When Churches Come Crashing Down
Folc4evernaday
Part 14
***
“How can you be so sure Superman will show?” Bill Church asked as he took a long puff of his cigar.
Dianna smiled as she reapplied her lipstick in the mirror. “Because Superman has always been known to rescue a damsel in distress.” Her eyes narrowed as she got down to business. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
“I’ve been dreaming about this day ever since my father’s death was announced.” Bill Church muttered grimly. “Make it painful.”
***
Across the hall, a tall dark woman watched as Bill Church Jr and Dianna Stride conversed. She smiled to herself as she examined the walls of the room they were in. The soft glow of a greenish hue emitted throughout the halls. She pulled out her cellular and dialed a number well known to her. “Sir? It appears we’ve underestimated Intergang. They’ve lined the walls of S.T.A.R. Labs with the Kryptonite we gave them….”
***
“Mrs. Cox, do I seem like a man that finishes last?” Nigel asked, irritated as he spoke into the phone.
“No.” Her echo reached his ears as she hesitantly spoke.
“Then why do you insist on looking inside the box instead of around it? Why do you think I would actually give Intergang, my enemy, kryptonite? A good replica, yes. The actual thing, no.” Nigel smiled to himself. “Mr. Church is going to expose himself and be in for a royal surprise.”
***
Lois and Clark walked through the front doors of S.T.A.R. Labs. “Hopefully we can get to the bottom of all this mess with Jordan and find out what happened to him soon,” Clark said, wrapping his arm protectively around her.
She sighed, leaning against his shoulder, “Yeah, I still don’t know why we have to cover this thing. The story’s as good as written. S.T.A.R. Labs has a new state of the art wing and will study a bunch of boring things in it.” She grinned up at him. “See? All done.”
“As lovely as that story is, I’m sure Perry would want just a few more details than that.”
“Party pooper.” She pouted. “I can think of several other things we could be doing rather than attending this press conference.”
He laughed, wrapping his arms around her from behind for a moment, leaning into whisper in her ear as he gave her a peck on the cheek, “Me too.”
“Hey, guys, I was wondering when you were gonna get here,” Jimmy said, walking up to them, camera in tow.
They reluctantly pulled apart and smiled a greeting at their friend, “Hey, Jimmy.”
***
“You know; you don’t have to keep me company twenty-four-seven. I understand if you need to get back to your life.” Mike Lane said as he watched his niece staring outside the window of his hospital room.
“I’m worried about you, Uncle Mike.” Lucy gave him a watery smile.
“Oh, really? Is that why you keep daydreaming and staring out the window?” he teased.
“I’m sorry. My head’s just been…somewhere else.” Lucy apologized.
“Your head or your heart?” Mike asked with a knowing smile.
Lucy got up from her seat and nervously looked at the clock, “Isn’t it about time for your nurse to give you your meds?”
“Avoidance is a form of denial you know.”
“Yeah, definitely time for your meds. I’m going to go get the nurse.” Lucy said, briskly as she stepped out of the room to find the nurse.
Mike shook his head, staring at her retreating figure, “Poor kid. She’s got it bad and doesn’t even know it yet.”
***
“So, Lois, uh, have you heard from Lucy?” Jimmy asked, “I was, uh, wondering how she’s doing. I know the whole thing with Mike really got her upset..”
“Not since the night, Uncle Mike was attacked. Even then we didn’t really talk much...” Lois said quietly. “We should probably take our seats.” She motioned to the crowd that was beginning to move.
“Yeah.” Jimmy nodded, following the duo to their seats.
***
Bill Church stood by the double doors that held the new wing to S.T.A.R. Labs closed. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a familiar number, “On my signal. Break down the doors.” He hissed, “Don’t screw this up.”
On the other side of the door, armed men pulled on their hooded masks preparing to break in.
***
Dr. Leonard Rahz stood at the podium, addressing the press. “Our newest wing has the latest in security, making it impenetrable to break-ins or robberies. We hope to put an end to disasters like the break-ins and robberies that have been occurring at S.T.A.R. Labs the last few months. Our scientists work hard on their research and we hope the latest security we’ve added will protect their projects and allow them to see the light of day and not fall into the hands of criminals. As you know S.T.A.R. Labs works very closely with the government and…”
A loud crash could be heard on the other side of the room as the doors to the new wing were opened by a powerful blast. The room quickly filled with black hooded armed men. Clark gave Lois a warning look and quickly disappeared into the panicked crowd.
“Silence!” One of the hooded men cried out. “Nobody move!”He grabbed Dianna Stride from her seat and held the barrel of his gun against her hip. “This is a holdup.”
“Watch it that hurts.” Dianna hissed under her breath.
“We have to make this look realistic.” Her kidnapper whispered back.
