Summary: Follows part 2, Taming the Butterflies. Part 3 picks up several months after part 2. I've compressed some of the timeline to make a few events work, but they still happen in order that the series happens. This story covers events in 'The Phoenix' and 'Top Copy' with some references to episodes prior.
A/N: Part 3 has been split into 4 sections due to length. This is section a.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, merely exercising my imagination. Excerpts taken from 'The Phoenix' and 'Top copy.'
****
She had been returning to the Planet from investigating Bender, when she’d run into the old man in a wheelchair again. Upon revealing himself as Lex Luthor, and offering her the chance to call the police, she’d calmly walked away, until she reached the foyer of the Daily Planet. Once in the safety of the building, she’d felt her legs start to shake and sat at one of the benches in front of the elevators. That’s where Clark had found her a few minutes later.
“Lois?” He rushed over to her and sat down. “You’re trembling. Are you ok?” He asked as he wrapped one arm around her.
“Clark?” It must be some sort of delayed shock, she mused. After all, it wasn’t every day you saw your ex-fiance back from the dead.
“What happened?”
“Lex. I saw Lex,” she blurted out as she felt Clark’s grip around her tighten.
“Let’s get you upstairs, and warmed up.” Clark helped her stand and they walked into a waiting elevator, and headed up to the newsroom floor. Once there, he led her gently to the conference room. The door closed, Clark enveloped her in a warm hug, and she felt her trembles cease as she relaxed in his embrace.
“What happened?” He asked, gently taking off her coat, draping it over an adjacent chair, and pulling out a chair for her.
She had already told him about the old man in a wheelchair that she’d encountered at the police station a day prior, and now recounted how she’d met him again, how he’d revealed himself to be Lex.
“Watching him peel off his disguise, hearing his voice, it was incredibly creepy,” she shuddered from the memory.
“Why didn’t you call the police?” Clark asked, confusion written on his face, a bite of anger infusing his tone.
She had told Lex that she thought he’d suffered enough, but she wasn’t completely sure why she hadn’t run away, and called the police immediately. “I don’t know, Clark. I think I was in shock. It’s not as though I was expecting to run into someone I thought was dead.”
She watched as various emotions played across Clark’s expression. “Clark, Lex wanted…”
A sharp knock on the door interrupted her, and Perry and Jimmy walked in. Perry began to demand to know what was going on. Lois retold of her encounter, skipping lightly over Lex’s comments about his desire for her. She couldn’t meet Clark’s eyes and her hands shook as she relived the experience again.
Perry noticed her shaking hands, and sent Jimmy off for a hot drink for her, before he began pacing around the table. “Lois? You ok?” He asked after several minutes. She was saved from answering as Jimmy barged back into the room.
“So what did Luthor say he wanted, I mean, besides you?” Jimmy asked flippantly as he re-entered bearing a cup of tea, oblivious to Lois’s glare and Clark’s grim expression.
“Well, it looks like Bender is your only solid lead to finding Luthor,” Perry said, ignoring Jimmy’s question.
Lois was relieved at the change of subject, but she could see the anger on Clark’s face. “Yeah, and he’s in seclusion on his yacht. Supposedly he needs a break from the press,” she answered Perry, feeling a little less shaky as she remembered her research before seeing Lex.
“Well, he’s not going to get it!” Perry exclaimed. “I want you two on him like flies on a T-bone. Round the clock surveillance.”
“Perry, when you say round the clock, you don’t mean…?” She hesitated. Tonight she’d planned a surprise for Clark. He had no idea. She’d told him to keep the evening clear and left the rest as a secret.
“Yes, ma’am. Right now. You can set up shop at Butch Kennebrew’s. He’s a friend of mine. Keeps a little hideaway down there at the marina.”
“So, you want us to start tonight?” Lois tried to clarify again. Maybe they could start in the morning?
“Have you, uh, got something better to do?” Perry needled her.
“I guess not,” she acquiesced, sadly glancing at Clark.
“Uh, huh. Good. Clark, come with me and we’ll get the equipment sorted out.” Perry left the conference room, Clark, a pace behind him.
“Jimmy, a moment,” Lois called. She dug around in her bag and produced two tickets. “Here.”
“Wow! Pearl Jam! Lois!”
“Don’t say anything to Clark. It was a surprise.”
