House of Luthor - Matchmaker Style
Rated PG-13
*Word* is for emphasis
<"word"> is thoughts
/*word*/ audiotape playback
Previously
At nightfall, Lois exited Lucy's apartment and headed out. She made sure that she wasn't being followed once again. Either she was getting better at it, or else Lex was really scraping the bottom of the barrel when it came to hirelings. Stopping two blocks from LexTower she parked. Like when she broke into the penthouse previously, Lois was in her snooping clothes with the pants legs rolled up under the skirt until she was in position. In any event, she was outside of the underground parking garage entrance watching and waiting for her opportunity when Lex Luthor returned. She saw him drive into the underground parking and decided that she would have to wait. She didn't have to wait long until she saw Lex as he drove out again and, wonder of wonders; he was actually behind the wheel himself. Lois smirked to herself as she thought, <With Nigel and Mrs. Cox both missing I guess he doesn't trust anyone else to drive him.> She was able to see his features in the backwash of the lights and he looked drawn and haggard as if he was under a lot of strain. She smiled and said to herself, "With him just leaving, I should have enough time to do what I need to do."
Once he had entered the traffic flow and sped away she repeated the process she had followed previously. Now wearing a black turtleneck and pants and donning a black ski mask she snuck past the guard shack. This time she didn't draw the guard out by using the sling. After seeing how easy it was to leave the last time it would have been so much wasted effort. Crouching down she was able to slip past undetected.
Using Nigel's key card again, Lois summoned the elevator. After covering the lens she pushed the top button. Even though it was an express elevator, Lois railed at its perceived slowness as it seemed to crawl up the shaft until it finally stopped on the top floor. Exiting the elevator she entered his office.
Thanks to her ‘interview' with Mrs. Cox she knew exactly where she had to go. She moved to a corner of the office and pulled open the door on a cabinet. When she did several monitors and a video tape recorder were revealed.
When she turned on the monitor she gasped. There on the screen was a view of Clark, in his Superman uniform. He was collapsed on the floor in the very center of a cage which glowed with a sickly green color. She muttered, "Hang on, Clark. I'm coming for you."
She knew exactly what she had to do and put the plan into action. She first moved to Lex's apartment and grabbed a black jacket and pants. She rolled these up and stuffed them into her bag. Returning to the monitor she hit the stop button on the video recorder and then headed for the elevator.
This was the same elevator that Asabi had used when he had conducted her to Lex's bunker. She knew that her destination wasn't that far down, but it still gave her the creeps to think of her old apartment being reproduced down there by that madman. This time she didn't take it to the garage or the bunker, but to a sub-basement. When she exited the elevator she was confronted by bare concrete walls. Looking left and right she didn't see any cameras so she exited and moved to the door to the wine cellar.
It was locked so she pulled her lock picks out of her bag and went to work. In her haste she fumbled somewhat. She muttered to herself, "Settle down. The longer this takes is that much longer that Clark has to be in that cage, exposed to the Kryptonite. I hope this ploy works." She settled down and worked carefully. Within thirty seconds she had the door unlocked, had pushed it open cautiously and peered in. There was no one in sight except Superman, apparently unconscious in the cage.
Pushing the door almost closed behind her, Lois made her way down the steps into the wine cellar. As soon as her foot hit the concrete floor, she ran to the side of the cage. Just in case there were audio recordings being made, even though she didn't think so, she said, "Superman. Superman, can you hear me?"
Hearing her voice, he stirred slightly. As his head came up she could see his dust streaked face as his pain-filled eyes centered on her. He croaked out, "Lois," in virtually inaudible tones.
She was all business as she said, "I've come to get you out of this."
As she was reaching for her lock picks he said, "Key."
Surprised, she asked, "Where is it?"
Feebly, he pointed at a wine cask near the steps.
Turning she saw the key and quickly reached for it. She unlocked the cage and joined him, kneeling beside him and pulling him into an embrace. She was weeping with relief and showering him with kisses. After a few seconds of this she said, "Come on. I need to get you out of here."
Standing up and hooking her hands under his armpits she started to drag him out. As she did, she noted the tracks left in the dust which covered the floor and had an idea. While she dragged him, as they were passing through the door of the cage, he started to writhe in pain and it increased the closer they came to the bars. She realized then why he had been in the geometric center of the cage. At the center he was at the furthest point from the Kryptonite bars. She said, encouragingly, "Hold on. I'll have you out of this cage in a second." Once they were through the door of the cage he started to relax and the further away he was the more relaxed he became.
