Disclaimer: DC Comics, Warner Bros. and December 3rd Productions own the characters from Lois and Clark, the New Adventures of Superman.
This story is for fun, and not profit.
I acknowledge that sections of this story are directly from the episode 'House of Luthor' written by Deborah Joy LeVine & Dan Levine.
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This is my first fan-fic. I originally posted the first few parts of this story several months ago, whereupon, Gerry offered to be my beta reader.
Naturally, the story is now ten times better, and I wish to thank Gerry for all her hard work.
Also, I would like to thank SuperDiva who is my second beta reader.
Any comments, suggestions etc would be most welcomed.
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Investigating Luthor
Part One
The fresh night air sent ripples along the white lace curtain, sending a cool breeze through the neat living room. Hunched up on the stylish, but decidedly uncomfortable couch, Lois shivered as the air passed over her bare shoulders. Maybe she needed a robe after all, she reflected, looking down at the spaghetti strapped nightgown she wore. Before Lois could act on that thought, a familiar Whoosh caught her attention.
“Superman!”
“I heard you wanted to see me,” Superman replied stiffly.
“Yes. Please, come in. I'll just put on a robe.” Lois began to move towards her bedroom, when Superman’s curt reply stopped her in her tracks.
“Unless it's lead-lined, Lois, it's a waste of time.”
Red faced, Lois replied, “I guess so. Anyway, I'm just trying to figure out...well, there've been a lot of changes going on in my life and I'm trying to make the right, decisions, but I can't until I know... how you feel.”
Gathering all her courage, Lois walked up to Superman and put her hand on his chest. “Superman, is there any hope for us? You and me? I'm so completely in love with you that I can't do anything else without knowing.” Lois held her breath, waiting for his answer. So much was riding on his next few words.
Shaking his head, Superman responded, “Lois, I do care for you. But... there are things about me you don't know, that you may never know.”
Having half expected an answer like that, Lois launched into her speech that she had been practicing in her head. “It doesn't matter. I know *you*. And I don't mean you the celebrity or you the 'superhero.' If you had *no* powers, if you were just an ordinary man leading an ordinary life, I'd love you just the same. Can't you believe that?”
Looking torn, Superman replied, “I wish I could, Lois. But, under the circumstances, I don't see how I can.”
Lois stared at him, as tears formed in her eyes. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go! Surely all those signals, all those looks, that kiss with Superman, they must have meant something. Turning her head to hide her tears, Lois tried to work out what she could say to convince Superman of her feelings for him.
Quickly wiping her eyes, Lois turned around to face Superman.
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Clark wavered on the edge of the window. Lois’ final comment had cut him deeper than he ever imagined possible. He should just tell her that she had rejected the ‘ordinary man’. He just wanted to throw it back in her face, make her hurt as much as she had just hurt him, but his secret was so imbedded in him that he couldn’t. Instead, he listened to himself belittle Lois in a way he never thought he could or would.
He stepped back into the room and said to Lois, “You *know* me? I don’t think so. All you see is the flashy superhero, the ‘god in a cape’. You who investigate for a living have a blind patch bigger than Texas when it comes to your personal life. What about Luthor? Do you *know* him too? He’s a criminal, Lois. A murderer. But all you see is what he wants you to see – the charming, *rich* man. Is that all you’re after? His money? My glamour? If that’s what your love is, I’ll pass.”
Regretting the words as soon as they were spoken, but still hurting, Superman vanished from Lois’ sitting room. In his wake a cold wind ruffled the curtains and chilled Lois’ scantly clad body.
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As the first rays of dawn began to illuminate the interior of Lois’ apartment, the usually neat and tidy living room looked as though it had been ransacked. A broken lamp lay next to the skewed coffee table, covered in shredded newspaper clippings. The bold primary colours of red, blue and yellow were scattered haphazardly over and around the table, as though swept aside.
The source of the broken lamp could be seen lying upside down against the closed windows. The once pristine cover of a scrapbook hung limply from its binding, the contents ripped out.
