Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic Luthor's Revenge take 2 part 2/2

Luthor's Revenge take 2 part 2/2
by Tank


Lois sat at her kitchen table in the dark. She hadn't bothered to turn on any lights when she'd gotten home from her most recent useless day at the Planet. The last two days had been pretty much the same. She'd sit at her desk for a while, staring at the blank screen. Then she'd answer whatever questions Henderson would have for her. She'd return to staring at her screen for a time more, until she would have to get up and run to the restroom to throw up when the memories of Clark's murder became too intense to ignore any longer.

She would come out of the restroom only to be confronted by a worried Perry White. Not being able to deal with his pity, she would mumble that she wasn't feeling well and go home where she would spend the rest of the day either crying, or sitting in the dark waiting for the crying to start again.

But it was time for the crying to stop. She couldn’t' afford to waste any more time wallowing in her grief. She couldn't deny the pain, she didn't want to. It would never go away; it would always be a part of her life going forward. A life that was now bereft of the best part of it. She would never forget Clark, would never stop loving him. His memory would stay with her until the end of her days.

But she needed to pull it together. Clark needed avenging, and for that to happen, Mad Dog Lane would need to come back. If she was going to make Luthor pay for the evil that he'd done to her, and to the world, she would need to focus on that task, and that task only.

She had spoken to Martha and Jonathan again yesterday and they had all agreed that, for the time being, that they should do nothing. The Kents would stay in Kansas for now. The problem was, the world had seen Superman being foully murdered by Lex Luthor, but only a very few people knew that Clark Kent had also lost his life that day. Officially, Clark was still only missing.

Henderson had given Lois the typical lip service about keeping a positive attitude, and hoping that they would be able to find Clark unharmed. But given the circumstantial evidence; the fact that Lois had told everyone that Clark had gone out with Superman and the broken glasses she had received, she knew that Henderson assumed that Clark had been killed also.

But where was the body? Why hadn't Clark's body been found? Why was Lex keeping it? She would have thought that he'd want the extra notoriety from the public display of his handiwork. It was one thing for the people to be shocked and dismayed by a horrific scenario seen on television, but it would be quite another for him to be able to revel in watching the grieving throngs pass by the body at a public memorial.

He had something else up his sleeve, and knowing Lex the way she did, there was no doubt that it would involve her in some manner.

She got up off her chair and searched out her purse. Grabbing it from its resting spot on the table she headed for the front door. She needed to see Henderson... tonight.

****************************

The silent man pushed Lois ahead of him as they entered the abandoned warehouse down near Hobbs Bay. The place was old, and the area had been neglected for many years. She doubted that there were any actual legitimate businesses within a several block radius.

She had spent most of the morning walking around the downtown area near the Daily Planet until the stereotypical dark sedan had pulled up beside her and a gruff voice had ordered her to get in. She would have gotten in the car even if there hadn't been a gun gesturing her to do so. She had been waiting for them all morning. She had almost been ready to give up on them.

But just before noon they had come for her and now, if her assumptions had been correct, she was where she wanted to be. She was at Lex Luthor's hideout.

She was ushered into a small room; probably some sort of store room. There was nothing currently in it except for a single, substantial metal chair. The silent man indicated that she should sit down. She did.

She didn't fight the ropes that were tied around her waist, securing her to the chair, nor did she object to the zip ties used to secure her wrists to the unpadded arms. If Clark was ever going to have justice she needed answers, and to get those answers she needed to see Luthor himself. It was still his game... for now.

The silent man left the room. She sat there by herself for several minutes. She allowed her rage to focus her will. Her grief was pushed aside to allow her anger for the man she hated most in the world prepare her for her confrontation. He would not find her a weepy, broken woman who had lost her world, even though that's what she had been for the last two days. She had to steel her resolve if she was to get justice for what had been done to her and the world, and grant Clark his peace.

So it was with hate burning in her soul that Lois confronted Lex Luthor when he finally deigned to make his entrance.

The door was pushed open and Lex wheeled himself into the room. "Why, Lois, it's so nice to see you again. You're looking well. As well as can be expected I guess. I've missed you."

"Give me a gun. I guarantee I won't miss you... several times."

Lex chuckled. "Still the feisty one I see. Is that anyway to talk to your former fiancée?"

"Why can't you stay dead?"

