Okay, here it is...the conclusion!
Table of Contents ***********
From Part 9: Clark thought he might have just enough strength left for one last thing. He might not be able to save himself, but he could save the two people he loved most. He funneled the pain down deep inside him, concentrating his all his remaining strength to his lungs, and let go a freezing burst of cold breath that hit the subliminator full force.
Aaron, startled by what had happened, dropped the frozen weapon, and it hit the floor of the balcony breaking into several pieces.
"Lois, wake up!" Clark managed to scream at her, and then, the blackness took him.
**********
PART 10: **********
"Lois, wake up!" She heard Clark scream. What? she thought. Where am I? Lois shook her head. It felt like she was trying to come out of a deep sleep. She looked around wildly, unable to believe what she was seeing.
She wished she were sleeping, dreaming. It appeared that she was on the balcony of Lex Luthor's penthouse suite. A man stood in front of her, staring down at small, broken pieces of equipment; a look of bitter hatred on his face.
She looked down in her own arms and was startled to see Laura there, looking back up at her, crying. She could hear the memory of a man’s voice inside her head - give Laura to me - he’d said. She clutched her daughter tighter to her chest. Oh, Laura, what had she been about to do?
Lois looked around, where was Clark? Then, she felt the memory of the voice again - take this Kryptonite necklace...
No! What had she done? Lois ran towards the penthouse door. The sight that met her eyes brought panic to her heart. Clark, clothed as Superman, was slumped on the floor inside the suite. A piece of Kryptonite hung from his neck, and he wasn't moving.
She ran to his side as fast as her legs would carry her and lifted the necklace off of him. She needed to get it as far away from him as possible, and she didn’t want that maniac out on the balcony to get his hands on it. With precious little time to spare in contemplating what to do, she took aim and heaved it as hard as she could out the open door and over the edge of the balcony railing. She hoped they would be able to recover it once this was all over. Lois looked back down at her husband. His eyes were closed and his body was limp.
She lay Laura down on the floor beside her daddy. She was still crying, but she would be okay. Lois hoped she could say the same for Clark. Was he breathing? She leaned over him and whispered in a voice only he would hear.
"Clark? Can you hear me? Oh, please, don't do this to me! Please, breathe. Breathe!" she pleaded with him, feeling tears come to her eyes.
She ran her hands down along his suit feeling for a heartbeat. She couldn't find it. She wanted to rip his suit off and feel his chest with her bare hands. She lay her head down on him, listening.
"Oh, honey. I’m so sorry," she whispered against him, tears trickling down her cheeks. "Listen to me. You have to fight, you hear me? You've saved me so many times. You never let me give up, now don't you give up! You have to come back to me. I need you. Please...please hear me."
She began to sob harder and threw her body around him, hugging him fiercely, but he didn't respond. What could she do? How could she bring him back? He couldn’t die, he just couldn’t.
"No, no, no," she whispered, shaking him gently. She laid her head down against his chest again, listening. How could she bear the pain of losing him and the part she’d unwillingly played in his death? He couldn’t leave her, not like this. Laura couldn’t grow up not knowing the tender, compassionate, amazing man who had been her father. Lois glanced over at their beautiful daughter lying beside them. She looked so much like Clark. She would be all Lois had left of him.
NO! A burning hatred and passionate desire filled her heart. This would not go unanswered. Lois started to pull away from Clark, to look for the person responsible for murdering the only man she had ever loved, would ever love, but a sound stopped her.
The faint sound of a heartbeat...his heartbeat! Was she hearing things? Lois pressed her ear more firmly to his chest. Her breath caught in her throat. He was alive! The tears filling her eyes were so thick that she couldn't see him, but she could hear him; she could feel him. She placed her hands over his chest feeling the beat of his heart through his suit, growing steadily stronger.
She wanted to grab him, hold him, kiss him...but her joy was short lived as a hand grabbed a hold of her hair yanking her to her feet and pulling her backwards toward the balcony. She felt the barrel of a gun in her ribs.
"This is the last time you thwart our plans Ms. Lane," the man told her. It was the voice from her head. Could it be Aaron? The man Clarice had told Clark about?
He paused briefly at Luthor's desk, fiddling with something. She craned her neck to look but couldn't see what it was, and then he was pulling her back towards the balcony again.
