Epiphany
Folc4evernaday
Part 10
***
That following week Lois and Clark began piecing together contacts from their earlier stories. One of those contacts was Monique Kahn, the woman that had fallen off Luthor Towers at the same time Jules Johnson had attempted to jump off the Lexor Hotel several months ago.
Monique shifted uncomfortably under Lois Lane’s gaze as she looked around the café, “I’m not sure what you expect me to help you with, Ms. Lane. It was an accident…an…unfortunate…accident,”
“An accident that could have cost you your life if Superman hadn’t shown up,” Lois countered, pulling out her notes. “You have a fear of heights, yet you expect us to believe you FELL off a thirty story building?”
Monique looked down uncomfortably, “Yes,”
Clark met her gaze, “Ms. Kahn, when Superman rescued you….you were hysterical….ranting and raving about a ‘test’…”
“You said yourself, Mr. Kent, I was hysterical…” Monique sniffed, offering him a slow smile. She caught Lois’ eyes narrowing her and cleared her throat, “I, uh, wasn’t in my right mind,”
“Well, I’m sure being thrown off a thirty-story building will do that to anyone,” Lois said with a smile, arching an eyebrow at her.
“I …I wasn’t thrown,” Monique argued.
Clark folded his hands on the table, meeting her eyes with his, “Ms. Kahn, what would have happened if Superman hadn’t shown up that day?”
Monique looked down, and Lois continued, “There was no backup plan. You would have died….For what?”
“It wasn’t supposed to…” Monique began before catching herself.
“You were never told you would be jumping that day, were you?” Clark asked. “Someone pushed you,”
“We just want to know who was arranging the test…” Lois added.
“You don’t understand,” Monique shook her head. “I can’t…”
***
Lois shook her head in disgust as they made their way back to the Planet. “She knows something…”
“She’s scared,” Clark reminded her.
“I can’t believe she’d protect someone that was willing to throw her off a building like that,” Lois fumed, pushing through the doors of the Planet as they entered the lobby.
“Maybe she’d afraid of them trying something again,” Clark said gently as they headed for the elevators. “Being thrown from a thirty-story building like that can be…traumatizing,”
“Being thrown out of a plane with no parachute is too,” Lois quipped as she stepped on the elevator with Clark right behind her.
“Lois,” He cupped her cheek gently, “not everyone is you,” He reminded her, leaning in to kiss her. “Just give her some time. I’m sure she’ll come around.”
“What would really help is to get Henderson in on this. I don’t know why he won’t open an official investigation…” Lois huffed.
“He’s probably afraid of raising suspicions,” Clark said as the elevator dinged and they stepped off the elevator onto the newsroom floor, “Going after someone this powerful….everyone is scared,”
Lois nodded, casting a glance toward Jack who was talking with Jimmy, holding a handful of file folders in his hand, “What are we going to do?”
Clark sighed, “I guess we keep digging….Let’s try and find Jules Johnson and see if we can get him to talk,”
***
Lucy popped a fry in her mouth as she stared at the piles of tapes on the table in front of her. “You know, Jimmy, when I said I wouldn’t mind dinner and a movie this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind,”
Jimmy gave Lucy a half-smile, “I know, I’m sorry. The Chief’s got me running background on all the board members to see who could potentially partner with us on the buyout with the Planet,”
“What’s with the tapes?” Lucy asked.
Jimmy grinned, “Jack’s, uh, surveillance on everyone.”
“Surveillance?” Lucy asked, “He was spying on them?”
“To see who we can trust,” Jimmy added. “A few of these guys have been meeting over at Luthor Towers…closed door meetings. No one knows who they’re with,”
Lucy crinkled her nose, “Anything related to Lex Luthor is bad news. He’s like a skunk in a rose garden,”
Jimmy looked at her perplexed, “What makes you say that?”
Lucy raised an eyebrow at him, “Lois never told you?” Jimmy shook his head, “He showed up at our apartment last week and tried to attack her when she wouldn’t take him back.”
