Epiphany
Folc4evernaday
Part 14
Note: This part has a lot going on so pay attention.
***
On the outskirts of town in the Metropolis cemetery, a tall man in black watched as a truck pulled up. Devane stepped out of the truck carrying a metal case with him, looking around. He spotted the man in black suspiciously, “You with Luthor?”
The man removed his hat and stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself to Devane, and he nodded, “You could say that,”
“Mr. Luthor thought you were on the run…” Devane said with a smile.
“Leave without the stone? I don’t think so,” Lex smiled.
“You have the money?” Devane asked.
Lex nodded, opening the case in front of him, “Five million dollars.” He pointed to the case in Devane’s hands, “The stone?” Devane nodded, and Lex continued, “My information suggested the stone had been tested extensively by a University laboratory. Who else knows about its properties?”
Devane shrugged with a smile, “There were some loose ends…but they’ve been trimmed. Bureau 39 was thorough that way,”
“And the research?” Lex pressed.
“Destroyed,” Devane grinned.
“Then I’ll have to take you at your word for what it’s capable of,” Lex mused.
“You’re joking, right? I have buyers lined up for this, and you want a money-back guarantee?” Devane sneered.
“Yes, I do,” Lex stared at Devane coldly.
“You’re not exactly in the position to be making demands, Mr. Luthor,” Devane warned.
“And neither are you,” Lex pulled out a .45 automatic and motioned with it for Devane to raise his hands. Devane stared down the barrel, shakily raising his hands as Lex began to give him orders, “Put the case down and walk away. IF it works, I’ll pay you your money with a bonus,”
“You double-crossing…”
“Uh, uh, uh, careful,” Lex warned, cocking the trigger.
Devane stared at Lex for a moment before putting the case down, turning and moving away. Lex bent down to retrieve the case and opened it only to find a plain rock painted green inside. He looked up to see Devane dart behind the truck as Devane shouted, “Now!”
Four other men hop out from behind the truck, opening fire on Lex as three figures appear from behind the building Lex was waiting by and return fire. One by one Devane and his men are hit and fall to the ground, but not without taking out Lex in the process. The firing stops and one of the men that had been firing on Devane and his men stepped forward, removing his ski mask as he knelt down next to Devane, “The voice wasn’t bad, but I never felt he got the mannerisms down,”
Another figure knelt down next to him, removing her ski mask Mrs. Cox smiled at Lex, “It’s not easy playing you, Lex,”
“Nonsense,” He smiled, rolling Devane over as he patted him down. “I do it all the time….Now, let’s see…” He smiled when he felt something in Devane’s pocket, “Is that Kryptonite in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?” He smiled when he pulled out the glowing meteorite and stood up, tucking it into his own pocket, “Pay him his bonus, will you, Mrs. Cox?”
Several shots could be heard in the background as Lex disappeared into the back of the mausoleum.
***
Lois sighed happily as she felt the weightlessness beneath her, curling up tighter in Clark’s arms as she slowly began to wake up. Last night had been out of this world. She felt closer to Clark than she ever had with anyone. She was sore in places she didn’t even know she had muscles, but it was SO worth it.
His arms tightened around her, and she smiled to herself. ‘So this is what it’s supposed to feel like,’ she thought to herself. She felt his arms tighten around her waist and turned to face him. “Morning,” He murmured, brushing his lips against her shoulder.
“Morning,” She murmured, turning in his arms to wrap her arms around him. She glanced up and noticed the bed above them and looked around, “We’re on the ceiling,”
“Mmm hmm,” He murmured, leaning in to kiss her. “You seemed to like it so much last night…” He wiggled his eyebrows at her as he tightened his arms around her waist.
“Oh, definitely,” She breathed, leaning back as he rolled them to where she was on her back to the ceiling. “I think my….legs….are getting heavy, though…” She moved her legs against him to prove her point.
“No problem,” He whispered, floating them back down to the bed. Lois sighed when she felt the cool cotton from the sheets brush against her legs. “Better?”
“Much,” She whispered, leaning down to kiss him. “What time is it?”
He glanced at the clock on the nightstand, “We’ve still got a couple of…..” Hours. He was going to say hours before a loud, sharp, insistent knock interrupted him.
Lois tugged the sheet to the bed over herself. “Who is that?”