‘Yeah, you bet. Awesome!” Jimmy left exuberantly. Lois resisted the urge to put her head in her hands, instead collecting her coat and following Clark so they could organize the evening.
****
It hadn’t taken them long to get everything in order. Jimmy had rustled up the surveillance equipment they’d need, and piled it into the back of the Jeep with Clark’s help. With Lois driving, they headed to Clark’s first to pick up his overnight bag, and then to her apartment for the same. The drive to the marina was quiet, neither of them willing to break the silence first. Once at the marina Clark unloaded the surveillance equipment, and Lois began to set it up, her hands still trembling. When she dropped the binoculars for the fourth time, Clark gently wrapped his arms around her.
“Clark, we have to get set up,” she protested.
“Lois, talk to me,” he pleaded. “Bender isn’t going anywhere in the next few minutes.”
She hesitated. Tonight should have been a carefree night full of loud music, laughter, and the joy that came with knowing that he would really appreciate the concert. Instead she worried they’d start arguing. “Why, Clark? So you can tell me I did the wrong thing?” She couldn’t keep the defensive tone out of her voice, and she backed out of his embrace.
“No, well, no…”
“So you think I did the wrong thing. I saw your face in the conference room, you were angry with me!”
Clark ran his hands through his hair before answering, a sign he was agitated, Lois realized. “I don’t know why you let him walk away. Why didn’t you call for help? You said he even gave you his phone!”
“When was the last time you spoke to someone who was dead? I watched Lex jump from his own building, on what should have been his wedding day. I know he was dead. There was no doubt about that.” She felt nauseous at the memory, not only of Lex’s suicide, but the reminder that it should have been her wedding day also. “This keeps happening to me. The last person I saw come back from the dead was you!” She choked back a sob at the memory, trying to control her emotions. She did not want to start their evening losing her temper or crying.
“Oh, Lois, I’m sorry,” Clark moved towards her again, but didn’t try to touch her.
She flinched, momentarily too angry to want his hands on her, and didn’t want to risk losing the fragile control she had of her anger at the moment. “He was a mistake, not a happy memory, especially when every time his name comes up, I’m reminded that I was involved with one of the biggest criminals in Metropolis’s history, and had no clue. That’s not an ego boosting memory, considering I’m supposed to be an investigative reporter!” She stepped away from Clark and began to pace around the very small living space. “I wasn’t pining away for him. He was a part of my past, one that I really hoped would stay buried, physically and metaphorically. Yet, there he was. One moment an old man in a wheelchair, the next, standing in front of me peeling his mask off, like I was living in some horror movie. That image is going to be playing in my nightmares for the next few weeks, or until something else horrendous happens that replaces it. Do you know how long it took for the memory of you dying in front of me to not have a nightly showing in my nightmares?”
“Lois…”
“No, you asked,” she stopped him, pointing angrily at him. “Why didn’t I call for help? I don’t know. It was as though I was frozen, body and mind. I could hear him speaking, saw him holding his phone out, I could hear myself responding, and then I just walked away.” She started trembling again, her anger at Clark growing. “You weren’t there, how can you tell me what I should and shouldn’t have done?”
He didn’t answer, looking downwards at the floor. Lois could see his mouth working, like he was fumbling for words to say, and she suddenly felt claustrophobic in the small living space. She needed to get away from Clark, from the anger and sadness that this whole mess had brought up.
“I need to change. I need to get out of these clothes.” She was overwhelmed with the feeling of Lex’s hands on her arms, the memory of his proximity to her, giving her the desire to scrub her skin raw to get rid of any lingering presence. She grabbed her overnight bag, that she’d dropped by the entrance when she’d arrived, and walked into the bedroom, slamming the glass door behind her. She managed to throw her bag onto the bed, walk into the bathroom, turn on the shower, before sinking, fully clothed, to the floor, and bursting into tears. She hoped the sound of the shower would cover the noise her crying was making, and allowed herself to shed the tears of anger that had been building throughout her diatribe to Clark.
Two strong arms enfolded her, but she couldn’t make herself pull away. She sat and cried in Clark’s arms, crying over the memories of Lex’s death, Clark’s death, sorrowing over what she believed was their first big fight, and sobbing in fear that she’d ruined yet another relationship. She sank into Clark’s embrace, eyes closed as the cathartic effect of a good cry and the release of pent up anger began to calm her, vaguely aware that the shower was still running. Her head was on Clark’s chest, her hands in her lap. He held her close, one arm around her, the other hand gently threading through her hair.
