Ooooh, I just loved all the fdk! Thanks so much. Questions, questions, and I'm not sure there's a lot of answers in this part...
I wanted to send a shout out to Sue and Lara for their brilliant betas - thank you ladies!
And here we go!
Table of Contents From Part 2:
This - whatever it had been - wasn’t Kryptonite. It wasn’t something he had been prepared for.
Clark landed on the roof of the Daily Planet and cautiously changed, before making his way back down the stairwell to Lois.
Only she wasn’t there.
Clark walked over to the vendor. “Did Lois...”
“Leave? Yep. She said she was tired of waiting for you and that if you wanted to catch up with her, you could go to her Uncle Mike’s diner.” The vendor handed a slip of paper to Clark. “That’s the address.”
Uncle Mike’s diner? He didn’t even realize she had an uncle living in the city, much less one who owned a diner. “Thanks,” Clark said, tucking the paper into his coat pocket.
Why had she gone to her uncle’s diner?
**********
PART THREE
**********
Clark sighed. Lois was mad. He had seen it written plainly on her face when he had arrived at the small, homey diner. There were so many times he’d had to run off and play Superman, leaving her waiting for him with nothing but a lousy excuse for an explanation.
And this one appeared to have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.
After the awkward silence, in which Lois hadn’t introduced Clark to the man standing beside her, he extended his hand in greeting. “Hi, Clark Kent.”
“Mike Lane,” her uncle replied, clasping his hand firmly. “Lois tells me that you work at the Daily Planet with her.”
Clark nodded. He wondered what else she had told her uncle.
“I paged my niece and asked her to meet me here because I have some information for her about Superman. Or rather, one of my customers has information.”
Information about Superman? Clark felt his palms start to sweat. What kind of information? “Are they here right now?”
Mike shook his head. “No. He wanted me to arrange a meeting with the two of you.” He pointed to a piece of paper Lois was holding in her hand. “Lois has the details. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help.”
“Thanks, Uncle Mike,” Lois told him, giving him an affectionate embrace. She turned and walked out of the diner, without so much as a word to Clark.
Clark sighed again. It had already been a long day and it wasn’t even noon yet – the day was going to get so much longer. “Thank you, Mr. Lane.”
“Please, call me Mike,” he said with a pleasant smile.
Clark nodded with a smile of his own. “Thanks, Mike.” He turned and chased after Lois, catching the door before it shut in his face. “Lois! Lois, wait!”
“No. No, I’m through waiting for you today, Clark,” she said with obvious disgust in her tone. “Superman is in trouble, he needs our help, and you’re worried about pencils? And press passes?”
“I know, I’m sorry,” he entreated as he followed behind her. “Do you think your uncle’s source will be useful?” he asked, hoping to change the subject. “I wonder what kind of information he has about Superman? When are we supposed to meet him?”
That caused Lois to pause; she stopped and turned to face him. Irritation was flushing her cheeks. “We? No, Clark. There is you and there is me. This time, there is definitely no ‘we’. I’m gonna go this one alone.”
Clark bit his lip, keeping any further retort to himself. She needed space. She was mad and she didn’t want him around right now. He was sure she’d cool down later. “Okay. I’ll see what I can dig up on my end and come by your apartment later tonight. We can compare notes.”
She was shaking her head. “Nope. Sorry. I have a date with Lex tonight. I’m going to go meet with Bobby, take care of a few other things, and then go home and get ready for my date.”
A sharp pain settled into Clark’s chest. Not Luthor! He knew the two of them were dating, but if she only knew the truth about him. Clark felt a twinge of jealousy mixed with a little irritation and he found himself saying something he would have never imagined. “Now look who’s running off.” Her look of indignation spurred him on. “You said yourself that Superman needs our help and you’re gonna run off and go on a date? Wow. I never thought I’d see the day that you’d put Luthor before Superman.”
He wanted to slap himself as soon as he said it, but it was too late to take it back.
Lois’s eyes had widened in surprise. “What?” she squeaked indignantly. “Clark Kent, if we weren’t partners, and friends, I’d... I’d...” She paused briefly, as if to compose herself, and then narrowed her eyes. “No one cares about Superman more than me.” She poked him in the chest with her finger. “But my life revolves around more than just Superman, and Lex is a part of that life. I know you don’t like him, Clark, for whatever concocted reasons that are your own, but I like him and he likes me.” She sighed a short breath before continuing, “At least I know where I stand with him.” And then she turned around and stalked off without another word.
She didn’t realize that she was speaking to Superman.
Her words cut him to the core, but Clark realized she was right. She didn’t know where she stood with Superman. And part of that was because Clark had tried not to reciprocate her feelings when he was dressed in the red and blue. He wanted her as Clark, not Superman. But somehow, ‘Clark’ always seemed to get left out of the equation.