“I….” He grimaced when he saw who was on the other side of the door, “It’s Henderson,”
“Maybe he’s got the warrant ready for Lex,” Lois said excitedly.
He shook his head, climbing out of bed and reaching for his shirt from the night before he handed it to her. “Here,” He quickly spun into shorts and t-shirt then waited for Lois to finish buttoning his shirt. How was it that she looked even more sexy in his clothes than she had a few moments ago, next to him in bed completely naked? She grabbed a pair of cotton shorts from the dresser to put on in the meantime, and once she nodded she was ready, he went to the door to answer it.
“It’s about time!” Henderson boomed, stepping into the apartment. “I’ve been calling you and Lois for hours….I went by her place, and her sister hasn’t seen her since last night…”
He’d disconnected the phone line when Lois had shown up last night. After the last time, they didn’t want to take any chances of being interrupted again. He’d apologize, but he really didn’t feel sorry. He fought the smile he knew was threatening to spread across his face, “I guess I had my ringer off,” He shrugged.
“Why did you turn your ringer off?” Henderson asked, following him down the steps. “You knew we were waiting on that warrant to come through…” He stopped when he spotted Lois coming into the living room, “OH!” He looked between the two of them for a moment as realization dawned on him, “I guess that answers that question,” He muttered softly.
Lois brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, ignoring the look of embarrassment on Henderson’s face, “Did the warrant come through?”
“Uh, yeah,” he said, looking at the floor, studying the cracks in the wood. “There was a problem, though…”
“What kind of problem?” Clark asked.
“Well, after I left messages for both of you…..” He trailed off, “I, uh, didn’t get a response so ….I got a team together to arrest Luthor last night, but….”
“You went to arrest him without us???” Lois accused angrily.
“Including you in Luthor's arrest was a courtesy, but you didn’t answer,” Henderson quipped. “Anyway, it didn’t do any good…”
“Why not?” Clark asked.
“He’s gone,” Henderson said grimly.
“What do you mean he’s gone?” Lois asked.
“He disappeared…along with all the tapes we had locked up in evidence…” Henderson said glumly. “Someone must have tipped him off,”
***
Mrs. Cox handed Lex a file, wrapping her arms around herself as she looked at the dreary surroundings. “Just a temporary situation, Mrs. Cox,”
“The explosives have been planted,” Mrs. Cox said shakily. “You just say the word and then BOOM.”
Lex nodded, “Good,” He toyed with the file in his hand, “Leave me,” He set the file down and pulled out his laptop and began pulling up the surveillance footage.
“More surveillance?” Mrs. Cox asked.
“Yes,” Lex waved her off, waiting for Mrs. Cox to leave. Once she had left he loaded the screen and smiled, “Well, well, what do we have here?” He smiled with intrigue.
***
Lois threw her things down in frustration as she locked the apartment. Two months of research down the toilet. Lex Luthor was missing. The witnesses are gone. The evidence is gone. He could reappear at any time, and there still wasn’t anything the police or the courts could do to hold him. She rubbed her temples, trying to will her growing temper to subside. Getting angry wasn’t going to solve anything.
She glanced over at Clark who looked just as frustrated as she felt. “What are we going to do?”
He shook his head in disgust, “Try and salvage what we can and hope we can find someone or something to nail Luthor to the wall?” He raked a hand through his hair, “I don’t know. I don’t get how he…How is he always one step ahead of us?”
“Henderson said he thought he was tipped off,” Lois breathed as she began to try to reason what could have gone wrong out loud, “Maybe there’s a snitch in the police station, or at the DA’s office…” She buried her face in her hands, “I don’t know. I guess we got to break the bad news to Perry. I’m gonna get dressed. I’ll just be a sec.”
He nodded, heading for the kitchen, “I’ll make some coffee,”
“Thanks,” She gave him a weak smile, “I’m sorry. I really thought we had him.”
“I did too,” He replied sadly, “I guess that’s why they say ‘God laughs when we make plans.’” She gave him a weak smile before heading into her bedroom to get dressed. She hopped in the shower and threw on a pantsuit then headed out into the living room where she found Clark sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee and Lucy nursing what appeared to be turning into a black-eye with a frozen bag of peas.