“You need to find another place to stay, Luce,” Jimmy breathed, “What if he…”
Lucy shook her head, “Lois doesn’t want me moving until she and Clark finish this investigation into the boss. She said I’m safer with her than I would be anywhere else…”
“But…”
“Clark’s got Superman watching out for us. Don’t worry,” Lucy reassured him.
***
Lois took a seat next to Clark on the couch, “Well Jules Johnson was another dead end,”
Clark shook his head, “Doesn’t surprise me. He’s obviously in cahoots with ….” Lightning cracked through the sky and Clark glanced out the window, “It’s getting pretty bad out there.”
Lois nodded, watching as the lights flicker throughout the apartment, “Lucy said she was having dinner with Jimmy at the Planet. Hope she doesn’t get stuck there,”
Clark shook his head, staring out the window. Thunder boomed through the night sky, and another crack of lightning flashed through the sky. “That doesn’t sound good.”
“Maybe we should pull out some flashlights,” Lois said, heading for the kitchen. Another loud crack of thunder boomed outside with another flash of lightning, and the lights flickered once before everything went dark. “Clark?” Lois called out.
“Right here,” Clark whispered, wrapping his arms around her from behind.
She relaxed against him, “I, uh, think the flashlights are in the cabinet,” She pointed above them. She could make out the shadow of his face from the moonlight reflecting from the window. She heard the rustling from the cabinet and a click before seeing the white light reflect off the ceiling as it reflected off Clark’s face.
He flashed the light towards the window, “Looks like it’s just this building. The lights are on across the street,”
She nodded, shuddering slightly as the heat from his touch was removed, and he walked toward the window. “Um, I think the fuse box is in the back…” She pointed toward the hall where a large metal box held the fuses.
“I’m not sure what good I can…” He stopped when he opened the door to the fuse box, “What’s this?”
“What?” Lois asked, walking up behind him as he shone the light into the fuse box.
He pulled out a small square clip that had been attached to one of the wires linking the fuse box to the wall and lowered his glasses to examine it more, “It’s another bug,” He said grimly.
“A bug??” Lois echoed, “What is it doing in the fuse box?” She watched Clark walk into the kitchen and pull out a glass and fill it with water, “What are you doing?”
He dropped the bug into the glass of water and lowered his glasses, checking the rest of the apartment, “Doesn’t seem to be any sign of any cameras…”
Lois tugged her jacket closed, wrapping her arms around herself as she walked back toward the couch, “Well gotta hand it to him. He’s persistent…”
“At least now he can’t hear anything…” Clark said, walking back into the living room with the flashlight. “We need to take that to Henderson in the morning. See if he can have it analyzed. Maybe find out where the signal is going,”
“Good idea,” Lois nodded, leaning against Clark as he set the flashlight down on the table in front of them. “I wonder how long that’s been there,”
Clark sighed, “I don’t know, but your fuse box is lead-lined. That’s why I wasn’t able to see it earlier,”
“Anything else in here lead-lined?” Lois asked, looking around the darkened room.
“No,” He shook his head. “I guess I’m gonna start scanning everything to make sure we don’t have any uninvited guests eavesdropping,”
“He must think we’re onto something,” Lois said, shaking her head.
“Or have serious boundary issues,” Clark added ruefully. “Maybe you oughta stay at my place for a little while. This is the second time…he’s just going to keep trying…What if I’m not around?”
“What about Lucy?” Lois asked.
Clark shrugged, “Maybe see if she could stay with your Uncle Mike for awhile until this lets up.” He stroked her cheek, “I can’t be everywhere at once…”
“He knows we’re together. Do you really think he won’t look for me at your place?” Lois asked, wrapping her hand around his. “We’ve just got to be careful. We’re so close. I know it.”
“That’s what worries me,” Clark sighed, tightening his arms around her. “We’re close….very close, and Luthor is being cornered. Nothing is more dangerous than an animal when it’s cornered,”
***
Henderson stared at the glass in front of him skeptically, “What is it?”
