Ghost From the Past
Folc4evernaday
Part 13
Notes: Sorry for the wait. It's been a crazy few weeks. Hope everyone had a great vacation.
Since it's been awhile...
Previously on Ghost From the Past:***
“No, uh-uh. I found somethin’ under that tree…” Wayne began. Jonathan looked at his curiously. Wayne’s property wasn’t too far from where they’d found Clark… or where he’d buried his space ship. He looked at Wayne wearily. Could he have found it? “…a rock! I sent a sample off to the state lab to check it out. Today I got federal agents asking me a lot of questions. They got bulldozers showing up tomorrow.”
“Bulldozers?” Jonathan repeated hoarsely. If they found Clarks’ ship…
“I need you to keep this for me till I figure this out,” Wayne instructed, pulling out a large metal box from his truck and opened it up. A large glowing rock sat inside it with dirt and roots from where Wayne had pulled it out of the ground.
“What…what do you think it is?” Jonathan asked.
“Don’t know…” Wayne said, handing him the box after he closed the lid. “I’ll be in touch.”
***
He smiled, “I wouldn’t trade a single moment,” He cupped her cheek, brushing a few stray strands of hair out of her face. “I love you so much Lois. I …I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”
“…and I love you,” she whispered, leaning in to kiss him. “I’ve never known anyone like you…” She stroked his cheek, outlining his jaw with her fingers. “I really…love you…You know that?”
He smiled at her, “Yeah, I love you too…” He rested his forehead against hers, “I….just…I don’t know. I imagine the world ….the future….I can’t imagine any of it without you there…standing with me.”
She could feel the butterflies in her stomach fluttering as he spoke. Before she knew it she was saying the scary words she never thought she’d be the one saying. “Marry me,”
He looked at her in surprise, “What?”
Had she just said that? Of course she did. That had definitely been her voice. Had he heard her? Yes, he definitely heard her. She could feel the tears welling up as she anticipated him pulling away from her….but he didn’t. Instead he cupped her cheek and whispered ‘yes’ before capturing her lips with his own.
***
Present Day...
“Lois, are you going to talk to me?” Martha asked.
“No,” Lois snipped angrily. “What is there to talk about? I can’t be angry….not really. I mean you only had six years to tell me something that might have been important to know when I was oh I don’t know…PREGNANT….I can’t be mad at Clark because he doesn’t even remember anything….” She fumed angrily. “Why didn’t YOU tell me?”
“It was Clark’s secret to tell and honestly we were planning on telling you…” Martha began. “It just happened too fast. You had Jamie. Then you were recovering and we were still stuck in our grief over Clark….then after Jamie died….There just wasn’t a right time to tell you…”
“Were you EVER going to tell me?” Lois cried. “Was HE???”
Martha sighed, glancing back at Clark who had fallen asleep in the backseat. “He tried….Jonathan didn’t want him telling you until you two had known each other longer. Then when you came to Smallville engaged Clark said he wanted to tell you. We agreed but before he could the whole fiasco with that Trask character happened….I’m sorry.”
“Six years!” Lois fumed angrily. “Six years…I think I’m entitled to be a little upset,”
***
Five Years Ago...
“I still don’t think it’s a good idea,” Clark said, following Lois into the elevator as they left the newsroom the next day.
“This is a huge opportunity!” Lois argued, holding her hands up to symbolize the click of a camera, “Lex Luthor’s First Personal Interview by Lane and Kent….”
“Except he doesn’t want ME interviewing him he wants just YOU, Lois Lane….I don’t know….Something about the guy is just…off…” Clark argued.
Lois sighed, “How about this? I go to the interview and if ANYTHING is out of the ordinary I leave…deal?” She linked her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. “It’s a really big opportunity….”
He relented, wrapping his arms around her protectively. “If he even sneezes wrong you leave,”
“Yes, Master,” she teased, bobbing her head like Jeanie from ‘I Dream of Jeanie’ as they stepped off the elevator.
“Not funny,” Clark countered.
***
Later that evening, Lois entered the Luthor Towers lobby with a notebook in hand and tape recorder ready. This was the moment. The turning point in her career. She knew Clark was uncomfortable with her interviewing Lex alone but she had talked him into backing off so she could land this interview.
