Chapter 10
With a cry, I run to the cage and not thinking of any consequences, I pull on the bars of the door. Superman is lying face down on the ground, not reacting to the noise I’m making, but I can see his chest rising and falling so I know he’s breathing.
“Superman! Wake up!”
I pull uselessly on the bars a few times before removing my hands to inspect them while remembering that day at the bank when Superman looked like he was momentarily unwell.
“Kryptonite,” I whisper to myself.
I am hit with the realization that this had happened in my history too and it was the explanation for Superman's disappearance. Lex had him locked in a cage, and Superman somehow only escaped, or was released, after Lex’s death. The thought of Superman being trapped, helpless, like he was right now, for weeks with no hope of rescue was a plot straight out of those horror movies that had become so popular, and made me ill to think about. The torture he’d had to endure… But I can’t think about that now.
Superman is still breathing and still unconscious. He hasn’t so much as twitched since I arrived. I move around the cage and spot what had to be the main entrance into the wine cellar, and an axe hanging on the wall. It would make one heck of a racket, but that should help me break the cage.
I stuff the bag of Clark’s clothes behind one of the stacks of barrels, and start to formulate a plan as Superman moans, returning to consciousness. I need to find out when the wedding is about to begin as I know where Lex and all of his personnel will be at that moment. I can make all the noise I need for a few minutes which will have to be enough to get Superman out and somewhere safe.
I hesitate. Should I go up the way I came or through the main entrance? The decision is made for me when I hear the heavy door at the top of the stairs open and I dash into the secret passageway I entered the room from.
“And how are we feeling today?” Lex asks as I hear him walk down the wooden staircase.“Oh, still feeling a little green around the gills.”
As he speaks, a creaking noise can be heard and I assume he’s opening the cage. He wouldn’t conveniently turn it off would he?
“I, on the other hand, am feeling wonderful. She’s beautiful therefore to be wooed, she’s woman, therefore to be won.”
I want to throw up. How had I almost married this man?
“Henry the Fifth. Oh I know, it must be tough. Lying there, seeing me all decked up like this. On my way to marry Lois Lane, while you lie there helplessly and suffer. And tonight, tonight, won’t just be any night. I love Lois. I really do. But she’s just a little too independent don’t you think? Well, I’ll take care of that.”
I’d known for twenty years now what a despicable person Lex had been, but like most things, the years had made the memory fade. Not only am I disgusted, but now I’m terrified. The threat behind his words is cold and cruel.
“Clark Kent knows where I am,” Superman splutters.
“Well, yes. I’ll have to kill him too. But, that reminds me. Which one? The red or the white? The red for passion, and the white for purity. Well I agree, definitely the red…”
I have no idea what Lex is talking about but I latch onto the comment about Clark. Both Clark and Superman had vanished for some time. Neither had been at the wedding, or seen for a while after. It wasn’t until after Lex’s death when Clark had been seen, albeit, not by me. It had been weeks longer before Superman had been seen in public. Upon seeing Superman in the cage, I immediately wondered if Clark was here but that seems unlikely if Lex doesn’t know where he is. I leave that puzzle to the side for the moment and focus on the conversation.
“Luthor…”
“Oh, how strange. How strange to hear you say my name and know that it may be . . . for the last time. But am I making a mistake? Will the pain of losing the challenge that you represent be worse than the pain of constantly losing to you?”
I can hear the door of the cage being closed and locked and I feel a glimmer of hope as I hear the keys being dropped.
“I’ll be back. When it’s over. Then you and I will have a nice little… heart to heart. Have a nice death!”
Lex leaves singing as I crouch in the passageway, my heart thumping in my ears, trying to process everything I’ve just heard. Lex has confirmed Clark isn’t here so I will need Superman’s help to find him. I stand, feeling the full force of my exhaustion return after the brief respite from climbing the stairs, and peer around the wall. Superman is still conscious and he’s trying to reach for something, something I can’t quite see.
I watch, tears falling down my face, as Superman becomes frustrated and throws himself against the cage repeatedly. His screams of agony every time he touches the cage make me want to cover my ears. In a sick twist of fate, underneath his screams I can hear the music through the speakers playing as the wedding ceremony many floors above, begins.
I don’t have much time.
I step into the cellar as quietly as I can and now see what Superman was reaching for. There is a set of keys on top of a wine barrel that Lex carelessly left behind, likely to torment Superman, but will give me a way to save him instead.
