It's Friday. Time for MagiKal A huge thank you to Kathryn84 who helped me past a writer's block.
Hope you like this. Truths and Illusions “Let me get this straight." Clark stopped in his tracks. "You think she's going to talk to us because what - Houdini is so cute?"
The way Clark put it, Lois couldn't help but admit her plan sounded lame. But she wasn't going to tell him that. Instead she raised her chin and tried to exude a confidence she didn't feel.
The investigation wasn't going well. The call of Aymee’s little sister Inez had come as a surprise. She’d briefly met the girl after interviewing the school’s director, Mrs. Powell. Until last night Lois hadn’t thought that encounter would be of any significance. Inez, however, had obviously remembered Lois and had asked for her help. Now Lois was going to the police station to pick up Aymee.
“It’s worth a try,” Lois insisted. "Maybe your dog might help to weaken her defenses.” She went on and, looking over her shoulder, she asked. “Are you coming or not?
Clark smirked and shook his head before he followed her. “You’re unbelievable. How did you even get her mother to grant you custody of her daughter? Does the woman know you at all?”
“We talked over the phone,” Lois replied with all the grace she could muster. “Come one now. I could really use your help here. I’m not good with children.”
He rolled his eyes. “But
I am? You know I might not be around long enough to talk to the girl. Let alone - “
He stared at his feet, looking troubled. She knew he wanted to help the girl, no matter how reserved he acted. Clark had such a big heart. It pained her to see him close off. Though she hadn’t yet seen him interact with kids, Lois had a feeling that he’d be exactly the right guy for the job.
“We always have Houdini.” Lois winked at Clark.
The Irish Setter who’d been dutifully following alongside her partner barked and wagged his tail as if he at least was all for it.
“Of course you would be on her side,” Clark remarked wryly. He shot Houdini a meaningful glance, then stuffed his hands deep into the pockets of his pants before he addressed Lois again. “I tell you this is not gonna work. Aymee’s far too smart to fall for you little trap.”
Though she knew her attempt was desperate at best, she had to use this opportunity. Lois just knew that if anyone could get this girl to talk to them, it was Clark. If Lois felt this instant sense of connection with him, if she was this comfortable in his company, why shouldn’t Aymee Valdez? With Houdini’s assistance, the girl would be putty in their hands.
Lois pursed her lips. “Who said this was a trap?” She slowed her steps as they reached the police station. “Are you going to come inside?”
Clark shifted his weight. “You know I can’t. I’ll wait here on that bench, unless…” He trailed off, his gaze drifting down to Houdini who was panting but otherwise completely relaxed.
Lois hated having to leave Clark out on the street as if he, too, was a dog who wasn’t allowed inside. How could he even stand to lead this kind of life? How did he manage to be the wonderful person that he was when he was excluded from nearly everything?
Lois wanted to comfort him, but then Clark shook his head almost imperceptibly. Don’t dwell on it, his eyes seemed to say. Was she that obvious, or was being a mind reader another one of his magic abilities?
With a quick nod in his direction, Lois turned and headed inside the police station. She ached for Clark. His magic was simply amazing, but it came with an awfully tight set of rules.
***
Not much later, Lois left the police station, a reluctant Aymee Valdez following her. Lois' gaze drifted toward the bench where Clark was supposed to be waiting for her.
It was empty.
Lois felt a pang of disappointment. She longed for Clark's presence.
Aymee's angry voice pulled her out of her musings. “Why are
you taking care of me? I don’t even know you!”
The girl had her arms crossed in front of her chest and was staring daggers at Lois.
Lois drew a slow breath, trying her best not to feel intimidated. “Your sister Inez contacted me. She said you needed help.”
Aymee raised her chin in defiance. “I can take care of myself. Thank you very much.”
Lois wriggled her brows and smirked. “Oh, can you? So your stay with the police was nothing but an elaborate scheme?”
"Oh, haha, very funny," the girl quipped.
She opened her mouth, surely to give Lois a piece of her mind, but then her expression changed to one of complete awe.
"Oh my gosh," she said breathily. "He's here. MagiKal is here." Aymee wriggled first on her toes, then did a little dance, turning from the worldly-wise genius back into the child that she was. "We have to watch him."
Before Lois had a chance to say anything, Aymee headed straight for the crowd that surrounded MagiKal. He had appeared in a small park across from the police station.
Lois followed Aymee while looking out for Houdini. She spotted the dog in a distance, peeking around a corner and looking decidedly unhappy about his master's absence. But when he recognized Lois, he started wagging his tail. Before Lois could make up her mind about whether having Houdini at her side was wise, the dog rushed toward her.
Lois ran her hand over the dog's head, before she turned her attention back on MagiKal. Her heart was hammering in her chest. She could only hope Houdini knew he couldn't give Clark's identity away.
MagiKal was juggling burning cones through the air, throwing each one higher up than the other, until he didn't seem to catch them at all. The cones were flying in circles some twenty feet above the ground until MagiKal climbed up an imaginary ladder and picked them out of the air.
The crowd cheered. He put out the fire and the next moment the cones had vanished into thin air. Instead he held out a large red cloth that he whirled around while he turned on his heels, spinning faster until the cloth became a blur of red.
The blur drifted down, thick white clouds emanating from it. As the blur touched the ground, it disappeared. In its place stood Metropolis' very own icy version of the Statue of Liberty, albeit only the size of a regular person. MagiKal had once again vanished.
The crowd erupted in more cheers and when it became obvious that the show was over, slowly drifted apart.
