Note that there is a bit of pointless drivel in this part -- I call it "desperately trying to make it to 50,000 words". *lol* I didn't remove it, but you'll see there are some descriptions in there that aren't really needed...
~.~.~.~
Part 9Lois stormed in her apartment and set Timmy down as soon as she could. The five year old rushed over to his mother and threw himself up in her arms. Kathryn gasped. Her baby was safe!
"Timmy, honey! You're okay!" she cried, hugging her son tightly against her heart, her eyes filling with tears of joy and relief.
"Kathryn, we need to call the FBI," Lois said after a few minutes. She hated interrupting the mother and son reunion like this, but things needed to be done to insure that they would be safe. "Do you have a contact there that we can speak to in case of an emergency? If they were ever going to put you on a witness protection program, now's the time!"
"Yes... yes, they gave me a number, I have it in my purse," she said. She tried to put Timmy down so she could get the number out of her handbag, but he would not let go, so she carried him over to where she had left her things. A few seconds of rummaging through her purse later, she had found the card that had the number to call written on it and she placed the call.
An agent answered. Kathryn went through the little routine of confirming who she was and that she was speaking with someone who could be trusted, like the last time she'd placed a call to the FBI. She might have been stressed and frightened, she still knew very well how important it was to follow the directives that they had given her.
Once both identities had been verified according to procedure, Kathryn explained what had happened to the agent and asked for assistance. The agent took down the address from where Kathryn was calling and quickly informed her that they would send someone right over to take her into protective custody. She just needed to stay put a few minutes and everything would be perfectly fine, they would insure her safety from there on end.
"They're sending people over," she told Lois, after hanging up the phone. "Thank you so much for all you've done for us. How can I possibly ever repay you?"
"You already have, in a way," Lois explained. "The story on how my former work-partner kidnapped a helpless child in order to protect his illegal business dealings is going to impress my new boss quite sufficiently. I wouldn't have that if I hadn't met you. Don't worry, I won't name you or anything. I realize you don't know me and have no reason to trust me on something like that, but I swear to you, I won't put you in any danger. I think you've been through enough already."
"Thank you, so, so much. We could all use more people like you, helpful and kind. And a hell of a lot more courageous than most of us." He eyes welled up again as she spoke. "You were brave, too, Timmy," she told her son as she tousled his hair.
"A man came to save me," he announced, proudly. "I flew with him, Mommy."
Kathryn looked at Lois, puzzled. Lois shrugged and shook her head, pretending she had no idea what he was talking about. She couldn't even have begun to explain it to her anyway. She barely understood it herself. Lois knew that Kathryn would just chalk it up to Timmy's stressful experience that he had imagined something which wasn't possible. Who in their right mind would believe a man could fly anyhow, right? Well... she herself would, of course. But then, she wasn't altogether certain she was in her right mind anyway.
Lois made up as believable as story as she could on how she had found Timmy in the building and had called in a friend to help her rescue the child. He was the man who had gotten Timmy out of the building. When Kathryn asked why he didn't come along - she would have liked to thank him - Lois explained that he was surveilling the entrance to the building, just in case anyone had the bad idea of showing up there. At least, that part was true, she thought. She wondered if Clark was listening in the conversation she was having with Kathryn... He'd said all she would need to do was speak his name if she needed him to show up, so was probably able to pick up on the conversation they were having as well. If he wasn't completely convinced before that she was telling the truth when she had promised not to tell anyone about him, he would be now, she guessed.
About ten minutes later, a couple of FBI agents showed up at the door. Satisfied that they were the genuine article after having asked for them to show her their badges - and having demanded they let her check them out closely to assure herself that these were real actual badges - Lois let them in. She gave them directions to the building where she had found Timmy and gave them as much information about Lex Luthor and the men she had seen there as she possibly could. They radioed the details to their dispatcher who, Lois could only imagine, sent over people to "take care of it" and apprehend the culprits.
The agents left, with Kathryn and Timmy, after telling Lois that they had taken the precaution of posting an agent near the entrance to her building. He would be there for the night, just in case. But they suggested that she not spend the night alone, if she could manage it. It was always safer for a woman not to be alone in a case like this, they told her.
Once everyone had left, Lois remembered that Clark was still hanging around in the alley somewhere. He probably knew that she was alone in her home now, but she figured it would probably be best to invite him up here, rather than let him think he should stay out.
