He looked at both men standing on the patio and Wanda could tell the creature was confused.
“I’d rather you didn’t,” Clark responded. “In fact, I’d rather you just leave and go tell your master to bugger off.”
“Such a charming way with words,” another voice said from the darkness. “Lord Kal-El, always playing with words like a guildsman.” The last word was spoken with venom. “But then, the House of El always favored the guilds, the under-classes, never their own kind.”
“It’s nice to know I’m in good company,” said Clark. “Are you here to watch the assassin take me out, or are you going to do the honors yourself?”
“I would not sully my hands with your blood,” the voice said.
“But you would sully them with the blood of women and children?” There was a hardness in Clark’s expression and tone that Wanda wondered at. Her Kal-El had never sounded so cold, even when talking about Lex Luthor and his crimes. She saw Kal-El watching Clark, as if waiting for a cue.
She saw Clark nod every so slightly and Kal-El disappeared. Literally. She speculated that he was simply moving faster than the human eye could see. She hoped the man still hiding in the shadows wasn’t Kryptonian. She hoped he hadn’t seen Kal-El moving.
There was a whisper in her mind. ‘Keep him distracted.’ She didn’t have to ask who was being referred to.
“When Lord Xon told me of your arrogance, I didn’t believe it,” the voice said. “And now I find you’ve recruited another fool to your cause.”
“I wasn’t aware that Xon had been made Lord of the House of Et,” Wanda said. She moved slowly to the lamp on the table beside the sofa she’d been sleeping on.
“You must be the concubine,” the voice said. “You are younger than I had been told. But that will make my taking you away from him so much better.”
“Don’t bet on it, buster,” Wanda muttered to herself.
The assassin headed outside. He left the doors open – the September chill in the air didn’t seen to affect him.
He launched himself at Clark.
It was now hard for her to think of him as just Superman. He was Clark Kent, editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet, Lois Lane’s husband. Superman was just another job. She tried to stay calm as she watched the fight outside.
Clark side-stepped, allowing the alien to land on the patio deck. The alien came at him again, this time with a drawn dagger. The blade glowed green in the darkness.
Again, Clark slipped away from the assassin’s grasp, but the dagger caught his sleeve, slashing open the fabric. It was hard to see in the darkness, but she thought she saw Clark grimace in pain as he danced away from the assassin.
“I’m told you are a wizard,” the assassin grated, coming after Clark once again. This time Clark blocked the attack with one arm, wrenching the dagger from the assassin’s hand and throwing it into the river beyond. The assassin slashed at him with his claws, tearing more of the suit.
Three shots rang out, one on the deck and two in the house.
Lois II
Lois had sensed, rather than heard her husband’s warning that there was an Andalon assassin on the loose. She quietly got up from the bed and slipped on her robe.
There were voices downstairs. One was a sibilant hissing that she recognized from eleven years before – Tez, only Tez was dead so this had to be another assassin from the same planet. Why couldn’t they just leave her family alone?
“His death was promised to me,” the hissing voice said. “But do not be concerned. You will survive to mourn him. There must be mourners. A death is not complete without those who mourn.”
He had to be talking to Wanda. Did they think she was Clark’s wife, or was it Kal-El who was going to do battle this night?
The answer to that question came as Kal-El’s voice sounded in her mind. ‘Is there a safe place for the children?’
She covered her surprise and thought back at him, giving directions to Richard and Penny’s house. He was gone from her mind.
She made her way downstairs, taking care to not step on the squeaky tread. Turned the corner for the basement. She kept tight rein on her thoughts. When she and Clark had discovered, after he came back from New Krypton, that Kryptonian telepathy extended to Earth humans as well, they had practiced shielding their thoughts. The link between them was a strong one and they had found they were prone to distracting one another with the strength of their link. Although it did take love-making to a whole new level.
The basement. She knew about the gun in Clark’s desk and the kryptonite ammunition in the safe. As much as Clark hated guns, it was one of the concessions he’d made for their safety. They had both taken gun safety training from the MPD police trainer, and as soon as CJ was old enough, he would go through training as well. Black powder rifles in scouts just wasn’t the same. Clark had proven to be a competent shooter. Lois had a standing offer from the MPD to come in as a SWAT team marksman. She assumed it was a joke.
She found the gun and loaded it with the glowing green bullets they kept in a lead lined box. If she was lucky, she could get at least one shot off before the other man, the one she assumed was Xon’s agent, knew she was there. She hoped he hadn’t been on Earth long enough for his powers to come in.
She climbed the stairs back to the main floor and peeked around the corner. The assassin was on the patio with Clark. So far, Clark was holding his own, but she knew the Andalon was learning, making itself stronger, more in tune with Clark’s fighting style. She didn’t dare give into the despair she felt at seeing the assassin ripping in to Clark’s suit.
Lois spotted the man standing in the shadows. He was wearing a Kryptonian-style black body suit. He started moving toward Wanda at a measured pace. Wanda stepped back, reaching over and turning on the lamp beside the sofa. He had his back to her, but she waited for a clearer shot. He turned as if hearing something and she fired just as she had been taught by MPD arms instructor. Shoot to stop. Shoot to kill. No doubts, no mercy.
