Chapter 26
Lois and Clark arrived at their apartment and quickly headed for the bathroom, where Clark could shed his spacesuit and intuitively find out what was wrong with Lois. She was shaking all the way back to Metropolis!
Quickly shedding outer garments, they hit the shower, the steamy water rolling over their naked bodies; Clark just held Lois while a wave of mentally babbled psi-information flooded into his head.
Lois looked up at him with a pathetic look on her face. <"Can you still love me after all that?">
Clark squeezed her as hard as he could without harming her, in response.
<"Honey, we all have baggage from lives previous to when we met. If this daughter really *is* yours, a DNA test should prove it. Problem is -you would have to go to court and show evidence to get a judge to order that test, evidence which we don't have yet at this point. Do you really want to pursue this? I mean, if the little girl – Lena - is happy where she is, this information *could* ruin her life.">
<"I know, Clark. I know. But if the father is who I think it is, I'm completely repulsed and revolted. How could Lenny Thorul be the father of *my* child? I can't let him get away with this! You know I wouldn't have had sex with him voluntarily! You *do* know that, right Clark?">
<"Of course I do, honey. But even if for some reason, you and he had a former history – after all, you *did* date his brother – it's past tense. We didn't know each other then">.
<"Clark – the only way I would have sex with Lenny Thorul is if I were raped or unconscious –"> Lois stopped her mental rant in midstream, the ramifications of her last comment flooding over her.
Clark immediately realized where Lois was going with this. <"Maybe we should *really* be looking forward to tomorrow's session with Dr. Deter. After all, Thorul's the one who ordered these sessions. Maybe he's trying to find out what you repressed. You're going to have come clean with this guy and hope that he'll be able to help us. Unless, of course, Thorul has him so deep in his back pocket-">.
<"You're still coming with me tomorrow? I can't face the truth alone, and I need to make sure that Deter doesn't hide anything from me!">
"<"Honey, honey, honey… calm down. Of course I'll be there. I just wish I didn't have to wear the clunky suit.">
<"Bernie Klein! Clark, you're supposed to be there *now*! Didn't he say he was on the verge of a breakthrough?">
<"Bernie can wait a few more minutes">.
Clark pressed his lips against Lois', gently stroking her wet hair. Lois and Clark then made beautiful love in the shower, gradually floating above the bathtub and climaxing adjacent to the ceiling, the water from their dripping bodies falling into the tub below. They were truly stronger together than they were apart!
Lois, emotionally exhausted and but at least now physically contented, told Clark to go to Star Labs while she rested for awhile. Hopefully when he came back, he'd have good news – no more space suit!
Star Labs
Clark flew in the open patio door of Bernie's laboratory at Star Labs. Bernie's expression changed dramatically when he saw that Clark had arrived. "Thank God you're here! No more 'lab rat', Clark. This time I believe I got it right!"
Clark's smile literally lit up the inside of his helmet. "Great news, Bernie. Sorry I'm late, by the way. Can we go into the other room so I can take this suit off – hopefully, for good?"
"Yes, yes, of course!" Soon they were inside the lead-lined facility that Bernie affectionately called his "lab rat" room.
"Ok, Bernie – what's the scoop? You have no idea how much I'm hoping this works," Clark informed him. "My life is way too complicated, especially being married to Lois, to have to wear a clunky space suit all the time."
"Oh, I can believe that, Clark. Lois is beautiful – and a handful, I'm sure. But she completes you, I can tell."
"Oh yes, she does," Clark agreed.
"Ok, here's what I'm going to do, Clark. I believe I have found a way to neutralize the harmful radiation from the Kryptonite rings. Direct exposure to green Kryptonite meteor rocks may still be painful, but you won't have to wear the suit in your everyday activities. Are you ready to try this?"
"Absolutely," affirmed Clark.
"This is going to be the equivalent of a cancer patient who receives brachytherapy. I have determined that when I've exposed you to the Kryptonite, your blood cells are affected – they start flailing around in your veins, causing you severe pain and immobilizing you. I'm going to give you a transfusion that is partly comprised of Kryptonite – it's the only way the other positive radiation will penetrate your cells. I'm expecting that you will feel weak at first, but after about ½ hour, you will start to feel much better."