She dragged him to a far corner and propped him up against the wall. Looking around she spotted the implement that she needed to put her new plan into effect. Straddling him, she reached behind and put her hands under his cape. Finding the tab on the hidden zipper she started sliding it down.
Feebly he tried to shoo her away. He said, "We don't have time for that."
And now
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 09
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
After Lois finished sliding the tab down she then started to remove his top. She said, "I know that. We need a distraction and the suit is going to provide it, now help me get it off of you."
As much as he was able, in his debilitated condition, he helped her remove the suit. Once he was down to his briefs, she pulled the clothes she had taken from Lex’s closet and helped him put them on.
Before making another move, she actuated the catch on his belt buckle the way she had seen him do and reaching in removed their rings. She stuffed them into her pocket and then closed the buckle. Taking the suit back into the cage she put it back together, laying it out on the floor in a position making it look like the wearer had been curled in a fetal position as he had been when she first saw him. Then she used a piece of cardboard to scoop up quantities of the dust that had accumulated in the corners of the room and sprinkled it inside the suit allowing some to leak out. Then she used the cardboard like a fan to blow the dust on the floor around, erasing her footprints without touching it or leaving brush marks.
Once she was finished she closed and locked the cage replacing the key where she had found it. She returned to Clark and found that by being at a distance from the Kryptonite he had regained a little of his strength. She helped him to stand and, leaning on her, he staggered up the steps and out of that chamber of horrors.
Closing the door after them, Lois applied her lock picks again, this time to lock the door. Once that was done she helped Clark to the elevator. Taking it to the top floor, she let Clark rest in the elevator while she returned to the cabinet and checking the monitor saw what she had expected to see. The empty suit lying in the middle of the cage looking like the Kryptonite exposure had turned Superman to dust. She restarted the recorder, returned everything to the way she had found it and closed the cabinet. Returning to the elevator they took it down to the garage level.
Positioning Clark in the shadows near the guard box she moved to a far corner and picked out a limo. Backing off a couple of steps, she ran at the car and did a flying side kick which set off the car alarm. Dropping low to the ground, below the level of the cars around her, she scurried back by a route that would not be followed by the guard and returned to Clark. Even over the sound of the car alarm blaring she could hear the sound of the heavyset guard's footsteps as he crossed the garage at a run.
Thankful that the noise of the alarm would cover any sound they might make, as quickly as she could she helped Clark to his feet and they scurried out of the garage and into the surrounding darkness.
The side street on which the parking entrance was located was virtually deserted at that time of night so they boldly started across the street, the sound of the car alarm diminishing with the distance. They had just reached the opposite curb when Lois saw lights approaching. She quickly took Clark into an alley entrance. As she did she thanked her lucky stars that the clothing she had purloined from Luthor's closet was black. Peering out she saw Luthor drive into the entrance. As soon as he had disappeared inside she helped Clark to his feet again and helped him to leave the vicinity. As soon as they were away, Lois removed her ski mask and stuffed it into her bag. Pulling her skirt from the bag, she donned it and rolled up her pants legs.
* * * * * * * *
When Luthor entered the underground parking he saw the empty guard shack and heard the car alarm. Stopping near the limo he saw the guard fruitlessly trying to access it to shut off the alarm. Luthor used a key from his key ring to open the car and reset the alarm. He asked, "How did this happen?"
"I don't know, Mr. Luthor. It just went off by itself."
"You're sure there wasn't anyone in here?"
"I'm sure Mr. Luthor. No one could have gotten past me."
Luthor was thinking to himself, <Unusual, but not unheard of. If it was an intruder the alarm most likely scared them away.> He said, "Keep a sharp eye out. If it happens again, let me know, immediately."
"Yes, sir, Mr. Luthor. Yes, sir."
As he returned to his car to park it, he grumbled to himself, "I need to make sure I take enough with me this time so that I don't have to return before I check with all of my contacts. I just hope that the bribes I am paying out will result in the information that I need."
He was in a hurry to get back out and continue the search for Mrs. Cox so as soon as he had opened his small safe and stuffed his pockets full of cash, he looked at the cabinet that housed the monitor, longingly, but decided to forgo the pleasure of seeing his helpless adversary once again. He needed to get back out there and press the search, personally, because there was no one that he trusted sufficiently to do it.