"Clark, if you can hear me," she said, somewhat louder than her normal speaking voice. She really wasn't sure how well he could hear... "I hope this really works, cause it sure feels silly!" She rolled her eyes, thinking this was completely insane and that it would never work.
Just as she was about to add that he could come up if he wished, she heard what sounded like someone knocking - on her living-room window! She turned around, startled, and rushed over to see what it was. In the back of her mind, she already had the answer to that question, but her logical mind could still not bring itself into accepting that this man could actually, really fly. Sure enough, once she opened up the drapes, she found herself face to face with Clark. She threw open the window and motioned for him to come inside at once.
"It really works," he whispered. He tapped his ear to show just what he meant.
"How..." she started, halfway between puzzlement and awe.
Clark made a hand gesture indicating that she shouldn't say it out loud - he knew she was going to ask him about all the things that defied logic - not to mention just about every law of physics! - but that he could do. He knew that the FBI agent posted outside was probably surveilling quite a bit more than just the door. He grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper and wrote down a note at extreme velocity, explaining his suspicions. It was likely the agent had audio listening devices pointed in the direction of the building, so she should be careful what she said. The note went on to suggest that if she would come back with him to the mansion, they would be free to talk about anything there and that he would answer absolutely all her questions.
Lois read the note, amazed at how little time it took him to write all of that down. Was there anything this man couldn't do, she wondered? She looked at him; he had a pleading expression on his face. She guessed that he really wanted to explain things to her, which was fine because she really wanted to know. She wouldn't have been a reporter if she hadn't been at least a little curious about all the astounding abilities that he possessed.
Remembering what the agents had said about being safer if she wasn't alone in her home, Lois nodded her acceptance. She would be even safer if she wasn't even here, she guessed. She scribbled down a few words saying it would be best if the agent posted downstairs saw her leave - rather than think she'd disappeared, if they happened to come up for whatever reason. She'd take her car and meet him there shortly. He smiled, then took a few steps back towards the window, opened it and left in a gust of wind.
Lois stood there, completely astonished. She wondered if pinching herself would help make sure this was all real... She shook her head sharply, bringing herself out of her reverie. She quickly tore the notes into small little bits and threw them in the trash, then she picked up her jacket and her handbag and left the apartment.
Twenty minutes later, she was standing outside the mansion, yet again.
~.~.~.~
Lana had just about gone out her mind with anger when she had learned that Clark had not only gone out there and used his powers, but that Lois now knew that he had them. He tried to calm her down, but none of what he told her worked, in fact it had just made her angrier by the minute.
"She's a *reporter* Clark and she knows who you are," she yelled at him. "How could you! You promised this time it wouldn't happen, you promised me we wouldn't have to move again. We haven't even managed to stay here more than a few weeks! Clark, how could you do that?"
"What would you have had me do, Lana?" he answered, throwing his arms in the air in desperation. "They dropped her from the roof of a building! Was I supposed to just ignore that and let her fall to her death? Have you no idea how much worse that would have been? I don't care that she knows, I'm glad she does."
"Are you completely out of your mind? Has it not occurred to you that she can use the information and print it in the paper? The whole world is going to find out, now. And you know what that's going to do, don't you? How can you trust her?"
"I know I can trust her, Lana. I just know," he told her calmly.
Lana stared at him for a second, in utter disbelief. "You... You're in love with her, aren't you?" she said finally, more as a statement than a question. She would not get a chance to hear him confirm it, however. Instead she heard the sound of the intercom system. There was someone at the front gate. Lana immediately knew who it was when she saw Clark take off and leave through the front door faster than... well, much faster than she ever could!
She shook her head and hoped that he was right and that things would turn out better than they usually did once someone found out that he had powers beyond belief. But she didn't want to hang around and find out, so she retired to her private suite. She was in bed in minutes but lay there staring at the ceiling for hours, trying not to cry. She knew that if she did, he would hear her and he was bound to come see if she was OK. She didn't think she had it in her to talk about this with him again tonight. Maybe tomorrow...
~.~.~.~
Lex and his associates had tried to get out of the building as quickly as they could, but the elevator was no longer working and they had had to go down the stairs instead. Every time they had reached a new floor, Lex had been convinced that on the next flight of stairs they would end up face to face with a law-enforcing agent. His suspicions had become a reality on floor number three. They had almost made it...
