Part 14A Part 14B:----------
Clark's mouth went dry as Lois swayed toward him, dressed in a costume that revealed so much and yet promised so much more. “Lois...” he moaned, while trying to remind himself that she wasn't in control of her actions. “You don't know how often I've thought about this...dreamt about this...Well, something like this. But it's not real! You're not—” He broke off as something like a scream echoed through his head. “Michel!”
Lois paused in her dance, staring up at him in confusion as she lowered the gauzy veil from her face. “What?”
The scream died away, leaving only an unshakable sense of dread. Clark sucked in a breath, remembering what Michel had said he'd felt on the night Clark first encountered Kryptonite. “Lois, I think I need to go. Wait here, okay?”
She pouted, but he was out the door before she could protest. He ducked into a nearby alley, and in less than a minute, Superman was flying over the Atlantic.
Clark concentrated, trying to reach out with his mind. 'Michel? Can you hear me?' As before, there was no answer, though Clark's heart wouldn't stop racing. He knew, with a certainty that defied logic, that Michel was somehow in trouble. But, where was he?
Dawn was still creeping over Paris when Clark reached the famous city. It seemed so peaceful, in its own bustling way, that Clark found himself wondering if maybe he had just imagined the sense of trouble reverberating through his head. He closed his eyes. 'Michel, where are you?' he tried again, but still, there was only silence, darkness, and...tile?!
Clark's eyes shot open, his hand automatically coming up to touch his cheek. He could have sworn he'd felt something cold and smooth pressing against his face, as if he were lying on a hard floor. He knew that Michel's apartment had only carpet and linoleum, so if this really was ESP, then Michel wasn't at home. Had he been abducted, or could he just have already gone to his lab? Clark took off for Michel's laboratory, hoping and praying that the man really was that much of a workaholic.
The window to Michel's office was closed, but not locked. Clark tensed when he didn't see Michel right away, but once he was inside, he could clearly hear the other man's heartbeat. He found Michel lying beside his desk, unconscious, his papers and minerals and other paraphernalia scattered on the floor around him like leaves on an autumn day.
There was no sign of Kryptonite anywhere, nor did there seem to be anyone else around. Clark breathed a sigh of relief, then knelt down to shake his friend's shoulder. “Michel! Michel, wake up!”
Michel didn't move. After a while, though, something slow and sleepy prodded at Clark's mind. He must have been drugged, Clark thought.
“Michel!” He shook him again. Michel's eyelids fluttered briefly, which Clark took as an encouraging sign. “Come on, Michel, try to fight it. You're safe now, but you need to wake up.”
Michel groaned. Clark felt that prodding in his mind again, and this time, a word appeared in his thoughts:
Water.
“Are you thirsty?” Clark asked him, trying to help him up into a sitting position.
Water. The word rang through his head again, tinged with a sense of urgency. Michel groaned again, this time managing to keep his eyes open for a full second.
“Okay,” Clark said softly, giving Michel a reassuring pat on the shoulder, “I'll get you some water.” He stood up, turned to leave the room, then froze: water was trickling in from under the door that connected Michel's office to his little laboratory. A rather large pool had formed and was slowly spreading across the tiled floor. “What on earth?!” he exclaimed.
Water.
Potassium.
Clark turned back to Michel. The man was clearly trying to tell him that he needed medical care. Of course, Clark suspected that they shared the same opinions on doctors and hospitals, so it would probably be best if he just took Michel home and tried to give him the things he was asking for. Deciding the mess was less urgent than his friend's health, he scooped Michel into his arms and gently floated out the window...
...Just as a thunderous blast shook the building. Clark turned in mid-air and gaped at the inferno suddenly raging in Michel's office. Michel stirred in his arms. “Did I...ever tell you...” he said, his words dragging and slightly slurred, “that before...we met...my life was...uneventful?”
