Chapter 60:
Lois slid off of him slowly in the silence, getting off the bed and searching for her clothes.
"Lois... wait, Lois, hear me out."
She shook her head vehemently as she slid her tank top over her head, stepped into her panties. Her voice held none of the bravado she was trying to put forward, instead croaking out on a hoarse whisper. "No. No way. I can't... I can't believe—"
"You have to understand. He was working for Luthor already—"
Lois spun on her heel and whirled on him as he moved to perch on the edge of his bed. "And what? That meant he was worth death?"
"Oh, please!” He snapped back at her defensively, and Lois felt nauseatingly off-kilter again. “You think Nigel was some sort of saint? He was a spy, Lois! A double agent, on the run from MI-6 and wanted by Interpol. Nigel St. John has passed by death's door unscathed a hundred times over. He more than deserved what he got."
She gaped at him, surprise stretching across her features at his venom towards the man. A man she'd killed. Oh, what had she gotten herself into? Her eyes teared up, and she blinked in an effort to clear them. She couldn't cry right now, she had to stay angry. Not a difficult thing to do. "So what? You're telling me this whole thing was orchestrated so I'd... what? Kill Nigel for you?"
"No," he uttered solemnly, his initial outrage lanced by a sudden wave of sadness, and he got to his feet. "I'd do anything to spare you the pain of that. I'd kill him myself. I was really trying not to."
She scoffed and folded her arms. "What a gesture."
He stepped towards her and reached an arm out to her side. "Lo—"
"No." She pulled back sharply, and he stood there like she'd just kicked his puppy. "Just answer me one thing."
He nodded rapidly. "Anything, I swear."
She licked her lips, throat suddenly parched. A part of her already knew what the answer to this question would be, but she had to hear him say it. "Was Lex right? About you having it out for him?"
Clark squared his jaw and stood tall, and she almost didn't need him to say the word.
"Yes."
She exhaled deeply, eyes slamming shut before she started crying. The temperature in the room changed suddenly. Her head felt light and a wave of dizziness enveloped her, his words swirling around without meaning.
"Lois, everything changed when I met you. I truly love you. I love you so much—"
"Just—" she choked on the word, emotion strangling the rest of her sentence.
She felt his hands land on her hips gently. She pushed at him half-heartedly, eyes still closed, but she didn't have the energy for anything more.
"Lois. Lois, look at me. I'm sorry. Please."
She couldn't, heart pounding, mind racing. She shook her head, eyes sealed shut against the world around her— his world, his room, his life that she'd somehow found herself falling into and now she was trapped without a clue as to how she ended up in this position. She was a strong, independent woman. How had she let herself get pulled into this stupid tug-of-war with these... these men? Pigs. Monsters. The lot of them.
He landed his forehead against her hip, a submissive gesture, and the sensation of skin-against-skin sent a tingle running through her body. She cracked an eye open and looked down at him: on his knees, begging, holding her in a woeful embrace, like he'd lost her already.
She stopped that thought in its tracks. He had lost her already.
... Hadn't he?
"The second I met you, at that stupid club, everything shifted. It stopped being about Luthor, about revenge—"
"And what did Lex ever do to you, huh?"
He looked up the length of her body with tears in his eyes, face marred with confusion.
"Lex killed my father."
That statement struck her hard across the face. She must have looked dumbstruck, because he seemed to see an opening and he kept pushing his argument. "He's the reason— he deserves everything I've done and more. He's attacked me on multiple occasions, tried to kill me twice this week— he had you kidnapped, and drugged, and thrown off the roof of a building, and kidnapped your sister, and—"
Her eyes were wet with unshed tears as she looked down at him. His words stung, but nothing he said was untrue. And with Clark kneeling before her, his hair still sex-touseled, and naked, both physically and emotionally... She didn't have much of a defense to make. His voice was gravelly when he spoke in a hushed tone.
"He hurt you. He... after everything he knew about your history, everything you told him... he still hurt you, Lois. Consciously."
A tear rolled down her cheek, where she knew some bruising still remained. She couldn't hold back anymore. Her hands were shaking as she brought them up to her face, brushed away her tears as fast as they fell, barely able to see.
His lips seared hotly against her thigh, in what she guessed was supposed to be a chaste, loving gesture, but was decidedly not. It startled a hiccup out of her as she looked back down at him.
"Lex Luthor is not a good man. And I'll be damned if I ever let him hurt you again."
She scoffed, but a soothing sensation flooded her at the statement. There was something comforting in his words. She didn't need to be kept, or babied, but it felt nice to have someone at her back, no matter what she did or said. Her voice was low with warning when she finally gathered her emotions again for speech. "I won't be some pawn for you to play with in order to get back at Lex."
Clark shook his head, the ends of his unruly locks tickling her skin. "You've never been a pawn, Lois, and you never will be. If anything, you're a queen. I'm at your mercy. Say the word, and I'll walk away forever. I'd do anything for you. Just, please, don't say I've lost you."
