While I soak up all the lovely comments and suggestions I've been getting on my other story, I thought I'd share this story, which I just now finished editing. As mentioned in the topic, this is only a teaser. The rest of the story will be posted on Thursday (after I've figured out all the little details about Wednsday's poll...).
Author's note: First, I want to thank those kind FoLCs who encouraged me to write this. I'd especially like to thank Bethy, who took the time to talk things over with me, whose persistent enthusiasm left no room for doubt about whether or not the story was going to be written, and whose BR comments led to vast improvements in the story, most notably in Lois's introspection, which had been woefully neglected in the first draft. I'd also like to thank Kaylle for helping me think through a difficult plot hole.
Secondly, the disclaimer: Lois, Clark, and related characters do not belong to me. They were created by Siegel and Shuster, and their copyrights are owned by AOL-Time-Warner, inc. Situations and dialogue were taken from the Lois and Clark episode "And the Answer Is..." written by Tony Blake and Paul Jackson. Also, one line was taken from "The Princess Bride," written by S. Morgenstern, translated and adapted to the screen by William Goldman.
Persephone's Return
by Paul-Gabriel Wiener
Clark sat at his desk in shock. Some instinct tried to set his mind racing, but with no direction, it only succeeded in sending his thoughts bouncing faster between two impossible alternatives. His hand reported that it was still holding something and asked for directions. An automatic process, disconnected from the central chaos, told it to put the receiver back on the phone.
"That was him -- Jace -- wasn't it?"
The voice pulled him out of his shock, or at least enough to be aware of the outside world. A corner of his mind matched a name to the voice. The name worked its way up through his consciousness and was quickly matched with part of his current dilemma. Alarms went off. He had to keep her out of this. "Lois, don't --"
"What did he say to you?"
He held his silence. He had to keep her out of it. If he told her --
"What did he say, Clark?"
She was insistent. It was no use trying to keep things from her when she got like that. Besides, another voice chipped in, she had a right to know. She was his partner. She'd helped him. She was a part of it, even more so now. He wanted to fight that voice, but he didn't have it in him. Dully, he told her. "He wants you dead. In thirty minutes. Or he's going to kill my parents."
A new voice spoke up from the depths. "Jace wants a dead body delivered in thirty minutes or less? I should have asked him what toppings he wanted." He batted the thought aside. This was no time for jokes. Instead, he looked at her. Their eyes met. Silently, he told her how much he cared for her and how much this was tearing him apart. He pled with her to be safe. He begged her to make the problem go away. It didn't make sense, but he didn't know what else to do.
Her eyes told him that she understood, that she shared the pain, and that she was already working furiously. Out loud, she said, "It's Nigel... We got too close."
Too close. His parents were already in his clutches, and if she got any closer... He couldn't let that happen. "I want you to get out of town. Get on a plane, go far..."
"No," she said, almost absently, as if she was focused on something else, as if leaving him wasn't even a consideration. "I have an idea..."
No! He didn't know what she was thinking, but it could only involve putting herself in more danger. "Lois --" But it was too late. She was already on the go, in full "Mad Dog Lane" mode.
"Find Superman and have him meet me at my apartment," she ordered as she charged towards the elevator, seeming to almost be daring it to not be waiting for her.
Obviously, she hadn't even considered that he'd do anything other than what he'd been told to do. She had a Plan, and Clark Kent, Superman, and whoever else would all do their parts. That was just how it worked. "Lois, stop!" he called, knowing it was futile.
Amazingly, she did. "Everything's going to be all right," she said, turning back to him. Then she kissed him.
It was not passionate. It was not an invitation. It was a gift, full of love and tenderness, of support and compassion, of comfort and assurance, and of strength and confidence. When he came back to himself, she was gone.
He wondered what to do. Despite what she'd said, despite the kiss, he still didn't want her involved. It would be better if she was safe. She didn't know how long it would take him to find Superman, and since she apparently needed his help for whatever she had in mind, she would have no option but to wait for him. If he could find some way to deal with Jace before she gave up waiting and tried something else, then she wouldn't have to endanger herself. Jace had told him to bring her body to the old air base outside of town. Driving there from the city could take at least half an hour, which meant that he was probably somewhere on the base right now. Grabbing for his tie, Clark dashed to the stairwell.
A minute later, Superman was hovering over the base. He was high enough that no one on the ground would be able to spot him. Even radar systems would be hard-pressed to distinguish him from a bird. He scanned the grounds intently, looking for any sign of Jace or his parents. Unfortunately, the base had been built in the days of nuclear paranoia. There were fallout shelters everywhere, and other rooms, corridors, and even entire buildings which had been thoroughly shielded with, among other things, lead. He listened carefully, but his ears didn't fare any better than his eyes had. Not surprising, really. The buildings had been insulated to protect their occupants from the constant roar of nearby jet engines and the fallout shelters had been designed to withstand massive shockwaves.
He considered taking a closer look, perhaps even breaking into some of the shelters, but immediately rejected the idea as too dangerous. If he made a single mistake, Jace would kill his parents. It seemed, then, that there was nothing he could do. Coming here had been a waste of time. Time he didn't have, not with... more than half of Jace's thirty minutes gone! He'd been concentrating so closely on his sight and his hearing that he'd lost track of time! By now, Lois would be in her apartment, pacing, waiting for him. She might even be getting ready to leave without him. He was out of options; he'd have to go to her.
He sped to her apartment, a streak of red and blue. He paused at her window, bracing himself for... whatever she was about to throw at him. Who was he kidding? It was no use trying to prepare. He'd just have to open the window, find out what she had planned, and try to deal with things from there. He took a deep breath and went inside.
Nothing could have prepared him for what he found. She was lying on the couch, pale and unmoving.
Half an instant later, he was at her side. Carefully, he reached his hand out. Her flesh was cold. There was no pulse. He scanned her, desperately looking for some trick, but there was nothing. It was Lois, and she was dead.
