Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic Murder Over Metropolis 12/12

**Notes**

Thank you to everyone that has enjoyed this story. I came up with it back in 2016 but didn't write it until Fall of 2022. It took that long to send it to be wonderful, thoughtful, editors who knew exactly what I was aiming for. Yes, there will be a sequel, and yes, I will be starting it real soon. Now onto the finale of MoM!

Part Twelve
Lois and Clark walked down the hallway toward Mrs. Cox’s room. Both of them were quiet, hoping that things were good between them now. As they got closer to Mrs. Cox’s room, Lois noticed a police officer standing guard.

“Can I help you?” the police officer asked as he stood in the doorway with his arms crossed.

“Yes, I’m Lois Lane and this is Clark Kent, we’re from the Daily Planet. I need to speak to Mrs. Cox,” she stated .

“Sorry, no one’s allowed in,” the officer replied. “No press.”

“You don’t understand, Mrs. Cox is a witness in a story we’re working on,” Lois responded, trying to bypass the guard.

“No,” he said louder.

“You don’t understand,” Lois said, forcefully. “We need to find out what else she knows.”

“I don’t care who you are or what case. I was told not to let anyone through unless it is a doctor or Captain Benson,” the officer told her.

“Captain Benson,” Clark mumbled before elbowing Lois. “Lois here is close friends with the Captain.”

“I don’t care if she’s close friends with the president. An hour ago there was an attempt on Mrs. Cox’s life. I was told not to let anyone in,” the officer said, crossing his arms in front of him.

“What? How? Can you tell us more?” Lois asked, grabbing her notepad out from her bag.

“Lois. Mr. Kent,” Captain Benson announced coming down the hallway.

Lois looked up, relieved to see Benson. She knew the captain would help answer the questions she and Clark had.

“Captain, what’s going on? The officer said there was an attempt on Mrs. Cox’s life,” Clark said.

Benson waved his hand to the two of them and led them down the hallway. Lois and Clark followed him into a waiting room. He looked around making sure they were alone.

“About forty-five minutes ago, a nurse came into Mrs. Cox and gave her a dose of penicillin in her IV. Only issue is that it is clearly stated in her chart that she is deathly allergic to the drug,” he said, and glanced down at where Clark held Lois’s hand.

Lois immediately noticed that the captain had seen their joined hands, but she didn’t mind. She had felt Clark take her hand when Benson had started speaking. Lois wondered if Clark thought his freedom would still be in jeopardy if Mrs. Cox was killed.

“I came into the room as the nurse was rushing out and noticed Mrs. Cox’s reaction. She had been sleeping, and I think the drug must have just hit her, because her eyes opened suddenly. She screamed for help, and I hit the call button before trying to run after the nurse,” Captain Benson explained.

“Did you catch up to whoever it was?” Lois asked.

“No, but I did find out that Mrs. Cox wasn’t scheduled to get a dose of any medication. We were actually getting ready to take her into protective custody, once she was released,” he replied.

“So, someone found out she told the police the whole story,” Clark suggested. “Did you recognize the nurse?”

“Mr. Kent, I’m a detective. Of course, I did. She was a taller woman with blond hair and blue eyes,” he responded.

Lois squeezed Clark’s hand and looked over at him.

“Gretchen Kelly,” Lois murmured.

“Yep, Luthor’s doctor. I’m not sure why she would try to kill Mrs. Cox, but there’s obviously a bit more going on here than we thought,” Benson said, looking out the window.

“Did you put an APB out on her?” Clark asked.

“What do you think, Kent?”

“I know. I know. You’re a detective,” Clark retorted.

“I think I need a cup of coffee. Clark, how about you come with me down to the cafeteria?” Lois suggested, pulling on his hand. Lois had an idea and needed to discuss it with Clark.

“Coffee. Lois, you just had a cup at my apartment,” Clark replied, looking over at Lois.

Captain Benson looked between the partners and shook his head. “Excuse me,” he said. “I have more calls to make.”
Benson turned to leave. As soon as they were alone, Lois turned to Clark. She smacked his shoulder lightly, knowing full well it wouldn’t hurt.

“I was trying to get you away from Elliott. I have an idea, and I thought maybe Superman could help,” Lois said quietly.

“Superman?”

“Yes. What if Superman went flying around Metropolis looking for the great Dr. Kelly,” Lois suggested, putting her hand on his shoulder where she smacked it a minute ago. “And of course, he can take me with him.”

Clark titled his head slightly and started shaking his head.

“Lois, no. If she can sneak into the hospital and drug Mrs. Cox, what do you think she could do to you?”

“I’ll be safe since I’ll be with, you know, Superman,” Lois replied as she leaned into him. “He wouldn’t let anything happen to me. Would he? Plus I’m always safe when I’m with him.”

