The Prankster's Revenge part 5
by Tank
Clark had been doing his best to keep Griffin's henchman turning down the intensity of the kryptonite bars. He finally managed to get it to a point where he felt like he had a bad case of the flu. His powers were still gone, and he was still fairly weak, but he was confident that if given the opportunity, he could move under his own power. The only problem was, he was nowhere strong enough to get out of the cage on his own. The metal of the bars was still more than enough to keep him imprisoned.
The television was tuned to LNN which was treating the situation like it would a major political rally. The crowd that had gathered was straining against the restraints. There were several signs being held aloft. Most said 'Save Superman', some others merely said 'Thank you, Lois', but none called for her to not go up onto the makeshift stage and accept the fate that The Prankster intended for her.
Clark could see the clock from his cage. It was only minutes before six. He saw Perry and Jimmy walk up toward the stage. It was obvious from their demeanor that they both wished they could be anywhere else at that moment. Henderson was already there. He'd been directing his men in crowd control. He'd also had words with the crew from the coroner's office. He was waiting on the stage when Perry and Jimmy approached.
Suddenly the attention being paid to the screen was disrupted by the ringing of the phone. The man left behind to watch him picked it up and listened intently for a couple of moments. He hung up the phone and turned toward the door. Striding over to it, he unlocked the door and let in another oversized goon.
"Looks like you're going to miss the show, Supes." His main jailer gave him a wicked grin. "I'm kind of sorry we're going to miss it, but the cops have been seen poking around in this neighborhood, and we have to get you out of here."
"But I thought that once Lois did what he wanted; Griffin was going to let me go." Clark's voice was weak and scratchy from not being used for several days. It enhanced his appearance of weakness.
"Yeah, well, it will take a bit of time for the ceremonies to commence. Got to add some drama, don't you know." The goon winked. "We can't run the risk of being found by the cops and have them radio ahead that you've been found." The fellow came up close to the cage. "Besides, what makes you think that The Prankster is actually going to let you go?"
It looked like it was going to be as Clark feared it would be. Griffin was an amoral criminal. There was no way he'd let such a plum achievement slip through his fingers. To be known as the man who got rid of both Superman, and Lois Lane, would make him a legend. Lois had been risking her life for nothing.
"Come on, help me with this guy." His main guard gestured to the other fellow. "He's pretty heavy, and I don't think he'll be able to walk on his own." He fixed Clark with a hard stare. "Even in your weakened state I know that you might want to try something. I'd advise you not to." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a fist sized lump still wrapped in a dull gray foil. "Remember, I've still got the persuader within easy reach."
Clark glared at his jailers. "Why bother, if you're going to kill me anyway?"
"Oh, don't be in such a hurry, big man. I didn’t say anything about killing you, at least not yet. No, I just said the boss isn't currently disposed toward letting you go. Truthfully, I have no idea what his ultimate aim for you is going to be. I don't get paid to think for myself. I just do as I'm told, and right now I've been told to move you to a new location."
Clark grimly prepared himself. It was like a gift from the fates. He'd been racking his brain for the last two days trying to figure out a way to escape his captors, and now he was being handed his best opportunity. He couldn't have asked for a better chance. But, was it going to be too late to save Lois?
Clark didn't delude himself into thinking that this was going to be easy. He was still pretty weak, and both men seemed fit and capable. Your average hired muscle. And there was also the added threat of the chunk of kryptonite his leering jailer held in reserve. If he was able to bring that into play, any hope Clark might have of escape would end immediately.
Wisely, he continued to play up his feigned weakened state. He watched carefully as the kryptonite intensity was turned completely off and the single door in the portable cell was opened. Clark allowed himself to be dragged out of the cell.
"Now don't you worry about losing your old comfortable home here. As soon as we've got you safely on the way, a separate crew will come over and knock down this cell and bring it to your new location."
The two men ducked under Clark's arms and hefted him up between them. He let his feet drag along the hardwood floor. One of the fellows struggled a bit as he had to balance Clark and open the door at the same time.
