Rules of Engagement
Folc4evernaday
Chapter 6
***
Clark finished latching the back door that led to his balcony, closing the drapes before he spun back into his suit and tie from earlier. After taking the attempted mugger to the police station and helping calm the would-be-victim down from the ordeal, he’d attempted another patrol around the city in search of his young friend but still came up empty.
Nothing.
No sign of Jimmy.
He’d returned to his apartment to get Jimmy’s spare key, hoping it might hold some clue as to where his young friend could possibly be. He caught sight of the blinking red light on the answering machine and typed in the code to play the messages. Lois’ voice filled the room as he walked toward the bookcase where the key was safely tucked away.
“Hey, it’s me. Listen, we got some information from Dr. Klein you’re going to want to hear. If you run into Jimmy get him to STAR Labs immediately. It looks like this doctor was trying to turn these kids into mindless assassins. Dan Scardino did find a sample of the drug for Dr. Klein to analyze. He’s working on a way to reverse it now, but don’t try to reason with him. Don’t try to talk to him…Unless his adrenaline gets high enough, there’s no way to...”
A hard knock at the front door pulled Clark’s attention back to the present, and he jogged up the steps to answer the door.
***
Nothing. That was what Lois had come up with after she and Agent Scardino had left STAR Labs. She hadn’t heard from Lucy. She hadn’t been able to track down Clark and short of calling attention to just how close her and Clark’s relationship was with the man of steel she was running out of ideas. Perry was no help and Lucy wouldn’t pick up the phone.
Lois let out a frustrated growl as she pressed the end button on her mobile phone once more. A look crossed Scardino’s face as he looked back at her, “Still can’t get ahold of her?”
She wanted to snap what she felt like was false empathy off his face but stopped herself. Her concern for Jimmy continued to plague her mind as she snipped, “She’s probably got the ringer off or has the music blaring…” Her heels made a loud click with each step as she stalked her way up the steps to Lucy’s apartment.
Scardino followed behind as he jogged up the steps to catch up with her. “Or she could be in danger and you being the good big sister that you are will rescue her from said danger.” He offered with a broad grin. She shot him a look, and he quickly sobered, clearing his throat as he looked up toward the sky, “Still no word from Kent. I guess he hasn’t found Superman yet?”
Lois glanced back at him, noting the disapproving expression on his face as she quickly covered, “He’s probably helping look for Jimmy.” Lois punched the familiar keycode into the door to open the apartment building.
Scardino frowned, looking at his watch, “Surprised he hasn’t tried to catch up is all. You’re out here doing all the legwork, and he’s…”
“What?” She snapped, crossing her arms to confront him.
“He’s ….not here.” He finished lamely, swallowing hard as she glared at him, daring him to say the wrong thing. Truth be told she was slightly annoyed that she hadn’t heard from Clark, but that wasn’t something she was going to share with Dan Scardino.
Lois rolled her eyes and muttered, “Thank you for that captivating observation, Captain Obvious. Maybe you could use those astute skills to help track down our friend?”
“Well, once we find that Dr. Wilder we’ll probably find your friend,” Scardino reassured her, offering a weak smile.
“But under what condition?” Lois asked more to herself than anyone.
“Well, at least we know how to stop him if he is under Wilder’s control.” Scardino reasoned aloud.
“Yeah, get his adrenaline up. Not sure how we’re supposed to do that.” Lois rolled her eyes as they approached her sister’s apartment. She knocked on the door, “Luce, open up!”
***
“Kill Lois Lane.” The words echoed in his mind as he blindly walked up the steps. He knew Lois was his friend, but he couldn’t stop himself. He knew he’d feel better once he carried out the order.
“Kill Lois Lane.”
He lifted his arm up to knock on the door and then stopped, remembering he’d been entrusted with a key. He pulled the key out and turned the lock.
The door opened, and he stopped when he saw Clark Kent standing in the doorway. “Jimmy, what are you doing here?”
