Epiphany
Folc4evernaday
Part 16
NOTE: Apparently my muse is in overdrive for now. So here's the next part.
***
Sam groaned, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at Lucy, “You don’t have to stay here,” He said, noticing the bored expression on her face.
“Someone’s got to stay here to make sure you two don’t try to kill each other and considering Lois almost got herself killed today….”
“Again,” Ellen interjected sarcastically.
“Yes, again,” Lucy rolled her eyes as she finished her statement, “…I figured I’d be the best candidate for the job.”
“This is ridiculous!” Sam scoffed, looking between Ellen and Lucy, “I’m not a child. I don’t need a chaperone.”
“The blood on your shirt and the bruise on your face would say otherwise,” Ellen said taking a seat next to Lucy on the couch. “Don’t drip any blood on the carpet. I just had it cleaned.”
“It’s MY carpet.” Sam snapped back.
“Not according to the divorce decree,” Ellen said smugly.
Lucy let out a sharp whistle, pulling her parents’ attention away from one another. “I thought you two were going to try and get along?”
“Old habits die hard I guess,” Ellen sighed, “How about some coffee?”
“I’d love some,” Sam said, leaning back in the recliner.
“I was talking to our daughter,” Ellen said with a bite in her tone.
“Oh,” Sam said self-consciously.
“None for me, thanks,” Lucy sighed, glancing at her phone that began to ring, “Just a minute,”
***
Most of the walk over to O’Neal Towers had been quiet. Clark hadn’t known what to say. He’d spent most of the morning going over the events in the elevator trying to figure out what had gone wrong. Why hadn’t he heard the blast before it had consumed the elevator shaft? Why had he not been holding Lois closer? She’d been hurt. If he’d just held her a little closer, she would have absorbed his aura, and she never would have been hurt. He cast a sideways glance at her, focusing on the cut and scrapes on her forehead near her left eye. “So, how’s your head?”
She touched her forehead instinctually, “Fine. It’s just a few cuts. Nothing I can’t handle.” She offered him a half-smile but frowned when she saw he didn’t return it. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing,” He gave her a forced reassuring smile, “How did things go at your mom’s?” She let out a groan, and he chuckled, “That bad, huh?”
“You could say that,” She said, toying with his hand in hers, staring at his hand as she spoke, “Dad showed up.”
“You dad?” He asked, surprised, “I thought he was…”
Lois shook her head, “So did I.” She shrugged her shoulders, seeming to contemplate how to continue, “Nigel came after him last night. I’m guessing on Lex’s orders.”
“So, Lucy, your dad….If I’m guessing right, Jimmy….” Clark began ticking the names off on his other hand.
“The Planet.” Lois supplied unevenly.
“I get the Planet, possibly Jimmy, and even Lucy, but I’m not sure why he’d come after your dad. I mean, he wasn’t involved in the investigation.”
Lois lowered her gaze, letting out a barely audible sigh as she breathed, “He lied.” He caught her gaze just before she looked away, walking with him in silence for a moment before elaborating on the statement, “He lied about everything. Apparently, he’d been involved. Knew about everything just before they killed Allie.” He watched her look at the ground apprehensively as she spoke. Sam had lied. He knew Sam had been lying when he started talking about Luthor, but he’d chopped that up to him trying to overcompensate as he was trying to smooth things over with Lois. He never would have thought…
“How deep do you think he was?” He asked cautiously.
“I don’t know.” She said, stopping in front of the steps to O’Neal Towers. “To be honest after him and mom started tearing into one another I kinda spaced out.” She squinted back tears as she spoke. “I love him. He’s my dad you know, but the choices he makes…I hate him for it.”
“He seems to squander a lot of his time with questionable people,” He began carefully.
“That’s the understatement of the century,” She sighed. “He’s staying in mom’s pool house. Lucy is staying there to make sure they don’t try to kill one another.”
“I don’t envy her.” He said, recalling the cool, careful tone Ellen Lane had described her ex-husband in when he’d first met her.
“Me neither,” She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest protectively. “Mom wants me to ‘fix’ it and stop whoever is coming after him, but I have no idea what to do. I have no idea where to even start. Look at everything that’s happened today….The Planet, Jimmy, Lucy, my dad…” The tears began to fall as she listed off everyone and every thing that had been attacked in the last twenty-four hours.
“I know,” He pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her protectively as he kissed her head, “I’m sorry, Lois. I’m so sorry,” He tightened his arms around her. “I should have…”
She stopped looking up at him in disbelief, “Are you seriously trying to take the blame for what happened this morning?”