"Crap, this guy is a lot heavier than he looks."
"Yeah, I hear it has something to do with a greater molecular density."
"And you know what that means?"
"Heck, no."
Clark watched his surroundings as they maneuvered him down the hall looking for his opportunity. As they approached the staircase he knew that it would be there that he'd have his best chance. They were on the third floor and just before the hall intersected the stairs going down it opened up to an old style cathedral type foyer. Oh his left was the wall that contained the doors to the various apartments. On the right was a somewhat frail looking banister overlooking the first floor entrance hall.
It was going to be now, or never.
Suddenly, Clark got both his feet under him and clamped his arms around the necks of his two captors. With every ounce of strength he had left in him and smashed the men's heads together.
Stunned, and groggy from the impact, they both staggered out of Clark's grasp. He reached out and snagged one fellow and tossed him into the wall. The other one, still somewhat groggy made a lung at Clark. He threw a quick elbow into the guy's nose which caused him to fall back into the banister of the railing.
A loud crack echoed through the empty hallway as the aged railing gave way and the man fell to the floor two flights below. He landed with a meaty thunk. Clark moved over to the edge and looked down. The man was unconscious, but it was apparent that he wasn't dead. He must've landed fully on his back and completely knocked himself out. Thankful that the man, though probably hurt, hadn't been killed, he turned his attention back to his original guard.
The man was shaking his head and trying to regain his feet, when Clark lunged at him. Taking him full in the chest with both fists doubled, he slammed the fellow back against the wall with such a force that a nearby light fixture fell off the wall. His captor's eyes rolled back into his head and he slid bonelessly to the floor of the hallway.
Clark was on his knees, bent over gasping for breath from the effort he'd expended. He crawled over and reached into the man's pocket and pulled out the grey foil wrapped bundle. The lead covering kept the kryptonite's effects from reaching Clark, but it still made him feel uneasy just handling it. But he couldn't leave it where it could possibly be used against him again.
Clark struggled to his feet. He had to get out of there. More of Griffin's men would soon be there to deconstruct the cell, and he didn't want to be there when they showed up. Somewhere in the distance he could hear a clock tower chiming six o' clock. Lois!
He nearly fell down the stairs in his adrenalin fueled rush to get outside. Once in the street he was struck by another cruel situation. He had no idea where he was. He didn't recognize the part of town he was in nor did he have any idea which direction lay Centennial Park.
He stopped and took a few moments to calm himself. He needed to think. He carefully scanned the sky and the surrounding buildings. The area was definitely one that had seen better times. Many of the buildings looked to be either abandoned or in various states of disrepair, or both. The run down apartment building he'd just come out of was the only residential unit in his field of view. Most of the rest of the buildings were either abandoned warehouses, or seemingly empty plants and factories.
Looking up, he saw a few sea gulls circling lazily overhead. That meant he was close to the ocean. Most likely Hobbs Bay. He noted the direction the birds seemed to come from and head back toward and assumed that was east. If he was near Hobbs Bay, than going west would soon have him crossing a major north-south thoroughfare. From there he should be able to flag down a cab and get to Centennial Park.
He started off at the best jog he could endure. His body was spent. He was running on pure will power alone, but he couldn't quit now. Lois life could very well hang in the balance.
He couldn’t tell how long it had taken him, but soon he found himself confronting East 82nd. It was the first street that showed any signs of traffic, though not as much as he'd like. He looked up and down the street for the familiar yellow of a Metropolis cab, but didn't see any.
Griffin's men had mentioned something about the police were out looking for him in the area, but he hadn't seen any indication of a squad car either. There was a phone kiosk on the corner, but obviously, he had no change for the phone, nor was there anyone around he could bum a couple of quarters from.
