Epiphany
Folc4evernaday
Part 12
***
One Month Later…
“We’ve got at least three possible buyers,” Perry said, handing the offer letters to Lois and Clark as he closed the door behind him. “It’s been a crazy few months, but we’ve managed to stay afloat this long…”
“But the budget cuts keep coming out of nowhere and no one knows why the banks and advertisers aren’t willing to work with the Planet anymore…” Lois argued.
“The question is, who do we trust,” Clark added, taking a look at the letters as Lois handed them to him.
“I agree,” Perry folded his hands in his lap as he leaned back in his seat, “How are you coming with the boss research? Any leads?”
Clark shook his head, “Nothing concrete. We still have an interview with Miranda this afternoon to see if we can get any more information from her now that she’s’ not under the influence of her pheromones…” He gave Lois a half smile before turning back to Perry, “but we’ll see,”
Lois blushed, recalling their experience under the pheromones, “Everyone seems to be afraid of him, but taking a fresh look at everything seems to be helping…We’ve found quite a few key players…”
“Well, when you crack this one open it’ll be a doozie,” Perry sighed, “Just be careful,” He warned, wagging his finger at Lois.
“I’m always careful,” Lois harrumphed, gathering her things as she got ready to leave with Clark behind her.
***
Lois stepped into the elevator with Clark, continuing their game as they tried to pass the time on their way to see Miranda at the Metropolis Women’s Prison. “How many is that?”
“Six,” Clark said, scanning his notes, not looking up.
“Dancer, Prancer, Comet, Blitzen, Dasher, Cupid, Donner…” She just couldn’t think of the last one.
“That’s seven,” Clark said, “One more,”
“Donner…” She repeated.
Clark folded his notes and turned to her with a knowing smile, “You’re stuck,”
“I am not stuck….” She argued before finally relenting, “Okay, I’m stuck, just tell me the name,”
“Vixen,” He said, leaning in to kiss her. The elevator dinged, announcing their arrival to the visitor floor.
***
Miranda stepped into the visitor’s room, looking around laughing, “You have got to be joking. When my attorney said, I had some reporters wanting to talk I didn’t expect you two…”
“If it makes you feel any better it’s no picnic for me either,” Lois gave Miranda a fake smile.
“We’re here to talk about why you really began working on ‘Revenge,’” Clark interjected, cutting to the chase before a cat fight ensued between the two women.
“What makes you think I’m going to tell you?” Miranda laughed.
“Because you don’t have anything left to lose,” Lois said, leaning back in her seat. “You started working on this pheromone when you were contracted by LexLabs. Whose idea was it to begin this project?”
Miranda gave them a slow smile, “Why should I trust you? If you had any sense you wouldn’t be involved with Lex Luthor..” Miranda warned coldly.
“I know,” Lois said, folding her notebook in her hand. “That’s why I’m not involved with him….” Miranda arched an eyebrow at her, skeptically and Lois continued, “Look, obviously there’s a lot of bad blood between you and Lex. We just want to know the truth. We think maybe we didn’t give you a fair shot considering…”
“You mean considering I went crazy and lashed out at everyone in a jealous rage?” Miranda asked.
“Uh, something like that,” Clark said, taking Lois’ hand in his to remind her not to react how she normally would. They were gaining Miranda’s trust.
Miranda looked around the empty room and whispered, “What’s in it for me?”
***
Bruce Wayne stepped off his private jet, looking around the airstrip with a smile. A tall blonde in a sharp business suit was by his side along with an elderly man with a gray hairline and glasses. “Well, Alfred, Metropolis seems a lot brighter than Gotham,” Bruce mused.
“It would seem so, sir,” Alfred said, following Bruce down the airstrip. “How long will this visit be, Master Wayne?” He asked, pulling out an electronic planner to take note.
“I’m not sure. Mr. White wanted to keep this low-key, but I can’t in good conscience make a purchase without help transition the changes, can I?”
“I still don’t understand how the Daily Planet could be having money trouble. I mean, they’re internationally known and have been around for centuries…. Every journalist dreams of working there…” the young blonde said, shaking her head.