I try to move toward the cage but find my vision blurring. Dropping to my knees, I try to regain my equilibrium and fight through the dizzy spell as Superman continues to try to break through the cage. I want to scream along with him.
Lex intended to kill him after the wedding, but for some reason, after I left Lex at the altar, he let Superman live. Had this been Lex’s plan? To use Superman to force me to marry him? Along with the dizziness, I now feel nauseous. Superman had been trapped here for weeks and hadn’t been seen for a while after Lex’s death. He’s clearly powerless at the moment and probably needed time to recover. The sooner I can get him out of here, the sooner he can recover and save Clark. I focus on the keys and slowly stand.
“...’till death do you part.”
As the Archbishop says that line, Superman throws himself into the cage one last time before collapsing, unconscious, to the ground. I take the window of opportunity and run to the keys, trying to calm my shaking hands as I jam the key into the lock. After some fighting with the key, the lock opens and the cage door noisily swings open.
“Lois!”
I freeze, afraid someone has come up behind me, but realize it’s Perry and the voice is coming through the speakers. What is Perry doing at the wedding? He wasn’t there!
“Stop the wedding, you can’t marry this man,” Perry announces, his voice echoing clearly through the cellar.
My head is spinning and I grasp onto the bars of the cage to stop myself from fainting. I feel my legs give and I sink to my knees as Perry continues to speak.
“The meaning of this, Luthor, is you’re through. We have all the evidence against you we need.”
They’ve done it! I let go of the bars of the cage and curl up on the floor, elated, but devoid of all energy. It’s taking everything in me to stay conscious and I wonder for a moment if this is it. As I drift somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness, I try to focus on the chatter through the speakers to see if I can figure out what is happening.
“This is a warrant for your arrest.”
I have no concept of time as I lie curled up on the cold floor, but I focus as I hear Henderson’s voice.
I feel a surge of adrenaline as I glance over at the still unconscious Superman. I can’t let the police or anyone else find him down here. Using the sickly green bars for support, I stand and walk over to Superman and cautiously reach out, gently shake his arm, trying to see if I can wake him up. When he doesn’t stir or flinch, I give him a good shove.
I step back quickly when he groans, unsure if he’d recognize me, or think I was Luthor, though from what I had seen earlier, he is as weak as I am at this moment. When he doesn’t move again I grab onto his hand and try to pull him away from the cage, which is almost impossible. I try several times before one last final pull moves his dead weight a few inches. That’s enough to encourage me to try again.
By the time he is out of the cage I’m almost in a full blown panic. The live feed from the wedding is still broadcasting into the cellar but it’s hard to make out what happened. Luthor has run away from the police and I’m convinced he’s in the secret passageway. I don’t know where he’ll go but I have an uneasy feeling that he will be coming here. This whole setup had one purpose: to kill Superman. Lex wouldn’t leave that unfinished. Superman and I need to hide.
“Wake up,” I mutter as urgently as I can in Superman’s ear as I rest for a moment. I can’t risk raising my voice as the sound will carry up the stairs. “Please, I need you to wake up.”
“Lois?”
I’m startled at the murmur. Is he reacting to my voice or the wedding feed?
“You need to hide. Now.”
As I speak I stop touching him and start moving away hoping he’ll come around enough to move under his own power. As much as I don’t want Lex to find either of us here, I don’t think Superman finding out which Lois I am will end well. How would he react if he saw me?
I crouch behind a barrel and watch as Superman crawls behind other barrels on the back side of the cage, just as I hear the door opening at the top of the wooden stairs.
“Sorry, Superman,” Lex says as I see him grab the axe. “No time for a chat. I’ll just take my pound of flesh…”
Lex stops six feet in front of where I am hiding and for a moment I wonder if he’s seen me. It’s so quiet at that moment I hold my breath, afraid that my breathing is too loud. He looks around the cellar and when he sees the open cage door, he roars in anger and smashes the axe into the barrel where he’d left the keys. He looks around again, this time his eyes bulging in fear, before running away, taking the passageway out, and not the entrance with the wooden stairs he’d come in through.
I wait as I hear the sound of Lex’s footsteps receding and listen for any sound from Superman. Not hearing anything I step out from my hiding spot and cautiously approach the dark corner where I’d seen Superman crawl into.
He’s there, crouched down, his head leaning back on the wall and eyes closed. He may be safe for now but he can’t stay here for the police to find him, or worse, Lex. He’s not slumped over, so he’s conscious, but I don’t think he’s quite aware of what is going on.
