Lois tossed and turned in her sleep…
A baby was crying. It had to be Joel… she began running down a cement hallway, deep in a building somewhere, calling Joel’s name, but every door she tried was locked. The hallway was seemingly endless… locked door after locked door… At last, she came to the final door. Through a glass window, she saw someone take Joel through to another room, and she pounded on the glass, screaming.
Then, she noticed Clark was sitting on a small bed, his head in his hands. He looked like he was crying…
Lois felt another cry well up in her, just as someone came from behind her to pull her away…“Lois, wake up!” Clark cried gently. He had just returned from a patrol, only to find Lois caught in a nightmare. “Shh, Lois, it’s okay. I’m here,” he said, pulling her into his arms.
“Clark?” she sobbed, still half asleep. “Is that you? They took him away… I saw them. They took him…”
“Lois, it was just a dream. Everything will be fine,” Clark said soothingly, his heart feeling crushed in his chest at the sight of Lois so distraught. She began to sit up in bed, glancing up at him with a tear-stained face.
“Clark, it was so real… you were in some sort of prison and I saw them take Joel away…” she said, almost desperately.
“Lois, it was a dream,” he said again, but looking at her, he wasn’t sure he entirely believed that.
“I just don’t know what I’d do if I ever lost both of you,” Lois spoke in a rough whisper, wrapping her arms around herself.
“You won’t, Lois. I’m right here. And we’ll get Joel back. You’ll see,” he said, folding her in his arms once more.
“I want to believe that too, Clark… I want to believe we’ll find him, too.”
~L&C~
Clark had reluctantly agreed to let Lois see Slade. He knew he couldn’t stop her anyway. They were both so wracked with guilt that he could understand her need to pursue every angle she could think of – he was doing the same thing.
At night, he’d take off across the country, scouring for hidden military facilities or any place that someone who was part of the VRA might want to hide a baby. Some nights he would try to sleep beside Lois, and be jolted awake by a vision of little Joel being treated with different meteor rocks, essentially tortured as they tried to uncover his secrets. That dream, paired with the nightmare Lois had experienced a few nights ago, would send him whooshing out into the darkness, desperate for an answer…
Clark wondered how much Sam Lane knew about him, and whether he knew who had Joel. Clark was tempted several times to question General Lane himself, but he knew it would only make things more complicated for Lois, and confirm any suspicions the General may have had about Clark – and that could just put Joel in even more danger.
Clark thought about how relentlessly the Kents had always protected him, knowing what he would be exposed to if anyone ever learned his secret. And how much more vulnerable was a baby?
The fear tore at him, and made it difficult for him to concentrate during the day. As he did other Blur saves, every single one taunted him. He could save others, but he hadn’t been able to protect his own son…
Lois was just as driven as he was. She spent half her time at the Planet, trying to do research on the VRA and planned governmental facilities, especially ones that were either new or recently renovated.
She would leave her research lying around at the farmhouse, and Clark wondered if it wasn’t her way of secretly prodding him to check every single one… he took it as so, and thus wasn’t home very often.
They hadn’t discussed anything about the wedding since Joel disappeared. It seemed to be an unspoken rule between them that they couldn’t discuss it until Joel was brought back home safely…
Clark couldn’t even contemplate what would happen if he wasn’t. He’d never forgive himself, and he wasn’t sure Lois would either…
~L&C~
Lois glanced at her watch, knowing the secretary would wait until exactly 11:00 before letting her into Slade’s office. She still had six minutes to wait… and obsess.
She had to appear calm, and spout the expected banter she knew that Slade would want to hear. Lois knew how to play the general’s daughter; she’d had years of practice. And for years, she had believed whole-heartedly in it all, proud to be her father’s daughter.
And she still was proud of him… Yet, with the VRA, there were just a few shades of gray she had never noticed before, just behind the red, white, and blue, and it unnerved her. Who knew what the VRA was really about, and who knew what they wanted to do with heroes like Clark…
Or if they had taken her son. And if they had, what did they want with him?
“Miss Lane?” said the secretary, jolting Lois out of her thoughts. “General Slade will see you now.”
Lois hid a smirk, noticing that it was now exactly 11:00. Some things about the military never change.
Lois stepped into the office. “Lois Lane,” she said crisply, reaching to shake the General’s hand.
“Sam Lane's daughter,” he noted, and she stiffened just a bit, a little surprised that he knew exactly who she was. It also made her that much more suspicious of him – what did he know about Joel… and Clark? Slade nodded, letting her into his office. “I always do my homework. Why do you think I gave you clearance?”