“Oh Clark, you were right,” she whispered. “Why didn’t I call the police? Now Lex is roaming free and it’s my fault. If I hadn’t just walked away…”
“It wasn’t your fault, Lois.” Clark interrupted softly as she rebuked herself. He released his hold on her temporarily to lean over and turn off the shower, before gathering her in his arms again.
“I wasn’t expecting to see him ever again. Who would, he was dead!” She took a deep breath and began to tell him what she’d left out earlier. “There was more. He wanted me, I told you and Perry that, but he expected me to still be mourning him, and ready to pick up where we’d left off.” She felt Clark tense at her words, his hands no longer making soothing motions in her hair and on her back. “Clark?”
When he didn’t respond, she pulled back from his embrace to look at him, dismayed at the anguish on his face.
“Do you?” He breathed, barely distinguishable, except she could read his lips.
Swiftly, it dawned on her part of the reason for Clark’s anger. At the time, she had suspected Clark was jealous of her and Lex’s relationship, and then after Lex’s death, she and Clark had focused on trying to piece together their suddenly fragile friendship, instead of talking through the ramifications of that jealousy. With Lex unexpectedly alive, she surmised Clark was concerned she would go running back to Lex.
Clark’s head had lowered, his shoulders rounded, and his gaze on the floor, the picture of defeat. Lois reached for him, her fingers lightly caressing his jawline until his eyes raised to meet hers. “No, Clark. I don’t want Lex. He was a serious lapse in judgement, yet another of my federal disasters.” She could see his eyes brighten at her declaration, his relief evident as he sat up straighter. She shifted in his arms, her legs tingling from the awkward position on the cramped bathroom floor.
“Here, let me help,” Clark said as he gracefully stood before helping Lois to her feet. She was grateful that he was holding her up as her legs were now numb. In a rush, she remembered the look of anger on Lex’s face when she told him no, and tensed.
“It’s ok,” Clark murmured into her ear, gently caressing her back.
“I told him no, and he wouldn’t listen. Clark, what if he comes after me?” She felt her voice take on a panicked note.
“He’ll have to get through me first.”
Lois tried to laugh, but it emerged as a choked sob, and Clark held her a bit closer in response. The thought of Clark swooping in like Superman to save her made her want to chuckle. Clark, her boyfriend of four months, who couldn’t hurt a fly, tripped over his own feet more often than not, never resorted to violence, and always the first one to go call for help, let the authorities deal with things properly, and he wanted to protect her. The sentiment was also sweet. Yet this wonderful man, who despite his apparent clumsiness, had a beautiful grace about him. When he was cooking, dancing, or even, on the rare occasion, chasing after a criminal, he seemed to know exactly how much strength to use, and his fluidity in movement contrasted his apparent awkwardness at times. While there was no question that he had strength, he chose not to flaunt it, and faced with that thought, Lois found it sensual. She remembered with a rising blush the one time, over a year ago, she’d seen him without his shirt on, and now as he embraced her she could feel the muscles of his upper body surrounding her.
With that pleasant thought, she let a deep breath go and started to relax in his arms, finally letting go of the remaining tension she’d been holding since Lex had revealed himself. She held onto Clark for several minutes until the grumbling of her stomach rudely interrupted their embrace.
“Why don’t you shower, I’ll order us some dinner,” Clark suggested as he released her. “Any requests?”
“Not pizza, we had that the last time. Wasn’t there a new Chinese place we drove by on the way here?”
“Ralph’s Pagoda?” Clark asked skeptically, raising one eyebrow.
“Yeah. Why not try it? I never did find that place you got takeout from the first time you picked up dinner. Maybe this place will be good?” She walked over to where she’d dumped her overnight bag on the bed and opened it. “I’d like to hop in the shower, but I probably drained the hot water tank, letting it run for so long,” she said ruefully as she grabbed her toiletries bag.
“Don’t worry about that,” Clark responded. “I’ll take a look at the heater, I’m sure it’ll be fine in a few minutes.”
Lois turned towards him. “Are we ok?” She asked feeling a pang of guilt. Tonight shouldn’t have ended up with her loosing her temper at Clark, and though she had no control in Lex’s resurrection, she felt awful that Clark had believed she would still be interested in her former fiance.
