When Churches Come Crashing Down
Folc4evernaday
Part 23
***
“Isn’t that Lex Luthor’s old butler?” Perry asked, peering over Lois’ shoulder at the screen.
Lois nodded, “Nigel St. John. He was a lot more than your typical Mr. Belvedere. He served in her majesty’s secret service as a rogue spy. Clark and I were beginning to research him around the time we were going after Lex, but nothing was really coming up. Everything was pointing to Lex so there really was no point.”
“So, why are you looking at him now?” Perry asked.
“This.” Lois handed him the report that had been faxed to her.
“Miranda’s Fragrances?” Perry asked.
“Miranda’s name keeps coming up in our investigations. She was a trained chemist. Her name came up in Red Dixon’s murder with that disk. It came up with Toni Taylor. I know there’s a connection.”
“Connection to what?” Perry asked, still not understanding where she was headed with this.
“I don’t know.” She said frustrated with herself and with her editor for questioning her. “I just know.”
“That’s usually all the explanation you’re going to get.” Clark cut in, walking up to them with two cups of coffee in hand.
“Clark! This is a surprise. I thought you were at S.T.A.R. Labs, covering the Superman disappearance.” Perry noted with a slight tone of disapproval.
“I was.” He said, taking Lois’ hand as she held it tightly. “I think I’ve gotten everything I can from Dr. Klein for the moment.”
Perry nodded, noticing Lois looking down at her lap. She was avoiding his gaze for some reason and he couldn’t figure out why. He thought it best to just walk away and let the couple deal with whatever they needed to. He was sure to hear about it through the office grapevine the next day anyway.
***
“You want to do what exactly?” Marie Olsen asked, shaking her head as she looked up at her son.
“I want rights to my child. The only way I’m going to get them is if I have court ordered visitation.”
“You don’t know that.” His mother argued.
“Yeah, I do. Lucy wants nothing to do with me. She’s planning on having this baby alone; without me. I have to protect my child and my rights. I’m going to sue for joint custody.”
“Are you sure that’s best?” She asked.
“It’s something I have to do.” He said defiantly. “Mom, I almost died. Life is too precious to count on the what ifs. I can’t count on the day that Lucy may want to allow me to be in her and the baby’s life. I have to make it a guarantee.”
“You may also push her away by doing this,” Marie argued.
“That’s a risk I’m going to have to take,” Jimmy said determinedly.
***
Lois lay content against the soft pillows of her bed, listening to the soft breathing of her young son. Clark’s head rested against her abdomen, listening to their unborn child’s movements with his super-hearing. She had still yet to allow Jordan to sleep in his room yet. Waking up in the middle of the night, searching for him had been hard before. Now, she needed the reassurance of seeing him when she woke up to assure herself he was really there.
“You okay?” Clark asked, wrapping his arms around her waist as he moved upward to lie next to her.
“I don’t know.” She said softly, reaching out towards him, to pull him closer.
“Dr. Klein said you were really mad at him.” He said quietly. They hadn’t talked about what she’d had to go through the last twenty-four hours while he’d been unconscious. He’d told her about the Red Kryptonite and Dr. Klein’s warning.
She closed her eyes tightly as she spoke, “He wouldn’t let me near you.” She whispered hoarsely. His arms tightened around her as she buried her face against his chest.
“I’m sorry.” He whispered, placing a protective kiss on her forehead.
“I never realized…” She murmured, shaking her head. “Staying one step ahead of everyone, not being able to tell anyone; there’s so much we hide from everyone.”
“I know.” He sighed, loosening his grip on her as he rolled on his back. Lois rested her head on his chest as he continued, “When I was a kid. I didn’t have anyone to talk about my differences with other than my parents.”
“Your parents are really wonderful.” She said quietly. “Jordan’s taken quite a liking to them.” She said with a lopsided grin. “He was chasing your dad, scooting around the living room all morning.”
Clark smiled sadly, “I’m sorry I missed that.”
“There’s a lot we’ve both missed.”
“Honey, try not to focus on all that. We have him here now. He’s safe.” He gave her a peck on the cheek. “That’s all that matters.”
Lois nodded, tightening her grip on him, “Thank you for understanding.”
“What?” He asked, curious.
“About me not wanting to put him in his room just yet.” She said shyly. “I just need him nearby.” She was holding back tears as he held her. The high emotions of the last few days were beginning to get the best of her, but she wasn’t ready to give in.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with letting him know we love him. After everything, I think that’s probably best for both of you.” He whispered, holding her close.
“Thank you.” She whispered. His response was another peck on the cheek. “Clark?”
“Hmmm?”
“I love you.” She whispered hoarsely.
“I love you too.”