Lois stared suspiciously at the open doors to the new wing. They emitted a familiar green glow. “Oh, my God, Kryptonite.” She whispered under her breath.
“What’d you say?” Jimmy asked. “Where’d CK go?”
“Uh…” Lois feigned ignorance as the familiar sonic boom of her husband’s arrival resonated throughout the room.
“Let her go!”
“Ah, Superman!” the man smiled at the superhero. “So predictable.” He walked towards the entrance of the glowing wing with Dianna Stride in tow.
Lois watched, frozen in place, preparing herself for the worst. Nothing happened. Clark remained standing just as strong as ever. “What in the world…”
“I believe you have some explaining to do.” Before anyone could react, Clark had tied up the hooded men and melted their weapons. The crowd of press soon overcame their shock and quickly went into reporter mode.
“Superman, could we get a statement!”
“Superman, over here!”
***
On the other side of the room, Bill Church Jr stared at the scene in horror, “What the hell?” He fumed angrily, “That son of a… I had that entire room painted in Kryptonite and he didn’t even flinch.”
Dianna Stride, who had slipped away from the mob of reporters unnoticed, approached him, “I don’t know what happened, Billy, but if I were you I’d get the hell out of dodge before your yuppies over there turn on you.”
***
Lana paced through her bedroom, replaying the last few months’ events over and over in her head. Nothing had worked out how she had planned. Her job was gone. The few friends she had were growing slimmer and slimmer. Linda was tiring of her excuses when she was unable to pay her half of the expenses.
“How did everything get so screwed up?” She muttered.
***
“Careful!” Dr. Klein shouted as Lois reached out to touch the glowing green wall.
“I’m fine,” Lois said, holding up her hand to show him. “See?”
Dr. Klein took her hand and examined it carefully, assuring himself that she was indeed all right. “This doesn’t make any sense. It…It looks exactly like…”
“I know, but obviously it isn’t.” Lois finished for him.
“Isn’t what?” Clark asked, entering the room. “What is all this?”
“Good question.” Lois said, “For some reason; this whole room was painted to make it look like it was coated in Kryptonite.”
Clark lowered his glasses to examine the walls more closely. “Whatever it is; it’s not Kryptonite. It doesn’t have any of the components as Kryptonite.”
“How can you be sure?” Lois asked in concern.
“You mean aside from the fact that I’d be double over in pain by now?” Clark asked, half-joking.
Dr. Klein pulled out a small pen-shaped device and clicked a button, revealing a sharp blade at the end of it. “What are you doing?” Lois asked.
“I’m going to cut out a sample of this and try and figure out what this is. The glowing we’re seeing from the wall would indicate some sort of radiation.” Dr. Klein explained.
“I think there’s a larger issue here. Someone thought they had Kryptonite and was planning on using it here tonight. Whoever sold it to them obviously has Kryptonite and plans on using it themselves.” Clark said grimly.
“Then we need to find them and figure out what they want,” Lois said determinedly.
***
“I’m sorry,” Mindy Church cooed, batting her eyes at Sheldon Bender, “Where do I sign?”
“Right here, Mrs. Church. As Mr. Church’s widow, you’re entitled to everything he owned.”
Mindy’s eyes lit up like a child’s at Christmastime. “Everything?”
“Yes, Mrs. Church.” Sheldon said, pointing to the next line, “We just need one more signature.”
“You sure are bossy,” Mindy muttered, signing her name on the line Sheldon was motioning to.
“That’s part of my bedside manner I’m afraid,” Sheldon said, gathering up the papers he’d had Mindy sign. “I’ll get these filed and you will now be the new owner of Cost Mart and all its subsidiaries.”
“Oooh, yay!” Mindy clapped her hands together lightly. “You are such a good lawyer.” She leaned over and pulled Sheldon into a passionate embrace, leaving him speechless. “Thank you.” She said, pulling away. She stood up and walked towards the door, leaving Sheldon dumbfounded.
***
“Dr. Klein said it would take a few days on the lab result on that paint sample he took,” Clark said, slipping under the covers with his wife later that night.
Lois nodded mutely, concentrating on the book she was reading as she instinctually curled up against his chest, resting her chin against his bare chest as she continued reading to herself. He watched her amused, catching a glance at the title of the book. ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting.’
“Haven’t you read this one already?” He asked, placing a soft kiss on her forehead.
“I wanted to refresh my memory.” She said. “It’s a classic.”
“A classic?” He asked amused.
“Yes, a classic for expecting parents. We never got to implement everything we went through when we were expecting Jordan. I figured it would be a good idea to refresh my memory on everything.” She gave him wary look. “You think I’m crazy?”