“Lucy!” She gasped seeing how bad the bruising was on her sister’s face. She sank down next to her, trying to get a better look at the bruising.
“I know,” Lucy sighed, shaking her head. “It wasn’t nearly this bad last night. I guess I got hit a lot harder than I thought.”
“I’ll say,” Clark said, “Keep icing it. That should help prevent any more bruising than what’s already there.”
“I guess I must have pissed somebody off pretty bad,” Lucy said wryly.
<<“It was a setup. There I am, minding my own business when this mammoth of a woman starts swinging at me…I was defending myself…”>>Lois shot her head around looking at Lucy then at Clark. The only person, her sister, had pissed off recently had been Lex. Could he have been responsible for last night’s attack? Clark met her gaze, seeming to sense the silent question in her eyes and offered her a grim nod in agreement.
“I wish I could tell you it looks worse than what it feels like but I’d be lying.” Lucy teased. Lois and Clark offered her a weak smile, unsure of how to respond. Lucy glanced at the clock, “Shouldn’t you be on your way to work by now?”
Lois looked at Lucy apprehensively, “Are you sure you don’t need me to take you to the doctor or anything?”
Lucy shook her head, “If it gets too bad I’ll give mom a call. Besides the doctor at the police station assured me there was no concussion, so I think it’s just bruising.”
“Maybe I oughta stay with you?” Lois offered.
“I thought today was the day you were landing the exclusive on Lex Luthor’s arrest? No, I’m fine. You got work. I got cable and your stash of Double Fudge Crunch bars with a healthy stack of takeout places if I need them. I’ll be fine. I don’t have to go to class till Monday. I’m fine.”
“But…” Lois began to argue, still uncertain about leaving her little sister.
Clark interrupted, handing her her travel mug of coffee, “Come on, you heard her. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover. Besides we need to at least try to make a good impression with the new owner.”
“New owner?” Lucy asked.
“I’ll tell you about it later,” Lois promised, taking her mug from Clark. “Call me if you change your mind about the doctor,” She wagged her finger at Lucy as Clark drug her out of the apartment.
“Bye Luce,” He called over his shoulder, closing the door behind them.
***
Jimmy raced down the steps to the newsroom and headed to where Perry was standing with Bruce Wayne and a couple of the board members, “Chief! Did you hear what happened last night?”
Perry nodded, “Lex Luthor, career criminal escapes before the Metropolis P.D. could arrest him? Yeah, I heard,” His jaw tightened as he spoke, “Makes me sick to think about what he could have done if he’d gotten ownership of the Planet,”
“Makes me wonder what his intentions were that’s for sure,” Bruce said with a grim look. He shook his head in disgust, “Mr. White, I’ve left my numbers on your desk. After hearing it was Wayne Enterprises they were turning down the banks magically found the credit and advertisers are looking for ad space again." Bruce gave Perry a wink, "After what happened yesterday I think it was all a setup orchestrated by Lex Luthor so he could swoop in and act like he was ‘saving’ the Planet,”
“But the question is ‘why’?” Jimmy interrupted, “Why was he after the Planet?”
Perry shook his head, “I don’t know, but thankfully he didn’t succeed,” Perry said, patting Bruce on the shoulder, “Mr. Wayne I can’t tell you how grateful I am for your help.”
“Any day I can put Lex Luthor in his place is a good day for me,” Bruce smiled, glancing at his watch, “I’ve got a plane to catch. I’ll be in and out over the next few weeks. Discuss the expansion updates I talked about,”
“Yeah, I’m still not so sure that’s a good…” Perry began, but Bruce was already walking toward the elevator.
“We’ll talk on Monday,” He grinned back pressing the call button. The button didn’t light up, and he frowned, “That’s odd,” He pressed the button again.
“What is it?” Perry asked.
“The elevator’s power is out,” Bruce muttered, pulling out his phone to dial maintenance.
Perry scanned the newsroom and noticed Lois and Clark still hadn’t made it in and muttered, “They better not be doing what I think they’re doing,”
“What was that?” Bruce asked.
“Oh, nothing, I….” Perry stopped when a loud rumble from below could be felt through the floor.