“Lois, we’re always ok,” Clark reassured her.
“Oh, Clark,” she murmured as she moved towards him, tracing his face with her fingers. When he raised his eyes to meet hers, she kissed him, relieved that he responded passionately as always. Breaking the kiss, she leaned her forehead on his. “I’m not going anywhere,” she said softly before heading back into the bathroom and closing the door softly behind her.
She turned the water for the shower on and let it run for a few minutes, anticipating it to be still cool, and was surprised when she stuck her hand in and it was already quite warm! Quickly, she shed her clothes and jumped in, not knowing how much hot water would be left. As the feeling of uncleanliness washed away in the confines of the shower, she started to wonder how she and Clark had got to this point, without ever really talking about prior relationships.
Since their first date, which had been incredible, Clark had died and come back to life, she had been kidnapped and locked up by one too many villains intent on getting to Superman. There had been the Space Rats fiasco at Christmas, and then Lucy had returned, bringing a wave of trouble with her in the guise of a boyfriend. Just last week, she’d had Superman staying at her apartment as he’d been blinded, while Clark was ill with the flu, meaning his parents, who had come for a visit, had stopped by her place, not wanting to catch what Clark had. With all those events, along with the everyday investigating and hunting down leads, they really hadn’t spent much time alone, together, long enough to get into the deep conversations.
Not that they hadn’t had some great moments over the months. They had dates where they went out for dinners, movies, and events on the Daily Planet social calendar. She’d been unsure how she would feel with their co-workers, and others they interacted with, knowing about hers and Clarks relationship, not wanting to give anyone the opportunity to gossip about her personal life, but thankfully that hadn’t happened. At least nothing she’d been made aware of. She wasn’t naïve enough to think that some nasty comments hadn’t been said, especially given her prior disastrous relationship record. Though her favourite dates had been the ones where they just stayed home, watched a movie, enjoyed dinner, or played board games.
She’d finished washing and now stood in the shower, amazed that the hot water was still flowing, and let her memory drift back to Christmas. It had been her first perfect Christmas, despite all the events leading up to it. She’d made an amazing dinner, and the only person that had shown up was Clark, even though he was supposed to be on a flight to see his folks for the holidays. He’d tried to convince her to join his family, but she hadn’t been able to get the time off, and at the time, she’d been glad she hadn’t gone. The relationship had been too new still to go to his home as his girlfriend, she had reasoned, but Christmas Eve had been perfect. Just the two of them, enjoying the delicious spread, that she still couldn’t believe she had prepared, listening to carolers while he wrapped his arms around her to shield her from the cold. After they’d spent several late hours cuddling on the couch, watching cheesy Christmas movies and nibbling on sweet snacks.
She sighed at the pleasant memory and reluctantly turned the shower off. Wrapping the towel around her she wandered into the bedroom to change. When she reached the bed, she stopped and stared at it. She hadn’t considered the sleeping arrangements for the night. She and Clark hadn’t spent the night together in the same place, since they began dating. What would he want to do? She felt the slightest flutter of delight in her stomach at the thought of curling up with Clark for the night, before the familiar fear, one she hadn’t had to face in a while, killed the flutter at the thought of diving deeper into their relationship.
This was ridiculous, she reasoned with herself, resurrecting the lone butterfly within. She and Clark had been together for almost five months, and Clark had demonstrated he could be trusted. His mysterious disappearing acts, which he always returned from, were confusing, but despite her annoyance at him at those times, he had never made her feel strung along or used. Steadfastly, she had refused to think of the relationship in the future tense, always experiencing that increase in panic that what they had wouldn’t last that long. Maybe it was time.
She selected a pair of sweats and a sleeveless top from her overnight bag and changed as she pondered. Here and now was not the time for any deep and meaningful conversations. They were guaranteed to be interrupted if they tried, and there was the distraction of watching Bender. No, when this investigation was done, they’d talk, which would give her plenty of time to deal with the nervous butterflies that were now on the rampage in her stomach.
Clark hadn’t pushed her at all in the intimacy department, at most they’d had some cuddles and passionate kisses. She’d fallen asleep on his shoulder a few times but he’d been the perfect gentleman towards her, never nudging her further than she was comfortable. Her thoughts, now open to the possibility of a future with Clark, meandered into dangerous territory. What would taking the relationship to the next level be like? She felt herself blushing as she remembered the one time she’d seen him without his shirt on, over a year ago.