He was ready to scream with frustration when he saw a cab pull over about a block away. He hurried over as quickly as he could. As he approached he noted that the off duty sign was lit and the cab was sitting in front of a liquor store. The driver had apparently just quickly run inside to pick up a bottle for later that evening because he'd left his cab running. Not the smartest thing to do, but for Clark it was a sign that his luck had finally changed.
Normally, Clark would have engaged the man and solicited his help in getting him to Centennial Park. That would have been the right thing to do. That is what Superman would do. But it wasn't Superman who came upon that running taxi in a state of near panic. It was Clark Kent, reporter for the Daily Planet and partner of Lois Lane. When Lois was in danger Clark never hesitated.
He jumped into the cab and drove off in a squeal of tire rubber.
It was a nerve-wracking few minutes of aimless driving until Clark finally recognized where he was and how he'd have to go to get to Centennial Park. On one hand he was fortunate that there wasn't much traffic and he was able to drive quickly and unimpeded toward his destination. The reason was what was unfortunate. Everyone was either at the Park, or at home watching the coming spectacle on television.
Every minute that passed squeezed Clark's heart in a fist of desperation. Would he get there in time to stop Lois from throwing her life away for him? What if he couldn't? What if he was too late? How could he ever forgive himself?
He pressed down on the accelerator a bit more and took a corner nearly on two wheels.
********************
Lois approached the makeshift stage, noting that her friends were already there. She'd purposely came a few minutes late, just to give herself as much time a possible without causing Griffin to think she'd backed out. Let him think it was just a natural fear of what was to come.
The light windbreaker she wore made her uncomfortably warm, but its presence was necessary to her plan. A plan it looked like she was going to have to rely on since there had still been no word on Superman's location.
She mounted the stage to the sound of muted cheers and shouts of encouragement. What she was about to do might not be the most rational act, but her apparent willingness to sacrifice herself for Superman was appreciated by most of the citizens of Metropolis.
Within another couple of minutes a dark van rolled up beside the stage. The doors opened, disgorging Griffin's men, led by a grinning Lenny. Large, deadly-looking rifles were in the hands of his associates.
Once they were all on the stage together, the rifles were handed to the defacto firing squad as Lenny approached the stand that held the microphone. He pulled the wireless from the stand as Lois watched how the rifles were carried. Henderson cradled his with a practiced ease that bespoke a familiarity with the firearm. That wasn't the case with Perry and Jimmy. They both looked like they had been handed venomous snakes. Lois' attention was drawn back to the front as Lenny cleared his throat before addressing the crowd.
"Citizens of Metropolis, both here in attendance and across the live air waves, I greet you on behalf of Mr. Kyle Griffin, The Prankster. Tonight we will all be privy to his final assignment for Daily Planet busybody, Lois Lane. Tonight we will also be privileged to witness the culmination of The Prankster's righteous revenge."
Lenny strutted back and forth across the stage, enjoying the tension even he must have felt in the air. It made him smile. His smile made Lois frown.
"I will say that I do have to admit to a grudging admiration of Ms. Lane's bravery. To sacrifice your own life to save the life of a friend could be said to be the highest form of courage and nobility." His grin spread wider. "Or, one might say that she's a few bricks short of a load." He was the only one to laugh at the joke. "Nevertheless, it all comes to a culmination mere moments from now." He turned and looked at Lois. "Ms. Lane, if you'd follow me?"
Lois meekly followed the man as he led her to the wooden backstop that had been erected at the back of the stage. The fact that the boards were of ordinary thickness told Lois that the rifles weren't going to be loaded with any sort of super high powered bullets that would easily tear right through those boards and keep going, endangering anything, or anyone who might be behind the stage though blocks away. She wasn't conversant enough with firearms to know what her execution squad had been equipped with, but Henderson hadn't seemed too concerned so she was confident that their plan was still viable.
"Now, Lois," Lenny began. "I know that we never communicated any specific mode of dress; instead, leaving that choice up to you. But, really... a jacket? It's over eighty degrees out. Aren't you a bit warm?"