Bruce laid his hand against the elevator and winced, “It’s hot. There’s a fire in the elevator shaft…”
Another rumble and the sound of an explosion from below could be felt as alarms began to blare, “Get everyone out now!!!” Perry yelled as the doors to the elevator opened and flames filled the floor as the ground began to tremble. The sound of glass shattering above them echoed around them, and Perry thought he could make out the silhouette of Superman carrying someone out at super-speed.
***
“We are so late,” Lois breathed as they stepped into the Daily Planet lobby.
“It’s Friday,” Clark reasoned, wrapping his arms around Lois’ waist as they approached the elevator. “Maybe no one will notice,”
“Yeah right,” She sighed, pressing the call button the elevator, “Hours after Lex goes into hiding and escapes arrest for all his crimes in Metropolis? I don’t think so.” Lois shot back as they stepped into the elevator car. “I mean, how could he just disappear?” Lois angrily fumed as she jabbed the button to the newsroom repeatedly.
Clark placed a hand over hers, trying to calm her down, “I don’t know, but ….THAT….isn’t helping,”
“I should have called in. Did you see her face?” Lois breathed, turning to look at him accusingly.
“She said she was fine.” He reassured her as he whispered in her ear. “She’s a big girl, and she can call you if she needs something.”
“How could he do something like that to her?” She fumed angrily. “She’s just a kid.”
“She’s not a kid anymore.” Clark reminded her. “Luthor doesn’t like being challenged. If it was him. We still don’t know for sure if it was him.”
“Yeah, right,” Lois folded her arms over her chest. “Who else did she pick a fight with since she’s been in Metropolis?”
He sighed, wrapping an arm around her, “Then we’ll prove it. Until then…” He pulled her hand away from the call button she kept jabbing insistently and kissed it. “We do what we can to find out what happened.”
There was a sharp jolt, and the elevator halted as the lights flickered. “What was that?” Lois asked, looking around.
“I don’t know,” Clark said looking around the empty elevator car as he lowered his glasses, “Maybe the elevator short-circuited when someone kept jamming the newsroom floor…”
Lois smacked him playfully on the chest, “Come on, get us out of here so we can…”
“Oh, no….” Clark breathed.
“What is it?” Lois asked. Before he could respond, she saw him aim his heat vision at the cameras before he spun into the Superman suit and grabbed her by the waist to fly them through the emergency exit of the elevator car and into the elevator shaft that had filled with flames.
“Hold on….” He whispered, holding her close as he flew them through the ceiling and crashed through the glass.
***
Nigel stepped into the underground bunker that was located beneath the mausoleum, turning the corner where Lex had set up his office to until it was safe to move above ground. The wall was covered with screens showing monitoring of different locations across Metropolis. The surveillance on the corner where the Daily Planet stood showed the building in flames, and Lex smiled, "Now who's laughing,"
"Well, sir, I see you've made yourself at home," Nigel said, making his presence known.
Lex turned to face him with a smile, "Just doing some house cleaning," He muttered turning to look at the screen with the Daily Planet in flames again.
"So I see," Nigel said calmly, "Sir, don't you think blowing up the Planet will only make the Metropolis P.D. focus on you ....more?"
"They can't prove a thing," Lex snarled angrily.
"Even so," Nigel added, "You're supposed to be laying low."
"No," Lex shook his head in anger, "I won't give him the satisfaction. I may not be in my penthouse anymore, but I refuse to give Superman the satisfaction of seeing me roll over. I can run my empire from here just as easily, but without the pretense of having to pretend to be something I’m not."
"And that is?" Nigel asked.
"A humanitarian." He winced. "All those useless charities and functions and pretending to care about this city...this city that has turned it's back on Lex Luthor!" He shook his head in disgust, "The gloves are off, Nigel,"
***
Outside of the Planet, Lois Lane watched as firefighters, ambulatory workers, and Superman fought the flames that had engulfed the building. After making sure she was a safe distance from the building Clark had flown back into the building to rescue their injured co-workers from the explosion that had been set off when they had been in the elevator. She held a gauze to her forehead in place, keeping the pressure on the cut she'd gotten when the glass had shattered around them. One by one, friends and co-workers appeared outside the building, all in a state of shock as they stared up at what had become of the greatest newspaper in the world.
"Oh, God..." Lois breathed as she watched Clark in his Superman suit covered in soot and grease carrying Jimmy who was cradling his arm in pain.
He set him down on one of the many awaiting stretchers and turned to her, "He'll be okay," He reassured, "Stay with him?"
