Rules of Love
Folc4evernaday
Chapter 1
**A/N: Huge thanks to Vicki and Feli for helping me out on this one.
**
Lois entered the Daily Planet newsroom, coffee in hand with a copy of the morning edition tucked under her arm. She made a beeline for her desk, preparing to get ready for this morning’s staff meeting and figure out what her and Clark’s next story would be. Given the condition of Dr. Leit after Clark destroyed the device Leit had been after, there wasn’t much left for a follow-up.
“Hey, Lois!” Jimmy approached her with a smile.
Lois looked at her friend and smiled, “Morning Jimmy,”
“Crazy few days, huh?” Jimmy said, pointing to the paper tucked in her arm.
“Yeah, I’ll say,” Lois said, breathing a sigh of relief as she took a seat at her desk.
“Who would have thought an eye doctor would be capable of murder.” Jimmy mused, walking with her.
“People can surprise you,” Lois said, turning to look around the newsroom as casually as she could. She frowned seeing no sign of Clark in the newsroom. “Clark’s not in yet?”
Jimmy shook his head, “No, he called earlier. Said he had a source to meet this morning.” He chuckled, “One big story down and already chasing another one. You two are gonna cream them when Kerth season comes around.”
“Yeah,” Lois managed with a weak smile.
“Lois, good to see you. Everyone doing okay?” Perry asked with concern.
“Yeah,” Lois forced a broad smile for her editor to prove everything was fine. Truth be told she was anything but fine at the moment.
Less than twelve hours ago Clark had been blind as a bat, and he’d already gone back to his Superman duties full time. Though she knew things needed to return to normal, she couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that hung over her.
For so long she had come to think of Superman as invincible. Earlier this year she’d discovered Kryptonite was very real and could hurt him. Then she’d discovered the superhero that flew around protecting Metropolis and her partner, and best friend were one and the same. It seemed everyone had a vendetta against Superman, but now it wasn’t just Superman that was in danger when he was attacked. It was
Clark.
“How you two can manage to land a story this big on your day off is beyond me,” Perry said with a heavy sigh.
“Yeah, I guess we just have a knack for it.” Lois managed as Perry looked over a copy of the morning edition. “Though I’d prefer to spend my vacation doing something much more enjoyable than getting kidnapped and held at gunpoint.”
Perry chuckled, “Well, there’s always next time.” He scanned the front page with a frown. “I’m just glad you and Clark made it out of there in one piece.”
“Kind of makes you wonder what was on that device that Dr. Leit was willing to kill for it.” Jimmy mused.
“Well, thankfully it’s been destroyed,” Lois said with a sigh of relief. “So it can never fall into the wrong hands again.”
“Yes, thankfully,” Perry agreed. “Technology and human nature are a volatile mix, aren't they?”
“Like Frankenstein?” Jimmy looked at Perry quizzically.
“...and gene-splicing, and gender-selection, and atom-splitting…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “Somethings should be left alone.”
“Amen,” Perry agreed, handing the paper back to Lois. “Staff meeting at nine.” He reminded her, heading to his desk.
Lois watched him leave and sighed, looking at the still
very empty desk next to hers.
***
Clark glanced at his watch, looking around the diner. His friend, Roger Templeton from the FBI had called this morning stating he had some information that he thought Clark should look into. Normally, his and Roger’s professional lives didn’t cross. When it did it usually resulted from orders for Roger to let a case go that he felt needed someone to kick some doors in. Luckily for him, Lois was an expert in that field.
He spotted a tall man in a navy blue suit enter the diner and stood to greet him. Roger nodded to him and approached, briefcase in hand. “Hey, Clark, good to see you, man,” He held his hand out for Clark to shake. “Feels like it’s been ages.”
Clark shook his hand, “You’re the one that wanted to play with the big dogs.” He smiled at his friend goodnaturedly as they took their seats.
There was a long silence between them as Roger scanned the crowd. He seemed to relax and began opening his briefcase. “You remember that doctor that disappeared after Luthor jumped to his death last summer?”