In the kitchen sink two lonely items sat side by side. One, an empty container of chocolate chip ice-cream, the dregs now melted to a pool of brown liquid and the other, a recently emptied bottle of rather expensive red wine. No bowl or accompanying glass could be seen.
It was to this mess that Lois awoke. The few hours of sleep she had managed, between the long periods of wakefulness and the tossing and turning, would have to suffice, at least until she could get some of the confusion in her mind sorted out.
Groaning at the beginnings of a headache, Lois dragged her weary body out of bed and stepped into her shower, hoping to calm her racing thoughts. She had hoped that by morning the events of the night would turn out to be nothing more than a bad dream, but all too clearly she heard the echoing voice of Superman in her ears “Is that all you’re after? His money? My glamour? If that’s what your love is, I’ll pass.”
She had gone from complete shock, to tears, hurt, heartbreak, denial and finally anger. That was when she had started ripping apart her ‘Superman book’, a rather fancy scrapbook she had started almost a year ago when Superman had first saved her on the colonists’ transport. It had contained newspaper clippings, photos, brief diary entries and, of course, teenage-like hearts filled with L.L. loves S.M. Not content with shredding the image of the man who had not only hurt her with his callous words, but even worse, shown he was just that-- a man, capable of hurting her-- Lois had thrown the scrapbook against the window, clipping her lampshade as it sailed past to the ‘door’ Superman had used only hours earlier.
It was only as Lois realised she was about to pour herself a drink of wine that she began to calm down. Horrified at what she was about to do – turn to alcohol just like her mother-- Lois tipped the contents of the bottle down the sink, before taking herself to bed. There she proceeded to cry herself to sleep, all the while hating herself for letting a ‘man’ reduce her to such a disgraceful, weeping, weak excuse for a woman.
Standing in the shower, letting the hot threads of water relax her weary body, Lois couldn’t help her thoughts turning once more to Superman. No longer angry, she thought about the other part of what Superman had said. “What about Luthor? Do you *know* him, too? He’ a criminal, Lois. A murderer.”
A criminal. That’s what Clark had been trying to tell her for so long. Had Clark put Superman up to it? No, despite his cutting words last night, Lois couldn’t help but believe Superman. He didn’t lie. Thinking of Superman brought fresh tears to her eyes, and Lois wasn’t one to just stand in a shower crying over a man whom she thought she loved, a man whom she had risked opening her heart up for, only to have it ripped apart. A man whom Lois realised with a choke, she still loved.
‘Blast him! I’m not going to do this!’ Lois shut off the water and angrily stepped out of the shower.
‘I need a plan, something to do to stop myself from going crazy over a man!’ she thought. ‘Over the mess my life is in. Of the two men in my life, one turns out to be less than perfect, much less than perfect, and the other is apparently a criminal. A murderer.’
Only two? A nagging little voice asked in the back of Lois mind.
Ignoring her last thought, Lois looked for a plan of action. Obviously her relationship with Superman was no more. There was nothing she could think of doing about that, nor did she want to have to deal with Superman or her feelings for him. That left Lex Luthor. A criminal.
Normally Lois’ first reaction would have been to turn to Clark, but that relationship was also too raw for her to visit now.
‘I guess I now know what he went through yesterday, declaring his love for me,’ Lois thought ruefully.
Well, not Clark. That left Perry. Her mind made up, Lois grabbed a coat and with a backwards glance at the disaster zone her house had become, she left.
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Alice White was a successful prosecuting criminal lawyer who had risen to the top of her profession through handwork, persistence and a determination that other prosecutors admired and made defence attorneys reluctant to take up cases against her.
Her professional attire and steel-eyed determination made her appear cold and ruthless to many, an exterior Alice had worked hard to cultivate. Only her close friends and family knew of the generous, kind spirit that lay beneath.