“Is that what you dreamed of Vicki?” Bruce asked with a knowing smile.
She smirked at him, “Before I fell in love with newscasting and being an anchor…yes,”
“Well, if you change your mind I know the owner…He might be persuaded to find a beat job for you,” He gave her a smile.
***
Lois gasped with a smile on her face as they walked out the door hand in hand, “Did that really just happen?”
“I think so,” Clark smiled, wrapping his arms around her. “This is it. Everything we need to connect Luthor to the crimes in Metropolis and bring him down,”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Lois warned, grabbing his hand. “We don’t have anything concrete yet, but if this information Miranda gave us pans out…”
“It’ll mean bringing him down for all the crimes he’s committed…” Clark said with a grin on his face. “Jack will finally be safe,”
“How’s he doing anyway?” Lois asked concerned as they walked toward the Jeep.
“All right. He’s spending time with Denny working on his GED…” Clark said, opening the door for her to get in the Jeep.
Lois watched as he climbed in the other side and smiled at him, “You really care about him, don’t you? Even after he tried to rob you…”
“He’s just a troubled kid that needed help…” Clark said softly. “I like to think if I had a kid in trouble like that I’d want someone to help them out like that too.” Lois tensed up at the mention of ‘kid’ and he turned to look at her, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” She said, shrugging as she turned away from him. “I just…”
“What?” He asked, concerned.
“I guess I never thought of….I mean, not that I wouldn’t want to, but….” Lois stammered, “I never thought much about …..kids….err…having them that is. I mean, I’m not very good with them…you saw how I was with Amy….I don’t have the, uh…” She noticed Clark looking at her with a smirk and looked around self-consciously, “What?”
“Nothing,” He laughed, “Just wondering how far you’re going to take this…” He laughed as she smacked him. “I’m kidding. I’m kidding. I honestly didn’t mean anything by it I guess I just…”
“You’re good with kids, You’d make a great father, Clark,” She said softly, “But I don’t have a maternal bone in my body,”
“That is not true,” He countered. “I have seen you with Lucy and Amy and what about those boys that were kidnapped during Constance’s little illusion game? You are great with kids.”
“You really think so?” She asked, uncertainly.
“I know so,” He said, cupping her cheek.
She smiled up at him, “I never thought of…I mean, there’s so much I want to do before…” She trailed off smiling to herself, “You think I’m being silly? Over here worrying about a hypothetical family that doesn’t even exist…”
“It’s just because you care so much,” Clark reasoned. “I think after what you and your sister went through you don’t want to put a child through that…and I can understand that…”
Lois smiled up at him, “You sure you don’t read minds?”
“No, I’m just a good listener,” He leaned in to kiss her.
“So, do you think about the future?” Lois asked, nervously toying with a strand from her blouse as she spoke.
“All the time,” He said with a smile, “More so lately,” He admitted with a grin.
“Me too….A lot lately. I mean, if the Planet went under, I'd be lost.”
Clark shook his head, “Not you. You'd be back on your feet in no time.”
“You think so?” She asked.
“Yeah,” He reassured her, “Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out. The Planet isn’t going anywhere.”
“It better not,” She grinned. “We’re going to need a paper to print this story in if we want to get that Pulitzer,”
***
Lex pressed the call button to answer another video call, “Mr. Devane,”
Devane narrowed his eyes and tapped his fingers on the desk in front of him, “I'm ready to make the delivery. Are the funds available?”
“Have you authenticated the item?” Lex asked apprehensively.
“It's genuine. We’ve spent the last month authenticating it with S.T.A.R. Labs. Don't jerk me around, Luthor. It'd take me about ten seconds to find an alternate buyer.” Devane warned.
“Aren't you forgetting whose sources turned up the existence of the stone in the first place?” Lex accused.
“No, I'm not forgetting. That and five million dollars'll get you your stone. Do you want it or not?” Devane countered.
“May I see it?” Lex breathed irritably. Devane rolled his eyes before pulling out a cloth bag and revealing a large green glowing rock. Lex smiled hungrily, “I want it.”