“I wasn’t paying attention. If I’d heard the blast none of this would have happened…” He began, shaking his head in disapproval as he chastised his actions.
“Are you out of your mind? Clark, we were trapped in an elevator with the blast from the explosion coming right at us. You got us out of there as quickly as you could…and in one piece.” She squeezed his hand, leaning in to kiss him as she traced his hardened jawline with her other hand.
“You got hurt,” Clark said grimly.
“Barely,” She corrected, tilting his chin to look at her. “Look at me,” He gave her a sorrowful look, and she moved her hands so that both of them were cradling his anguished face. “You did everything you could. You cannot be everywhere at once, and you cannot do everything at once.”
She was right. It was the same thing his parents told him over and over for years. It was basically the same thing she’d told him months ago when he’d almost given up on being Superman. It just didn’t feel the same to him. Things were different now. “I know that,” He sulked, lowering his gaze once more.
“Then what’s the problem?” Lois asked, moving her right hand to rest on his chest as she fingered the back of his neck with her other hand.
He sighed, moving his hand to cover hers as she stroked his chest softly. “You were hurt. I was carrying you in my arms. If I had just…”
“What?” Lois asked, still not understanding what he was trying to get at.
He sighed, realizing she wasn’t understanding. He glanced around the semi-crowded street, lowering his head as he realized this wasn’t the place for this conversation. Thankfully she seemed to sense his withdraw and nodded, “Later?”
“Later,” He repeated, fingering her hair behind her ear as he traced the outline of her jawline with his hand.
She leaned up to kiss him before pulling away, “Come on, let’s see what information we can squeeze out of Henderson on this supposed case they’ve got on Jimmy,”
***
“What’s wrong, kid?” Jenkins kicked the table and Jimmy jumped back slightly. “Getting tired?”
“All you got to do is tell us what you did,” Harris added snidely, pointing to the pad and pen on the table. “This’ll all be over then.”
“This is illegal as hell.” Jimmy snapped back angrily. “I’m not saying or doing anything without my lawyer.”
Jenkins shrugged, “Too bad.” He got up from the table and headed for the door, giving Harris a look before he left. Jimmy eyed Harris warily. He knew what was coming. Bad Cop. Badder Cop. He braced himself as Harris’ fist came in contact with his cheek, knocking him back half a foot as he fell against the table.
***
“Bill?” Lois looked at the man in front of her and Clark in surprise. He wore an oversized trenchcoat and hat, unrecognizable sunglasses with metallic frames and the expression on his face was something she’d never seen before; fear. He shook his head, motioning for them to follow.
They followed him into the elevator. She opened her mouth to speak, but he shook his head, motioning to the video surveillance in the elevator. Once they arrived on the seventh floor, He motioned toward a room at the end of the hall, and they followed in silence. Once inside they saw it was an empty office space of what used to be cubicles.
Lois opened her mouth to speak after he closed the door, but he held up his hand, pulling out a small silver device with an array of buttons on it. He pressed a blue button, and she felt Clark’s grip on her tighten slightly before relaxing again.
“Sound proof device I got from one of the newest members at S.T.A.R. Labs,” Henderson explained.
“Thanks for the warning,” Clark said dryly.
“Knocks out any surveillance equipment within a five-foot radius. With everything going on we can’t be too careful.” Henderson explained.
“What is going on?” Lois asked.
“Where do you want me to begin? The part where I magically got demoted this morning or where two officers that have never taken the detective’s exam magically made detective overnight?”He shook his head in disgust, “By the way, one of those officers is the same one that was trying to book your sister last night. From what she was saying it…”
“It was a set-up.” Lois nodded, “I know. She told me what happened.”
“It’s Luthor,” Clark said grimly. “He’s going after everyone.”
“He’s more than going after them. He’s annihilating them. They’re railroading Jimmy for this explosion at the Planet. Won’t let anyone in the room with him.”
“They can’t do that,” Lois argued.
“Who’s going to stop them, Lois?” Henderson barked. “I told you before you started all of this … He’s got every politician, judge, and senator in his pocket. He can do whatever the hell he wants.”
“There’s got to be something we can do,” Clark argued. “He can’t just…”
“Can’t just what?” Henderson asked. “Spit on the Constitution and railroad an innocent man for a crime he probably committed?” He looked around the room in anger, “Newsflash! He has!”
