Epiphany
Folc4evernaday
Part 26
A/N: Okay lots of twists in this one. Enjoy! Hope everyone had a great weekend. Don't forget to comment. BTW...I'm done writing so...yeah. More comments = faster posting
***
The next morning Lucy rushed out of the apartment, gathering her things and being sure not to run into her sister or Super err Clark at the same time. There were too many questions and unknowns she had at the moment and trying to make small talk while her head was still swimming was not high on her priorities at the moment. There were much larger issues to deal with at the moment.
***
Lois frowned, poking her head into her sister’s room, looking around the apartment, “That’s odd.” She looked at the time.
“What’s odd?” Clark asked, giving her a kiss on the shoulder as he hugged her from behind.
“Lucy. She’s not here.” Lois said offhandedly as she turned in his arms.
“Maybe she wanted to get an early start?” Clark suggested, wrapping an arm around her, “Speaking of which we’re going to be late if we don’t get a move on.”
Lois nodded, reaching for her coffee, “Yep, don’t want to keep Bill Henderson wait…” She stopped when she recognized the expression on his face. “What is it? What do you hear?”
“Fire on Fifth and Broad.” He explained giving her an apologetic look. “I’ll try to meet you there.”
“Okay,” She nodded, watching him leave out the door with a goodbye kiss. “Love you.” She whispered. After gathering her things she headed out the door, bumping into the Pest Control crew. “Oh, I’m sorry I’m on my way out…”
“It’ll only take a minute ma’am. Has to be done daily to keep the pests away after the infestation…”
Lois mulled her options over then caved, “It’ll only take a minute?”
***
Above Metropolis Clark flew through the sky, heading toward fifth and broad street where he’d heard the sirens and calls for help earlier.
“Help! Someone help! My poor Muffin!”
He scanned the area and saw emergency personnel were on site ... Along with a very familiar looking man dressed in a bright spandex outfit and mask.
‘No, it couldn’t be….’ He thought to himself.
“Dogs are twenty-nine ninety-five.” His super-hearing picked up on the conversation between the woman and the man from the night before.
Clark grimaced, heading toward the calls for help to intervene.
***
Across town an elderly woman watched her home burning in flames as she argued with a mysterious stranger offering to help. “Oh, please you have to help me. My muffin is …”
“Is muffin a dog or a cat?” the man asked, standing before her in long red spandex with a blue cape and mask.
“A dog.” She cried. “She’s just a wonderful dog. Please help me.”
The man made a note in his notebook, “Dogs are twenty-nine ninety-five.” The woman’s eyes widened in horror, and he continued with his statement, “A small price to pay for being plucked alive from the snapping jaws of certain death.”
***
Clark did his best not to panic as he handed the elderly woman her frightened pup after he shot a long blast of freezing breath on the fire, dousing the area to prevent the fire from causing any more damage. The firemen cheered. The woman thanked him. The man that had been trying to negotiate pricing instead of using his gifts to help crossed his arms over his chest and approached him. His tone was condescending as he spoke, “Well, excuse me, Mr. Boy Scout, there's not enough work for both of us? Do I horn in on your action?”
Clark glanced at the crowd that had begun to form and whispered, “Can we go somewhere and talk?”
The mysterious man shook his head, “If you want to provide your services for free, that is entirely up to you, but I personally have bills to pay.”
“Can we go somewhere and have a private conversation?” Clark asked, noting the crowd that had begun to gather.
“I'm not greedy, my prices are real reasonable, and I'm not an ogre, I'm gonna throw in a little pro bono work.”
Clark sighed, uncertain how to get this man away from the crowd. Thinking money might be the key he offered, “How about if I pay you to come with me and have a talk?”
The man held up a finger, pointing at his cape, “Now you know, that brings up a point I have always wondered about: Where do you carry things like money in that outfit?” He lifted up his cape and pointed to a hand stitched pocket, “I sewed in some pockets underneath here, but it's a lot of trouble gotta fumble around for the zipper, zip it open, zip it closed, and I'm afraid velcro would kind of pucker up the fabric and just absolutely ruin the lines. What do you do?”
Clark suppressed a groan. What did he do? He didn't go around charging people for saving their lives. He didn’t need to carry money in his Superman costume. Biting the inside of his lip and suppressing the urge to grit his teeth he leaned in and whispered menacingly, “If you don't come with me, I will follow you everywhere you go from now till the day one of us dies, and I will save everybody before you do.”
The threat was clear, and he was willing to carry it out if it meant keeping this con artist from taking advantage of innocent people who happened to need help. The man looked at him in shock, “Well, my goodness you don’t have to get nasty about it. All you had to do was ask. How rude.”
***
Henderson closed the door behind Lois, looking through the window of the conference room cautiously, “I thought this was a meeting with you and Kent.” He motioned toward the desk where Mayson was sitting pen ready.
