Epiphany
Folc4evernaday
Part 6
***
NOTE: Here's part 6. I hope everyone's enjoying the story.
Feedback is always welcome. ***
Jack. He’d gotten sidetracked with Lois and completely forgotten about Jack. Clark sighed as he soared through the air, looking for any sign of his young friend. Outside Callards he spotted Jack in a conversation with Inspector Henderson holding up the sandwiches in one hand and a bag of drinks in another. He sighed in relief. He was safe. He wasn’t…
He saw Henderson step away and watched as a man in black walked toward Jack. He bumped Jack to the ground and Jack dropped the bag of food in his hands. “Hey, watch it….”
The man in black pulled out a gun and Clark soared down at super-speed and shielded Jack with his cape, deflecting the bullets that were aimed at him.
He scanned the perimeter looking for the man that had approached him but found nothing.
He looked back at Jack, “Are you all right?”
Jack looked at him in shock, “I…”
Henderson ran up to them, pointing at the man that had bumped into Jack wearing different attire in handcuffs “Did you see that? We’ve got the perpetrator in custody…”
Clark’s face grew grim. Jack was right. Luthor was coming after him. “Inspector, can you take it from here? I want to see if I can find who did this…”
“Sure thing,” Inspector Henderson said, wrapping an arm around Jack as they walked. He began to bark orders into his radio, “Alpha Mega Charlie we have a four seventeen, downtown Metropolis Square, repeat four seventeen in progress. All units respond,”
***
What was wrong with her? After one date, she was unable to concentrate on anything but Clark…Lois sighed, trying to focus on the file in front of her. If she was like this after friendly flirting, then heaven help her when they….
‘Don’t go there, girl,’ She thought to herself.
The image of her partner in nothing but a towel came racing back to her mind and she could feel her heartrate speed up. Oh, God! She was seriously thinking about…
‘Why not? You fantasized about it with Superman enough times…’That was different. Superman was a fantasy. Clark is…. What? She sighed to herself. It was one thing to fantasize about a man she didn’t see on a daily basis….didn’t…. What?
Memories of her breakup with Claude rushed to the forefront of her mind and she winced, trying to focus on anything but the painful memories.
<< “Cold frigid bitch…”>>‘No, Clark isn’t like that…’ She reminded herself.
<< “You know this isn’t really dancing,”
“It’s not?”>>He had taken her breath away on the dance floor then again when he’d entrusted his secret to her. She’d been too shocked last night to feel anything but numbness. The man she’d been fantasizing about for almost a year was the same man that she’d been working side by side everyday…her friend….Her friend that said he was ‘crazy’ about her. It scared her, knowing his feelings….knowing Clark and Superman were the same person, but intrigued her at the same time. She had so many questions…
<<“But if he is an alien, maybe he doesn’t get the old…you know, itch…”
“One way to find out,”
“Possible visitor from another planet arrives on Earth and all you can think of is hauling him off to your lair so you can try him out?”
“Test drive Lois. A couple of hours behind the wheel and I’d know for sure if we’re talking import or domestic,”>>
<<“Wait a minute. I get it. You and Superman joined the zero-gravity club up on the space station didn’t you?”>>
‘Don’t go there…’ She chastised herself. She knew all too well how those fantasies always ended up.
<< “I’m sorry. This is just really hard…I need to tell you this…I’m crazy about you, but before this goes any further I have to tell you this. I don’t want to screw this up,”
“You’re not screwing anything up,”>>She’d spent so many nights alone in her apartment…wishing….hoping for Superman to love her back….Now, he had declared his feelings for her. Only, it wasn’t just Superman…
He was Clark. Clark Kent, her partner….the man she’d come to respect as a friend and colleague for almost a year. It had been hard to take her sister’s advice the other night and just ‘let him in’ after he’d kissed her the other night, but she had….and she was so glad she had.
<< “Clark, I won’t tell anyone. I promise. This….is a lot and I do have….a lot of questions….mostly trying to figure out how I didn’t figure it out before now…but you can trust me,”
“I know that Lois….This…is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I never doubted I could trust you,”>>Trust. It was something that didn’t come easy to her over the years but somehow knowing Clark trusted her enough to share this secret with her… He could have kept her in the dark and just lied to her about Superman telling him about Lex but he hadn’t. He’d trusted her with his secret and now….
