Ghost From the Past
Folc4evernaday
Part 4
***
“You did WHAT???”
Clark hung his head as he listened to his father tear into him about how irresponsible he’d been. After making sure Lois had gotten home okay and leaving her with her mother and sister he’d flown out to Smallville for his weekly visit with his parents. Unfortunately, visiting wasn’t high on Jonathan Kent’s priority list at the moment.
“Jonathan, calm down,” his mother urged, placing a supportive hand on Clark’s shoulder. “It was lucky Clark was there…”
“What if someone had seen you?” His dad fumed, “How would you have explained…You can NOT afford to lose your temper like that…”
“Gee, I wonder where he gets it from…” His mom said with an arched eyebrow at his dad.
“You could easily lose control and slip up and then…Metropolis isn’t the Outback, you know. People in the city are always looking to make a quick buck. If they find out about you, they’ll put you in a laboratory, and …” His dad continued.
Clark rolled his eyes and finished the familiar phrase with him. “ … ‘dissect me like a frog.’ I know, Dad. Believe me, I’m trying my best to be like everybody else here, but I didn’t know what else to do…” Clark stood up and paced around the room. “You weren’t there…You didn’t see what those…I could have killed them if I wanted to…and believe me, I was tempted to…but I didn’t. The door wasn’t made of very good material. Anyone could have kicked it in…” Clark shook his head. “It was my fault she was there, to begin with…”
“Son, this is nobody’s fault but those …illiterate…pea-brained…Darren Sharper wannabes…” He was doing his best to keep calm but it was hard. Clark noticed the way he held his hands in a fist as he fumed angrily about the situation. He knew he’d done the right thing, but knowing how scared his dad was for his safety made everything feel less satisfying. He hadn’t exactly been satisfied when he’d confronted Roarke about drugging Lois, but he hadn’t been ashamed either.
“I think what’s important here is that Lois is safe and those thugs are in jail…” His mom began, trying to change the subject. She turned towards Clark, “You have to be careful, though. You can’t be drawing attention to yourself like that…”
“I know,” Clark shook his head, “I know, I’m sorry…It's just…seeing them…knowing what they were trying to do to Lois…”
“I’d have clocked ‘em too,” His dad admitted sheepishly. He was quite a moment then patted Clark on the shoulder, “You really care about her, huh?”
“I think I love her,” Clark said quietly.
His mom looked at him quizzically, “Are you just figuring this out? Your dad and I have known that from the first time you spoke about her…”
“Well, don’t wait too long to tell her.” He said, giving him a hug. “Please just be more careful. If anything ever happened to you…”
“I know,” Clark sighed, “I’m sorry for worrying you guys.”
***
Present Day…
Floyd set the phone down for the umpteenth time, shaking his head. “Well, uh, I’m not getting an answer…”
Clark nodded looking around the apartment skeptically. The man hadn’t been lying. This was definitely his apartment. It had pictures of himself with the young brunette woman all over. There was a picture of himself with an elderly couple, his parents he guessed.
He stared at the pictures intently, hoping looking at them would help job some kind of memory. As he stared at the picture of himself and the young woman once more he couldn’t help but smile. The way she was looking at him…he could feel his heart well up. This was someone he loved very much. That much he could tell.
Floyd seemed to notice Clark’s gaze and nodded. “That’s your fiancée, Ms. Lane. Real looker…She never gave up on you. Was convinced you were out there somewhere.”
“Out where?” Clark asked confused.
“Wherever you’ve been,” Floyd shrugged. “After so long the police declared you dead…”
“WHAT???”
Floyd shrugged, “That had been five months ago.” He looked around uneasily, “What happened to you?”
“I don’t know….I remember running until I found myself here…Everything else is pretty hazy.” Clark explained. A hesitant hand rested on his shoulder.
“Try and get some rest. I’ll keep trying the Kents and see if I can get a hold of someone for you…I, uh, I’m glad you’re safe now.”
“Thanks,” Clark nodded, looking around the room.
‘Safe?’
Was he safe? He didn’t know. All he could remember was fear. Now, all of a sudden he was faced with new emotions and wasn’t sure how to handle them. He glanced at the picture again. Fiancée. He had been engaged. He had loved this woman. Something in him told him he still did.