***
Lucy watched her sister open and close the closet door the umpteenth time before turning back to face her. Lois had shown up at the apartment twenty minutes ago after being unable to get her on the phone. Lucy eyed the familiar Agent Scardino with her warily as he took notes on the pad in his hand.
“I told you no one’s here,” Lucy explained as calmly as she could given the circumstances. “Sarah hasn’t even left for her classes yet.” She pointed to the couch where her books were sitting on the coffee table.
“Why weren’t you answering your phone?” Lois asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I didn’t hear it ring,” Lucy said with a shrug. “What is the big deal?”
Lois moved toward the kitchen. She stopped, holding up a phone jack that had been removed from the phone. “That explains that mystery.”
“I did not do that.” Lucy shook her head adamantly.
“Have you seen Jimmy?” Lois asked in concern.
“No.” Lucy shook her head.
“Where’s Sarah?”
“In the bathroom, I think.” Lucy pointed to the door in the hallway.
Lois quickly moved to the bathroom and opened the door to find it empty. She then turned to the bedroom and opened it, seeing no one inside. “Great.” Lois fumed angrily. “She’s gone.”
A single shot rang out, and she and Lois jumped, turning to see the man that had arrived with Lois slumped on the floor with a red stain on his shoulder from where he’d been shot. They both turned to see Sarah with a revolver trained on them and a blank stare on the young woman’s face.
***
It happened so fast Clark barely had time to react as he dodged the knife in his young friend’s hand. The look in his eyes wasn’t of the young man he’d gone to baseball games with and chased down leads with but of something far more sinister.
“Jimmy, stop!”
Clark held him at bay, doing his best to think of a way to break him out of the trance he was in. Lois’ message from earlier had said the theory was once the adrenaline got high enough the assassin would break free from the trance.
How he was going to do that without giving himself away, he wasn’t sure.
Adrenaline.
An idea came to him, and a determined expression crossed his face. Hopefully, Jimmy wouldn’t remember any of this. At super-speed he moved through the apartment, changing into the suit at record-breaking speed and flying his young friend with him out the window.
Jimmy continued to fight him as they flew and then slowly his protests subsided. A familiar voice came from him, and he asked, “Superman, what happened?”
“Just hold on, Jimmy, I’ve got….” Clark stopped mid-sentence, hearing the familiar sound of a round of bullets being emptied. Panic crossed his face when he realized where it was coming from.
“Superman?” Jimmy looked back at him in concern.
***
Lois stared at the silver barrel of the gun, glancing around the room as she tried to formulate a plan. She caught the blank stare coming from Sarah as she held the gun up, her finger remained steady on the trigger.
“Sarah,” She attempted to call out her name, but no recollection crossed the young woman’s face.
Dan Scardino let out a low groan, and another shot rang out. Lois ducked at the last second, barely missing the rain of bullets as she dropped to the floor. She looked over and saw Lucy crouched on the floor by the bed, a look of panic covered her face.
One
Two
Three
Four
Lois counted each shot as she inched back toward the bed where Lucy had flattened herself on the floor. A loud crash and fumble could be heard, and then one more shot rang out.
Five
Lois looked up in surprise and saw Sarah on the ground and a wounded Scardino hovering over the dazed-looking Sarah.
“You two okay?” He asked, holding his shoulder with a grimace.
“Fine,” Lucy said between heavy breaths. “Just...fine.”
A sonic boom could be heard from outside, and a moment later the window blew open, and Clark dressed in his Superman suit with Jimmy in tow stood in the middle of the bedroom.
“Is everyone all right?” he asked.
“I’ve got everything under control here.” Scardino flashed a smile to him as he held his shoulder.
Clark stared at his shoulder for a minute before responding, “You might want to get that shoulder looked at. That bullet’s pretty close to a major artery.”
“I’m fine.” He wheezed out in a painful groan.
“Jimmy!” Lois breathed a sigh of relief as she stood to her feet and moved toward him. “We have been worried sick.”