He was now sitting in a small room at the police precinct. There were two police officers there, asking questions which he consistently refused to answer. They'd tried the good-cop/bad-cop routine on him, they'd tried a few other interrogation techniques as well, but Lex did not say a single word besides "no comment".
"This is not an interview, Luthor, and we're not asking for your *opinion*," one of the agents had said, slamming his fist on the table.
"I don't care what you think it is," he replied smugly.
The other agent had grabbed him by the collar and with the help of his partner, had led Lex to a holding cell. They had thrown him in, literally. A painful groan had escaped the man's lips as he had hit the wall and fell on the floor. But he didn't care. They could hurt him all they wanted - that would only come in handy later when he sued them for police brutality. They'd pay through the nose for that, he knew. They could barely prove that he was guilty of anything. Other than being in the building, of course, which he knew full well was not a crime per se. They'd have to release him eventually and when they did, he would not only be making quite a bit of cash over this, but he was also going to get his revenge on the people who had caused him to be caught in the first place. He would find whoever it was that had shown up and gotten the kid away from them - and called the police, no doubt. They were going to pay for this!
~.~.~.~
When she saw Clark show up at the gate, Lois quickly put the car on park and rushed out to meet him. She hugged him tightly.
"Thank you," she said. "I don't remember if I thanked you before... You saved my life. I was... I was going to... die." Her voice was cracking as she let the last words out.
"I would never let that happen," he whispered.
They stood there for a moment, neither of them saying anything, until Lois remembered that her car was still running. She took a step back and explained that she should at least stop the engine. He nodded and then suggested maybe it would be best if she parked the car inside the property, rather than outside. So she drove up the short distance that separated the gate from the front door and finally turned off the engine.
Clark took Lois back to the main living room, on the first floor. He thought she might be more at ease there than in his suite, which was much further away from the main entrance. At least here, if she decided she wanted to leave, she could find the way easily. It was pessimistic to think that she might do that, especially considering she seemed quite happy to be there at the moment. However, given that she had run away from him on a few occasions before, Clark wasn't really sure how Lois might react to what he had to say.
He sat at one end of the leather couch and motioned for her to do the same. She took place on the other end, sitting cross-legged with her back to the armrest so she could see him better.
"Who *are* you?" she asked after a moment.
He smiled. 'Who' sounded a lot better than 'what' had earlier. "I don't suppose I can get away with simply saying I'm Clark Kent," he said, with a lopsided smile.
"Are you?" she asked. "I mean, I can still call you that, can't I?"
"Yes, of course."
"Oh, good," she said with a certain degree of relief. At least some of what she knew about him was true, she realized. Clearly there were many things about him the she didn't know, but apparently, he had been honest with her about the things he had willingly told her about himself. "How did you... how did you get to be able to do these... things?" she added.
"Ah... I'm from another planet. A place called Krypton," he explained.
"You.... Seriously? You're..."
"An alien, yes." He hung his head as he revealed the secret he had fought so hard to keep from the rest of the world all his life.
"Um... I was just going to say 'not from Earth'. 'Alien' sounds awful and scary, like that movie with Sigourney Weaver. Have you seen it? You shouldn't call yourself that! I mean, I don't know what other aliens are supposed to be like, cause I don't know any personally. Do you? Anyway, you're nothing like what they show in the movies. You're nice and caring and... well, you look a heck of a lot better than they do! Not that you need me to tell you that, I'm sure. But, you know... You really shouldn't use that word, Clark. It really doesn't work for you at all."
Lois noticed that he was smiling from ear to ear and had a very amused look in his eyes. "What?" she asked.
"Nothing," he said. "You're kinda babbling," he added as he saw the air of disbelief in her face.
Her eyebrows shot up and she was about to voice a protest, but he continued before she had a chance to speak. "I just think it's sexy," he said.
"Oh." She blushed and looked away for a second. "So... um... How did you get here? On Earth, I mean. Did you just happen to see it and decided you wanted to visit? How long did it take you to get here? Actually, how long have you been here? Quite a while, I think, right? Is it because you can't go back there?"
"Slow down..." he laughed softly. "I won't exactly turn into a pumpkin at midnight, you know. If you want me to answer your questions, you need to pause in-between them, Lois."