He looked around the apartment aimlessly, hoping to connect with something. He walked toward the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed. It felt comfortable enough. He pulled the sheets back and noticed a silk negligee that had been bunched up in the corner. He glanced at it, picking it up, fingering the material gently. He brought it to his face, inhaling the scent of lavender and orchids. There was something so familiar about that smell…
***
Trask poured over the site plans as he barked out orders, “Jenkins, you take the South Perimeter…” He pointed at an area in red on the map and then pointed at an area in blue, “Myerson, take the East and Johnson you take the West. I’ll take the North. He couldn’t have gotten far…”
“Mr. Trask, without the meteorite he could have gotten a lot farther…” Johnson began to argue.
“Then, we’ll have to expand the search…” Trask snipped. “I’ve worked too hard and too long to let it all blow up in our faces now…”
***
Lucy Lane touched the edge of the couch hesitantly, tapping her fingertips against the fabric as she gazed at Lois cautiously. “So, this Prometheus…kinda scary, huh?”
Lois turned back to her sister with a watery smile, “Yeah,”
Lucy caught her gaze and placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder, “Do you want to talk about it?”
Lois shook her head, “What’s to talk about?”
“Jimmy called me earlier. You can’t let people like that get to you…” Lucy began.
“I know…” Lois sighed, raking a hand through her hair “It’s just when people talk about him like he doesn’t matter…I just get so…”
“You’re grieving. It's natural, but you’ve gotta hold it together when you’re at work.” Lucy soothed.
“It’s been five years today…” Lois said in between tears. “Five years…”
“Clark wouldn’t want you to do this to yourself…” Lucy said, rubbing her sister’s back.
“How do you know what Clark would want?” Lois snapped. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. None of this makes sense. We were supposed to…” The tears fell down Lois’ cheeks and Lucy held her close.
“I know…” Lucy sighed. “If there was anything I could do to fix this you know I would…”
Lois nodded, pulling herself away from Lucy for the moment. “I know. I just ... Everything I thought…dreamt….its gone, Luce. It’s not something you just get over…”
“Have you tried talking to someone?”
“Like who?” Lois asked. “How do I even begin to explain what happened in Smallville…what happened to Clark….and Jamie…” her voice cracked as she mentioned the last name. Every time she mentioned Jamie’s name she cried.
“Lois…”
“Every time I feel like I’m going to be okay or … start to feel human again I get pulled right back again. Is it insane that I keep hoping he’ll just show up on my doorstep like the last five years never happened?”
Lucy shook her head, “No, I think that’s only natural when you lose someone you love…”
***
Six Years Ago…
“Lois…” he rasped out in between heated kisses. He leaned back against his couch, cupping her cheek hesitantly as their embrace continued. “Oh, God, Lois…”
It had been three weeks since the attack at the Lexor. Roarke and Jenkins had been charged with aggravated assault and kicked off the football team and expelled from the school. The last few weeks she tried to forget everything that had happened by doing what she did best…distance herself. She found solace in work and school and lately…in the arms of Clark Kent.
They’d been out on a half a dozen dates since the incident and she’d enjoyed pushing the envelope with him as their VERY heated make-out sessions became more and more intense. She’d been surprised with how patient he was being. He never tried to push her or touch her without permission.
She wondered if he felt the same way about her as she did him. She knew he definitely liked her and enjoyed spending time with her, but he never pushed things past kissing. She recalled her breakup with her high school boyfriend, Joe and how he had warned her that no guy was going to wait around forever if she wasn’t willing to give up the goods. Clark was a few years older than her…most likely more experienced. Would he expect her to ‘give up the goods’ as Joe had put it? Would she be willing to? Something about crossing that line terrified her. She knew she definitely loved him…
She nibbled on his neck, teasing him with her breath against his neck, molding her body against his as he held her small frame against his. She had him laid out on the couch beneath her. What would it feel like to touch him…? She could feel her heart racing a million beats a minute as she moved to straddle him as she captured his lips. He was so good at …She slipped her hand in-between their bodies, brushing against him ever so lightly and felt him respond immediately.
“Whoah!” He pushed her back away from him, sitting up halfway and moving away from her as he grabbed her hand from where it had drifted, “What are you doing?”