***
Two Weeks Later…
Lois and Clark stepped into the newsroom going over everything they’d learned so far on their research into Luthor. Lois looked at her notes from earlier as they walked toward their desks, “So, Miranda Toni, Johnny, and Monique Kahn are willing to testify and we’ve got Jack’s statement…”
“Miranda’s information on LexLabs is the biggest part I think,” Clark reasoned. “Inspector Henderson said he was working with his team to get her put into the Witness Protection program since she cut that deal to testify in exchange for her freedom…”
“It was sitting there…right under our noses for months…” Lois mused, looking up at him with a grin, “Can you believe that?” She never tired of that feeling of satisfaction when the pieces all began to fit on a big scandal…and this was a big one. Henderson had assured them that within the week he’d have the warrant for Lex and this would all be over….and Lane and Kent would have the exclusive.
“It was smart of Miranda to record all her conversations with Luthor like that…” Clark grinned happily. She felt a flutter in her abdomen as he stepped toward her, rubbing the side of her arm.
“We did it…” She grinned happily, toying with the lapels to his jacket as she looked up at him. How was it that after over a month she still felt butterflies when he was near her like this? It had been a year now since they’d first met and almost three months now since they’d started seeing each other. Clark had been true to his word to take things slow but now the closer they’d gotten she was growing more and more frustrated with taking things slow. After Smallville, he hadn’t allowed things to get as heated as they had that night Jimmy had walked in on them. She’d been grateful he hadn’t brought it up at the time but now she was continuing to grow more frustrated. It had been fine to take things slow when she’d still been in shock after his confession, but now…Now that she knew everything she didn’t want to take things slow anymore. She just wasn’t sure how to go about telling him. It wasn’t something you just blurted out…
She teased the lapels of his jacket, pulling him close to her as she toyed with his tie, outlining the path the red and blue pattern took down his chest as she spoke, “How does it feel to bring down Metropolis’ biggest crime lord with the swipe of a pen?” She toyed with the end of his tie, looking up at him expectantly. She smiled to herself when she heard him take a sharp intake of breath when her other hand rested on his lower back from beneath his jacket.
He grinned, leaning in to kiss her, “Really…really…good,” She reveled in the feeling of his lips against hers, slipping her hand daringly down his backside and grinned when he jumped slightly but didn’t pull away. She ignored the whistles and catcalls around them for the moment, intent on taking advantage of the moment for as long as she could before Perry interrupted them.
***
Clark grinned at Lois happily as she toyed with the lapels of his jacket, toying with his tie as she spoke, “How does it feel to bring down Metropolis’ biggest crime lord with the swipe of a pen?”
He smiled back at her, about to lean into kiss her when he felt her hand move daringly from his back to his buttocks. He gave her a look, telling her silently he knew what she was doing before leaning back down to kiss her, “Really…really…good,” He whispered, capturing her lips with his as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to him. He ignored the whistles around them. You’d think their co-workers would be used to the public displays of affection by now, but some still insisted on teasing.
Lois linked an arm around his neck, toying with the left lapel of his jacket as she grinned up at him, “The Fall of the House of Luthor by Lane and Kent definitely has a nice ring to it…”
“We should celebrate,” He whispered, wrapping his arms around her waist, “Anywhere you want…Paris..Rome…” Lois laughed and he grinned back at her, “What? I’m ecstatic right now….after a year…he’s finally getting his just desserts,”
She gave him a half-smile, toying with his tie seductively as she leaned up to kiss him, wrapping her arms around his neck. The whistling continued but he ignored it, reveling in the feeling of Lois in his arms. He didn’t care about anything else in the world besides the fact that they’d finally cracked open the case on ‘the boss’ and the way Lois fit so perfectly against him. Her lips softly caressed his, teasing him with her tongue as she parted her lips just enough to tease him with the taste of her coffee from earlier.