The elevator doors opened and an elderly man with a mustache and balding white hair stepped out, “Ms. Lane?”
“Yes?” She stood up from her seat.
He looked her up and down and frowned. She glanced down at her business suit, uncertain what the look was about. “A bit under dressed for dinner, but …uh, right this way…”
She followed him onto the elevator and watched nervously as the floor numbers changed over and over until they reached the penthouse. They stepped off the elevator and she entered a dining room where Lex sat at a long table with dinner prepared and a man servant stood behind him, waiting. “Ah, Ms. Lane, so glad you could make it.”
Lois nodded nervously looking around the room. There were candles and roses all over the room. All of a sudden, she was feeling very uncomfortable.
***And Now: Part 13:***
“What do you mean a rock?” Clark asked as he listened intently as Jonathan explained what Wayne Irig had left with them before leaving town.
“It’s a strange eerie green rock. Got a strange glow to it,” Jonathan explained. “I don’t think it’s from here. It’s not too far from where we found you…” He trailed off.
“What do you think it’s from?” Clark asked.
“I don’t know…” Jonathan shook his head. There was so much they hadn’t told Clark yet. “I think you may need to come out here and see for yourself. The Feds are showing up tomorrow to tear Irig’s property up. I gotta….”
He was cut off when Clark exclaimed, “What???”
Jonathan sighed, “They’re looking for something. I’m guessing whatever this is is what they’re looking for.”
***
Lois sat across from Lex Luthor with her pen ready, ignoring the food on her plate as she did her best to get him to open up. “Both your father and mother died when you were fourteen, correct?”
Lex stiffened slightly then gave a nod, smiling with charisma as he took a sip of wine, “Why don’t I have my office send you a biography?”
Lois shook her head, glancing around the room once more nervously. It was apparent his agreement to an interview was a ruse to get her here but she refused to give up. This might be the only chance to land the first personal interview with Lex Luthor and she wasn’t going to turn that down just because he was under the misinformed assumption this was a date, “I don’t want the standard line. If I wanted the line I could go buy it for 19.99 at any bookstore. What I want is the REAL Lex Luthor. What makes you tick? What you want…what you strive for…”
Lex smiled, taking her hand and removing the pen from it as he said smoothly, “Pleasure.” His eyes darkened, “The pursuit of pleasure.” He pushed a strand of hair out of her face, “Does that surprise you?”
“I would have guessed you’d say ‘power’.” She remarked.
“Power is a means, not an end,” Lex said smoothly. He seemed to be getting some sort of satisfaction from how uncomfortable he was obviously making her.
She shifted in her seat and decided to try a different angle “But achieving power must give you pleasure.” Lois deducted.
“Very good.” He nodded, impressed.
Lois smiled then turned back to the business at hand as she wrote in her notepad. He was really making her uncomfortable but she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of scaring her off by his advances. This was the only chance she’d have to get him to open up. “You took over your first company at the age of twenty-one, but there were rumors that the buy-out was coerced.” She noticed Lex stiffen at that remark. He seemed to be working hard to throw her off her game. Could there be something sinister in his background he didn’t want her to find? Clark had said he didn’t trust him and she was beginning to see why. “Is it true the Board of Directors was paid substantial, unreported fees?”
There was a flicker of something across his face for a split second. He recovered quickly but she knew what she saw. He smiled as he tried to change the subject, “Do you ever let your hair down?” he asked amused. He reached across the table and took her hand in his.
Lois watched him hesitantly, still trying to make up her mind about him. She wasn’t sure why he felt the need to flirt with her so blatantly no matter how many times she tried to redirect to the business at hand. Maybe he was trying to distract her? Why? Was he trying to hide something? “I’m here to work. Not eat.”
“All work and no play…your credo, Lois Lane? Can’t we just enjoy the evening? Enjoy each other?”
Lois took a breath. “I think you have the wrong idea about this dinner.” She took her hand from his.