"Of course," She reached over to hold Jimmy's hand, reassuring him he wasn't alone. Clark then turned back to the firefighters that were struggling to get the hose line into the building. "It'll be okay Jimmy,"
Jimmy gave her a weak smile, "You all right?"
"Just a minor cut," She said gently, trying to reassure him.
Jimmy grimaced looking down at his arm, "I think it might be broken. I got caught under one of the columns that blew...If Superman hadn't..." He looked up at the sky to see Superman flying the hose into the building and the firemen turning the water on full blast to douse the flames, "How many times has he just stepped in and saved our lives?"
Lois gave Jimmy a weak smile, "Yeah, he's really something,"
"Lois, are you okay, honey?" Perry shouted as he pushed through the crowd that had gathered outside the Planet.
"I'm ...fine," She gave Perry a nervous smile, looking around at the damage.
"Where's Clark?" He asked in concern.
Lois pointed to the crowd, "He went to get help after Superman got us out of the elevator," Lois hoped Perry couldn't tell she was lying. It wasn't a total lie. He was getting help. Clark was the help.
Perry scanned the crowd, "Have any of you seen Mr. Wayne?"
Lois was about to tell him 'no' when she spotted Clark carrying an injured Bruce Wayne out of the half destroyed Planet. "Oh, God!"
"He was pulling everyone out of the basement before it collapsed," Clark explained, motioning for the ambulatory workers to help Bruce Wayne.
"Thanks, Superman," one of the workers reassured, "We've got it from here." Bruce was still unconscious as the workers began to work on him.
"There's still more people inside," Clark said with a pained expression before turning to fly back inside the Planet.
Lois stared up at the wreckage numbly. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion as one by one workers from the printing room were brought out by Superman and other first responders that worked tirelessly to pull everyone out.
After what seemed like an eternity Superman nodded to the firefighters that the fire was out and the first responders on the scene nodded their agreement. "We're clear. Everyone's out. Thanks, Superman,"
She watched as Clark disappeared in a red and blue blur, reappearing in the crowd behind her. The pained expression on his face spoke volumes. She pushed past the crowd to reach him, wrapping him in her arms as he held her tight. He let out a shuddered breath, holding her close, unwilling to voice the pain she knew he felt. She lifted her head from his chest, holding back the tears she knew were threatening to escape the corners of her eyes.
His hand moved to cup her cheek, and she gave him a shaky smile. He leaned in to kiss her, and she sighed against him, finding comfort in his arms as she fought against the feeling of helplessness that had taken over her for the last few hours. Everything in her life had revolved around the Daily Planet for the last four years, her friends, her co-workers...her family. Now, it was gone.
"CK!" Jimmy called out, and they slowly separated, turning to their friend who was approaching with Perry in tow. "Man, I've been looking all over for you,"
Clark looked at Jimmy's arm that was in a sling, "I've been trying to help where I can. How's the arm?"
"They think it's a fracture," Jimmy said, "I've got to head over to the hospital and get a brace,"
"I'm sorry, Jimmy," Clark apologized.
"Why are you apologizing?" Jimmy asked, looking around the wreckage that was left of the Daily Planet, "You didn't do this,"
Perry placed a hesitant hand on Jimmy's shoulder, "Go on and get yourself taken care of. Give us a call when you're done, and someone will pick you up," Jimmy nodded, turning to head back to the ambulatory workers that were taking all injured parties to the hospital.
Clark stared up at the wreckage, watching as officers began sectioning the building off from the public, "Everyone, move back!" one of the officers called out through the bull horn.
They complied, moving toward the cafe across from the Planet. A crane pulled up to the building, and they watched in anguish as the Daily Planet globe was slowly lowered to an awaiting tow-truck. "This can't be happening," Lois cried numbly. "Please tell me this is a nightmare," Clark gave her a sympathetic look before hugging her tightly as they continued to watch.
Perry looked up at the wreckage in disgust, "Two hundred and nineteen years and in a blink of an eye it's all gone,"
"We'll rebuild," Clark said. "The Daily Planet is more than just a building..."