* * * * * * * *
With his arm across her shoulders, Lois helped Clark to walk, looking like a couple making their way home from a party with the man having drunk perhaps a little too much. Having traveled the two blocks, to the car, Lois helped Clark into the passenger seat and then circled around to the driver's side and starting the car, drove off.
Hoping that the surveillance on Lucy's apartment would be as lax as it had been earlier and that any watcher would not be expecting a couple, Lois helped Clark out of the car and with one of his arms across her shoulder and taking a good portion of his weight she helped him up the steps and to the apartment. Lois knocked on the door and it was opened a few seconds later by Lucy. Seeing Lois supporting Clark she quickly came out and took his other arm. Between the two of them they got him into the apartment and closed the door. Once they were inside the bedroom, they helped Clark to his bed. Once he was lying down, Lucy exited to lock the door and Lois stripped off the jacket and pants he had worn for the escape and then lay down next to him. Even in his weakened condition he was able to wrap an arm around her. She grabbed his arm and pulled it tighter reveling in the feel of his arm around her. Now that everything was behind them, the reaction finally caught up with Lois. She had been running on adrenaline ever since leaving on the rescue and now reaction hit and the floodgates opened. She was weeping openly as she kissed him and asked, "How are you?"
In a weak voice, he replied, "Now that we're together, never better."
Her tears turned to tears of joy and relief that he felt well enough to joke with her. She smiled and said, "Flatterer. Really, how are you? Tomorrow is the wedding. Can you be there?"
Grimly, he replied, "Nothing can keep me away."
"Look, I told Lex that I was spending the night before the wedding with my sister so I don't have to leave until it's time to dress. I want you to sleep and I'm going to be right here with you the entire time. I can just imagine what you have been through." Her tears were flowing again as she said, "I know what a brief exposure has done to you in the past. You were in that cage for more than a day. It's a miracle that you are alive."
"I wouldn't have been for much longer. Lex wasn't going to let me live. He told me that he was going to have me dissected so that my tissues could be analyzed. He wanted to duplicate my powers in himself."
An involuntary shudder went through Lois's body as she gasped and then said, "I knew he was bad, but that is even worse than anything I could have imagined."
After a very short time, Clark fell asleep in Lois's arms. Lois got up briefly and made a call after which she returned to the bed and snuggled up to Clark.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The sun was streaming in through the window when Lois awoke. She felt the bed and it was empty. Glancing around the room, she spotted Clark sitting in a chair with only his underwear on, basking in the sunlight streaming in through a window. She smiled in the knowledge that it looked like her memories were going to come true after all. This had been a close call, but they had made it through.
He must have heard her stir because he said, "Morning. Well, it's the big day."
"How are you? Is the sunlight helping any?"
"Yeah, it's helping, but it will take time."
"How do you feel?"
He smiled and said, "Well, I don't think that a kitten could knock me over, but it would depend on how big the kitten was."
"Are you going to be up for this?"
"One way or another I'll be there. You'll have to leave shortly. Your mom is meeting you at LexTower so that she can help you dress. I'll dress and meet you there. Don't forget; be careful, it isn't too late for Luthor to escape. We have to keep up the charade until the last possible minute."
"As soon as I knew you were missing, I called Jonathan and Martha. Since you weren't available they caught a flight and came in last night. After you fell asleep I called them to let them know that I had rescued you. They will be at the wedding. They may stop by to check on you."
After a hasty breakfast, Lois dressed for the trip downtown and was ready when the limousine that Lex had ordered for her arrived to take her to LexTower.
Once Lois was out of the apartment, Clark visibly wilted. He had been putting on a show for Lois's benefit. He was much weaker than he had let on. Lucy saw when he let down and her concern was heightened.
In a concerned tone, she asked, "Clark, how are you, really?"
He snickered, "Not good, but better than I would have been if Lois hadn't gotten me out of that cage. Luce, can you help me? I need to get dressed and the way that I feel it'll take me all the time I have to dress and get downtown. Oh, and call my folks and tell them not to worry. I'm fine and I'll see them at the wedding."
In a hesitant voice, Lucy suggested, "Maybe you shouldn't go."
His voice was still weak, but his tone brooked no argument, "I have to be there and I shall be. Now, are you going to help me or not?"
Acknowledging the uselessness of argument, Lucy said, "Helping. Do you want to eat something first?"
"No, I don't think so. Sunlight will help me more than anything else right now. My suit is in the closet."
"Lois had a tux delivered. She wants you to wear that."