His words had a familiar echo, and she remembered Nigel's statement, about reaching out and taking her power. Wise words from the last source she'd ever expect. She took a long, shuddering breath— how long had it been since she'd had a cigarette?— and took the reins. "Anything?" she asked quietly, suspiciously.
He nodded. "I owe you my life."
A thrill at the words zipped through her veins, a little bit heady and certainly more than she'd expected. Nigel had been right. She held his life in her hands, and the rush of power was exhilarating.
She could turn him into the police, make him pay for his crimes.
She could tell Lex, and turn him in together, although getting back together with Lex was not at all appealing.
She could hold this over him in order to get whatever she wanted.
She could control the most powerful man in the world.
The silence stretched on for a few moments past the comfortable. She was trying to put her thoughts in order when his lips started traversing her skin in the most distracting manner. A hand drifted down to tangle through his hair, gripping tight when he nipped at the sensitive skin just beside her knee. She pulled him back by his locks and stared down at him with wide, smoke-filled eyes.
"Number one, you put everything down. If I'm going to stay with you, you'd better be damn near unimpeachable, got it? Purer than the alter-ego."
He nodded rapidly, an inkling of hope written in his features. "Of course. That was always the plan to begin with. Once Lex was taken care of— I walk away."
She blinked at the reminder, and she frowned at him. "And Lex. We can't let him—"
"Lois," his voice was low, chiding.
"You can't just—"
"Things are in motion, Lois. I can't exactly take that packet back from Henderson, say nevermind, wrong criminal. Someone has to take the fall."
She scowled at him. "You said you'd do anything."
Clark's mouth opened to protest, but he shut it after a moment of thought. He hung his head, hair brushing against her once more, and her heart started pounding at the idea that he was considering it. Would he really do it, for her? How far would he go?
"You're right," he murmured, sliding his hand down her leg to more neutral territory. "I did say that, and I meant it. So whatever you need from me, I'll do it. If it'd make you feel better, I'll turn myself in. I'd wait an eternity to be with you."
There it was again. The thrill of power, the chase of exhilaration up her spine. Holy crap, Nigel was right. She had the strongest man on the planet on his knees, willing to sacrifice everything for her.
She reached down and ran a hand down his cheek, turning his gaze back up to garner his undivided attention.
"We've all done bad things."
His eyes flashed with some heady mix of arousal and gratitude, and she smirked at him a little. "Lex isn't beyond impunity. But at the end of this road, the justice system will take care of it, wherever that leaves him. No more vigilante justice. Not a hair on his head comes to harm."
"He deserves to die," he muttered, eyes a shade darker as he glanced away. "For hurting you alone—"
"He's not worth it," she snapped back at him. He swallowed thickly and nodded in acquiescence. She shrugged her shoulders in admittance. "It's not like I ever really loved him. And if you ever break any of these... terms... Just remember I know all your secrets. You owe me for keeping them."
He didn't respond, but she knew he was in agreement. He clung to her still, his breathing steady against her skin. The room was quiet, but it was a peaceful silence this time. They were resolved. Lois almost couldn't believe it, but they'd gotten to the other side of this thing.
"I have an addendum."
She looked down at him as he finally rose to his feet. He pulled her into him warmly, stroking a strong, warm hand down her arm soothingly. "We put Lex Luthor away. We put him behind us. We'll be the epitome of a peaceful, happy couple. Unimpeachable, as you say. And then someday— maybe someday soon— I'm going to ask you to spend the rest of your life with me."
Her heart raced again, and she froze. Was he really proposing? Or, proposing to propose? Their relationship had been a whirlwind so far, but this still seemed fast. She shook her head fiercely. "I'm not ready for that—"
"I know you're not, I know. Not now. I'm just saying... someday. I want you to be prepared."
It was hard to swallow it all at once, but she understood what he was saying. No more surprises. They'd be above board. "I still need time," she hedged nervously. Time to process the fact that they'd essentially come up with a life plan together, that he'd lied to her but come clean about it, that he'd sworn his life to hers.
"Of course. But?"
She licked her lips, feeling her pulse even in her tongue. This was monumental. "Yeah. I think that's some terms I could agree to."
*****LnC*****
Keeping a low profile was not Lex Luthor's forte.
He huddled in a corner, quietly waiting, exuding impatience with every tap of his foot, hands wrapped firmly around his coffee mug so they wouldn't start nervously shaking, or fiddling with something on the table and drawing more attention to himself. That was the last thing he needed.
He sat up rigidly when Fane entered the small coffee house, looking a little too eager. He wasn't in uniform, thank goodness, and took his time ordering his coffee before taking a seat at the table next to him.
"Anything interesting in there?"