***
“Cox.” Henderson read from the old police file in front of him. “I knew that sounded familiar.” He read the report in front of him. Lex Luthor’s assistant, Mrs. Cox had been arrested around the time they’d found the evidence to bring him down. She’d ended up getting the deal of a lifetime from the DA. In exchange for testimony, she got to walk with only probation for twelve months. A misdemeanor. Lex Luthor had never made it to trial and she’d walked.
Now, she was possibly out there mixed up with Nigel in this kidnapping scheme, but why? What could she possibly have to gain from kidnapping the Kents’ baby? And where did Miranda fit in all of this? He would get to the bottom of this.
***
One Month Later…
Lois impatiently tapped her hand on the wood grain of her doctor’s desk. She listened impatiently as she continued to ‘hmm’ to herself, reading over the file in front of her, “Are you gonna tell us what’s wrong or are you just going to sit there and say ‘hmm’ all day?” Lois snapped irritated.
“Lo-is,”
“It’s quite all right,” the doctor reassured them. “I mean, I think it will be.”
“What are you talking about?” Lois asked, “Could you please get to the point? I’m getting gray hairs as we speak.”
“I’m a bit concerned about your blood pressure,”
“Excuse me?” Lois asked.
“I’m not really sure what’s caused it. It could be the stress you’re under or the food you’re eating, but your blood pressure is abnormally high,”
“And if it stays high?” Lois asked.
“Well, obviously it’s not good for you or the baby. I’m going to put you on a strict diet for now and see if we can lower it, but I want you to do your best to lower the stress in your life as well,”
Lois caught the pointed look from Clark but chose to ignore it, “Fine, I’ll do my best.”
***
“Help!”
The cries for help reached Clark’s ears the next morning, awakening him. He looked over at his sleeping wife and son, remorse filling his being as he slipped away from them to tend to the cries. He knew Lois would understand, but the new pain he felt every time he left his son was new to him. It was hard missing any part of his life; even if those moments were only of him sleeping.
He spun into his suit, readying himself to take off into the night sky when he was struck with a sharp pain throughout his body. He winced in pain, holding his head as he willed the pain to ease. He still wasn’t completely a hundred percent just yet.
“Help, Superman!”
It didn’t matter. He had to help. It was better than leaving innocent people to fend for themselves when he could have helped.
***
Lucy waited patiently for the officers to take her back to meet with Lana Lang. The news that Lana had known of Jordan’s kidnapping and said nothing for so many months had been alarming. It served as another reminder for Lucy that she didn’t know the people in her life as well as she thought.
Lana had deliberately sabotaged her and Mayson’s work on keeping Intergang associates behind bars. Now, some of them had gone free because they were smart enough to file an appeal and the prosecution office no longer had any records to help fight the appeal.
She had been stunned by Lana’s actions but she’d never thought Lana would stoop so low as to be an accomplice to kidnapping her nephew. She’d argued for months with Lois about her suspicions. She’d been convinced Lois was having trouble dealing with the loss and was in denial. She’d never thought someone would or could do something so cruel as to fake the death of a child in order to kidnap him.
“Ms. Lane, are you ready?”
Lucy looked up to see the guard waiting for her. Determination washed over her and she stood up, gathering her things as she readied herself for confronting Lana Lang.
***
Perry stared grimly at the television screen as he prepared for another day at the Planet. A fire in Hobb’s Bay. It was strange how many fires had occurred in that area in the past year. First, Lex Luthor aka ‘The Boss’ had been suspected, but now that the fires continued he wasn’t so sure.
***
Another fire in Hobbs Bay.
Lois watched the footage of the roaring fire in concern. Clark had just dealt with a fire in the same area a month ago and now he was fighting another one. Was he strong enough? The kryptonite that had been in his system….
She shuddered involuntarily as she recalled the pain of watching him suffer and not be able to be anywhere near him. She shook her head; banishing those thoughts from her mind, “He’s going to be fine.” She told herself.
She looked glanced back at the screen that depicted the images of her husband and Metropolis’ Fire Department fighting the fire. She felt a sense of déjà vu wash over her. She’d watched this scene over and over for the last year. What was the connection? Why was Hobbs Bay the target at all times?
Reporter mode began to take over her mind as the wheels began to turn. Something was up with these fires and she was going to get to the bottom of it. She’d been distracted these past months with the kidnapping of her son, but now that had changed. She opened her laptop and pulled out her notebook. Just because she was home taking care of Jordan didn’t mean she couldn’t work.
***
“What’s going on here?” Perry asked as he stepped into his office. Mr. Stern sat in one chair and James Turner sat in another.
“Good morning, Perry.” Mr. Stern said with a smile, standing to shake his hand. “I hope you don’t mind us borrowing your office for a few minutes. We needed to discuss some business.”