Perry nodded, "I know, but this..." He gestured to the remains of the Daily Planet, "was the first ... and the oldest location of the Daily Planet. We have locations all over the world, but THIS is where it all started." He ran a ragged hand through his thinning hair, "A historic day, boys and girls. Tomorrow, for the first time in two hundred nineteen years, there will be no edition of the Daily Planet."
"Thankfully there were no fatalities," Lois murmured, glancing back at Clark. "We can be grateful for that,"
"Grateful?" Perry scoffed, "Lois, I'm feeling a lot of things right now, but grateful is not one of them." He glanced over at the train of ambulances that were getting ready to leave and sighed, "I think I'm going to head over to Metropolis General and check on Jimmy and Mr. Wayne...I'll, uh, see you two later,"
"He did this, didn't he?" Lois asked quietly as Perry walked away.
Clark's voice was strained as he spoke, "Yeah, I think so,"
"All those people..." Lois breathed shakily.
"I know," He croaked, tightening his arms around her.
"Let's get out of here," Lois murmured, turning in his arms, tugging him with her as they headed to the parking garage a few blocks away from where she'd parked that morning. At the time she'd been irritated about being late and irritated about having to park so far away, but now she was grateful. The injuries everyone had suffered...
***
Toni Taylor winced as her surroundings began to come into focus. She wasn’t in her cell. She was in some dark and dreary bunker. She sat up, grimacing as a dull ache began to resonate through her head.
“I see you’re regaining your wits,” A familiar voice with a British accent spoke from the doorway.
“Nigel,” She breathed, recognizing him immediately.
"I do hope you'll forgive the accommodations. Circumstances have changed over the past twenty-four hours," He said, polishing an object inside a cloth, "but I'm sure you're already aware of that."
He knew. He knew, and he was going to kill her.
She looked around the room trying to find something she could use as a weapon if need be but found nothing. "I wasn't going to..."
"Weren't going to what?" Nigel asked, taking a step inside the cell.
"I was never going to....I wouldn't betray Lex like that," Toni stammered, hoping against hope he would believe her.
She saw the reflection of light glint against the barrel of the .45 automatic he was polishing and took a shallow breath. His eyes narrowed, and he waved the automatic in the air, "Ms. Taylor, why should I believe a word out of your mouth? You've already proven you can't be trusted by talking to those reporters,"
"They came to me!" He raised the barrel to her, pressing the hard metal against her temple and she cried. This was how it was going to end. She squinted her eyes shut, anticipating the inevitable.
"Nigel, enough!!!" a voice from behind them shouted. Toni slowly opened her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief when Nigel removed the cold metal barrel from her temple. She held her breath as she saw Lex step into the room. "This is not what I had her brought here for,"
"She knows too much, and she was willing to talk," Nigel argued.
"A mistake I'm sure she regrets," Lex said, narrowing his eyes at Toni as he spoke. "Put it away," He ordered, pushing the barrel of the automatic toward Nigel. There seemed to be some sort of unspoken battle of wits going on between them as they both stared one another down. Nigel gave Lex a glare that was met by Lex's own piercing stare. The darkness in Lex's eyes... she had never seen it before....how dark.
"Very well," Nigel said, clicking the safety on and tucking the weapon safely in its holster.
"Excellent!" Lex cheered, his face softened and the debonair face that had always been there returned. "Ms. Taylor, please forgive Nigel. He hasn't been house trained yet," She didn't know what to say or how to speak. She saw the dark glare return to Lex's face as he gave Nigel a warning look before approaching her.
"Wha..." She began to say, but Lex cut her off.
"What are you doing here?" Lex asked. She nodded, and he began to explain. "I couldn't have you testifying against me. That' wouldn't be good for either of us." He gave a menacing look to Toni, and she swallowed hard, "Now, I like to think of myself as a reasonable person. I think that you're an intelligent woman. Anyone that would be willing to go to such lengths to steal an organization from your own brother....that takes spunk. I like spunk."
"I..."
"As you can see, that....INVESTIGATION you were involved in has forced me to relocated...embrace my roots so to speak," He gestured to the darkened room around them. "It's only temporary. I'll be back on top in no time, but I will be more careful."
"Careful?" She squeaked.