She heard a loud pop from the living room pulling her from her musings, and as she opened the door to investigate, tried to focus on other thoughts than a half naked Clark.
“Here you are!” Exclaimed Clark as he handed her a glass of champagne.
She smiled and accepted, taking a sip. “How’d you get it cold so fast?”
“I, uh, uh….” Suddenly the room went dark as she heard the sound of a light bulb breaking. “Uh, oh,” Clark said.
“There’s another lamp on the other side of the couch,” she called out, moving back towards it.
“I got it!”
They collided and landed on the couch, his glass shattering somewhere nearby. Lois reached towards the other lamp and once the room flooded with light, she became aware of how she had landed, right on top of Clark, who was now wearing the contents of her glass.
“Sorry,’ she said sheepishly.
He laughed. “I guess I’m the one who needs to change now!”
“Yeah, I guess.” She set her glass on the coffee table and placed her hand on Clark’s champagne soaked shirt, absently stroking his chest. She gently lowered her lips to his and kissed him passionately. Without hesitation, he responded.
Several minutes later, as they both fumbled with the hems of each other’s shirts, the sound of a doorbell from the recording equipment Clark had set up, rudely interrupted them, leading Lois to glare at the speaker. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down as she remembered why they were there. Not so she and Clark could advance things further at this moment, but to catch a criminal. The voices coming through the speaker indicated that Bender’s dinner delivery had arrived.
“I guess I should get up,” she said shyly, not moving from her prone position on top of Clark.
“I guess so,” he responded with a grin.
She finally sat up, laughing. “I’ll just pour us some more champagne.”
“Good idea,” Clark said as he stood and moved towards the bedroom.
Heading over to the mini fridge she passed the still smoldering lampshade. “Wow, that must have been one defective bulb,” she mused aloud. Retrieving the bottle, getting another glass, and beginning to refill them, she began to return to the couch, when Clark’s silhouette through the glass bedroom door distracted her. She stared as he removed his tie and shirt, admiring his shadowy physique. As he bent over to remove his pants she felt the glass in her hand overflow.
“Get a grip, Lois,” she muttered to herself as she put the glasses and bottle on the floor. This was exactly why she shouldn’t be thinking about that next step in their relationship while they were in the middle of an investigation!
“What happened?” Clark asked as he opened the door.
“Oh, I had a muscle… uh, mishap. I had a mishap.” Yup, she needed a cold shower. “Here,” she tried to cover her slip of the tongue by handing Clark a new glass of champagne, trying to hide the spilled champagne on the floor. He moved his glass towards hers, tapping it every so slightly.
“To a nice quiet evening,” he joked.
“Well, I had something else planned, that definitely wasn’t quiet,” she blurted out. At Clark’s raised eyebrows she began to backpedal, realizing how that comment could be interpreted. “Not that we would be making any noise, but where we were going would be noisy. Very noisy actually. And we wouldn’t have been alone, there’d be lots of other people there…” Oh, she needed to stop it now! She took a large sip of champagne to stop her babbling. Thankfully their doorbell rang and Clark, grinning at her, answered it as she turned to grab something to clean up the mess she’d made, and the broken glass somewhere nearby.
****
She lay groaning on the couch. It was her own damn fault. She’d been so flustered by the evening so far that she’d eaten every time her traitorous mouth and suddenly surging hormones threatened to betray her projected calm. She’d opened the floodgates with her musings of furthering their intimacy, and now it was all her body and mind seemed to be able to think about. She’d been on the verge of flirting with him during dinner, and finding all opportunities to touch and caress him. The butterflies within were out of control, and as soon as he reciprocated any contact, intentional or otherwise, no matter how fleeting, tingles ran up and down her spine, to the tips of her fingers and toes.
It was incredible; unlike any desire she’d had for anyone before. Normally this would have terrified her, but tonight, perhaps enabled by the champagne that had likely taken the sharper edge off her self-control, it was addictive. In the attempt to distract herself from unscrupulous emotions, she’d snacked and chewed her way through the evening. Now her stomach hurt, and she was exhausted.