<<“I want this to work more than anything I’ve ever wanted in this world,”>>Now, what? Things were complicated that was for sure. A part of her wanted nothing more than to fulfill every fantasy she’d ever had about Superman, knowing he felt the same way… but the other part… The other part was still scared. She’d suffered irreparable damage when she’d gotten involved with Claude. She’d been so hurt when she found out none of it had been real.
After Claude she’d decided she would never let a man hurt her like that again so she made sure to keep everyone around her at arm’s length…Everyone except Superman. She shook her head in disgust, recalling how she’d treated Clark during their first few weeks at the Planet together.
‘He probably got a kick out of literally making me speechless and me mooning over Superman.’<<“You know he didn’t seem that special to me. Except for the flying and the uniform he could have been any ordinary guy,”
“Ordinary? Give me a break!”>>
<<“Clark is the before. Superman is the after….Make that the way, way after…”>>
“Maybe all this frenzy isn’t what he expected. Maybe he’s gun shy.”
“That’s ridiculous. He has no reason to hide….especially from me…”>>
<<“We? There is no ‘we,’”
“How do you know I don’t have the inside track on finding Superman?”
“Sure, Clark. And when you run across Jimmy Hoffa and the Easter Bunny why don’t you reel them in too?”>>
<<“Now there you go using that word again Clark. There is ‘you,’ there is ‘I’, there is no ‘we,’”
“Not yet,”
“Not ever,”
“We’ll see,”
“How long can you hold your breath?”>>‘No,’ She thought to herself, cringing as she recalled so many things she’d said in front of Clark about…himself. It almost seemed like he was jealous of himself.
‘Why not? You were practically drooling over Superman while ignoring Clark….’<<“Then we’re agreed. We’ll take this slow and figure out….us?”>>He’d declared his feelings for her and then left the ball in her court after he’d trusted her with his secret…so why was she having such a hard time coming to grip with the idea of trusting him with her heart?
<<“I was saving for Tahiti. But a date with Superman…that would have been a real adventure. Oh, Clark, he doesn’t even know I’m alive. Maybe it was stupid of me to think that he really cared…”
“Not so stupid, Lois…Did you ever think that maybe Superman was afraid to reveal himself…his true feelings?”>>
<<“You’ll always be special to me, Lois,”
“I will?”
“Of course you’re the first woman that I hel….um, interviewed me,”>>“Lois Lane?” a voice behind her broke her from her thoughts and brought her back to the present.
“Yes?” Lois looked up to see the mail clerk handing her a package. He handed the package to her silently then headed to the next recipient. She looked down at the box confused. She wasn’t expecting a delivery.
She opened the package and found a long velvet box inside with a diamond tennis bracelet inside it. She groaned. She had a feeling this was not from Clark. She turned to Jimmy who was standing a few feet away from her in discussion with the new transfer from Washington, Ralph Simms. “Jimmy, I’m going out.”
“Need any help?” Jimmy asked with interest. He seemed to recognize the look in her eyes and mistook it for a lead on a story.
“No!” Lois snapped bitterly, grabbing the box that had been delivered and headed for the elevator.
“Yikes….” Ralph muttered, watching her leave.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Jimmy muttered.
***
After checking to make sure there were no other shooters in the area and Jack had arrived at the Metropolis P.D. safely, Clark headed toward Lex Luthor’s penthouse and stepped inside, scanning the room for any sign of the attempted assassin. He found no guns. No residue. Just Lex Luthor sitting at his desk with a smug smile, “Superman, do come in,”
“You’ve crossed the line, Luthor…” He took a step forward. Everything in him wanted to grab him by the neck and throttle him but it went against everything he’d been taught….everything he stood for.
“I beg your pardon?” Lex asked, pretending to be insulted.
“You’ve gone too far,” Clark growled.
“Oh, Superman, look at you….You really should take some time off…All this saving the world has gotten to you….”
“He’s a kid….” Clark fumed angrily, ignoring Lex’s dodging of his accusations.
“False accusations like that are just insulting…I thought you were better than that…” Lex smiled back smugly.
“This is your warning,” Clark warned. “I am now making it my mission to ensure Jack’s safety. If you even breathe the wrong way in his direction…I’ll be there…Back off!” With that Clark slammed his arm against Luthor’s chest knocking him back slightly and then soared away.
Lex watched as Superman left with a smile. “It seems our efforts need to be doubled,”
***
Outside Lex’s office with the door slightly cracked Lois stood, clutching the box she’d been so adamant about throwing back in his face but after overhearing the exchange between him and Clark just now she wasn’t so sure. She needed to get out of here. She was about to turn and leave when something caught her eye. Lex reached for a knob on his desk and turned it, revealing the hidden door behind the bookcase. He pressed a button on his desk and it beeped, “Mrs. Cox, be sure to recruit a replacement for the Jack project….and send Nigel up so we can discuss the ‘Superman Problem.’”