“A bug,” Lois said, crossing her arms over her chest as she paced in front of him.
“A bug?” Henderson repeated uncertainly. “And you brought it to me because….”
“Because this is the second time Superman’s found a bug in my apartment,” Lois explained. “I need you to analyze it and see if you can trace where the signal was programmed to send the feed to.”
“Why do I get the feeling you already have a suspect?” Henderson asked, rubbing the temples of his head.
“You’re right,” Lois nodded. “I do, but I want you to verify it for me. Can you do this for me?”
Henderson nodded, “Sure. I’ll send it over to LexLabs and …”
“No!” Lois shouted, “Don’t!”
Henderson arched an eyebrow at her, “And why not?”
“Don’t you have another lab you could use?” She managed hurriedly.
“There’s S.T.A.R. Labs…” Henderson began.
“Good,” Lois said, nodding as she spoke. “That’ll be perfect.”
“Lois, what is going on?” Henderson asked.
“I can’t tell you yet. Just let me know what you find out,” Lois said hurriedly as she left Henderson’s office.
***
Lois stepped off the elevator and found Clark at his desk. He smiled as she approached him, “How’d it go?”
“I think I got the message across,” Lois murmured. She pointed to the list in front of him. “What’s that?”
“Tip from Louie,” He said, handing her the list. “Seems like ‘the boss’ has been cleaning house at the Metropolis Penitentiary,”
Lois read the list and smiled, “Remind me to send him a thank you,”
***
Perry laughed as he read the list in front of him, “You’re joking, right?”
“This could be the biggest story of the century, Chief! The biggest thing since Watergate. We’re talking government corruption, organized crime….”
“What does that have to do with you wanting the Planet to pay for a trip to California?” Perry asked.
“There are some witnesses out there we need to talk to…” Lois said hurriedly, “Come on!” She stomped her foot impatiently.
Perry let out a long breath, “Lois, have you forgotten that the Planet is …. broke?”
“If we can crack this boss scandal open all people will be talking about is the Planet….” Lois shot back, “Come on, it takes money to run down leads…”
Perry sighed, pulling out his wallet, “Don’t bother with an expense account. Just don’t bankrupt me,” He handed her his Amex, “And I want receipts!”
Lois leaned down to hug him before grabbing the card, “You won’t regret this, Chief,”
Perry shook his head, watching as the door closing the door, “I better not,”
***
Clark sighed as he and Lois boarded the plane to California. He looked around at the seats and shuddered. He did not want to be in here. “Remind me why we’re doing this?” He asked as he followed Lois to their seats.
“Re-investigating every story that has anything to do with rumors of ‘the boss’?” Lois reminded him as she took her seat by the window. She watched him put their bags in the overhead, and he gave her a half-smile before taking a seat next to her. He really didn’t want to be here on this flight. Why couldn’t they have just flown Superman express? He already knew the answer. If they’d taken Superman Express, it would have raised suspicions. Lois had pointed out several little things he did over the last few weeks that would give away his identity. He never knew how careless he had been until now.
“It’s cramped in here,” He said, looking around as the other passengers filled the seats around them. He fidgeted in his seat, trying to get comfortable. There was no legroom, and there was hardly any elbow room. He hated planes.
Lois arched an eyebrow at him, giving him a half-smile, “What is with you?” She watched as he fidgeted in his seat once more, “Why are you so nervous?”
“I hate planes,” He muttered quietly.
“Why?” Lois asked, “I mean, I’ll admit the seats could be better…” She motioned to the cramped legroom of their seats, “but I would have thought …” she lowered her voice to mouth, “Superman” then raised her voice again, “would enjoy a flight where he doesn’t have to do all the work,”
“No,” He looked around to make sure no one was paying them any attention and whispered, “Superman” he raised his voice once more, “doesn’t enjoy flights where he’s not doing the flying. Doesn’t feel natural,”
“So, you just don’t like being in control?” Lois asked with a twinkle in her eyes.
He smiled, “Something like that…I don’t know. I just feel…claustrophobic…in planes.”