"That was absolutely awesome," Aymee whispered. Her gaze drifted toward Houdini who was standing beside Lois and watching Aymee with keen interest . "Where's the dog coming from all of a sudden?"
"That's Houdini," Lois replied. "He belongs to my partner. Clark, uhm, brought him while you were watching MagiKal. He needed to run an errand."
She desperately hoped the girl had been too distracted to take note of what happened around her.
Aymee frowned. "He doesn't keep him on a leash in a city like Metropolis?"
Lois shrugged. "Houdini hates leashes. And he's the most loyal dog I've ever seen. Never leaves his side."
Aymee's lips curled in contempt. "He must have trained him well, then. I wonder what kind of training would make a dog this obedient."
Lois felt anger radiate off Aymee as if she had suffered under the strict rules of others. Was that the reason she and her friends had broken free?
"Whatever makes Houdini so fiercely loyal, I assure you, abusive behavior on Clark's part is not it," Lois said quietly.
Aymee frowned but didn't reply. Instead
she went toward the statue of ice that was glistening in the sunlight and ran her hand along the smooth surface.
"It looks like he carved it with some sort of laser," she mused. "How does he do it?"
Lois followed Aymee. "He didn't tell me."
Aymee raised her brows, her formerly aloof attitude replaced by genuine curiosity. "You know him?"
Lois shrugged. "A bit. I was the first reporter to interview him."
"Really?" Aymee's face positively glowed. "There's so much I'd like to ask him."
"Oh, do you?" A familiar voice asked from behind them.
Lois spotted Clark, still dressed as MagiKal. Her heart skipped a beat. Excitement mixed with worry. Why was he here in his disguise? How would Houdini react? Her gaze drifted toward the dog, who was wagging his tail with more enthusiasm than before, but otherwise made no move toward his master.
Aymee seemed absolutely awestruck. Her hand wandered to her arm and she pinched herself.
MagiKal gave her one of his amazing smiles. "And what would you like to know, Aymee?"
The girl gasped. “You know my name?”
MagiKal nodded. "I've heard a lot about you and your friends. You did some pretty impressive stuff."
"Yeah," she whispered. "You do, too. I mean, you're flying and this statue…" She vaguely gestured behind her, but her eyes remained firmly trained on MagiKal. “I mean, we’re super smart, but we don’t have a clue how you do all this magic.”
“Isn’t that the point of magic?” MagiKal asked gently. “That you don’t know how it works?”
“I guess," Aymee said thoughtfully. "I wish I was like you. Even the laws of physics don't seem to apply to you. You're truly free!"
MagiKal rubbed the back of his neck. "You think defying gravity is what makes you free? I'm not so sure about that."
Lois could see the sorrow in his eyes.
"All the things you can do, you could be a celebrity. You could be rich." Aymee pointed out.
"And yet I chose not to," MagiKal replied softly. "Why do you think that is?"
Aymee opened her lips, no doubt trying to come up with a smart remark. But after a few seconds of quiet struggle, she gave him a helpless shrug.
He let out a breath. “Because if I went down that path, I'd forever be an outcast. A famous one perhaps, but an outcast still. I'm hoping that one day I will no longer need to be MagiKal." His eyes clouded over. "I'm not as free as you might think."
Clark looked as if there was more he wanted to say. But next to Lois, Houdini became agitated and Clark's eyes widened.
"I should leave," he muttered.
A moment later he was gone. Lois released a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. Houdini lowered his head and whimpered softly.
“Wow.” Aymee stared after MagiKal, though it was impossible to tell where he'd gone. "He's not like I expected. I wonder what makes him so sad?"
"I can imagine,“ Lois said quietly. "Do you remember when he was accused of the arsons? People are amazed at what he can do. He saved lives when a building burst into flames during his performance."
She paused for a moment, her heart constricting in her chest. Lois wasn’t sure if - until now - she’d really understood how this accusations had impacted Clark. She knew he needed his tricks as a safe release for his magic, whatever it was exactly. If he lost that, would he stop being around people altogether?
He’d once told her that his life had been pretty lonely until he’d found magic. She might have lost him.
Lois swallowed past the lump in her throat. "He saved lives, yet many people were ready to believe the worst of him. My partner insisted that we help MagiKal. He spent day and night roaming the streets of the Southside until he'd found who was behind the arsons."
Aymee's mouth hung open. "You were the ones saving MagiKal's reputation?"
"Clark and I, yes." Lois watched the girl, who no longer looked as confident and self-assured as she had. "MagiKal is right. He's not as free as you may think. In fact, he might just be the least free person I know. Believe it or not, Clark and I want to help you."
Aymee gave Lois a lopsided smile. "You said Inez trusted you enough to ask for your help?”
“She did,” Lois confirmed.
Aymee shook her head. “Inez is a good judge of character, so I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. So where is that partner of yours? His dog looks like he's never going to see him again."
Lois' gaze drifted down to Houdini, who was lying on the ground, head resting on his paws. The poor dog was a picture of misery. Lois' heart went out to him. She couldn't help but feel a pang of worry that Clark hadn't returned yet. Was it normal that his magic went out of his control in such a quick succession?
"I'm sure he'll find us." Lois smiled at Aymee, trying to hide her unease.
Aymee replied with a grin of her own. "I would hope so. I'm curious to meet the guy who has such a loyal dog and spends his night saving wizards in need."
Lois couldn't help but smile for real this time. "Oh, you will like him. Clark truly is one of a kind."
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