"I let my guard down. Now, I'm paying the price." Lex smiled. "I won't make that mistake again. Now you're either with me or against me. The choice is yours, Ms. Taylor,"
Toni caught the look between Lex and Nigel and realized the choice she was being given wasn't that simple. If she was 'with' Lex, then she would live but if not...The glint of the automatic from behind Nigel's jacket caught her attention. She knew it was the only way to get out of this alive. "With. Of course, I'm with you, Lex," She gave him a forced smile, hoping he would buy it.
***
Perry made his way through the crowded emergency room that was filled with family and friends looking for answers about the status of their loved ones. The nurse at the front desk looked weary. He had taken a shaky breath before he spoke, "I'm looking for James Olsen,"
"Family?" She asked, not looking up from her computer as she typed at her keyboard.
"Friend," He corrected.
"I can't give you a status," She began to say, but he cut her off.
"I know he hurt his arm. I just wanted to sit with him while they patch him up." Perry explained.
She gave him a once-over, and he wasn't sure if she was going to be forthcoming with any information. "All non-emergent cases are in triage. Go through the doors and hang a left then a right," She explained, pressing a button to open the double doors for him.
"Thank you," He called over his shoulders as he followed her directions to triage.
***
Ellen held up a piece of gauze that was soaked in iodine, "This is gonna sting,"
Lois nodded, preparing herself for the pain as Ellen worked on cleaning up the cut on her forehead. After they'd left the disaster scene that once had been the Daily Planet Lois insisted on seeing Lucy to reassure herself she was okay. She had been eerily quiet. As long as he’d known her, Lois always had something to say about everything, whether you wanted to hear it or not. Now, she was quiet. She hadn’t even argued when Lucy had demanded they take Lois to see their mother immediately so she could be checked out since Lois was refusing to see a doctor. He still couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t at least get checked out with one of the ambulatory workers on the scene.
Clark sat at the table watching in silence as Ellen finished tending to Lois’ injuries. “Is she okay?” He asked apprehensively.
When he’d been flying them out of the elevator, he’d been so focused on making sure they got out of there he hadn’t double checked to make sure he had her close enough to absorb his aura. Because of that, she had been hurt. One of the cuts on her forehead was an inch away from her eye.
“She’ll be fine, Clark,” Ellen reassured, patting him on the hand before gathering the used gauze to throw away.
Clark glanced at Lois, still not convinced. She gave him a weak smile. “I’m fine,” She said weakly. “Just a bit…”
“Shocked?” Ellen suggested, taking a seat next to her to finish cleaning up the remainder of her cuts as she began carefully plucking glass from her hair, careful not to cut her as she did so.
“You could say that,” Lois said, squeezing her mother’s free hand. “Thanks,”
“How in the world you girls are still alive is a mystery to me…” Ellen muttered, continuing to pull shards of glass out of her hair.
“I guess you could call it Lane Luck,” Lucy teased.
Ellen wasn’t laughing, and neither was he. So many lives could have been lost today. It had been a miracle no one had died. A miracle that he’d been able to get out of the elevator before it was plummeted into the air and shattered on Main Street where thankfully no one had been crossing the street.
Ellen turned sternly to Lucy, “Lucy, you are not a kid anymore. You can’t go around saying whatever pops in your mouth and not expect consequences…”
“I told you I was just minding my own business…” Lucy began to argue.
“Look at your face, Lucy. It looks like one of those Baboons.”
“Baboons?” Lois echoed in disbelief.
“I look like a baboon?” Lucy asked, aghast.
Ellen shook her head, not paying attention to the girls at the moment as she tried to think of the name, “What was the name of that baboon with the red face? You know the one I’m talking about?” She snapped her fingers as she tried to think.
“Hamadryas?” He guessed, not sure if it was wise to add to the conversation at the moment given the expression on Lucy Lane’s face.
“Yes!” Ellen pointed at him, “That’s it. Hamadryas Baboons.”
“Gee, thanks, mom,” Lucy said sarcastically.
“Between you and your sister…” Ellen fumed.
“Yes, we get it,” Lucy sighed. “We get into trouble too much. We didn’t go to the right college. We didn’t go into the right profession….”
“Ow!” Lois winced as the tweezers grabbed at a shard of glass that was wedged in the edge of her scalp.
“Sorry,” Ellen winced; realizing she’d yanked a bit too hard. Clark watched in silence, uncertain of what to do. He’d hold Lois’ hand but wasn’t sure if that would distract her from what Ellen was doing.
