the Vanderworth lawyers still haven't found it. And since most of the Luthor investigation has been scattered between a dozen different organizations, the information's probably still out in limbo somewhere.” For a moment Lois's focus had drawn her away from the increasing discomfort of not knowing whether she knew something else important, but as soon as she paused for a breath, her heart beat began to quicken with anxiety. Oh, this is just ridiculous, she chided herself, rolling her eyes.
“Lois, are you sure you're okay? You seem a little, I don't know, off....” As excited as he was about connecting this mess with Luthor, he was more worried about her. She'd barely looked him in the eye since he first walked over, and she seemed distant. Maybe she'd finally put two and two together.... His own pulse growing more rapid, he waited for her to respond. If she'd figured it out, then.... No, this was not the place for it all to come out....
After a quick breath, she finally replied, “Yeah, I'm fine, really. Like I said, just had a rough night and-”
The ring of her desk phone cut her off, and she nearly jumped. “Dammit,” she swore under her breath before picking up the receiver. “Lois Lane.”
Clark heard the muffled wail at the other end of the line. “...have to listen to me! ...Lex, he's gonna....” A scream followed from the other end.
Panic swept over Lois. “What? He's going to what!?” A click ended the call from the other end.
Lois dropped the phone.
* * * * *
As another dawn broke over Gotham, Kitty was determined to get the hell off of The Heracles. Having spent most of the last twenty-four hours cooped up in her cabin recovering from Lex's assault, her anxiety over his plans had grown with every passing minute until she'd resolved to do something about it. He'd most likely kill her if, and when, he caught her, but someone needed to be warned. She had to get off the yacht and get to a phone.
She thought about the myth that Lex had likened their situation to, the Titanomachy. She'd read the story so many times now that it felt like an old movie to her, a classic whose lines she'd memorized ages ago. And a classic tale it was. Lex's Prometheus was a traitor to his own kind, willing to help the 'gods' destroy the Titans. This wasn't about bringing fire to the people, as Lex would have had her believe. It was a story about gaining power and punishing enemies. In this story, Kitty knew the Titan Atlas would be Superman. He'd lifted New Krypton into orbit, after all, and wasn't Atlas's punishment for being Prometheus's enemy to hold up the Earth and the sky for eternity? He was a hero who was being punished for his good heart. And now that Lex's scavenged kryptonite was being used against him, Kitty felt even worse for being a part of those horrible schemes.
She also knew that in this story she was the Titanides, the female Titans who remained neutral in the war between the gods and the Titans. No wonder Lex had made such a point about her wondering why the gods didn't punish the Titanides. She really was stuck in the middle, she realized, doomed to stand between Lex and Superman. But here was where Lex's ideas about the story were wrong. She wouldn't remain neutral. She wouldn't remain quiet. She would do everything in her power to see that the right side won. Superman's son, if that boy was really his son, was going to need help, and Kitty would be the one to give it, no matter what. At least her death would mean something if somebody else could be helped and Lex could be stopped.
After drawing up the courage to escape from Lex's floating prison, Kitty found herself slinking down the narrow hallway, moving as silently and as quickly as possible, praying Lex and his crew would miss her escape and overlook her disappearance. In only a few moments she managed to reach the rear deck of the boat, and with the swiftest moves she could muster considering the pain that still held her body, she scurried down to the dock and ran for the closest building, what she assumed was the office of the marina.
A sign over the door to the building confirmed her assumption, and she rushed inside, breathing hard. A quick look around the office found only a large desk, behind which sat a rough looking older man who was busy filling his time with computer solitaire. He looked up at her as she came further into the room. “Can I help you, miss?” he offered.
Kitty nodded eagerly, “Yes, I need a phone. It's an emergency.”
“A nine-one-one emergency?” He looked her up and down, his gaze pausing on the injuries to her face.
“Um, sort of. I need to make an important call. Right away.” She glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one had followed her into the office.