She slid her hand up to the back of his neck and started playing with his hair. She knew going after Gretchen Kelly was their best option right now. And Superman was how they needed to do it. The safest choice.

“What do you think, now that we’re together, you can get your way by using your feminine wiles on me?” Clark asked with a half-smile .

“I don’t know. Are we together? I mean, I know earlier at your apartment before your parents showed up, we were. And outside in the parking lot was interesting,” Lois whispered seductively as she leaned into Clark, coming closer to his lips. “I know a few things that could convince you.”

“Lois, please,” he mumbled, shaking his head. “You’re my kryptonite. I can’t take you with me. What if we find her and Nigel is with her? I can’t keep an eye on you and catch them at the same time.”

“Kryptonite? It’s real…and it can hurt you?” When Clark nodded solemnly, Lois’s heart sank. “That’s it then. What if Lex found out about kryptonite and was going to use that to catch Superman?” Lois said, stepping away from Clark.

She turned and started pacing. Lois remembered a file she’d seen in Lex’s office that she hadn’t taken.

“I think we need to go back to Lex’s office,” Lois said. She stopped and looked at Clark. “I found a file on Bureau 39 in Lex’s office. I didn’t think it had anything to do with you, so I never looked at it. It’s still in his office.”

“Luthor had a file on Bureau 39? Trask knew about the kryptonite. He was the only one who knew what it could do to me. If Luthor had information on kryptonite…” Clark trailed off, his expression grim and maybe a little…pale..

Lois’s eyes widened as she remembered Clark almost dying when they’d faced Trask in Smallville. But if Trask was the only one who had known…and he was dead… Had Trask devised some sort of a back-up plan before he died?

“Clark, what happened to Trask’s body after he was shot at the pond?”

“Rachel mentioned that some men from the government came and picked it up the next day,” he answered, still looking pale.

Lois’s stomach lurched, and she stepped closer to Clark. “What if…Trask and Lex were in on this together? We know Lex wanted Superman gone, and Trask was just as evil.” Lois paused and shook her head. “Clark, what if Trask isn’t dead?”

***

Clark shivered. Trask was worse than Luthor. Luthor hadn’t used Clark’s parents to get what he wanted. Trask, however, was willing to kill anyone who got in his way, anyone who had helped the “alien.”

He couldn’t risk being vulnerable to kryptonite. It was the worst feeling when his powers had been taken away from him, and he hated the feeling of being so powerless, unable to protect those he loved.

“How about we go to LexCorp and see if we can find that file I left?” Lois asked, taking his hand and pulling him toward the exit.

As they walked down the hallway, he put his hand on the small of her back. He hoped that holding onto her would give him the strength to finish this nonsense once and for all. Neither of them could go on like this. They needed a break.

As they walked out of the hospital toward the Jeep, Clark’s mind was running through the aftermath of the last time they had run into Bureau 39. Could they really be behind all of this? How could they know that he was Superman, since the only person who’d known was dead? And if they didn’t know, how would sending Clark to prison have stopped Superman?

“Clark… Hello?” Lois stepped in front of him as they reached her Jeep.

Clark shook his head and closed his eyes. He pinched his nose for a second and then looked up at Lois.

“Sorry, Lois. What did you say?” he asked.

“I wanted to know if you wanted to drive,” she replied. “But it looks like you’re miles away. What is it?”

“I’ll explain later. Do you need to rest?” he wondered, putting his hand over hers.

“No, but I think you do. What’s going on?”

“Trask. What if he’s somehow behind all of this? I should call Rachel and see if she remembers anything about the men who picked up the body,” he said.

“Let’s go to LexCorp, and after we grab the file, we’ll go back to my place. Grab some dinner, maybe, and contact Rachel,” Lois suggested, putting her other hand over his cheek. He leaned into her touch.

“What would I do without you?” he said with a smile.

Before she could answer, he took the keys from her. He couldn’t keep thinking ‘what if’; that wasn’t how reporters worked. They dealt with facts. And right now, they had to find that file to see what Luthor knew about Bureau 39.

A few minutes later, he gripped the steering wheel tightly as he drove toward LexCorp. He’d noticed Lois watching him, and he glanced over at her briefly.

“What?”

“You’re worried that Trask had something to do with all of this,” Lois stated.

Clark frowned. He couldn’t lie to her no matter how he much wanted to keep his insecurities to himself.

“Yes. And if he did, how was he involved? And how much did Luthor know? Who else knew? Lois, Trask knew I was Superman. If that gets out, everything I’ve worked for disappears… I disappear,” he explained with a heavy heart.

“No! Clark, you can’t let Trask run you out of Metropolis. I mean, we just figured out this thing between us. I won’t let Lex, Trask, or anyone else run you out of Metropolis. Not as long as I’m alive,” Lois demanded.

“Don’t even say that, Lois. I can’t lose you. If Trask is behind this, then I can’t lose you too,” he said.

