When Churches Come Crashing Down
Folc4evernaday
Part 40
***
Gary Anderson, police chief of Metropolis’ finest paced in front of his staff as he began his lecture. His office was filled with agents from the FBI and a federal prosecutor who was out for blood. Someone had murdered a federal agent and they wanted a name.
“This isn’t just Metropolis’ problem anymore. It’s federal. We have to find whoever’s behind this murderous spree and stop them.” Anderson ordered.
“Isn’t that what we’ve been doing?” Henderson asked. “No offense, Chief, but we’ve been working this case, finding witnesses, trying to piece this case together, but no one wants to talk. Just because the Feds are involved doesn’t mean everyone’s just gonna magically remember what happened to these guys. We have no leads.”
“Find some!” Anderson snapped. “We have a new victim; start there.”
***
Mayson Drake tapped her fingernails against her notebook nervously as she waited to meet with Dr. Bernard Klein. He had been in and out of the police station yesterday recounting the events that had lead up to his kidnapping and his later escape. Now, it was her turn to get his statement recorded so as to build a strong case against Dr. Mamba once the police were able to find him.
So far no one had found any sign of him.
She yawned, stretching her arms slightly. She hadn’t gotten much sleep lately. The nightmares from her kidnapping continued to haunt her. She knew it was dangerous to continue on like this, but she didn’t have anyone to turn to. How could she get help for something no one even knew about?
***
Clark stared at the report in front of him. Dr. Klein had warned him about the weapons the military was preparing to use against him. A weapon powered by Kryptonite. Apparently, they had engineered the break-in at S.T.A.R. Labs to access the Kryptonite Dr. Klein was holding. It disgusted him to realize how much the world feared him. No matter how many times he helped to save it; he would always be an outsider. His and Lois’ children would always carry this burden with them.
***
“You okay?” Jimmy asked, nudging Lucy’s shoulder softly as she awoke.
She nodded, “You’re still here?”
“Yeah,” Jimmy nodded. “I didn’t want you to wake up wondering where I had gone,”
Lucy smiled at him, “What about work?”
“The Planet will struggle through one day without me,” Jimmy reasoned.
“How are we doing in here?” Ellen knocked on the door as she entered.
“Hi, mom,” Lucy sat up and smiled weakly at Ellen as she took a seat across from the hospital bed.
“You seem to be feeling better,” Ellen observed.
Jimmy smiled over his shoulder at Ellen. “She just woke up. I’m going to go on a breakfast run. Can I get either of you anything?”
“Coffee?” Lucy requested.
“I’ll second that,” Ellen added with a sigh. She didn’t look like she’d slept any better than he had.
“Two coffees it is,” Jimmy said, grabbing his jacket off the back of his chair. “I’ll be back in a few,”
“Bye, Jimmy,” Ellen said, waving at him as he closed the door behind him. She then turned to look at Lucy who was stretching her arms over her head, trying to finish waking up. “Jimmy spent the night?”
“I guess,” Lucy shrugged. Ellen was eying her up and down with that look that always meant trouble. “What?” She looked over her shoulder nervously.
“Nothing,” Ellen shook her head, “It’s nice to see you two spending time together,”
“Jimmy’s just been helping me through everything; being a good friend,” Lucy said.
“Whatever you say, dear,” Ellen shrugged, pulling out the book she’d been reading the previous day.
***
“Well, you going solo or what?” Henderson teased when he saw Clark darkening the entrance to his office.
Clark smiled weakly at the inspector’s teasing, “Not a chance,” He shot back.
“What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” Henderson asked.
“The body fished out this morning,” Clark nodded towards the army of policemen in the lobby, “and the FBI taking over the station,”
“Well, I never said you weren’t observant,” Henderson said.
“What’s the deal?”
“DEA agent got murdered; so it’s now a federal matter. The Chief is issuing a statement to the press with all the gory details,” Henderson explained evasively.
“But not the identity of the victim,” Clark noted from Henderson’s body language.
“No,” Henderson said curtly. “We’re not releasing that information just yet,”
“Was it Scardino?” Clark asked, knowing the answer to the question before he asked it.
Henderson looked up at him in shock, “How did you?”
“He’s the only DEA agent that’s been poking around here lately. I just put two and two together.” Clark explained hurriedly.
Henderson closed the door to his office before continuing the conversation, “The DEA said he’s been MIA for the last three months. They don’t know what happened to him.”
