TOCChapter 15:Lois had stopped her attempts to appear like she was getting any work done. She was watching the breaking news with bated breath. Superman had finally appeared in Rhelasia and was now moving the ship. It seemed impossible that he should be able to lift a cruise ship of that size. But apparently he had, though of course she couldn’t see him under water. And that made watching even more agonizing.
Was it still Clark out there? Or was he back in Luthor’s body? Would Superman still help if he was SuperLex again?
Lois didn’t think so. Her heart clenched in despair at the mere thought of having to witness that Superman would abandon these people. She didn’t want to imagine the fallout. All these lives lost. The world’s view of their hero would irrevocably change. Not to mention what would become of Clark if the world turned on him. Lois clenched her hands into tight fists, whispering silent prayers to whatever deity was up there that Clark would make it.
But how much time had he been able to spend in his own body so far? When he’d been himself at the Planet yesterday, that had lasted no more than a few minutes. The switch in her apartment had lasted a bit longer than that, but there was no telling how much time he’d need to rescue all these people.
Lois ran her hand over her face. She shouldn’t just be standing here. She should try to find Clark, or rather Luthor’s body, which could well be occupied by either of the men. That made things much more difficult. Lois had no intention of running into the real Luthor and tipping him off that she knew what was going on. Besides, she couldn’t quite drag her eyes away from the TV, though all she could see of Superman was that the ship was still moving forward at a considerable speed.
Queensland Park was one of the suburbs surrounding Metropolis. She didn't know the area well. She'd have to get a map, one where the abandoned hospital was still marked.
"Lois?" Jimmy's voice startled her. He'd stepped up beside her and pointed at the TV screen. "Any progress?"
She shook her head. "Not much. Apparently he's trying to reach a bay on the backside of the island."
It was going awfully slow. Lois' gaze flickered toward her watch. How long could Superman hold his breath? Long enough, she hoped, and found herself holding her own breath in sympathy. She'd always taken the miracles he worked for granted, not really worrying about the Man of Steel, except maybe the one time he'd flown off to stop Nightfall and failed to return. She could have lost him without ever knowing it was Clark.
"There's a call for you on line one," Jimmy said quietly. "A woman. She didn't give me her name, but said it was urgent. And that it had something to do with Superman." He shifted his weight and looked back at the phone sitting on her desk, his mouth opening and closing a few times, as if he was wondering whether he’d once more be allowed to take a part in her investigation but didn’t dare to ask.
Lois furrowed her brows. "Do you think it's another witness for what might have happened at the docks?"
“Beats me,” Jimmy shrugged. "I still don't believe there is anything to what this old guy told us. And the fire department hasn’t released a statement yet."
Lois was reluctant to leave her post, unwilling to let Clark out of her sight, even though she couldn't actually see him. This anonymous caller better have a good reason to disturb her, Lois thought grumpily. But then she also needed to get to the abandoned hospital to find the man she hoped would be Clark when she arrived. So sooner or later, she had to concentrate on the other man, hoping it wouldn’t be the wrong one. She felt so utterly torn.
At least Jimmy could help with the research. "Can you get me an old map of Queensland Park? There's supposed to be an abandoned hospital. I need to know where that was."
Jimmy looked puzzled by her request, and a bit deflated as it became obvious that he’d been downgraded back to research.
He simply nodded. "Sure thing. What do you need it for?"
"Oh, just a story," she muttered. Guilt rippled through her because she’d left him guessing. But it was safer that way. "Line one, you said?"
With one last glance at the news that showed no visible progress of Superman's latest rescue mission, Lois finally pulled herself away and headed for her desk.
She picked up the receiver and pressed the right button. "Lois Lane, Daily Planet."
"Hello, Lane." The voice was cold, arrogant, and vaguely familiar. "I need your help."
She felt the hairs in the back of her neck rise. "Who are you?"
"Gretchen Kelly. Lex Luthor’s doctor.”