‘Superman Problem? Oh, God, Clark….Nigel.’“Of course, Mr. Luthor. There is an Agent Carter from Bureau 39 on line four for the boss. Should I transfer him to the scrambled line?”
‘Bureau 39?’“Yes, I’ll take it in the office for now. Transfer the call in five,” Lex said with a smile.
‘The Boss? The Office?’ She had to get out of here before someone saw her. The front desk hadn’t given her a second look when she’d come up and she hadn’t passed anyone on the way up but she needed to get out of here before someone saw her. She watched as Lex stepped through the hidden door and the bookcase closed behind him.
“Oh, God…” She whimpered, struggling to catch her breath from the revelation. She heard the elevators across the hall ding and darted into an open office, hoping to avoid being seen by Nigel, keeping the door ajar just enough to see what was going on so she could safely make her exit.
Holding her breath, she watched as Nigel opened the door to Lex’s office and closed it behind him. She heard the click of a lock and what sounded like a whirling noise from Lex’s office.
‘I’ve got to get out of here,’ She reminded herself. She opened the door slightly, checking to make sure there was no one in the hall and darted out of the office, heading for the elevator. Once she arrived in the lobby she rushed past the front desk, hoping not to be seen. Thankfully there seemed to be a big meeting going on. There was a large group of stuffed shirt businessmen surrounding the receptionist desk. It was weird. Some of them looked a lot like the board members at the Planet….
Not now. She had to remind herself to focus on getting to the Jeep and finding Clark.
***
“That’s it!” Jack said shaking his head as he paced in the police station with Inspector Henderson and Clark Kent. “He’s made his move. We’ve got to…”
Clark shook his head, “No, he’s been too smart about it. There’s nothing linking him to it. The mugger is claiming to be working alone and taking full responsibility,”
“Lucky for you Superman was flying by when he did,” Henderson said with a shaky breath.
“Lucky,” Jack muttered, “What am I supposed to do the next time someone tries to come after me?”
“I already spoke to Superman,” Clark reassured. “He’s doing everything in his power to look out for you. He’ll be your escort to and from the Planet….”
Jack scoffed, “You’re joking right?”
“I’m also putting a police detail on you….” Henderson added. “We’ll start an unofficial investigation. If this is Luthor then he’s sure to have contacts everywhere….We’ll keep the investigation between us for now until we have enough to….”
“What am I supposed to do until then??” Jack scoffed. “He tried to KILL ME!!! I can’t go home…I can’t….”
“I’ll get you moved to an undisclosed location. That along with the detail I’m putting on you and Superman escorting you …you should be safe….”
***
Back at the Daily Planet, Lois hurriedly rushed into the newsroom frantically looking for Clark. She checked both conference rooms and found no sign of him anywhere. She poked her head into Perry’s office to see if he was in with the Chief. “Something I can help you with, Lois?” Perry asked, noticing the shaken expression on Lois’ face.
“No, I was just, um….” Lois stammered out.
“Looking for Clark?” Perry guessed with a smirk. Did he know?
“I, uh….” Lois began to backtrack.
Perry smirked at her, leaning back in his chair, “He called a few minutes ago,. He’s on his way back from the police station with Jack. Apparently, Superman stopped an attempted mugger from trying to gun our copy boy down in the middle of Metropolis Square….”
“What???" Lois asked aghast.
***
Clark stepped off the elevator with Jack in tow and a plain clothes policeman. He scanned the newsroom for Lois and spotted her with Perry in his office. “Jack, are you gonna be all right?” He asked.
“I’m fine,” Jack said. “Thanks for your help,”
Clark nodded and headed to Perry’s office to catch Lois up on everything that had been going on this afternoon. As he approached it seemed he didn’t have to catch Lois up on everything as he caught the tail end of Perry and Lois’ conversation, “Apparently, Superman stopped an attempted mugger from trying to gun our copy boy down in the middle of Metropolis Square….”
“What???” Lois asked aghast. He noticed her fidgety demeanor and the quick pace of her heart rate as Perry spoke.
“Gunman is being booked and Jack’s under police protection for now…” He said walking up behind Lois as he entered the office.
“Clark!” Lois visibly relaxed slightly when she saw him.