“Then we have to find Gretchen Kelly and figure out what she knows. Maybe Trask is really dead, like we thought,” Lois said, putting her hand on his thigh.

The touch was reassuring, and he gave her a small smile. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Trask had always been a bigger threat to Clark than Luthor. Clark had been able to handle everything Luthor had thrown at him. All Luthor ever really wanted was power — power over Metropolis, over Lois, and over Superman.

But Trask wanted something even more. Jason Trask believed Superman was an evil alien who had come to Earth to destroy it. Although everything Clark had done as Superman had been to help the people of Earth, Trask believed Superman’s presence was just a ruse to gain control of them. So if Trask had his way — Clark would be captured and dissected and studied. Of course, everything Trask thought about him was about as far from the truth as one could get.
Clark felt Lois squeeze his leg again. Looking over at her, he noticed the sullen look across her face. He wanted to do everything in his power to make her feel better. However, he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to do that right now, when he was terrified himself.

“Lois, remember how I told you my dad would tell me to be careful about showing my powers? That someone from the government would find out and dissect me like a frog?” he said quietly . “When Trask first showed up, I finally realized my dad was right. I’d always thought my dad was just trying to scare me. But when Trask kidnapped me in Smallville, I realized he was right. And I…thought for a second that it was the end.”

“Oh, Clark,” Lois sighed. “Even though I didn’t know it was you, I knew Trask was crazy. Not because of him thinking you were Superman,” she said. “Okay, you being Superman was absurd at the time, but what Trask thought of Superman was worse. There was no way you could hurt us. I knew that from that first moment I saw Superman in the Messenger.”

Clark noticed a small smile play across her lips as she mentioned that moment when he first appeared to her as Superman.

“Lois, you thought I was insane, especially when I swallowed that bomb,” he said, laughing lightly.

“But you did it to save our lives. No questions. You did it not knowing if I was telling the truth.”

“I knew,” he murmured. “I knew when I first met you in Perry’s office that you wouldn’t lie to me about something that important.”

“Too bad, I didn’t realize it earlier,” Lois said, leaning her head back against the headrest. “Knowing who you were then would have solved so many issues.”

“But some of those walls needed time to come down. You wouldn’t have let me be your partner or your friend if you knew the truth. Plus, we had so many great memories this past year. I wouldn’t trade those for anything,” he admitted as he stopped the Jeep at a red light . He took her hand and brought it up to his lips. Their eyes met, and he realized he knew everything he needed to.

“Even me breaking your heart at the park that day?” she asked quietly, tilting her head as she regarded him.

“I surprised you with my confession.”

“I knew it though. I told you that day that I knew you had feelings for me, and I still hurt you,” Lois said, trying to pull her hand away.

He wouldn’t let her go, and instead pulled her hand toward his heart. Clark wanted her to feel his heartbeat. He wanted her to know that she always had his heart, even when she had broken it.

“That’s in the past. We both made some mistakes, and we can only move forward. And when all of this is over, we’ll get that chance,” he said. A horn honked from behind him, and Clark flinched and glanced in the rearview mirror then up at the green light. He shook his head and started driving forward again. “I guess having a heart-to-heart on the streets of Metropolis isn’t in the cards for us.”

“No, but maybe tomorrow night, we can have a quiet dinner, that is if this darn case is ever closed,” Lois suggested.

“I don’t care if it’s not, you and I are going to spend a couple of hours alone. I bet you haven’t been sleeping much lately,” Clark said.

Ahead of them, Clark could see the large LexCorp building, and he wasn’t terribly surprised to see how the parking around it had cleared more.

“What about you?” Lois asked. “I bet you haven’t been sleeping much either.”

“Lois, I don’t need as much sleep as you think,” he answered. There were so many things she didn’t know about him. “I only need, maybe, a couple of hours of sleep. I’ve gone longer without sleeping, but it’s like eating.”

“You don’t need it, but you still do it? I’ve seen your cupboards, Clark. You eat like a teenager. I always thought you just had a fast metabolism. Never realized just how fast,” she said with a laugh.

“That’s not the only thing I can do fast,” he replied, reaching over to her. Hearing her intake of breath, he glanced over and saw a blush on her cheeks.

“I don’t mean that!” he said, feeling heat rise to his own cheeks, “I mean I can read a book in seconds. I cleaned my apartment when I first got it within minutes. The landlord was shocked. I can’t tell you how many keyboards I’ve short circuited,” he explained.

“When this is over, I think I’ve got a lot of questions for you.” Lois said.

“And I’ll answer them all. Lois, I’ve never lied to you when it came to Superman,” he said hesitantly. “I mean, I might have left out a few details.”

“Like the secret identity.”

Clark pulled the Jeep up to the curb in front of LexCorp without looking over at her. There was so much he wanted to explain. He knew she was still upset with him about keeping her at arm’s length when it came to his alter ego. However, neither of them would get any work done if they rehashed all of their issues right now.