"Um... sorry. I'm just..." she started.
"I know," he said placing a hand on her knee. "Ok, let's see... I got here in a spaceship. Now, I really have no idea how long the trip took, because I was just a baby then. You see, my parents - my biological parents - sent me to Earth to save me from the destruction of Krypton. In fact, as far as I know, I'm the only remaining Kryptonian alive today. So, no, I can't go back there at all. Besides, even if it did still exist, I'm not entirely sure I would know how to find it... I don't remember anything about Krypton or my parents at all, actually. All I know comes from what little information was stored in the spaceship they sent me off in. Earth is the only home I know. Mind you, I don't exactly fit in around here, but I have nowhere else to go."
"And that's why you're hiding away? Because you feel like you don't fit in?"
"I *don't* fit in," he said. "I have to control myself all the time; I have powers that I can't use because every time I have it's hindered my chances of leading a normal life - like everyone else here. And that's the thing... no matter how hard I try, I always end up in a situation where I just *have* to do something. Something people won't understand. Something no one else can do. And that's when the vicious circle starts again. Running away, hiding, hoping it won't happen again. And of course it always does. I can't tell you how badly Lana is taking it this time. We've usually managed to stay put in one place quite a bit longer before something happens that makes us need to leave. She had a fit when she found out... I'll be lucky if she ever speaks to me again."
"The other night, you said one of your novels was autobiographical. Across the Dunes. That's the one, isn't it?" Lois asked.
Clark nodded.
"So that means Lana is your...?" she asked, curious. It had become obvious that Lana was the little girl in the picture whom he mentioned in the novel.
"Oh... I guess you could say she's my younger sister. It's a little bit complicated, really. Her father used to work for my family; when Lana's parent's died, she was still just a kid and since she didn't have any family outside of them, she stayed with us. It was best for her to remain in a place that was familiar and she'd known us all her life. Besides... well, let's just say if it hadn't been for me, her folks would never have found themselves in that private plane and they wouldn't have..." He swallowed hard and looked at the ceiling for a few minutes.
Lois said nothing, giving him a chance to gather his thoughts so he could continue with his explanation when he was ready.
"They died when the plane crashed," he continued after a long moment of silence. "I... I wasn't fast enough to save them. I didn't get there on time. They weren't even supposed to be on the plane that night to begin with. If I had only..." He looked at Lois, his eyes filled with the deepest sorrow.
She moved in a little closer and ran her hand down his shoulder and arm.
"I'm so sorry," she said softly. "You shouldn't blame yourself, Clark. Accidents happen. It can't possibly be your fault."
"What good am I if I can't even be there when I'm needed?" he asked.
"But you are there when you're needed," Lois told him, reassuringly. "You were there for me tonight. No one else could possibly have saved me then, could they? Besides, think of all the charities you've handed out donations to - all the sick children whose lives you've helped make a little bit better and brighter. Indirectly, sure, but nonetheless. They may not know that they have you to thank for it, but if you hadn't been there, it would definitely have made a huge difference, Clark. You have to know that!"
"Maybe..." He shrugged. "Anyway, as I was saying, Lana stayed with us after her parents passed away. She was just a kid. And I was busy feeling sorry for myself at the time, so I ran off to South America to see if I could... find myself, I guess. One day, I got a call from my mom telling me my dad had had a stroke. I came back, but I was too late then as well. Mom didn't live very long after Dad died, so I found myself having to care for a teenager when I was barely just an adult. And I... I couldn't do it. I just wasn't able to. I wasn't ready for it and I made a real big mess of everything at first. Eventually, I sent her off to a private school in London and I ran off as far as I possibly could. For two entire years I went running around the world, looking for God knows what. Eventually... well, I reached Alexandria and traveled up to London. And then I tried blending in and being normal for a while. But that didn't really work out at all, so I've moved around a lot since then. The only difference is that I've always taken Lana along with me. Mind you, I'm not at all convinced she's had a better life than she would have if I'd just stayed away..."
He stared blankly at the wall in front of him for a short while. Lois kept running her hand gently up and down his arm in a comforting manner.
"You shouldn't think that way," she told him after a moment. "I'm sure you did the best you could. It couldn't have been easy for you having to care for someone and all the while having no one to care for you when you needed it."