“Well, Bender’s out for the night,” Clark stated as he left his vigil by the window and crouched down beside her on the couch. “You ok?” He gently brushed an errant strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers continuing their travels down to her chin, and then back to cup her face in his hand.
“Yes,” she tried to not squeak out. Was every touch from him going to be like fire traveling over her skin? “My stomach isn’t happy, that’s all.”
He removed his hand from her face and placed it gently on her stomach. “You should turn in. You can sleep in the bedroom.”
“Ugh, I don’t feel like moving right now,” she groaned realizing that throughout the evening they’d failed to discuss sleeping arrangements.
“Here, c’mon.” Clark scooped her up in his arms, and impulsively she wrapped her arms around his neck, and placed her head on his shoulder. He carried her into the bedroom, and placed her on the bed, somehow managing to pull the comforter back at the same time. When he let her go, she felt the loss of his body heat instantly, but in no time he had her shoes off and was pulling up the sheets and tucking her in.
As Clark stepped away, Lois reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him gently back towards her. “Thanks, Clark. You always take such good care of me.”
“Anytime, Lois,” he murmured and bent over to kiss her.
“Where are you going to sleep?” She blurted out before their lips made contact.
“Uh, I’ll crash on the couch.”
“Oh, ok.” She felt a sudden disappointment, despite knowing her earlier decision to wait until they weren’t on the clock, was the right decision.
“I’ll be right next to the equipment. If Bender stirs tonight, I’ll hear it right away.”
“Oh, right.” She’d forgotten all about that for a moment. “You’ll wake me if anything happens?”
He grinned at her and leaned back in for a kiss. “Of course. If you need anything during the night, I’ll be right out here.” He kissed her again, then whispered a ‘g’night,’ before he turned off the light and closed the bedroom door.
She lay there for a few minutes, debating on whether to get up and change into her night clothes. She’d already brushed her teeth earlier in an effort to dissuade herself from eating more, and to help rinse the aftertaste of dinner, so she didn’t have to get up again if she didn’t want to. The bed was quite warm at the moment, she wondered if there was an electric blanket in the mass of sheets and comforters that Clark had piled on her. It hadn’t been until Clark cradled her in his arms that she realized she had been a little on the chilly side and when he released her, she had immediately missed his warmth.
Her stomach gave an unsettling gurgle and she rolled over, curling up a little. The light in the main room was still on and she could hear soft sounds as Clark cleaned up the remnants of their dinner and got ready for bed. The mere thought of food made her stomach gurgle again, though it had been delicious. Clark had ordered Thai, as they hadn’t had in a while, which had arrived at the perfect moment while she was busy embarrassing herself.
The room was plunged into darkness as she assumed Clark had turned off the lamp to go to sleep. Poor guy, on the couch. It was shorter than he was and couldn’t possibly be comfortable. Would it have been so bad to suggest they share the bed? It was big enough for both of them, though that led her thoughts down another distracting path. What would it be like to share a bed with Clark, to curl up in his arms as she fell asleep. The butterflies reappeared in her stomach, which she immediately told herself was a bad idea, a full, aching, stomach, and butterflies. Finish the investigation, then figure out what she wanted, she reminded herself sternly.
What she wanted? She shuddered in distaste. If she didn’t want more, then what was she doing with Clark, other than leading him along. True, he hadn’t pushed for any declarations or further intimacy, but it wasn’t as though that would not change eventually. If it didn’t, she rationalized, that wouldn’t be fair to Clark. A small voice inside whispered that it wasn’t fair to her either to deny herself what would naturally follow in a relationship.
Enough, she told her thoughts. She needed sleep. She rolled over, facing away from the door, and closed her eyes firmly as if to will herself to sleep, trying not to return to the thoughts of what it would be like to fall asleep with Clark’s arms wrapped around her.
****
The logical part of her mind knew that Gretchen wouldn’t shoot her. Gretchen had begun the encounter by declaring that Lex wanted her, and Lois knew that Gretchen wouldn’t want to face Lex’s wrath if she died. Knowing that, and acting on it, were two different things, especially when the person behind her was pointing a gun at her back, as they walked back down the underground passage that she and Clark had just exited.
“Nice place you’ve got down here,” Lois ventured. “The hanging light bulbs on a string, really add to the ambiance.” In response she felt the barrel of the gun push her in-between her shoulder blades. She gamely tried again. “Must be tough to get enough natural light down here. Not to mention fresh air, it’s a bit stale down…” She stopped abruptly as they encountered a man who was standing quietly in the shadows.