She gave him a funny look, “You didn’t seem claustrophobic on the last flight we took,”
He smiled, recalling the last flight they’d taken. It was the first time Lois had kissed him when they were trying to escape Trask. “I was more focused on you,” He admitted, cupping her cheek, “and getting us out of there…”
“So you need a distraction?” She asked, her eyes twinkling as she spoke.
He smiled, “Something like that,” He said softly, noticing the flirtatious sparkle that twinkled in her eyes. What was she planning?
***
Lois smiled as she watched the ground slowly disappear as the plane took off. Clark was still nervous, fidgeting in his seat. She turned back to him, squeezing his knee gently as she turned in her seat to face him. He jumped slightly.
“You okay?” Lois asked with a smile, fingering his arm gently.
“Yeah,” He gave her a small smile, and she reached for his hand, intertwining her fingers with his.
“You said you needed a….distraction,” She whispered, tightening her grip on him as she leaned against him.
“You’re very….uh, distracting…” He said with a smile as she fingered the cotton on his dress shirt.
She smiled, noticing him take a sharp breath as she moved her hand up his chest, “Distracting?” She leaned in to kiss him, “All I’m doing is…..”
“….distracting…” Clark finished for her, leaning in to recapture her lips once more with a smile.
***
Perry White looked around the room he was in, sizing up the collectible movie posters and autographed comic books that were framed on the walls. He’d heard Bob Fences was a bit eccentric, but it seemed he was a bit of a child at heart.
“Mr. White,” A tall brunette in a sharp business suit with a skirt that showed off way too much leg approached him.
“Uh…” He looked up at the ceiling, hoping to distract himself from staring. He was a married man after all. “Yes…” He turned back, forcing himself to look only at the woman’s face.
“I’m Simone,” She held her hand out for him to shake, “Mr. Fences executive assistant,” She motioned for him to follow her. “He’ll see you now,”
She opened the door for Perry to enter and he saw a young man in his late twenties with brown hair and large rimmed glasses in a polo shirt and khakis sitting at his desk with what looked like action figures of Star Trek characters.
“Look out!” Fences made the plastic figures fly in the sky, imitating the sound of a laser, “Bzzzt!” He made one of the figurines fall down, “Ahh, the death ray! Skkkk… Don’t worry I’ll save you, Princess Cleavage. Gzzzz!”
Perry raised his eyebrows unsure of how to begin. This man was a juvenile, but he was a self-made billionaire by the age of nineteen, funding NanoSoft Technologies at age sixteen. Fences may be out there, but he had business smarts. The question was would he be able to help the Planet?
***
Lois and Clark walked outside the Oakland International Airport hand in hand. Lois scanned the line of people waiting for cabs and sighed, “Probably going to be awhile.” She said, rubbing her palm up his chest seductively. “Maybe we should ask ‘Superman’ for a lift?” She teased.
“Maybe,” He whispered, leaning in to kiss her. “When are we supposed to check in?”
“We’ve got an hour,” She said, toying with the end of his tie.
He groaned as she linked her arms around his neck, leaning in to kiss him, “An hour, huh?”
“Yeah,” She murmured against his lips. “The meeting with daddy isn’t until three…” She brushed her hand against his chest, looking up at him with a smile.
“You think he knows anything that could help?” He asked, tightening his arms around her waist.
“I don’t know but…” Lois trailed off when she recognized a tall, balding man walking toward them. “What is HE doing here?”
“Who?” Clark turned to look in the direction Lois was looking and saw Sam Lane looking around. It didn’t appear that he’d spotted them yet. Lois tugged his arm to follow her, “I thought we were supposed to meet him at his office…”
“So did I,” She muttered, making her way through the crowd as she waved her arm, trying to get Sam Lane’s attention, “What are you doing here?” She asked, confused as she approached Sam who had his back to her.
He turned and smiled, “Princess,” He beamed, “I, uh, thought I’d pick you up and we could have, uh, lunch…” He began hesitantly, looking at the ground for a moment before looking up at Lois.