Play it cool, Lois. “Damn. And here I was thinking I got in here on my wit and charm,” she said, trying to sound breezy and confident.
“I see you are not just a Lane in name, but attitude as well,” Slade answered, with a hint of admiration in his voice.
“My dad always said I was made of more brass than his medals,” she added proudly, knowing that at least that much was true. She took out a small bag, preparing to butter him up. “General, I brought something for you,” she said, pulling out a box of Cuban cigars and a bottle of bourbon. Her father had brought them to Jonathan Kent as a gift years ago, though Jonathan hadn’t the heart to tell Sam Lane that he didn’t smoke or drink. Lois had stumbled upon them in the back of a closet when preparing for the baby to arrive.
“Well, I see that I am not the only one who does their homework,” Slade said appreciatively. “Fine bourbon and Cuban Cohibas -- my favorite.”
Lois smiled, hoping she could get somewhere with him now. All she had to do was add in a touch of the patriotic, and she was sure she could get him to open up more about the VRA. “American made and American won. I don't care what they say -- that victory will be ours soon enough.”
“Spoken like a true daughter of the red, white, and blue.”
Bingo. Right where I want you. It was time to make her move. “Speaking of the red, white, and blue --What's really up with the VRA?”
“Your father worked on the registration act, Miss Lane.I'm not sure what more I can tell you,” he responded evasively. But at least he didn’t seem to know she was on the outs with her father.
“So, how exactly is the VRA supposed to work?” Lois pressed.
“They'll simply sign a declaration of intent to act only at the government's behest. United we stand, right, Miss Lane? As it stands now, vigilantes do not represent the will of the people. And anyone espousing different merely supports their cause.”
She felt herself stiffen a bit at that. It meant that he at least thought Clark was a vigilante sympathizer --- at worst, they knew he was the Blur. And what did he know about Joel?
She forced a smile. “Which is exactly why I asked for the VRA assignment,” Lois lied. Her pretense to speak with Slade had been to write an article for the Planet, though Slade looked at her a little skeptically. “Who better to give the military a fair shake than a brat?”
“One who has written most of her paper's pro-Blur articles,” Slade answered, sending another shiver of fear down her spine.
She had to try and keep her calm, and not let him know how much his comments unnerved her. “I guess my name isn't the only reason you agreed to this one-on-one,” she said carefully.
“You are not playing for your team the way you should be, Miss Lane,” he accused. “We all must do our part.”
“Some people might say that's what drives the vigilantes to action,” she interjected. He was making her nervous, but she had expected that. Still, there had to be something here, some clue as to what the VRA was up to – and hopefully, a clue about where her son might be.
He paused, assessing her. “Well, then, they'll simply step forward and suit up with the good guys, won't they? Here's to the good guys,” he said, lifting a small shot glass of the bourbon she had brought as a toast.
“Amen,” Lois responded, noticing a document on his desk that looked like the blueprints to some facility. She had done plenty of research lately on government offices – this one didn’t look like any of the ones she had so far recovered information on. Lois felt her heart begin to pound suddenly, as she began to angle herself to be able to snap a picture of the print.
“Ah, there must be something around here to cut this,” Slade murmured, looking around the other side of his desk for a cigar cutter.
Lois had to act quickly while Slade was distracted. She took out her cellphone and took a picture of the plans.
Slade heard the click of her camera and turned on her, suddenly angry. “Your name got you in here, but it won't get you out of trouble… Show me your hand,” he demanded, showing his true colors for just moment.
Thank God Lois was quick on her feet. She had kept hold of the Zippo lighter she had brought. She clicked it on, slipping her cellphone in her other hand into her pocket.
She plastered on a smile. “Now-- I just thought you might like a light.”
“I apologize,” Slade offered, taking her lighter to light his cigar. “These vigilantes have got me suspicious of everyone.”
“No worries,” Lois said, continuing to smile, though her cellphone was burning a hole in her pocket. She wanted to get that photo to Clark and the others as soon as she could…
“These days, you just don't know who you can trust,” she said honestly, backing towards the door. “Thank you for your time today, General.”
“Miss Lane?” he inquired, and she turned. He seemed about to say something else, but instead tipped his glass of bourbon in a half salute. “Thanks for the gifts… and tell your father I said hello.”
“Yes, sir,” she said curtly, and hightailed it out of there.
Lois almost felt like breaking into a run as she entered the corridor. There was something about that facility she had seen… it had to be a clue. But she couldn’t pull out her phone before she left base, in case anyone stopped her.