“Look, we’re here,” he stated, turning off the engine.

“Nice tactic. I think I’ve done it a time or two,” she mumbled.

Both of them got out of the Jeep and walked inside without saying another thing. Clark wanted to talk, but finding out the truth about Luthor’s murder was still the top priority.

***

They walked inside the building with just a little space between them. Lois didn’t like the tension, but she knew they needed to work now, talk about things later.

Once again, there was barely anyone inside. Lois even noticed that the security guard was someone new whom she didn’t recognize.

“Hello, can I help you?” the security guard asked.

“Yes, I’m Lois Lane. I left a few things up in his office that I need to get,” Lois said.

“And you are?” the officer asked Clark.

“He’s with me,” Lois stated, grabbing Clark’s hand without letting the guard see. “I have the code for the elevator.”

“Ma’am, that won’t do any good. The codes were changed this morning,” he said. “I was told that no one can go upstairs.”

“Well, I don’t care who told you what. I left some personal items up there that I need,” Lois lied.

Lois and the guard glared at each other, and she had no intention of backing down. She really needed to get upstairs. However, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Clark looking up like he was hearing something.

“Clark?”

“How about we go call Captain Benson? Or come back later?” Clark pulled Lois’s hand lightly and nodded toward the door.

“Fine, but I’ll be seeing you later,” Lois told the officer with a snarl.

Lois let Clark lead her out of the building. Before he turned the corner, she stopped and squeezed his hand.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“I heard a helicopter landing on the roof,” Clark answered. “I figured we could find another way up.”

Lois watched as he signaled that he meant flying. Then he looked around to be sure they were alone before spinning into the Superman suit.

“Want a lift?” he asked with a grin.

“Sure. I wasn’t going to use the stairs.”

Lois walked into his waiting arms, and as soon as his arm was around her waist, he shot up into the sky. They landed behind some of the mechanical stations on the roof to keep them hidden.

Peeking around the corner, Lois saw Nigel St. John walk out toward the helicopter, Gretchen Kelly following behind him carrying a rather heavy-looking briefcase. Kelly was yelling at Nigel.

“What is she saying?” Lois asked Clark.

“That she has the files ‘he’ asked for. And that Nigel better not double-cross them like he did Luthor. That he is being paid plenty of money,” Clark answered, watching them.

Lois couldn’t believe Nigel had double-crossed Lex. But more importantly, who was the person Kelly was talking about? And what did she have in that briefcase she was holding?

“Can we get closer?”

“You can’t, but I can grab that briefcase and be back so quickly they won’t even notice,” Clark responded as he stood up.

Lois didn’t like the idea of just sitting on the sidelines and watching Clark do all of the work. But she held back as he took off toward Nigel and Kelly. She closed her eyes for a second, expecting him to return before she could even take a breath. However, when he didn’t, she peeked around the corner again. She screamed as she saw Superman fall to the ground just feet away from Kelly.

It must be kryptonite! Kelly must have the kryptonite!

Nigel tilted his head back and start laughing, and Lois couldn’t wait any longer. She started running toward Clark as Kelly kneeled down in front of Clark and said something to him. Kelly seemed to smirk as she clicked the briefcase shut . Then, the doctor stood up, walked around Clark, and climbed into the helicopter behind Nigel. Lois slid to a stop and fell to her knees next to Clark, who was still keeled over in pain. Her arm went around his shoulders, and he grimaced as he looked up at the helicopter. She followed his gaze, both of them watching as the helicopter flew away.

***

When the helicopter was farther away, Clark tried to stand. He still ached everywhere, even though the kryptonite, which had been in Kelly’s briefcase, was far away now . Lois slipped her arm around his waist to help him.

“Are you okay? What did she say to you?” Lois asked.

“That Nigel shot Luthor and she has the proof. Plus something about ‘he’ was right. I’m not sure who ‘he’ is, Lois,” Clark mumbled.

“Who was right?” Lois wondered aloud. “Who is the man Kelly keeps mentioning? Can you move?”

Lois helped Clark toward the door to the stairwell. Her arm was wrapped firmly around his waist, and he tried not to put too much weight on her. It had been a short exposure, so he could already feel his powers coming back. But Clark knew they needed to call Captain Benson and let him know right away about Kelly and Nigel’s escape.

It took them a few minutes to make their way down a flight of stairs and into Luthor’s penthouse, where they were able to get to a phone so Lois could call the precinct . Clark stood by watching, still in his Superman suit. If anyone came up, hopefully they wouldn’t question how he and Lois had bypassed security.

“Are your powers back one hundred percent?” Lois asked as soon as she hung up the phone.

Clark sat in one of the chairs in Luthor’s office. The crime scene had finally been cleaned up. He pinched his nose, then tilted his head side to side trying to feel his muscles relax.