Shocked, he blurted out, "A tux? What was she thinking?"
Lucy smiled an enigmatic smile as she answered, "She had her reasons."
Acquiescing, he said, "Okay, I guess I wear a tux."
Lucy brightened and said, "I'll get it then I'll make that call. I can't wait to see you in it."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lex was tired, a deep down to the bone tiredness. He had spent hours looking for Mrs. Cox. He had personally checked with all of his underworld contacts, but she seemed to have disappeared as completely as Nigel and in a similar fashion. Why would she have deserted him in this fashion? Was it the fact that he would be marrying Lois today? He had seen jealousy. Could that be it? Didn’t she realize that their relationship would not significantly be changed by that new status? Once he had conquered Lois Lane’s independent spirit everything would have returned to normal. Oh, he still would have been married to Lois, he might have even forced her to have his child, but that wouldn’t have changed anything. Most nights he would have shared his bed with Mrs. Cox while Lois was chained to another bed, awaiting his pleasure. He actually preferred that thought to the other alternative, drugs. He could drug her into submission, but where was the challenge in that, better to break her spirit than make it disappear with chemicals.
Wiping the sleep from his eyes, he climbed from the bed and made his way to the office. The first thing he did was buzz for Mrs. Cox. His hope that she would answer his summons was doomed to failure however.
When she didn't reply he made his way to the cabinet that housed the video surveillance equipment. After opening the doors he turned on the monitor. When the picture appeared on the screen he couldn't credit his eyes with telling him the truth. Where yesterday, Superman, had lain huddled on the floor, now there was an empty uniform.
He looked down and saw that the recorder was still running. He stopped it and hit play then reverse scan and watched the picture. The empty uniform was there until it reached a certain point then there was a flash and Superman was there. He didn't know it, but the flash had been created by stopping and restarting the recorder. He attributed the flash to Superman's dissolution into his component atoms, leaving behind nothing, but dust. <Oh, well, so much for duplicating his powers.>
Then the realization hit him and he chortled, "He is gone! My arch enemy is gone! I've won! The final victory is in fact mine and there is no possibility of my being convicted. No corpus delicti, no crime. I have finally committed the perfect murder. So many have tried in the past and none of them have succeeded! This day shall go down in history as the day the perfect murder was committed!"
Exiting the office he boarded the elevator and took it down to the wine cellar. He noted that the door was in fact still locked; he used the key and opened the door. His eyes were on the almost empty cage as he descended the steps. Pausing at the base of the steps, he picked up the key from where he had left it on the wine cask. Crossing to the cage he unlocked the door and throwing it open stepped in and picked up the Suit. Crushing the material in his closed fist he raised his hands in triumph and shouted, "No more interference with my plans. No more worries about being discovered." His eye caught the bright colored fabric and grasping it in both hands by the shoulders he held it up as if on a hanger and said, "I'll have this placed on a manikin and added to my trophy room. The biggest big game of all." Hahahahahahaha he chortled.
He glanced at his watch and smiled, Lois would be arriving to dress for the wedding. He needed to return to his apartment and dress. He started humming the tune to "I'm Getting Married in the Morning" as he climbed the stairs and didn't stop until he was back in his apartment.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lois and Ellen were in her dressing room and Ellen was fussing over the way the veil was laying while Lois looked at her reflection in the full length mirror in front of her. What she saw was the bride that Lex Luthor wanted. Her gown was of the finest silks and lace. Very demure with a high neck and a semi-transparent insert giving the illusion of a scoop neck with a lacy fringe. The dress had long sleeves that covered the backs of her hands and had little loops that hooked over her thumbs to keep the sleeves from climbing up her arms and becoming wrinkled. The veil was part of a little hat and draped to her waist. The train would trail four feet behind her footsteps. Her hair was done in an up-do leaving her neck bare. The Bridal bouquet was a cascading floral arrangement of orchids, white roses and baby's breath.
Turning to her mom, she asked, "What time is it?"
Her mom checked her watch and said, "You have a few minutes yet. It's quarter of."
In a somewhat worried tone, Lois asked, "Mom, I want you to go check and make sure that Lex is at the altar, please."
"Why?"
Now, in an irritated tone, Lois replied, "Mother, don't argue with me, just do it."
At Lois's tone, Ellen backed down and said, "All right. If you insist."
"I do insist."
Ellen left the dressing room and returned shortly and said, "Yes, he and his servant are at the altar waiting. They're talking to someone in high church garb."