She stepped outside the building, nodding hello to soldiers she passed, trying to keep her pace normal, but inside, she was dying. Slade seemed to know who Clark really was – and if so, what if he had little Joel somewhere? What if he was in this facility that Lois had grabbed a photo of?
Lois made it to her car, tears now in her eyes, as she felt betrayed by her father… did he know what he was risking by digging into Clark’s life? She started her car and headed off base, again, going as slow as normal, though she wanted to slam on the gas.
When she waved to the guard at the gate, she felt like she could breathe again. As soon as she got out of visual distance from the base, she pulled out her cellphone and called Clark.
“I got something,” she said. “A picture of a facility… I think it’s in Alaska. Clark, what if Joel is there?”
“Just send it to me, Lois. We’ll find him. I promise.”
~L&C~
Clark was certain that the picture Lois had sent him wasn’t of any facility he had seen in his nightly sweeps across the country. This was deep in the wilds of Alaska, meant to be hidden. He felt his stomach clench in disgust and fear as to what they could be doing if his son was there… not that they had any confirmation that he was. But considering what Sam Lane knew, and what apparently General Slade knew, this seemed like the most likely answer.
Clark blurred into Watchtower, waiting for Oliver and AC to show up so they could conference on how best to proceed.
“What did Lois find?” Chloe asked, reaching to see the picture on Clark’s phone.
Clark sighed as he handed it to her. “It’s definitely a new facility… and not one that’s been on our radar,” he said anxiously.
Chloe looked closer at the image, picking up some details such as longitude and latitude positional markings. “Well, at least they left the address,” she smirked, entering the coordinates into her computer. It was her turn to sigh when the position came up on screen. “And man, is it ever deep in the wilderness.”
“Doesn’t matter. We have to go check it out.”
“I know, Clark. Just saying… we should know as much as we can about this place before you head up there…” Chloe said, typing in some search terms. “Hmmm… completely generic in every way. Just makes it more suspicious, don’t you think?” she asked rhetorically. “I mean, if I wanted to hide something sketchy if I were the government, I’d at least think of some catchy, patriotic name.”
“Well, whatever it is, we need to check it out. It’s been almost two weeks and---“ Clark stopped as he noticed Chloe’s expression. “What is it, Chloe? Is there something else?”
She nodded, seemingly reluctantly. “Clark, I think we’re dealing with more than just the VRA.” She turned to her computer and brought up the talk with Slade Wilson on Gordon Godfrey’s talk show. “Turn those super ears on and listen carefully to this,” she said, then hit play.
Clark looked up at her sharply at hearing the almost demonic tones underlying the conversation. “What is that?”
Chloe sighed, and pulled up a map on her computer of Metropolis. “This is from about ten months ago. There was a huge energy spike on the grid when you sent the Kandorians home…”
Clark glanced worryingly at the map she was displaying. “Are you saying the government knows what happened that day?”
Chloe shook her head. “It’s worse than that… See this?” she asked, pointing to another spike in the same spot about an hour later, that was almost ten times as intense as the portal the Kandorians went through. “’Something wicked this way comes,’” she quoted. “What I mean is, you let something else through that portal, Clark. Something darker and more dangerous than we’ve ever seen before.”
“Another phantom?”
“I don’t think so. Clark, all I’m saying is – we need to be extra careful. I think we’re dealing with more than just an overzealous general.”
Clark sighed, running his fingers through his hair, guilt clearly on his face. “I can’t win, can I? I try to do the right thing and—“
“Clark, you couldn’t have known. The best we can do is work with the information we have,” Chloe said practically.
“On top of all this I have to worry about what the government might be doing with my son…”
“I know, Clark,” Chloe said sympathetically, patting his shoulder. “We’ll find him.”
Just then, Oliver and AC walked in. “Bart should be here by now…,” Oliver commented, already in his Green Arrow gear. “So, let’s have a look at this facility we’re about to break into.”
Chloe connected Clark’s phone to the Watchtower computer and enhanced Lois’ photo. It was a bit blurry at first, but eventually Chloe got a clear rendering. “Well, it goes at least seven levels down into the ground… and it’s nearly surrounded by water. At least there shouldn’t be too much ice up there this time of year.”
AC nodded. “Doesn’t matter. I can handle icy water just as easily. As much as I hate that they built it on a lake, destroying who knows how many habitats, at least I know I will be able to get in there.”
“I’ll take off from Queen Tower in a few hours… I should be able to meet you all there by midnight,” said Oliver.