"Aaron, please," Lois pleaded with him, turning to look into his face.
He looked startled. "Don't say my name! You don't *know* me!" he screamed at her.
So it was Aaron. Lois looked back at the form of her husband, starting to stir, and the little miracle lying next to him. Whatever happened she had to make sure he didn't hurt either of them.
"Aaron, don't do this." Lois heard the voice of her husband coming from inside the suite. "You are not a killer, not yet." Clark's breathing still sounding labored, his voice slow and deliberate. "You may hate me, despise what I am, but I'm begging you not to do this. Lois is *not* alien to this planet. She is a person just like you, and if you kill her you’re no better than any other murderer."
As he spoke, Clark was steadily working his way up off the floor and into a standing position. Oh, please, don't try anything yet, Lois thought. He was still too weak.
Clark slowly walked out onto the balcony, continuing to try and reason with Aaron. "It's me you want. Not Lois, or her daughter. Can't you see? You say that you’re doing what you do to protect the people of this planet, but yet you’re willing to kill one of them?"
"She's a friend of yours, and so is no friend of mine or this planet," Aaron spat at Clark, but his anger didn't carry through in his actions. He withdrew the gun from her ribs, but kept it pointed at her.
"That's not true, but, even if it were, it still doesn't give you the right to take her life."
Lois felt Aaron's grip lighten, slightly. It was now or never. In one fluid motion, she pulled her arm forward, jerked her elbow back into his stomach hard, and swung her fist around knocking the gun away from his hand. It went spinning away across the balcony floor.
Aaron let go of her, hunching over clasping his stomach. She brought her fists down hitting him across the back as hard as she could. She started to raise one leg to kick him, but she had misjudged him. He was stronger and more agile than he looked. He recovered from her first attack and grabbed her foot as it came towards him. This caught her off guard, and she began to stumble.
Aaron grabbed a hold of her by her shoulders and hurled her at the door next to Clark. In his weak state he was barely able to catch her, keeping her from slamming head first into the doorframe.
Lois looked back at Aaron. He had jumped up on the balcony edge and was looking around, his eyes darting about wildly. He peered over the edge looking down and then stood up.
"You won't take me alive, Superman. I may not be able to finish you off as I'd hoped to, but I'll take my secrets to the grave. You won't learn anything from me. The work will go on," he told them confidently. "Until we meet again." He sneered at them as he fell backwards off the balcony.
"No! Not again!" Clark cried, making his way slowly to the balcony.
It was like Lex all over again. Superman had been unable to save him because of the effects of the Kryptonite cage, and he would be unable to save Aaron. He was too weak. But Lois watched in horror as Clark began climbing up onto the balcony edge.
"No!" she screamed, running to him and grabbing his arm, holding on tightly. "You're too weak, you can't!"
He looked at her sadly. "I know," he reassured her. He looked down towards the ground and appeared to be focusing. "I can't see him," he told her. His *vision* hadn't returned yet.
Lois ran back into the penthouse, stopping to pick up a crying Laura, and called the police. She told them to send an ambulance, for all the good it would do. She'd probably be better off telling them to send a hearse.
Lois rocked Laura up and down, patting her back and whispering soothing words in her ear. She turned to see Clark walking up behind them. Laura, also seeing him, began to cry again. It hurt Lois to see the pain in her husband's eyes. His baby girl was frightened of him as Superman, and she bet Aaron had something to do with that too.
Lois moved Laura to one hip, and used the other side of her body to wrap Clark in an embrace. She pressed her face against his shoulder hugging him fiercely.
"Oh, Clark, I thought I’d lost you," she told him, squeezing him again. "I’m so sorry. I know what I..."
Clark silenced her attempted apology with a kiss. "Don’t even say it, honey. It wasn’t your fault," he told her.
Before Lois could say any more Laura interrupted them, crying again.
Lois let out a long sigh. This wasn’t over, not completely. "Maybe you should go change clothes," she suggested. She shifted Laura around so she wasn’t facing Clark. "Superman doesn't really need to be here when the police get here, not in his weakened state."
"In a minute. I'll change before they get here. Right now, I want to hold my daughter," he said, reaching for Laura, who had started to calm down once more.
