Lois looked for a way out, holding up the Kryptonite like a sort of lantern. She saw a particularly dark corner and walked over to it, encouraged by the sound of trickling of water. When she peered around it, her suspicions that they were underground were confirmed. A thin stream of water from the sewers slid by, coming from a source somewhere down the dark hall. She turned down it, trying not to imagine what sludge her bare feet were walking on, and praying that she wouldn't step on any rats in the process. She at last came to a metal door. She thought it was locked, and panicked for a moment that she’d have to head back into that room with Lex to look for another way out. But with a harder pull, it at last sprung open. She was suddenly standing on a metal platform, the sewers of Metropolis rushing below her. A little ways away she could see access to a manhole cover. She made her way over and before she began climbing the steel ladder to reach a manhole, she chucked the Kryptonite into the fast moving water, hoping to never lay eyes on it again.
Lois came up to street level in a non-descript alley. It was sometime in the middle of the night. No one was around; the alley around her was very quiet. She was at once grateful to end up in a place so anonymous, and anxious to find out where she was. She walked to an intersection, to read the street signs and try to orient herself. Neither of the names looked familiar. She had no idea what part of town she was in. Lois looked left and right, both options seeming just as good as the other. She took a chance and headed right.
She walked for a few more blocks until she finally came to a street she knew. Clinton street! By the numbers, she was at least twenty short city blocks from Clark’s apartment, but she didn’t care. Her heart in her throat, she started running in the direction of 344 Clinton without hesitation. Weak and tired, she was out of breath after about six blocks, but she forged ahead, a despairing hope that if she could just get to his place, somehow all would be well. At last she reached his stairwell, out of breath, sweaty, and crying. Lois pounded on Clark’s door, praying by some miracle he was there and alive, and that she'd be in his arms any second. When she didn't get an answer, she looked for his spare key. “Oh, Clark,” she whispered with affection as she found Clark's trusting gesture of leaving his spare key under the mat; she opened his door.
She locked it behind her, overwhelming sadness hit her as she made her way into his living room. <<He’s not here,>> she thought forlornly. The lights were off, but she'd know his place blind. Besides, the moon was full and there was a little light shining in from the 'Harry's Bar' neon sign outside his window.
<<Was he truly gone?>> she wondered. Lois sat on his sofa, thinking of the many late nights they had spent there, going over notes for a story or just watching a movie. Clark had been her best friend, her only true friend, yet so much more. The pain of losing him suddenly went deeper, summoning a sob from the depth of her soul. Clark was her hero, in so many ways, and not just the obvious ‘super’ ones... and now, she was truly alone. She had to face Luthor *alone*. She realized now, that hoping he was still alive had been just wishful thinking. It had pushed her to act to get out of Luthor's clutches, but Clark's dark, lonely apartment, testified to her that he was truly gone.
She curled up onto the sofa, and quietly wept.
******
Martha swore she was hearing things. She lay in her son's bed, suddenly awake as she thought she heard pounding on the front door. She wished Jonathan was here, so she could send him to investigate. But he had flown back to Kansas yesterday to take care of some farm business. Martha carefully tossed off the covers, and searched in the dark for some sort of defense weapon in case it was someone dangerous. She was thankful there was a full moon tonight, so she didn't have to turn on the light, which would give away her presence, to see basic shapes around Clark's room. She quietly opened his closet and felt around till she found what she was looking for, a baseball bat.
She walked silently to the door, preparing herself for what she was to find in the living room. She lifted the bat, getting a good stance with it for a woman who was no taller than five foot two. But something stopped her. She heard crying coming from the sofa. A woman crying.
Martha put the bat down and flicked on the light switch.
"Lois?" she asked in incredulity.
Lois looked up in shock, her face streaked with tears.
"Martha! What are you doing here?"
Martha came immediately to Lois' side and took her in her arms. "Oh, Lois! We thought you were dead!"
Lois, who had been crying softly before Martha came in, fell into wracking sobs. "I was! I was!" she murmured incoherently. "And Clark's gone, too!"
Martha pulled out of her hug to look at Lois. "Honey, what do you mean, Clark's gone?"
Lois' bottom lip trembled from her sobs, like a small child's. "Cl--Clark... didn't the-- "Lois hesitated a second to let on to Martha that she knew Clark was Superman, but if he was really dead, what did it matter? "The Kryptonite. It killed him."
Martha shook her head. "Back up, Lois. Clark isn't dead," she said gently.
Lois looked on the verge of sobbing again, this time from relief. "He--he's not?"
"No, honey. He---well" Martha sighed. "Lois, Clark is in a *lot* of trouble."
"What do you mean?" Lois asked, trying to focus on what Martha was saying. <<Clark's alive! He's alive!>>
"Well, Clark has been accused of your murder," Martha said as gently as she could.
Lois shook her head. "Oh, my god. Clark!" she said, thinking about what he must be going through.
"But it will be all right, now! That you are here, alive! I mean, it's a miracle!" Martha said, gathering Lois into her arms again. "First thing in the morning we'll go down to the station and get him out of there. But tell me, Lois. What *did* happen to you?"