She was a bit shocked by his reaction. Most of the time it had been the other way around with previous boyfriends trying to push the boundaries and see how far they could push her. Apparently, that had not been on Clark’s mind. She glanced at him shyly, “Just curious…”
He gave her a wry smile before offering her a half grin, “Careful curiosity killed the cat…”
She couldn’t help but offer a full smile to that remark. What had she been doing? She’d been curious. What would she have done if he hadn’t have stopped her? Would she have wanted to stop? She had felt him respond to her touch …apparently that had scared him enough to stop kissing her. Maybe he wasn’t as experienced as she thought?
“Well…” she shrugged, not sure what to say.
He looked at her carefully then sighed, “Lois, are you okay?”
“Fine,” she shrugged, leaning towards him to recapture his lips. “It's nothing…”
“No, that was definitely…SOMETHING…” He argued, pulling away from her. “What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing. It’s fine. I was just curious…”
“About what?” he asked.
“What you would do…”
He looked at her aghast, “Lois, I would never…Why would you think I would…?”
“Most guys do one way or another…” she said shyly. She really wanted to stop talking about this.
“I’m not most guys,” Clark said firmly.
“No, you’re not,” she smiled back at him.
“What gives? What’s going on?” Clark pressed.
She pulled herself away from him for a moment, “I don’t want to talk about it right now,”
“Seems to me lately you haven’t wanted to do much talking… at all …”
He’d noticed what she’d been doing. Of course, he did. He seemed to notice everything. “It’s been a rough few weeks…” She said quietly.
“I know,” he acknowledged, “I’ve tried to give you your space, but Lois I’m just not…WE’RE not ready to cross that threshold just yet…especially with everything that happened a few weeks ago.”
She shrugged then looked at him with a wry smile, “You’re kinda incredible you know that?” He smiled back at her, “I think I knew you wouldn’t push things I guess after everything I just needed to prove it…if that makes sense? You’re really something.” She leaned up to kiss him on the lips. “I guess that’s why I love you…”
She stopped. Panic was written all over her face as she did the best impression of a statue she could. She’d said it. She’d said the scary words she’d been holding in for months and thinking about…Oh, God. They‘d only been dating for a few weeks. He probably thought she was a lunatic… One minute she’s trying to grope him the next she’s declaring her love for him…
To her surprise, he didn’t run. He didn’t pull away. He smiled back at her and cupped her cheek and whispered, “I love you too,” She’d never been so relieved in all her life. He leaned in to capture her lips, keeping them feather light and short. She sighed in relief as she concentrated on kissing him back. He loved her. She loved him. Thank God.
***
Present Day…
Martha arrived in Metropolis amidst the chaos in the airport. With all the fear that was in the air from the meteor, Prometheus it had been near impossible to get a flight from Smallville to Metropolis. Jonathan hadn’t been able to make it. When Wayne Irig had appeared in their barn, bloody and bruised Jonathan had insisted on staying back to take care of his friend. It was for the best she supposed. Arguing with him about Clark wasn’t something she wanted to do.
There was a feeling she couldn’t shake. Clark was alive. She KNEW it. She knew this was hard on Lois. After losing her and Clark’s child to an unknown cause of death at the age of sixteen weeks she had lost the last thing that kept her close to Clark. Ever since the funeral it had been vague cards and notes back and forth. Lois had buried herself in her work and become an award-winning journalist in the last few years, but she wasn’t the same Lois she’d met years ago. She was hardened and cold, pushing everyone around her away.
She looked around the airport, hoping to see Lois or a familiar face from the Planet. “Well, I guess I can find the apartment from here…” she pulled out her phone and began to dial.
***
Lucy looked at the caller id on her sister’s phone as she slept. It was Martha Kent. After everything Lois had been through the last few days and the threat of Prometheus, the last thing she needed to do was dredge through the past with her almost mother-in-law. Lucy held down the power button to Lois’ cell phone and turned it off.
“Sorry, sis, but right now you need some rest,”
***
Clark stared at the address book in front of him. Something about the name ‘Lois Lane’ was so familiar to him. He needed to find her. All he seemed to remember was the green room and bits and pieces of this woman Floyd called ‘Ms. Lane’. He assumed Lois was the same person, but couldn’t be sure.
He needed answers.
He stood up carefully and headed towards the phone and began to dial.