“Since when do you have time for lunch?” Lois asked suspiciously.
“I, uh,” He began, hesitantly. He spotted Clark standing behind Lois and noticed Lois’ arm around his then glanced at Clark as he extended his hand, “Uh, Clark was it?” He asked.
“Yes, sir,” Clark took his hand to shake, “Good to see you again, Dr. Lane,”
“Yes,” He nodded. There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment, and Sam cleared his throat, “Uh, do you have your bags? I can give you a ride…to the car rental place, or hotel…” He motioned to the parking garage behind them.
“Well, uh,” Lois began at the same time Clark said, “Uh, sure,”
Lois gave Clark a look, and he realized immediately he shouldn’t have said anything. Her jaw tightened as he felt her tighten her grip on his arm. She knew she couldn’t hurt him but the look she was giving him…
<<“Okay ,so I don’t get along with my father. Big deal?”>>
<<“I mean, haven’t you ever known anybody so wrapped up in their work that they don’t have time for anyone or anything…?”>>
<<“A lot of parents are workaholics…”
“Well, the one’s I knew at least tried to spend some quality time with their family. My dad just came home to criticize. ‘Daddy I got a ninety-eight on this test,’ ‘Oh, that’s good Lois. That leaves two points for improvement.’”>>They walked in silence toward the parking garage as he recalled the few times Lois had opened up to him about her father. After the fiasco with Menken they seemed to be working through a lot of their issues, but seeing them now…He wasn’t so sure anymore. This was going to be a long day.
***
Jimmy knocked on Perry’s office door, “Come in…” Perry called.
“Here’s the background check on Bob Fences. There seems to be a lot of sketchy stuff going on with Nanosoft’s trading overseas. A couple of my contacts said he’s pretty unhinged…”
“Yeah,” Perry nodded, “I noticed,” He glanced at the other file in Jimmy’s hand, “What’s that?”
“The information on Viologic’s new owner, Eric Thorp,” Jimmy handed him the file.
Perry smiled, nodding as he read, “Yeah, Thorp’s a real whiz kid. A multi-millionaire. He made his first million by the time he was your age,”
“Yeah, well…” Jimmy looked at him defensively, “I had the mumps in sixth grade…Kinda slowed me down,”
Perry laughed, “I’ll set up a meeting and feel him out. Keep digging…” He handed the file back to Jimmy.
“You got it, Chief,” Jimmy nodded.
***
After an uncomfortable car ride to the car rental place and an even more uncomfortable car ride to a small Italian eatery they sat down for lunch and Lois seemed to be focused on getting down to business despite Sam Lane’s attempts to divert the conversation to her personal life.
“Lucy said she moved back in with you…”
“Yes,” She said nodding her head, “I’d like to go over everything that happened with Menken…”
“You seem happy….”
“Are you sure there wasn’t anyone else working with Menken?” Lois pressed, ignoring her father’s comment.
“You’re smiling more…”
Lois bit the inside of her lower lip for a moment, trying to hold in her knee-jerk reaction to snap. He was deliberately trying to divert the conversation elsewhere. “Is there a reason you won’t answer my question?”
He arched an eyebrow at her, “Is there a reason you won’t talk about your life with me? I am your father after all,”
She glanced back at Clark who looked really uncomfortable as he stared at his plate silently. He seemed to sense the chill in the air and had kept mostly quiet all through lunch except to order his food and ask questions about Menken. Sam had answered HIS questions but was refusing to answer hers.
Lois laughed, “You’re kidding, right?”
Sam sighed, “It’s been fifteen years. Can’t we just put this all behind us?”
Lois stiffened, “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me why Lucy decided to move back so fast?”
He lowered his head in shame, “I had a breakthrough on a new robotic computer chip we’re developing and….”
“….and Lucy took a backseat to a scientific breakthrough.” Lois finished for him, “Big surprise,”
“Lo-is,” Sam gave her a warning look, “That is not fair,”
“Fair? You want to talk about fair?” She scoffed. “How about all the nights you didn’t come home and Lucy and I had to hear all the gory details of what mom thought you were doing….”