“Something came up. I’ll catch him up later.” Lois explained.
“What’s this about?” Mayson asked, tapping her pen on her notepad. "I don't exactly make a habit of coming in the office on a Saturday."
Lois ignored the comment, diving right into her questions as she took a seat across from Mayson, setting her notepad on the desk, “Have either of you questioned Jimmy on what he saw that day?”
Mayson shook her head, “He was interrogated non-stop for 72 hours by Detectives Jenkins and Harris.”
“We haven’t yet,” Henderson interrupted, “Why?”
“Lucy and I’ve been going through the surveillance footage outside the Planet around the time of the bombing.”
Henderson smirked, “She showed me. I told her to leave that to the police. I don’t need her trying to play hero and getting herself killed. That goes for you too.”
Lois crossed her arms over her chest, “Did she tell you she spotted one of your officers outside the Planet?”
“It’s been noted.” Mayson interrupted. “We’re following up on it, but with his death…”
“Death?” Lois asked in surprise. “What are you talking about?”
“You don’t know?” Henderson asked in surprise. “He was found in his hospital room unresponsive. The preliminary report shows a drug overdose.”
“Drug overdose?” Lois asked, “What kind of drugs?”
“We won’t know till we get the autopsy back.” Mayson cut him off. “Which will be released to the press. There’s been quite a bit of evidence implicating Detective Jenkins in wrongdoing.”
Lois raised an eyebrow looking at Henderson, “Why am I just hearing about this?”
“We just received information this morning implicating him in the prison break of Toni Taylor and the evidence tampering in the Luthor case,” Mayson explained. “You understand we’re only sharing this as a courtesy.”
“Fine.” Lois harumphed. “So what does that mean? Are you going to arrest Lex?”
“Not quite.” Henderson shook his head. “We can prove the case was tampered with. That’s huge. We’ve just got to rebuild the case. The evidence. With Jenkins gone no one knows where any of this is.”
“We’ve got the FBI working with us on trying to rebuild the case, but we’ll take all the help we can get,” Mayson added.
“And Jimmy? What happens to Jimmy?” Lois asked.
“His case will continue to go to trial unless we can find evidence implicating someone else of the crime or irrefutable evidence he didn’t commit this crime,” Mayson explained.
“He didn’t!” Lois snapped irritably. “If you would just….talk to him. You would know that.”
“I’m sorry I’m trying to bring down the organized crime that’s been plaguing this city for years and spreading into Washington.” Mayson snapped sarcastically.
“So Jimmy doesn’t matter.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Hold it! Both of you!” Henderson snapped. “Now look, I get it we’re all stressed. We’re overworked and looking over our shoulders, but we can’t turn on each other.” He looked at Lois, “I’ll talk to Jimmy this afternoon and see if he can give me any information that might help find another suspect.”
“You’re right.” Mayson nodded. “I’m sorry. I just really want to bring him down. I hate dirty cops. They make for a dangerous city and a bad way of life.”
“You’re telling me,” Henderson muttered.
“I want him brought to justice as much as you do, Mayson,” Lois said softly.
Mayson made a face, “Didn’t you used to date him?”
Lois shifted uncomfortably, “That was a long time ago. I didn’t realize then what kind of person he was.”
“He’s a master manipulator.” Mayson agreed.
“Thankfully Lois has seen the light. Her and Kent have been instrumental in helping build the case against Luthor.” Henderson explained. “It was Kent’s idea to start the investigation in the first place.”
“Really?” Mayson asked intrigued. “When was this?”
“About a year ago roughly,” Henderson explained.
Mayson’s eyes shone in appreciation, “I’d love to sit down with him over dinner and a glass of wine and….” Lois narrowed her eyes at her and Henderson cleared his throat, shaking his head at her, “I mean, I would like to know what helped clue him in on Lex Luthor’s misdeeds. So may people have been fooled for so long.” She covered for herself.
“I’m sure you would.” Lois rolled her eyes. She spotted the narrow of Henderson’s right eyebrow, and decided to change the subject, “It’s Steve.”
“What?” He asked.
“Steve. The sports guy. Steve the Sleaze?” She prompted.
Recognition hit him, and he looked at her in disbelief, “Steve Steve?”
Lois laid a photo of Steve and Jenkins outside the Planet down for him and Mayson to see. “Jimmy spotted them outside the Planet around the time the Fire Marshall said the bombs were planted. I don’t know if he did it or if it’s a coincidence, but no one else went in or out those back doors.”
Henderson picked up the photo to examine it closely. “Steve?”
“Steve,” Lois repeated softly.
***
“Ms. Lane, I don’t know what else to say. I can try but the way the judge has been ruling…” Constance shrugged, rummaging through her office. “Do you have any idea what I’m up against?”