“Hmph,” the man said, propping his feet up on the desk, suddenly unconcerned with the quite obviously beaten woman standing in front of him. “Pay phone's around the side of the building.”
“But, I don't have any money. Please, just let me use your phone!” she practically squealed.
The man reached into a cup next to his computer and drew out two quarters, then slapped them down on the edge of the desk top, not looking at her. “Pay phone's around the side, I said.”
Kitty was taken aback by the man's rudeness. Here she was, practically screaming for help, and all he could do was tell her to use the damn pay phone? No wonder everyone hated Gotham so much; the people here were as horrible as their reputation had promised.
Horrified, she scooped up the two quarters, not knowing if it would be enough for a call to Metropolis, and made her way outside to the other side of the building. From the back, she couldn't see The Heracles, which she realized was a good thing. It meant that Lex and his men couldn't see her, either. Shivering, she dialed 411 for information first, and the operator came on the line and asked her the name of the phone number she needed. “Daily Planet, Metropolis,” she requested.
To her relief, the operator gave her the Planet's toll free number, and she hung up, then dialed it quickly. After listening to the usual automated instructions and options, she waited for another operator to come on the line. “Extension, please?” the operator asked.
“Lois Lane, please,” Kitty said, her voice shaking. Her whole body trembled as she waited for the line to click over and the particular extension begin to ring. She still wasn't sure what she would say to the reporter, but somehow, she'd get it all out.
The line picked up. “Lois Lane,” the voice on the other end greeted.
Kitty wasted no time. “Oh, my God, Miss Lane. This is Kitty, uh, Katherine Kowalski. Please, you have to listen to me!” she wailed, beginning to cry. “It's Lex, he's gonna try to hurt you and your so-” Kitty was cut off as a strong arm encircled her waist and yanked her back from the phone. She screamed as loud as she could, but as she was thrown to the ground, the force of the impact knocked the wind out of her, leaving her breathless and momentarily silent.
Looking up at her attacker, she saw Luthor's man, Carlos, hang up the phone as the reporter's voice came back from the other end of the line, demanding to know what Lex was going to do. Kitty began sobbing in earnest now. She hadn't been able to warn Miss Lane about Luthor's plan, and now Lex was going to kill her anyway.
Carlos hauled her roughly up to her feet, sneering at her. In his thick accent he breathed, “No wonder Mister Luthor wanted us to keep an eye on you! I don't know why a man like him would keep a little backstabbing whore like you around, anyway.”
With one hand gripping her arm and the other holding her by the throat, he forced her back to The Heracles to face Lex, possibly for the last time.
* * * * *
The color drained from Lois's face as she dropped the phone, her breaths coming quick and her eyes wild, not knowing what to do, only filled with an immediate panic and dread. “Oh, my God,” she breathed, “It, it was Kit-Katherine, uh, Kowalski. She said-”
Clark put his hands on her arms to try to calm her down as she panicked from a phone call for the second time in three days. Looking her in the eyes, he spoke firmly to her. “Lois, calm down. Shhh.... What did she say?” he asked, barely able to control his own racing heart, already knowing just what Kitty had said.
She looked up at him, wide-eyed. “She... she tried to warn me about Luthor. She said he was going to try to hurt us. But I think he must have gotten to her. I heard her scream....” Her chin trembled with fear and she shook her head.
“Mommy?” Lois felt a tug on her pants leg and looked down at her son. “What's wrong? Did something bad happen again?” His face was filled with worry as he gazed up at her.
Her mouth fell open at that; she had no clue what to say to Jason. He'd seen, and most likely heard, the entire interaction.
Kitty had warned her that Lex was going to try to hurt them. Oh God, he does know about Jason.
“Mommy?” her little boy's scared voice prodded her.
Seeing Lois completely incapacitated, Clark knelt down to Jason's eye level to answer him. “Your Mom just got a pretty weird phone call, and she's just a little worried about it, okay?”
Jason eyed him, not looking convinced.