The bellow of his Editor-in-Chief’s voice booming across the newsroom pulled him back to the present, “Would you two get a room, already? Sheesh! No one’s paying you to canoodle in the bullpen.” He waved a roll of newspaper at them, “You’d think after almost three months they’d cool down…”
Clark laughed, pulling away from her slightly but keeping his arms wrapped around her waist, reveling in the feeling of her being in his arms. “Hey, Chief, publisher’s on line three…” Jimmy called across the newsroom.
Perry nodded, heading for his office, “Always something…”
***
Lois looked over her shoulder at Perry smiling as he walked back to his office. She suspected the no-nonsense exterior he put on was just for show. Once he was in his office she turned back to Clark, recapturing his lips with her own. What was he had said? Something about celebrating? She didn’t want to go out. She just wanted to continue doing this…maybe more…She ran her hand down his chest, seductively outlining the end of his tie that hovered just above the waistband of his pants. “Maybe we should just order in…” She whispered in his ear, giving him a wink before turning around in his arms to head back to her desk before Perry came back out and caught them again.
She caught the heated gaze Clark gave her and smiled to herself. Hopefully, she’d been subtle enough to get her point across. Confidence wasn’t something she felt when she thought about finally crossing that threshold. In every other aspect of her life, she was confident and self-assured, but when it came to the bedroom…She didn’t have that same confidence. She knew she was ready…they were ready, but it still scared her. After her last experience, she was nervous. She knew Clark wouldn’t hurt her like Claude had. She trusted him more than anyone. He had trusted her with his deepest secret and she trusted him with her heart. It still made her nervous, though.
She could still feel his eyes on her as she set her notepad down, trying to busy herself and think of anything but what she planned to do tonight. He had super-hearing. He could probably hear her heart hammering as she nervously fidgeted with the pen in her hand. She cast a sideways glance at him and caught his heated gaze as he readjusted his tie, looking away from her. She smiled to herself. Yes, she’d definitely gotten her point across.
***
Lois grinned, leaning in to kiss him once more, “Maybe we should just order in…” She whispered in his ear giving him a wink before turning in his arms to head back to her desk. He swallowed hard, not sure what to make out of that statement. It was the way she’d just said that statement…He watched her set her notepad down on her desk and fidget with her pen nervously. He could hear her heart rate pick up and caught her heated gaze as she looked back at him. He readjusted his tie nervously. She wasn’t….
He caught her gaze once more and swallowed when he recognized the expression on her face. Desire. What was she trying to tell him? He wasn’t given a chance to think of the implications of what she was trying to tell him for long because Perry reentered the newsroom bellowing to get everyone’s attention.
“Listen up folks!” Perry barked, “I got a call from upstairs…we’re expecting an announcement right about…now,” The elevator doors opened and Lex Luthor stepped into the newsroom with a smug smile on his face, surrounded by suits.
“You have got to be kidding me…” Lois muttered angrily when she saw Lex enter the newsroom.
“For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Lex Luthor,” Lex began standing at the balcony.
Clark stood next to her protectively, “I’ve got a ba-ad feeling…” He whispered.
“I, no less than you have been greatly distressed by the sea of troubles that have mired Metropolis’ one great newspaper…” Lex continued.
“Oh, no,” Lois breathed, shaking her head, “Please tell me this is a nightmare,”
“Not unless we’re having the same one,” Clark muttered under his breath.
“I don’t know why your advertisers have deserted you. I don’t know why the banks have shut off your credit lines. And I don’t know why you depleted your cash reserves through unnecessary expenditures…” Lex gave a look toward the suits behind him, “…though I have my suspicions,”
“It was him. It was him all along,” Lois muttered angrily.
“Shhh…” Clark warned, “Not here,”
“I do know that the problems can be solved through strong leadership and fiscal responsibility. Therefore, I have taken the one step that would guarantee the future well-being of this newspaper: I bought it. I’m the new owner of the Daily Planet,” Lex said happily.
Clark picked up Perry muttering, “Judas Priest,” under his breath as cheers erupted through the newsroom but Lois stood there stunned.
Clark wrapped an arm around her, “It’s gonna be okay,”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that…” A voice said from the crowd of suits.
Lex turned to see Bruce Wayne standing in the crowd walking toward him, “Mr. Wayne, to what do I owe this …surprise?”