“He’s still pretty out of it,” Clark said, looking over to where Sarah was curled up in the corner. “Is she?”
“She tried to take us out with this.” Scardino held up a revolver with a pen.
“I don’t know what happened.” Jimmy apologized, shaking his head, “I didn’t hurt you, did I?” He looked back at Clark.
“I’m fine, Jimmy,” Clark reassured him, patting his shoulder. “Come on, we need to get you two to Dr. Klein.”
***
Inspector Henderson laid out an image of the blond woman with an envelope in her hand, passing it to the cashier at the florist shop he’d traced one of the mysterious packages that had arrived at the Daily Planet.
Dr. Gretchen Kelly. He recognized that face anywhere. He’d been chasing her since her raid on STAR Labs several months ago, resulting in Johnny Corben’s robotic body disappearing from police custody. He knew he should update the couple on what he’d uncovered, but somehow it seemed cruel to give them a name without anything else. Especially considering he had no new lead on where to find her.
Once he found Dr. Gretchen Kelly and got some answers, he'd make the call. Hopefully, they wouldn't be too angry with him for keeping them in the dark.
***
The moonlit sky shone through the open window as Lois Lane nursed the glass of wine in her hand. It had been a long few days, but things seemed to be getting back to normal slowly. After Dr. Klein had looked over Jimmy and Sarah Superman had captured Claudette and Katherine Wilder attempting to escape the country. It had only taken a few hours before they were singing like a canary on Amir Muunour who unfortunately was still in the wind. She didn’t doubt for a minute that his capture was imminent. It was only a matter of time before they tracked him down just as they always did.
It had been three days since the near miss with Jimmy’s and Sarah’s assassination attempts. She and Clark had been swamped at the Planet covering the corruption scandal with Dr. Henry Wilder’s Project Valhalla being revealed to the world and the military’s involvement in a mind control scheme.
As of yet, there hadn’t been any more gifts arriving on her doorstep. She could only hope that it remained that way. There was no new information from Inspector Henderson on who was sending the gifts, but his involvement seemed to have deterred whoever was behind the threats.
The familiar red fabric billowing in the night air as her fiance floated down on the balcony caught her eye. “You’re up late, Ms. Lane,” He said, a glint in his eye as he reached for the door to the apartment.
“Just doing some thinking.” She commented, watching with amusement as he disappeared inside the apartment then stepped out on the balcony dressed in a green button-down shirt, jeans and glasses with his usual Clark style. She laughed, shaking her head, “Aren’t you afraid someone’s going to catch you doing that one of these days?”
He shook his head, pointing to the brick building that faced the back of their apartment where the balcony was positioned. “That’s one of the reasons I picked this place. Private entrance and exit. No windows.”
She nodded, looking at the neon sign positioned on the far right of the tall brick building. He was right. No windows were facing the apartment building which gave Clark the cover he needed to leave on Superman rescues.
“Something wrong?” He asked, pulling her into his arms.
“You got lucky.” She said softly, turning to look at him. “Jimmy doesn’t remember anything from when he was under that trance, but what if he did?”
He let out a long breath and turned to face her, “Then I’d be having a very long talk with my friend.” His face tensed. “I couldn’t let him hurt himself, Lois, you know that.”
“I know.” She said quietly. “I just know how long it took you to tell me.” She reminded him, running a hand across his cheek. “You spent years hiding.”
He moved his hand to cover hers, silently looking back at her as he seemed to mull over her words. “I still am.” He cracked a half smile, “You and my parents are the only ones that know the real Clark Kent.”
“But you still put all of that on the line,” Lois remarked, moving her hand to his chest.
“And I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I wasn’t going to let Jimmy hurt himself or anyone else...even if it did put me in between a rock and a hard place.” Clark cracked a smile, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. “Thankfully Jimmy didn’t remember the rescue.”
“Yeah,” She let out a long breath, resting her head against his shoulder, feeling her heart well up at the realization of how much Clark truly cared...willing to put everything on the line to save his friend. It was one of the infinite reasons why she loved him.