“I know a lot of weird things have been going on lately, but you know that we're doing our best to make everything okay, right?” Clark brushed an errant lock of hair out of Jason's face, then tried his best to give his son a hopeful smile, though he knew instinctively that it came out looking more worried and not at all believable.
After giving him another concerned look, the little boy looked back up at his Mom, who had clamped a hand over her mouth in shock. “Mom?” he asked again.
Lois heard her son speak to her as if from far away, and she realized through a haze of terror that Clark had tried to answer him, though Jason was still waiting for her own reply. Blinking, she pulled herself together, and shoved aside the fear long enough to come to her senses. She knelt down to face her son, giving Clark only a sideways glance before speaking. “Oh, Jason. I'm sorry. That phone call... it just scared Mommy a little bit, okay?”
Jason nodded.
“I'm okay now, sweetie. Are you okay? I didn't mean to scare you.” She placed a hand on her son's cheek and kissed him on the forehead.
“I'm okay,” he answered. After a pause, he asked, “Mommy, is that bald man really gonna try to hurt us again?” He looked from his Mom to Clark and back.
They both stared back at Jason for a moment, not quite sure what to say. It was perfectly clear to them how quick Jason was, especially with his hearing developing so fast. Lois finally replied, “Well, I don't know, Pumpkin. He's, um, a pretty bad guy, but we're doing everything we can to try to find him and make sure he goes to jail for a very long time, so he can't ever hurt anyone again.”
Jason looked back and forth between them again, as if to make sure they were in agreement, and, seeing their matching half-smiles, he shrugged, “Okay.” Then he reached up to hug his mom close, and scampered back to his chair to read more of his book.
Lois's shoulders slumped with relief as she and Clark rose from the floor. Whether or not Jason had truly accepted her explanation for her brief episode of panic, he seemed less concerned now. She knew she would have to have a long talk with him, maybe when she and Kal-El were able to sit him down for their other discussion.
Clark placed a hand on her arm again, and she turned to face him, suddenly aware of how very warm his hand was.
“Um, Lois?” he started quietly, looking a bit flustered. “If Luthor's planning something against you and Jason, um, it might not be a good idea for you two to stay at your house for the next few days, or, at least until we can get a good idea where Luthor is, anyway, and-”
“No, you're right, Clark. It, it's probably not safe for us if he knows where to find us,” she agreed reluctantly, her voice beginning to tremble a little. “But what do you suggest? We move into a hotel for a while? What if we can't find him? Who knows how long we'd have to stay in hiding.”
She eyed him sideways as his hand dropped from her arm, and he put his hands in his pockets, taking a deep breath. “Um, no, actually. I was thinking, um....”
“What, Clark?”
Looking her in the eyes, he calmed himself, knowing this was the only way he was going to be able to tell her the truth. “Why don't you and Jason come stay with me for a few days? I mean, it's the least I can do, and technically it's your apartment anyway,” he finished with a shrug, giving her a slightly crooked, closed-lipped smile and looking at her hopefully.
Crossing her arms in front of herself again, Lois shut her eyes, breaking the brief contact, attempting to process Clark's request. He'd asked her to stay with him. If she hadn't been so upset by the call from Kitty Kowalski, she would never even consider it.... But she and Jason were in danger.... And Kal-El? Well, if Clark was Kal-El, then this was his big chance to come clean with her and make everything right. If he wasn't, then Lois would know it by the next morning.
After taking a deep breath, she gave him a narrow-eyed look. “All right. Um, yeah. We'll, um, stay with you for a few days.”
Clark's shoulders relaxed and he smiled more softly at her. “Great. Well, until then, we should probably try to get some work done, try to see where this connection between Dmitri Fedorov and Luthor takes us.”
Lois blinked at him, still too shaken up to change course. “Right. Of course,” she said after a moment, and as Clark shuffled back to his own desk, she turned to get back to work on her computer, trying to remember where she'd left off. But her mind was spinning too fast for her to get started. Luthor was planning something. He was going to try to hurt her and Jason. And she'd agreed to stay with Clark.... Clark....