“You know for someone that spends so much time researching companies before a takeover I’m surprised you didn’t check the board roster this morning,” Bruce said with a smile as he walked toward Lex.
“What are you talking about? It was a unanimous vote to sell the Planet to me.” Lex smiled.
Bruce shook his head, “No, see you didn’t take my vote into account, Lex,”
“Your vote?” Lex asked shakily.
“Oh, boy…here come the fireworks,” Clark reassured Lois with a kiss on the cheek.
“Yeah, see I’m a gambler. I like risk. I like doing things people wouldn’t normally do. Skydiving…rock climbing….alligator wrestling,” He shot Lex a knowing look, “So when I heard the stock for the Planet was for sale at such a low price I figured, why not?” He shrugged.
“You….” Lex narrowed his eyes at Bruce and tightened his jaw when he caught his gaze.
“Bought seventy-five percent of the Daily Planet shares last night? You bet I did,” He smiled, patting Lex on the shoulder, “Now, Mr. Luthor, as generous as your offer is I’m gonna have to pass. I’ve been running Wayne Enterprises for years without any issues. I’m sure I can figure out how to turn the Planet around without you,”
Lex narrowed his eyes at Bruce for a moment before pasting on a smile and looking to the crowd, “It appears I’ve been mistaken…your new owner, Mr. Bruce Wayne…”
Applause erupted and Lois looked back at Clark, “Did you know about this?”
“Not a clue,” He said, “but his timing is impeccable,”
“I’ll say,” She sighed, leaning against him.
Clark watched as Bruce leaned in, whispering something to Lex. With the crowd of applause this close to him it was impossible for him to pick up what their new owner had just whispered to Luthor but it seemed to put the fear of God in him. Luthor backed away, turning hurriedly away from the balcony.
Bruce smiled, watching as Lex walked back toward the elevator and looked to the crowd with a smile, “Ladies and Gentlemen, my name is Bruce Wayne. Perhaps you’ve heard of me? If not you should pick up a copy of Tattletale Weekly. The stories they come up with are quite entertaining,” He grinned back at the crowd, “In all seriousness, I’m just a businessman with a soft spot for nostalgia. My dad used to read the Planet to me when I was a little boy and the thought of the Planet not being around…” He shook his head, “Well, I’m sure all of you share my sentiments.” There was a murmur of agreement and he continued, pacing around the balcony, “I understand the Daily Planet has undergone some hardships these past few months, and it is my goal to rectify that. The Daily Planet is a well-known household name; as well it should be. It’s my goal to see that the Daily Planet remains a top seller at newsstands.” He drew quiet for a moment, “In order to do that, I’ve enlisted some help to consult on modernizations as we move into the twenty-first century….Unfortunately, I don’t have experience with the news media, but she does. So without further ado, Ms. Vicki Vale.” A light applause scattered around the newsroom as a young blonde stepped forward next to Bruce Wayne.
“Happy days are here again!” Jimmy cheered happily, hugging them.
Lois cast a sideways glance at Clark, “Things around here are going to get interesting…”
***
<“Look, obviously there’s a lot of bad blood between you and Lex. We just want to know the truth. We think maybe we didn’t give you a fair shot considering…”
“You mean considering I went crazy and lashed out at everyone in a jealous rage?”
“Uh, something like that,”
“What’s in it for me?”>
Nigel shook his head, pausing the tape as he looked up, “Officer Jensen the boss appreciates your loyalty. Thank you for bringing this to our attention,”
***
Lois sunk into the couch, propping her feet up as she kicked off her shoes. She unbuttoned her blazer, tossing it to the ground and tugged her pantyhose off, rubbing her tired feet as she made herself comfortable. Henderson was supposed to call them once the warrant was ready. They were so close to having Lex Luthor behind bars. All they had to do was wait for the key players to line everything up then he would be out of their lives for good and in prison where he belonged.