“You’re up against a monster that has it in his head to railroad Jimmy for something he didn’t do. Let me talk to him. Let me help him. Give him hope. Let him know he’s not alone.”
Constance looked at her with a weak smile, “Ms. Lane…”
“Lucy, please.” She corrected.
“Lucy, I want those things too, and in a perfect world we’d have those and more, but right now you’re up against evil and corruption and greed.”
“So how do we fight it?” She asked.
“With the truth.”
***
On top of the WayneTech Towers, Clark paced the rooftop with the mysterious man sitting on the edge, kicking his legs freely. So far he hadn’t gotten any answers.“But how could that have happened? I've been struck by lightning before. My powers never been transferred.”
“Well, don't look at me, all I know is one minute I was a ninety-pound weakling and the next minute I was a ninety-pound Hercules, and I like it a whole lot better this way.”
“Well, I can understand that Mr. –“ He stopped short, looking at him apologetically, “What should I call you?”
He pulled out a small dictionary from the pocket he’d been pointing at before and flipped to a page. “Do you know, I haven't quite decided on a good enough name yet. What do you think about Brawny Man? No? How 'bout Magnificent Man?”
Clark sighed, trying to get him back on track. “I'm sure you'll find the perfect name, but right now I want to talk to you about right and wrong.”
“Well, all right, if you think you know so much more about it that I do.” The man scoffed indignantly.
‘One would think,’ Clark thought to himself before diving into the uncomfortable conversation, “You can't charge people for saving their lives.”
“Well, my goodness me, if that's not worth a little something, what is?” The man scoffed. “And excuse me, but I am simply playing a legitimate if somewhat unique trade in an increasingly service-oriented economy.”Clark sighed, shaking his head as the man stood up, continuing his speel, “I would think you'd welcome the help. You may be Superman, but even you can't do it all by yourself.” With that, he flew off.
“Great,” Clark muttered to himself. He made his way toward the Metropolis P.D. to catch up with Lois and update her on the latest news. He flew toward the East side of Metropolis looking for an alley to change in when an alarm from a military gunship rang in his ears, “Mayday! Mayday! Ghostship to Mission Control we have lost all navigational control! Repeat…”
“Not my day,” Clar muttered to himself, detouring toward the gunship in distress.
***
"Is it true?" Lucy asked, cornering Jack Olsen in the lobby of the Metropolitan Hotel.
"What do you think?" He asked grimly, not looking at her.
"I think one of my good friends is about to pay for a crime he didn't commit because his father didn't think it pertinent to prepare his lawyer with the fact that he's a..."
"My career choice has nothing to do with this. The fact that the prosecution is relying on it so heavily..."
"Nothing to do with it? It has everything to do with it. You lied to Constance, to Perry, to Jimmy. You put his entire life and this case at risk for what?"
"Just a little thing called National Security," Jack Olsen pulled her by the arm into a nearby conference room. "Don't you think I wanted to say something? Don't you think I wanted to help? I couldn't."
"So your career is more important than Jimmy's life?" Lucy scoffed. "Great to know. I'll pass along the message."
"Sometimes I have to do things I don't agree with, to ensure the safety of the millions of people I'm entrusted to protect. You wouldn't understand."
"No, I understand completely. You're married to your job. Your kid comes last on the list of priorities." Lucy spat out bitterly. "I know the type."
"That is NOT true." He shot back angrily. "I would do ANYTHING to protect Jimmy. ANYTHING."
"Then do it." She snapped back angrily.
***
“Another one?” Lois asked in disbelief, taking a bite of her pasta as Clark caught her up on everything that had happened that morning with the military gunship that had it’s navigation system tampered with that morning. After her meeting with Henderson they'd met back at his apartment to go over everything.
“Ships. Planes. Trains. Now fighter jets are being affected.” Clark said bitterly. No one seems to know what’s causing it.”
“Same flicker?” Lois asked.
He took a bite of his fry and nodded, “Same story ever time.” He glanced at the chaos she’d made in his apartment with the files she’d been sorting through. “What’s with the, um, organized chaos?” He did his best to suppress a chuckle.
“Did you know Detective Jenkins died of an overdose yesterday?” Lois asked, pointing to the preliminary report from the coroner. “We have to wait for the toxicology report to come back but…”
Clark hung his head, recalling the radio call he’d overheard the day before. “Yeah, I heard. Must have slipped my mind last night with everything else going on.”
Lois gave him an annoyed look but didn’t press, “Henderson said he’s going to try to get a statement from Jimmy. Hopefully, there’s something he can use to find the real arsonist and free Jimmy once and for all.”
“If they can find a real judge sure.” Clark muttered, “Those rulings yesterday were disgraceful. He’s probably bought and paid for by Luthor.”
“Wouldn’t surprise me.” Lois sighed, “Feels like the whole justice system is working against him.”
“Bill said that Deputy DA wasn’t. Maybe we can talk to her and get her to start investigating Jimmy’s case?” Clark suggested.