“So, what does that mean?” Clark asked.
“We got three months to fill the gaps on and red tape to cut through,” Henderson explained. “He was only dead for six hours when we found him this morning; so there has to be another reason for him not showing up for three months.”
***
Lois tapped her fingers against the wood grain of her desk as she waited for someone to answer the phones in the Daily Planet newsroom. She hadn’t been able to get a hold of Clark all morning. She assumed he was still caught up in the mess at Hobb’s Bay, but she still needed to know something.
“Daily Planet,” Perry White finally answered.
“Perry, finally! I’ve been calling all morning. What’s going on? I saw they found another body,”
“Lois, how are you feeling?” Perry asked, deterring her question for the moment.
“I’m fine,” Lois snapped, “except for being ignored,”
“Well, we’re kinda shorthanded this morning, everyone’s covering this Hobb’s Bay mess. Lois, this is gonna be big. They’re now making this a federal matter,”
“Federal?” Lois asked, “Why?”
“The body they pulled out this morning was a DEA agent,” Perry explained.
“You’re kidding!”
“Nope,” Perry said. There was a muffled voice on the other side of the phone, “Listen, Lois, I’ll have Kent call you once he gets in. I’ve got to go; breaking news.”
Before she could say ‘bye’ the dial tone was resonating in her ear. She sighed, hanging up the phone. “Wish I was part of it,” She muttered under her breath. She hated working from home; away from everyone. She felt out of the loop, and out of sync. Clark usually tried to come home early for lunch but it didn’t look like today was going to be one of those days.
She stepped into the hallway to check on Jordan. The door was propped open and she could see his sleeping figure from where the door was propped open. She smiled to herself. He was sound asleep. She opened the door behind her, stepping inside long enough to grab her laptop before returning to the hallway where she could watch him sleep. She may not enjoy everything about working from home, but there were some perks she wasn’t about to miss any of them if she could help it.
After making herself comfortable in the hallway outside Jordan’s door she started her laptop up and began her research on the victims from the slayings that had occurred in Metropolis recently. The identity of the latest victim had not been released yet, but she was pretty sure she had enough to go on to start piecing things together. Dianna Stride was the only other victim not to have her limbs removed. Why?
Could she have known the killer?
She started a search on the Planet’s online database, hoping to get some answers. Knowing it would take a while to turn up results she put the laptop down and reached for the knob to Jordan’s door to help her stand up. She wasn’t as agile as she had once been. The baby seemed to be growing more and more every day.
She walked into Jordan’s room, placing a hand on her sleeping son’s head. He was so peaceful like this, but when he was awake he could be a terror. He definitely inherited that from her. A smile spread across his face as he slept, almost as if he knew she was watching him. That smile. It melted her down to the core. He had that same smile his father did.
Jordan began to stir, turning to look up at her. He stretched his little arms over his head, “Mama,”
“Hey, little guy,” She reached down to pick him up. He reached out for her happily. She sighed contently when his tiny arms wrapped around her. “How about we go out for lunch?” She asked. “We can go visit Da..Oh!” She grimaced, taking a deep breath as she pressed her hand against her abdomen.
“Mama, ow?” Jordan asked, concerned.
She nodded as she continued trying to breathe through the pain, “Mmm hmm, Mama ow-Oh!” She sank to the floor, holding onto Jordan for dear life as she fought back the tears. She had never felt such an excruciating pain in her life. Then again, she hadn’t been conscious for Jordan’s delivery.
‘Oh, no,’ she thought to herself. ‘Not yet. It’s too soon,’
“Mama,” Jordan shook her shoulder in concern. He gave her a kiss, “My Mama?”
She couldn’t help but smile at her son’s attempt to make her feel better. “All better,” She reassured him weakly. She was probably having Braxton hicks. There was no way at almost eight months she was in labor. That was impossible.
She sighed in relief when the pain subsided.
See? Nothing to worry about.
“Mama,” Jordan smiled up at her happily.
“Yes, mama happy,” She smiled back at him, standing back up. “You ready to go out for lunch, Mister man?”
“Out!” Jordan clapped his hands happily.
***
“I believe I have everything I need,” Mayson said, gathering her files together.
“What about the Quantum Disruptor?” Dr. Klein asked.
“What about it?” Mayson asked.
