Winner Takes All
Folc4evernaday (folc4evernaday@gmail.com)
Rated: PG-13
Part 33
***
“Hello, darling.” Lex kissed Lucy on the cheek.
“Lex!” Lucy wrapped her arms around his neck. “You’re back.”
“Sorry, I worried you.” Lex kissed her. “I’ve already called the lawyers and made an arrangement for a press conference tomorrow morning.”
“I’m so glad you’re all right.” Lucy smiled, leaning up to kiss Lex once more.
***
Superman picked up a radio announcement as he flew over Metropolis. Mayson Drake’s voice echoed through the radio waves. “We ask that Superman turn himself in peacefully to avoid any further incidents.”
Turn himself in? Who did this Mayson Drake think she was? She seriously thought she could arrest him; keep him in a cage? He was Superman! Who did they think they were?
It was time he taught this Mayson Drake a lesson. All these threats….
***
“They want to arrest Superman?” Clark asked in shock.
“It’s been all over the news. Mayson Drake had a press conference earlier today asking Superman to turn himself in. He was caught destroying a public library earlier today. He ran off before anyone could catch up to him.”
“That’s insane,” Lois said, shaking her head in disbelief. “That isn’t Superman.”
“So, what’s going on? Superman have an evil twin brother he hasn’t told anyone about?” Jimmy joked.
“I don’t know,” Clark said.
Jimmy looked between Lois and Clark with a worried expression. “Superman didn’t really…I mean, he’s one of the good guys, right?”
Lois smiled weakly at Jimmy and patted him on the shoulder. “Yeah, Jimmy. Superman’s one of the good guys.” She caught a sideways glance at Clark. The expression on his face spoke volumes. “Uh, Jimmy, thanks; we’ll try and get to the bottom of this…”
Jimmy held his hands up, nodding in understanding. “I get it. I get it. I’m out of here.” Jimmy headed out the door and Lois turned towards Clark.
“I’ve got to try and find him. He’s been hurting innocent people left and right. What if he kills someone? He could have …”
“Clark, calm down. You don’t know that he’s done anything more than knock a few bookshelves over.” Lois said reassuringly.
That familiar look crossed his face and she sighed, “What is it?”
“Superman is holding Mayson Drake hostage in the middle of town square,” Clark replied grimly.
***
“Look out!” A woman screamed in horror when Superman shot a beam of heat vision towards a young couple walking down the steps of the courthouse. He let out a small laugh when the people below him dispersed into a panicked frenzy. It amazed him how easily they could be scared.
“Why are you doing this?” Mayson asked in between tears.
“Do you really think you can arrest me? I’m Superman!” He snapped.
“That’s enough!” A stern voice from behind him bellowed.
Superman turned to face his doppelganger. A smirk crossed Superman’s face. “Well, well, well, what do we have here? Finally, decide to come out of hiding I see.”
“Who’s hiding?” Clark challenged, advancing towards him. “Let her go.”
“Su-Superman?” Mayson looked back and forth between the two supermen. “There’s ...TWO of you.”
“Not exactly.” Superman snapped, throwing Mayson to the concrete ground below.
Clark knelt down to help Mayson up. “Are you all right?”
“I..I think so…” Mayson’s eyes widened when she saw Superman advancing towards them. “Look out!”
***
Clark looked up and saw a beam of heat vision directed towards him. He shot a blast of freezing breath towards Superman, freezing the beam in place and shocking Superman in the process.
“You killed my father!”
“I haven’t killed anyone. You’ve got the wrong idea!” Clark shot back. Another beam of heat vision was frozen in place. “Don’t you get it? This is a fight neither you or I can win.”
***
Superman was furious. Why did he insist on lying? “You’re lying! You’re a liar! A liar!”
“You’ve hurt innocent people for no reason. Let me help you…”
“NO!!!” Superman shot another blast of heat vision towards Clark. It hurt. He wasn’t supposed to feel pain. He was relieved when the blast of super breath hit him. He fell to the ground in pain.
“You’re hurt.”
***
“Dr. Klein, I’m Dr. Sam Lane. I received your call about a cloning experiment.” Sam Lane extended his hand to shake Dr. Klein’s.