If only she knew how hard it was for him not to use his alter ego to get what he wanted.
Her.
Clark watched her go, his heart heavy.
**********
Lois curled her lip in disgust as she watched the man sitting in the front seat of her Jeep inhale the contents of the bag she had brought as an inducement. Her uncle had told her that the word on the street was that Bobby Bigmouth had the best gossip, the juiciest tidbits, of anyone out there.
The only trick was getting him to talk.
But he would talk if the price was right. And the price was always food. Bobby apparently couldn’t get enough of food – and not the cheap stuff either. Uncle Mike said the man was a connoisseur of all things edible.
Although, by the way he was inhaling the delicacies she had brought him, that estimation of him was up for debate.
“So, how do you know my uncle?” she asked conversationally, trying not to appear either rude or impatient.
“Are you kidding?” he asked, as he gulped down another mouthful of rich cream-covered pasta. At her stone-faced expression, he continued, “You aren’t kidding.” He cleared his throat. “Your uncle has some of the best desserts in town. His New York style cheesecake is to die for. You’re telling me that you didn’t know that already?”
“I don’t eat dessert.”
He raised one eyebrow at her. “Really? Awww, Lois, you’re missing the best part.”
“So I’ve been told,” she mumbled, and then continued a little louder, “So you met my uncle eating at his diner, then. How is it you came upon information about Superman? And what exactly is it that you know?”
“Oh, please, don’t insult me, Lois,” he complained. “First of all, I know how good of a reporter you are. And judging from the bag you’ve got tucked away under your front seat, you already knew how good your uncle’s desserts are.” He licked some sauce off his fingers. “My fee is dinner *and* dessert. Now, cough it up.”
Lois scowled at him as she fished the bag out from under her seat. How had he known it was down there? She shoved the bag at him and he took it greedily, opening it immediately.
“Cheesecake! Aww, you shouldn’t have.” Bobby opened the box and began to devour the decadent dessert.
“Now spill,” Lois commanded him.
“All right, all right, sheesh, can’t a guy even eat in peace?” At her growl, he threw his hands up in surrender. “Okay, I bet you’re thinking that there’s something fishy going on with Superman and these recent ‘incidents’.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that’s pretty much a no-brainer. Everyone’s trying to get to the bottom of it.”
He shook his head. “Not everyone.” Lois raised an eyebrow and he continued, “Ask around, not one of the reporters working under any of LexCorp’s subsidiaries is trying to get to the bottom of it. Not one person from LNN or any of the other news stations that Luthor owns stock in. Nada. All they’re reporting on is what Superman is doing wrong. Not ‘why’ it’s happening. Thank god some people still read newspapers and don’t buy into everything they’re force-fed by the television media.”
Lois frowned. “And this is what I spent a third of my paycheck buying food for? I could have noticed that on my own,” she complained.
“Ah, but you didn’t. And since you and the pretentious playboy billionaire have gotten so close, lately, I was afraid you might not have seen the forest for the one big tree.”
Lois was irritated by his description of Lex, but also his estimation of her. “You’re forgetting one important detail. Lex doesn’t own every television station in town. He owns LNN and...”
“And he’s on half the other stations’ board of trustees. He also donates money as a sponsor to some of them or LexCorp dumps large amounts of cash as an advertiser.” Bobby smirked. “Trust me, Lois, I’ve done my homework. Besides, that’s not all...”
She could feel her temper rising and was tempted to reach out and snatch the sacks of food away from him. “Really? You mean there’s more?” she exclaimed sarcastically. The nerve of this guy trying to insinuate that Lex could somehow be involved in this, and that she would be so blind as to not see anything past the end of her own nose!
“Hey, you don’t want the info that you’ve paid for?” He shrugged. “No skin off my teeth, Lois. But don’t complain when I pass it along to someone else.”
Lois reached out and grabbed the cheesecake away from him, eliciting a cry of protest from him. “Spill it, Bobby,” she warned before handing the decadent treat back to him.
He gave her a wide, condescending grin. “My sources informed me that there was a black sedan parked nearby, both at the bank early this morning, and at the scene of the fire. And once Superman left, the sedan left.”
“Big deal. Black sedan’s are a dime a dozen in Metropolis,” she smarted.
“Not in these neighborhoods, Lois. And certainly not a ‘stretch’.”
Lois frowned. No. A black sedan was one thing. A stretch limo? That was entirely something different. “So that’s it?” she grumbled.
“For this?” he said, gesturing at the now empty food containers. “Yeah. But keep in touch. I might have some more details for you later. You bring the food, I’ll bring the info.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she muttered, watching Bobby get out of the Jeep. “And exactly how do I get in contact with you?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be in contact with you,” he assured her. “But if you really want to find me, you can leave word with your uncle. See ya round, Lois.”
