WCCCD
Folc4evneraday
Rated: PG-13
Part 2
***
Bill Church Jr. opened the door to the luxurious office of Dianna Stride. She looked up from her desk; arching her eyebrow at him as he strode inside. “Something I can help you with, Bill?” She asked.
Bill Church Jr. smiled, taking a cigar out of his coat pocket as he took a seat across from her. “I’m looking into a possible business venture…”
“Business venture?” Dianna asked.
Bill Church Jr. nodded, “Yes, the subliminal messages being printed in the S.T.A.R. are a start in pushing Superman out of Metropolis, but we need to move him out. I don’t have the patience to wait for the people of Metropolis to turn on him; I need some results now. I have several operations I’m trying to move into Metropolis.”
“Slow down, Billy, that’s how your father ended up with heart problems,” Dianna said. “Being overly ambitious.”
“Well, I have youth on my side,” Bill replied with a smile.
“That you do.” Dianna retorted. “So, what do you want me to do? I can’t exactly kill Superman; he’s invulnerable.”
“Maybe not. There’s some talk about a meteorite that Lex Luthor got his hands on. The word is that it’s lethal to him.”
“And you want me to use it to kill him?” Dianna asked.
“Yes, but I want you to do it with your usual pizzazz that you always use in your work.”
“That can be arranged. Get me the meteorite and we’ll talk.”
***
Nothing. From the moment she’d watched Clark race towards the stairwell to the time she’d arrived home and continued to search through the files; she’d come up with nothing. Her mind was in a haze as she fought to bury herself in her work. She couldn’t focus. The events from the past months were beginning to get to her.
She sat in the middle of the living room, holding the baby blanket Martha had given them for Jordan. The tears began to overtake her as she whimpered against the blue fabric.
<<”This is a very special blanket.” Martha explained, pulling it out from an old suitcase beneath her bed. She held it against her chest with a sentimental smile. “This is the blanket we found Clark bundled in so many years ago. Whether your baby is a boy or a girl he or she will appreciate the heritage of this blanket.”
Lois smiled, gingerly taking the blanket from her mother-in-law. “I don’t know what to say.”
“There’s nothing to say,” Martha reassured her. “I’m simply passing it from one Kent to another.” She placed a hand on Lois’ growing abdomen. Lois smiled up at her and nodded.
“Careful, the baby’s got quite a kick.”
“Just means the baby’s happy. It’s a good sign.” Martha reassured her. >>
Somewhere in the tears, Lois had fallen asleep, clutching the baby blanket to her. The feeling of being lifted from the couch awoke her and she glanced up at Clark who still donned the Superman suit as he carried her upstairs. “Clar…” She mumbled against his chest half-heartedly.
“Shhh, go back to sleep.” He whispered, laying her down on the soft mattress of their bed. She sleepily nodded. Her unconscious registered the sound of him changing and climbing into bed with her. “I’m sorry.” He whispered against her neck. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” She mumbled incoherently. “I miss this.” She murmured, turning her face to look at him.
His arms tightened around her, pulling her closer to him. “I know.”
***
“What do you mean you’ll work from home today? Lana, this is getting ridiculous. You need to come into work or you’ll end up fired.” Lucy slammed the phone down on the receiver irritated.
“Problem?” Jimmy asked, gesturing to the phone.
“I just have a colleague that’s incompetent,” Lucy explained irritated. “What are you doing here?”
“I just wanted to stop by and say hey. I had a very nice time at dinner last night.”
“Well, thanks, Jimmy. You were great company.” Lucy smiled up at him.
“Glad to be of service.”
“So, what’s your real reason for stopping by?”
“Um, I was wondering if you could give me the jest of what’s going on in the courts today. That way if CK asks I already have it.”
“Well, what about Lois? I thought she’d be riding your butt more than Clark.”
“Well, she doesn’t really do that anymore,” Jimmy explained.
“Why not?”
“All she focuses on is Jordan.”
“What?”
“She’s convinced he was kidnapped. No proof. No nothing.”
“Well, a lot of people find that day very hazy…Anything’s possible.” Lucy reasoned.
“I guess.”