“Vaguely,” Clark recalled the mention of key members of Lex Luthor’s inner circle that disappeared during the FBI’s investigation into his criminal activities.
“Seems she’s been busy.” He pushed a photo toward him of a familiar looking blonde sitting with none other than Nigel St. John exchanging a napkin with a note written on it.
Clark immediately recognized the woman in the picture. “I’ve seen this woman before.” He said with a grimace. “She’s the one that broke into STAR Labs and kidnapped Johnny Corbin.”
“Dr. Gretchen Kelly. Lex Luthor’s personal doctor. Arianna Carlin gave her name up during questioning a few weeks ago. We’ve been keeping tabs on her.” Roger shuddered at that thought. “She’s the one that stole his body from the morgue.”
“
What?” Clark felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. The memories of what he’d almost done flashed through his mind and his grip on the file in his hand tightened.
“Hey, Clark, you okay man?” Roger waved his hand in front of him.
“Fine,” Clark lied, trying to force himself to focus on anything but the memories of the terror Lex Luthor had put him and Lois through in his last moments on Earth. The pain from the Kryptonite cage still haunted him. He’d come so close to losing everything...
“You sure?” Roger asked, looking at him with concern.
“Luthor’s just a sore subject for me.” He said grimly.
“Yeah, for all of us. To think of everything he’d gotten away with for so long…” Roger shook his head in disgust.
“Yeah,” Clark said grimly, pointing to the photograph. “What’s the connection with Nigel St. John?”
“That’s what I was hoping you could help with,” Roger said with a sigh.
“I don’t follow.” Clark looked up confused.
“I’ve stepped into something big here. I know it.” Roger said with a pained expression, “But my orders have come from way up to back off. All my notes on Nigel and Dr. Kelly are in this file.”
“You’re walking away from a case this big?” Clark looked at him in surprise. “That’s not like you.”
“When the orders come from the president you gotta fall in line.” Roger shrugged. “If you’ve got any questions call me on my personal cell. I don’t want anyone knowing I passed this off.”
“Okay,” Clark nodded. “Thanks,”
“No, thank you,” Roger said standing to his feet.
Clark watched his friend leave then turned his attention to the photo in his hand. He lowered his glasses and zoomed in on the photo with his enhanced vision. On the napkin being exchanged written in bold pen was,
‘Sheldon Bender. 1605 Bessolo Boulevard.’ He set the photo down, frowning as he contemplated what that meant.
***
Lois glanced at the time. It was a quarter till nine and Clark still wasn’t back. Just when she was about to give up on him and head to the staff meeting solo, the ping of the elevator pulled her attention back to the balcony. She smiled when she saw Clark step off the elevator with a very large file folder in his hand. He met her gaze and quickly descended the stairs to meet up with her.
“Hey,” She looked to the conference room that was quickly filling up. “You’re late.”
“I know. I called in earlier.” He waved the file in his hand.
“What is that?” She asked.
“Something Roger Templeton wants us to look into.” He said, pointing to the conference room. “I’ll catch you up on the way.”
“Roger? From the FBI?” She looked at him curiously.
“One and the same.” He said grimly, handing the file folder to her.
She took it and began scanning through the notes he’d made. Lois came across the black and white photo from earlier, “Nigel?”
His jaw tightened, “And Luthor’s doctor. The same woman that stole Metallo’s body from STAR Labs.”
“What do you think they’re up to?” Lois asked.
“I’m not sure, but according to that file Nigel St. John is a whole lot more than Mr. Belvedere.” He said, opening the conference room door for her. “According to the FBI, he was an agent with Her Majesty's Secret Service who turned bad.”
Lois read the report in her hand and frowned, “It says this picture was taken recently here in Metropolis.” Her brow furrowed as she continued to read, looking back at Clark in concern, “And the agent who took the photo has disappeared.”
“And Roger’s been ordered off the case,” Clark said grimly. “He wants us to look into it.”