“What brought all this on?” He asked, nudging her head with his shoulder.
“Just thinking.” She said with a watery smile, leaning in to kiss him. “I love you, Clark Kent.”
A warm smile crossed his face, and he responded, running his thumb across her jawline, “And I love you, Lois Lane.”
A playful grin crossed her face, and she whispered conspiratorially, placing a kiss against his lips, “We should just fly back to Hawaii for a weekend and make it official. No lists. No wedding planners...just you and me.”
“Are you serious?” He asked, cupping her cheek, “I can already hear the protests from our families if we tried something like that.” He gave her a wry expression.
“Okay, maybe we bring them along too.” She sighed, moving her palms against his chest as she continued, “It just seems like it’s more work trying to plan out this perfect picture that’s only for one day. I mean, we’re not too keen on a long engagement anyway and trying to….”
Before she could finish her statement, his mouth found hers, burying his digits in her hair before he pulled away slowly, “Lois, I will marry you anywhere, anytime, anyplace. I don’t care where it is. If you want to go somewhere for the weekend and elope, I’m game.”
An impish laugh escaped her lips, “Good because you’re going to have to help me break it to both my parents tomorrow night.”
Clark’s face blanched, “Both your parents?”
“Both of them.” She nodded. “You said you wanted family there.”
“Not exactly what I had in mind.” He whispered, leaning in to kiss her.
***
<<“Jimmy, stop!”
“Superman, what happened?”>>“What was that?” Jimmy looked up at the bright light shining in his eyes just before squinting again. The sound of beeping from the monitor he was hooked up to reached his ears and the memory from earlier raced through his mind once again.
<<“Jimmy, stop!”
“Superman, what happened?”>>He had attacked his friend. He had attacked his friend, and a few moments later he was flying in the air. How did that happen?
“Mr. Olsen?” Dr. Klein’s voice reached his consciousness, and he turned his attention back to the scientist. “Are you all right?”
“Fine.” Jimmy lied.
<<“Jimmy, stop!”
“Superman, what happened?”>>“No lingering side effects?” He asked.
“Nope.” Jimmy managed to force a smile as he reached for his jacket, standing up. “Is there anything else?”
“No. All the test results came back fine.” Dr. Klein explained. “Just take it easy the next few days.”
<<“Jimmy, stop!”
“Superman, what happened?”>>“Sure.” Jimmy waved and headed out the door.
***
Lois sat at her desk, typing the last line of her and Clark’s article. Clark hovered over her shoulder, standing behind her as she finished looking over the story on her computer. “Just one more line and then I’ll be ready to go.” She promised moving her hands across the keyboard, biting her lower lip as she read over what she’d written.
“What do you think?” She asked, turning the monitor for Clark to read.
His chin rested on her shoulder as he read from her monitor. “Looks good.” He reached over to hit send. “We need to get going.” He pointed at the time. “We were supposed to meet your parents half an hour ago.” He reminded her, pointing at the time.
“I know I know.” She sighed, gathering the last of her things. “Is it my fault that I’m not looking forward to dinner with both of them for the first time in over ten years?” She and Clark were supposed to meet her mom and dad at the country club to go over the change in wedding plans.
Her dad wanted to have dinner to go over everything, and she suspected he’d do his usual ‘pretend to be a good father routine’ for the night and then disappear for a few months. The last time her parents were in the same room together it had ended with her mother in a drunken stupor on the couch. It wasn’t something she looked forward to repeating. More so, she wasn’t looking forward to breaking the news that there wouldn’t be a big wedding for them to plan but rather a weekend getaway to make it official with those closest to them.
“Come on, they said they’d behave.” He smiled, leaning in to kiss her. His lips barely brushed against her lips before she felt him stiffen against her, let out a mutter of what sounded almost like a profanity and pull away.
“What is it?” She asked.