“Yes, thank you for returning my call so quickly.” Dr. Klein greeted him with a firm handshake. “I’ve run a battery of tests on him. His vitals have lowered. Something…” Dr. Klein shook his head in confusion. “He’s been without daily monitoring for the last few days.”
“Yes, Dr. Leek’s just returned to the office. I really don’t understand where he’s been. I’ve been juggling all his projects. I’ve had to put off dinner with my daughter and her new husband quite a few times now…”
Lois stood behind them with Clark, listening to the conversation in disgust. “Oh, so you do check your messages.”
“Lois, what are you doing here?” Sam turned to face her.
“My job.” Lois crossed her arms over her chest in defiance as she stared her father down.
“At four in the morning?” Sam asked in disbelief.
“What can I say?” Lois shrugged. “I got used to staying up late at a young age.”
“Uh, Dr. Lane, from what Dr. Klein had said you worked pretty closely with Dr. Leek on the cloning experiment?” Clark interrupted, trying to steer the conversation back to a more neutral topic.
“Yes, I’ve been working with him on it for the last eighteen months.” Sam eyed Clark critically for a moment. “You know it's customary to have met both sets of parents before asking a woman to marry you.”
“Well, we can’t work everything around your schedule, Daddy. You’re always too busy with your flings to bother with anything else besides work.” Lois snapped.
“Did you work with Dr. Leek on the Superman clone?” Clark asked directly.
“The what?”
“Follow me.” Dr. Klein motioned for them to follow him into a secluded area. He popped a light switch and Dr. Lane gasped when he saw Superman unconscious on a hospital bed with monitors hooked up to him. “He’s dying….unless we can figure out what kind of treatment Dr. Leek was giving him.”
“I’ll see what I can figure out,” Sam replied solemnly.
“Yeah, it's not like you ever have any plans with family, do you?” Lois snapped bitterly as she stalked out of the office. Clark stared at Sam for a moment, shook his head; then followed Lois out of the office.
***
“Hi, Mayson, how are you?” Lucy asked when she saw Mayson Drake step off the elevator.
“I’m fine.” She snapped. “I’ve been in court all morning retracting the warrants I had taken out on Superman.”
“I guess he’s not such a bad guy after all, huh?” Lucy asked.
“No.” Mayson shook her head. “I still don’t like the way he conducts his rescues, though.”
“I have to go,” Lucy said, grabbing her purse. “I have to get this disposition filed and I have a meeting with Sheldon Bender.” Lucy gave a shudder at the mention of Sheldon Bender’s name.
“Careful. He’s as much a snake as Martin was.” Mayson warned.
“Uh-huh.” Lucy nodded, not really paying full attention to what Mayson was saying. “Well, I gotta go.”
***
“Hey, you’re up early,” Clark commented, noticing Lois on the couch in the living room. She was typing furiously on her laptop as she flipped through file after file.
“I don’t like waking up alone.” She said pointedly.
“I apologize, but tell that to the bank robbers that decided to rob the Metropolis Bank this morning.” He leaned down to kiss her.
“Was anyone hurt?” Lois asked concerned.
“No.” Clark shook his head. He gave her a peck on the cheek, placing a protective hand over her growing abdomen. “How’s our little Lane-Kent?”
Lois smiled at him and kissed him. “Hungry.” She laughed when her stomach growled loudly.
“Breakfast,” Clark said simply, pulling out a bag from behind him. “I made a detour on the way back.”
“I knew there was a reason why I kept you around.” Lois winked at him.
“What are you working on?”
“I’ve compiled everything we have on the possible killer of Marin Snell into this database…to give us a better idea what we’re looking for in possible suspects…and…” Lois glared at him when he took the laptop from her and closed it. “What are you doing?”
“It’s too early to be discussing murder. I’d like to talk about what happened last night with your father.”
“What’s to talk about?” Lois shrugged. “He’s a workaholic….doesn’t care about anything but his work. I’m used to it.”
“Lois, honey…He’s your father.”
“No,” Lois shook her head adamantly. “A father is someone who is there to guide you through the tough times in your life and celebrate your achievements. As far as I’m concerned Perry’s acted more like a father to me than Dr. Sam Lane ever will.” She stood up abruptly and headed for the kitchen to get a drink. “I really don’t want to talk about this right now. We’ve got so much to do…” She looked up at him and saw the expectant look on his face and sighed before she began to speak quietly, “I really love your parents. I look at them and I see how wonderful they are. I can see why you turned out the way you did.” She let out a shuddered breath. “My childhood wasn’t that great.”