"No, I'm fine. The idea of being shot down on live television tends to give me a chill."
Lenny chuckled. "Nice try, but I don't think I can quite buy that. If you please, take off the jacket."
Lois shook her head. "I'd rather not."
Lenny's look became hard. "It wasn't a request. Do it, or walk off the stage now."
Lois glared at the man, but complied. Sighing, she pulled the windbreaker up over her head and tossed it on the stage beside her. She heard the gasp from the crowd.
"Tsk, tsk, Ms. Lane. Now you know that this..." He reached out and fingered the police issue bullet proof vest she had worn under the jacket. "Is not in the spirit of your agreement with Mr. Griffin." He cocked his brow at her. "What's it going to be, Lois? Take it off, or do we call it a night right now and I send the word back that you've decided not to take on the assignment."
With another sigh of resignation, Lois undid the buckles and tossed aside the vest, revealing a simple white pull-over decorated with an unusual design. On the front of the bright white shirt was a brilliant red bulls eye; the center placed directly over her heart.
Lenny grinned again. "Now that's what I call a shirt that honors the spirit of the occasion."
Lois shrugged. "I just wanted to give my friends a bit of help. They're not exactly marksmen, you know. If this has to happen, I'd rather not linger. Best if it happens quick and clean."
"I couldn't agree more."
Lenny pulled a blindfold out of his pocket and offered it to Lois. She shook her head in declination. Lenny nodded in acknowledgement and moved off to the side. Lois knew her time was up.
"Ladies and gentlemen of Metropolis, the time has come." He paused for a few seconds for the drama. "Squad, rifles to ready." All three men raised their weapons and aimed them toward Lois. "Aim." Henderson sighted down the barrel. Jimmy and Perry, as if of one mind, both dropped their rifles to boards at their feet.
"Perry?"
"I'm sorry, honey, I can't do it." Perry turned away, gathering Jimmy with a strong arm around the young man's shoulder.
Lenny frowned, but kept the microphone firmly poised at his lips.
A tear slid from the corner of Lois' eye as she watched Perry and Jimmy slink off. Her eyes flew to Henderson. Her voice pleaded with him. "Bill?"
His lips were pulled into a tight line. He gave her a slight nod.
"Fire!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Henderson squeezed the trigger. The crack of the rifle shot ripped through the previous quiet of the park.
*********************
It had only been about ten minutes, but for Clark it had been ten life times. He roared into the area and was forced to a screeching halt two blocks away from the heart of the park. The gridlock that had been produced by the big event had access to the area blocked off. Between the police, emergency vehicles, and the television crews' satellite trucks and other equipment, there was no way to get close to the stage except by foot.
Clark slammed the cab into park and jumped out without bothering to turn off the engine. He got many stares as he ran toward the stage set-up in the center of Centennial Park. Within moments he was pushing through the mob of people. For once he wasn't careful, or polite, he just forced his way through as best as he could in his still weakened state.
There was a general murmur spreading through the crowd as those around saw who it was that was pushing on them. Unfortunately, it was impossible for anyone more than a few feet away to know what was going on.
"Squad, rifles to ready."
Clark slipped to his knees, tearing his costume on the hard flagstone walk that he had tripped on.
"Aim."
A frantic burst of desperation forced Clark to forget about the burning in his lungs and the horrible ache in every muscle of his body. Please, don't let him be too late. He was getting close now. He could see Lois standing against a large wooden backstop. Perry and Jimmy had dropped their rifles and were turning away. Henderson kept his locked onto the target... Lois."
"Fire!"
"No!" Clark watched it happen as if in slow motion. Lois was thrown back by the force of the shot. A bright rose stain blossomed on her chest obliterating the red rings of the target design that had been on her once white shirt. She fell back Henderson was quickly at her side.
Clark didn't remember the last hundred feet. One moment his heart was bursting watching Lois fall to that stage flooring, the next he was climbing up onto the stage and rushing to her side. He shoved Henderson out of the way and pulled the tiny, still form into his embrace. He cradled her head in his arms.