She walked back to her bedroom, examining her profile in the mirror. Should she change? She pulled out one of her more silky nightgowns as she unbuttoned her blouse, smiling as she imagined Clark’s hands on her. She tossed the blouse to the floor along with her skirt and bra, slipping the silk negligee over her head. She leaned toward the mirror examining herself critically. The soft silk hugged her hips perfectly, came up to her mid-thigh and swooped low enough on her neckline to tease him with the sight of the swell of her breasts without being too low cut. She sighed as she noticed her hardened nipple through the white silk of her nightgown. The thought of Clark seeing her in this was already turning her on.
What was she supposed to do? Jump him the minute he showed up with dinner? Clark had said he’d meet her at her apartment with dinner. He’d expect to be eating dinner when he got back…not this. She paced around her bedroom nervously. Maybe this was a mistake. This was too forward…It wasn’t her and it didn’t feel natural. She peeled the nightgown off of her and began sifting through her underwear drawer trying to find something …. Why hadn’t she thought to go shopping?
She finally found a violet lace bra with matching boy short panties and opted to try them on. She hadn’t worn anything like this in a long time….Well not since Superman had first shown up in Metropolis. She blushed recalling how she had spent the first few weeks wearing every uncomfortable piece of lingerie she could think of underneath her clothing …just in case. She had been convinced he shared her feelings after he rescued her from Barnes and his gang. The look in his eyes when he’d found her in that vault…
She smiled to herself, recalling the many many dreams she’d had about Superman so many months ago. This was different, though. He wasn’t just Superman, he was Clark. Her best friend. The man she was madly in love with and the man that had waited…for her.
<< “I told you about Claude? Well, what I didn’t say was this, it was one time and it was ….awful.” She shuddered recalling the pain both physically and emotionally she’d suffered from Claude. “Awkward…and painful…and…I just wanted it to end so I ended up just pretending…”
“I’m sorry,”
“After I found out he’d stolen my story I filed a complaint against him…He spread a lot of AWFUL rumors. I just wanted them to stop so I withdrew my complaint…but it was too late.”>>
<<“I just….I want you to know what you’re getting yourself into. I’m not that experienced and…”
“Lois…”
“I mean I know you traveled a lot and it's not like you wouldn’t have opportunity …I mean, you’re …YOU, but I just don’t want you to be…”
“Lois, I’m not…I’m not that experienced either…”
“You’re not?” >>
<<“No, actually not…at all…Lois, I’m not from here…I’m different…so I made the decision not to….cross that threshold until I could find someone I could share everything with…”
“Really? So, you’re waiting for…”
“Just the right person… You,”>>
She recalled their conversation a few months ago about their ‘experience’ and smiled. The thought of finally making love with him was causing her heart to hammer even harder. She really wanted him. She’d never wanted anyone like this. She stared at her reflection for a moment before redressing in her work clothes from earlier. This was better. Less pressure.
***
“She’s exquisite,” Lex said softly, staring at the screen. He watched hungrily as the image showed Lois slowly removing her blouse and examining herself in the mirror.
The door opened and Lex jumped, slamming the cover to his laptop closed and looked up. “Bad time?” Nigel asked, stepping into the office.
“No, of course not,” Lex shrugged hastily, “Just reviewing the surveillance,”
“Well, as interesting as your surveillance may be sir I’m afraid something’s come to our attention that requires your immediate attention,” Nigel dropped a disk on Lex’s desk.
“What’s this?” Lex asked.
***
Lois came back into the living room and glanced at the clock on the wall. Where was Clark? Maybe Superman got called away. She sunk into the couch, reaching for the remote hoping to give herself some insight into what could be keeping him.
“In other news, the armored car heist turned high-speed chase ended with no fatalities thanks to Superman showing up in the nick of time to stop the gunman from injuring any bystanders.” The anchor announced.
Clark’s image came on the television showing the strained expression of concern on his face as he knelt down to eye level with a young girl, reassuring her everything was fine. She smiled, seeing the familiar tenderness in Clark’s eyes as he hugged the little girl before turning to the camera, “Superman, can we get a statement?” one of the reporters in the crowd asked.
