The World Falls AwayFolc4everanday
Chapter 2: Unsteady________________________________________
Lois ran a hand through her hair, feeling the dampness from the rain still in her hair. She reached over to take the hot mug offered to her, nodding her thanks to Clark as he took a seat next to her on the living room sofa. She took a deep breath, inhaling the steam before taking a sip from the rim of her mug.
The warmth from the hot liquid immediately resonated through her, and she smiled against the rim of the mug in her hands. Her eyes darted across the rim of the mug to Clark, who was watching her with an intense stare that tickled her insides. She cleared her throat, setting the mug down on the table in front of her and turned to him, trying to find a way to articulate the mixed emotions that were tumbling through her mind.
How something so simple as a cup of tea could push the flood of emotions back behind the dam that had been threatening to overtake her. Every choice. Every decision. Everything was called into question as she struggled to come to terms with the hard truth of how faulty her judgment was and how close she’d come to making a deadly decision.
Clark finally broke the silence, “You want to talk about it?”
“What’s to talk about?" Lois asked nonchalantly, running a hand through the loose strands of hair. "I make horrible decisions and am now afraid to go home because a murdering psychopath—who I was too dumb and blind to see the truth—is on the run for killing his partner.” She shook her head, reaching for the mug she’d just placed down for comfort.
Clark’s mouth twisted into a tight line, and she looked down into the dark liquid, seeking solace as Clark finally spoke up, “You’re not dumb.”
“I was the only one that couldn’t see it,” Lois argued half-heartedly. “You, Perry, Jimmy…even Jack knew better than me.”
“Jack was being framed by Luthor. Jimmy didn’t see the truth until after the bombing, and Perry’s got us both beat on his tenure as an investigative reporter.” Clark argued his point with a raised eyebrow before imitating Perry with his best southern accent, “I didn’t become Editor-in-Chief because I can yodel.”
Lois chuckled, setting her mug down, feeling the corners of her mouth twitch as she looked back at him. How was it he always knew just what to say? Her mouth spread into a full grin as she added, “You forgot the Elvis twang.”
“I’m not doing Elvis impressions. Those are reserved strictly for the Chief.” Clark grinned back at her.
“Probably best,” Lois added, meeting his gaze for a brief moment before turning away. “After everything came out about what he did. I knew he was behind the bombing and the framing of Jack, but I never imagined him capable of killing someone like that. I know it sounds crazy.”
“He put on a good act and had this entire city convinced he was just another businessman trying to do his part.” Clark acknowledged with a shrug. “Until he wasn’t.”
“Do you think I’m a bad judge of character?” Lois asked, darting her eyes toward his with a shaky breath.
“No, of course not.”
“This is all my fault,” Lois shook her head, feeling her guilt swell up in her chest as the floodgate escaped. “I had every opportunity to call the police and turn him in, and I didn’t. I just froze like an idiot and let a murderer continue to walk the streets.” She leaned her head down, rubbing her temple with her palm. “What’s wrong with me?”
“Nothing,” Clark answered, reaching his hand across the couch to take her hand in his. “Lois, you’re the smartest person I know…and the most cynical, but Luthor is a dangerous criminal that could have easily hurt you or worse if you’d tried to turn him in. This is not your fault. He’s a sociopath and a master of disguise. He was doing this long before anyone knew who he was. He had everyone fooled.”
“Except you.”
“I just didn’t like him,” Clark admitted sheepishly. “He always talked down to everyone around him, which didn’t jive very well to the new guy trying to prove himself on his first assignment at the Planet.”
Lois smirked at his admission, “Really?”
“Really,” Clark nodded, reaching his hand over to brush a loose strand of hair out of her face. “I just got lucky and found something on him eventually.” His eyes held hers for what felt like an eternity. The intensity of his stare sent butterflies through her, and she felt as if she would melt beneath his stare before he tore himself away, clearing his throat and pointing toward the bedroom. “Um, if you really don’t want to go home…”
“Oh, no, I don’t want to put you out…”
“It’s no problem, really.”
“I…” she stopped mid-sentence collecting her thoughts and then uttered, “I guess I thought things would be different after …” She felt a crimson blush cross her face and he reached his hand out to cup her cheek.
“Lois, you’re my friend, first and foremost,” Clark whispered, brushing his thumb against her jaw. “No matter what changes between us, that will never change.”
A breath of relief escaped her lips, and she grinned at him, “I can’t tell you how relieved I am to hear you say that. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”
“You could never lose me, Lois.” He promised solemnly.
Unshed tears glimmered in her eyes as she stared into the intense mocha brown eyes staring back at her. A flutter ran through her and her lips parted ever so slightly as she felt herself drawn to him. Her questioning gaze met his tender eyes as she uttered a whisper of a question. “Really?”
The tender touch of his hand against her face sent a shockwave through her as his thumb brushed against her cheek with a warm caress. The small space between them felt almost unbearable as she stared into his eyes, waiting for him to respond. She focused on his lips as they parted and answered her with a nod of his head.
“Really.”
A smile spread across her lips, and she leaned another inch toward him, so there was only a mere millimeter of space between them. Her eyes sparkled as her face tilted up, closing the distance and capturing his lips with hers with a fiery intensity that threatened to bubble over as his hands moved into her hair. His lips pressed against hers, devouring her as he sank back against the couch, allowing her to continue the embrace at whatever pace she wanted.