And then Bobby Bigmouth was gone and Lois was left sitting there, shaking her head. So much for that informant. She didn’t see how he would ever turn out to be a very good source.
**********
Lois was driving, on her way to her apartment, when three police cars went speeding past her in the opposite direction. She slammed on the brakes, squealing her tires a little, and turned around. Something was going on. Something newsworthy. And if she was lucky, either Superman or his clone would show up.
If she was really, really lucky, they both would.
She didn’t have any trouble keeping up. After all, she had always prided herself on her driving skills. And honestly, she didn’t have to worry about getting a ticket since all the cops in the area were busy, running off to whatever emergency was happening.
Damn. She wished she had a scanner, where she could listen to the calls coming in over the police radios. But soon enough, she arrived at the scene, just behind the police. It was a bank. Another robbery? Was it the clone again? How many banks did he need to rob? His first one had scored him over a million.
But then a group of thugs came bursting out through the front doors of the bank. There were three of them. Large, angry-looking teenagers, by her guess.
And then *he* was there. Superman landed on the ground just in front of them, in time to deflect a couple of shots that one of the teens had squeezed off in the direction of the nearest squad car. The bullets bounced harmlessly off Superman’s chest. He scowled unhappily at the trio.
Lois frowned. Was it Superman? Or was it his clone?
“Was it worth it?” he asked the boys. “You’re going to spend a lot of time in prison for this and...”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” the smallest thug of the group said, interrupting him. “You’re actually here to arrest us for a crime that you’ve committed yourself?” he continued indignantly. “Talk about a hypocrite!”
“I don’t know what you *think* happened at that bank,” Superman said, his voice icy, “but *I* did not rob it.”
Oh good, Lois let out a sigh of relief. Not the clone. *This* was Superman.
“Oh, yeah?” chimed in another boy. “I think you’re no different than us. No, wait. You are. You’re invulnerable. You can do whatever you want and not even worry about getting hurt. Just fly in, take what you want, and fly out.”
“Yeah!” the last boy – the one who’d fired the gun – cried out. “You’re nothing but a fraud and a liar! A flying joke in brightly colored tights! You freak!”
Then Lois saw something that scared her. Superman’s eyes darkened and she heard what she thought was a growl escape from his lips – it sent a shiver down her spine. He strode over to the boys, snatched the gun away from the one boy, hitting him smartly across the head with it, and then took the other two boys and thumped their heads together – effectively knocking the entire group unconscious. The boy he had hit with the gun had a thin trail of blood sliding down his head from the injury.
“No!” Lois yelled at him. Her earlier conclusion changed - this was definitely not Superman. He would never have struck out in such anger. But she had seen his clone pick up criminals before and toss them in the back of a police van.
At her outburst, the clone turned to look at her, a strange expression of confusion on his face.
Lois shook her head at him. “You can’t do that! You can’t hurt people!” she chastised him. “I know who you are. Superman has dealt with someone like you before, and he can do it again. So you’d better watch out because he’ll be looking for you.” She stopped her tirade and wondered briefly, where was Superman now? He’d had plenty of time to respond to this robbery. And surely he was out looking for the clone who seemed insistent on dragging his name through the mud. Why wasn’t he here?
“Lois?” the clone asked.
How did he know her name? He looked bewildered and disorientated, and that made Lois feel uneasy. The clone started to walk towards her and she took a few steps back. Oh god, why didn’t she keep her mouth shut sometimes? She looked up at the sky and said a silent prayer – Superman, please come.
“Lois, I...” the clone began.
“Superman, put your hands in the air,” one of the police officers said, stepping between the clone and Lois, “and walk towards me, slowly. You’re under arrest for the robbery of the First Metropolis Bank.”
The clone’s look of confusion melted away into a look of outrage. Uh-oh, Lois thought, continuing to back away until she could put a squad car between her and the clone – like that was going to do any good.
“What?” the clone growled at the officer.
“You have the right to remain silent,” the officer continued doggedly, a slight tremble in his voice.
“Silent?” the clone raged. “What’s next? Are you going to tell me that I have the right to an attorney? Do you honestly think you have any power over me?” He snorted. “I’ve probably saved your life before. Or the life of one of your friends. You *owe* me!” The clone lifted up, hovering in the air above them like some sort of demigod, holding out his arms as if to encompass the group. “Did I rob a bank? If I did, I *deserved* that money, for everything I’ve done for this city. For all the banks I’ve protected before. Property damage I’ve averted. Lives that I’ve saved.” He chuffed out a haughty laugh. “Do you honestly think you can do what I can? *No one* can do what I can. Certainly not the lazy bunch of bums working for the Metropolis PD. No one!” He sent a burst of air at the group of police officers, blowing them back and knocking them off their feet, before taking off in a flash, speeding away through the sky in a multi-colored blur.