Dressed for another gruelling day at the D.A.’s office where she was to prepare a case against a small time criminal who had suddenly leaped into the big league by blowing up a major building, Alice was surprised to hear the doorbell of 79 McCoy Boulevard chime.
‘It’s barely a quarter to seven in the morning, this better be important,’ thought Alice irritably. Although not due in the office until 9 a.m., Alice was hoping to immerse herself in work, a time-proven cure all for her personal problems.
“I’m coming,” yelled Alice, as the doorbell chimed again. Ready to bite off whoever’s head had imposed upon her morning routine, Alice yanked open her front door.
Whoever Alice had thought might be standing at her door, she was not prepared for a tear-streaked Lois Lane. Hiding her surprise, her irritation gone, Alice invited Lois inside.
“I’m sorry to come by so early, Alice. I guess I didn’t realise the time. I was wondering if Perry was in?
Alice grimaced to herself at the mention of Perry. “Actually Lois, he’s not. He’s gone fishing, trying his hand at early retirement.” ‘An activity we were supposed to be doing together’, thought Alice bitterly.
Although Lois was quick to hide her disappointment, Alice had seen Lois’ shoulders slump. Aware of the ‘father/daughter’ relationship that existed between the young reporter and Perry, Alice guessed that the visit wasn’t purely professional.
“Is their anything I can do to help, Lois?”
“No, it’s fine. Nothing that can’t wait.”
Using the insight that Alice had developed over her years of interacting with distressed people, Alice could see that Lois was far from fine. Glad to have something other than work and herself to think of, as well as wanting to help, Alice ushered Lois inside.
“Look, I haven’t seen you in such a long time, Lois. Please come in and have a cup of coffee with me. I really would appreciate having someone to talk to at the moment. It’s been lonely without Perry”.
Alice surveyed Lois with a practiced eye. Besides the rather obvious tear streaks on Lois’ face, the bags under her eyes suggested a rough night. Alice had no intention of discussing her problems with Lois, but knowing how Lois prided herself on being independent, mentioning her loneliness was the only way Alice could think of getting the obviously upset Lois to stay.
It worked. Alice led Lois to the living room, and once Lois was seated on the couch, she went into the kitchen to put on the kettle.
“How have you been managing since the Planet, well, was blown up?” Alice asked as she returned with two steaming cups of coffee.
“Fine, just great. I’ve got a new job.” Lois answered, taking the offered cup from Alice.
“That’s great, Lois. I always knew you’d be the type to land back on your feet. What’s the job?”
“LNN. It’s a whole different ball game than the paper, but well, it’s a job. And I like to think I make a difference.” Lois’ reply lacked the usual enthusiasm that Alice always associated with the young journalist and her work.
“Luthor Network News, hmm, that’s… nice.” Alice tired to keep her voice neutral, but obviously Lois was more observant than most, for her head had shot up, and Alice could see a shift in Lois’ pose
“Do you know much about LNN, Alice?”
“Well, not much, other than it’s owned by Lex Luthor. Biggest television network on the eastern sea-board. Very profitable too”.
Alice watched Lois shift uncomfortably in her seat. Something wasn’t quite right.
“You don’t sound like you like Lex very much.” Lois finally said.
“Let’s just say our paths have crossed one time too many for me to buy into his public image,” Alice replied.
“Do you think you could talk to me about Lex, Alice? Most people think Lex is all good. It would really help me to hear from a different point of view.”
Something definitely wasn’t right. The gossip columns detailing Luthor’s dates with Lois hadn’t escaped her attention, yet the manner in which Lois asked about Luthor’s character suggested that maybe the young reporter had begun to realise he wasn’t all he appeared to be.
Although Alice hadn’t told anyone about her knowledge of Luthor since John’s death, if Lois was asking about Luthor, then Lois should know. Alice decided to take the plunge.
Over the next hour, Alice described to Lois her suspicions about Lex Luthor and the way he ran his business. Story after story of shady business deals, companies that unexpectedly went bankrupt, only to be bought up by Luthor for a song, directors who had unfortunate accidents, after refusing to deal with a Luthor owned company, the list went on and on.