“Not quite. I could probably fly around Metropolis to check where they took off to, but it would take me a little bit of time. I’m probably around eighty percent, maybe. But knowing they have kryptonite is a bigger problem. I guess Luthor got his hands on it somehow,” Clark explained, not hiding the anger or frustration he was feeling.

“I guess we really have no idea what happened to the piece from Smallville, do we? Not sure how Lex would have known who to contact about it. I guess we could ask Mrs. Cox, since she’s the only one talking,” Lois said as she stepped closer and put her hand on Clark’s shoulder.

“She has to know more than she’s told us. Maybe we can find out where Kelly’s office was or where she lived,” Clark suggested. “When we’re done talking to Captain Benson —”

“— maybe we can check out Kelly’s home and see if she left something there that can give us some clues,” Lois finished for him, grinning.

Clark smiled back, in awe. They always seemed to fall in line with each other. When one was thinking something, the other seemed to catch on instantly without any hiccups. He smiled again as he remembered some of their past stories where they had worked undercover. She had certainly kept him on his toes the past year. It was no surprise he’d fallen in love with her.

“What’s on your mind?” Lois asked, catching his eye.

“Just how wonderful you are,” he commented with a smile.

She blushed and swept a strand of hair behind her ear, looking down. Clark looked around and noticed the drawers of the file cabinets had been opened.

“Should we see if there’s anything left for us to find in those files?” he asked.

“Sure.”

Both of them walked to the file cabinets and started looking through what files were left. Clark’s speed allowed him to go through the files a lot faster than Lois. He sighed as he finished the last drawer before Lois could get through even one.
“Nothing,” Clark sighed, closing the drawer and putting his head down.

“I guess everything important was cleaned out. The file I was talking about is missing. There’s nothing on Bureau 39 or Trask. That’s probably the file Kelly was talking about ,” Lois stated, closing the drawer she’d been going through. “What next?”

Before Clark could answer, the elevator opened. Benson stepped out with two officers behind him.

“Lois, I figured when Kent’s charges were dismissed that we were done,” Benson said, walking farther into the room. Benson seemed surprised when he saw Clark, and his eyes widened slightly. “Oh, Superman. What are you doing here?”.

“Lois got in contact with me about Gretchen Kelly. We flew up and caught Nigel St. John and the doctor flying off,” Clark said, folding his arms over his chest in his usual superhero stance.

“We couldn’t stop them because —” Lois stopped and glanced over at Clark as though asking silent permission. With a tight smile, he nodded. He trusted her to not give away the whole truth, and, as much as he was loathe to admit it, he trusted Benson enough with the information. Lois nodded back and continued. “We couldn’t stop them because they had something that made Superman’s powers weaken,” Lois explained.

“You mean kryptonite? I remember the article. So who do you think had it — Luthor or Dr. Kelly?” Benson asked.

“We believe Lex located it and Kelly and Nigel St. John stole it. That’s probably why they were here. Some files from the cabinets are also missing,” Lois explained, leaning against a large bookcase.

“You mean other than the ones you took with you before,” the captain replied.

“She did it for me,” Clark said without really thinking. He couldn’t react to his comment, so he just shrugged nonchalantly, hoping they could move on.

A few seconds later he noticed Lois stand taller and smile.

“He knew Clark didn’t kill Lex and wanted me to do anything I could to prove it. Plus some of those files were able to help me find the truth about Nigel St. John and some of the things Lex had hidden from everyone.”

“Well, okay, but Superman can’t just give you permission to break the law. He technically isn’t supposed to break them either.”

“Well, he didn’t tell me to steal the files. I did it on impulse. I wanted to help Clark,” Lois said, stepping closer to Clark.

Clark gave Lois a slight nod of his head, trying to remind her to keep her distance. Their relationship was new, so they still had to get used to being together in the same room but keeping their distance when he was dressed as Superman.

“I’m going to choose to ignore all this, since you’ve actually helped a lot with this investigation so far. I’m also going to choose to tell you I did find an address on Gretchen Kelly that might be helpful. She’s likely staying at a brownstone on Hyperion Avenue that once belonged to her aunt,” Captain Benson said. “But that doesn’t mean I want you to go flying off there.”

“How about Clark and I meet you there in an hour? That gives me a chance to call Clark and tell him what’s going on,” Lois stated with a quick glance over at Clark. He straightened up again, having to remind himself he was there as the superhero, not Lois’s partner.

“If you and Kent beat me there, do not go in without us. Lois, I mean it,” Captain Benson said sternly. “Henderson informed me that you tend to not listen to him at crime scenes. I’m not going to let that slide again.”

“I got it, Captain,” Lois replied as she started leaving the room.

Clark followed her without saying anything to the Captain. He figured he’d already said enough as Clark, and he didn’t want Benson to realize just how close Superman was to the case.