“That will give AC, Bart, and I some time to do a bit of recon… and then we can make our move,” Clark said decisively, though his brow was knitted in concern.
Suddenly, Bart flashed into the room. “Sorry I’m late, dudes… A little mamacita was distracting me in Mexico,” he grinned, but then seeing the seriousness of the situation, schooled his features. “So what’s the plan, amigos?”
“You and I will head to Alaska and try to scope out the building. Assess how many guards and arms there are. I’ll try to scan the building, providing it isn’t lined with lead. Then AC and Oliver will meet us later tonight and we’ll break in,” Clark explained. He glanced down at his cellphone, wondering where Lois was. He hadn’t heard from her since she sent the photo of the facility, and he just hoped she wasn’t doing something foolish…
“Wow, is that little dude being held there?” Bart asked.
“We’re not entirely sure, but it seems most likely,” Oliver said, stepping over towards Chloe to say goodbye.
Chloe tugged Oliver out of earshot of the others – well, except for Clark. Though he seemed preoccupied.
“I’m worried about Clark,” Chloe said. “Keep an eye on him. He’s blaming himself so much in all of this… and I’m not sure he’s thinking clearly.”
Oliver nodded. “I’ll try, but you know as well as I do, that he’ll do what he wants.”
“Yeah, I know,” Chloe conceded. She reached up to kiss Oliver lightly on his cheek. “Still… be careful.”
Oliver took her chin in his hand and leaned down for a more proper kiss. Then he turned to his comrades. “All right. Let’s roll.”
~L&C~
Lois drove around the outside of the base for the next half hour, thinking. Would it do any good to speak to her dad again? She knew his loyalty to the military was top priority, so he wasn’t likely to reveal any information he might have about the picture she had taken.
He was likely still angry with her… but she knew he believed in family. On some level, she knew he had to be worried about Joel being missing, just as much as she and Clark were.
Remembering what it was like being pregnant with Joel, how connected to him she had felt, she mentally reached for that connection once more… On some level she knew it was a bit silly. She didn’t think she was psychic or anything, but she did believe in the connection between a parent and child. That dream she had a few nights ago, she knew there was something to it, something real. After seeing the photo of the facility on Slade’s desk, she wondered if she had been dreaming about that very building…
It had been a half hour since she sent Clark the text. She knew he was probably at Watchtower, planning with the other heroes. Just as she had insisted on facing Slade alone, he wouldn’t want her in the middle of this, and certainly wouldn’t want her going to this facility with the rest of the team.
But she would go. Oliver wouldn’t turn her down. After doing some checking on her phone, she knew the building was in Alaska. And the guys would wait until tonight to make their move. That meant Oliver would fly out this afternoon sometime.
Lois was suddenly no longer driving aimlessly. She turned her car around and started heading into Metropolis.
~L&C~
Lois Lane stomped into the main lobby of Queen Tower. She felt a little relief at recognizing the girl that was running the front desk. It would make this much easier…
“Hey there, Cindy. Is Oliver in his office?” she asked casually.
Cindy looked up from a newspaper she was reading. “Oh, hi, Lois. Yes. But he’s going to be leaving from the helipad in about a half hour. If you hurry, you should catch him.”
“Thanks,” Lois said, walking briskly to the elevators. Usually people needed an appointment to see Oliver, but Lois had been given special license over the years to bust in on Oliver whenever she saw fit.
Every now and then there would be a newbie working there who would make things more difficult for her, but thank God today wasn’t one of those days.
Lois made it to the tenth floor, and anxiously waited for the doors to open. She stepped off the elevator just as Oliver was locking up his office.
“To what do I owe this social call?” Oliver asked coolly.
“I think you know, Ollie. I want to go with you.”
Oliver shook his head. “Oh, hell no. Clark wants you safe. There’s no need—“
Lois stepped closer to him, so he’d look in her eyes. “Oliver, you don’t know what it’s like… the hell of not knowing what is happening. That’s my son… Ollie, if you had a son, wouldn’t you want to be there, to do everything you could to bring him home safely?”
She was a good persuader, especially when it counted.
Oliver sighed, “I know, Lois. But it could just be a false lead. We’ve already been over half the country—“
“I know. But I just have this gut feeling… this is the one. And I want to be there to be sure Joel comes home.”
Oliver hesitated a moment, rubbing his jaw as he thought. He let out a puff of air, nodding. “All right, fine. Clark will skin me alive…”
“Don’t worry, Oliver. I’ll take the blame.”
~~~
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