“I’m fine,” Lois reassured her, giving Ellen a smile. “Let’s just get the glass out then you two can argue.”
“We were not arguing.” Ellen corrected, “Just voicing a difference of opinion.”
“Uh-huh,” Lois grinned back at them.
“Well, you’re lucky you made it out of there when you did.” Lucy began. “From what Jimmy was saying there were a lot of people trapped that had some serious injuries. It’s lucky Superman was flying by when he was, huh?”
Clark caught Lois’ gaze as he nodded, “Yeah, I just wish he’d been able to stop it before so many people got hurt.”
“Well, I’m sure he did his best,” Ellen reasoned.
Lois smiled at him, “He can’t be everywhere at once,”
“Or do everything,” Lucy added.
Clark couldn’t help but smile. It was becoming more and more apparent just where Lois’ spirited attitude came from. “Yeah,” He glanced back at Lucy, “So you talked to Jimmy?”
Lucy nodded, “He called me from the ambulance. Didn’t want me to find out what happened to him from the news apparently.”
“News?” Lois asked.
“Yes, apparently he was interviewed and might be on TV tonight. He’s very proud of this.” Lucy said with a smile.
“Uh-oh,” Clark teased, “Does the Chief know about this interview?”
***
Perry spotted Jimmy sitting up on a cot with his arm in a sling and next to him was Bruce Wayne with a bandage wrapped around his waist with his torn shirt still hanging off of him. "Jimmy, Mr. Wayne," Perry greeted them.
"Mr. White, I'm pleased to see you made it out all right," Bruce smiled at Perry.
Perry nodded, "Yeah, I'm glad we all made it out. Superman said you were helping our guys in the printing press out of the basement. How did you get down there?"
"The stairs," Bruce shrugged, "When everyone began running for the exits I saw one of the columns was blocking the stairs so I did what I could to help get the guys out. It was nothing."
Perry gave him a look then sighed, "Well, it wasn't nothing to any of the guys you helped out. Thank you." He turned to Jimmy, "How's the arm, son?"
"I'm still waiting on my discharge papers," Jimmy explained, "I'll be in a sling for a few weeks, though,"
“Good.” Perry sighed, running a hand through his thinning hairline. “I’m glad everyone made it out all right.”
“Me too,” Bruce said with a grim expression. “If you both will excuse me I’m gonna see what I gotta do to get out of this joint. My latest purchase just blew up in my face literally, and I’ve got to figure out a way to explain this to my investors before they start demanding my head on a stick.”
Jimmy laughed, “I like him. He’s funny.”
Perry nodded, “He’s a character all right.” He glanced at Jimmy cautiously, “You sure you’re okay, son?”
“I’m fine, Chief,” Jimmy reassured, “A little banged up, but I’ll live.”
Just then a group of officers entered the triage area. One of the officers in the middle pointed toward them, “Something we can help you with, Officer…?” Perry asked, prompting the officer for a name.
“It’s Detective,” The man said gruffly, “Detective Jenkins…as of this morning.”
“Okay, Detective Jenkins is there something we can help you with?” Perry asked, annoyed with the man’s attitude.
“Looking for a James Olsen?” He said, looking towards Jimmy.
“That’d be me,” Jimmy said, “What’s this about?”
“Why don’t you just come with us down to the station? We’ll explain it there.” Jenkins said.
Jimmy began to agree, but Perry cut him off, “I don’t think so. You’re not taking him anywhere without telling him what this is about.”
“That’s none of your concern,” Jenkins argued.
“I’m making it my concern,” Perry countered, taking a protective step in front of Jimmy.
“Is there a problem here?” Bruce asked from behind them.
“Not if Detective Jenkins wants to explain why Jimmy needs to go downtown with him and his officers,” Perry said gruffly.
Jenkins threw an annoyed look then sighed, “Fine, do it your way.” He pulled out his handcuffs, “James Bartholomew Olsen, you are wanted for questioning in the arson and destruction of the Daily Planet.”
“What???” Perry asked aghast.
“You’re out of your mind. I would never….” Jimmy argued.
“That’s what we’ll clear up at the station.” Jenkins sighed, hanging his handcuffs in the air, “Do I need to use these or are you going to come with me willingly?”
***
TBC...
Comments Go Here
