Title: Jealousy in her Heart
Author: Susan Young <groobie@verizon.net>
Submitted: January 2019
Rated: G
Summary: An altered scene from “I’ve Got a Crush on You” hints at the fire burning in Lois’ heart.
Author’s Note: This story was inspired by the 2019 Kerth Challenge #1: Five Words Challenge. “Your story must include the following words: rubber duck, bath, rose, flash, deadline.”
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Lois crept cautiously through the dark, burned out warehouse, determined to gather conclusive evidence for her story. She had been following Toni Taylor ever since the suspiciously blonde wench had oozed her way out of Clark Kent’s apartment. Tracking Toni had inevitably led her to the Riverview District and into a position to observe Toni’s meeting with the Toasters. Lois tucked herself behind a stack of blackened crates and waited with anticipation.
Without warning, a hand grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth. A flash of fear raced through her, but she willfully calmed herself. She had been through dicey situations plenty of times before, and experience had taught her that the key to escaping unscathed was to breathe deeply, process her surroundings, and take advantage of opportunities.
Her assailant tugged his arm slightly backwards, and Lois turned her head to identify him. She locked gazes, and then Clark uncovered her mouth, tipping his hand upward in apology.
“Why are you here?” Lois hissed.
“I followed you,” he whispered before nodding his head in Toni’s direction, “while you followed her.” Clark observed Toni and the cast of questionable characters gathered in the middle of the warehouse. He looked back at Lois and quietly asked, “What do you think she wants?”
Lois rolled her eyes. “What do women want? Men have been asking that question since the Wife of Bath told her tale.” She put her hands to her hips. “That woman wants riches, flattery, and fame.” Lois raised a caustic eyebrow, then added, “And presumably since she showed up unannounced at your doorstep in the middle of the night, sexual pleasure.”
Clark blushed. “That’s never going to happen.”
“Not if I can help it,” Lois muttered.
Clark tilted his head, and the edge of a cocky smile started to curl the corner of his lip.
Lois scowled, thrust out her hands, and shoved him backwards. “Stop trying to steal my story.” She stood, and then used her foot to scratch a stripe between them in the dusty floor. “Cross that deadline and see what happens,” she warned with a scowl before scampering closer to the action, picking her way through and around scattered objects to find a better vantage point for her surveillance. But in her haste, she tripped over a hose made of rubber.
“Duck!” Clark warned with an urgent hush as the hose’s metal trigger clanged against the concrete floor. He yanked Lois away from the piled crates, tucking her into his arms as they dashed behind a large cardboard box.
Lois felt a frisson of anger well inside her: at Clark for ignoring her pointed warning, and at herself for failing to hear him following her so closely. Footsteps echoed in the warehouse; guards shouted at each other to investigate the noise. Lois’ heart beat rapidly in her chest as one of the Toasters edged close to their hiding place, then slowed as the thug retreated. She remained silent and still in Clark’s embrace until Toni resumed her meeting.
Lois felt the rise and fall of Clark’s chest against her own as he drew in measured breaths. She tipped her chin upward as he looked down. Their eyes met.
Lois shook her torso away from him, breaking free from Clark’s protective hug, refusing to acknowledge the unwanted emotion that bloomed in her heart. Clark released her, and Lois rose to sneak a peek at the commotion in center of the warehouse. Power shifted as the Toasters turned on Toni, tying her up and leaving her guarded as the rest of the gang disbanded and vacated the building.
Clark stood, backed away slowly, and motioned for Lois to follow. The pair made their way out of the warehouse, acutely aware of the threat posed by the Toasters spreading fire through the night. But Clark seemed to cast his gaze back through the warehouse’s walls in the direction where Toni remained.
“Your girlfriend can take care of herself,” Lois chided. “I’m going to try and find Superman…somewhere. You go warn the police. Metropolis is about to burn.” Clark nodded quickly and then took off running down the block and around the corner.
‘Metropolis will burn,’ Lois thought as she watched Clark run away. Just like the jealousy in her heart.
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