[Chapter 5: Targeted]"I'm okay," Clark reminded her once again later that afternoon as she glanced at him for the twentieth time.
"I know. It's just. . . . " She trailed off, glad they were beyond hearing range from their coworkers. She looked back down.
"Me too," he said softly.
"What? ‘Me too’?" Lois asked, confused.
"Scared," Clark admitted.
Lois didn't know what to say, so she just nodded. She had been frightened before, afraid for her life even, but she never thought she would feel this worried for someone else. She hadn’t even felt this way when Superman had left for Nightfall.
"For the last few nights, I've been having . . . nightmares. I wake up afraid, but with no idea of what had scared me. It's been similar to what happened in the alley," Clark admitted.
“Is that why you asked Matt if he had any nightmares?” she asked, suddenly recalling their conversation with Matt.
“Yeah,” Clark said.
Lois frowned. “You think the Boker has been trying to . . . for a while?”
“They must be . . . I know what’s happening isn’t . . . normal,” Clark said.
"So . . . you feel trapped?" Lois asked, while mentally trying to figure out something she didn’t want to verbally ask.
How was he still alive after being supernaturally attacked multiple times? From Matt's account, he had only been attacked once and he would have died if it hadn't been for Superman. . . . And as for Clemens, the result spoke for itself.
"Trapped, alone, and . . . I don't know. It felt like being buried alive," he said.
Lois frowned. "Did anything like that happen when you were younger?"
"No, not that I can remember," he said, deeply troubled.
“What about Jamaica? Can you tell me what happened?” Lois asked.
“There was a gun smuggling ring that the NIA did a raid on. I didn’t know what was going on at the time. I was there because I was writing a story on a local family that had been impacted by the violence and I was trying to get more information by talking to a factory owner. Well, unbeknownst to me, that factory owner was involved and the raid suddenly happened when I was trying to meet with him. I was in the wrong place at the right time and I . . . well, the factory caught fire and I managed to get Matt Young out of the building.”
“You saved his life?” she asked, her eyes widening.
Clark shrugged lightly. “I did what anyone would have done.”
She wanted to ask for more details, but her desk phone rang.
"Hello – Lois Lane," she said into the receiver.
"Ms. Lane, I don't have much time. I can't be part of this anymore. I regret ever helping him. He's focusing on Superman now, all for saving that man, Young, yesterday," a male voice said, speaking quickly.
"Who? Who do you regret helping? Who are you?" Lois asked.
"Baron Sunday. He's crazy! He's going to try to kill Superman now! You've got to warn him! I'm Zi–"
The line abruptly went dead.
"Hello? Hello?" Lois tried, though she knew it was futile.
"Who was that?" Clark asked, no doubt seeing her alarm.
"I don't know, but I think Superman's in danger. That man must have been talking about the Boker. He said Baron Sunday. The timing cannot be a coincidence, and he mentioned Matt Young,” she said.
“I’ll go warn Superman now,” Clark immediately promised as he stood up and ran off.
“Be careful,” Lois called after him, for once not annoyed by his sudden departure before spotting Jimmy. "Jimmy!"
Jimmy hurried over. "Yeah, Lois, what's up?"
"Get me everything you can on a man named Baron Sunday and anyone with a link to him with a first or last name starting with anything that sounds like 'Zi-'," she quickly said.
"Baron Sunday?! He's the world's greatest illusionist! Why do you need me to look into him?!" Jimmy asked, instantly excited.
"He's a magician?" Lois asked, stunned as she quickly connected the dots.
"The Magician!" Jimmy corrected. "He's awesome! He's doing a few shows here in Metropolis this week!"
"Okay, that should make it easier, then. Be careful when you research him though, seriously. I think he's responsible for the two panic attacks that caused those heart attacks," she warned. "And don't forget the 'Zi-' person," Lois said.
"You got it," Jimmy said, suddenly serious, though still pumped.
"Thanks," Lois said.
He nodded and dashed off as she took a deep breath and stood up, deciding her research into the names Young had given them could wait.
It was time to take Star up on her offer of help. There had to be a way to combat this insanity directly.
O o O o O
Lois tried not to feel too self-conscious as she entered the little restaurant a few blocks from where she had first met Star.
“Hi, Lois,” Star greeted with a wave.
Lois tentatively waved back and quickly joined her, taking the seat from across the table.
"Thanks for agreeing to meet with me," Lois said.
"I'm happy to help. It's rare that I'm taken seriously to be honest. It's . . . nice," Star said, before her expression became less joyful. "So, you told me on the phone the Boker has targeted your friend?"
"Yes, two of my friends, actually," Lois stated, hoping they were both okay, wherever they currently were before a scary thought surfaced. “The Boker can’t attack them both at the same time, can they?” Lois asked.
Maybe she should have insisted on sticking with Clark? But he had dashed off so quickly. Well, hopefully Superman and Clark were together. Surely they couldn't both be attacked at the same time, right?
“Uh, no. It takes a lot of preparation, focus and power to target just one person. So I’d say it’s extremely unlikely they’d both be attacked at once or even within the same hour,” Star said. "Really, I can't imagine the same person casting something like this more than a few times a day. From what I understand, doing anything like this more than once every twelve hours is nuts. And let me tell you, if practitioners classify anything as 'nuts' you know it's all sorts of bat wing crazy and should never be done!"
Lois' eyes widened. "That would make sense. Clark has been getting attacked at night and there's been one other attack that we know of each day. That's essentially an attack every twelve hours."
Star gasped. "He's been attacked multiple times? At night? And he's okay?!"
"Well, he's understandably freaked out, but he hasn't needed medical help if that's what you mean."
"How many times?" Star asked.
"Well, he said he's had nightmares the last few nights and then he was attacked this morning," Lois said, growing more alarmed. "Why?"
"He must have an astoundingly strong will," Star stated. "If he'd be okay with it, I'd love to meet him. But nevermind that now, I'm sure you have questions."
Lois nodded and took a deep breath. “Is there a way to combat this? I mean, I was present for the most recent attack against Clark, which had been this morning. It was scary. The snake appeared on his chest. Could something protect or help him?" Lois asked, ignoring how crazy she sounded.
"It's not easy to ward off the black arts. The evil's gotta be displaced. Whoever is getting cursed has gotta get in touch with something dear to them . . . more powerful than the spell. The magic has to come from within," Star explained. "Some people suggest carrying a keepsake can help, perhaps a family heirloom, something to draw strength from. Personally, I have a charm, though I can't say how much protection it would really provide in something like this. Can't hurt though."
"But is there something I can do? Something to help if I'm nearby during an attack?" Lois asked, earnest.
"There might be something, but I . . . hesitate to even suggest it. It's not exactly safe," Star said, muttering at the end.
"I really don't care how safe or unsafe it is," Lois stated. "If it can help, I want to know."
"I figured you'd say that," Star said grimly. "Okay. So here's the thing. I have no idea if this would work the way I'm hoping, because it's actually for something else, but despite that, I'll go ahead and tell you."
Lois nodded, wanting her to hurry up and just tell her.
"You have to touch the person being cursed here and here," she said, placing her right hand on her forehead and her other hand on the center of her chest. "The idea is that this contact – along with your strong desire to protect them – will anchor their soul to you. However, in doing so, that will mean being exposed to the curse. I don’t know what that will mean for you. Even though the curse is specifically designed to target the person the Boker wants to harm, you may be just as affected. I don’t know.”
“That’s a risk I’m willing to take. I won’t let this Boker hurt Clark or anyone else again if I can help it,” Lois promised.
O o O o O
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