“No, of course not, Mr. Stern,” Perry said, hanging his coat on the coat rack as he prepared himself for the day. Curiosity got the better of him and allowed him to ask, “What kind of business?”
Mr. Stern looked at James Turner for a moment who nodded, “We’re all friends here.” James said.
“Well, this isn’t a done deal yet, but Mr. Turner here has made an impressive offer for the Planet, and I’m thinking about selling.”
***
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Lana muttered under her breath when she saw Lucy Lane walk into the room.
“Don’t look so surprised,” Lucy said.
“Seriously?” Lana scoffed, “You’re going to prosecute this case?”
Lucy fought every instinct within her to reach across the table and wring Lana’s neck for all the pain she’d caused her sister. There was not a drop of remorse in her eyes. She’d watched as Lois and Clark had suffered and now she sat here, mocking her.
“Prosecute you?” Lucy arched an eyebrow at Lana. “Believe me, I’d love to do a lot more than that, but my sense of justice for you falls under ‘cruel and unusual punishment.’” She stared coldly back at the woman she had been mistaken enough to once call her friend.
“Are you threatening me?” Lana scoffed.
“I’m simply stating a fact.” Lucy shrugged, taking a seat across from Lana, “And to answer your question from earlier, no. I have no plans of prosecuting this case. Don’t get me wrong. I would love to be there for every step of the way when Mayson throws your lying manipulative behind in prison and throws away the key, but I want to make sure you have no grounds for any kind of appeal to get out of your sentence. You made my family’s life hell and you will pay for it dearly.”
“You don’t even talk to your sister anymore. Why do you care? You seriously think if you go after me it’ll make things better?” Lana taunted.
“My relationship with my sister is none of your business anymore, Lana.”
“Why are you here? This can’t be legal. I have no counsel…”
“Why do you care about the law all of a sudden? You planning on making another confession?” Lucy cornered her.
Lana stared back at her coldly, “You are messing with the wrong person, Lucy.”
“Bring it on.” Lucy hissed quietly. She stood up then turned on her heel, walking towards the door.
“What? You’re not going to get my statement?” Lana asked.
“I’m not the prosecuting attorney. You can give it to Mayson.” Lucy said snippily.
***
Clark winced in pain as he gingerly touched the small burn beneath his armpit. It hurt. He’d saved several lives today.
The children.
Those families.
Everyone could have been killed if he hadn’t shown up.
It still hurt. It was probably going to take some time to get back to normal.
“Hey, you,” Lois wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning up to kiss him.
He smiled back at her, doing his best to cover up the pain he felt when her arm brushed against the hidden burn. “Hey,” He glanced at her perplexed. He wasn’t expecting to see her at the Planet.
“Your parents insisted on having some bonding time with Jordan. Martha practically shoved me out the door this afternoon.” Lois explained when she caught his expression. “You were gone a long time. Are you okay? It hasn’t been that long since…”
“I’m fine,” He reassured her a bit too quickly. “It's just been a long day. I had a lot of follow-ups and catching up to do.”
“Oh,” Lois said quietly. He could feel her eyes on him as she followed him to his desk, “I don’t mean to press. I guess everything just feels so fragile now. I mean, you would tell me if something was wrong; I know that. I guess I’m just over analyzing.” She reasoned aloud.
He did his best to squash the guilt that washed over him. Worrying her was the last thing he wanted to do. He was fine. He’d survived and everything would be fine when he healed. He just wouldn’t take any more risks for a few days.
“I’m fine, honey, really,” He held up his hands to prove his point. “What did I miss while I was out?”
“Perry’s having a moment.” Lois said eying the editor’s office, “Apparently, James Turner wants to buy the Planet from Mr. Stern.”
“What? Why?” Clark asked. “Isn’t that the same guy that’s friends with Bill Church, or was?”
Lois nodded confirmation, “I’m not sure what he’s up to. We really don’t know that much about him.”
“Yeah,” Clark acknowledged quietly. He was still in pain. He wasn’t used to this.
“Clark?” Lois looked at him in concern.
“Hmmm?” He looked up at her.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Lois asked.
“Yeah,” He nodded, “You were saying?”
***
Dr. Sam Lane poured over book after book as he continued his experiments with Superman’s tissue. He would go down in history as the first scientist to successfully clone an entire being. Only, he wouldn’t allow himself to make the same mistakes as Dr. Leek. His clone would survive and would defeat Superman; just as ‘the boss’ intended.
He wasn’t sure what the boss’ intentions were for Superman, but his were clear. He wanted Superman as far away from his family as possible. He had created an enemy with a powerful force. Obviously, Superman was close with his daughter. How close? He’d rather not dwell on that. At this point, he wanted nothing more than to focus on the project that would make his career.