Sam gave Lois a warning tone, “Lois, we are in public. Do you really want to do this here…in front of your partner?”
Lois shrugged, “It’s nothing he hasn’t heard before,”
Sam lowered his head into his palm and Lois opened her mouth to add another retort, but Clark cut her off, “Okay that’s enough…” He gave Lois a look then turned back to Sam, “I understand your relationship is a bit complicated but this…isn’t helping,”
Sam sighed, “No, it’s not,”
“You started it,” Lois grumbled.
“Lo-is,” Clark gave her a warning look, and she relented.
“Fine,” She leaned back in her seat, “Can we just get back to the story?”
“Fine,” Sam relented, nodding, “What do you want to know?”
“Dr. Lane, the reason we came out here,” He gave Lois a look before turning back to Sam, “is we need to know who Menken was working for…”
“Working for?”
“We have reason to believe he was working for someone when he enlisted your help to build those robotic arms. What was the intention when they brought you on?” Clark asked.
“I was told we were repairing injured players…then slowly they wanted them stronger and stronger…a, uh, ‘Superman’ if you will,” He explained.
“Did Menken ever mention any names…or act secretive about anything?” Lois asked, taking notes.
“No, all he ever mentioned was a, uh, ‘boss’ that wanted the changes when I asked about trying to make the fighters do too much too fast with the robotic arms,”
“Boss,” Lois repeated, raising her eyebrows.
“Yes,” He nodded, “Mean something to you?”
“Maybe,” Clark said, “There’ve been quite a few fingers pointing toward a ‘boss’ in Metropolis. We’ve been taking a second look at everything to see if we’ve missed anything.”
“I try to block that time out…not my proudest moment,” He said with a grim smile, “I’m just grateful to Lex Luthor for saving you from Menken like that…” He reached for her hand, “You’re my daughter, and I love you, Lois. If anything, ever happened to you…”
Lois nodded, “Well, I’m not so sure we should be grateful to Lex,”
“Why?” Sam asked. “I mean, he saved you…”
“We think Luthor could be involved,” Clark said, taking Lois’ hand in his and squeezing it gently.
“Involved?” Sam scoffed, “As what? He’s a philanthropist. What could he possibly be involved in boxing scandals for?”
Lois looked at Clark for a moment who nodded then sighed as she spoke, “We think this ‘boss’ that everyone is talking about is…. Lex,”
“What??”
“And the ‘rescue’ from Menken was an assassination,” Clark added.
“But …”
“He shot Menken,” Lois murmured.
“He didn’t have to kill him, but he did,” Clark said.
Sam looked at her cautiously, “So, is that why you…uh, stopped …seeing him?” At Lois’ surprised look he added, “Your mother called…updated me. I have to keep tabs somehow,”
“I didn’t know you and mom still talked,” Lois said surprised.
He nodded his head, “Well, we can be amicable if need be,”
Lois let out a scoff of disbelief, “Since when?”
“Okay,” Clark intervened before they could get into it again, “We should get going,” He helped Lois to her feet, “Thank you for your time, Dr. Lane,” He extended his hand to shake Sam’s hand.
“Good to see you again, Clark,” Sam said, “Uh, take care of yourself, Lois,”
“You too,” Lois nodded, turning to leave.
Clark turned to follow, and Sam placed a hand on his shoulder, “Clark, take care of her. She puts on a tough front, but if any of this is true…She’s not as tough as she looks,”
“I know,” Clark nodded, “She’s stronger,” he said before turning to leave.
***
That evening Lois and Clark went over everything they had on the investigation with Menken as they finished up dinner in their hotel room. Due to their limited budget, they were in a single room with a double bed and a pull-out couch. Lois hadn’t said anything when they’d checked in, and neither had he. He wasn’t sure if he should bring up the sleeping arrangements. They’d spent the night together after Luthor’s attack, but that had been different. That had been when she was scared. This was business.