Lois shook her head, “Mmm, mmm, nope. Not a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“She’s not interested in Jimmy’s case. She’s interested in bringing Lex down.” Lois said.
“Aren’t we all?” Clark asked. “It couldn’t hurt to ask.”
“I already did. Didn’t go very well.” Lois sniffed, taking another bite of her lunch.
“When was this?”
“In my meeting with Henderson.”
Clark made a face, “Bill didn’t mention the DA being there.”
“Surprise guest.” Lois sniffed. “She was very upset it was only me there.”
“Were you able to at least get her to think about looking into Jimmy’s case? I mean his case is connected to Luthor’s corruption, right?”
“I don’t know. I guess, maybe? I did learn they got some evidence implicating Jenkins in Lex’s evidence tampering and in Toni Taylor’s escape.”
“That’s good.” He said. “Maybe we can find where he stashed the evidence and get Luthor charged once and for all.”
“Unfortunately it’s not that easy,” Lois sighed, rolling her eyes, “The FBI is trying to rebuild the case, and Henderson said he’s working closely with Mayson on this which means we’ll be working closely with her.”
“Lois, she can’t be that bad,” Clark smirked, putting a hand on her shoulder.
She leaned back on the couch, turning to face him, “She is that bad. It’s annoying. She’s annoying with her snide remarks and her pushy attitude and…Did you see all that makeup she was wearing? Is she trying to win a case or enter into a beauty pageant?”
Clark rolled his eyes, knowing full well what Lois was hinting at. “I’ve only got eyes for one woman,” He took her hand in his, running his thumb across her knuckles, leaning in to kiss her.
“I know.” She smiled back at him, stroking his cheek before changing the subject, “So, what do you think is causing the navigation systems to go out of whack?”
He shrugged, “Not sure but that wasn’t even the worst of it this morning.”
“What do you mean?” Lois asked, looking at him
“W...ell,” He sighed, reaching for the remote on the coffee table, “I caught a little of it on the news circuit on the way back. I’m sure they’re still running it. See for yourself.” He turned the television on, changing the channel to ‘LNN’ displaying the images of the mysterious man from earlier on the circuit with a question mark superimposed over the amateur footage of him negotiating prices with an older woman.”
“What in the world?” Lois looked at him in shock.
“A new superhero has arrived in Metropolis. You can call him for help, but it’s gonna cost you!” The newscaster said, showing a copy of a receipt on the screen.
“What??” Lois gasped, in shock, leaning toward the television to read it.
“A small price to pay for being plucked alive from the snapping jaws of certain death.” The sound of the man’s voice came over the television.
Lois looked back at Clark who shook his head, “Don’t get me started.” Lois looked at him quizzically, the question she was thinking clear on her face. “I don’t know.” He shrugged, leaning back into the couch, “He said after the lightning struck us he had my super powers.”
“Do you feel any…different?” She asked.
“No,” He shook his head in disbelief. “I’ve been struck by lightning before, and this has never happened.”
Lois glanced at the television, “Well, what did he say when you talked to him? I mean, charging people for saving their life…”
“I know,” He sighed, “but talking to him isn’t exactly easy. He doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with what he’s doing.”
“Who is this mysterious superhero? Where did he come from?” The announcer echoed through the living room.
Lois reached over and clicked the television off, “Clark, you’re going to have to make a statement…or he is.”
“And say what?” He asked.
“Say?” Lois echoed not understanding. “Say what happened, so no one associates this guy with you.”
“No, Lois, this can’t get out.” He shook his head adamantly, “It’d be chaos.”
“You can’t continue to let people think you…approve of this guy’s …dilluted ethics? It’ll ruin Superman’s reputation.”
“And if it gets out that Superman’s powers can be transferred?” He pressed. “What then? Every rescue. Every disaster. Superman would be mobbed by people wanting his superpowers. Thinking they deserved superpowers.”
“So, what’s your plan? Do nothing?” Lois asked, “You can’t let him continue like this.”
“I don’t know that I’ve got much of a choice at the moment.” He sighed, “Listening to me isn’t exactly high on this guy’s priorities. All he cares about his money.”
“Then you need to make him listen.” Lois reasoned. “Maybe start with finding out who he is and ….”
Both the apartment phone and their cell phones started ringing at the same time. Clark sighed, “I guess we should figure out what we’re going to do about this from the Planet-side while we’re at it.”
“That’s probably Perry.” Lois said, reaching for her cell phone, “Hello?
Sure enough, it was Perry on the other end, but not about the latest superhero. “Lois, it’s Perry. I need you and Kent to meet me at the Metropolis Federal Building in half an hour. We’ve got a serious crack in the Luthor case.”
“Okay, we’ll be there.” Lois nodded, watching as Clark stepped into the kitchen to take his call. “Any updates on Jimmy, how he’s doing?”