With a violent shove against his hand rails, Lex rolled quickly up next to the chair Lois was sitting in. He leaned in close. His voice was a menacing whisper. "No, I'm not dead. I survived in spite of your and that muscle bound consort of yours' efforts."

"Our efforts? It was your doing that brought the roof of that old tunnel down on us."

"Yes," he hissed. "And you and the cape blithely sped away, leaving me to die."

"You were buried under tons of stone and concrete. There was no way you could have survived."

"Really? Well, it looks like you were wrong again, Lois." Lex backed his chair a few feet away. "You could say that fortune smiled on me that day because, by chance, my head lay between a couple of larger stones which protected it from any direct impact. So when my loyal retainer showed up to pull me out, I was still alive. Though not without serious injury, as you see." He waved at his chair.

Lois held onto her anger. She felt no pity for the man or his condition. This was the man who had destroyed her happiness. The only feelings she had for him were disgust, and hatred. "You should have stayed dead. There is nothing left for you. Your empire is gone. The carefully crafted facade of respectability that you had constructed was destroyed and everyone knows you for who you really are. All that power that was once at your fingertips is no more. There is no more reason for you to exist."

A cold smile turned up the corners of his lips. "There is one reason, Lois. It was the one thing that was upper most in my thoughts every day during my long and painful rehabilitation. It kept me fighting to stay alive. It kept me pushing until I was as well as I could be. It drove me; it became my whole purpose for being." Lex's eyes burned with an intensity that showed his fragile grip on sanity. "Do you know what that was, Lois?"

"I can guess."

"Of course you can. It was my need for revenge that kept me going. The revenge that I was going to have on you and that muscle headed partner of yours." His smile turned barracuda-like. "And now I am going to have it." Lex leaned his head toward the door. "Could you please bring in our other guest?"

Lois gasped as the silent man dragged a limp form into the room and dumped him a few feet in front of her. Chains, which glowed a sickly green in color, were wrapped around his body.

"Clark!"

A part of her mind admonished her for crying out Clark's name when he was dressed in the spandex suit. Another part told her that it didn't matter since Lex had known Clark's dual identity prior to the cave-in which they had both thought had finished Luthor once and for all. Neither of those small parts of her mind was paid any attention to. Lois' foremost thoughts were for the obvious pain and suffering her husband was experiencing.

He was barely conscious. He didn't have the strength to stand. He was on his knees, teetering on the edge of falling over. It was obvious from the tautness of his facial muscles that he was in a great deal of pain. Tears sprang to Lois' eyes. His agony sliced through her like a cold knife blade.

She turned back toward Luthor. Her eyes blazed. If she'd been the one blessed with heat vision at that moment, the intensity of her gaze would have turned her tears to steam and reduced Luthor to a cinder in instant. More's the pity.

"I don't understand." Her words came out almost as a growl. "Why the fake production? Who was the poor fool you sacrificed in your twisted madness?"

Lex made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "He was a nobody; a former *celebrity* impersonator. But as to the why? I would think that would have been obvious, my dear. It was part of my revenge."

"Your needed revenge against a Superman impersonator?"

Luthor gave her the kind of look a teacher would give a particularly difficult student. "Now you're just being contrary. But if you want me to explain it to you, I will."

"Lois?"

The sound was so soft she nearly didn't hear it. She quickly turned her head toward Clark. His breathing was labored, and the whites of his eyes were definitely turning green. Lois knew that he wouldn't survive much longer under these conditions. Fresh tears began to fall.

"Lois, you have to get out of here."

Luthor's laughter cut through the emotion in the room like a winter's blast. "I'm afraid it's a little late for that."

"Don't worry, Clark, we're going to get out of this."

"Hah! Always the defiant one aren’t you, Lois? If I may be so bold as to ask; just how do you plan on getting out?"

Lois gritted her teeth. "You first; why am I here?"

Lex's grin sent a shiver up her spine. "Simple, my dear, it's all part of the plan. In order for my revenge to be truly fulfilled I had to not only end your miserable lives, but I had to punish each of you as well. What better way to punish a *loving* couple, than to force each of them to watch, helplessly, as the other perishes."

"But Clark isn't dead. I saw a fiction perpetrated in a video."

"Ah, but you didn't know that at the time, did you. I had my man there at the Daily Planet when you viewed the tape on LNN. He even took a home movie of your reaction for me to watch at my leisure. It was quite entertaining. I confess that I watch it before going to bed every night."

