The next morning at the Planet, Lois went back to working on her story about Mannheim. Since Sacks was a corrupt DA, there was no way she could bring his dealings to the Court House. She knew he had likely already bribed half of those he worked with, including the Mayor. Her best bet was the governor.
She wouldn’t let this go until she got Ray Sacks put away – even if she had to go to the Attorney General himself.
She was on hold to the governor’s mansion when Clark walked into the bullpen, looking like he had spent a rough night.
Lois put down the phone, frustrated anyway by waiting on hold for the last ten minutes. “You okay, Smallville?” she asked.
He seemed distracted and gave her a wan smile. “Fine. I’ve just been…” he glanced away from her, and she could tell he was looking for an excuse not to tell her what he had been doing.
“Busy, right?” she finished for him, wondering if he had been out looking for Chloe and Davis. Or worse, had run into Lana.
He was about to nod in agreement, but then seemed to change his mind, his blue eyes suddenly piercing into hers. “Lois, Chloe’s missing,” he told her simply.
“ I know,” she said automatically, and then regretted it, hoping his next follow up question wasn’t how she knew. She was in agony over whether she should tell Clark about her encounter with Lana. But there was also a small, petty part of her that just didn’t want to ride the Clark-Lana ride of drama one more time. She thought for his own good, he needed to stay away from her.
“You do?”
Lois sighed, feeling slightly in the wrong about lying to him, but unable to stop herself. “Yeah, I tried to call her this morning. And, um, went by the Talon before heading to Metropolis… But I’m sure she’s fine, right?” she finished with forced levity, worrying that Clark would put together Davis and Chloe, and thereby run into Lana.
“Yeah, I guess so,” he said, though didn’t sound convinced. “What are you working on?” he asked suddenly, seeming to want a distraction. “The Mannheim story?”
She smiled, pleased that he was still interested in her story. She began to ramble on, happy to have something honest to talk about. “Yes, but I have an even bigger fish to catch – Sacks, that corrupt DA. I’ve been on the phone to the governor’s mansion, but I wonder if Sacks even has him in his back pocket… Anyway, I---“
Clark’s phone suddenly beeped and he gave Lois an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Lois. I wish I could help you. But, please, feel free to stay at the farm till this all blows over. I’m not sure the Talon is the safest place for you right now.”
“Sure, Smallville. And thanks.”
~\S/~
Lois felt guilty for much of the rest of the day. Why the hell did Lana have to pop up now? If Lana got herself killed, and Clark knew that Lois had known what she planned to do before, would he ever forgive her? But at the same time, Lois knew that Clark couldn’t do anything to stop Davis and Lana was responsible for her own actions. At least Lana had a chance with her super-powered suit…
Later that afternoon, frustrated by her lack of progress on the Sacks’ story and guilty over withholding information from Clark about Lana, Lois decided to leave the bullpen for a coffee at her favorite café. Just as she was about to head to the elevators, her desk phone rang.
She sighed as she reluctantly answered it, thinking that it was likely another dead end source calling her back.
“Hello?” she said with some irritation.
“Lois… it’s –me,” came the modulated voice of the Blur.
“I’m so glad you called,” she said sincerely, letting out a sigh of relief.
“Lois, the reason I’m calling—I know your friend is missing.”
“Chloe? That must mean you are looking for her,” Lois sighed in relief, sitting back down in her chair. “I have to admit, I feel a lot better knowing you’re out there searching for her too.”
“Lois, I don’t want you getting involved. Chloe may be with a dangerous—“
“Murderer? I know. Davis’ face has been splashed all across the pages of the Planet lately,” she said, glancing at one of the latest headlines on her desk. “But there’s something you should know. He’s not just a guy on a rampage—he’s an alien. He turned into this beast at Chloe’s wedding and—even though I lived through it, this still sounds crazy…”
“I already know, Lois. I’ve been after Davis for some time. But how did you know?”
She smiled. “A good reporter never reveals her sources.” But then she immediately relented. “Actually, my source is precisely what I need to talk to you about.”
“Oh, why is that?”
“She’s a friend – well, sort of friend. Lana Lang-- whom I thought had disappeared off the map entirely-- has suddenly resurfaced.”
“Lana?” said the voice in strained tones.
“Yes , and to make matters worse, the girl has a serious martyr complex. She thinks she can stop Davis.”
“Why would she think she could do something so dangerous?”
“She’s a fool to try, if you ask me, but she had this skin-graft made that gave her super powers, and somehow the suit is infused with meteor rock. She thinks this will empower her enough to defeat Davis. But I’m afraid she’ll just get herself hurt or worse – and I just can’t bring myself to tell Clark... “ Lois paused, hating the bite of jealously that she felt whenever she thought of Clark and Lana together.