A surge of anger filled Lois. She opened her mouth to yell at the other woman, to ask her what she’d done to Clark. But Lois stopped herself just in time before she said something she couldn’t take back. She forced herself to breathe in and out slowly. Clark had warned her not to let people know that she knew. She wasn’t sure about much these past two days, but there was no doubt in her mind that Clark was right in this instance. Given what Kelly had done in the past, she couldn’t trust the woman. A shiver ran down Lois' spine as she remembered how Kelly had tried to transfer superpowers to herself. She was probably also the reason Clark was stuck in Luthor’s body.
What could she possibly be needing Lois help with?
Lois tried to brush her off. "Look, I believe you've got the wrong number." She closed her eyes, praying that wasn’t the wrong call.
"Certainly not," Kelly said tightly. "As I’m sure you've heard, the news is speculating what's wrong with Superman. I know why he's not acting like himself.”
Lois snorted. “And why would that be?”
“Because Lex stole his body,” Kelly replied. “That’s why I need your help."
Lois sucked in a breath. "What the heck are you talking about? That's crazy. Luthor is dead."
Kelly let out an audible breath. "I assure you, he's not. But I believe you know that already. You hesitated a moment too long."
"Oh, you think so?” Lois said tersely. “Okay, let's for a moment assume that I believe a word you say. You want to help Superman? Are you serious?"
Kelly laughed briefly and without humor. "To be honest, I don't give a damn about Superman. I want to save Lex. Only in this case it's the same thing."
Lois felt like the world was spinning around her. She grabbed her desk for support and lowered herself down onto her chair.
"How so?" she managed.
"They're killing each other," Kelly said. Any smugness in her voice was gone. There was only a slight hitch as if she was fighting tears. "It's happening right now. To stay Superman, Lex has to kill his old body. As long as both of them are alive, the souls are destroying the foreign bodies. And with using all his powers, Superman is just speeding up the process. Besides, Lex’s body is sick, very sick. It’s only a matter of time until both are dead.”
“Wouldn't that be awfully convenient?” Lois quipped. “Besides, didn’t you want to give Luthor powers?”
“Well, I changed my mind,” Kelly replied grimly. “Besides, I love him the way he was. I don’t want an alien.” Her voice was dripping with disgust as she spoke those last words.
To Lois, they felt like a punch to the gut. She was glad Clark hadn’t heard that. Still, it hurt when people spoke about him as if he wasn’t even a person. Though Kelly had technically just stated a fact. Had she been telling the truth?
“Look, I don’t care what you think about me, Lane,” she continued. “We do have a common interest. So if you decide that you’ll accept my help after all, give me a call.” Kelly told Lois her phone number, which she wrote down with trembling fingers.
Then she hung up the phone, staring at the receiver as if it was some sort of poisonous animal. Her heart was racing, and her breath came in panting gasps. She couldn’t keep her gaze from drifting back toward the TV screens, where Superman was still busy with rescuing the cruise ship.
Lois’ breath hitched. Had Lex known that he was going to kill himself quicker if he engaged in this rescue mission or had he just been indifferent to the people on that cruise ship? Did Clark know any of this? She stared at the note with the phone number on it, unsure what to do with it. Was it just a ploy, a trap to lure Clark back to Les? If Kelly was right, if Lex had to kill his old body - and Clark with it - they would need to get a hold of him.
She recalled what Rick Grant, the old man who had visited her this morning, had told her about the fire at the docks. Superman had been searching for someone. Lois knew that could only have been Clark. He’d stumbled in that direction when he’d left her hours earlier. So Superman had actually tried to kill him. Everything made sense now, and in the most terrible way she could imagine.
Lois closed her eyes and tried to remember how to breathe. What would happen to Clark when he was finished rescuing the ship? Lex was himself now and would know exactly where to find his body later. He could even set some kind of trap for Clark, one he couldn’t escape before Lex had returned from Rhelasia.
Suddenly, she understood why Clark had let her tie him up and place the headphones over his ears. He’d known Lex would have used the opportunity to find him if he’d been able to. Clark hadn’t been so lucky the second time. And yet, he’d returned into his body, knowing what would await him later. Even though it looked pretty much like a suicide mission now, Lois was sure that Clark had returned into his own body voluntarily this time. He’d been aware of the danger the ship was in and had only taken a moment to make sure she was okay.