***
Lois awoke the next morning to the aroma of coffee filling the room. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Clark sitting next to her with a tray of breakfast and coffee on the side table. She lazily attempted to stretch her arms as she became more and more awake. “Morning,” Clark whispered, leaning in for a kiss.
“Well, this is a surprise.” She murmured. “You’re usually gone by the time I get up. What’s the occasion?”
Clark’s face fell with remorse. “I’m sorry about that. I know it feels like I’ve been ignoring you lately…. I really wasn’t trying to run away yesterday. There was an electrical storm in Traverse City, Michigan. I had to help the plane land…” He explained.
“I know.” She said quietly. “It was on the news.”
“Yeah.” He handed her, her coffee; which she took gratefully.
“Was everyone all right?” She asked cautiously.
“Yeah, everyone was fine. It was just…. It’s hard.”
“People still hounding you about Lex Luthor?” Lois asked.
“Yeah.” Clark nodded. “Lois, we can’t keep doing this.”
“Doing what?” Lois asked defensively.
“This.” He gestured between them. “Do you realize this is the first time we’ve had a normal conversation with each other without fighting in months? We are tearing each other apart…”
Lois swiped at the tears that had fallen from her eyes. “So, what?” She shrugged. “What do you want to do?”
He took the coffee from her hands and placed it on the side table then moved to face her, “We can’t keep arguing about what happened to Jordan.”
“Then quit fighting me on it!” Lois snapped.
“Lois, do you realize you have yet to have worked on any of the investigative assignments since the Planet reopened? You are so consumed with getting to the bottom of what may or may not have happened to Jordan that you’ve come obsessed with it. You can’t keep doing this.”
“What am I supposed to do, Clark? Pretend everything’s okay and ignore the fact that Jordan is out there somewhere?”
“We don’t know that for sure, Lois. Have you found ANY proof? Anything solid to prove Jordan was kidnapped?” He asked.
Lois’ face fell and he had his answer. “I haven’t found anything yet. All I know is the story I was told wasn’t what happened.”
“It was a hectic day, Lois. The doctors and nurses were having a hard time keeping up with everyone.”
“See? That’s just it! What if Jordan was switched with someone else’s baby? What if…?”
“Lois…Please…You’re missing the point.”
“Then what is the point?” Lois snapped.
“The point is it’s been five months….”
Lois’ face fell. “So?”
“Lois, you can’t keep obsessing over this….It's not healthy….It’s not normal…”
“Normal? I’m sorry if I’m not handling having my child cut out of me while I was unconscious well enough for you, but this is how I deal with things….There are too many pieces that don’t add up…I am never going to be able to be ‘normal’ after losing Jordan.” Lois fumed angrily.
“Lois…”
“Don’t take that tone with me.”
“Fine. You know what, Lois? Do what you want,” He fumed.
“Fine, I will!” She was furious. It was always the same. Fight after fight. They’d never fought like this before. They’d also never spoken to one another like this. It was like they forgot how to talk to one another and just be with one another. “I just don’t get how you can let this go so easy!”
“I am not letting anything go. Don't you think I’m angry too? I am pissed! In one moment…” He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to hold in the tears that were threatening to escape.
She stopped for a moment, letting go of her anger as she saw the same pain in his eyes that she’d been carrying around for the past few months. “Clark…”
“Every time you mention his name…it’s like a knife…” he said hoarsely. “I can’t…”
Lois felt the lump in her throat. “Clark, I can’t…” She shook her head. It hurt to talk about Jordan, but she couldn’t do what he was asking her to do. She hated seeing him like this. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him close.
He let out a shuddered breath against her, resting his chin on her head. “I know…” he murmured, brushing his lips against her hair. She let out a shaky breath against his chest. He tilted her chin up with his thumb, brushing his lips against hers.
She wrapped her arms around him, deepening the kiss. He groaned his approval against her lips as she ran her palms up and down his back.
“Oh, God…” she sighed against him as she felt him press himself against her. She could feel the effect their embrace had on him as he pressed against her. Five months. It had been five months since they had made love. Five months since he had… Maybe he just needed some encouragement.