“No, I think you’re very smart. When we do find him it’ll be good to have caught up on all the reading.” He said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “I guess refreshing our memory on a few things isn’t the worst idea you’ve come up with.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lois asked, defensively. “I have excellent plans.”
“Need I remind you who drug Jimmy to EPRAD to break in without any sort of a backup plan?” His eyes were dancing with laughter as he teased her.
“Yes, and who followed me?” Lois challenged, “With no backup plan.”
The book in hand had now been abandoned as she sat up, hovering over him; arms crossed awaiting his answer. His eyes gazed over the cream negligee that hugged her curves perfectly. The fiery look in her eyes only made her more beautiful to him.
“What can I say?” He shrugged, “I was dumb and in love.”
Her face broke out into laughter at the corny line and he reached up to capture her lips with his own. “You are so corny.” She laughed against his lips. He groaned in pleasure when he felt her legs move to straddle him as he cupped her cheek, deepening the kiss.
“Mmmmm hmmm…” He moaned against her lips as he slipped his hands beneath the hem of her negligee, exploring her soft ivory skin. He moved his attention to her neckline, brushing feather light kisses along it as he inched himself lower. Her legs tightened around his waist as she pulled him closer. “You are so beautiful.” He murmured, recapturing her lips once more.
“Clar….” She moaned against his lips.
He leaned up to cup her cheek, pulling her down to his level once more and deepened the kiss. Once she was at his level he rolled them over on their side, making sure she was comfortable, facing him. “I love you, Lois Lane,” He whispered against her lips.
Her face brightened as he spoke, unshed tears shining in her eyes as she looked up at him. “I love you, Clark Kent.”
***
“My father did WHAT???” Bill Church Jr. hissed into the phone.
“Apparently, he got married to a now Mindy Church. Everything in his estate is owned by her now; excluding everything that was placed in your name before his death.” Sheldon Bender said smugly.
“That..that’s everything.” Bill Church said aghast.
“Yep.”
“She can’t do this.”
“She can and she did.” Sheldon smiled, “Isn’t family fun?”
***
“All right, for the last time, kid, who hired you to do the raid on S.T.A.R. Labs?” Henderson asked, pacing around the interrogation room. He hated this part of his job more than anything. Especially when he was forced to question such a young kid that was barely of legal age.
He still wasn’t speaking.
“Listen, I know who you are, Jack. I know you’re a runaway. I know about your kid brother, Denny. I don’t think it was your idea to raid S.T.A.R. Labs so why don’t you tell me whose idea it was so I can get you out of here?”
“You promise you’ll protect Denny?” Jack asked cautiously.
Henderson sighed, “I swear it. He and you will be protected.” He took a seat across from Jack, “Now, who hired you?”
“Mr. Church…and Dianna Stride.” Jack said. At Henderson’s curious expression he continued, “They wanted to trap Superman. They thought they had something called Kryptonite that would kill him. I guess they were wrong.”
“You’re saying Bill Church and Dianna Stride arranged this whole thing to kill Superman?” Henderson asked aghast.
“They wanted to expose him and kill him at the same time,” Jack said.
“Expose him as what?” Henderson asked.
“I dunno.” Jack shrugged.
***
Outside the Police Headquarters, Mrs. Cox watched the front doors cautiously. “I think I’ve found our little friend.” She said into her phone.
“Excellent. See to it you give him the royal treatment when you bring him here.” Nigel instructed.
“Will do.” With that, she hung up.
***
“Mr. White, thanks for making it down here so quickly.” Inspector Henderson said, greeting the elderly editor in chief as he entered the police station.
“You said it was an emergency.” Perry shrugged. “What’s going on?”
“You and your wife are fostering Jack here, correct?” Henderson motioned to Jack who sat at Inspector Henderson’s desk.
Perry nodded, sighing as he shook his head, “Yeah, uh, we…we’re responsible for him. What did he do?”
“Well, it seems our young Jack here got himself caught up in a big mess. The raid on S.T.A.R. Labs earlier?”
Perry looked from Jack to Henderson as the information began to process. “What? I don’t understand. He was working for Cost Mart….”
“That was the problem,” Henderson said.
“What do you mean?”
“It seems our favorite philanthropist might have a few skeletons in his closet.”
***
James Turner poured himself a scotch as he joined his guest on the sofa. “To a beautiful friendship.”
“Yes, to power.” Mindy Church said with an evil smile as she took a sip of her wine.
James examined his reflection in the mirror, “I really must find that surgeon and thank him. He did an incredible job.”
“Oh, Jamie, I already thanked him for you.”
“Did you?”
“Yes, with a six-inch blade in the back.” She said in a dark tone.
“Ah, my favorite type of souvenir.” He smiled.