At some stage, Lois had pulled out her pad and pen and was furiously writing, trying to keep up with names and details.
“So you see, I’ve seen too many of Luthor’s companies in court getting away with serious breaches in corporate law, or simply getting a slap on the wrist to buy into the ‘philanthropist’ image,” Alice concluded.
“What do you mean ‘get away with’? Surely if it’s gotten to the stage of coming before a judge and being dismissed, then there wasn’t enough against the company or the company genuinely was innocent?” Lois asked half-heatedly.
“Lois, I’ve presented some of these cases myself when they relate to criminal law, not just corporate law, and in those cases, evidence has a habit of disappearing, or worse yet, the judge seems to have blinkers on. I also know of other prosecutors who just don’t seem to be able to put a good case together when it comes to Luthor’s companies.”
“What are you suggesting? Crooked cops? Lawyers? Judges? That’s a pretty big accusation.”
“I know, so please don’t make it public. For years I’ve tried to find solid evidence about Luthor, but he always comes up squeaky clean. And yes, I suspect that Luthor has police and lawyers on his payroll. I wouldn’t be surprised if that extended to judges as well.”
Alice looked down at her empty coffee cup. She felt drained from finally getting her suspicions about Luthor off her chest. Why she had opened up to Lois was something she didn’t want to think about now. Maybe by convincing Lois, Perry would stop stone-walling her when she tried to talk to him about Luthor.
As though reading her thoughts, Lois asked, “Why hasn’t Perry told me about any of this? He’s never said a word to me to discredit Lex. He hasn’t always liked the guy, but surely he would have told me, especially after Lex pro..” Lois cupped her hand over her mouth.
“I’ve tried and tried to convince Perry, but he’s never wanted to listen. It’s because of a case I was on years and years ago, when Perry was reassigned to cover the courthouse for the Daily Planet.” Somehow this conversation had taken on a life of its own, and Alice sighed as she re-examined the painful memories of the past.
“Perry and I met when we both were fresh out of university, and Perry was assigned to cover the courthouse. It was love at first sight for Perry, though it took almost two years for me to realise I was just as madly in love with him. We had our ups and downs, like all marriages, but the problems really started when I was offered a position in the D.A.’s office.
“Perry and I had been married for almost ten years, and the boys were both in school. Perry had made concessions so that I could get take the position. Sacrifices I only recently realised the extent of.
“Well, I got the position and my first case came up. It was a man named Bennett. I had compiled a case against him, on very little evidence, of murder in the second degree. Bennett was a man in a very public position, who on the face of things had only ever helped others and society in general. He owned dozens of companies, all very successful, donated to several major charities, was made “Man of the Year” two years in a row, and was generally thought of as a great beneficiary to the city by most people.
“I, however, was convinced he was guilty and despite Perry’s misgivings I managed to convince him as well. Perry ran with the story, I prosecuted Bennett and together we effectively destroyed Bennett’s life, only to find out later that he was innocent.
“Bennett was found guilty but had the conviction over-turned on appeal. It turned out a subordinate, Ian Miller, had been laundering money, leaking company information in order to cash in on the stock market, and other illegal activities. Miller eventually killed a man who had found out about him and then framed Bennett for the murder.
“I was inexperienced. I should have looked into the case more thoroughly, I just didn’t… I just didn’t *do* enough.” Alice struck the coffee table in frustration, causing the coffee mugs to jump.
“Perry missed out on his promotion and was taken off another story he was working on at the time. The guy who got it ended up with a Kerth. It was a double whammy.” Controlling the frustration and anger she felt from reliving her greatest failure, Alice looked up from the table and looked Lois squarely in the eye.
“Now that you know why Perry didn’t tell you about Luthor,” Alice paused, staring directly at Lois. “What exactly is your relationship with Lex?”
Alice hadn’t missed a thing.