Clark simply nodded, not trusting himself to say anything for fear he might actually start crying. Not that he thought that grown men shouldn't cry, but simply because he'd done enough of crying over the events of the past to last him a few lifetimes already. He changed the subject to something more pleasant and so for the next few hours, they talked about some of the places where he had lived over the years. He had literally been all over the world and had seen places Lois could only dream about. She found it absolutely fascinating. Sad, but fascinating. Suddenly, it occurred to her that his time here would probably be very limited as well. If anyone ever found out what secret he was keeping, this would all be over. Anyone other than herself, of course. It was plainly obvious that he wasn't afraid of her telling anyone - or running away screaming, either.
He told her of some of the times when he had had to pack up and leave, explaining what had happened. It always turned out to be because he'd seen - or heard, as he really wasn't kidding about how good his hearing was - someone in trouble and had been unable to sit idly by and do nothing. Whenever faced with a situation where he was probably the only person in the world who could help, he had never been able to turn away. This is why he lived far away from other people; so he wouldn't hear their cries for help. And why he gave away so much money to charities; because it was the only other way he could do some good for others.
"It must be awful living like this," she said at one point. "Being afraid all the time and staying away from people, not having any friends."
"It is... But what else can I do?" he asked.
It was a rhetorical question - one he'd asked himself a million times before - and one he wasn't expecting to find an answer to. But that was underestimating Lois Lane quite a bit... She thrived on being able to find answers where there appeared to be none. That's what excited her about being a reporter: solving mysteries and cracking cases before everyone else. Mysteries that other people often weren't able to find a solution to, to begin with. And here she was, presented with quite a big problem. One that she wanted to solve. Because finding an answer to that - finding the *right* answer to that - would mean keeping him here. Insuring that he would not have to move again. That in some manner or another, Clark Kent would be a part of her future. He'd saved her from certain death just a few hours ago; perhaps there was something she could do to save him in some way in return.
For some minutes, Lois stared blankly at the coffee table, thinking up different solutions. None of which seemed likely to have any chance of working.
"Lois?" Clark asked after a while. "You're half a world away..."
"Oh... Sorry. Clark? I guess I could have asked before, but... out of curiosity... Other than flying - which, mind you is pretty impressive all by itself - and seeing through things... What else can you do?"
"Are you really sure you want to know? I mean, I don't mind telling you, but..."
"Why? Are you concerned that it's going to scare me away?"
"Something like that..." Clark confessed. "I kind of look like a regular human man, but that's pretty much where it ends, you know. Quite frankly, I'd be scared of someone like me if I were you."
"Oh, please! Even if you can do stuff that sounds like it's straight out of a sci-fi novel, why would I be scared of you? You've shown me nothing but kindness up until now. Why would I think you're going to use whatever abilities you have to harm me? I mean, really, if you were going to do that, why bother coming to my rescue earlier tonight? That's just nonsense, Clark. I'm not afraid of you. And I'm not going to run away. I'm sorry I ever did that in the first place. Honestly."
"Just remember... you asked for it," he said, which caused her to raise her eyebrows. "Ok, well... you've seen me fly, obviously. I can move at incredible speeds, too." He used his fingers as if he was counting every one of his abilities as he explained them. "I also have heightened senses: I hear and see several times better than any normal human being. I can see through pretty much anything, as well. Those you already knew, though. What you haven't seen is that I'm a few hundred of times stronger than anything you could possibly imagine and... well... I'm just about... um... invulnerable? As far as I know, there isn't anything that can hurt me. Physically, anyway. Oh... and this, too..."
He blew in the direction of the glass of water that was on the coffee table, causing it to turn into a solid block of ice. He then appeared to stare at the glass intensely, which made the liquid defrost and boil in a matter of seconds.
"Wow..." she whispered, completely blown away. Questions started rushing through her head, but she sensed that he was a little bit uncomfortable with all of this, so she decided against it. She would get other opportunities to ask them anyway. Besides, he'd promised he would answer all of her questions, hadn't he? And Lois Lane wasn't one to turn down offers such as that for sure!
"It's getting late," he said finally. "We... um... We have a guest room if you'd rather not go back home by yourself tonight. We have about a dozen guest rooms, actually and they're always empty." He laughed, as he found his last statement amusing in a pathetic sort of way.