“I’m sorry.” Clark placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder. “I didn’t mean to push you. You just seemed really upset about your father. Then I came home this morning and you were already digging into the story. You only get like that when you’re upset.”
“I’m fine,” Lois said quietly. “All of this is just….it’s really hard. Mayson is ….she’s really stubborn and doesn’t want to listen to reason.”
“What are you talking about? She dropped the charges against Superman this morning. I heard the press conference.”
“I’m talking about Linda. She’s obviously being railroaded.” Lois pointed out. “I don’t like Linda, but I don’t want her in jail.”
Clark smiled at her. “I think it’s commendable that you’re willing to go to bat for her after everything that’s happened between the two of you.”
“She doesn’t belong in jail.”
“By the way, what DID happen between the two of you?” Clark pressed.
Lois groaned, rolling her eyes. “You are not going to let this go are you?”
“Nope.” Clark grinned back, following her back to the couch. “I think I’ve been very understanding….and patient.”
Lois rolled her eyes at him. “This doesn’t go past this room; understand?” Clark nodded, taking a seat next to her on the couch. She was quiet for a moment, leaning her back against his chest as she spoke. “In college, Linda and I were best friends. We were roommates. We were on the paper together. We were also very competitive.” She looked up at Clark who nodded for her to continue. “She got into the cliques that I wouldn’t be caught dead in; dated your typical monosyllabic goons that were a pretty face with nothing inside.” She knocked her head with her fist for effect. “I was working on a really big story about these jocks that weren’t taking their tests. It was set to print and everything.” She let out a shuddered breath as she fought to continue the story. “My story was replaced with something else.”
Clark’s grip on her tightened. He placed a kiss on her forehead, urging her to continue. “It’s the reason why I don’t like the paparazzi; why I took it so hard when Claude stole my story…” She turned to face him. His eyes were full of love and support; not judgment as she had seen from everyone at Metropolis University. “Linda wrote a story claiming I was….involved with my teacher. She went into graphic detail, claiming all these ridiculous accusations; like it was the only reason I was getting the grades I’d been receiving and so on. I transferred out of his class the next day. The school didn’t even punish me for it. I think they felt sorry for me.”
“I’m sorry,” Clark whispered, pulling her close to him. He placed a peck on her head as she continued to fight the tears. How was it that after all these years it still hurt to think about such a horrible time in her life? Wasn’t time supposed to heal old wounds? “I didn’t know. I’m sorry I pressed you to tell me.”
“It’s okay.” She sobbed, leaning up to kiss him.
“You’re incredible; you know that?” He whispered, stroking her cheek. “I mean after she did that you’re still working so hard to defend her.”
“I’m angry at her, but I don’t want to see her in jail,” Lois said simply.
***
“He’s WHAT??” Lex howled. “How could he fail?? That’s impossible.”
“From what I’ve been told there’s not a whole lot of time, Mr. Luthor. He’s dying.” Dr. Leek explained. “Like the frogs.”
“No…” Lex shook his head adamantly. “We …we have to start again…More…”
“We have to perfect the process first. We haven’t even perfected it with the frogs yet and we’re experimenting on Superman? Mr. Luthor…”
“Don’t you dare order ME around you little weasel. You get started with the next experiment. I will have my army of Supermen and Superman won’t know what hit him.”
“What do we do about the clone?”
“Let him rot. He’s failed me. I don’t accept failure. Are we clear, Dr. Leek?”
“Yes, Mr. Luthor.” Dr. Leek nodded.
***
Jimmy pounced on Lois and Clark as they stepped off the elevator. “Lois, CK, we’ve been trying to get a hold of you. Have either of you heard from the Chief?”
“No, why?” Lois asked.
“He’s not here. He never came home last night.”
“What?” Clark asked in disbelief.
Lois glanced towards Perry’s office where Alice sat crying. Police were everywhere questioning the staff about their editor’s disappearance. “Oh, my God…” Lois shook her head in disbelief.