There was a long pause then Perry stated glumly, “I, uh, haven’t been able to see him since they processed him.”
“Oh.” Lois breathed softly. “Maybe we can talk to Constance and see if she can …”
“She’s already doing what she can Lois. Right now, I want her focused on winning this case not Jimmy’s visitations.” Perry’s voice was strained. “Anyway, meet me at the Federal Building on Fifth, and I’ll explain everything there.”
The resounding click of the phone and monotone beeping of dead air echoed on the other end. Lois sighed, setting the phone back on the receiver just as Clark reentered the room. “Who was that?”
Clark made a face, “Bruce Wayne. Wants to make sure the Planet is working on the exclusive on the mystery superhero so the Publishers can be ‘reassured the Planet is still the best of the best.’” Clark did air quotes over Bruce’s statement, showing his disdain for the message with a scowl on his face.
“He’s right,” Lois said cautiously.
“Lois…” Clark began to argue, but she cut him off.
“Look, I’m not happy about it, but it’s true. After everything that’s happened people need to believe…to trust in the Planet. We can’t sit on the biggest story of the year because it happens to make Superman look bad. We have to investigate and…”
“And what?” He asked. “What are we supposed to write? Superman went to save a guy from killing himself and ended up accidentally giving him super powers? That’s reckless journalism, and you know it.”
“Okay,” She acknowledged, “So we can’t tell the world the whole truth, but we need to print something. We need to find this guy and talk to him. Make sure he doesn’t tell anyone how he got his powers either.”
“I guess I’ll tell him we were working on it then.” He said not so convincingly. He really wasn’t sure what to think about the new owner. In some aspects, he was great with his hands on approach, but in others, he wasn’t so sure.
“That would be a start.” She smiled, “In the meantime, we’ve got to meet Perry in front of the Federal Building then we can start digging into this mysterious man’s past. Find out who he is so we can…” Realization dawned on his face she stopped mid-sentence seeing the expression on his face. “What is it?”
“Waldecker.” He snapped his fingers.
“What?” She asked, not following.
“The grave he was standing on. ‘Waldecker’ was the family name carved on it.” Clark explained.
“Great.” Lois grabbed her notepad to begin jotting down notes. “Do you remember anything else?”
Clark pointed at his left hand, “He had a tattoo on his left hand.” He reached for a notepad and began sketching at super-speed, showing her the design sketched out in pencil.
“Not bad. Although I’d prefer a more simple design that screams ‘brand me for eternity.’” She teased.
“Hah, ha,” He said sarcastically, “I figured we could show it around and see if anyone recognizes it. Help us identify our mystery Waldecker.”
Lois nodded her agreement, reaching for her briefcase. “Hopefully it won’t be too hard. How common a name is ‘Waldecker?’”
***
“A small price to pay for being plucked alive from the snapping jaws of certain death.”
Lex clicked the remote in his hand, freezing the frame as he tapped the remote against his chin, contemplating for a moment. “Well, well, what do we have here?”
“Let me guess; you’re starting the new mysterious superhero’s fan club and needed a picture.” Bruce’s voice echoed in Lex Luthor’s study.
He turned in his chair to face the unwelcome visitor, “Mr. Wayne, to what do I owe this…surprise visit?”
“Oh, just wondering how long you think you can keep the power off at WayneTech.” Bruce smiled a dazzling smile at Lex.
“Depends on how long it takes you to void that contract.”
“I bought those timeslots fair and square,” Bruce argued. “How was I to know it’d interfere with your business?”
Bruce gave his best innocent look, but Lex knew better, “You knew exactly what you were doing. Don’t think you can play me.”
“Can’t I?” Bruce asked, looking around the empty room, “Let’s have a little history lesson, shall we?”
“Let’s not.” Lex snarled. “Get out!”
“Turn the power back on and give Vicki her time slots and I’ll gladly leave.” Bruce shot back.
“Never.”
Bruce took a seat across from Lex, leaning in as he folded his hands on the desk, “Then I guess you’ll just have to get used to me. Tell me something, do all your investors know about your past with Preston Carpenter? You know, the guy serving quadruple life sentences in federal prison for trying to make his own stories at the STAR?”
Lex’s eyes narrowed, “I don’t know what that has to do with me.”
“He and I had an incredible time chatting earlier…” Bruce’s eyes narrowed, “about the good old days. It seems the little stunt at Prep School wasn’t your only issue growing up, Lexy.”
“You know nothing.” Lex shot back dismissively.
“I know enough,” Bruce said in a cold, menacing tone. “Go ahead. Play your games. See what happens. Just remember I have my limits.”
***
Clark sifted through the files in his hand, trying to make sense out of the information he’d learned from the medical examiner a few days ago and the surges that kept happening around Metropolis, sending the technology systems into a tailspin. “So what have we got here?” Lois asked.