“You! You’re the man who kidnapped Bender!” This was the man she and Clark had been trying to find.
“Do you shut up or do I have to gag you?” Gretchen asked, while pushing Lois roughly towards a chair. “Sit.” As Lois stood defiantly, her arms crossed, Gretchen nodded to the man in the shadows. “Sit, or Ramin will force you.”
Rather than have this man touch her, she sat, and her hands were quickly bound to the chair.
“Don’t you realize Lex is insane?” Lois asked.
“If anyone’s insane, you are,” Gretchen responded scornfully. “You could have married the greatest man in Metropolis, but instead you turned your back on him.”
“He’s a psychopathic criminal. He could kill any of us.”
“He never hurt me. I gave him life. But you drove him to his death,” Gretchen stated as she tossed scraps of something down into a pit that was squeaking.
Rats, Lois realized with horror. Gretchen was feeding the rats.
“Lois.” Her bravado wavered as she heard Lex call her name. “When will you learn, I always get my way.”
“Lex please,” she pleaded. “Before you make things worse.”
“I’ve already been through the worst,” he snarled at her before turning to the others that had entered with him. “Alright Vale. Where’d you hide the Kryptonite?”
Lois froze, grateful she hadn’t screamed for Superman right away. She missed what Vale said to Lex, but heard Lex muttering to the small green crystal he cradled in his hand.
“My Excalibur!”
“What are you going to do with that?” Lois asked, already knowing the answer.
“I’m going to kill Superman when he comes to rescue you,” Lex stated as he approached her, holding the piece of Kryptonite in his outstretched hand. “Then there’ll be no one to come rescue you.” He turned abruptly and handed the Kryptonite to Nigel.
As soon as Lex’s back was turned, Lois began to struggle with the bonds at her wrists. She needed to get out of there before Superman could arrive and warn him. As she struggled, she tried to listen in as Nigel seemed to be double-crossing Lex, using the sounds of the scuffle to disguise her attempts to free herself. Her one wrist was out, then the other. She was finally free! At that moment she heard the sound of the crossbow firing and watched as Lex lurched backwards, an arrow in his shoulder.
“Is he alright?” She couldn’t help but ask.
“I’ll take care of him,” Gretchen responded possessively.
“It’s all right my love, it’s just a minor set back,” Lex called out to her as he snapped the end of the arrow off.
“Stay away form him,” Gretchen screeched as Lois took a step closer to Lex.
Lois felt Gretchen push her and overbalanced, her calves hitting the low wall behind her. She shrieked as she fell backwards, landing on her back in a pit, full of rats and bones. She could feel terror rising quickly as she heard the rats scurrying around her, investigating this new addition to their home. Repulsed, she tried to sit, but everywhere she put her hands was either bones, or dead rats. At least she hoped it was dead rats. Desperately trying to gain control of her fear, she distantly heard Lex calling out to her, offering his hand. Gretchen got in the way and then Lex yelled. There was a loud popping and buzzing noise, and then quiet, followed by a rush of air.
In the blink of an eye she felt herself being scooped up into strong arms. In her terror she thought it was Clark who had her as it felt the same as when he’d held her last night. She leaned her head on his shoulder and was startled by the bright blue spandex. Superman gently flew her out of the pit, and past Lex, setting her down carefully several feet away. Lois quickly glanced around as she heard Lex laugh. Gretchen was on the ground near the electrical panel and Lois wasn’t sure if she was still alive or not. She couldn’t see any of the men that had been here before, and assumed they’d left during the scuffle. Given that Superman hadn’t reacted to the Kryptonite, it had likely left with one of them. She shuddered as she became aware that Gretchen hadn’t moved, and tried to focus on the conversation between Lex and Superman.
“The game is over Luthor.”
“I’ll not give you the satisfaction of taking me alive,” Lex spat out as he began to run to the electrical cables that Lois assumed had killed Gretchen.
Suddenly there was a violent shower of sparks further up the lines. “Sorry, Luthor. But killing yourself is the easy way out. You can’t cheat justice twice,” declared Superman.
“Oh, so smug,” snarled Lex before he tried to meet her eyes. “Tell him Lois. Tell him that once you really loved me.”