The casual comment threw him for a loop. Lex looked down at his copy of the Daily Planet sitting open on the table and pursed his lips. "Depends on what you think is interesting. Is it interesting that Lois Lane hasn't returned to work after an entire week? That Friaz is writing the bigger articles? Or that there hasn't been a single mention of Nigel St John or myself in the pages when I know they have something on me?"
Fane didn't flinch, hardly acknowledged that he was even hearing a word. In fact, he was exceedingly calm. Lex squinted after the man as he got up to pick up his order from the counter and returned, still silent.
"Do you have anything to contribute to this conversation?"
The army man shot him a quiet glare as he sipped his coffee— a strong dark roast, no cream or sugar. Luthor wrinkled his nose. The man didn't have to be a stereotype.
"I think we need to be... cautious."
The word sent Lex's eyebrows skyward. "Cautious? You want to be cautious now?"
"Yes."
"I don't have time for cautious," Lex snarled. Fane looked around the cafe with his eyebrow raised, and Lex realized just how loud he was being. He took a deep breath in, trying to absorb some of the calm Fane was giving off. "You don't understand. There's a body out there somewhere. One of my friends inside the MPD says the higher ups are working on some big case, keeping it all close to the vest. There's only one reason for that, I'm sure of it."
"You're being paranoid—"
"No.” His word cut firmly and he reinforced his statement with the jab of his index finger into the table. “You're not being paranoid enough. He'll come for you, too, as soon as he realizes you exist."
Fane inhaled deeply. "It would go a long way if you would just tell me what you found out. I can't help you if my hands are tied."
"Why? All you care about is what I learned, and I've told you that when the time is right, I'll give you that information. But I need some insurances first."
Fane snapped at him under his breath. "I can't get you any insurances without a little sign of good faith."
Lex growled and ran a hand through his hair. "And what do you consider to be acting in good faith?"
"Honestly? Just your word. I'm not even asking for any evidence."
He shook his head frantically. "I can't. Not yet. I just—"
"Look. We've been through this. There's nothing I can do for you as is. It's an impasse."
"Well then, you better keep some of those green crystals handy, because you're going to need them."
"Green crystals?" Dawning illuminated the man's paunchy face, and Lex winced. He'd probably said too much as is. "What do you mean? They worked on somebody? It had an actual, physical effect?"
Lex clammed up.
"Was it... our friend in tights?"
Shock flooded him, and Lex snapped his gaze over to Fane's a little too quickly, slack-jawed.
Fane smiled wickedly and thumped the table with his hand in excitement. "I knew it. I've been trying to get approval to test it on him, but no one's gone for it. You know, because of this little thing called evidence," he hinted.
Lex shook himself. "What makes you think it would work on him?"
"You mean besides your terrible acting skills?" Fane scoffed and leaned in closer. "The Bureau has an odd amount of old memorabilia. A lot of it came from this crash site in Kansas— the crystals included. It's the case Trask had been working on when he died... The Bureau shut down, and it's all just sat in storage for the past eighteen years."
Lex leaned back in his seat, face stricken and white as ash. "Oh my God."
"What?"
His mind was spinning. It all made sense. He couldn't believe he'd never put it together before now. All he needed was the missing piece— Clark being the man behind the cape— and it fell into place. The crashed spacecraft in the middle of nowhere, Kansas. The secret government agency tasked with retrieving it. Sending Trask, a young, evangelical follower, and finding out that there had in fact been a child inside— an alien one. Tracking him down, finding him, confronting the Kents— Kent kills Trask to protect the family secret, to protect the son that wasn't theirs.
Then he came along, and messed it all up for young Clark Kent.
Lex rocketed to his feet a bit unsteadily. "I have to leave."
"Lex, talk to me. What's going on?"
"You need evidence, you say?"
"Yeah," he dragged out the word suspiciously.
"Last question, Charlie. Why didn't anyone agree to test this, this—"
"Meteorite," he supplied.
"This meteorite, on our mutual friend?"
"The symbol on his suit.” Lex frowned at him curiously as he waited for the man to expand. Fane shifted in his seat. “People were unsure about how it would look to have the government attacking a figure for good, a literal superhero, but if we had information on who he was in his off hours… It's not much of a difference in my opinion, but perception would be vastly improved, should anything come out. Should a grand jury be convened after taking drastic actions, it'd be easier if we could say we were protecting national security by finding out what he did in his private life. Like I said, evidence."
Lex couldn't imagine that stopping Bureau 39 from acting, but he supposed even the most off-books organizations had to follow some sort of bureaucracy. It didn't matter anymore anyway. Lex was convinced of the truth. He was finally right about something, and he had the upper hand. "I'll get you your evidence. I don't expect it'll go well for me, but you'll know it when it happens."
"How?"
"Trust me. It'll be everywhere." A smirk toyed with his lips as a phrase entered his mind. He slipped into his jacket and gathered his things. The words had only been truer once.
"It's gonna be a big news day."