“Why do you think the FBI is backing off?” Lois asked.
“I don’t know, but I figured we could start with Luthor’s lawyer, Sheldon Bender.” He whispered, taking his seat at the conference table next to her. “His name is on that napkin.” He pointed to the photo in her hand.
“I guess it would make sense for Sheldon Bender to be involved. All around slimeball.” Lois muttered. “What do you think they’re up to?”
“I don’t know.” He said, his mouth tightened into a thin line. “Whatever it is it can’t be good though.”
***
Lex Luthor sat at a table, dressed in a worn out t-shirt and black jeans. His hands hammered at the keyboard furiously, searching for any sign of the fortune he’d had before his death. “It’s gone. That weasel Bender swindled me out of my entire fortune.” He said in a controlled tone.
He looked up to see Nigel, cleaning a hand crossbow with an old cloth. Gretchen approached him, reaching for his arm, “Lex, you should be resting. This can wait.”
“What about the Swiss bank accounts?” Nigel asked, not looking up from his polishing.
“
Empty!!” He slammed the notebook computer closed. He let out a frustrated sigh, accepting his fate. “I’m
broke.” He rose to his feet, crossing the room in an uncertain daze. “Death I could deal with, Nigel, but to be without money...Without power. That’s something I wasn’t prepared for.”
“Knowing you, sir, I’m sure it’s just a temporary condition,” Nigel said in a reserved tone.
“The money perhaps, but true power?” Lex shook his head in disgust. “Gone. Everything I’ve worked for is
gone.”
“Not everything, Lex,” Gretchen soothed, running her hand over his face. “The Kryptonite we recovered from the Vale brothers’ failed experiment is surely worth something.”
“Yes, the Kryptonite Emmet Vale stole from LexLabs.” Lex grimaced, looking at Nigel. “A visit to Mr. Vale will be in order for that betrayal. Wouldn’t you agree, Nigel?”
“Yes, sir,” Nigel smiled back at him.
“Well, if I clawed my way up from nothing before I can do it again.” Lex mused. “Nigel, arrange a meeting with Mr. Bender. We’ll see if he has any of my billions hidden away somewhere.”
“Yes, sir,” Nigel nodded.
“And you can drop the 'sir,' Nigel. There's no need for facades anymore. Look at us. We are what we are.” Lex looked down at the rags he wore with a grimace. How he’d fallen so far he couldn’t understand.
“And what’s that?” Nigel asked.
“Ordinary street fighters. Just like the old days.” Lex shook his head as Gretchen ran a hand through his hair. It was apparent her affection for him had not wavered...even in death.
“I’ve never thought there was anything ordinary about you, Lex,” She murmured affectionately.
He took her hand in his and kissed it, “Thank you, my dear.” He looked down at her hand and noticed the hair between her fingers. “Oh, what’s this?” He moved to the dusty mirror that hung over the rundown sink in the corner. “What the...? I’m losing my hair.” He turned back to Gretchen who was staring at him nervously. “What have you done to me?”
“Lex,” She tried to soothe, but he didn’t give her a chance to finish.
“I said,
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!?” He raged, getting in her face as he raged, grabbing her by the collar.
“Lex, your body went through a tremendous ordeal. You're bound to experience some temporary side effects. You need to rest.” Gretchen soothed.
He released her then moved back to the mirror, running his hands through his hair once more. He grimaced when he saw more clumps coming out with each motion. “Shave it
off!” He ordered. He turned to see Gretchen standing there, unmoving. “Don’t just stand there. I said, shave it off!”
Gretchen grabbed a pair of scissors and pointed to the chair across the room. He took a seat, and she began cutting. Lex looked up to Nigel as he was gathering his things, “Oh, Nigel, do me a favor. Find out whatever you can about Lois Lane…”
A sharp jab against his scalp caught his attention. “Ow!” He growled, looking back up at Gretchen, “It’s a good thing you’re not a surgeon.”
***
TBC...
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