She still seemed a little shaken. He wasn’t sure what the cause was but decided not to press it at the moment. “I just brought Jack back from the police station…” He said as Lois reached for his hand squeezing it gently as she looked down at his fingers as if she were mesmerizing them. He noticed Perry’s inquisitive look and continued, “I was running that…. errand ….and ran into Superman who…. told me what happened…”
Lois looked up at him with a smirk, “Lucky Superman was nearby…”
“Yeah, it was…” He gave a weak smile.
Worry was written on her face as she continued, “Is …I mean, was Superman okay? I mean that must have been hard…”
Despite having an audience of one he reached out to cup her cheek, “He’ll live,”
Perry having seemed to take a backseat to the exchange, watching the obvious glances between the two before he cleared his throat, “Uh-huh, well, uh, Kent it sounds like that was quite an ordeal….maybe you two should take the afternoon to, uh, go over everything….Lois seems a bit shaken up from something….and ….no offense, son, but, uh, you don’t look that great either. Maybe just email your copy to me by four from home….”
Clark looked at his Editor-in-Chief for a moment, trying to figure out what the glint in Perry White’s eyes was about but before he could respond Lois had already agreed and drug him halfway out of the office.
As Lois stopped at her desk long enough to grab her things and drag him to the elevator he overheard Cat and the new guy Ralph, “I’m telling you there is NO way….” Ralph said emphatically. “I had contacts all over and from what I heard about Mad Dog Lane….”
“Don’t believe everything you hear, Ralph…” Cat said, pointing toward the elevator, “Look!” Just before the elevator doors closed the newsroom caught a glimpse of Lois Lane putting her head against her partner’s chest as he kissed her forehead.
***
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Clark asked, holding Lois to him as the elevator doors closed behind them.
“It was horrible!” Lois cried. Clark held her close as he reached behind them and pulled the elevator stop so they wouldn’t be interrupted. “I got another one of those STUPID presents from Lex so I thought maybe just throwing it back at him would help get the message across…”
Clark stiffened as his worst fears came to light, “If he hurt you so help me I’ll….”
“No, nothing like that... I took it over there and was about to but his door was halfway closed and I overheard you and him arguing about Jack….” Lois continued as the tears began to fall.
Clark hung his head, “I’m sorry you had to hear that….He just brings the worst out in me and….”
Lois shook her head, “After you left he said something about doubling efforts and fixing a ‘Superman problem’ and then….” She cried harder. “I know it’s stupid to get upset. It’s not like anything can actually hurt you but…”
“Lois…” Clark sighed, stroking her cheek.
“What?” She recognized the uneasy tone in his voice. Could he be hurt? “Clark, what is it?”
He let out a long breath, “Not here,” He said softly. Lois looked at him curiously, trying to determine what he was trying to say without saying it, but didn’t say anything as the elevator dinged and they arrived on the lobby floor.
***
Lex stared at the velvet box Mrs. Cox laid on his desk angrily. “It appears you had a surprise guest…” Mrs. Cox said coldly.
Lex leaned back in his chair, contemplating the situation for the moment. “And no one knew she had come up? No one signaled…..” He drew his hand into a fist as he struck the marble top of his desk. “I do not accept failure….find everyone….every person responsible for …..”
“And what do you plan to do with Ms. Lane?” Mrs. Cox cut him off. “She may have overheard ….”
“No, she didn’t hear anything….She would have confronted me….I suppose this…” Lex fumed angrily, tossing the velvet boss across the room angrily, “…is my dear John letter….” Lex seemed to have a calm come over him before turning to business, “No, I will not accept defeat. Perhaps the backup plan needs to be initiated faster than anticipated to draw her back in where she belongs….”
“All measures?” Mrs. Cox asked.
Lex nodded, “Yes,” He picked up his planner, “I’ll need a replacement staff for the front fully trained by tomorrow and a pilot for tomorrow evening….”
“Pilot?” Mrs. Cox asked confused.
“Yes, it seems this Agent Carter won’t talk business over the phone and insists on a meeting with ‘the boss’ in person. Set up a double just in case….but only as a decoy. I don’t want to scare him off. This could be the real deal….the end for Superman.”
***
Clark landed in an alley outside Lois’ apartment and spun back into his business suit before exiting to the main street where her apartment building was. Lois was watching him with a curious expression on her face, “What?” He asked, looking behind him uncertainly.
“Nothing,” She said, shaking her head.