"You sick, twisted..."

"I am what you made me. Never forget that, Lois."

"But your revenge has been blunted now that I know that it wasn't Clark who was killed."

"Is it? I think not. You're not a fool, Lois. Look at him. Look at your *hero*. You know as well as I do that he can't last much longer. Superman will be dead before the day is out, and so will your darling husband, Clark Kent." Luthor spun his wheelchair around. "But I think he will live long enough to see his beloved die by my hand."

Lois glared at her tormentor. "So what now, you're going to shoot me in the head while tied to a chair."

"Oh, nothing so easy." Luthor actually licked his lips in anticipation. "You deserve an extra measure of punishment, my dear. I would have made you my wife, but you rejected me." Lex held out his hand and the silent man, who Lois hadn't noticed come in, handed him a baseball bat. "I'm going to take extreme pleasure in beating you to death in front of that pathetic creature you married." Lex began to roll toward Lois.

Lois began to laugh, which caused Lex to stop and stare at her as if she'd lost her mind. Shaking her head Lois gradually regained control of herself.

"How can anyone so stupid have ever been able to gain the position and power that you held? You must have had some pretty competent lieutenants because you obviously don't have the smarts to have done it yourself."

Lex's narrowed his eyes and glared at her. "What are you playing at, Lois."

"Over confident to end, aren't you Lex. Why do you think that Clark and I were always able to defeat you; even when you had all the cards stacked in your favor... like now?" Luthor just frowned at her. "It's your arrogance. You are so smug from your own arrogance that you can't see the failings of your plans."

Luthor's predator smile returned. "Suppose you enlighten me as to the failings of my present plan... before I beat you to death."

Lois glanced over at Clark. He was watching her, a slight smile on his face. "See, Clark knows what I'm talking about." She turned her attention back to Lex. "Weren't you the least bit surprised at my reaction to seeing your man bring Clark into the room?"

Lex seemed confused. "What do you mean? You were obviously distraught over his suffering."

"Yes, clearly, I was terribly distressed and upset to see him in such pain. But I wasn't surprised to see him, alive. I expected it. Why else do you think I allowed your man to take me so easily?"

"Sorry, Lois, I saw the tapes of your reaction. You thought that your husband had been killed."

Lois shrugged. At least as well as she could, being tied to the chair. "I admit it took me a couple of days until I figured it out. I allowed my grief to shut down my brain and just let my loss control my emotional state. But I knew that I'd have to snap out of it if I was to bring you to justice for what you'd done. It was then that I began to put it together."

"Oh, please continue. I'm riveted by your narrative."

Lois rolled her eyes. "First; why no body? Why hadn't you dumped the body someplace where it would be found and your victory over your arch-nemesis could be displayed for all to see? I could just imagine how much delight you'd get out of watching thousands of mourners filing by their fallen hero; a testament to your victory."

Lex nodded. "That would have been enjoyable, yes."

"But you couldn't risk a close examination of the body, could you?" Lois paused, watching Luthor as she did. He merely inclined his head, acknowledging her point. "But that wasn't the only thing. You're using kryptonite chains to hold Clark, but I seriously doubt that you'd be able to come up with two sets of such chains. Nor would you risk taking them off Clark, even for just the short time you needed for your little movie."

Lex snorted his disbelief. "Are you going to tell me that you knew the chains I used on what's his name were actually just painted green and not the real thing? Come on, Lois, you may be good, but you're not that good."

"Really," was her frosty reply. "Okay, I'll admit that I was too worried for Clark at first to pay any close attention to that. I assumed, like everyone else, that the chains were coated with kryptonite because they had rendered Superman powerless. But once I began to suspect something wasn't quite right with the whole scenario, I forced myself to watch the video again... and again."

"I'll bet that was fun."

Lois ignored Lex's crack. "You forgot that I have had experience with kryptonite before. I've had the misfortune to have been exposed to it several times. I've seen it, I've handled it, and I know what it looks like. After reviewing your little video, those chains just looked wrong to me. That might not have been enough in itself to convince me of your hoax, but it was more ammunition for my suspicions. So I watched the video again."

"Bully for you."