Bill Church stepped off the elevator and began heading towards Perry’s office. “What are YOU doing here?” Lois growled.
“Well, hello, Ms. Lane, Mr. Kent. I came to see if I could talk my buddy Perry into playing hooky for a game of golf at the country club.” Bill Church replied with a smile.
Lois glared back at him. “He’s missing. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that; now would you?”
“Of course not, Ms. Lane. I sure hope he’s all right.” Bill replied with a smile. “If I can be of any help at all let me know. I think I’ll go talk to Alice. Maybe I can help offer a shoulder to cry on.” With that, he headed towards Perry White’s office.
“What do you think? Coincidence?” Clark asked.
“No way.” Lois shook her head. “Follow him when he leaves.”
***
Perry groggily began to regain consciousness. His surroundings were a blur. He could hear a low murmur of voices around him. A dull pulsing of pain throbbed through his veins as he began to move.
Where was he?
He didn’t recognize his surroundings.
“I see you’re finally regaining your wits.” A voice from behind him said.
“Who? Who are you? Where am I?” Perry looked around, concerned.
“Those questions are better off left unanswered. Let’s just say Intergang has an interest in purchasing the Daily Planet, and you are our bargaining chip.”
***
“Lex, what are you doing here?” Lucy asked when she stepped off the elevator to exit the courthouse.
“I’m trying to address some issues that arose in my absence,” Lex explained, placing an arm around her shoulders. “I do hope I didn’t worry you too much.”
“No. I knew you were safe; so I wasn’t too worried. I knew you’d be fine.”
“That’s my girl. I have to go deal with the mob. I’ll see you for dinner tonight?”
Lucy nodded, “Sounds great,”
***
“He still hasn’t left the office.” Lois sighed, taking a seat next to Clark. “I know he’s behind this.”
“Unfortunately, we don’t have any proof.” Clark pointed out. “I already called around. Bill Church was at a fundraiser last night for Coates Orphanage. He has the mayor, the Chief of Police, and a few judges to vouch for him.”
“That doesn’t necessarily mean anything,” Lois argued. “He could have ordered someone else to kidnap Perry…”
“Why would he do that, though? It doesn’t make any sense.”
Jimmy strode up to them with a fax in his hand. “Hey, guys, this just came in on the fax from the Metropolis Library. I called over there and they said there had been several people using the fax machine this morning so they couldn’t be sure who…”
Lois impatiently yanked the fax out of his hands. “What is this?”
“It’s a ….ransom note…” Jimmy explained, “They’re demanding the board of directors sign all ownership over to Intergang or else….Perry will pay.”
Lois narrowed her eyes in fury as she read the note. The man that she had come to love as a father was in danger and some lowlife was threatening to hurt him. “Tap into the security system at the library and see what you can come up with. Maybe we can catch the person that sent this on camera.”
“You got it.” Jimmy nodded.
“We should probably take another look at Cost Mart’s floor plans.”
“What if it isn’t Church?” Clark asked concerned. “We could be spinning our wheels looking for the wrong person. Let’s take a look at the evidence and…”
“Hey, turn that up!” The echo of one of their colleagues caught their attention.
They turned towards the television screen and noticed the reason for the outburst. Lex Luthor stood at the podium of a press conference with Inspector Henderson and Mayson Drake. “What in the world is going on?” Lois asked in confusion.
“The prodigal son finally returns.” Clark shook his head in disgust.
“Thank you all for coming,” Mayson spoke into the microphone. “Mr. Luthor has been in hiding ever since the attempt against his life with the fire set to LexCorp Towers. We are working hard to track down the responsible party. It wasn’t until earlier today that we were able to confirm Mr. Luthor was indeed alive.”
“Ms. Drake, is the fire set to LexCorp connected to the fires that have been set around Metropolis these last few months?”
“We are still investigating the fires. At this time the only connection we have found is various gang affiliation.” Mayson answered.
“Any word on where this Superman double appeared from?”
“We are still investigating the matter.”
“Is there anything you do know?”
Lex stepped up to the podium. “I believe that’s all for now. Ms. Drake has been through a lot these past few days as have I. I do know the District Attorney’s office, as well as the Police Department, are working hard to assure that Metropolis citizens are safe. Rest assured LexCorp will be rebuilt in a timely manner and resume business as usual.”