“He’s going after witnesses,” Clark said. “Toni Taylor’s break out of prison was probably orchestrated by him. She had a deal to get out. There’s no way she…”
“Just about everyone I had statements from has vanished,” Henderson said bitterly. “The evidence has disappeared. I’ve got nothing.”
“What about Miranda?” Lois asked. “She said she had backups of backups of the tapes she turned over.”
“That would be great if I knew where to find her.” Henderson scoffed. “She’s in the witness protection program. Only the Feds know where she is and there’s no way they’d tell me after what’s happened in the last twenty-four hours.” He sighed, “We’ve got nothing…Well, nothing but Jack.”
“No,” Clark shook his head adamantly, “No way,”
“He’s all we’ve got,” Henderson shrugged, “Unless you’ve got any better ideas.”
“We have no way of keeping him safe,” Lois interjected. “You said yourself even the FBI wouldn’t trust the Metropolis P.D. right now.”
“What am I supposed to do then?” Henderson asked, “There is no way I’m letting that two faced deranged sociopath get away with ruining my life like this…let alone everyone else’s.”
“No one is saying that Bill.” Lois sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.
“We don’t want to see him get away with this any more than you do,” Clark reassured, “Believe me, but we’re not going to allow him access to possibly the only witness that could help put him away.”
“Not the only witness.” Lois corrected. At his confused look she shrugged, “We still have Miranda…maybe Toni.”
“No one’s been able to find Toni Taylor anywhere.” Bill said with a grunt, pulling out a print out from his jacket, “…and this just came on the wire.”
Clark took the print out from him and read it, “Governor pardon?”
Lois took the paper from him, “The Governor’s Office of New Troy is pleased to offer a pardon for all crimes committed by Ms. Toni Elizabeth Taylor from the dates of January 11th 1991 to December 31st of 1994. Any crimes committed after said date will be treated as separate crimes and are not covered by this pardon…” She scrunched up her nose as she skimmed the letter, “I don’t understand. It’s basically a blanket pardon for the rest of the year.”
“Exactly.” Henderson said gruffly. “She’s basically got carte blanche to do whatever she wants for the rest of the year without repercussions.”
“This has Luthor written all over it,” Clark said in disgust. “We’ve got to do something.”
“I’m open to ideas.” Henderson said, crossing his arms over his chest, “You won’t let me use Jack. What are my options?”
“Not as the only witness,” Lois corrected.
“Find me another witness then,” Henderson said exasperatedly. “Surely the handful of people we found weren’t the only ones that saw or heard something illegal Lex Luthor has done over the years. There has to be someone out there willing to do the right thing and stop him.” Lois exchanged a look with Clark for a moment, and Henderson looked at her accusingly, “You know someone.”
“Its not that simple.” Lois began slowly.
“Answer the question.” Henderson pressed. “You know someone that could testify…yes or no?”
Lois glanced at Clark pleadingly and he nodded, “We know someone he’s trying to come after, but we’re not willing to give you any more information unless we have a hundred percent guarantee of this person’s safety.”
“I can’t give you that,” Henderson said grimly.
“Then we can’t give you a name,” Lois replied defiantly. “He needs protection.”
“Right now Luthor’s got his thumb in every government official of New Troy. The only way you’re going to be guaranteed protection is for you to go to the Feds.”
“We don’t have anything on him for federal charges,” Clark argued. “How are we supposed to get the FBI involved?”
Henderson handed them two small metal devices, identical to the one he’d used for sound-proofing the room. “For your protection. Anytime you discuss the case. Turn it on. The bugs we found at your apartments were just the beginning. There’s no telling how deep the surveillance is. If you find the right witness and combine it with what we had, we can probably get RICO charges brought against him.”
“Racketeering?” Lois asked in disbelief.
Henderson shook his head, “You’ve been looking at Luthor for a few months. I’ve been looking at him for years. You have no idea how dirty he is.”
“Isn’t there anyone at the DA’s office we can trust?” Clark asked, running a hand through his hair. “Anyone that Luthor may not have gotten to?”
“There is someone. New ADA just transferred in a month ago from Washington.” Henderson began.
“Great!” Lois cheered enthusiastically, “Talk to her. See if she can be trusted and let’s see what we can do about getting Jimmy out and start piecing this case back together.”
“I guess I don’t have anything left to lose.” Henderson pointed to the blue button on the device, “This turns the sound-proofing on and off. If you have any questions, you can contact Dr. Bernard Klein at S.T.A.R. Labs. He’s the one that did the testing on those listening devices we found in your apartment. Do not under any circumstances discuss anything about this case in public.” With that, he turned the device off and muttered, “I’ll be in touch.”