“Floyd Ryan. Age sixty. Dock worker. Divorced.” Clark read off.
“Anne Margot. Age twenty-nine. Married.”
“Then we’ve got Mike Jenkins. Age forty-five. Divorced.” Clark added. “No connection.”
“Well, these two have only been in Metropolis these past six months.” Lois pointed out, tapping on the files for Anne and Floyd.”
Clark nodded, looking at the background checks, “Moved here from…Gotham?”
Lois gave Clark a look, “Don’t.”
“I didn’t say anything.” Clark sighed, rolling his chair back to grab a box from the table he had their research on Luthor at.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Lois said.
“I wasn’t thinking anything.” He said, pulling out a stack of files from the box and setting them in front of him.
“Uh-huh,” Lois added, not believing him for a minute. “What are these?”
“Unsolved or mysterious murders in the past year on the stories we were working on.” He explained. “Trying to see if there’s a connection.”
Lois grabbed the first file and read the name, “Antoinette Baines?”
“Alfred Carlton,” Clark added, setting another file down in front of her.
“Carlton? The psychiatrist?” She looked at him perplexed as he flipped through, finding the ME report.
“Ah-ha!” He pointed at the cause of death on the Medical Examiner’s report, “Cause of Death: Unknown: Possible Heart Failure. Toxicology report read inconclusive.”
“Okay, so that makes four victims of heart failure.” Lois reasoned. “You still don’t have a connection.”
“Or maybe I do.” He said, frowning as he spotted one of the lead investors in Carlton’s research. “Funded by LexCorp and…”
Lois frowned when she saw the name, “Wayne Enterprises.”
Clark cast a dirty look toward Perry’s office where Bruce Wayne had just walked in. Lois sighed, “It says here LexCorp was the main investor though.”
“But Wayne Enterprises was investing in Carlton’s research. Research he was using to test on troubled kids; using them as guinea pigs …” Furious he got up and started pacing around the room.
“Clark, surely you don’t think he supported that testing? I mean we’ve both worked with him. He doesn’t seem…”
“I don’t know what I’m saying. I honestly don’t know him well enough, but I do know his company’s name keeps popping up. First with these ridiculous fights with Luthor…HM Weapons and their sixty-four trillion dollar deal….Now, this?”
Lois sighed, “If you feel that strongly about it then maybe you should have Superman go have a little chat with him about it, but so far I haven’t seen anything that screams lunatic or psychopath.”
“Maybe he will,” Clark said, tapping his fingers on the desk.
“Great.” Lois sighed, reaching for another stack of files. “So heart failure? Was there any drugs found in any of their systems?”
Clark read the reports, “Nope. They all came up clean.”
“So whatever is being used is able to fly under the radar of the toxicology reports.”
He nodded, “But maybe not all of them.” He reached for the phone and began to dial.
“Who are you calling?” She asked.
“STAR Labs.”
***
Agent Davenport set the recorder on the table, “Please state your name for the record please.”
“Johnathan Marcus Taylor the Third.” He spoke into the microphone.
“You were the leader of the gang called the Metros were you not?” Davenport asked, jotting down his notes.
“Yes.”
“You were approached by a mysterious figure called the boss to give up your hold on the Southside of Metropolis. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Who approached you?”
“There were several people. There was an old guy kinda creepy looking. St. John. He works for the boss and a lot of the big criminals in the city. Rumour is he was a spy for the British Empire before coming over here. Knows how to break a guy in half in two minutes.” Johnny explained, tapping his hand on the table, “Then there was the woman. Built well if you know what I mean. Curves in all the right places but lethal.”
“Do you know this woman’s name?”
“She called herself Mrs. Cox.” He said with a smirk. “But I ain’t seen no ring on that dame’s hand, and she wasn’t acting like any married woman I’ve ever seen…If you know what I mean.”
***
After getting the okay from Scotty and Bill to request another lab run the tests on the four victims Lois and Clark had made their way back to his apartment, trying to make sense out of everything they’d found so far on their latest superhero.
“A hundred and thirty-seven??” Lois looked at the list in front of her in disbelief. “How are there a hundred and thirty-seven Waldeckers?”
Clark took the list from her, “I guess we’ll have to get a little more creative in tracking this guy down.”
Lois groaned, rubbing her temples as she buried her head in her hands. “This is so not my day.”
“Any word on Henderson about his investigation into Steve?” Clark asked, wrapping his arms around her from behind and placing a kiss on her temple.
Lois shook her head, looking back at him. “No, and I don’t think we’re going to hear anything else today. I guess we’ll have to pick this up on Monday.”
He nodded, rubbing her shoulders as she leaned back against him, “You talked to your mom today?”
Lois nodded, “She’s good. Staying busy. Your mom’s introduced her to some of the town, and you’ll love this…she’s actually trying to help ‘plan’ the corn festival Ellen Lane style.”