Clark seemed to hesitate a moment, tightening his jaw for a moment for nodding, “The officers that responded to the call were met with gunfire and pursued the gunmen until they were stopped on the corner of Main and West. Bystanders were met with gunfire when the gunmen tried to run on foot. Thankfully no one was injured and the everyone made it out in one piece. Now, if you’ll excuse me?” With that he flew up into the sky, leaving the crowd of reporters to survey the scene.
Lois smiled to herself, “Never gets old,” Her stomach growled, protesting the lack of food in it and she sighed, getting up to head to the kitchen and find a snack to hold her over until Clark made it back. He may have super-speed and be able to fly around the world in a matter of seconds but it still took just as long for the restaurant to cook the food. He said he was going to surprise her. Right now, she didn’t care what he brought back as long as it was edible. She grabbed a box of crackers from the cabinet and began snacking on them as she grabbed a cream soda from the fridge.
“You’re going to spoil your appetite,” a familiar voice whispered from behind her, wrapping his arms around her.
She smiled, looking back at him as she placed a cracker in his mouth, “I got hungry,”
“I brought pasta,” He said, pointing to the table he had set up with the food as he ate the cracker in his mouth.
She turned in his arms to face him, wrapping her arms around him. “Smells good,” She ran a hand up his chest, “I saw the news coverage. You okay?”
He nodded, walking to the table with her, “Yeah, I’m just tired….stuff like that….never gets easier,”
She leaned up to kiss him, “You do what you can,” She reminded him, “Come on, let’s eat.”
***
“Sir, it seems you’ve left a trail,” Nigel said, clicking the play button on the disk.
<“Look, obviously there’s a lot of bad blood between you and Lex. We just want to know the truth. We think maybe we didn’t give you a fair shot considering…”
“You mean considering I went crazy and lashed out at everyone in a jealous rage?”
“Uh, something like that,”
“What’s in it for me?”>
“She wouldn’t dare,” Lex said, shaking his head. “She knows what would happen…”
“Does she?” Nigel asked, “Maybe you need to get ahead of this before you wind up sharing a cell with her,”
“Go on the run?” Lex scoffed, “Are you mad, Nigel?”
“Call it a suggestion,” Nigel shrugged, “A strong one…”
***
Inspector Henderson read over the transcript of the deposition, signing off on the agreement in front of him to make sure everything that had been agreed upon was covered. He then handed it over to the District Attorney to read over.
“You’re a very lucky woman, Miranda,” he said. “Not many people get a chance to start over. I do hope you’ll make better decisions in the future,” He said signing the agreement as he spoke.
“I plan to,” Miranda said with a smile.
The District Attorney handed the agreement back to Henderson, “Get this up to Judge Reynolds. I’ll escort her and Ms. Hunter to the courtroom,”
“You got it,” Henderson nodded.
***
“Are you out of your mind?” Lex fumed. “I am this close to bringing Superman down and you want me to run???”
“You call it running,” Nigel countered, “but I call is self-preservation. Surely you don’t want to lose everything ….wind up growing old …in a cage?”
“Lex Luthor will never live in a cage,” Lex fumed.
“You have a weakness, Lex. Women. You do anything and share anything to bed them. Look at what happened with Miranda….with Lois Lane? My man in the police department said she’s been working with those reporters to bring you down for weeks now…”
“It’s my word against hers…” Lex argued. “We can fight this…”
“No,” Nigel shook his head, “Miranda was smart. She has tapes. That’s what guaranteed her freedom. The only way out of this is to disappear before they show up to arrest you…”
“We can get the tapes back…” Lex argued. “We’re too close…” He fumed, shoving everything off his desk in a rage.
“It’s over,” Nigel argued, “Unless you do as I say,”
***
Lucy Lane cradled her head in her hands as she made her way through the long line of people with the officer dragging her by the shoulder. How had this happened? She had been on a date with Jimmy, minding her own business when out of the blue this crazy lady started hitting her. Poor Jimmy didn’t know what to do. What was he supposed to do? Hit her?
She’d fought back. That was it. Hit her hard enough so she could get away. How had she gotten herself arrested?
“Name?” The officer asked, filling out the paperwork.