“It could be deadly; a colossal disaster! If in the wrong hands,”
“You said it wasn’t perfected yet,” Mayson argued.
“Yes, that’s true, but it's powered by Kryptonite, Ms. Drake,”
“What is that?” Mayson asked.
Dr. Klein fidgeted in his seat uncomfortably. “It’s..”
“Fine, don’t tell me,” Mayson shrugged. “I wouldn’t worry about it, Dr. Klein. If anything happens I’m sure Superman will step up just as he always has.”
“But it’s him I’m worried about,”
“What?” Mayson asked.
“The weapon; the Quantum Disruptor, it’s a weapon to use against Superman,” Dr. Klein explained shamefully.
***
Clark landed outside the familiar townhome on Hyperion Avenue. He was hoping to surprise Lois. He hadn’t had a chance to check in with her all day. He knew how sitting at home usually drove her nuts.
After changing into his street clothes he opened the front door to his building, “Lois?” He called out.
No answer.
He scanned the downstairs and upstairs, looking for a sign of where she may have gone, but found nothing. Upstairs he found her laptop open, running the search on Dianna Stride and Intergang. He looked around the room nervously. She wouldn’t just leave her laptop lying around like this; would she?
Jordan’s favorite blanket lay on the floor by his bed. He bent down to pick it up. A small red puddle lay beneath it. He brushed his fingers against it. Blood.
Panic coursed through him as he frantically looked around, trying to find something to tell him what was going on.
***
She had been fine.
Lois sat curled up in the driver’s seat of her SUV. What was happening? It was way too soon for her to have this baby. Braxton Hicks? She wasn’t so sure anymore. She glared at the sign in front of her, ‘Rosie’s’ She was hungry, but she was in pain too.
“Clark!” She cried out half-heartedly. She didn’t even have enough energy to muster up a decent call for help.
***
The small cry of his name reached his ears as he soared over Metropolis. She wasn’t even trying to call for him. What was going on? He zeroed in on the diner outside the Planet and the familiar Jeep. He landed outside the diner, changing quickly into street clothes as he approached the Jeep.
Inside, he found Lois curled into a ball, unable to move. Jordan sat in the backseat, calling out to his mother. “Lois?”
“Cla..” She couldn’t even finish his name. He wrapped his arms around her, trying to ease the pain.
“What’s wrong?” He asked.
“I don’t know,” She shook her head. “It..hur..” She winced in pain once more, burying her face against his chest. He looked down at her skirt which had droplets of blood on it. He sighed in relief, realizing his worst fears were just that; fears.
“Come on, let’s get you to the hospital,” He whispered, climbing into the Jeep next to her.
***
Dr. Miranda Prysstin never thought of herself as a victim. She had worked hard to achieve the successes in her life. She had graduated at the top of her class; majoring in Cosmetology and a minor in Applied Chemistry. She was a trained chemist; capable of mixing her own fragrances to create the desired effect for her customers. She had created her own small empire with the help of one man: Lex Luthor.
He had worked hard to keep her afloat through all the changes in Metropolis. When the Metros had taken over the Southside Lex had made sure she had been there to keep him informed of the comings and goings of the criminal organization. The Metros had been working with drugs; selling to the highest bidder.
Lex had found the petty crimes to be amusing and had decided to play along by having her mix a unique mix of her own. She’d called it Revenge. It was a powerful Pheromone fragrance that took away the normal self-preserving guard people held up against the public. If someone was sprayed they went to the first person they found attractive and immediately went for it. It was quite amusing.
Soon, Lex had her mixing solutions for different variations of Revenge. One of them erased memories to allow crimes to be committed. Another made the victims hallucinate. All was going well until the night of the fire at the Metro Club. She had been spotted by that redneck with Lex during a meeting with Johnny Taylor, the leader of the Metro Gang. He had overheard their plans to erase the entire crowd’s memory and allow the gang to rob everyone. Shortly afterward the fire had broken out and her witness had disappeared. She had thought she was safe until he had shown up again at Lex Labs threatening to expose her. She knew she had to take care of him.
She’d been fortunate for Mrs. Cox’s help in handling the problem. She’d thought she was safe until she realized Toni Taylor; Johnny’s sister and the only survivor from the Metros had her own kind of revenge planned. She’d beaten her to the punch and now she was a fugitive. She was forced to lower herself to the standards of her victims. She had had to be ordinary.