Her lips parted and a low moan escaped her throat as he pulled away. It took her a brief moment to realize the phone on the side table was ringing. He let out a shallow breath and reached his arm over to answer the phone, still keeping his other hand on her hip as he greeted the caller.
“Hello?”
That was all it took before a painful groan escaped his throat, and he fell over, withering in pain.
“Clark!”
Lois’ hand clamped over her mouth as she watched Clark wither in pain, uncertain what to do as the phone that had been cradled against Clark’s ear fell on the floor, and he quickly followed, slumping down into a hump, groaning in pain.
The phone switched to speaker, and a haunting voice emitted from the speaker of the handset, “Well, Superman, now that I have your undivided attention, it’s time to get down to business...”
“I’m not...” Clark was barely able to make his protest out before another groan in pain escaped his throat as the mysterious caller taunted him.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk…Superman, really, I’m insulted. Are you really going to resort to lying? It’s very un-super-manly...”
Lois let out a sharp breath, trying to process the bombshell that had just been leveled from the mysterious caller. Before she could voice her own shock at what the mystery caller had accused Clark of the menacing voice taunted him once more.
“Now, do as I say, and you just might live through this. There’s much more where that came from. You will stop this charade and admit to the world the truth. You have until noon tomorrow.”
________________________________________
Tempus glanced toward the stewing Lex Luthor, who was carefully eying him from the open vault where the plethora of Kryptonite was at their disposal in planning the man of steel’s demise. Though he would love nothing more than to see Superman die a slow and painful death, thereby ridding the world of its grotesque future of nauseating bliss, he had a much bigger plan in mind. Ridding the world of Superman was easy but declaring its hero a liar in a public forum where all the good he’d accomplished would be nothing more than a blemished footnote in history was what he really needed.
Tempus leaned into the speaker, dialing the number as a heartfelt chuckle escaped his throat. After the second ring, a heavy breathed response came, “Hello?”
Tempus pressed a button on the device he had hooked into the phone and a green light emitted as he laughed, “I’d say I’m sorry to interrupt, but well, we both know that’s not true, is it, Clark?”
Lex arched an eyebrow as he walked over, hearing the painful groans that escaped the speakers and standing a few feet away as he listened intently to the conversation taking place.
Tempus taunted Clark on the other end, “Well, Superman, now that I have your undivided attention, it’s time to get down to business...”
“I’m not...”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk…Superman, really, I’m insulted. Are you really going to resort to lying? It’s very un-super-manly.” He pressed the button on the side again and another painful groan escaped the speakers. “Now, do as I say, and you just might live through this.”
He pressed a button on the side of the table, revealing a monitor that showed Clark Kent’s apartment and Lois Lane hovering over Clark Kent’s withering body as he pressed the button again, watching the recognition on Lex Luthor’s face switch from disinterest and hesitancy to awe and rage. Confident that he’d proven his point, Tempus released the button, watching as the excruciating pain he’d just subjected Superman to subsided on the screen in front of him.
“There’s much more where that came from. You will stop this charade and admit to the world the truth. You have until noon tomorrow.”
With that, Tempus pressed the end button, and the connection was lost, terminating the image on the screen to a black screen with digital ‘no signal’ block letters across the top. He let out a chuckle, and Lex fumed at him with a boiling rage as he quickly turned on him.
"That's it? Admit to the world your lies, and you just let him off to continue his menacing ways?” Lex pounded his fist across the table, causing the table’s contents to shake and tremble.
“Lex, please, surely you think more of me than that,” Tempus admonished, insulted at the insinuation that exposing Superman to the world as a liar was all he had up his sleeve.
“This pathetic excuse of a hero is nothing more than a con-artist who played a dangerous game and is now about to pay the price.” Lex raged, slamming his fist down on the table in front of him again. “You get your little show, but I want his head on a platter, and I want Lois Lane brought to me….”
“Careful, Lex, she’s the key to your undoing,” Tempus warned.
Lex pulled out a gun and pressed the barrel to Tempus’ temple, “Future or not, you can’t reap the fruits of your labor with a bullet in your brain.”
Tempus laughed and pushed the barrel of the gun away, “Oh, Lex, you are ruthless, aren’t you? I knew I looked up to you for a reason.”
________________________________________
Superman.
Clark was Superman.
The revelation felt like a cold hard blow as she sat on the floor numb from shock as she tried to process what had just happened. So many emotions raced through her, but she couldn’t focus on a single one as her mind clung to the looming threat that threatened to destroy everything.
“Clark?” her voice cracked into a light croak as she reached a hand over to press her hand against his chest, trying to jostle him awake.
Nothing.
“Clark?” she shook him again as a faint knock came from the front door, and she jumped, startled by the sound. She quickly jumped up, noting the bewildered expression on Clark’s face as he began to came to. “Hey.”
“Ow…” he groaned.
Another knock came from the other side of the door.
“Don’t move,” she instructed, walking toward the door, stopping to try and see who it was only to find the peephole missing. ‘Why would he need one?’ she thought with a grimace. Bracing herself, she jerked the door open and found a man in a bowler hat and trench coat on the other side of the door,
“Hi?” Lois glanced at the man with a bowler hat standing outside Clark’s door.
“Yes, quite, Ms. Lane, I apologize for my tardiness, but the events of this time appear to have changed from the original timeline, and …” he smiled, tipping his hat. “My apologies. I’m here to see Superman.”
TBC....
Comments Go Here