Leaving him for a moment, I grab the bag of clothes I’d brought for Clark. They’re going to be too small I’m sure, but I can hardly sneak him out wearing his bright suit and cape. Exactly how I’m going to get him out of the LexCorp tower without him being recognized regardless of what he’s wearing, or how long it’s going to take him to be able to walk under his own power, is not my concern at the moment.
“Superman,” I whisper gently as I return with the clothes. “We need to get you out of here.”
His eyes still closed, he nodded his understanding. He takes a few deep breaths and begins to climb out the way he crawled in. I try to help him climb down but we both end up sprawled on the floor, Superman groaning as he moves closer to the cage.
I reach down and unzip his boots, putting them aside while he rolls onto his side. Pulling the cape back I discover a small zipper at the back. Taking a deep breath, I unzip it, but he doesn’t move in reaction. With minimal assistance from Superman, and a fair amount of wrestling with the Suit from me, I eventually peel the tight suit down to his waist and pull the yellow dress shirt out of the bag. In a moment of lucidity, Superman begins to dress himself and I step back into the shadows as he changes into the clothes I had brought. Surprisingly, they fit him, even the shoes, from what I can tell as he’s got his back to me.
His brief surge of energy fails him and he slumps to the ground resting against the stack of barrels I’m hiding behind. The noise through the speakers has subsided significantly but I can still hear voices and it sounds as though the police are interviewing some of the guests. It’s clear that Luthor hasn’t returned, and perhaps the police don’t know where he went.
Superman groans but stays where he is. I’m too worn out to move and even if I could, what could I do to help? I’m fairly certain he’s more with it than he was when I got him out of the cage and I’d rather he get out of here under his own strength.
“Oh, Superman,” I whisper.
“Lois?” He croaks while he looks up at the ceiling where the speakers are.
Maybe this is a way to get him moving? As quietly as I can, I whisper again.
“You have to get out of there.”
“How?”
His voice cracks as he speaks and it tears at my heart. He’s exhausted but he can’t be found by Lex’s people, the police, or anyone else.
“You need to leave. I’ll meet you outside.”
I’m counting on him not remembering this moment as that’s a bold statement for me to make. I had left through the main entrance in my own timeline, I’m assuming I do the same again. As he starts to crawl to the stairs an odd feeling comes over me. I’m still weak, but there’s something else underneath the weakness. I can only hope that this means I’ve managed to change the timeline to the one Wells wanted, the one he said was the right one and, for some reason, rescuing Superman was the tipping point.
But why? Wells said I was here for Clark, and so far all I’ve done is manage to move up Lex’s arrest, and help out Superman. I have no idea where Clark is at the moment.
My thoughts trail off as Superman reaches the stairs, pulls himself to his feet and turns for one last look at the cage. There’s something about him in the dim lighting, wearing Clark’s clothes, that looks more familiar than it should. It’s Superman’s hair and some strange blend of Clark and Superman’s face. If he had glasses he could almost pass as…
No.
I stop myself just in time from laughing out loud. Clark and Superman being the same person! What a preposterous idea. I’m clearly just as exhausted as he is, and it’s either something with the strange visions I’ve been having, or the odd lighting in here and it’s playing tricks on my mind and eyes.
I watch Superman climb the wooden stairs, one painstaking step at a time. I want to rush over to him, give him a shoulder to lean on, and help him with my last ounce of strength, but I feel as though I have nothing left. At the top of the stairs, he pauses briefly where the axe once hung, before pushing the door open, and stepping from the cellar into freedom.
It’s not completely quiet in the cellar after Superman leaves as the broadcast continues to play though the speakers. The voices have quieted and it’s hard to pick up conversations. It takes me a minute to gather myself then climb down from my hiding space. I grab the bag I had brought the clothes for Clark in and start looking around for Superman’s Suit and boots, but they’re nowhere to be seen. Had he taken them with him or did I miss him hiding them somewhere?
In my searching I find what looks like a remote behind the remnants of the barrel that Lex had smashed. Cautiously reaching around the sharp axe, I grasp the small remote and the eerie green glow from the cage turns off. At the same moment, I brush against a spigot on one of the barrels, and leap in fright as the cage retracts noisily into the ceiling. As my heart rate recovers, I think that having the cage out of sight and not glowing will give the police less to wonder about.
I look around to be sure there’s nothing I’m leaving as a clue to whom, if anyone, was being held captive here, and I can’t help but wonder where Clark is. Lex didn’t have him, but clearly wanted to kill him too. Superman implied he knew where Clark was so I’ll have to follow him and hope he’ll lead me to Clark. Given how exhausted Superman was, and apparent lack of powers, he can’t be far. Still holding onto the remote, I start the short climb up the stairs.