When they reached the foyer near the elevator, Clark leaned over and whispered, “Lois, how about I fly off to see if I can find that helicopter and meet you at the brownstone?”

“Okay. Be careful. Like I said before, don’t get too close,” Lois murmured back before turning to look at the captain and his two officers.

“Lois, wait a minute, if Superman is flying off, I want one of my men to escort you downstairs. I noticed the security company has changed, and I’m not sure they’ll understand you getting in with Superman’s help,” Benson said as he motioned to one of the officers.

“That’s okay. By the way, the new security company — do you know who hired them and why?” Lois questioned.

“The new owner of LexCorp, I guess. From what I understand, Luthor had a handful of people who might be wanting to take over. An ex-wife, a few sons, and even a half-sister,” Captain Benson stated.

Clark saw Lois’s eyes widen and her face pale slightly at this information, and he quickly took a step toward her. “Lois, how about I fly you down to your car? Then you don’t need to bother with security,” he suggested.

“That works,” Lois said with a nod.

As they flew out the window a moment later, Clark felt how stiff Lois was in his arms, and he realized she must have been as shocked by this new information about Luthor as she’d looked. When he landed near Lois’s Jeep, he put his hand on the top of her vehicle. He needed to tell her.

“I’m not going to ask whether or not you knew about his children or his ex-wife or that he even had a half-sister. All I’m going to say is I don’t have any ex-wives or children out there. I’m not going to hide anything from you,” Clark said, smiling gently as he looked down at her. He wanted to reach out to her, but knew this wasn’t the time or place.

“It’s okay. I mean it’s not, but we can talk about it later tonight,” Lois replied. “I think I need a chocolate bar or something sweet to de-stress.”

“I can fix that. Meet me at your place. I’ll take a quick look around the city for that helicopter and then get you something to make you forget,” he said. Then, he smiled at her again and added quietly, “ I really want to kiss you right now.”

“Just go. I’ll meet you at my apartment. I’ll leave the window open,” she said before opening the driver’s side door.

Clark watched Lois get into her Jeep and drive off, then he flew up into the blue skies. He had a couple of things to do before he could fly off to get Lois her sweet piece of chocolate heaven.

***

Lois watched in her rearview mirror as Clark flew up into the sky. She had to get used to interacting separately with his two personalities plus make sure she didn’t say something in front of anyone that might give away his identity. One thing Lois was good at was coming up with excuses.

Driving to her apartment was lonely, and what she really wanted to do was just change her clothes and hide for the rest of the day. Yet there was still so much to do. They needed to find Gretchen Kelly and Nigel St. John. Finally get to the bottom of everything that had happened.

After a few minutes, she pulled up to her apartment complex. She was numb going upstairs and even walking down her hallway. It wasn’t until she reached her front door that she woke up. Her door was ajar. She hesitated for only a moment, wondering if she should wait for Superman to come back or just do what she had always done.

Pushing the door open slightly, Lois noticed the chaos. The apartment had been trashed. Someone had broken in looking for something. Lois knew instantly who it must have been — Nigel St. John.

She was standing with her hands on the island in her kitchen when she felt the familiar swish of Superman arriving behind her. Turning around, she ran to him and put her arms around his waist.

“I can’t believe they did this,” Lois cried.

He held her and stroked her hair gently, letting her cry. Everything finally hit her, and she was exhausted.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her words muffled into his chest.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” Clark murmured, pulling away from her slightly.

Lois didn’t want to look into his eyes, but he put his hand under her chin and tilted her head back so she was looking up at him. So much love in his eyes.

“This isn’t your fault. I’ll always be here to hold you, wipe away your tears, and love you,” he said with a hitch in his voice. “Do you want to call the police? Or just have me clean it up?”

Lois was confused. What would the police do that they couldn’t? She knew who did this, and it would take hours to clean it up. Was it even worth calling the police? She stepped away from Clark and turned around to look at the mess again. They had other things to deal with, and she didn’t have time to deal with the break-in. Grabbing her coat rack, she stood it up and started cleaning.

She could feel Clark staring at her, but she just kept working silently. All Lois wanted was this darn murder to be solved. The running around, worrying about Clark, and even dealing with the revelation that Clark was Superman were all making her frazzled. As she picked up a few more things, she noticed Clark looking around, then suddenly she felt a swoosh as he disappeared in a blur.

Within seconds, her apartment was spotless, and everything was exactly where it was supposed to be. She stood there with her hands on her hips and smiled. Lois couldn’t believe her life.

“I can get used to this,” she said as he came to a stop in front of her, now wearing his regular clothes. “Now I see how you’ve always been able to do research faster than me.”

“You should see me take out the garbage,” he said with a wink.

“Give me a few minutes to shower and change, then we can go,” Lois told him.

“Wait,” he said. “I meant to grab you something when I was out but things got a bit chaotic. There was a bank robbery and a runaway bus and… Ah, never mind. I’ll just go get it while you shower.”