Lex took an empty glass and poured a chardonnay in the glass as he spoke, I hope you don’t think we’re here merely because you are a beautiful young woman. That wouldn’t speak well for either of us,”
Lois silently fumed. He still wasn’t budging. “No, I’m here for…”
Lex offered her the wine glass and she pushed it away. He frowned then set it down next to her as he continued, “You wanted an interview. A scoop. I understand that, but quid pro quo, let me tell you what I want,”
Lois folded her hands on her lap and smiled, “By all appearances, it seems to be avoiding answering any questions,”
Lex smiled, “You just haven’t asked the right question yet,”
Lois smiled, “And what is the right question?” She shook her head. “I’m not interested in … whatever it appears that you’ve misinterpreted this dinner to be. As you said before, I’m here for the interview, not for a date.”
“So defensive,” He noticed with amusement, “Can I ask why you are so against enjoying the evening with me while we continue this interview?” Lois crossed her arms over her chest as he continued, “I think you and I both know you can walk out that door any minute but you’re not because your need to land the elusive interview with me is stronger than your desire to leave. Am I getting warm?”
“Maybe,” She admitted coolly.
He smiled, obviously proud of his assessment, “My talent in life is not making money or juggling companies. It's character assessment. I sense things about the people I do business with and build relationships with. Do you think it's just a mere coincidence I agreed to be interviewed by you, Lois Lane, first-year reporter of the Daily Planet? No, I do my homework and investigate of course, but I also follow my gut. I sense things about you. Possibilities….potentials. You have the intelligence, spirit, and vision to transcend the mundane.”
“And yet you continue to skirt away from the question by dosing on the flattery,” Lois said, tapping her pen against her notebook.
“What was the question?” He asked with a smooth smile. She wasn’t sure if he was trying to be difficult but she was finding his evading questions to become more and more trying on her nerves.
“Did you pay off the board members with your first corporate take over?” Lois asked, picking up her notebook once more, pen in hand.
“Ah, the rumors,” Lex smiled with satisfaction.
She sighed, holding in her frustration, “Yes, the rumors.”
Lex shook his head, “Always a successful man or woman’s downfall.” Lex mused, “To answer your question,” He took a sip of his glass, “No, there was no coercion. Just being at the right place at the right time…Shall we move on?” He reached for her hand once more, this time intertwining his fingers with hers.
She pulled her hand back and sighed in frustration. He wasn’t going to discuss the takeover. It was clear she wasn’t going to get what she had come here for tonight. “I need to get going, Mr. Luthor. I have a deadline.”
“No dessert?” he inquired.
“No thanks.” She replied hurriedly.
“Really? You don’t know what you’re missing.” Lex smiled and stood up with her. “I’ll have Asabi bring the car around. Where to?”
***
Jonathan Kent walked through the wooded area of his property with a shovel, looking around to be sure no one was around. He couldn’t’ seem to shake the feeling he had that he was being watched. He counted his footsteps one at a time until he reached sixty-eight steps then turned left and counted thirteen more steps. He glanced around him once more and began to dig…
***
“General Newcomb?” The officer listened as the general responded. “Yes, Mr. Irig has disappeared but before he did he left something with the neighbor. I’ve been following him…a Jonathan Kent. You won’t believe what he just unburied….”
***
Clark impatiently stared at the phone, willing it to ring. Lois had said she’d call if anything happened. It had been hours and he still hadn’t heard anything. Maybe she forgot? He picked up the phone and dialed. The familiar sound of her voicemail began to play after five rings, “Hi. Sorry, we're not home to take your call. If you'd like to leave a message for Lois, or Lucy, you can do so at the...”
He hung up the phone then turned toward the balcony where the wind was blowing the soft fabric of the curtains from the open window. He walked toward the window, holding the curtain open for a moment as he stared at the night sky before jerking the curtain closed and turning back toward the empty apartment. He reached for his coat and headed out the door.
***
“I think you learned a lot more about me than I learned about you,” Lois said ruefully.
Clark watched from around the corner, listening in on Lois’ conversation with Lex Luthor as they approached the glass double doors of Luthor Towers. “Yeah, I’ll bet,” He muttered under his breath. He didn’t like Lex Luthor. There was something about the man that was fictitious about him but even more than that…he didn’t like the way he looked at Lois.