Once in the hallway, there’s no sight or sound of Superman. It’s a relief as I have no idea what I would have had to do to get him out of LexCorp tower if he hadn’t been able to do so under his own strength. Out of the dim lighting of the cellar and into the bright lights of the corridor, I can see my hand still looks faded, as there’s no other way to describe it. As though I’m fading from existence, which makes sense. I couldn’t exactly drop dead and leave an older Lois’ body behind. Seeing proof of my demise should be unnerving, yet in a bizarre moment, it’s a relief. Whatever I’ve just done for Superman was the right thing to do.
I follow the signs to the emergency stairwell and begin climbing, feeling less exhausted than I did before, but still worn out. The closer I get to the main floor, the more people I encounter in the stairwell. Still dressed as one of the wedding staff, no one questions me and I seamlessly join the variety of other staff, finely dressed wedding guests, and employees as we leave the stairwell, and into the lobby.
I leave the gossip and chitchat behind as many choose to loiter and converse, heading for the large glass doors. I’m convinced Clark is not in this building so there is no need to linger, but I don’t know if I have the energy to track him down. Perhaps Superman has already gone to his rescue and I may never know how Clark is saved. Regardless, I want to be outside in the bright sunshine for a bit, and I need to sit for a few moments and regain some of my strength.
The sidewalk is busy with small gatherings of people who have just left the building, the multitude of police who have arrived, and the inevitable curious passerby’s jamming up the sidewalk. I dodge traffic and cross the road, walking as briskly as I can to the alley. As I step into the alley, I glance into the side street on the opposite side of the road as a clash of colours catches my eye.
It’s the brown suit jacket with the yellow shirt, complete with the tie!
Except… he’s wearing glasses, and looks remarkably like Clark.
He’s leaning against the building, eyes closed, as though he’s soaking up the sun’s warmth. Or trying to gather his energy as I’m sure he’s exhausted.
It’s ridiculous, but it explains so much. The feeble excuses, the disappearing acts he pulled that one precious year we worked together, then the disappearances of both of them. With Clark no longer living in Metropolis it would have been much more challenging for Superman to be readily available.
The man I had just dragged from a kryptonite cage, the same man I have just helped out of his hero’s uniform, has Clark Kent’s face, including the glasses, with Superman’s hair. When and where he got the glasses from in the last few minutes, is beyond me. He runs his hand through his hair making it look more and more like Clark, before standing, using the wall to balance himself. Compared to his almost unconscious state in the cellar, this is a significant improvement, but I worry that he’ll fall over in exhaustion.
But… he’s Superman. I still can’t quite wrap my mind around it, though it explains Clark missing for weeks, and his leaving Metropolis. He’d been tortured, from my aborted wedding day until Lex’s death. No wonder he fled. As I watch him walk toward the road and turn the corner toward the entrance of the LexCorp Tower, I marvel at his strength and resilience.
A white dress catches my eye and I change my focus to the glass doors where Perry is leading Lois out to the sidewalk, Jack and Jimmy following behind them.
“Where’s Clark?” I hear her say and my heart leaps as I see Clark a few paces behind her.
“Right here.”
As his arms embrace her, there’s an explosion within me, as though I’ve hit my head hard enough to see stars. I feel a surge of adrenaline and my surroundings are so bright they’re almost blinding.
As she surrenders into his arms, there’s another blinding light, only this time it's accompanied with a burst of images. There’s hundreds of moments that flash by, so quickly I can’t possibly process them all. There are smiles, meant just for me, cuddles by a roaring fire, moments of laughter, and sorrow.
It takes me a microsecond to realize they’re memories. Her memories of things that haven’t happened yet. It’s more than just images, but an overpowering sense of something I’ve never felt so deeply before. I’d believed myself in love but that was a pale shadow compared to the radiating love I feel now.
I have no sense of myself anymore. I couldn’t tell you if I was standing or lying in a collapsed heap on the ground, if I was cold from the shade of the alley or feeling a little warm from standing in the sunlight. I’m not hungry, or thirsty and I don’t feel any of the exhaustion from before.
I am completely at peace.
It dawns on me that this is the moment Wells poorly explained what would happen. I’ve fixed the timeline so I don’t exist anymore. I should care, but I don’t want to. No longer aware of my surroundings, I want to spend the last few moments of my life basking in the warmth of Clark’s love, and the love I feel for him.
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