“Well, Dr. Benzen used up his usefulness. I couldn’t afford to have him talking. One of my boys said he was talking to a couple of reporters the other day. We can’t afford that kind of exposure. Not this late in the game. We’re so close.”
“Yes, that we are.” James pondered a moment, “You say he was speaking to reporters?”
“Yes, Lois Lane and Clark Kent from the Daily Planet. Real killers if you know what I mean.”
“Yes, I think I do,” James said, sinking back into the sofa.
“Do you know them?” Mindy asked curiously.
“Oh, yes. Quite well. We almost became family.” He smiled.
***
“Where am I? Let me go! You can’t…”
Nigel slammed his fist on the metal table in front of the blabbering Jack, “I think I can!” He hissed, ripping the blindfold off of Jack’s face.
“You!” Jack rasped out.
“Indeed. We have a business arrangement that needs some amending.” Nigel pulled out the small wooden box that held the globe he’d been sold. “Look familiar?”
***
“How do you lose someone like this?” Perry growled angrily.
“I don’t know. You saw for yourself Jack was sitting right there. We came out of the conference room and he was gone. I can’t explain it.” Inspector Henderson said, scratching his head. “This doesn’t make any sense.”
“All these cops around here and none of them can tell you where the kid went?”
“Nobody was paying any attention.” Henderson sighed, rolling his eyes as he spoke.
Perry’s eyes narrowed at Henderson’s response. “Pardon?”
“Don’t start,” Henderson warned. “He was handcuffed to the desk. I don’t get how he got out of here unnoticed.”
***
“Just think how much better you’ll sleep tonight knowing you’re a free woman.” Mrs. Cox said as she handed Lana Lang five hundred dollar bills. “Here Don’t want you struggling to make ends meat when we need you around. Don’t spend it all in one place.”
Lana took the money gratefully and shook her head as she watched Mrs. Cox step into the back of a black limousine, closing the door behind her. She’s just aided and abetted in a kidnapping. ‘How is that different from what you did a few months ago?’ Her conscience chided her.
“Shut up!” She hissed to herself.
‘You watched that woman take that baby and said nothing.’
“Stop.”
‘You found her. You could have stopped her.. Instead you gave her money.’
“Shut up!”
‘Do you really think losing their baby is going to break them up? What good is any of it?’
“I said, SHUT UP!!!”
“Lana?”
She looked up and saw the concerned eyes of Agent Scardino looking at her. “Dan, hi.”
***
“So, let me get this straight. This Jimmy guy says he’s in love with you, but you just keep brushing him off?” Mike Lane asked his niece as they played Rummy.
“It’s not a good idea for me to get in a relationship with Jimmy.”
“Why? What’s wrong with him? Is he a drug dealer or something?” Mike asked.
“No.”
“Murderer?”
“Nope.”
“Criminal?”
“Nah.”
“Gay?”
Lucy glared at her uncle, “No!”
“So, then what’s the problem?”
“It’s not a good idea,” Lucy said firmly.
“Chicken,” Mike muttered.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” Mike said. “I didn’t stutter.”
“How are we doing in here?” Nurse May asked as she entered the room. She took a look at Mike’s IV. “You seem to be doing well, Mr. Lane.”
“Yeah, I’d be doing a lot better if I quit getting this line of bullshit from my niece.” He said pointedly.
Lucy grinned broadly, covering up the anger she felt boiling inside her. “Uh-huh. Well, you seem to be doing fine here, Uncle Mike. How about I just leave you to yourself for awhile?”
“Oh, Mr. Lane, you’re an O-.” Nurse May said, looking at his chart.
“Yep,” Mike said broadly.
“Would you mind donating some blood before you’re discharged? We’re actually in need of O- right now.”
“Sure.” Mike said, “Glad to do my part.”
“I could donate too. I’m O- as well.” Lucy chipped in, forgetting her anger at Mike at the moment.
Nurse May smiled at the both of them. “That would be great.”
“I thought you were leaving,” Mike said, teasingly.
“I’m trying to help,” Lucy said. “For all, we know you could get beaten up again and you might need a blood transfusion. We both know I’m the only one in the family with the same blood type as you.” Lucy said. “I can donate right now if you need.”
Nurse May smiled as she watched the banter between Lucy and Mike. It was amusing to watch the way patients sometimes interacted with family members. “I’ll be right back.” She said.
A few moments later, Nurse May returned with the equipment she needed to draw the blood. After prepping Lucy; she pricked her finger to test her blood. “We’re just going to test for pregnancy, diabetes, HIV, and the normal battery of tests.”
“I’m NOT pregnant,” Lucy argued as she watched the nurse dip her blood into the various tubes.
Nurse May smiled looking back and forth from one of the test tubes and back at Lucy again, “Are you sure about that?”
TBC...