“Lane….Lu-Lucy…Lane..” She stammered.
“Lane?” His eyebrows rose in amusement, “Like the reporter ‘Lane?’”
She sighed. Of course, this wasn’t something new. Everywhere she went she had to go through the normal ‘Isn’t your sister the one that discovered Superman’ spiel, and normally she was fine with it, but right now… “Yes, Lois Lane is my sister…” She exhaled impatiently.
Another officer approached her intrigued. He was dressed in a suit instead of a police uniform but he had a badge pinned to his belt and wore glasses. He looked a lot older than the officer that was doing her intake paperwork, “Did you say you’re Lois Lane’s sister?”
She cringed, nodding hesitantly. Was this going to be a good or a bad thing?
He held out a hand for her to shake, “Bill Henderson. I’m a friend of your sister's…Well, some of the time,” He corrected. He took the pad from the other officer and said, “Jensen, I’ve got it from here…”
“But…” He began to argue.
“I’ve got it…” Henderson repeated a little sharper in tone. Jensen nodded and headed toward the back and Henderson turned to Lucy, “What are you in for?”
“Assault?” She squeaked out shamefully. “I swear I have never done something like this in my life. I don’t know what happened. She just jumped me out of nowhere and then when I hit her to get away the cops showed up and arrested me but let her go with a warning. I mean who does that? That is so not fair. If you’re going to arrest someone for getting into a fight you should arrest both parties don’t you think?”
Henderson laughed, “Yep, definitely Lois’ sister,” He placed a supportive hand on her shoulder. “Listen, it’ll probably get tossed if you have witnesses that she attacked you…This’ll be the worst of it. I’ll try and expedite the paperwork here so you can make your phone call and have someone pick you up…”
“I have to call someone to pick me up?” She groaned.
“I can call Lois if you want?” He suggested.
“No…” She shook her head, “Not a good idea. I, uh, I’ll call my mom…” She could hear the tirade already. ‘Mom is going to kill me…’
***
“Thanks for dinner,” Lois said, sinking into the couch next to Clark as she folded her legs underneath her. “Really hit the spot,”
“I’m glad,” Clark said, cupping her cheek, “Any word from Henderson?”
“Nope. I’m sure he’ll call when he’s got the warrant ready,” Lois said, cupping his hand. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she spoke. She really wanted to just…
He pulled away and leaned back against the couch, “Just a waiting game,”
She frowned at the loss of contact, moving a little closer to him as she spoke, “Crazy, isn’t it?” She leaned her head against his chest as she spoke, resting her hand on his arm.
He shifted beneath her touch, “What?” He asked. She could hear the slight increase in his heart rate against his chest as she slid her hand up the cotton of his dress shirt and smiled to herself.
“After a month of re-researching everything we’ve finally got everything we need to put Lex behind bars,” Lois said softly, fingering the top button of his shirt with her thumb as she spoke.
“If nobody drops the ball,” Clark reminded her, shifting away from her slightly as he spoke. “I’m still a little nervous about this. I’m not counting Luthor out yet,”
“I thought I was the one that was the pessimist,” Lois mused, lifting her head up to look at him. She could tell from his heated gaze he hadn’t been immune to her touch, “What happened to that optimistic farmboy?” She teased.
“He discovered not everyone has a good side,” He said with a wry smile. She fingered random patterns on his knee, moving up his thigh intently, watching in rapt attention as he seemed to be fighting an inner battle with himself, but he didn’t pull away from her this time. He looked at her, meeting her gaze as he caught her hand before she could move further up his thigh and he breathed, “Not with Luthor anyway,”
“Just don’t go cynical on me,” She warned.
He smiled, cupping her cheek with his palm, “No chance of that,” He fingered her hair and smiled, “Keep your hands to yourself,” He warned.
“Why?” She teased, pressing herself against him, “Am I ….distracting …you?” She fingered the end of his tie seductively, looking at him with an impish grin.
He groaned, leaning in to kiss her, pulling her to him. She laughed against his lips as she felt him pull her onto his lap, murmuring, “God, I love you,”
***
TBC...
Comments Go Here