Metropolis had put her there and made her the fugitive she was now. Metropolis would pay, and to make sure she would help neutralize Superman and his efforts as well. No one would stop her.
***
Lucy glanced at the doorway for the what felt like the fifty billionth time. Where was Jimmy? He’d said he would be right back.
“That’s not going to bring him back any quicker,” Ellen remarked, turning the page in the magazine she was reading. “You really need to learn some patience,”
“I wasn’t..”
Ellen looked up at her with a half-smile, “Are you seriously going to deny that you have looked over at that door for Jimmy seventy-eight times in the last hour?”
“Seventy-eight?” Lucy asked sheepishly.
“I counted,” Ellen explained.
***
The coffee in the hospital was disgusting. There was no way he was going to bring that disgusting brew back to Lucy and her mother. Jimmy stepped out of the elevator into the lobby and headed towards the coffee shop on the corner. ‘Mazy’s’ was much better. He would bring back some real coffee and hopefully if Ellen Lane would ever leave him and Lucy long enough to talk, he could finally find out what was going on in Lucy’s head right now. He loved her more than anything and….
He stopped cold. In front of him was a very familiar Jeep with his friend, Clark Kent standing outside of it. Blood was all over his shirt. He was holding Jordan as he watched the paramedics load up…
“CK!!” Jimmy ran towards them.
***
A brown hue filled the air as Turner aimed the Quantum Disruptor at the wall. The blast filled the air and the wall disintegrated in front of him. “Impressive,” He commented.
“That wall you just destroyed; imagine it with a big ‘S’ on it,” Isaac Mamba grinned. “This will destroy Superman.”
“But will it kill him?” Turner asked.
“I don’t know,” Dr. Mamaba explained. “I can recreate molecules and clone them all I want but there’s no way to tell how this machine will work on Superman. His molecular structure is so complex..”
“So we need a test?” Turner asked.
“In so many words; yes,” Isaac nodded.
***
“I’m really not liking this part,” Lois winced in pain as she leaned back against Clark.
“I know, Lois, but you have to push,” Her doctor urged.
“But,” She couldn’t finish her argument. Another contraction hit. “It’s too soon,” She cried.
***
Jimmy smiled down at Jordan who was reaching for anything and everything in his arms. “He’s really grown,”
“I’ll say,” Lucy said, reaching for him. Jordan happily went to his aunt, holding her tightly. “So, how exactly did you manage to go for coffee and come back with Jordan?”
“Well, it’s a funny story,” Jimmy began.
***
“All right, Lois, I need you to push,” Dr. Lee urged.
“No, I can’t,” She cried, shaking her head vehemently.
Clark’s arms tightened around her, “Come on, Lois, you can do this,”
“It’s too soon. She’s not ready,” She cried.
“She is ready,” Dr. Lee soothed. “She has to come out. She’s almost there. I just need one good push. You said you didn’t want to do a repeat c-section. If you don’t push that’s what you’re going to get…”
***
“So, what I was exposed to was a radioactive meteorite?” Mayson inquired skeptically.
“Pretty much,” Dr. Klein nodded, tapping his hand nervously on his desk. After his interview with her, she had followed him to his laboratory and begun asking him questions about different substances that glowed. Finally, she had come out and admitted what had happened to her. Kryptonite was definitely still out there.
“I can run some tests; make sure there were no lasting effects,” Dr. Klein suggested.
Mayson nodded, rolling up her sleeve, “Let’s do it,”
***
Lucy watched Jordan playing with Jimmy. He had a natural talent to calm him. It was hard to remain calm knowing her sister was in labor somewhere in the same hospital and she couldn’t be there for her.
“Okay, I give up!” Jimmy held his hands up in surrender. Jordan was climbing on his back and pulling on his hair.
“I ba!” Jordan cheered.
Lucy laughed. “You two are a mess!”
“Meh!” Jordan laughed, clapping his hands.
Jimmy laughed. “Looks like we’ve got ourselves a little mockingbird.”
“He seems so natural with you,” Lucy observed.
“Well, I just hope I’m keeping him distracted enough,” Jimmy commented, glancing at the empty seat where Ellen Lane had been sitting. She had gone to check on Lois and Clark and they hadn’t heard anything since.