***
“Pheromones,” Lex ticked off his hand as he scanned through his research on the man of steel, “Nightfall,”
“Sir?” Nigel called from the entry way, watching as Lex paced in front of his desk with papers scattered about.
“Not now, Nigel,” Lex said, pointing at the screen on the wall frozen with the image of Lois kissing Superman at her apartment. “We’re missing something…”
“An affair?” Nigel suggested, mildly annoyed at Lex for not seeing the obvious.
“No, it doesn’t fit,” Lex said, shaking his head in defiance. “Why Kent when she obviously can have Superman? It doesn’t fit.”
“Sometimes the matters of the heart are complicated…or, so I’m told.” Nigel mused.
“No, the time I spent with her…I knew her. She would never do that. Where’s that file on Lois Lane?” He asked.
Nigel pulled out the file from the corner of the desk, “Here, sir,”
***
“Lucy?” Lois looked around, examining her and Clark’s surroundings at O’Neal Towers as they headed out the double doors, hand-in-hand.
“Yeah?” Lucy spoke into the phone.
“How’s it going? They haven’t killed each other yet, have they?” Lois asked half-joking. Clark glanced at her with a questioning look, and she shook her head giving him a smile.
“No, just the usual digs and icy shoulders.” Lucy said with a sigh, “What’s up? Have you heard anything from Jimmy?”
“Luce, the police picked him up,” Lois said hoarsely.
“What??” Lucy’s voice echoed from the other line.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but we’re doing everything we can to try and get him out…” Lois reassured.
“Where is he?” Lucy asked. “Has he been arrested?”
“No, they’re too smart for that.” Lois sighed, glancing back at Clark as they stepped outside. “I’m on my way back over there with Clark. We’ll explain everything when we get there.”
“But…” Lucy began to argue.
“See you in a few,” She said before hanging up.
***
A young blonde sat at the desk in front of him, pencil in her mouth as her nose scrunched up, looking at the computer screen in front of her in disgust. This was the new ADA? Henderson sighed, slipping his hand into his pocket to turn on the sound-proofing device before he closed the door behind him.
She removed then pencil from her mouth and set it on the desk, turning to face him, “Can I help you?”
“I hope so,” He said taking a seat across from her. He let out a long breath, folding his hands in front of him nervously as he lowered his head in his hands.
“I’m not a mind-reader.” She said, tapping her fingers on her desk impatiently.
“Neither am I,” He said gruffly looking up at her warily.
“O-kay,” She leaned back in her chair for a moment, “How about we start with introductions?”
“That’s probably not a good idea,” Henderson said shaking his head.
“Excuse me?” She scoffed in disbelief.
“I need to know if I can trust you first.” He explained.
“You need to know if you can trust me?” She scoffed, “You’re the one that came into my office. If you can’t trust me then what are you doing here?”
“I know, I know,” He held his hands up, trying to motion for her to calm down as he spoke, “I’m confusing the hell out of you, but I just need to know I can trust you before I show all my cards.”
“Fine,” She relented, “Mr. Whatever-Your-Name-Is, what do you want?”
“You transferred to Metropolis from D.C. about a month ago. I need to know why.” He said, meeting her gaze as he folded his hands on his lap.
“How is that any of your concern?” She asked, leaning forward, folding her hands on her desk.
“I need to know I can trust you.”
“You said that already.” She said dryly, “but you’ve yet to give me any reason as to why I should trust you.”
“I know,” He sighed, raking a hand through his hair, “Just humor me for a minute will you?” She seemed to be contemplating her options for the moment. He wasn’t sure what to expect. Here he was a complete stranger stepping into her office with no name or explanation asking personal questions and asking her to trust him when he’d yet to give her any reason to…He wouldn’t blame her if she kicked him out of her office, but she didn’t.
Curiosity seemed to get the better of her, and she sighed, “I left D.C. because a case I’d been following lead me here.”
“What case?” He asked.
“That’s confidential.” She said coolly.
He nodded, “Okay, well can I ask if it has to do with Lex Luthor?” He noticed her eyes widen ever so slightly at the mention of Luthor’s name and he smiled, “I guess I've got my answer.” He leaned forward, folding his hands once more as he noticed her look away nervously. “Who are you working for?”
“What makes you think I’m working for someone?” She asked, trying to hide the strain in her voice unsuccessfully.