“Oh, boy,” He sighed, “Well, at least she’s keeping herself busy…not worrying.”
“Oh, us Lane women are multi-taskers. She’s still worrying and makes sure she lets me and Lucy know all the time.” Lois sighed against him, “I know it’s gotta be tough not being able to do anything…living with practical strangers for the most part.”
“As soon as this is over I’ll bring her back home.” He promised. “I would have preferred if we had all stayed out there, but…someone had other ideas.” He smirked at her.
“We wouldn’t have gotten near as much done staying in Smallville, and you know it.” Lois shot back, leaning her back against him as she whispered, “Besides it hasn’t all been bad.” She ran her hand down his inner thigh as she spoke, causing him to jump. “Having you around all the time definitely has its benefits.”
He leaned in to kiss her, tightening his arms around her. He groaned his approval as she slid onto his lap tightening her thighs around him, deepening the kiss.
He did enjoy the extra time he’d been able to spend with Lois trying to keep a watchful eye on her. They still hadn’t talked about his ‘drunk confession’ last week. He wasn’t sure if she hadn’t brought it up because it frightened her or if she was distracted by everything else going on around them.
He wanted to marry her. He wanted to start his life with her. He just didn’t want to taint it with memories of the destruction Luthor seemed to leave in his wake. When Lex Luthor was safely behind bars, he would ask her. He had a feeling he already knew the answer. She hadn’t pulled away when he’d made his declaration to her. The night they’d first made love when she’d been quoting her confession of love to him from a few months ago her heart had been hammering in her chest. He knew the answer, but he wasn’t leaving anything up to chance when it came to Luthor.
It seemed every time they took a major step in their relationship Lex Luthor made a major play against them. At first, he’d thought it was from him monitoring them, so he’d taken extra precautions in making sure their apartments were bug-free. So far he hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary with the exception to some low radiation he’d seen in her apartment the other day. He’d chopped it up to the chemicals being used by the Pest Control but still felt uneasy about it.
“Clark?” Lois waved her hand in front of his face, and he turned toward the very annoyed face of Lois Lane.
“Hmm?” He asked, pulling her closer.
“Are you obsessing again?” She asked, running her hand down the front of his shirt, tracing the length of his button down shirt.
“Obsessing me?” He chuckled, trying to throw her off the trail of where his thoughts had been a few moments ago. They definitely weren’t ready to talk about his suspicions.
He let out a soft groan as she turned in his arms to face him, kissing his neck as she whispered, “Usually when I kiss you you’re a little bit more focused.”
He smirked back at her, “Oh, I can focus…” He whispered, gathering her in his arms as he carried her toward the bedroom.
“Clark!” She shrieked in laughter, wrapping her legs around his torso. “What about the food?”
“I’ll warm it up.” He promised, nibbling at her earlobe seductively, “after we work up an appetite.”
She moaned her approval when his lips came over hers, leaning her against the bedroom wall. “Yes, please,” She cooed in approval. His hands ran up and down her sides, massaging the sensitive flesh beneath her blouse. She helped him brush the cotton blue shirt off his shoulders, allowing it to fall to the ground as he focused his attention on her jawline, whispering his lips along its path and down her neck while his hands massaged her bare legs from beneath her skirt.
“I love it when you wear these short skirts.” He whispered, trailing further down her neck and to her collarbone as he spoke against her skin.
She giggled against him, fumbling at the buttons to her blouse. “Much easier to work with, huh?”
His hands moved beneath her floral skirt as he groaned his approval. Her soft sighs echoed in his ears as he concentrated on the feeling of her in his arms. She finished unbuttoning her blouse and shrugged it off her shoulders, allowing it to fall to the ground. “So gorgeous.” He groaned his approval, murmuring featherlight kisses against her chest. A hard knock at the front door intruded on his thoughts, and he groaned, glaring at the front door. “You’ve gotta be kidding me,” He muttered, burying his face into the nape of her neck with a sigh.
“Who is it?” She asked, running her hand through his hair, fingering the strands seductively. “Maybe they’ll go away if we ignore them?”
“New Troy Pest Control!” a man hollered from the other side of the door.
He groaned against her neck, debating on answering the door or not. He didn’t have any appointments for maintenance and interrupting what he was doing right now was not high on the list of priorities.
“I’m in no condition to be answering the door.” He finally whispered huskily, closing the gap between them and sealing his mouth over hers in a fiery kiss.
“Oh, thank God!” She whimpered against him, “Yes, Clark,”
There were a few more knocks before their intruders finally left, leaving him and Lois to concentrate on more urgent matters well into the night.
***
Monday morning LexLabs was busy with activity. Many lab workers scurried around with the excitement of having Lex Luthor at the lab. He paid them no mind however focused on his goal at hand.