Lex smiled, “I think we’ve both only scratched the surface,” He gestured toward the double doors where a limo awaited them.
“Unbelievable,” Clark muttered to himself as he watched the exchange, “I don’t believe this guy,”
“Not exactly the point of an interview,” Lois said with a smile.
Clark smiled, “That’s my girl. Put him in his place,”
“Well, I’m a firm believer that the chase makes everything more worthwhile,” Lex said opening the door to Luthor Towers for her to exit. “You never did tell me where to drop you off at,”
“That swarmy…” Clark muttered to himself as he watched Lois continue to evade Lex Luthor’s advances. He grimaced as Luthor reached for Lois’ hand and she pulled it back.
“I can manage from here,” Lois said, pulling away from Lex’s grasp once more.
Clark sighed in relief as he watched Lois head towards the corner on the left, heading closer to where he was hiding. She had pulled out her phone and was calling herself a cab. He looked around himself, realizing she wouldn’t take too kindly of him watching her. Right now he just looked like a jealous fiancé. He made sure no one was around and ricocheted himself into the sky toward her apartment, hoping to catch her at home before she got there.
***
Present Day…Lex tapped his fingers against the wood grain of his desk as he examined the large red specimen of what appeared to be some sort of rock in the lead lined case Jason Trask had placed on hid desk. “Your team found this in Smallville you say, Mr. Trask?”
“Yes,” Jason Trask nodded, “My men were able to recover more of the meteorite. Its molecular structure is out of this world. We are certain it came from the same planet as the alien we captured.”
“Yes, the alien that escaped,” Lex rolled his eyes. “I find it convenient that the very day I am supposed to meet this alien is the day that he turns up missing. Don’t you find it a coincidence?”
“No, Mr. Luthor, I can assure you when we find him there will be no escaping…”
“When?” Lex scoffed, “I think you mean ‘if’ because it’s been almost twenty-four hours and no one knows where this creature is.”
“I still don’t understand what you think you can do with him?” Trask asked exasperated.
“Superpowers ... Under the right guidance can be used to ensure victory over our enemies and defeat anyone who dares to stand in our way. This is something that can be cultivated with LexCorp. When you asked for my investment last month I was promised full access, but right now I’m beginning to rethink my position with your team, Mr. Trask,”
“We will find him,” Trask promised. “We believe this meteorite is from the same planet as him….the green variation appeared to have a physical effect on him. Since we’re unable to find any more large specimens after the lab got raided we’re hoping the red variation will have a similar effect,”
Lex stared at him for a moment then replied coolly, “I suggest you find more of this green meteorite just in case, don’t you?”
“Yes, Mr. Luthor,” Trask nodded, turning to leave.
***
Lois stared angrily out the window as Clark slept next to her in the backseat. His head was propped in her lap. He seemed to be restless in his sleep, flinching and groaning in his sleep as Martha drove. “He doesn’t seem to be sleeping well,” Martha noted as she drove.
Lois nodded, “No telling what he’s been through,” Lois was trying her best to control her anger but it was hard. In one day she’d discovered the man she’d been so completely in love with not only was still alive but also may not even be from this planet. The silent lull that filled the rental car was interrupted by a news report about the asteroid. Martha turned the radio up.
“There is no need for panic. We are confident we can handle this latest challenge with our existing resources…” There was a pause and the General continued, “We have several delivery systems, notably the Asgard booster which we are in process of re-programming. At the same time, we’re currently attaching nuclear payloads which if we can deliver them will detour Nightfall from its current trajectory course toward Earth.”
<<Gunshots rang out as she watched Clark struggle in the water with the man she and Clark had come to know as Jason Trask. The echo of that final shot…
“Clark!!!!”
Two men in uniform pulled her back as she screamed in agony…>>He’d been shot. She’d thought he’d been shot anyway. Had he been faking the injury? She recalled how he’d gone back toward the gunshots when Paul’s fling had tried to shoot up the Met Daily. He had surprised her when he didn’t seem to be phased or hurt by the bullets….