Lois nodded at him, understanding, and handed her to him. He held her up looking into her teary brown eyes and smiled at her. He brought her towards him blowing on her stomach and kissing it. Then, he brought her in close to his body and hugged her gently, whispering in her ear. Lois couldn't hear what he was saying, but Laura seemed to be calming down.
"I can't shy away from her as Superman. I'd have to hide from her all the time. Superman is seen in our house way too frequently, honey. It may take some time, but the nightmares will eventually fade; she'll begin to trust Superman again. She just needs some positive reinforcement," he said, kissing Laura softly on her cheek. She still had a wary look in her eyes but had at least stopped crying.
Lois smiled at both of them, coming up and putting her arms around the two most precious things in the world to her.
**********
"Thank you for seeing us on such short notice Dr. Klein," Lois said, handing Laura to him. "I just thought we should have you take a look at Laura and Clark after their exposure to the Kryptonite..."
"Mainly Laura," Clark protested, watching Dr. Klein as he fawned over Laura.
Clark had told Lois that he was fine, but she would just feel better after Dr. Klein had a look at him.
Lois reached up to wipe at her eyes. They were watery and her cheeks felt flushed. How could she have lived with herself if Clark had died from the very Kryptonite that she had put around his neck? It made her heart ache at the pain he'd had to endure. Of course, he'd reassured her over and over that it wasn't her fault, but it still didn't make it hurt any less.
Lois looked at Clark, taking him in. He stood next to her in his familiar stance, hands in his pockets, looking as boyishly handsome as the first day they'd met. She reached over for him, slipping her arm through his and giving him a gentle squeeze. It was as much for her benefit as it was for him. She'd come so close to losing him, never being able to touch him, hold him, make love to him again. She squeezed him again reassuringly, and he smiled warmly at her, squeezing back.
She watched as Dr. Klein bounced Laura up and down in the air, making funny faces at her. It made Lois grin. She knew he would take great care to make sure Laura was okay and had no lasting effects.
"Yes, especially Laura," Lois agreed. "She hasn't developed any powers yet, that we've noticed, so we don't know how much Kryptonite affects her, or how. We just wanted to make sure she was okay."
Lois reached down picking up a box that was sitting on the floor. "We also brought the remains of the subliminator to you," she said, setting the box on a table next to him. "Thought you might be interested in taking a look at it. Clark doesn't want it to fall into the wrong hands, and he doesn't think it should be returned to Fort Truman, either. Superman is going to try to encourage them to discontinue their efforts in this particular field, not that it will probably do any good. We think the children will eventually deprogram on their own, but maybe you can come up with a way to help that process along."
Dr. Klein's eyes sparkled as he eyed the remains of the device. She was sure he'd spend many happy hours pouring over and dissecting it.
"What about the Kryptonite? Did you bring it for me to put in the vault?" Dr. Klein asked them.
"Actually," Clark began, grimacing, "in her haste to get it away from me, Lois threw it off the balcony. We searched the area thoroughly for it but couldn’t find it. Someone else found it first."
It was Lois’ turn to grimace. Clark must have noticed because he put his arm around her and squeezed her.
"It’s okay, honey," Clark said soothingly. "If you hadn’t done that, if you’d just tossed it away, Aaron probably would have gotten his hands on it and finished the job." He hugged her a little tighter and glanced down at her body briefly.
"Oh, and one last thing Dr. Klein..." Clark began.
Lois interrupted him. She knew where he was going with this. "No. Honey, really. I don't think we want to bother Dr. Klein with *that*."
"Yes, honey. I think we really do. Dr. Klein is an expert in a lot of fields. If he's going to give Laura and I a physical, he might as well take a look at you too."
"Huh?" Dr. Klein asked, puzzled.
"Lois has a lump in her breast that she had examined by her doctor," Clark explained.
Dr. Klein seemed to squirm a bit, probably in anticipation of the pending *exam* or tests they would want him to perform. Lois couldn't blame him, she doubted breast exams were his specialty.
Clark continued, "They did a biopsy on it and the results came back from the lab positive for cancer. They want to begin treatment on her immediately, possibly even including surgery. We had been thinking about trying to have another baby and this would effectively put a stop on those plans for now. I just thought it would be good to get a second opinion from someone we trust, before we make any decisions."