“You see, they have a history and, well, it would devastate him to know Lana is putting herself at so much risk… I thought, maybe you can stop Davis? Maybe get to him before Lana does.”
“I—I’ll try. And Lois, thanks for telling me… I’m glad you feel you can trust me.”
“Sometimes it feels like you’re the only one I can trust.”
~\S/~
Satisfied that the Blur was on the case and that Clark was still none the wiser, Lois headed to the Talon, hoping to find a clue as to where Davis may have taken Chloe.
She knew Clark hadn’t wanted her to go there, thinking that Mannheim could still be after her, but it had been two whole days since the Stiletto story was killed, and she hadn’t heard a peep from the DA or the notorious mobster.
Her own progress on the story had hit a dead end, as she couldn’t get anyone at the governor’s office to return her calls about Ray Sacks. She would drop the story for now, if only to step up her efforts to find out what happened to Chloe.
As Lois pulled in, she noticed a black van parked nearby. Was someone else keeping an eye on the Talon?
Inside, Chloe’s apartment looked like it had been abandoned at least a week ago. Dishes still lay in the sink, a few congealed spots of food on the plates…
Lois nosed around the apartment, looking through Chloe’s mail, searching for anything that might give her a clue as to what had happened.
When she came over to the bedroom area, she noticed Chloe’s closet was open.
Her suitcase was missing.
Lois stood in shock for a moment, going over the implications of a planned escape with Davis.
Had Chloe chosen to go with him?
Why would her cousin abandon Jimmy to run away with a known murderer?
“Chloe, what have you gotten yourself into?” she murmured in dismay.
Lois heard a noise downstairs. She suddenly regretted not telling Clark or even suped-up Lana that she was coming here.
Slowly, she headed to the door, and tried to peak down the stairs to see if anyone had followed her.
From the landing above, she could hear someone moving about below.
“Are you sure this is the correct address? This just looks like a defunct coffee shop to me,” said a man with a distinct accent reminiscent of the streets of Metropolis.
“Yeah, this is it all right. Let’s have a look upstairs.”
Lois stifled a gasp, as she retreated back into the apartment and quickly locked the door as softly as she could. Would they go away if they didn’t think anyone was home?
Lois retreated to the window by the kitchen, seriously contemplating how bad it would be to jump from here. Deciding it wasn’t worth a broken leg or worse, Lois made her way to the bathroom, hoping to buy herself a few more moments if she stayed hidden.
The thugs began pounding on her door. “You in there, Miss Lane? We just want to have a word with you.”
Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, and the door was kicked in.
“Son of a—“ Lois began under her breath, jumping at the sound.
“Hey, Joe. I think I heard something.”
Lois held her breath, knowing that it was only a matter of moments before they’d find her. She dug out her cell phone, wishing she had the Blur on speed dial. No one could get here fast enough to help her, but if she began fighting back, she might be able to stall enough time that Smallville could get the police.
She pressed the button for Clark’s cell and waited.
“Hello?” she heard Clark answer, but then she dropped the phone, timing a kick to open the bathroom door just as one of the guys approached. She managed to knock him down, and with another roundhouse kick, knocked the gun out of the other guy’s hand.
“Clark!” she cried, hoping he’d hear her on her phone. “Get help! The Talon!”
She kept moving, keeping a fighter’s stance as the guy circled her.
“I told you she was here,” said the thug she had knocked out a second ago. Lois turned, only to be grabbed by the first guy.
“Mannheim wants a word with you.”
Lois tried to elbow him, but the other man suddenly had a knife to her throat. “You do what we say, and maybe we’ll let you live.”
Suddenly the guy dropped the knife, which startled the other one long enough that Lois could get out of his hold.
“What happened to that knife? It turned into fire in my hand!” he complained, clutching his hand to his chest.
Lois kicked the guy who had held the knife, and the second one was suddenly thrown against the wall of the Talon. Had she done that? The goon she had just laid into was then tossed away as well, and Lois smiled, realizing what had happened.
“The Blur,” she whispered. “Thanks, wherever you are.”
She made a run for the door, taking the steps as fast as she could to get out of there. Suddenly, her problems became ten times worse, as she was blocked by a hideous monster coming up the stairs. The same monster that had destroyed Chloe’s wedding. The alien, Davis.
It hadn’t seen her yet, so she thought she might still have a chance. Lois carefully tried to walk backwards up the stairs. Red eyes suddenly looked up, boring into her, and she was riveted, staring at his horned face and vicious fangs.