“No,” she stammered as Lex glared at her. “No,” she stated, clearly this time beginning to feel her equilibrium coming back as she tore her gaze from Gretchen’s body. “I never loved you, Lex.”
“Come, come, Lois. We were almost married…”
“No, I stopped the ceremony. Or did that memory not make it back with you?”
“That was a fleeting moment of insecurity. Had we been permitted to proceed, you would have been my wife.”
Lois was slightly taken aback by the vehement declaration. She had to try to stop this now, or she feared he’d spend the rest of his life lusting after her.
“Lex, I never loved you, and you have never loved me. I was a trophy for you to obtain, not a partner you would love and cherish.”
“Oh, Lois,” Lex shook his head as though he was speaking to a child. “Yet, you agreed to marry me.”
“I did, and it was a mistake I thankfully realized before it was too late. But now I know what love is, and what we had, wasn’t love.”
“And I suppose you’ve found happiness in some doormat.” Lex chucked again. “Kent. I should have known. What does he have that I don’t?”
“Class for one. The type you can’t buy. Clark is kind, generous…”
“Boring…”
She felt the thin hold on her temper go down to its last string. “You know what, maybe. Maybe it’s boring. But Clark will hold me when I’m sad, laugh at me when I’m being ridiculous. He’ll care for me when I’m not feeling well. He doesn’t care what brand of clothes I wear, or the image I present. He doesn’t shower me with expensive meaningless gifts, but will spend an evening cooking for us. That means more to me than a penthouse high above the city, bottomless bank accounts and frivolous purchases. He loves me, and I love him. That’s all that matters. So no, I don’t love you, I never did, and I certainly never will.”
She ended her tirade and took a step back, bumping into Superman, whom she had completely forgotten was still there. Lex stared at her, speechless, while Superman walked over to him and picked him up.
“Go ahead, I’ll make my own way out,” Lois instructed Superman. As he looked at her she could see in his eyes a longing she’d never noticed before. Feeling a little emotionally raw from her speech to Lex, she broke eye contact and began to move towards the exit passageway, hugging herself.
As she climbed into daylight, a police officer offered her a hand and she accepted gratefully. Blinking as her eyes watered from the sudden brightness, she looked around for Superman and Lex. They had been just ahead of her; they couldn’t have gone far. She spotted an officer helping a cuffed Lex into the back of a cruiser, but no sign of Superman. She breathed a sign of relief as she saw Clark pushing through the crowd that had congregated at the arrival of the police, speak briefly to an officer doing crowd control, and wave at her. She waved back and moved towards him, relieved he was here. Once he reached her she fell into his open arms and clung to him desperately.
It was over. It had to be over. This time Lex was in custody, and she was safe. She could hear Clark talking to the officer, wanting to take Lois home, but the officer was saying something about a statement. Clark offered to drive Lois to the precinct, but the officer declined, saying she had to stay with the police. She heard a car door slam and a familiar, yet bygone, voice called out.
“Lane, Kent. I had a feeling you two would be in up to your eyeballs in this!”
“Henderson!” Lois reacted with surprise, stepping out of Clark’s hug, but not out of his arms. He’d taken a promotion to another city shortly after Lex had died, and it was a pleasant shock to see him now.
“In the flesh,” he said wryly.
“Are you back in Metropolis to stay?” Inquired Clark.
“No. When I heard Luthor was on the loose I had to come and see it for myself. I’m here to finish up old business with him.” Henderson had steered both Lois and Clark off to the side, away from prying ears. “I understand you were his hostage?” He directed the question at Lois, who nodded. “We need your statement, but do you require medical assistance first?”
Lois suddenly wanted to cry. She could handle everything else in that moment, but compassion from the usually stoic Henderson was more than she could bear. She shook her head, not trusting herself to speak.
Henderson seemed to understand and returned to his brisk manner. “Then I can give you a ride to the precinct. Kent can join us?”
“Of course,” Clark responded.
“Clark, the Jeep.”
“I can come get it later,” he assured her.
She felt her control of her emotions returning as this was familiar ground. Henderson was a familiar, trustworthy person and she was in a recognizable pattern: go to the precinct, make a statement, write the story, go home. “I’ll meet you at the precinct, Clark.” She handed him the keys and kissed him, before leaving with Henderson.