She linked her arms around his neck, pressing herself against him, grinding her body against his. She pulled his hand up from her hip, “Please…” She was still a bit angry with him, but it had been so long and angry sex was a lot better than what they had been doing.
“Oh, Clark…” She murmured in pleasure, arching her back against him. He reached upward to cup her cheek, pulling her towards him, capturing her mouth. “Cl…Oh, Clark, yes…yes!” She murmured, fisting his hair enthusiastically as she felt his body press up against her, deepening their embrace.
She clung desperately to his solid frame as she molded against him. “I love you…” He whispered.
The tears fell at their own accord, “I love you too, Clark.” With that she leaned up to kiss him, cupping his length encouragingly. “Please make love to me, Clark…”
She felt him stiffen up. Irritated, she glared at him, “What?”
She didn’t have to wait long to realize what had happened. The voice of the LNN announcer reached her ecstasy-filled mind. She slowly removed her hand from his length and frowned bitterly. She looked down at the mattress and noticed what had happened. In their frenzy, they had turned the television on; so right when they were about to end their almost five-month dry spell Superman was needed. A raging fire was out of control on the outskirts of Metropolis.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” She muttered.
“I’m sorry, honey. You have no idea how sorry…” he shook his head in disgust as he withdrew from her arms. She crossed her arms over her chest, tucking her knees beneath her elbows as she watched him change into his Superman suit.
She gazed at him in concern when she noticed the effect their embrace had had on him was still very much evident. “Are you going to be okay?” She asked.
“I’m so sorry, honey. I’ll make this up to you. I promise.” He leaned in to kiss her quickly on the cheek before leaving to tend to the fire.
“Promises, promises.” She muttered in disgust.
***
“No…” Clark whispered as he approached the fire that had averted his attention from his wife earlier. It was a small orphanage on the outskirts of Metropolis. The screams of young children stabbed through his consciousness. The entire building was engulfed in flames; the wind was heavy, fanning the flames as the fire department fought to keep the fire contained.
More cries….
He swallowed hard as he began to slowly attempt to contain the fire. He lightly blew his freezing breath over the flames, careful not to fan the flames as he did so. He lowered himself towards the building to fight the fire at a better angle. He landed in the main level of the orphanage. He was in a room that looked like a large nursery. There were cribs all along the walls. Ash residue covered cribs. He scanned the room looking for a sign of the source to any of the cries for help he’d heard upon his arrival. He stopped when he approached a crib in the corner.
The blood.
The body of a small baby covered from head to toe in blood and ashy residue lay motionless inside the crib.
“No…” He shook his head adamantly, gingerly lifting up the small child and taking him into his arms. The baby couldn’t have been more than three months old. He scanned the baby once more. Him. He lay motionless against his chest. Why did life have to be so cruel?
The sound of the fire chief’s voice penetrated his consciousness. “Superman? Superman? Are you all right?”
“No.” He repeated vehemently.
***
“James Olsen, Daily Planet,” Jimmy answered the phone on his desk. The voice on the other end of the phone was that of a very frantic Dr. Bernard Klein.
“I…I need to talk to Clark Kent...”
“Uh, Mr. Kent isn’t in right now…” Jimmy began. He watched as Lois took a seat at Clark’s desk; sifting through the files he had laid there for Clark to go through. Could Mad Dog Lane be peeking through?
“Is Ms. Lane around?”
“Uh, yeah,” Jimmy said. “Let me transfer you.” He placed Dr. Klein on hold. “Lois, you’ve got a call on line two.”
“Thanks, Jimmy.” Lois nodded, picking up the phone. “Lois Lane.”
“Ms. Lane, thank God! Someone’s taken it!”
“Taken what?”
“The Kryptonite!” Dr. Klein hissed into the phone.
“What are you talking about?” Lois asked, confused.
“The Kryptonite we got from Smallville last month.” Dr. Klein said exasperatedly. “Didn’t Clark tell you?”
“No,” Lois muttered bitterly.
“It’s been stolen. I don’t know what to do. I can’t tell the police. Then everyone would know about it… What do I do, Ms. Lane?”
***
Bill Church Jr. stared at the red glowing meteorite before him suspiciously. “It’s red….” He commented suspiciously.