"So what are the other ingredients, so to speak, beside the green K?" Clark wanted to know.
"Yes, this is where it gets very interesting! I have managed to construct microscopic particles of red-sun radiation that can be injected into your system. Since your home world was illuminated by a red sun, my theory is that as long as you have this transfusion once per month, you will no longer suffer severe effects from exposure to Kryptonite."
"But Bernie…the source of my powers is earth's yellow sun! Won't the red sun particles negate my abilities here on earth?"
"Clark…I'm not going to lie to you. They may. And I'm going to keep fine-tuning the transfusion; my work certainly isn't done here. So you have to make a choice: retain your powers, but wear the space suit; or, perhaps operate with lesser abilities but live a more normal life. I'll leave you alone for a moment to contemplate your choices."
Bernie left the room. Clark knew Lois was probably asleep by now, and the lead lining of the room prevented him from contacting her telepathically, anyway. There wasn't much of a choice to make. He had always wanted to lead a normal life; he certainly couldn't do that under the current circumstances.
~~~~~
After receiving the transfusion, Clark was nauseous, just like a cancer patient receiving treatment would be. To break his skin, Clark had been exposed to a small particle of Kryptonite; he lay down for about an hour in the "lab-rat" room and actually managed to doze off.
Bernie entered the room at one point in time, and Clark woke up.
"Ready to try walking on the street, free of pain?" Bernie asked. "I assume you're feeling a tad better?"
"Yes, actually, I am," Clark admitted. He tried levitating and was surprised that he was still able to float several inches off the ground.
"Clark – like anything else, this may take some time to really kick in. Promise me you won't do any dangerous rescues in the next 24 hours, until we know if this treatment was really successful or not. Keep the space suit in a safe place, and don't go flying to Tahiti or anything," he joked. "You might not be able to make it back."
The thought of not being able to fly was a depressing one for Clark. However, he was caught between a rock and a hard place. "So I shouldn't try flying out your window right now?" Clark asked. "Will I be road kill if I do?" Clark's weak smile, attempting humor, betrayed an anxiety that he wasn't masking very well.
"Do you have your civilian clothes with you? It might be better to take the elevator and hail a cab," Bernie noted.
"Gotcha," said Clark "When do you want to see me again?"
"Come back on Saturday, unless you have any really adverse effects prior to that. And welcome back," Bernie said proudly. "Good to see that all-Kryptonian face again," he joked. "You know, instead of all-American, you're 'all-Kryptonian'…"
"Yeah, Bernie – I got it – and Bernie – stick to the laboratory," chided Clark. "Don't try stand-up comedy as your next career!"
~~~~~
Clark hit the street, enjoying the feel of fresh air and sunshine on his body again. Instead of hailing a cab, he decided to briskly walk the twenty blocks back to his – their apartment. He hadn't tried to use his powers, but he in fact felt no ill effects from the Kryptonite rings encircling earth. Bernie was truly a genius, if only a *tad* eclectic.
He took the stairs up to the apartment, floating part of the way. When he got to the door, he realized he didn't have his keys, because he normally entered via the window. <Lois is probably still sleeping>, he thought.
Clark tried to X-ray the door to see if she was walking around the apartment; to his surprise, his vision powers appeared to be gone. He had no choice but to knock on the door. No response. There was a window at the end of the hallway that was just large enough for him to squeeze through. Praying that he could levitate long enough to get inside the apartment, he propelled himself through the window and managed to float to his living room window before his flying abilities waned. He landed on the floor with a "thud", waking Lois from a sound sleep.
"Clark! Is that you?" she called from the bedroom. "What the heck's going on out there?" Lois tried reaching her husband telepathically, and found the connection to be gone.
Crawling out of bed, she entered the living room, startled to see Clark in his civilian clothes, lying on the floor. "Omigod! Are you all right?"
"Look ma – no suit," he joked, smiling. "But my powers are almost gone," he admitted. "I barely made it in the window, as you can see."
"No more 'Propaganda'? Whatever will the world do?"
"Is this going to change how you feel about *me*?" Clark asked tentatively. "I know how you love flying with me."