“What happened to you, Davis?” she whispered in horror. But she could see that there was nothing left of the man in this beast. Whatever had happened, whatever this alien was, Davis was gone.
Lois glanced over her shoulder, seeing that the thugs in the apartment were starting to wake. But she imagined they wouldn’t want to deal with this creature any more than she did. Yet, how was she to escape?
“What have you done with Chloe?” she demanded, hoping that if there was anything left of Davis in this creature, that question would distract him long enough that she might be able to dive by him.
Hearing the thugs move behind her, without giving much thought to her action, Lois made a dash to rush around the creature. The beast’s arm suddenly came out and swiped her out of the way. Lois was tossed aside like a feather, sent careening down the stairs, rolling like a log. She eventually landed at the bottom of the stairs, bruised and more than a little disoriented.
She knew she was lucky the beast hadn’t attacked her more directly, but she watched in horror as the shadow of the beast was cast on the stairway, heading into her apartment.
Out of the blue, there appeared Lana, offering her a hand up.
“Are you all right?”
Lois rubbed her temple. “I think so… Were you the one that saved me a second ago from those thugs?”
“No, I – I’ve been tracking Davis all day. I thought he might come back here… though Chloe isn’t with him.”
“He’s here,” Lois gulped, her eyes glancing fearfully in the direction of her apartment. “What are you going to do? There were two thugs after me up there. They work for this mobster, Mannheim. They may be the scum of the earth, but no one deserves to be killed by that monster---“
Lana nodded, and then in a blink, was at the top of the stairs. Lois climbed the stairs after her, her leg in pain, making her ascent slow. She was curious how Lana would face down the creature, and still a little nervous that the petite brunette thought she could do it all on her own – even with a super-powered suit.
Lois was going to offer her backup any way she could. She grabbed the coat rack that stood in the corner on the landing, ready to either toss it to Lana or try to use it herself against the beast. Lois glanced in the apartment, and noticed the thugs had disappeared.
They’re probably cowering in the bathroom like I was, she thought. How does it feel when the shoe’s on the other foot, jackasses?
Lois watched as Lana prepared to face the beast. The creature that used to be a man, seemed somewhat amused by her antics, as tiny little Lana crouched into a fighter’s stance before it. “Lois, get out of here, now!” Lana demanded, when suddenly the monster reached for her. Lana drove a fist into the shoulder of the beast, blocking his grab, and in a flash, a green light appeared around the contact point.
Lana looked in shock and wonder at what was happening, as her hand seemed to glow green, the energy of the green meteor rock acting like a magnet to the beast’s scaly skin. “The kryptonite—it’s gone,” she said when after a few moments, the green glow disappeared.
The beast stepped back from her, his fists raised above him. He seemed more imbued with power than before and let out an inhuman roar, narrowing his gaze at Lana. She suddenly turned frightened eyes on Lois. “Run!”
Lois turned, tossing the coat rack aside and limped with pain as she tried to speed down the stairs. She couldn’t move fast enough, and was suddenly carried away and out of the Talon. In a matter of moments, Lois and Lana were standing in a field, near the Kent farmhouse.
“Are you okay?” Lana asked, her eyes wide with concern.
Lois blinked with uncertainty, looking around them as she realized Lana had sped them off to safety. She started checking over her few bruises with a skeptical eye. “I think I’ll live. What happened in there? And what is kryptonite?” she added with a crisp retort, replaying in her mind what had just occurred.
Lana’s face seemed to blanch in shock for a second, but then quickly recovered. She began pacing as she spoke. “It’s meteor rock. Um, Lex named it, based on a theory about where it came from,” Lana said vaguely. “I have the power to absorb it into the suit, but I never thought that there was a way to get rid of it,” she said, her voice suddenly filled with breathless wonder, obvious joy on her face at the thought.
Lois stared at Lana, utterly confused by Lana’s calmness. “Aren’t you the least bit concerned that this beast now seems more powerful than ever?”
“We’ll find a way to stop him, Lois. And we’ll get Chloe back,” Lana said with firm confidence. In fact, Lois was a little unnerved by Lana’s use of ‘we.’ Surely she didn’t think they could stop him together?
“Lois, I have to go,” Lana said abruptly, heading towards the farm. “I’m glad you’re okay. But I have to go!”
Lois watched Lana disappear in a blur, a million questions in her mind. She couldn’t help but have a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Lana had looked overjoyed after her encounter with the beast, as if freed from a prison.
And somehow Lois knew that Lana was desperate to tell Clark all about it.