“It was exactly where you told us it would be, Mr. Church. I had the guys at the lab test it. It matches all the statistics Lex Labs had on that Kryptonite found in Smallville.” Gene Newtrich replied coolly.
“But it’s supposed to be green,” Bill argued.
Gene shrugged. “Minor difference.”
“The green kryptonite was supposed to be lethal to Superman. Will this …red kryptonite do the same thing?” Bill Church asked curiously.
“I don’t know.”
“Well, then we need to find that out. Get some men out on the field. Call up Dianna. I’m sure she can come up with the perfect plan of action.”
“Yes. Mr. Church.”
***
Clark stared at the paperwork in front of him. It was a copy of a certificate of death. Every child with the exception of a few lucky ones that had escaped with major burns would be issued one. It seemed so unfair. He read the name on the certificate in front of him. ‘Jordan Lane Kent.’ He kept the certificate in his desk; along with the rest of the paperwork they’d been given by the hospital. Lois had run across the certificate shortly after Jordan’s death and freaked. She’d been adamant that Jordan was not dead.
Could she be right?
Could their child be out there somewhere?
‘Don’t go there.’ He told himself. Giving himself false hope was the last thing he needed right now. He needed to be strong. He couldn’t hold onto the what-if scenarios. Their son had died and neither one of them had been conscious to witness the events that had lead up to him being stillborn. He didn’t blame Lois for clinging to the hope that he was out there somewhere, but he had to face the truth; even if she wasn’t ready to deal with it just yet.
***
He’d lied to her. He’d told Dr. Klein about the Kryptonite. He’d told him where to get it; then allowed people to study him… He’d subjected himself to the Kryptonite and hadn’t even told her. Why? Lois furiously brushed away the stray tears that had begun to flow down her cheeks. They used to tell each other everything. Everything.
She glanced out the window at the night sky. “Where is he?” She muttered angrily, pacing in the living room. Nothing. She’d heard nothing from him all day. She wasn’t sure if she should be angry or worried.
***
“Pleasure to see you again, Mrs. Cox.” Nigel mused as the slender woman stepped into his office. “What can I do for you?”
Mrs. Cox placed a large metal box on his desk. “That was the easiest job I’ve had all year.” She said.
“Well, it helps when you know the security system.”
“It also helps when you designed it.” She mused, lifting up the lid to the box to reveal a large chunk of green glowing meteorite. “Should I make the call?”
“No. Let Mr. Church sweat it out a bit. I’m interested in the effects of this red variation just as much as he is.”
***
Lois awoke the next morning to find the warm weight of her husband’s arm wrapped around her. Recalling the previous night of how she had fallen asleep alone; she jerked out of his arms angrily. The sudden motion awoke him and he looked up at her confused. “Where the hell were you?” She asked angrily.
A solemn expression crossed his face. “I was working on trying to help out with the orphanage fire…”
“All day?” She challenged.
“No…”
“Then what? Were you working on more secret projects with Dr. Klein?”
Clark looked up at her confused, “Secret projects?”
“I know about the Kryptonite.” She hissed angrily as she paced in front of him. “What I don’t know is why you didn’t have the decency to tell me what you were doing!” The look on his face was enough to encourage her to continue, “While Superman was helping with that fire and disappearing for the day S.T.A.R. Labs was broken into! And guess what was stolen?”
Clark had the decency to look ashamed. “All of it?”
Lois bit her lower lip as she tried to ease the anger that was simmering inside her. “Yes! All the Kryptonite that you had Dr. Klein store at S.T.A.R. Labs is gone.” She said vehemently. “How could you do something so stupid and not talk to me first?”
“Dr. Klein said he might be able to create an antidote for the Kryptonite so it wouldn’t be a problem anymore.”
“Might?” She echoed. “You subject yourself to that…that poison for MIGHT???”
“Lois…” He stood up and approached her.
“Don’t.” She warned.
“I had to do something. I couldn’t just leave the Kryptonite in Smallville for anyone to find.” He urged.
“That’s not the point! You didn’t even tell me!” She said angrily. With that, she turned toward the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.
***
“Well, it’s …unique.” Dianna reasoned. “Are you sure it will kill Superman?”