He stared at her curiously for a moment before following her to her apartment. She remained unusually quiet as they climbed the stairs to her apartment building and even more quiet as they rode the elevator up to the fifth floor. When they finally arrived at her apartment he followed her in, taking a seat on the couch as he watched her lock each of the seven locks on her front door.
She turned back to him and took a seat next to him, looking at him expectantly, “So?” She prompted.
“Lois, are you okay?” He asked, taking her hand for a moment. “You still seem ….”
“I’m fine,” She said nervously. “Why wouldn’t I be? I mean its not everyday you get to overhear someone you thought you knew….plotting murder and destruction throughout the city…”
“Lois…” He took her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers, “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No,” Lois shook her head. “Not right now. You were saying in the elevator…Go.”
He didn’t think she was as ‘fine’ as she was making herself out to be but he knew better than to press, “Okay,” He sighed, turning toward her, “Do you remember when we dealt with that guy, Trask….I told you he THOUGHT there was a meteorite that could kill …. Superman?”
Lois nodded, “Yeah, when we were in Smallville he almost….” She seemed to recognize something in Clark’s expression, “No, no, no, no….”
He sensed her apprehension and began to reassure her, “Lois, calm down….”
“Kryptonite???” She gasped in horror. “What if he finds it? Clark!”
“Bureau 39 was shut down from what we’ve been able to tell and my dad said they haven’t seen any other sign of Kryptonite on Wayne Irig’s property….” Clark tried to reassure her.
“But it could still be out there and….” Lois hung her head, burying her head in his chest.
“Hey, it’s okay,” He reassured her holding her close as he stroked her cheek. “Everything’s gonna be all right,”
“You don’t know that,” Lois argued.
“No, I don’t,” He sighed, “but for now we have one thing on our side,”
“What’s that?” She asked.
“Luthor and the rest of the world don’t know that Kryptonite exists.” Clark sighed. “As long as it remains a figment of Trask’s imagination then there’s nothing to worry about,”
“He thought it could kill Superman,” She said shakily. “Can it?”
“I don’t know,” He sighed, shrugging, “Superman was without his powers for a few days after being exposed to it…but beyond that...Who knows?” His eyes gave a little twinkle as he mentioned the name 'Superman' and Lois gave him a half-smile.
Lois looked at him wryly, “Any other secrets you haven’t told me about?”
He sighed, “Well….”
“What?” She asked when a familiar expression crossed his face.
His face went grim. “Metropolis National Forest…out of control fire is spreading and they don’t think they can…” He looked at her apologetically, “I gotta….”
“Go…” She smiled, sitting up so he could get up from the couch.
He leaned in to kiss her, “I’ll try to be quick. Maybe we can pick up where we left off with the whole…. ‘getting to know you’ …”
“Count on it,” She winked at him. He laughed then left, leaving Lois with a smile on her face as she watched him close the door behind him, the familiar sonic boom could be heard from a distance as he ricocheted into the sky.
***
<“Kryptonite??? What if he finds it? Clark!”
“Bureau 39 was shut down from what we’ve been able to tell and my dad said they haven’t seen any other sign of Kryptonite on Wayne Irig’s property….”
“But it could still be out there and….”
“Hey, it’s okay, everything’s gonna be all right,”
“You don’t know that,”
“No, I don’t, but for now we have one thing on our side,”
“What’s that?”
“Luthor and the rest of the world don’t know that Kryptonite exists. As long as it remains a figment of Trask’s imagination then there’s nothing to worry about,”
“He thought it could kill Superman, can it?”
“I don’t know, Superman was without his powers for a few days after being exposed to it…but beyond that. Who knows?”>“Well, well,” Nigel mused, “This is an interesting development,” He said as he stopped the recording.
“Kryptonite,” Lex mused. “We’ll need to do some more research on this Bureau 39 before we leave in the morning,”
“Do you think this Agent Carter might know something about it?” Nigel asked.
“It never hurts to ask,” Lex said as he replayed the audio footage.
<“But for now we have one thing on our side,”
“What’s that?”
“Luthor and the rest of the world doesn’t know that Kryptonite exists. As long as it remains a figment of Trask’s imagination then there’s nothing to worry about,”>“How do you think Mr. Kent would feel if he knew he was so ….instrumental in bringing this Kryptonite’s existence to my knowledge?” Lex asked as he paused the recording once more. He lit his cigar and smiled, “Continue the surveillance. We’ll catch up when I get back,” Lex ordered, heading toward the elevator.
***
TBC...
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