"Oh, Lois." Tears began to fall from his eyes.
Suddenly Lois' eyes snapped open. "Cla-, Superman?" She threw her arms around his neck. "You're all right! You got away." He felt her tears soaking the front of his tunic.
He leaned back, startled, and looked at her. "Lois?"
"I tried to find you, but I couldn't. Henderson had his men looking for you, but we could only guess where you might be. Then there was what Griffin had said about moving you. Did they move you?"
"Lois?"
"Then I wasn't sure if he'd let you go even if I did as he asked. I was so scared."
"Lois!"
"What?"
"You're not dead?"
"What? No, I'm fine. Well, I'm pretty sore, but I'm not dead." She thumped her chest. "Another bullet proof vest. I figured that Griffin and his men would expect me to try something. That I wouldn't just docilely walk into their planned execution. So I gave them something to discover. But I guessed that if they found one bullet proof vest they wouldn't suspect a second. Help me up."
Clark stood, and levered Lois to a standing position. "But the vest hardly shows. I know it's there, but I would still miss it if I wasn't looking for it."
Lois smiled. "Yeah, it’s a new prototype vest that Henderson got from Star Labs. It has a much slimmer profile. They designed it for undercover work. It's made from some sort of special ceramics."
"But, but the blood?"
She stared down at the ruin that was once her white pull over. "Yeah, special effects; looks pretty real doesn't it?"
"Well, I'm glad that you're okay. I don't know what I would have done if you had died because of me."
She frowned at him. "Yeah, well I'm glad that you're okay. How do you think I would have felt knowing that you were hurt or might be killed because of Griffin's insane hatred of me?" She reached up and stroked his cheek. "Are you okay?"
He smiled. "I've been better. But, thanks to you I'll be fine."
He couldn't help himself. She looked so vulnerable, so desirable. He leaned in and captured her lips with his. She melted in his arms. It seemed that there was some cheers and applause in the distance, but he didn't really hear it. As his desire increased, hers seemed to match his, for a time. Suddenly she went slack. He pulled back, alarmed.
"Lois?"
Henderson came over, from where he'd been directing his men in the capture and arrest of Griffin's men, and pulled her from his arms and laid her on the stage decking. He lifted her shirt and examined the vest. "She's passed out. I think she might have a broken rib. We'd best get her to the hospital. She's been through a lot the last few days."
Superman stood by, speechless, as a crew of paramedics rushed up onto the stage and carted Lois off to the awaiting ambulance.
Henderson clapped him on the shoulder. "Glad you're all right." He moved off to follow the ambulance.
****Epilogue******
Lois slowly opened her eyes. She was immediately disoriented. She didn't recognize the pristine white ceiling, and the bland, pale green walls. Suddenly, memory came rushing back. She was in the hospital... again. Her side ached, and she could feel the tight wrap of bandages around her stomach and chest.
She let her gaze drift around the room. It was a typical hospital room. Only hers seemed to have one special feature that none of the other rooms would have. She saw him dozing in a chair off to one side of her bed. A feeling of warmth and comfort spread through her body. She didn't fight the smile that found its way onto her face. Clark looked so precious slumped down in the too small chair, his glasses having slid half way down his nose.
"Clark?"
He stirred, then abruptly sat up straight. His first move was to look in her direction. "Lois, you're awake."
"Yup." She grinned. "Hi."
"Hi." He pulled the chair next to her bed. "How are you feeling? The doctor says you have a cracked rib, but it's not broken, and if you take it easy for a few weeks you'll be good as new."
She blushed under the intensity of his gaze. She turned away. "Don't look at me. I'm a mess." She ran her hand through her still ragged, cropped locks, and she knew that any make up she might have had was long gone.
"You look beautiful, as always." He grabbed her hand.
She smiled. "How are *you* feeling. You were pretty sick when I saw you last."