“Not exactly…” Gene said hesitantly. “We need to do a test run.”
“Test run?”
“Yes, find out what we can about Superman and lure him to us. Test this…red variation on him.”
Dianna looked at him coldly. “You have got to be joking.”
***
Lois angrily typed away at her computer, doing her best to ignore her co-workers and Clark. She was still angry at him for shutting her out. Ever since Jordan he’d been pushing her further and further away. The closeness they had once shared was a distant memory. The intimacy they’d shared the previous morning was a rarity if that but was usually interrupted by Superman. He didn’t use to be able to hear the calls for help when they were that involved; it made her wonder just how focused he actually was on her.
“Lois, where’s that piece on the break-in at S.T.A.R. Labs?” Perry asked from behind her.
“I’m just finishing it up,” Lois explained.
“That’s my girl.” Perry leaned over her shoulder to scan what she had so far. “It’s nice to have you back.” He said patting her supportively on the shoulder.
“Yeah,” Lois muttered under her breath. She cast a wayward glance towards the empty desk across from her.
“So, where’s Clark been the past few days?” Perry asked concerned.
“He’s been working with Superman on trying to investigate the source of the arson to that orphanage,” Lois said icily.
“Uh-huh. I take it you don’t agree?” Perry mused.
“Not when I’m not included in the decision making,” Lois muttered angrily. “Now, Perry, no offense, but it’s hard for me to finish this when I’ve got my teacher standing over my shoulder.”
“All right, I’m going. I’m going.” Perry laughed, walking back towards his desk.
***
“Is this what you were looking for?” Gene asked, opening a large velvet box. He revealed a glowing red necklace with matching earrings.
“Yes, it’s perfect.” She said admirably. “Superman won’t know what hit him. Where should we start?” She asked turning towards Gene.
“Oh, no.” Gene shook his head adamantly. “I’m not going there. Mr. Church said to make sure you had what you needed to do the job. The planning is all you.” Gene then took the opportunity to leave.
Dianna shook her head in disgust. “I always am left with the dirty work.”
***
“Hi,” Clark said, handing Lois a fresh cup of coffee. Lois didn’t turn to face him. She took the coffee gratefully and continued working on her article. “What are you working on?”
“Follow up on the S.T.A.R. Labs break in,” Lois said curtly.
“Lois, I am sorry,” Clark said quietly.
She still didn’t turn to face him. “Sorry? Is that all?” She asked, turning to face him.
He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Perry’s bellowing across the newsroom, “Listen up boys and girls, I have an announcement to make!” All motion stopped as everyone turned towards Perry who held a folder in front of him and wore an unreadable expression on his face. “I just received word that Bill Church Jr is holding a banquet at the Metropolis Diamond Hotel to celebrate twenty-five years of Cost Mart being in business and also show respect to Bill Church Sr. that passed away earlier this year. You are all invited; so I expect to see everyone dressed to impress. It’s this Friday.” Murmurs of agreement could be heard throughout the crowd as Perry dismissed everyone to continue with their work.
“Great; just what we need; to attend a banquet honoring a criminal organization being in business for almost thirty years,” Lois muttered sarcastically.
“Careful. You know how Perry gets.” Clark warned.
***
“Can I help you?” Lucy asked, looking up from her monitor. A young man in his early thirties with dark curly hair and a bright smile glanced down at her.
“I’m with the DEA; the name’s Dan Scardino.” He held his hand out to shake hers.
“Lucy Lane.” She smiled, taking his hand to shake. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m trying to figure out who I need to speak with. I’m investigating the events that occurred at the Daily Planet about five months ago.” Lucy’s face fell as he explained his reasons for his visit to the office. “I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
“Fine.” She gave him a pasted on smile. “I’m absolutely fine. Mayson Drake is actually the one in charge of that investigation. You should probably check with her.”
“Great. Where can I find her?” Dan asked.
“Just straight down the hall.” Lucy pointed.
“Well, then, it was nice meeting you, Lucy.”
“Likewise, Mr. Scardino.”
“It’s actually Agent Scardino, but you can call me ‘Dan.’”
“Dan.” She echoed.
***
TBC...