She gave him a quick glance as he settled in to get to work at last. Could he really be Kal-El? The reasoning part of her mind still held out for evidence, but... all the signs were there, the coincidence of Clark's five-year absence with Kal-El's disappearance, the way Clark sometimes spoke, as if he were used to speaking with greater authority and confidence than a bumbling, shy office nerd, the warmth of his hand on her arm, the square of his chin, the color of his eyes.... Why hadn't she ever looked into, and seen, his eyes before? They were the same cobalt blue... weren't they?
Her thoughts and her gaze settled on his face. She wondered about his lips. Were they the same lips she'd kissed two nights before? Were they the lips that had kissed her passionately so many years earlier? Was his smile the same smile Kal-El had given her? Could this possibly be the man she'd fallen in love with on a rooftop, high above Metropolis? Was this the man she'd made love to?
Dizziness washed over her as the notion became suddenly overwhelming, and she gripped the edge of her desk to steady herself. Lady, this is insanity, she told herself. If Clark Kent is Kal-El, then that would make Clark Jason's fa- The thought refused to resolve itself as the possibility became clear to her. She turned to look at her son, who was once again absorbed in his reading, then turned back to look at Clark.
As the shock of the idea became too much to bear, Lois pulled up every bit of “Mad Dog Lane” she could muster and shoved her speculations aside. Sitting up ramrod straight in her chair, she set back to work, not noticing how much her hands had begun to shake.
* * * * *
Taking a quick break to go grab lunch, Clark headed first for Metro PD's First Precinct to have another chat with Inspector Sawyer about Intergang and to clue her in to the potential threat against Lois. Sweeping through the station in a primary-colored blur and a gust of wind, he stepped into her office and pulled the door closed behind him before the rest of the officers on duty could try to listen in.
“Inspector?” he said gently.
Her blonde head whipped up from her close scrutiny of a particular file spread over her desk, and she startled at the sight of him, once again appearing out of the blue. “Jesus, don't do that!” the scolded him with narrowed eyes.
“Sorry,” he apologized quickly, “I seem to be making that a bad habit lately.” With far too many people.
“No kidding.” Sitting back in her chair, Sawyer looked him over and waved him toward a seat, which he graciously took. “Pardon my bluntness, but you still look like crap.”
“A little too much kryptonite exposure, I'm sorry to say,” he admitted quietly.
“Sounds like an understatement, to me. You haven't exactly been taking it easy, like I told you to.”
Clark couldn't help a sheepish look as he felt his cheeks warm a little. “I know.”
Sawyer chuckled lightly. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
Sitting straighter, he pulled a folded paper from his hidden cape pocket and handed it across the desk to her. “This. I have it on good authority that there's a link between Mindy Church and these people. Is there anything you can tell me about them, besides the obvious?”
The Inspector shook her head, smirking darkly as she read the names on the paper. “Unfortunately, I can't tell you a damn thing.” Her eyes came up to fix his with a pointed look. “Except that your sources, whoever they might be, have pointed you in the right direction. You might say that they have common staffing interests.”
The unexpected meaning wasn't lost on Clark in the slightest. “I see,” he nodded with raised brows, taking the paper back from her and tucking it away.
“You have any time to check up on Eiling yet?”
“No,” he sighed. “But I promise, first chance I get.”
Sawyer nodded with a grim smile.
“I do have other news, though.”
“Oh?”
Shifting forward with his hands clasped and elbows resting on his knees, he started quietly, “Lois Lane received a call from Katherine Kowalski this morning.”
The Inspector nearly came out of her chair. “What!?”
“Apparently, Luthor's planning something against her and her son, to try to get to me. Miss Kowalski was trying to warn Miss Lane about it.”
“So, what, he's here? In Metropolis? Shit,” she spat.
“I don't know,” Clark answered quickly. “The line apparently went dead before Miss Lane could get any other information.”