"Well, now we're completely even. I probably have an illegitimate daughter and you've lost your powers. We're quite the pair," she said wryly, trying to make light of the situation. "Tell me what the heck Bernie did to you, anyway."
Clark explained about the red-sun radiation transfusion treatments that would be required once per week. He told Lois that it was either that option, or to continue to wear the space suit. Clearly, he couldn’t have a normal life going that route either.
"Clark, I didn't fall in love with you because of your powers. I feel in love with you because you are the sweetest, more sincere, warm-hearted man I have ever met. Sure, I love flying with you, but being with you –sharing my life with you – sends my soul flying every day, ever minute that we're together. You've accepted me and all of my baggage without question. Don't even think that your powers make the man," Lois asserted, kissing her husband passionately. "Most men with the abilities you've had would have used them for personal gain; you are without question, beautiful inside and out. I love you so much. Let's just go to bed and hold each other all night. Tomorrow we're going to see Deter at 8:00 a.m. and things may get hairy."
Clark was smiling ear-to-ear, absorbing Lois' babbling speech. "You are so special, honey. Every day I ask myself how I survived 37 years of life without you in it. Let's see if I'm still strong enough to carry you to the bedroom."
With that, Clark lovingly picked his wife up and managed to float them to bed. They had a big day ahead of them in the morning.
~~~~~
Coronado, San Diego, California
"Hello?"
"Hello, Lydia?"
"Yes? Oh, hi, Mr. Thorul, I didn't recognize your voice. I take it you're calling from Metropolis. Did you have a good flight?"
"Yes, it was fine, thank you. Is Lena there?"
"She's sleeping. She stayed home from school today. Oh, guess who stopped by today? Lois Lane. She said she was doing an article on you and she wanted to see the house where you grew up. Lena answered the door when she arrived, so she met her too. We all said glowing things about you," Lydia assured him. "And I told her that you speak highly of her as well."
Lenny took a deep breath, choosing his next words carefully. "Well, thank you for that. Did Ms. Lane talk to Lena at all?"
"Oh yes. She was quite thorough; I can see why she's a top-notch reporter for the Daily Planet. I told her how you've taken such a personal interest in Lena since arranging the adoption, and how well she's doing in school."
"I have a new cell phone number, Lydia. Why don't you write it down? If you have any issues with the house, or you need me for anything, call. Tell Lena I said hello."
"I'll do that, Mr. Thorul. Take care; thanks for calling."
~~~~~
Lenny slammed the phone down, cursing his daughter's mother. <Dammit! You can't stop that woman from snooping, no matter what. All she had to do was take one look at Lena and she couldn't help but see the family resemblance.>
He furiously dialed another number.
"Deter?"
"Yes. Thorul?"
"Yes. Did you get Lane to make another appointment with you?"
"Matter of fact, yes. She came storming in here demanding that I give her a copy of the tape of her first hypnosis session. Of course, I told her that that wasn't possible without a court order. She stormed out of here, then called me back within the hour to reschedule for tomorrow morning. Strange."
"What's strange?"
"She'll only come if her husband can sit in on the session with her."
"And you're going to allow that? What if he tells her what the session was about?
"I'm going to make him sign a waiver that I cannot be responsible for any harm that may come if information is disclosed to Lane that she can't psychologically handle yet."
"They're married! Of course he's going to tell her. The entire point of this hypnotherapy session is to make Lane think she's crazy. Did I not make that clear to you when we first negotiated your fee?"
"It's clear, but I do have a code of ethics to follow. What if take her case pro bono and return your more than generous payment?"
"Deter – you're in too deep to back out now. Do what I paid you to do!"
Lenny hung up the phone. Lane was not supposed to ever make it out of the Congo. Damn war had come to an end and his paid goons over there took a better offer. He hadn't counted on her getting to an internet kiosk and e-mailing the Planet. He couldn't bring himself to have her killed, so he tried to intimidate her instead. He realized he had underestimated her fierce determination and inner strength. Qualities he admired and loved in her, if he was brutally honest with himself. But to the world, he had to be a hard-*** like his twin brother; bereft of emotion, all business. "Nothing personal, it's just business", he'd say.
TBC