"Lex," Lois spat the word. "I *was* dead, Martha. But he---somehow revived me. Even though it was *him* who killed me!" she shook her head, still baffled by it all.
"He told me that--Clark was gone." Lois said, taking Martha's hand, trying to get her to see her urgency in what she was saying. "I-- I know he's Superman. But what's worse, so does Lex."
"Oh, no," Martha said quietly.
Lois nodded but continued. "I know, I know! It's just awful! But I got rid of the remaining Kryptonite before I escaped," Lois said proudly.
"Good!" said Martha, more worried about her son than before. "We have to stop Lex, Lois. Do you have any idea where he is?"
Lois sighed, thinking about her route out of the sewers. "I know about where he was keeping me. I … I fought him to get out of there. I think I knocked him out with some sort of tranquilizer he had used on me. But… I…oh, God, I…” she suddenly couldn’t speak, the ordeal overwhelming her.
Martha rubbed Lois' back and tried to calm her. "Look, you've had a very hard time of it. Go lie down in Clark's bed. I'll sleep out here. It's three in the morning. We can't do much of anything tonight. And Clark will need you to be strong for him, though seeing you tomorrow will be wonderful for him. And hopefully it will also mean that he can get out of that horrible prison!"
On impulse, Lois reached for Martha and hugged her. "I'm glad you were here. I don't know what I would have done tonight if I still thought Clark was--gone.” Lois wiped her eyes, trying to force a sense of calmness she didn’t feel. " Look, we can share Clark's bed. There's no sense in you sleeping on this sofa."
Martha smiled warmly. "Thanks, Lois. Now, let's get some sleep."
“But first, I need to take a shower,” Lois said, gesturing at her appearance. Suddenly, the two women laughed, as Lois did look a fright. Her pants were messy, her shirt had an odd sheen to it, her feet were bare and slimy with God knows what, and her hair had a mind of its own. They laughed until they cried, so relieved that Lois was safe.
“Go on, sweetie. I’m climbing back into bed,” said Martha with a yawn.
Lois nodded and made her way to Clark’s bathroom, lit only by a nightlight. She couldn’t face the glare of the real light in her state just now, so she simply stared at herself in the half-light, letting more tears come. <<Clark’s alive. Everything is going to be okay,>> she said to herself, wiping her grimy face with a washcloth. She suddenly looked at her reflection a little more carefully, noticing an odd green dust on her clothes picked up by the nightlight. She looked down and almost screamed. There was Kryptonite dust all over her! It must be from when she dropped the rock so many times trying to get away from Lex. She suddenly felt panicked, wondering how much of the Kryptonite dust she had tracked into Clark’s apartment. She ripped of her pants and shirt balling it up and cried for Martha.
“What, what is it, Lois?” said Martha through the door.
“My…my clothes! They are covered in Kryptonite dust! I probably brought some into the house as well! Clark can’t come here!” she cried, near hysterical.
“Calm down, Lois. We have time to get rid of it. I’ll get a bag to put your clothes in and vacuum the living room. Then we can take down your clothes and the vacuum bag down to the trash. Okay? Now take a shower. Everything will be fine.”
Lois shivered in her bra and underwear, trying to calm herself down. How could she bring in the one element into Clark’s apartment that could destroy him? It was all too much, the stress of the ordeal with Lex, and learning that Clark was alive…
Martha knocked on the door, asking for Lois’s clothes. Lois handed them to her through the cracked door. “You better take your shirt, too, since I hugged you… and check the sheets if you were already in bed before I told you! What have I done?!” cried Lois, her voice rising in hysterics.
“It will be all right, Lois honey. Calm yourself down. Get in the shower.”
Lois closed the bathroom door, still unable to stop the tears from streaming down her face. She eventually got herself into the shower, feeling a little bit better. She leaned against the tiled wall, sobbing silently.
“I’m sorry, Clark. So sorry,” she kept repeating. Wondering how many things she was sorry for. She was sorry for taking so long to see him as more than a hack. She was sorry for hurting him when she almost married Lex. She was sorry she hadn't known he was Superman before--well, that was his fault, really. But in her state she put the blame on her shoulders as much as his. And she was sorry that she had been stupid enough to track Kryptonite into his apartment. So many stupid things… that all added up to a big old “I’m sorry.”
Eventually she calmed herself down enough to get out of the shower and face Martha again. Martha had lain out an old t-shirt of Clark’s and sleep shorts. Lois put them on gratefully, feeling enveloped by Clark somehow by simply wearing his clothes. She noticed that Martha had vacuumed and gotten rid of their contaminated clothes. They sat by the door in a plastic bag. Lois couldn’t leave them there. It bothered her too much. She took the trash out, despite it being chilly and the middle of the night. She just didn’t want the evidence of her stupidity staring her in the face. She dumped it in the trash with a slam and came back into the apartment quietly.
She felt incredibly drained. She made her way to Clark’s bedroom, and climbed into bed to fall promptly asleep.