They sat at the table, reviewing their notes as they finished off the remnants of their dinner. “So, with Prometheus it was to get the profits from all the patents…” Lois said, stabbing her fork into the salad she was eating, “…but why robotics and fixed boxing matches? It doesn’t make any sense,”
“Well, maybe it wasn’t about sports at all,” Clark reasoned, grabbing a fry from his plate.
“Then what is it about?” Lois asked, “Dad specialized in robotic arms after he left his practice…Menken ran the gym…Allie handled the players…Not exactly screaming criminal organization here…”
“Yeah, but think what you could do if your dad had succeeded in creating the type of robotics they wanted…” Clark reasoned. “Those guys were pretty strong…If they were strong enough…”
“They’d be able to break walls….” Lois said, following his train of thought.
“…or bank vaults…” Clark added.
“…Super-powered criminals…” Lois nodded, “Makes sense,”
“Who else is on that list?” Clark asked, pointing to her notepad.
“Johnny Taylor. He was transferred to California Institute last month after his arrest during the whole Toasters fiasco.” Lois said.
“Think he’ll be willing to talk?” Clark asked, taking another bit of his fry.
Lois shrugged, “I don’t know, but we’ve got two days out here. We better make the most of them,”
Clark nodded, “Any word from Perry on his search for a buyer?”
Lois shook her head, throwing a napkin into the container she was eating from, “No, I haven’t heard anything. I guess he’s still hunting.”
He watched her quietly fiddling with the button on her jacket. Her mind seemed to have drifted to something else at the moment. Lunch had been extremely uncomfortable. Seeing the way Lois interacted with her dad and hearing some of the accusations she’d thrown at him… It made him wonder how she’d ever let him in. The walls she’d built around herself…it made sense. Sam Lane seemed nice enough, but he’d never spent more than a few hours with the man. Hearing the things Lois and Lucy had told him…It killed him to know how much he’d hurt Lois.
“So, still think my dad is….colorful?” Lois asked with a fake laugh.
This was good. Lois was talking about it without prodding. “Uh, I’m not sure,” He said with a smile. “He’s …. Different,”
“Sorry about lunch,” Lois apologized. “Holding a decent conversation with him is hard after…” She trailed off, looking away and he placed a hand on her shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” He squeezed her shoulder. “I don’t understand ….I guess I don’t want to understand…how anyone can walk away from their family like that,”
She gave him a soft smile, “You’d never do that…” She leaned in to kiss him, leaning against him as he wrapped an arm around her. “What was the worst was ….near the end…when they were fighting so much…Lucy and I WANTED him to leave. After he did…it destroyed my mom,”
His arm tightened around her waist, “Sounds like a bad situation all around,” He kissed her head, “I’m sorry you had to go through that,”
She patted his chest, “It was a long time ago…” She sat up, stretching her arms. “I’m gonna take a shower…get ready for bed…We’ve got an early start tomorrow.”
He nodded, “I’ll clean this up and …” He gave a flying motion “…do a quick patrol over Metropolis,” At her look he elaborated, “Superman needs to make an appearance otherwise the criminal element will take advantage…”
“We don’t want that, do we?” Lois whispered, leaning in to kiss him as she walked across the room to pull out her things from her suitcase.
He smiled, “I’ll be back as soon as I can,”
He quickly spun into the Superman suit and Lois smiled at him, “Never gets old,”
He grinned, leaning in to kiss her, “Love you,”
***
Later that evening after patrolling Metropolis Clark headed back to California and found Lois already asleep. He had taken longer than he had expected on his patrol. It wasn’t anything major like the last few weeks but rather petty crimes scattered throughout the city. A mugging here, carjacking there. Nothing that would usually draw his attention unless he was on patrol.
He spun out of his suit and into boxers and a tank shirt, gazing at Lois’ sleeping figure. It still amazed him to know how much had changed over the last few weeks. He and Lois had grown closer than he could have ever imagined.