He leaned back and sighed. "I'm fine. It will be a while before I'm super again, but otherwise I'm fine. I talked to Mom and Dad after Henderson had you brought to the hospital. You were sedated right away, so they wouldn't let me see you. Mom sends her love. They wanted to come, but I told them to wait a couple of more days." His expression became a bit more guarded, perhaps even fearful. "She also told me that you had figured it out."
Lois nodded. "Yeah, I can't believe it took me so long to see the obvious, but I realized that the only reason that my partner, and best friend, wouldn't be right beside me during this whole Griffin fiasco would be because he couldn't. It didn't take too long to put the pieces together after that."
"I'm sorry, Lois. I should have told you sooner, but it just kept getting complicated."
"First off, you didn't tell me. I figured it out for myself, and you know, I think I like it better that way. I feel more vindicated in finding out for myself rather than have you suddenly spring it on me and I have the fact that I missed what was right under my nose all this time pointed out to me."
"But, weren't you... aren't you mad?"
Lois leaned her head back into her pillow. "At first I was too worried about you to be mad, and after a while, I realized that it didn't really matter. This whole experience has taught me that life is too short to let myself get all bent out of shaped before I have all the details; before I hear your reasons."
Clark gave her a look of bemusement. "Hello, I was talking to Lois Lane here. Do you know where she might have gone?"
"Ha, ha, very funny. Look, I'll admit that I'm still a little hurt over this, but I'm willing to wait and hear your side of things before I decide how I should feel about it. So, the subject is definitely not settled between us, but the main thing is that it helped me understand a lot of my own confusion when it came to you, and Superman."
"You were confused?"
Lois chuckled. "Oh, yeah. I was driving myself crazy wondering how I could have such strong feelings for two different men. This is much better."
"You aren't confused any more?"
"No."
She knew he was waiting for her to say more, but she decided that those confessions could wait. After all, she couldn't let him completely off the hook for keeping this from her for so long. She may not be mad at him, but that didn't mean that he wasn't going to be paying a bit of tax for his duplicity. He still had some groveling to do.
"Did you see any of the 'assignments' on the news?" She asked.
He look became grave. "Yes, they made sure that I was able to watch both of them. I was particularly horrified by your fight with Tiger Bennett. I'm amazed that you weren't much more badly hurt. Mom said you only suffered a broken nose, and a slight concussion."
"Well, it was a bit worse than that, but I did manage to walk away from that in much better shape than Griffin had intended."
"How?"
"I've always told you I can take care of myself."
"Lo-is."
She laughed. "Griffin, like many others before him, underestimated me. He knew that I had trained myself in martial arts, and he thought that he got around that with his by the book 'boxing match'. But he made the same mistake that most people who get their knowledge of martial arts from Jackie Chan movies do. He only thought in terms of offensive moves and techniques. More than half of what we learn is defensive. How to avoid, or minimize your opponent's moves and blows. I was able to deflect or roll with many of the shots that Bennett threw to keep him from knocking my head off."
Lois shook her head at the memory. "That's not to say that he didn't connect on occasion. He did, and I paid for those mistakes. But the truth was he didn't hurt me as badly as it looked like he did."
Clark leaned in and placed his hand on her cheek. "I'm glad."
Lois felt her heartbeat quicken as Clark leaned closer and kissed her. It was a sweet kiss. It started out a bit unsure but when it was apparent that she welcomed it, he became bolder and allowed himself to explore the taste of her. It was a kiss of promise.
It was also a kiss that gave Lois the courage to speak the thoughts that had been going through her mind for that last couple of days.
"So, I'm going to be fine, and you're going to be fine." Her voice betrayed a touch of shyness that wasn't normal for Lois Lane. "Where do we go from here?"
"Where ever you want to go, Lois. Where ever you want."
He leaned back down for another kiss. She quickly rose up to meet him. She couldn't help but think that once she got out of that hospital things between her and Clark were going to get very interesting. And she couldn't wait.
Fin.