“No ADA is going to give up a job in Washington D.C. for what appears to be a step down willingly. You’re getting something out of it.” He pressed.
“I’m not getting anything out of this but the luxury of putting criminals behind bars.” She snapped back irritably. The fire in her eyes reminded him a lot of Lois Lane when she got fired up about a case he refused to comment on.
“All criminals or just a chosen few?” He pressed.
She gave him an insulted look before scoffing, “Who do you think you are? I took an oath!”
“So did the officers sitting downtown right now trying to railroad an innocent man for a crime he didn’t commit.” He shot back vehemently, “Answer the question. Who are you working for?”
“Who’s being railroaded?” She asked, trying to change the subject.
“Answer the question.” He repeated.
“You first.” She shot back.
“I asked you first.”
“Why should I trust you?” She asked, meeting his gaze as a scowl crossed her face.
“Give me a reason to trust you, and I’ll give you plenty of reasons to trust me.”
“I’m going to need more than that.” She shook her head.
His jaw tightened, and he stood up, “Very well,” Heading for the door. “It was nice talking to you,”
“Wait!” She stopped him as he turned to leave.
“Yes?” He asked.
“Does your reason for not trusting me, have anything to do with the case the DA just buried?” she asked.
“Maybe,” He began slowly.
“Then it sounds like we have a common enemy,” She said, pulling out a thin folder and placing it on her desk.
He looked at it curiously, and she shook her head, “I need a name.”
He reclaimed his seat, “The name’s Bill. Bill Henderson.”
“Mayson Drake.” She smiled back at him.
“What is this?” He asked, looking at the folder.
“The location of the F.B.I’s current pending cases against Lex Luthor.” She replied with a smile.
“You’re with the F.B.I.?” He asked, intrigued.
“Contract.” She shrugged, “I’m not an agent or anything, but I take on their cases in areas where the civil servants are….less motivated to put the bad guys away.”
“That would fit Metropolis.” He said dryly.
“I’m sorry about what happened to your case.” She began, “You said something about someone being railroaded…”
“Olsen.” He nodded, “James Olsen.”
***
“Your daughter moved all the way across the country to spend time with you…forgetting the last FIFTEEN YEARS of emotional abandonment and betrayal…” Ellen accused angrily as Lucy stepped back into the house numbly.
“For the love of…Ellen, it’s this kind of closed-mindedness that drove us apart in the first place. You can’t let the past stay where it belongs…in the past!” Sam shot back angrily.
“You left us! You left medicine! For what? Crackpot schemes with gangsters that want to kill you??” Ellen fumed angrily nearly in tears.
“You are just like Lois. You can’t let anything go!” Sam fumed. “It is not a crackpot scheme! It is a medical miracle and ….”
Lucy couldn’t take the arguing anymore, lowering herself to the floor the curled herself into the corner, covering her ears as she tried to block out the fighting. Jimmy was in danger. Lois said they were coming after him. Why would anyone want to hurt Jimmy? He was the nicest person she knew. He cared…really cared about everyone and was always there for his friends. The thought that someone might try to…
“Sam! Shut up!!!” Ellen growled angrily, wrapping a protective arm around Lucy as she cried. “Look what you’ve done…”
“Me??” He scoffed, looking at her in disbelief, “I’m not the one that….” Ellen shot him a glare, and he stopped.
“I’m sorry, honey. We just won’t talk to each other anymore. Please don’t cry,” Ellen pleaded, cradling Lucy as she continued to cry.
“It's not that.” Lucy cried.
“Then what is it?” Ellen asked.
“Jimmy…” She squeaked out.
“Jimmy?” Ellen asked, not quite understanding.
“A boyfriend?” Sam asked. “Did he break your heart? Lucy, I’ve told you before not to waste your time with those…”
“No! It’s nothing like that…” She shook her head adamantly. “Lo-Lois called. He got picked up by the puh-police. They’re tr-trying to pin the e-explosion on h-him.” She stammered in-between tears.
Ellen’s eyes narrowed, “He didn’t?”
“No, of course not!” Lucy argued.
“Then there’s nothing to worry about,” Ellen reassured. “Everything will be fine.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Sam argued.
“You’re not helping,” Ellen said in-between gritted teeth.
“I’m just being honest.” Sam shot back.
“There’s a first.” Ellen fumed angrily.
A sonic boom and a gust of wind filled the room. They all looked toward the bay window in the living room to see Superman standing in the middle of the room with Lois. “Superman?” Lucy sprung to her feet as she began pouncing on him with question after question, pacing around him as she spoke. “Has there been any news? You’re going to help Jimmy right?”