“Clark…” He heard Lois call his name in her sleep. He smiled kneeling down on the side of the bed as he brushed the hair out of her face. Her eyes fluttered open sleepily, “Hey,”
“Hey,” He whispered back with a smile.
She rolled on her side, propping her head up with her arm to look at him, “You just get back?”
“Yeah,” He nodded. “I didn’t mean to wake you,”
She smiled, “It's fine. Anything exciting on your patrol?”
“No,” He shook his head, “Just small stuff here and there,”
Lois nodded, patting the other side of the bed, “That’s good.” She leaned in to kiss him, “Come on, it’s late. We need to get up early. Come to bed,” She patted the side of the bed.
“You sure that’s a good idea?” He asked, “I can sleep on the couch…” He offered.
“No,” She shook her head, tugging him toward her. “I want to sleep in your arms….makes me feel safe,” She said sleepily. He nodded, climbing into bed with her. She curled up with him, resting her head against his chest as she drifted off to sleep, “I love you,”
“I love you too sweetheart,” He whispered, kissing her cheek. He looked down at her sleeping figure that had curled up next to him. She had already drifted off to sleep.
He rolled over on his side so he was facing her, watching her sleep, hoping sleep would come soon. It had been a long day. Between the flight that had turned into a very enjoyable experience as Lois ‘distracted’ him with flirtatious teasing for three hours and the very uncomfortable afternoon with Sam Lane, he was exhausted. Still, it was hard to sleep. He was sharing a bed with Lois. She’d said she felt safe in his arms. They seemed to be getting more and more close. He was trying to take things slow with her, but it was times like this that made it harder and harder. He groaned, rolling over on his back. It was going to be a long night.
***
Lois sleepily rolled over on her stomach, reaching out for Clark. She frowned, feeling the cool sheet next to her. She opened her eyes, rolling on her back as she looked around the room, trying to allow time for her eyes to adjust. It was still dark out. Where was Clark? She glanced at the couch to make sure he hadn’t moved to the sofa after she’d fallen asleep. Nope. Maybe he got a call for Superman?
She looked up at the ceiling as she stretched her arms over her head. She yelled in surprise when she spotted him floating in the air above her. When she yelled, it seemed to wake him up, which also caused him to fall from where he was floating…right on top of her. “What’re you doing??” She squirmed, trying to push him off of her.
“Sorry…” He apologized, trying to sit up unsuccessfully, “Just hold still for a second,” She finally stopped, and he sat up, moving to untangle himself from the blanket his foot got caught in when he fell.
“What happened?” Lois asked, sitting up.
“I ….fell…” He said cautiously as he dug his foot out of the blanket.
“Falling from floating?” She looked at him incredulously. “I didn’t think that was possible….What were you doing up there anyway?”
“Sometimes I float in my sleep…” He said sheepishly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
She laughed, “You float in your sleep?”
He nodded, “Sometimes,” He demonstrated, floating above the bed, stretching out as he propped his head up with his hand.
She grinned up at him, “Your life is so strange,”
“Stranger and stranger every minute,” He smiled at her as he floated back down to the bed.
Lois glanced at the clock, “We still got a few hours before it’s time to get up. Let’s try and get some rest.” He nodded, wrapping an arm around her as she curled up next to him.
***
Mrs. Cox knocked on the door to Lex Luthor’s office, “Mr. Luthor, a Mr. Devane on line two for you,”
“Thank you, Mrs. Cox, I’ll take it in the office,” He got up and headed toward the bookshelf after typing on the keyboard to open the secret compartment. He stepped down the steps to the secret compartment and walked past the wine cellar and into an open office where a large computer was pinned against the wall and took his seat at the computer, pressing a button to display the video call.
Devane sat in front of the screen, “Mr. Luthor? Your information was accurate. I have the Kryptonite.”
Lex grinned, “When can I expect delivery?”
Devane nodded, “I'll call you when I get back to Metropolis. The price is five million.”
“Done,” Lex said, pressing a button to end the call. He smiled to himself, turning in his chair.
***
TBC...
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