Lois’ chest was suddenly tight as if she were underwater - right there by Clark’s side. Her intense feelings seemed to pull her under, toying with her like the elements might be doing with Clark. He loved her, a true hero who put her safety and everyone else’s above his own. She vividly remembered the despair in his eyes when he’d tried to make her believe him. The pain in his gaze when she’d told him that she wasn’t sure she could forgive his betrayal was beginning to haunt her now. Because she loved him, too. The mere thought of losing him to Lex was devastating.
She needed to do something; she had to save him from that fate. He wouldn’t be able to save himself, not from Superman, not a second time, or likely even a third time.
A sudden restlessness took hold of her and she jumped up from her chair where she’d been sitting frozen before.
“Jimmy!” she yelled at the top of her voice. “Jimmy, I need that map and I need it now.”
Every single reporter in the newsroom was staring at her, flabbergasted. Lois tried not to flinch. She didn’t want to care if she was making a scene right now, because Clark was more important. But the curious gazes were a bit unsettling. She clamped her mouth shut and decided to go looking for her younger colleague instead of causing another scene until every last colleague knew what she wanted.
While she searched the newsroom for Jimmy, the voice of the newscaster reached her ears. “According to our latest reports, the ship is approaching the bay. But it seems to be sinking again. The lowest deck is back underwater."
Lois felt her throat tighten. Did that mean that Superman had given up? Was Lex back in Clark’s body and would return to Metropolis now? God, she hoped she wasn’t already running out of time.
The urge to do something, anything to help Clark was strong. She rushed back to her desk to grab her bag and coat, almost stumbling while she again looked for Jimmy. Her patience was completely spent and she felt tears prick in her eyes. A thick lump in her throat made breathing difficult.
When the phone on her desk rang, Lois jumped in her skin. Her first impulse was to let it keep ringing. Whoever was trying to call her would do so again if it was important. But then she wondered if Clark might try to reach her and give her more precise information.
She took the receiver. "Lois Lane, Daily Planet."
"This is Henderson," the inspector announced gruffly. "Just to make one thing perfectly clear, Lane - we're off the record until I tell you otherwise. Understood?"
Lois took a calming breath, not sure she was willing to handle Henderson now. "Yeah, fine. What do you want?"
Henderson was silent for a moment as if stunned by her brusque reply.
Then he cleared his throat. "You were right about Bender and St. John. They were actually seen together, visiting an inmate of the Metropolis detention center."
Lois tensed. "Who?"
"Rollie Vale," Henderson said.
Alarm bells rang in Lois’ head. Something about the name bothered her. “Why are you telling me this now, Henderson? This morning you said there were no new leads on the Bender case.”
The inspector let out an audible breath. “When I was reconstructing the last hours before Bender’s death, I didn’t see anything odd about him visiting someone in the Metropolis detention center,” Henderson said dryly. “He’s a lawyer. It’s what he does.”
“So what changed?” Lois tapped her foot impatiently, wishing Henderson would get straight to the point.
“Vale was found dead in his cell a couple of hours ago,” Henderson replied. “And before you ask, the M.E. has yet to determine the cause of his death. I’ve done a bit of research and yours and Kent’s name popped up. You’ve been writing an article about this cyborg of his. Any idea what St. John could have wanted from him?”
Lois felt dizzy and dropped on her chair. She pinched the bridge of her nose and bit her lips. It felt wrong to speak about it. She and Clark had done their best to keep the existence of the single substance that could hurt Superman under tight wraps. But in this case, she was sure that Clark would want Henderson to know about it.
“Kryptonite,” Lois whispered.
The line went silent for a moment. “It’s real?”
Lois took a deep breath. “Real enough.”
In this very moment, Lois finally saw Jimmy step into the newsroom, waving several pieces of paper at her that could only be the map Lois had been waiting for.
She jumped from her chair. “Look, Henderson, I’ve got to run. I’ll call you later with more details of our investigation. Try to find out where Vale kept the Kryptonite.”
Before Henderson had a chance to protest, she hung up the phone and darted toward Jimmy, practically dragging the map from his hand as soon as she reached him.
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