***
“You look like you’re feeling better,” Lois noticed when Clark placed a kiss on her forehead from behind. His hair was damp from his shower. He wore a terrycloth bathrobe as he sat down next to her on the bed. She sat comfortably in one of his old college jerseys, going through the research they’d ordered earlier that day.
“Much,” He reassured her, “I think I just needed to rest a bit. That fire was….intense.” Clark said.
“Well, at least, this time, it didn’t expose you to Kryptonite.” She said quietly.
“I’m sorry,” Clark whispered, hanging his head.
“What are you apologizing for?” She asked, “You didn’t do anything wrong. You rescued Jimmy and Jack.”
“How’s he doing?” Clark asked.
“Good,” Lois nodded. “He’s ready to go back to work, or so he claims.”
Clark smiled at that comment. In so many ways Jimmy was just as much a workaholic as the rest of them. “Figures,”
“Yeah,” Lois glanced at the bedroom door that stood closed. “Jordan’s still asleep?”
He scanned the hallway into the other room where Jordan lay sleeping in his crib. His mother had insisted on adjusting Jordan to a ‘normal routine’ when they’d arrived home. All of the things he’d never gotten to wear or use that were past his age had been packed up. His parents had spent the day buying new clothes and toys more appropriate for his age. He knew it was hard for Lois. He trusted his parents, but it didn’t make things any easier. He wanted nothing more than to hold his son with his wife in his arms every night just as he’d done for the past month.
“He’s fine,” He reassured her, pulling her back against him as he whispered in her ear. He sighed in relief as he felt her body melt against his solid frame. He leaned his head down to capture her lips with his own. He felt her smile against his lips as he took the file out of her hands, laying it on the ground next to the bed.
“What? You don’t want me working?” She teased.
“I have heard enough about James Turner today to last me a lifetime,” He grumbled. “You need your rest.”
His hand rested on her abdomen, tracing the hem of the jersey that came just below her mid-thigh. “Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean I have to sleep all the time.” She complained.
“Fine, don’t sleep.” He joked, “Just don’t complain when you can’t have any caffeine tomorrow morning.”
She glared at him, slapping his chest playfully as she turned in his arms. “You don’t have to rub it in.”
“See? Now, you’re getting cranky,”
“Oh, really?” She shot back, hitting him in the head with a pillow.
She was getting dangerously too close to hitting where the burn was. He didn’t want to upset her. Seeing the burn would only spark unwarranted worry from her and after everything else she’d dealt with during the pregnancy he didn’t want her stressing herself out even more unnecessarily.
He distracted her from the one-sided pillow fight the best way he knew how.
He kissed her.
Immediately, he felt her body begin to respond to his touch. “You’re not playing fair.” She argued half-heartedly against his lips, linking her arms tightly around his neck, pulling him in for another kiss.
“Never do,” He whispered against her lips. He held his breath as her hand brushed against the burn from earlier. He knew she was aching for more, but he couldn’t. Not with how much it hurt.
“Clark,” She murmured against his lips, moving to straddle him, “please,” She moved his hand upward.
“Lois, I…” He was cut off by her lips capturing his once more. He could feel his body responding to her ministrations.
“Please, baby,” She pleaded.
The burn was still aching. Could he do this without her seeing it? He could try.. He flipped them over so that he was on top. At least in this position, he could limit the contact with his burn and keep her from seeing it.
He lowered his mouth to her growing abdomen, placing protective kisses against the skin as he continued his ministrations. “Clark,” She moaned in pleasure, “Oh, Clark,” She reached for the hem of the tank top, pulling it over her head and tossing it to the ground.
He moved himself upward, planting kisses against her ivory skin as he went. He needed to slow things down. “I love you so much,” Clark whispered hoarsely, capturing her mouth with his own as he ran his hand down the smooth ivory skin of her back. He held her tightly against him, moaning in pleasure as she tightened her legs around him; he continued to explore the curves of her body pressed up against him.
“I love you too, Clark.” Lois moaned in pleasure as he began to rain a trail of heated kisses along her collarbone. His hand gently massaged her inner thigh as he moved down her body, creating a heated path along her body. “Oh, Clark…” she murmured with approval.
“Lois…” he murmured against her skin, losing himself in her arms. He did his best to suppress the pain he was in as he made love to her, taking in the soft moans and cries of ecstasy until he was no longer able to hold off his own pleasure any longer. “Oh, God, baby…” Feeling his legs begin to give out, he collapsed on top of her, gently rolling them on their sides so they were facing one another.
As they rolled on their sides he felt a sharp pain from beneath his armpit. It still hurt. Even in Lois’ ecstasy filled haze she still seemed to pick up on the fact that something was wrong. “Clark, what’s….Oh, my God!” She lifted his arm up, “What is that?”
***
TBC...