"Okay, then, let's take a look at all of you. Lois, if you'll leave me the information I'll call the lab at your doctor's office and have them send your slides over and a copy of your lab work to look at as well."
"Sure. I've got the number in my purse," Lois said, grabbing for her purse. She didn't have it. It was still back at the Planet. She hadn't taken it with her when she went down to check on Laura. "It seems I left my purse at work. My doctor is Dr. McGrath, but I'll get her number for you when we get back to work and call you."
"Dr. McGrath? Oh yes, I’m familiar with the lab they use. I’ve actually stolen away some of their research assistants there," Dr. Klein chuckled. "Okay, well, Miss Laura let's take a look at you first."
**********
The Great Leader awoke, looking around and squinting his eyes. The man observing him could see the shock in his eyes when the Leader finally saw him sitting in the shadows. The mild sedative he had slipped into his bourbon the night before would wear off completely within the next hour or so. He could have probably used the subliminator on him and accomplished the same thing, but something about messing with this great man’s mind hadn’t appealed to him.
"Aaron? Is that you?" the Leader asked. It took Aaron a few seconds to find his voice.
"Yes, Great Leader," he paused in shame and then continued, "I failed you and the organization." He stopped and forced himself to look the Leader in the eyes. "I have ruined the work we set out to do. I...I did what you asked me not to. I tried to kill Superman. But he and Lois Lane thwarted my attempt, and he managed to destroy the subliminator in the process."
The Leader had a tired frown on his face. Aaron had failed him. He lowered his eyes again, unable to meet the Leader's gaze any longer.
"What you have said is true. You have failed in our current attempt against Superman. You’ve lost this battle...but you haven't lost us the war."
Aaron looked back up at him, the surprise no doubt showing in his face. Would he ever cease in underestimating the man?
The Leader continued, "Your heart is in the right place, Aaron. You are young and impulsive, yes, but you can be taught patience. I'm sure you've already learned a great deal from this experience. If you came here thinking I would cast you off for your mistake, you were wrong. We all make mistakes, but there will be more opportunities for you to prove your worth. By your being here right now, in this bunker, that tells me that you were able to keep its location secret from Superman. And that is a huge advantage."
Aaron interrupted the Leader’s speech by reaching into his pocket and pulling out an object wrapped in cloth. It was emitting an eerie, green glow. He handed his treasure over to the Leader. Aaron was now certain that the Leader would come up with a plan for it that was far superior to anything he might have imagined.
The Leader smiled wickedly at the gift offering. "Yes, huge advantage," he repeated. "No, our work, our war, will definitely continue on," he concluded smugly.
Aaron resolved in his heart that he would make this right. He would do whatever the Leader asked of him, no more hidden agendas. Next time it would be perfect.
**********
Clark sat at his desk, reviewing the piece he and Lois had written. After learning that Lois and Laura - and Superman - were all right, Perry had been thrilled with the page one material his star reporting team had brought him.
A conversation in the Chief's office tugged at his super hearing. Knowing who was in there and what was going on, he allowed himself to listen in.
"Jimmy...! Boy, I'm so proud of you that I can't see straight! I wondered how long it'd take you to figure out that this girl here was perfect for you. I thought if it took much longer I was going to have to sit you down and have a long talk with you."
Clark glanced into the office to see Perry grip Jimmy in a hug.
"Oh, no, Chief. Anything but that!" Jimmy replied, turning to look at Penny.
"I would have been in here for hours, listening to Elvis yarns," he told her, chuckling.
"Hey, hey, now, don't be talking down about the King," Perry said smiling.
"Never, Chief."
Well, you two are both lucky to have each other in my book. You've got a great guy there, Penny," Perry said, giving her a light hug.
"I know it, Perry," she acknowledged. "Listen, would you do me a favor? Would you mind not telling Alice yet? I'm supposed to have lunch with her and Lois sometime next week, and I'd like to be the one to tell her myself."
"Ah heck, yeah, Alice and I try not to talk about work when I'm home anyway. That’s our new rule. So I'll just classify this as a work subject and let you do the telling."
It looked like things were wrapping up in there, Clark thought, as he watched them smiling and shaking hands. He pulled his attention away from the office and back to his computer screen. If he didn't get back to work on the story, Perry would be coming out to see what the hold up was.