Before Lois could say anything, he had flown out the window again. Shaking her head in amusement, she turned toward her bathroom. All she really wanted to do was take a long, hot bath, then maybe curl up next to Clark and watch a movie. Unfortunately, Lois knew that was impossible. They had to get to Hyperion Avenue to meet Captain Benson in thirty minutes. That didn’t give her enough time to even fill her bathtub, let alone relax.

Ten minutes later, she came out of her bedroom dressed in tan slacks, a white blouse, and a tan vest. Clark was sitting on the couch enjoying a coffee.

“I know we don’t have much time, but if you let me drive, you can drink your cafe mocha and eat your chocolate croissant from France,” Clark said, turning toward her with a grin.

“Did you say chocolate croissant? Wow,” she replied as she took some quick strides to the coffee table to grab the little bag of heaven. As she opened the bag, she inhaled the scent of the flaky, buttery crust and sighed.

Lois couldn’t wait to taste the delicacy, so instead of grabbing her keys and bag, she just bit into the pastry. She couldn’t help herself; she ate the whole thing and washed up before they left.

About fifteen minutes later, they pulled up to the brownstone. There were several officers stationed outside.
Walking up the steps, Lois tried to get a glance in the brownstone through the open door, but they were stopped by an officer in uniform.

“No press allowed,” the younger officer told them.

“We were supposed to meet Captain Benson here,” Clark said.

“I’m sorry. He has better things to do then talk to the press,” the officer replied.

“Patrolman, they can come in,” the captain shouted from inside the home. Benson stepped into Lois’s view and waved them inside as he nodded into his phone.

“Well, damn. Yeah, yeah. Okay. I’ll head over as soon as I’m done here,” he said, and then hung up.

As Lois and Clark stepped further into the brownstone, Lois watched Captain Benson run a hand through his thinning hair and shake his head.

“What happened?” Lois asked.

“I just got a call from the precinct. Kelly’s body was found at the airport. Witnesses said they saw a tall older gentleman with gray hair leaving in a black SUV just before that,” Captain Benson stated, frowning. “So, Kelly is dead, and Nigel is in the wind.”

Lois sighed, wondering if they’d ever get some good news for a change . She looked around the living room, noticing several photos on the shelves near the fireplace. Suddenly recognizing one of the men in one of the photos, she moved over to the shelves and picked up the black-framed photo. Two young men flanked a younger version of Gretchen Kelly.

“Lois — don’t you dare touch anything,” Captain Benson warned.

“Clark, come here,” she whispered quietly, hoping that no one else could hear her. She looked closer at the picture, and a shiver ran through her.

Seconds later, Clark came up behind Lois and put his hand on her shoulder.

“What is it?” he asked.

Lois pointed to the picture she had noticed, then turned to look at Clark.

“Is that who I think it is?” she questioned.

“Jason Trask with Gretchen Kelly,” Clark confirmed, and she noticed a slight hitch in his voice as he spoke. “Who’s the other guy?” Clark asked. He slipped his glasses down. “Fort Campbell.”

“I think we need to call Jimmy and see if he can look into Trask’s past, along with Dr. Kelly’s,” Lois stated, grabbing Clark’s hand.

“August 1987,” Clark whispered. “That was the date. There is a newspaper in the background. So whoever the other man is, he was close to Kelly and Trask. There’s also a notepad on the coffee table with an address on it. Looks like it was written fairly recently. Maybe it means something too.”

“Let’s go to that address.”

“It’s more than an address, Lois. It’s a cemetery,” Clark explained, giving her shoulder a squeeze.

“Not the first time the two of us went sneaking around a cemetery at night,” Lois stated, giving Clark a half-smile as she stepped away from him.

Finally, after spending another twenty minutes looking around and talking to the captain, they said goodbye. After Lois grabbed the keys from Clark, they started off on their way to the cemetery. The sun was beginning to set, and clouds were rolling in. A storm was coming.

At the cemetery, Lois and Clark reached the location that had been written on the notepad Clark had found. It was a gravestone — that of a Lieutenant Marcus Kelly, who had died in November 1987. Under the dates were the words Son, Brother, Friend, Soldier.

“Oh gosh, the man in the picture must have been Dr. Kelly’s brother. Trask and the Lieutenant must have met in the military,” Clark stated, moving to stand beside the headstone.

Lois looked around and noticed a crypt about fifteen feet away. The door was slightly ajar, and a faint light shone from the crypt. Something told her this was big and important, and maybe a bit dangerous. Before Clark could tell her to stop, Lois broke into a jog, heading toward the crypt.

“Lois,” Clark exclaimed, running after her. “What are you doing?”

He caught up to her quickly and grabbed her hand as she opened the door further with her other hand.

“I noticed the light and decided to investigate,” she said, taking a step down into the crypt.