<< “Are you CRAZY???” She smacked him against the chest. “What are you DOING??? Trying to get yourself KILLED???”
He held his hands up, pretending to try and defend himself, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry…I was just…” He stopped when he saw the fear in her eyes. “I’m fine, see?” He held his hands up for inspection.>>
<< He looked down at her leg and saw blood. “You’re hurt,” He said, kneeling down to look at it.
She shrugged it off, “I’m fine. It just grazed me,” She shrugged him off. “Unlike SOME people that decided to go barreling into a HOSTAGE situation ….” She smacked him against the head, “What were you thinking?”
“I ….thought I ….I don’t know…” he finally stammered out.>>
<< She held a hand up to hail a cab and he noticed a truck speeding out of control on the street. Just as she was about to step off the curb to get into the cab that had pulled up he pushed her back, “Look out!”
He pulled her back just as the truck crashed into the cab. “Oh, my …” She looked back at him, “How did you…?”>>All of the little things he had done over the first year they’d known each other and now it all seemed to fit. He was invulnerable, could fly… What else could he do?
<< “Run!!!!” Clark’s voice echoed through her mind as the chains on their binds broke and she was pulled to her feet by Clark with Perry and Lex Luthor behind her as they ran off the dock. She looked around and noticed Clark was nowhere to be found.
“Clark!!!” Lois looked around, unable to find him. >>
<<She ran back towards the pier where they had been tied, looking for Clark, “Clark!”
“Unbelievable,” a familiar voice said from behind her.
She turned around and smiled when she saw the familiar voice of her boyfriend. “Clark!” She turned around to hug him, planting kisses all over his face. “I thought…”
“I’m fine. I…saw the wave fold over like that and….I just kinda stopped running…” He managed. >>
<<“How’d you get us out of there?” She asked.
“One of the links in the chain was weak so I was working on it until it finally gave away. Luckily it broke when it did.”
“Yeah,” She said, running her hand through his hair, noticing it was slightly damp. “Your hair’s wet.”
He ran a hand through her hair as well, “So is yours…I think the mist from the wave…” He shrugged. She stared at him for a moment contemplating something for a moment. “What?” He asked nervously.
“Nothing, it's just…You’re always saving me…” She said softly, linking her arms around his neck.
“Someone’s got to…” He murmured, leaning in to kiss her, cupping her cheek with his palm.>>The sound of a groan from Clark brought Lois back to the present. She glanced over at his sleeping figure and noticed sweat on his forehead. She’d never seen him sweat before. “Clark?” She brushed her hand against his forehead. He was burning up. He groaned in pain. She looked down at his chest and saw it was soaked in sweat, “Martha!”
“What is it?” Martha asked, not looking back, “ We’re almost in town and….”
“I think something’s wrong with Clark!” Lois cried. The car jerked to a halt and Martha turned to look at her. “He’s burning up….”
Martha climbed into the back seat from the passenger door and felt Clark’s forehead. Lois could tell by the expression on her face that she was just as worried as she was. “He feels sick…”
“I thought he couldn’t get sick…” Lois pointed at his damp shirt, tugging at the wet fabric. “What is wrong with him?”
“I don’t know!” Martha snapped. “Obviously someone has done….SOMETHING to him.” Martha shook her head, uncertain of what to do. Lois made her mind up for the moment, tugging at the shirt Clark was wearing and pushing it off his shoulders. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to get him out of these wet clothes….” Lois groaned as she pulled the t-shirt off of him.
“What is THAT??” Martha gasped, seeing an eerie glow coming from Clark’s chest.
“What in the world…?” Lois gasped, fingering what looked like a very badly done suture on his right shoulder.
“I’ll be right back,” Martha said, leaving Lois with Clark.
She stared at his chest in awe, unable to focus on anything else but the eerie green glow that was coming from beneath his skin. “Oh, Clark, what in the world did they do to you?”
***
Five Years Ago…Lois stepped out of the cab and paid the fare before heading up the steps to her apartment. Dinner had been a bust. She’d thought for sure she’d be able to weasel an interview out of Lex Luthor tonight but unfortunately, he’d had other things on his mind and giving an interview was not one of them. Her stomach growled as she made her way down the hall to her apartment. She’d been so focused on rebuking Lex’s advances and trying to salvage the evening somehow by trying to get something on him she’d forgotten to eat. Now, here it was almost ten o’clock and she was starving. Nothing delivered this late.