Clark scrolled down the page, reading at super speed. He was always amazed at his wife's perspective on things and the beautiful way she told a story. She just needed a little help 'editing her copy'. He smiled at the old joke. Clark focused his attention back to the last line of the article.
'Aaron Henderson is still being sought by police in connection with the three kidnappings. After extraordinarily disappearing without a trace from the scene of the crime, his whereabouts are currently unknown. However, with the destruction of the subliminator, the police are not concerned that the kidnappings will continue. Anyone with information regarding the case is encouraged to contact Inspector Henderson at the downtown precinct.'
That about wrapped it up, Clark thought. He pressed the submit button and sent it on its way to Perry.
He started to get up when two slender hands placed themselves on his shoulders pushing him back down. Lois spun his chair around to look at her. She bent over him, kissing him sweetly.
"All done?" she asked him.
"Yep, glad it’s done too."
"Me too. You know, we could cut out of here early. Perry said we've earned some time off. I'm sure we could find something to do to keep us busy the rest of the day," she said, smiling at him wickedly. As if on cue to interrupt, Lois’ phone began ringing at her desk. "Ugh," she sighed, walking back over to answer it.
"Daily Planet. Lois Lane." She paused listening.
Clark watched as a huge smile spread across her face. She had a look of, was it relief?
"Yes... uh huh... really...? That's wonderful...! Okay... Tomorrow at 2:00? I'll be there. Thank you." Lois hung up her phone and ran back over to his desk. Her eyes glistened with tears.
"That was Dr. McGrath. She was calling to let me know that the results on my lab tests had been tampered with. I had called Lizbeth earlier and asked her to fax copies of my file to Dr. Klein. But apparently, in the meantime, Dr. Klein had stopped by the lab to pick up my slides and had also gotten a copy of my results from the lab technician. Here’s where it gets interesting. The lab has its own files. They send the originals to the doctors for the patient files and they keep a copy of what they’ve sent in the files at the lab. Dr. Klein discovered that both the slides and the report from the lab didn't match up with the report that Lizbeth had faxed to him. The results in the report from Lizbeth had been altered," she told him excitedly.
"Do they know who did it? Or why?" Clark asked her.
"It was Lizbeth. She’s the only one who’s been accessing my records. Once she tampered with the results in my file at the doctor’s office, she had to cover her tracks. The records are sent electronically to several other places. Which meant that she needed to change the results in the computer system as well. They checked the security logs for the computer system and found her entry. Now as for the why, they don't know. She’s admitted to having some help doctoring my file but that’s all she would say. She wouldn’t give any names," Lois paused, a frown of concentration on her face.
"Clark, do you think she might be involved with SHARP? You know, she seemed very curious about me when I was at the doctor's office, asking me lots of questions. I mean I know she said she was just updating my file for Dr. McGrath but..."
"Lois, honey, what did they say about the results?" Clark interrupted her, anxious to know what they had told her. The results must be good. Lois was a babbling brook. She stopped pacing and looked at him sheepishly.
"Oh, sorry," she told him, smiling. Her smile turned playful as she continued, "Well, they want me to come in tomorrow to do another biopsy just to be sure, but let's just say that I definitely think we should take Perry up on that afternoon off."
She grabbed him by the tie pulling him towards her and kissed him passionately without a care to who in the newsroom might be watching.
"After all," she whispered huskily in his ear, "if we're going to *make* another addition to our family anytime soon, we'd better get started."
"Oh, that's disgusting! Get a room you two!" Ralph exclaimed, walking by their desks.
Clark blushed appropriately and then smiled at Lois. "Maybe we should take Ralph up on his suggestion. Ever been to the Lexor Hotel in the middle of the afternoon?" he whispered suggestively before sharing another kiss with her. She giggled softly against his lips.
--The End--
Thank you to everyone who followed this story and gave me feedback. I really appreciate it.
Thank you to Diane for doing the beta reading that she was able to do for me - I've learned a lot from you about punctuation and grammar - and thanks for keeping me honest.
A big thank you to Sue for all the beta reading you've done for me (not just on this story). Your comments not only kept me honest but also kept me going. Thank you for the mistakes you found and for the suggestions you so kindly gave me. I'm so glad you enjoyed it.