Heaving herself back in her chair again, Sawyer crossed her arms and clenched her jaw for a moment. Then, “I'm not gonna try to guess why Luthor is going after Lane again. Not my business, if you catch my drift.”
Clark nodded, again taking her meaning easily despite the slightly anxious knot it left in his gut, and she continued, “But if he's after her, we need to have a protective detail on her. And that's essentially out of the question in light of our leaks. Word would get to him in a heartbeat.”
“Exactly.”
“I suppose...” she started thoughtfully, “we could have a car watching the Planet for anything out of the ordinary, citing an unspecified threat against the paper.” Then her eyes focused on him again, and she sighed heavily. “I can't put anyone on her house; it'd be too obvious.”
“That's already taken care of,” he assured her. “They'll be staying in a safe location for the next few days.”
Nodding, Sawyer responded, “Good, good. I don't want to know where, and for that matter, don't tell anyone where they're staying. Too much risk.”
“Of course.”
“All right. Got anything else for me?”
For a second, Clark started to feel like he was answering to Perry's orders, and he couldn't suppress a small smile at the thought's suddenly supplied relief from the tension of the day. “I'm starting to think I should be on your payroll, Inspector.”
At that, her brow furrowed for a moment before she relaxed and chuckled quietly. “Might as well be, except I get the feeling you don't have any personal info you can share with HR, besides 'Steel, Man of', to put in the name field of the paperwork.”
“Well, not as such,” he admitted.
“But you do have a job somewhere, right? Unless you're independently wealthy. Gotta eat, after all.”
“Um... yes. I do have a job,” he answered slyly, thinking for a moment of his friend in Gotham.
She chuckled again, putting up her hands in mock surrender. “Well, I wouldn't want to know, even if you could tell me. Plausible deniability, and all that. Besides, that kind of clearance is above my pay grade.”
“Noted,” Clark smiled. “And no, I don't have anything else to share at the moment.”
“Okay,” she nodded, standing to come around the desk and shake his hand as he stood as well. “One last thing before you speed off,” she started, her voice low. “You need to stay off the streets of Metropolis for a while. With this kryptonite thing heating up, none of us can afford for you to take any chances. You didn't hear it from me, but Chief Simms is issuing a statement this afternoon to the press, a directive for you to lay low. Heed it, all right? Go take a long sun-bath or something. And get some rest.”
“All right,” he hesitantly agreed. He wasn't sure he could make good on that promise, but he could at least try to keep his head down for a while. “I will. Thanks, Inspector.”
“Welcome.”
And with another burst of speed, Clark headed out, this time to actually go pick up lunch.
* * * * *
As the wind trail from Superman's exit died down, Maggie gave the roomful of officers a stern glare and closed her office door on the wave of murmurs still floating about. Damn, but his visits had always been a little more than insane, and now she had to deal with potential department leaks on the matter. Church and Luthor would know he'd been here within the hour. Superman, you stupid fool, she cursed to herself halfheartedly. She'd have to lecture him on how not to compromise an investigation the next time she saw him.
Getting back to work on the file she'd been going over when she was interrupted, she read over the notes she'd made about Dmitri Fedorov's dealings. It was clear that he was linked to both Church and Luthor-she had more than enough evidence to prove it, staffing considerations aside-but how he was involved in the kryptonite fiasco, she couldn't quite figure out. The Russian was as slippery as an eel, which of course made him a good match for Church's organization.
She wished she could put a tail on him, except that he was in Gotham at the moment-according to the last flight plan of his private jet, at least-and was technically out of her jurisdiction. Well, maybe she could get around that, if she talked to the right people. Smirking to herself, she made a mental note to give Gotham PD a call and see if she could enlist a little help on the matter.
With a shake of her head, she shut the folder. This would have to wait a little while, and she needed a break from this end of the investigation, anyway, to ease the headache that was starting behind her eyes. Picking up her phone, she got to work on sending a car to watch the Planet building. One officer in the lobby and one at the parking deck entrance ought to do it....
* * * * *