"It was hard to watch your casual murder of an innocent actor over and over again, but the more I watched the more I realized that the poor man didn't look like Clark usually does when exposed to kryptonite. He looked drugged. Taken individually, or if I hadn't been determined to bring you to justice, I might not have come to the conclusion that Clark was still alive."

Lex rolled up a little closer to Lois. "Well, congratulations, Lois, you uncovered my little charade. I guess you really are the best investigative reporter around. Unfortunately this is going to be your last investigation. You're still here, alone, tied to a chair. Your beloved husband is still going to die, and I'm still going to beat you to death with this Louisville Slugger. So, I guess I still win."

A smile slowly spread across Lois' face. "Who said I came alone?"

Lex slammed the bat against the side of his chair. "What in the devil's name are you playing at now, Lane!"

"Once again you're so in love with your imagined brilliance that it doesn't occur to you that things might not just follow according to your plan."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, I expected you to kidnap me. In fact, I nearly walked the heels off my shoes waiting for you to make your move. But I never planned to step meekly into your clutches. I wasn't the distraught, grieving zombie you had expected me to be. Last night I paid a visit to our esteemed Metropolis police force and had an interesting conversation with Inspector Henderson. We decided that it might be a good idea if I wore a tracer. A small, inconspicuous tracking device taped to the small of my back which will lead Metropolis' finest right to your doorstep. You were so confident in your own expectations that it never even occurred to you to have me searched when I arrived. After all, I would just be the grieving widow, not yet recovered from my horrific loss."

Lex screamed incoherently in his rage as he propelled himself toward Lois. "I'll kill you!"

He viciously swung the bat at Lois' head. She leaned away as best she could while still being tied to the heavy metal chair. The bat missed her skull but managed to just clip the end of her nose. Lois yelped in pain as she felt the cartilage snap. Blood began to trickle from her nose.

"Put the bat down, Lex." Henderson stepped into the room.

An animalistic growl escaped from Luthor's lips as he hurled the bat toward the Inspector. Henderson flung his arm up to protect himself. The bat rebounded off his forearm causing him to have to step back.

"I will have my vengeance!" Lex pulled a gun from his pocket and aimed it at Lois.

"Lex, no!" Clark's anguished cry was ripped from his throat.

A loud boom reverberated through the small room. Lex was thrown from his chair. Lois' shocked gaze shifted from Lex's prone form to that of Inspector Henderson striding over toward the body. A curl of smoke still drifted from the barrel of his gun.

Henderson reached down and felt Luthor's neck for a pulse.

"Is he dead?" Henderson nodded. Lois frowned. "Maybe he'll stay dead this time."

************************

Lois fingered the large white band aid on her nose as she looked at herself in the mirror. The door to the bathroom was open. "Clark, will you still love me when I look like the wicked witch of the west with my bent and crooked nose?"

Clark entered the room from the adjoining bedroom. He came up behind her and placed his arms around her shoulders, and laid his chin on the top of her head. He looked at her reflection. "Lo-is, the doctor said it was a clean break and should heal straight without any noticeable bump."

She ignored him. "Maybe I should sue Henderson."

"Henderson?"

She turned in his arms and looked up at him. "It's his fault for being late."

"It wasn't his fault that Luthor's man resisted so forcefully that it took a few minutes for them to subdue him." Clark shrugged. "There were a lot of small rooms he had to check out before he found the right one."

Lois frowned. "Why are you defending him? Any later and one or both of us might have died in that dismal place."

"But we didn't. We're both safe and sound at home, in each other's arms." He gave her a squeeze for emphasis. "Only Lex died."

Her look was pensive. "Yeah. Do you think we can count of him staying dead this time?"

He placed a quick kiss on her inviting lips. "Well, we saw the coroner take away the body, and by now they will have performed an autopsy. I don't think Luthor will be coming back this time."

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart and hope to..."

She placed her finger over his lips. "Don't say it!" She crushed her lips to his in order to insure his silence. He lifted Lois up and held her close to his chest as he carried her out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. With a smile that bespoke of his love for her, he deposited her onto the bed. Her answering smile mirrored his.

The best friends, partners, and lovers had been through a terrible ordeal over that last few days and they knew that they would have to take some time to talk it out. Their anguish and the fears they experienced would have to be brought to light before they could truly heal, and eventually put the trauma behind them.

But not tonight. Tonight no words would be spoken. There would be no need. The only communication necessary would be expressed through their eyes... and their love.

Fin.