The crowd seemed to calm as the press conference came to an end. “Great,” Lois muttered. “Just great. As if we don’t have enough problems as it is.”
***
“Miranda, excellent to see you.” Lex cheered when the young blonde entered the office.
“It's good to see you alive and well, Lex,” Miranda commented as she sashayed into the office. “I trust you received the latest shipment without a hitch.”
“Yes, we haven’t had any problems thus far,” Lex explained, pouring a glass of wine and handing it to her.
“Excellent.” Miranda took a sip of her wine. “Now, about this new top secret experiment you wanted me to work on….”
Lex pulled out a large lead box and opened it, pulling out a vial with a green glow emitted from it. Miranda glanced at it curiously. “Is that the Kryptonite?”
“Yes, it's been molded into a powder so you can manufacture a brand of revenge laced with this meteorite.”
“I’ll get this going and have something for you in the next few weeks,” Miranda said coolly.
***
“You can’t do this,” Perry argued. “You can’t just threaten to kill me because the board won’t sell….”
“We can and we will,” Gene said. “That’s how gangs work.” The phone rang and Gene smiled. “You better hope they did the right thing.”
Perry watched in apprehension as Gene picked up the phone.
***
“I’m sorry. There was nothing more that I could do.” Dr. Klein apologized. “He…He didn’t have a chance.”
Clark glanced at the body of his clone that was being covered up by a team of scientists. “What are you going to do with him?”
“I’m having him moved out of S.T.A.R. Labs… We do need to conduct a study on him and find out what caused the death process to initiate.” At Clark’s horrified look he amended. “He looks and acts just like you, but he isn’t you. He seemed strong and able before; now all of a sudden he’s dead. We need to know what caused this. You have to understand….”
“Fine,” Clark said a bit too quickly. “Please just give me a call when you finish. I’d be interested in what you’re able to find out.”
“Of course.”
Clark watched as Superman was lifted onto a gurney and carried out of the lab by the team of scientists. It amazed him how quickly things had changed. He had tried to reach out to his double but had failed. The teachings of his ‘father’ were strongly engrained into the clone just as his own parents' teachings were engrained in him.
<<”Dissect you like a frog.”>>
He shook his head to clear his mind of the memory. His parents had been scared for him when they had warned him of rogue government agencies that would try to take him away and conduct studies on him; studies that Dr. Klein would be performing on his clone.
***
“It's official. The Daily Planet is now an asset of Intergang.” Gene smiled as he poured a glass of champagne. “Oh, don’t be so glum, Mr. White.”
“You lying, son of a…”
“Tsk tsk tsk. Language. Is that any way to treat your boss?” Gene asked, a guffaw of laughter escaped his throat.
Perry just glared at him in anger. “I will never work for a criminal organization.”
“Then I guess you won’t be working for the Planet; then will you?” Gene asked smugly. “It's your choice, Mr. White. We can either do this the hard way or the easy way.” He pulled out a sleek revolver from his jacket pocket. The threat was clear.
***
Perry slowly strode into the darkened building he had come to know as his second home. He had made a deal with the devil in order to protect those he held dear to him. He had been willing to take the bullet, but then the unidentified man had threatened Alice.
“What will she think of me now?” Perry shook his head in disgust. He would have to bury stories that linked to Intergang; only print news they decided was news. It wasn’t fair. This was the last time he could truly call himself Editor-in-Chief.
***
“You can’t get me out on bond until the trial begins?” Linda asked aghast.
Sheldon Bender sighed and calmly explained, “After Judge Stevens reviewed the case and saw how ….horrendous the crime was. He doesn’t want you released….”
“I didn’t kill him!!” Linda shrieked.
“I understand that, Ms. King, but Judge Stevens…”
“Judge Stevens can ….I want another lawyer.” Linda hissed adamantly.
“Another lawyer?” Sheldon Bender asked confused.
“You don’t have my best intentions at heart. I want a new lawyer. I do have the right to do that you know.”
“Very well. Good luck with your defense, Ms. King. You’re going to need it.” With that, Sheldon Bender left.