***
Arianna Carlin took a sip of her chardonnay as she watched her team of scientists work. She had been through so much in order to get to this point. Lex had been the love of her life. He had given her everything she’d ever hoped for and more, but she hadn’t been enough for him. Even after their divorce she still loved him.
When she had heard of his death and marriage to Lucy Lane she had promised revenge. She couldn’t understand how after all the magnificent rescues and super feats this Superman had achieved in the past few months—and there had been many—how could he let Lex die?
Stealing Lex’s body from the morgue had been simple. She’d implemented the help of Lex’s physician, Gretchen Kelly and had her help to resurrect him. Once she was sure Lex was stable she had taken care of Dr. Kelly with a bullet to the chest. Next, she had called Dr. Benzen, the world’s most acclaimed plastic surgeons and had him operated so Lex might have a chance at a normal life. Then he had been taken care of as well.
Once Lex had realized there was no way anyone could come after him he began filling the shoes of ‘James Turner’ nicely. He enjoyed the money and the power that came with it, but he was anything but grateful to her for what she’d done. He still continued to pursue his earlier ambitions of building his empire and courting Lucy Lane. It was then that she decided her revenge was misdirected. She still continued to plan her revenge against Superman, for he had helped destroy the empire that had once been her own—LexCorp.
She slowly began buying LexCorp out from under Intergang; merging a partnership with Mindy Church and hiring Mrs. Cox, his most trusted assistant to play both sides. Though Nigel claimed not to be working with Lex she still didn’t trust him. He would easily expose her and her plans to Lex if it would benefit him.
Now, she worked with Mrs. Cox and Miranda in creating the perfect clone of Superman to destroy Metropolis and then Superman himself. Once she had taken all of Superman’s powers she would then kill Lex and there would be no one to stop her.
***
“Come on, Lois, you’re almost there.” Clark cheered.
“One more push,” Dr. Lee encouraged.
“I am pushing!” Lois cried.
Clark could hear the pain in her voice. “You’re almost there, baby,”
“Clark, I can’t…” She cried.
“Yes, you can,” he cheered. “You can do this.”
A loud resonating cry filled the room. “You hear that?” Dr. Lee asked. “Just one more push to get her out,”
“I don’t think I can..” She panted.
“Yes, you can, honey,” Clark whispered, tightening his arms around her. “Just one more push,”
She listened to their daughter continue to cry. She let out a cry of pain as she put all her energy forth to push. Another cry from her daughter. She wasn’t sure if she should be worried or relieved. She hadn’t had a chance to experience any of this with Jordan. She had vaguely recalled the sound of him crying in the operating room but never anything like this.
“Congratulations,” Dr. Lee cheered, “A beautiful baby girl. Time of birth is 7:32pm.”
She shivered involuntarily; Clark held her close, running his hands up and down her arms to help keep her warm. She smiled when the nurse laid their daughter on top of her. “Do you want to cut the umbilical cord?”
Clark looked blankly up at the nurse, “Um,”
“Sometimes the fathers like to cut the cord,” she explained.
He nodded, taking the clamp from the nurse. Lois watched in amazement as he cut the cord. Their daughter’s eyes were still closed. She moved her head from side to side whimpering as Lois held her.
“She’s so perfect,” Lois whispered in amazement.
Clark wrapped his arms around her, kissing her forehead, “You are amazing,” He whispered, “I love you so much,”
The nurse reached out for the baby. “We need to check her vitals and then we’ll bring her up to your room.”
Lois hesitated, “But..”
Clark seemed to understand her hesitancy. “Do you mind if we wait here and watch? We don’t really want to let her go,”
The nurse smiled, “Of course,”
Lois and Clark breathed a sigh of relief. The trauma they had experienced over the past year had made them both hesitant to trust the hospital staff anywhere. It was just one of the many things they had to work through.
“While you’re watching you can work on filling out her birth certificate information,” The nurse suggested. “Do you know what you want to name her?”
Lois looked at Clark who was looking at her expectantly. “Um, well…”
***
The officer handed Sam Lane his belongings one at a time. “Car keys,” Sam pocketed the keys, “Wallet,” He checked the wallet contents to assure himself that everything was still in there, “Glasses,” Sam slipped the glasses into his jacket pocket.
“Thank you,” Sam nodded.
“Don’t come back,” The officer warned.
“I don’t plan on it,” Sam shrugged, shaking his head as he headed for the exit.
***
TBC...