Lois laid a shaky hand on the police car in front of her, which had shielded her from his breath. She stood up and looked in the direction that he had flown.
But something else drew her attention.
A black sedan - make that a stretch limo – was pulling away and driving off. Lois raised an eyebrow. Maybe there was more to Bobby’s info than she had initially given him credit for.
**********
Clark paced as best he could in the tight confines of his apartment. He had just gotten off the phone with his parents. They were worried for him, naturally, and not only because their son had another clone. It scared them to learn that Clark was having blackouts and didn’t know why. That was bad enough in itself, they’d said, but it was worse when your son was Superman and someone was causing the blackouts intentionally...
His parents had tried to be encouraging, even asking if he wanted them to come to Metropolis and stay with him for a while. But it was a busy time around the farm right now and, besides that, he knew it would only upset them to be here in the midst of all the rumors and accusations. He would spare them that. Back in Kansas things wouldn’t be as ugly as they were here. Superman’s name was being dragged through the mud on every television station and half the newspaper headlines from one end of the city to the other. By the time the evening news hit, he was sure it would be a top story both nationally and internationally.
‘Superman or Super Fraud?’
That headline had been his favorite. How could people turn on him so quickly? And then there was Lois...
Clark sighed deeply. Tired of dodging furniture, he floated up to the ceiling, where he could pace unimpeded – except by the occasional light fixture.
How could Lois go on a date with Luthor tonight? She would normally jump all over a story as big as the one involving Superman. In fact, she would normally jump all over anything related to Superman. Big story or not. Now that Superman needed her, she was running out on him to go spend the evening with his archenemy?
Clark shook his head. He was so muddled he was beginning to *think* of himself in the third person.
But the fact was that if Lois was choosing Luthor over everything else that was going on right now, then Luthor had become a very important part of her life. Too important. He sighed again. She just didn’t understand how dangerous Luthor was. Clark couldn’t get her to see it because he didn’t have any proof to give her. And it really wasn’t Superman’s place to get involved. Besides, she should believe Clark. Or at least be willing to listen to him. He was her friend and her partner. He looked out for her. Why shouldn’t she believe him? Trust in him?
He threw his hands up – or actually down – in the air, in frustration. Part of him wanted to fly over to Lois’s apartment right now and tell her exactly the kind of man she was dating. But if he did that, it would only embarrass her and further weaken her faith in herself. She had been in a few bad relationships in the past – because she hadn’t been able to see the men for who they had really been. Clark wanted to help her, not show it to her, but help her to see it for herself. Superman couldn’t do that, but Clark could. He would keep trying. He had to.
Running a hand through his hair, he shut his eyes and tried to clear his mind. He needed to put this out of his thoughts and focus on the problems with Superman right now. He had spent so much time stewing over Lois today that he’d even managed to lose track of time. Part of the afternoon had disappeared and he didn’t even know where it had gone.
What he needed to do was get out there and find that clone. But he didn’t really know where to look for him. And after all the allegations flying around that Superman had robbed that bank, Clark wasn’t even sure that Superman should be seen too much right now – at least until he could prove that he was innocent.
But since he couldn’t prove that right now, maybe he could at least begin trying to find out what had been stolen. Clark floated back down to his couch and picked up his phone, dialing Henderson’s number. When Henderson had turned a copy of the video surveillance tape over to Clark and Lois, he had told them that they could check back later in the day to find out the specifics of what was missing. The only info that had been released so far was that over a million in bank assets had been stolen. Maybe something traceable had been taken.
“Henderson here.”
“Henderson? It’s Clark Kent.” He reached over and grabbed a pad and pen from his coffee table.
“Kent? I’m kind of busy right now, what do you need?”
“You said I could call back to see what had been...”
“Oh yeah, the bank. Besides some cash and smaller gems, what made up the bulk of the assets was one big ticket item, a diamond.”
Clark frowned. “A diamond? Can you give me the specifics?”
“Yeah, it wasn’t just any diamond. It was a three-carat D FL-IF Princess cut.”
Clark wrote down the info. “Uh, I have to tell you. I’m not sure what half of that means.”
Henderson chuffed a laugh from the other end of the line. “Me either, Kent. At least, not at first. I was later informed that the ‘D’ refers to the color of the diamond. D is absolutely colorless, which is extremely rare for a diamond that size. FL-IF stands for ‘flawless’ and ‘internally flawless’. So as far as diamonds go, this one is about as perfect as they come. A European museum was in the process of procuring it from a reputed gemologist in Metropolis. He had it in one of the safe-deposit boxes along with some smaller gems. Sorry I can’t give you more right now, Kent, but I’ve gotta go.”
“Thanks, Henderson.” Clark hung up the phone.
What would his clone want with a diamond?
**********
To Be Continued...