“Calm down,” Lois said, wrapping a protective arm around her.
“I’m doing everything I can, Ms. Lane,” He reassured with a smile. “Unfortunately there’s not much I can do at this point.”
“Oh,” Lucy said, pulling away from Lois slightly. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m actually here to talk to you, Mr. Lane,” Superman took a few steps toward Sam.
“Me?” He asked, uncertainly.
“I understand your life was threatened.” Superman began cautiously.
“Yes, that’s correct.” He said grimly, motioning to the bruises and cuts on his face.
“I also understand you were working WITH the boss, Lex Luthor?” Superman pressed.
“There’s more to the story,” Sam said shamefully, “much more.”
“We’ve got time,” Superman said, crossing his arms over his chest, looking at him expectantly.
“Yes, Sam, let’s see you lie your way out of this one,” Ellen said snidely.
“Mother!” Lois admonished.
“No, Lois, your mother’s right,” Sam began cautiously. “I can’t keep lying.” He motioned toward the sofa, “You’d better sit down. This will take a little while.”
***
Henderson placed the silver device on Mayson’s desk, “What is that?” She asked.
“Something one of the scientists rigged up at S.T.A.R. Labs. It knocks out listening devices within a five-mile radius.” He explained.
Mayson cocked an eyebrow at him in disbelief, “Don’t you think that’s getting a little too ‘conspiracy theory?’ I mean I know Lex Luthor has his hand in a lot of pies, but…”
“How much of that case file did you read before it got buried?” He asked.
“Enough.” She shrugged.
“What about the part where he placed video and audio surveillance equipment in both the apartments and workplace of two well-known reporters to keep track of their investigation into him. I’ve had to remove devices at least three times in the last month.”
Mayson looked around the room warily, tugging her suit jacket closed nervously, “That’s …sick.”
“Imagine someone watching your every move…in the privacy of your own home. That’s what this man is capable of. I wouldn’t put it past him to do the same to others.” He pressed.
“How do we stop him?” Mayson asked, narrowing her eyes at him. “I’ve got bits and pieces but nothing near what I need to put him away for good.”
“I thought I had him…Well, we thought we did.” He sighed.
“We?” She asked quizzically.
“I was working with Lois Lane and Clark Kent of the Daily Planet to bring him down. Kent’s file on Luthor and his theories was almost as big as mine.” Henderson explained.
“You have a file?” She asked.
“Several.” He grinned back at her. “You show me yours I’ll show you mine.”
***
“As you girls know I’ve always been big on testing the boundaries of medicine.” Sam began cautiously. He glanced over at the stoic superhero who was watching him with a stern look on his face. It unnerved him to see the normally cheerful and friendly superhero he’d met before so …distant.
Lucy nodded, “That’s the understatement of the century.”
“Well, I was approached to do some research by LexLabs right before ….” He looked down at his hands, unable to continue.
“Right before Allie was murdered?” Ellen supplied for him in an even tone.
“Yes,” He let out a long breath.
“Who approached you?” Superman asked.
“Lex Luthor himself.” Sam said evenly, “I was flattered he’d taken the time to speak with me. Thought it made me someone important.”
Lois and Lucy exchanged a look but didn’t say anything. “What did he want?” Superman asked, pacing in front of him.
“You.” He said coolly.
“Pardon?” Superman asked, not understanding.
“Your powers, your strength…He wanted me to make an army of Super-men. Didn’t tell me how or why. That’s how it all got started.”
“Yes, I’m familiar with the robotic arms,” Superman said, rubbing his chin to illustrate his memory of the fight he’d gotten into with one of the super-powered boxers.
“Well, what I didn’t tell anyone was there were plans to go further,” Sam said shamefully.
“What do you mean by further?” Lois asked, trying to get him to elaborate.
“The robotic chip I’ve been working on?” He prompted.
“You said it was supposed to strengthen dead nerves for paralytic patients,” Lucy said, accusingly.
“It did. It does.” He said firmly.
“But?” Superman prompted.
“But it also gives super-strength to the muscles and the nerves.” He said shamefully.
“Has it been tested?” Lois asked.
“Not on humans, but the tests we ran on the rats came back with flying colors. I’m afraid that’s what he’s after.” He began cautiously. “If he gets his hands on that chip…”
“He’ll have an army of super-powered criminals at his disposal.” Superman finished for him.
***
TBC...
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