“Mugging.” He sighed, tugging at his tie. “I’ll meet you there.” He pressed his lips against hers briefly before dashing toward the stairwell to leave.
Lois let out a long sigh and whispered, “Be careful.”
***
“I…I…I…”
A bolt of electricity pulsed through the metal chest, emitting a green glow and Metallo jumped off the table from the electric shock.
“…feel tired.”
“I’m sure you do.” Dr. Gretchen Kelly smiled to herself. Finally. After months of tests and trials and errors, she’d finally gotten Metallo up and running.
“Easy does it.” Dr. Gretchen Kelly said, taking a step back as she watched him attempt to sit up. She looked around the dark walls that surrounded them and felt a thrill of accomplishment wash over her as she saw him set his feet on the ground.
“Well, done, Gretchen,” the British accent from Nigel St. John came as he approached, walking up the steps. “I can assume the latest test was successful.”
A green light flickered from his eyes, and he looked at her and asked, “Where am I?”
“You’re in a place where no one will be bothering you,” Nigel St. John spoke up from behind the column as he stepped out of the shadows.
“All his vitals are stabilized,” Gretchen said. “Once we’ve completed the first battery of tests we should be ready to make our move.”
“I’ll make the call,” Nigel spoke with an eerie calm as he pulled out his mobile phone.
***
Clark zeroed in on a cry for help from the sky, hearing the threats from the young thugs in the alley below. An elderly woman was screaming for help as she was surrounded by a group of teenage gang members. He landed in front of them, causing them to jump back from surprise and give him the upper hand.
He used his heat vision to melt the knife one of the members was using to threaten the elderly woman. The man attempting to mug her stopped and dropped the knife in pain. He turned to see Clark in his Superman suit and ran.
The other gang members were working on marking the brick wall with their gang’s symbol. Clark called out to them to make his presence known, “Nice work,”They turned around to see him and dropped the spray paint cans. “Too bad that’s a public wall and not a canvas.” They tried to run but were met with his super-breath pushing them backward. “Now that you’ve expressed your opinion, I’m going to express mine.”
***
Dan Scardino smiled to himself as he made his way through the double doors that led to the Metropolis Country Club. One of the benefits of the badge he carried was it got him through the doors that were typically closed to others. After securing the arrest of Amir Muunour this evening, he knew the next thing he wanted to do was to give the scoop to Lois Lane.
He’d been a bit shell-shocked at the news of her engagement but then again so had his partner, Jenna before she broke up with Frank. Engaged wasn’t married. Engaged wasn’t forever. If anything it was what proved to tear couples apart. True, he’d yet to catch the eye of the lovely brunette, but that was a challenge he thought he could handle. He wasn’t one to back down from a challenge. He knew if given a chance Lois Lane would see her attention was better spent elsewhere.
The way to Lois Lane’s heart seemed to be through a story and a story he would bring her...again and again. Until she finally saw how useful he could be to her journalism career. He’d gone by the Daily Planet earlier and been sent here to find her. Hopefully, the news he had for her would be enough to pull her away from whatever it was she was doing …. maybe she’d even be interested in having dinner with him? The sky was the limit as far as he was concerned.
***
Clark let out a long breath as he flew back to his apartment to change. It had been a long week. Between Jimmy’s brainwashing and the involvement of the NIA and FBI in their investigation lately, he and Lois had been pulled into five hundred different directions. Him more so with having to account for both Clark Kent and Superman’s account of things. He’d spent the last few days on pins and needles wondering whether Jimmy would put two and two together with him having to change into Superman in front of him but thankfully his young friend had no recollection of the revelation or anything else for that matter from when he was under the Wilder’s control. Fortunately, they’d caught both Katherine and Claudette Wilder the day before, but Amir Muunour was still in the wind.
He knew Lois would probably be on edge after dinner with her parents and he planned on distracting her. He’d stopped by the florist and his favorite winery in Florence. He moved around the apartment at super-speed, ensuring everything was in place before quickly changing his suit and heading out.
***
TBC...
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