“You’ve reached Lois Lane…” a familiar voice came on the recording. “I can’t get to my phone right now but if you leave a message I’ll get back to you as soon as I can…”
He hung up the phone and sighed. She didn’t seem to be answering. Maybe he’d have better luck trying to see her in person?
***
“Lucy!!” Lois cried out through the apartment as she gathered her things. “You let me oversleep! I’m going to be late!”
“You needed your rest, Lois,” Lucy argued, following her sister throughout the apartment.
“I was supposed to meet Martha this morning. I’ve missed the staff meeting. Perry is going to kill me…” Lois rambled on as she threw her clothes on.
“You’ll live,” Lucy spat back. She was about to give Lois her own thoughts on how she’d been taking care of herself lately but stopped when there was a knock at the door.
“That’s probably Martha…” Lois sighed, shaking her head. “I’m almost ready. Will you get the door while I finish up?”
Lucy nodded, intent on giving Martha Kent a piece of her mind for upsetting Lois further. “Mrs. Kent, I …” She stopped when she realized it wasn’t Martha Kent.
Three men dressed in uniform stood at the door. They pushed their way through, closing the door, “I believe we have some catching up to do. You’re not Lois Lane. Where is she?”
Lucy didn’t answer, praying whoever these men were would leave before finding her sister in the bedroom. “Lucy?” Lois’ voice echoed from the bedroom, “I don’t have time to …” Lois stopped when she stepped out of her bedroom ready for work, “You…”
“Oh, Ms. Lane, I’m afraid you’re going to have to make time,” Jason Trask said, raising a gun at her. “Where is he?”
***
Martha Kent stormed up the steps to her son’s apartment. It had taken four hours to get through the madhouse at the airport but she had gotten there. The familiar figure of Clark’s landlord was standing in the hallway when she approached, “Mrs. Kent? You got my messages!”
“What messages?” she asked, concerned.
“Your son…He’s alive. He was sitting on these steps here last night…I tried to call you…” He rambled.
Martha struggled to find her voice as she felt the knot in her throat begin to expand. He was alive. Clark was alive. “You saw my son??” she managed to squeak out in between tears.
Floyd nodded. “He’s in rough shape. Didn’t know his name or nothing. I thought about calling the police but thought they might think I’m crazy. Anyhow, I knew you and Ms. Lane had been looking for him for years…” He motioned for her to follow him to the apartment door. “Like, I said before he’s in pretty rough shape. Didn’t know who I was at all. I let him in last night to get some rest…”
He opened the door and Martha peered over his shoulder, “Clark?”
***
Lois immediately recognized Trask, the man who had shot Clark. “You …you…you…sick, twisted, disgusting, murdering…sociopathic …psychopath….” Lois fumed angrily. “Get the hell out of my apartment!! Haven’t you taken enough from me?”
“Oh, I haven’t taken anything…” Trask countered, “I believe it’s you that’s taken something from me. Now, where is HE?”
“Who?” Lucy asked, confused.
“Clark Kent. He escaped….I know he had to have contacted you…”
“What???” The color drained from Lois’ face as she fell to her knees. “He’s alive? No, I saw you kill him…”
“Yes, a ruse so we didn’t draw unwanted attention…He had information we wanted… He didn’t want to cooperate the old fashioned way…” He turned to one of his men, “Check the bedroom…” He then turned back to Lois, squatting down to face her so that he was a few inches from her face, “You know, it’s considered treason to harbor a fugitive. Just remember that…”
She spat in his face, “Go to hell!”
He raised his hand to strike her but was distracted when his men returned to the room, “No one’s here.”
Trask glared at her. “Very well. It seems we were mistaken.” He turned back to Lois, “We’ll be seeing you,” With that he left the apartment, slamming the door behind them.
“Oh, God…” Lois gasped, panic written all over her face.
Lucy knelt down to hold her sister, “It’s okay, Lois. I’m right here…”
“He’s alive…Lucy, did you hear what they said? Where’s my phone?”
***
The apartment was empty. Martha began to cry, burying her face in her hands, “Where is he?” She swatted at Floyd angrily. “Where is my boy? Where is he? Where is he? Where is he?”
“I don’t know…” Floyd said, trying to get out of Martha’s grasp. She was a petite elderly woman but there was power behind each blow. “He was HERE.”
“Well, where is he now?”
***
TBC...