Lois didn't answer. She was lost in thought again. Half of her mind busy thinking up questions to ask him, the other trying to find a way for him not to have to leave Metropolis.
"Lois? You've gone off to far-far-away land again..."
"I'm sorry... I was just thinking," she told him. "What was it you were saying? Empty rooms?"
He laughed softly. "Empty guest rooms," he explained. "Lots of them. If you'd rather not stay all alone in your apartment, that is."
Clark got up and extended a hand to her to help her up. She graciously took it and got up. "That would be nice, thank you," she said.
He showed her to a nicely furnished bedroom, on the second floor, which he told her had a great view of the garden behind the mansion. Of course, she couldn't see it now, but it was nice knowing that the room had a pleasant view anyway. It had it's own adjoining bathroom, so she wouldn't have to go looking for one and get lost on the way back. She had giggled some when he'd said that, knowing she could very well have gotten lost in the dark in such a big house. He explained how to get from here to the kitchen and wished her a good night, as he walked back towards the door.
"Listen, if you need anything..." he started.
"I know," she replied. "Clark?" She walked over to where he stood and took one of his hands in hers. "No matter what else you are - or what you *think* you are - you're a good, kind man. You went out of your way tonight, exposing a secret you've been hiding all your life, to come to the rescue of someone who has the power to tell the whole world who you are; in big bold letters, to boot. If that's not a selfless act, then I don't know what is."
"See, that's just where you're wrong. That wasn't the least bit selfless, Lois. That was actually very, very selfish." He sighed. "When I heard you... and I realized what was going on, I didn't stop to think about anyone other than myself. I even completely ignored every promise I had ever made to Lana; all I could think of was how much worse my life would be if..."
He stopped, unable to articulate the words. She might not want to hear him say it anyway, he realized. He probably shouldn't even have hinted to how desolate his world would be without her in it. Besides, how could he explain to her that even though he had met her less than a week ago, he felt like he'd always known her. That when he was with her, he actually felt like he fit in. Really fit in. And that she was the first person - the only person - to ever make him feel like he belonged anywhere. And losing her - even though he barely knew her; even though she had no idea how profoundly he'd become attached to her in a very short period of time - losing her would break his heart. Being that this was the only part of himself that wasn't invulnerable, he wasn't certain he'd ever be able to recover from it.
It suddenly hit her... the strange connection that she kept feeling towards him; the odd sense of belonging... he felt those, too. In a very short period of time, he had become an intricate part of what made her happy. Reading his book had the power to turn her rainy days into glorious sun filled moments, but what was more was that whenever he was around, she felt sheer joy running through her. Up until now she could only hope that maybe this went both ways. She was drawn to him in a way she had never been to anyone; in a way that she couldn't even begin to explain. She knew that she would be completely, utterly crushed if he told her he had to pack up and leave tomorrow. The truth was that, on so many levels, she needed him. And now she knew: he needed her too. Probably even more.
"That's... um... that's just about how bad mine would become if you moved away and..." she started, but the words couldn't get past the lump in her throat any longer. She squeezed his hand a little more tightly.
He slowly slipped his hand out of hers and pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm really glad you didn't turn out to be a cat," he whispered.
She giggled softly. "So am I," she whispered back.
He held her in silence for a few minutes. How he had managed to find her, he would probably never know, but right at this moment he knew that this is where he belonged. With her. She was the one person who made his world make sense. The one person he'd been waiting for his entire life. The one person with whom he could find happiness.
"Thank you," Lois said, after a moment.
"What for?"
"For always turning out to be different than the person I expected."
This time, they both knew that she wasn't going to run away. And for the first time in his life, Clark felt like being different was actually something positive.
He wished her goodnight reluctantly and left to go back to his suite.
Lois stood there, at the door of the guestroom for the longest time. She watched him walk away and then stared at the empty corridor once he went out of view. For a second she had an urge to go running after him - aching to be held by him again, to feel the contact between them once more. But that would have made her look needy and desperate and... well, that just wasn't like Lois Lane at all, was it?
She eventually closed the door and let herself fall on the bed, not bothering to slip under the covers. She had to find a way to prevent him from leaving, she knew. She just had to.
~.~.~.~
To Be Concluded...(and I think it's kinda obvious how this is going to end, isn't it?)