She felt Clark following behind her as they descended into the creepy stone crypt. As the light got brighter, Lois’s shoulders tensed. What was she going to find?

Finally, they reached the landing, and Lois felt her heart start to race. There was a clear glass chamber, empty except for some wires that hung from it, and a couple of IV bags were hanging on poles next to chamber. They were filled with a liquid that glowed sickly green. She stepped farther into the room, but no longer felt Clark’s warmth behind her. She turned to see him still standing at the landing, his face pale.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Those IV bags are filled with liquid kryptonite. I can feel my powers slowly fading, although it’s…weaker than the effect of the solid form from earlier,” Clark explained, leaning against the wall for support.

Lois frowned and continued into the room. She moved over to a table and rifled through a few documents. It was all some sort of medical jargon. She glanced at the chamber again, shuddering as a thought came to her. “All these IVs, Clark… I think… It looks like someone was trying to bring someone back from the dead, maybe. But who?” Lois asked.

“And did they succeed?” Clark added.

Lois looked up at him, horrified. “Dr. Kelly was pretty obsessed with Lex, in love in a sick way, so maybe…”

“Or…”

She saw the moment the fear returned to Clark’s eyes, and suddenly, she understood. “No, Clark…you don’t think… Could that have been Trask? But what does kryptonite have to do with any of this?”

He shook his head. “I have no idea. But we have to get rid of that stuff. Now.”

Lois had never agreed with anything as strongly. With a nod, she followed him up out of the crypt, and together, they decided he’d fly off and find a few large lead boxes for her to package the IV bags in, so he could destroy them properly.

Zombies? Liquid kryptonite? Another murder? Could this week get any weirder? Lois sighed and sat down on the top step of the crypt as Clark flew off. She needed another chocolate croissant.

***

After disposing of the kryptonite, Lois and Clark gathered up all of the documents they could find in the crypt. Hopefully they could find someone to help them analyze it all later. A few minutes later, they got back into the Jeep, and Lois leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes.

“Well, now we know Kelly had something really strange planned. I guess our next task will be…to find Nigel St. John,” Lois said slowly.

“Yeah, but… I think that can all wait until tomorrow,” Clark suggested with a smile. “I think we earned the night off. Tonight we go back to my place, have a quiet dinner and just enjoy our time together.”

“What about your parents?” Lois asked.

“Remember when I left LexCorp? I flew them home, but then an emergency came up. That’s why I’d forgotten your chocolate and had to make a separate trip ,” Clark explained.

Lois turned to look at him, and then she smiled seductively. “You mean we’ll be alone at your place,” she said.

“Exactly,” he whispered, leaning toward her.

Lois leaned closer toward him, and soon, their lips met in a gentle kiss. It was finally over, and in the morning, they could move on, work on solving the rest of the case. Tonight, it was just the two of them moving onto something better.

Lois slid her hand up his chest and then around to play with the hair at the nape of his neck. She wanted to be closer to him, but this was not the place. Clark pulled back after brushing her hair behind her ear.

“I love you,” he said. “I don’t know what I would have done without you in my corner.”

“Always,” she replied before reaching over and kissing him one more time. This was a quick kiss, knowing full well that they shouldn’t let things get out of hand.

She straightened back up, started the Jeep, and pulled away from the curb. As they exited the cemetery, Lois noticed a dark sedan following them.

“Clark, someone’s following us,” Lois said quietly as she noticed the sedan get closer to them. She sped up and started weaving around traffic and making turns she wouldn’t normally make.

“Lois, take it easy,” Clark said, holding onto the door handle. “I’ll look back and see if I can tell who it is. Slow down at the next street and let them get behind us.”

“Oh, don’t act like my driving can bother you; you flew into space and stopped an asteroid,” Lois replied with a sneer.

“Just like flying in a plane, Lois. But not my favorite thing, especially with you driving,” Clark commented. He turned around and lowered his glasses. The sedan was getting closer. “Slow down a little bit more.”

Lois looked over at Clark as she slowed down to thirty miles an hour. He was still staring out the rear windshield, his jaw clenched. She decided the best thing to do would be to pull to the side of the road and park the car.

The dark sedan drove by a moment later, and Lois kept her eyes on Clark as he watched it closely.

“Oh my god,” Clark said as the car passed.

“Clark, who is it?” Lois asked, swinging around to look at the car. The driver was staring right at Clark, not even trying to hide who it was.

He looked at Lois, his eyes wide with anguish.

“I don’t know exactly how,” Clark said hesitantly. “But it was Trask. He’s back.”

Lois’s face fell and her stomach twisted in knots. How was this possible? She’d thought they were going to get a break, but now she knew this was only the beginning. Jason Trask was back in their lives. Would this be the end of Superman? The end of Clark Kent?

The murder over Metropolis was solved, but now Lois and Clark would be dancing around death!

The End