***
Lois awoke groggily to the smell of pancakes filling the room. She sighed contentedly and leaned back into her pillow as she stretched. “Morning,” Clark whispered, handing her a cup of coffee.
“Morning,” Lois whispered, taking the cup of coffee gratefully.
“You fell asleep on the couch. I didn’t want to wake you …” Clark explained when she looked around the couch.
Lois smiled up at him. “I guess I was more tired than I thought. These pregnancy hormones take a lot out of you.” She took a sip of her coffee and frowned. “I miss caffeine.”
Clark laughed, “I told you before; it's either your coffee or your chocolate.”
“You’re so mean.” Lois pouted.
“Perry called this morning…”
“Perry! Is he all right? Did they catch whoever…”
“He said he wasn’t able to get a glimpse of the kidnapper. All he knows is he was dropped off in front of the Planet late last night.” Clark sighed, “That probably doesn’t bode well for the Planet.”
“I don’t know. Maybe they didn’t sell. Maybe the criminals realized they weren’t going to get away with it and bailed…” Lois argued weakly. She knew Clark was probably right. If Perry had been released then more than likely the demands had been met.
“Why don’t you eat some breakfast and we’ll go find out.” Clark pointed towards the kitchen where he had whipped up a batch of pancakes.
***
“Well, son, how is everything?” Bill Church asked when he entered the Intergang Headquarters.
“Excellent. We just purchased the Daily Planet last night.” Bill Church Jr. smiled broadly at his father. “It was a steal.”
“Really?” Bill Church eyed his son suspiciously. “Did it have anything to do with why Perry wasn’t around yesterday to play golf?”
“Hey, I was just trying to keep the upper hand.”
“Billy, I thought I told you to respect your elders.” Bill Church warned.
“Relax, dad. It's not like Perry’s gonna know it's us he’s working for. I’ve got all the bases covered.”
“No one can connect me to Intergang. My reputation would be ruined.” Bill Church sighed. “So, what’s the plan with the Planet?”
“We’ll start small. We need to ease everyone into the transition.” Bill Church Jr. said.
***
“We are now employees of Intergang. Well, the name they’re using is ‘Multiworld Communications’….” Perry sighed, shaking his head in despair.
“We can fight this Perry. There has to be someone that would be willing to buy the Planet from Intergang…” Lois argued.
“I’ve been on the phone all morning, Lois.” Perry shook his head in despair. “No one wants to challenge them.”
“Well, maybe they’ll challenge them if they see them falling apart. What do we know about this Multi World Communications anyway?” Clark asked.
“It’s an international news and media company,” Perry said. “It’s board of directors consists of various philanthropists around the world. None of which probably have any idea what the company is really doing. Even Billy is on the board.”
“Billy?” Lois and Clark asked in unison.
“Bill Church Jr. I’ve known him since he was old enough to spit-up on me.” Perry reminisced with a small smile. Lois and Clark glanced at one another. Church had a son? “But enough about that. You two should take the morning off…You’ve got a baby on the way and things to prepare…You can email me what’ you’ve got on the Intergang investigation later and we’ll take it from there.”
“Perry…” Lois tried to argue once more.
“That’s final. Get out of here. I don’t want to see you two tomorrow and that’s final.” Perry ushered them out of the office and closed the door behind them. He swallowed the bitter bile that had formed in his throat. How could he do this? How could he guide his reporters away from the news? He glanced at a photo of himself and Alice on his desk. How could he not?
***
“I think there’s more to what’s going on than what Perry is leading on,” Lois said as they stepped onto the elevator. “He seems so sad.”
“So, you thinking what I’m thinking?” Clark asked.
“It's no coincidence that Church’s son is on that board of directors,” Lois said.
“That’s what I was thinking.” He shook his head.
“Why would Intergang want to buy the Planet?” Lois asked confused. “They already own so many other papers..”
“I don’t know,” Clark said.
***
“What do you mean you can’t repeat the procedure?” Lex snarled.
“Mr. Luthor, the sample…the hair sample we had…it's been destroyed. I can’t get near the clone…so…” Dr. Leek shrugged his shoulders. “You just have to be…”
A shot fired and Dr. Leek fell to the floor. “I don’t have to be anything. My last name is Luthor and when I want something done; it gets done.”
***
TBC...