"Good. Wait here. I'll be right back."
After grabbing her lock pick kit, Lois ducked out of the room and took the elevator to the penthouse. She opened the vault, dropped the Kryptonite into the lead box and closed the lid. Then she pulled out the ledgers and piled them on Luthor's desk.
Quickly she took the elevator back down and rejoined Ellen. She speedily replaced her lock pick kit and removed any traces of her activity.
Lois was wondering if everyone had arrived and was properly seated. She hoped so. It was getting near to show time and everything, well, not everything depended on everyone showing up.
Ellen was unaware of what was going to happen and was blithely going on about how good a provider Lex Luthor was going to be for her little girl.
At this point in the preparations, most brides are excited, nervous, apprehensive, expectant, perhaps anxious or some combination of all of those. Lois however was none of those. Lois was determined; perhaps she was a little anxious because she hoped that things would go as planned. There were so many things that could still go wrong, but she couldn't afford to think about those possibilities. She asked, "Mom, what time is it?"
Ellen looked at her watch and said, "You must be more nervous than you let on. It's only ten minutes since you asked that the last time. It is now five till."
The rest of what Ellen Lane said, Lois allowed to just wash over her. She was concentrating on what was going to happen. She moved over to the closet and opening it, checked to see that there were two garment bags hanging in it. Satisfied that they at least were in place she paced back and forth between the mirror and closet, stopping in front of the mirror each time to check herself.
Ellen Lane stood off to one side and watched her daughter pace chalking it off to nerves.
On one of her stops in front of the mirror Lois asked, "Time?"
"Two more minutes. I suppose I should go in and send your father out."
Lois gave Ellen a hug and said, "That sounds like a good idea, Mom. I'll be seeing you shortly."
Ellen wiped a tear from her eye, gave Lois one last hug, pulled her veil forward partially concealing her face and exited.
The festivities were being held in a ballroom and Luthor was already standing at the front with the Archbishop, and Asabi who was acting as his Best Man.
Luthor kept checking his Rolex and becoming more nervous as the minutes ticked away. He started to move away and Asabi stopped him. "Please, Sahib, do not go anywhere."
"Where is she? I need to go make sure she hasn't changed her mind."
"Patience, Sahib. She will be here."
Luthor was about to push around Asabi when the doors at the rear opened and an usher led Ellen Lane down the center aisle and seated her on the bride's side. As she sat, Sam Lane arose and walked to the back and through the doors.
Asabi said, "There, you see, Sahib. She is coming. Perhaps it took longer to dress than anticipated."
"Thank you, Asabi. You are right. I need to control myself."
As he stood waiting, he looked around at the people that had arrived. Many on the bride's side he recognized as former employees of the Daily Planet. There was one individual that he was surprised to see, Inspector William Henderson of the MPD. Actually, he wasn't surprised that he was a friend of Lois's; he was surprised that he thought her wedding important enough to attend.
On the groom's side he spotted a number of people he recognized, among them were the mayor and the governor. Some of his senior staff and a number of people that he didn't recognize. He thought little of it. They were probably minor governmental functionaries that were there representing people that had been invited, but at the last minute couldn't make it.
Lois continued to delay. She kept up her pacing. Finally her father said, "Lois, don't you think it's time to go in?"
She asked, "What time is it, Daddy?"
Sam looked at his watch and said, "Six minutes past."
Lois nodded and said to herself, "I hope everyone made it," stepped to her father, wrapped her free hand around his elbow and said, "Okay, Daddy, let's do this."
When Sam Lane had exited, the organist had started playing a prelude and improvised measure after measure until the page turner alerted her that the rear doors were opening. That was when she switched over to the Wedding March and everyone stood and faced the rear so that they could watch the bride-to-be as she entered.
Sam and Lois made their slow way down the aisle, using the measured pace that was customary to the front of the ballroom. When they reached the front, Sam turned to Lois and after flipping back the veil gave her a kiss on the forehead and said, "My princess." He turned away and took a seat next to Ellen.
Lois and Luthor both turned to face the Archbishop and he began. "Dearly beloved we are gathered here in the sight of God and man to unite this couple in the bonds of holy matrimony. Before I do I must ask if there be anyone present that objects to this marriage." It was a standard part of the ceremony and usually was rather perfunctory.
As the Archbishop paused, momentarily, Luthor was smiling because he could see the finishing line before him. His smile suddenly disappeared when a loud voice behind him shouted, "I object"
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