She unlocked the door to her apartment and was surprised to find her sister still awake on the couch and an amazing smell coming from the kitchen, “Hey, Luce, what are you doing up?” She sniffed the heavenly smell again, “…and what is that delicious smell?”
Lucy smiled, “Finals, and ask your fiancé. He thought you’d be hungry so he decided to take over the kitchen. I’m not complaining as long as I get some,” Lucy winked, “I didn’t think you’d mind,”
“Not at all,” Lois sighed happily as she dropped her things on the sofa and headed for the kitchen where Clark was busy stirring what looked like a pasta dish in a large skillet. “Hey you,” She gave him a peck on the cheek from behind.
“Hey,” He leaned back to kiss her. “I figured you wouldn’t have eaten during the interview so I thought I’d whip up some dinner since it’s so late. Hope you don’t mind,”
She smiled at him, wrapping her arms around his waist and examining the spread he had simmering on the stove. “Nope. You actually read my mind.” He held up a spoon for her to taste and she licked it with her finger, “Oh, God this is incredible,”
“Thank you,” He smiled, “It’s just some grilled chicken with alfredo sauce. Nothing fancy.”
“Nothing fancy?” Lois laughed. “That’s it. You are in charge of all cooking from now on,”
Clark laughed, “What? You’re never cooking?”
Lois shook her head, “It's not something you want me to do, trust me,”
Clark laughed, “I’ll teach you.” He leaned in to kiss her, “How’d the interview go?”
Lois shook her head. “It was a bust,” She wrinkled her nose. “He spent the whole time trying to evade my questions while trying to hit on me,” She felt him stiffen in her arms as she added with a kiss on his neck. “Needless to say, there won’t be a follow-up,”
Clark smiled softly, “I’m sorry, Lois, I know you wanted that exclusive,”
Lois shrugged, “It is what it is, but there was something very odd about him. Every time I asked him about his parents or the first company he took over his eyes did a little dance. Almost like there was something more going on. May be worth looking into,” She said.
He nodded, “Definitely,” He turned the stove off and moved the pan off the burner it was on to let it cool. “This is just about ready. Just needs to cool.” He turned her in his arms so he was facing her and captured her lips with his own, cupping her cheek with his hand. “I missed you,”
She sighed happily against his lips as she wrapped her arms securely around his neck, “I missed you too,” She managed as he nibbled at her neck. She could feel her body starting to respond to the soft caresses of his lips against her skin. “Oh, Clark,” she sighed happily as he recaptured her lips with his. She felt his arms tighten around her waist and began to seriously contemplate how to get him to the bedroom with her sister in the living room.
A knock at the bifold kitchen doors caught her attention and they both looked up. Clark laughed, “She has the worst timing,”
Lucy opened the door, “You guys almost done in there? I’m starving!”
Lois sighed, turning around in Clark’s arms to face her sister, “I don’t know. Ask the cook,” She nudged Clark with her hip and smiled.
“Should be done by now,” Clark nodded, turning toward the stove to stir the pasta.
“Let’s eat!” Lois said with a grin, grabbing some plates.
***
Jonathan Kent looked around cautiously as he uncovered the ship he’d buried so long ago, He brushed his hand against the familiar emblem engraved on the end with a frown. After federal agents had shown up on their doorstep after they’d found Clark Martha had begged him to burn the ship. He just couldn’t do it. It was a part of Clark. If he ever had questions about where he came from they wouldn’t have an answer for him. He’d been tempted to dig it up but with Clark still learning how to manage his powers he didn’t want to burden him with even more questions about his heritage.
He opened the cover cautiously and saw a round globe like object positioned in the front of what looked like a very sophisticated computer system for the ship. He reached for it and it seemed to glow a red aura. He gasped in surprise. The name Krypton filled his head as he watched the globe change shape. “What in the world?”
***
TBC...
FDK appreciated as always.
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