Dr. Kelly pulled up her notes, motioning for Lex to look at her notes, “Transfer of Superman’s powers. I’ve begun experimenting. You said it was during an electrical storm?”
“Outside the Mausoleum.” Lex said, taking a seat at her lab, “There was a lightning strike on a handgun they were both holding and…” He slammed his hands together, “Then there were two.”
Dr. Kelly grew thoughtful for a moment, “Electricity alone wouldn’t transfer the powers but with a conductor…It’s definitely possible.”
“Is it reproducible?” Lex inquired, stroking her cheek as he spoke.
“Very,” She acknowledged in a throaty whisper.
***
Jimmy glared at the familiar image of his father on the other side of the table, careful to keep his cool with the guard still in the room. He sank into his chair, placing both hands on the table, watching as the guard left the room and turning toward his father to confront him, "What are you doing here?"
"How ya doing, son?" Jack asked, trying to steer the conversation toward Jimmy.
Jimmy rolled his eyes, giving a sarcastic sigh, " I'm fine, I'm fine. Dad... On trial for attempted mass murder and now thanks to your testimony...Terroristic Threat. I'll probably get kicked out of the country, but I'm fine." He narrowed his eyes at him, "What are you doing here? It's been..."
"A couple of years, I know."
"Three." Jimmy corrected.
"Three?" Jack acknowledged skeptically.
"And... you know.... five before that," Jimmy added sadly.
" But who's counting?" Jack shrugged.
Jimmy gave a rueful smile, "Yeah. Who's counting?" Finally tired of the small talk Jimmy shook his head in disgust, "You've got a lot of nerve showing up here."
"I'm here to help."
"Yeah, I noticed. Thanks to you the sketchy motive they had against me has been confirmed. Thanks for that by the way. Couldn't have warned my attorney before taking the stand?"
"I'm trying to do what I can to help, Jimmy," Jack said earnestly. If he were a few years younger and more naive Jimmy might have believed him. He did his best to bite his tongue as Jack continued. "I'm worried about you, son. When Perry called and told me what happened...I wanted to do what I could to help sort this out. I know I can't always be here to protect you, but..."
That was too much. "Always? How 'bout EVER?" Jimmy scoffed.
"You're in some hot water Jimmy. Hot water from your friends messing with very serious characters. When this 'boss' decides someone's trouble, then that person and his family, friends, household pets all get burned."
"Why do you care?" Jimmy scoffed, "It's not like you've made some big show at trying to be a father. Real fun trying to explain why my dad is never around for birthdays or sporting events or awards....ever."
"I never claimed to be father of the year."
"Hardly." Jimmy scoffed. "You walked out."
"I was thrown out."
"You were never home."
"I was trying to protect you. You and your mother."
"You should have told me," Jimmy said angrily. "You should have told mom."
"I had to keep you safe."
"By lying to me? I'm your son!"
"And I'm your father. It's a father's job to protect his children from everything...even himself."
Jimmy finally found the courage to ask the question he'd been wondering since he'd discovered his dad was working with the NIA, "Are you a good guy or a bad guy?"
Jack shrugged, "Depends on who's asking."
"Your son."
Jack sighed, "Right now, I'm about the best guy you could have in this situation, but you have to trust me."
"Like you trusted me?" Jimmy asked.
"Jimmy..." Jack sighed. "Do you have any idea what you're up against?"
"No, but I have a feeling you do."
"I do." Jack sighed, "God help me I do. I need to know everything you were working on that week before the Planet was bombed."
"Why?"
"Because whatever you were working on probably put a target on your back," Jack explained.
***
Crash after crash had kept Clark busy well into the afternoon when he finally found himself having time to think. Sixty-four trillion dollars wasn’t something to be taken lightly by either billionaire. What was Luthor doing with all that uranium? Why was Wayne Tech partnered with HM Weapons? The longer he thought about it the more questions he had. Realizing he wasn’t going to get the answers he needed without having a talk with Bruce Wayne he headed toward Wayne Towers, finding Bruce Wayne in his office with Lucius Fox.
He hovered outside the open window, landing on the balcony and keeping his famous Superman pose. It took a minute, but Bruce Wayne turned and saw him standing there, his expression was empty as he walked toward the balcony, unlocking the latch.
“Superman is it?”
“Mr. Wayne.” He nodded, stepping inside the office.
He turned back toward Lucius Fox, “I’m gonna need a minute, Lucius.”
“I’ll be in my lab.” Lucius nodded, stepping out of the room, closing the door behind him.
“So, obviously we don’t need introductions. What can I help you with, Superman?”
“You can start by putting answering a few questions I have about your dealings with Luthor.”
“I take it your not a fan,” Bruce observed.
“Let’s just say we’ve never seen eye to eye.” Clark still wasn’t sure if he could trust Bruce Wayne and didn’t want to give too much away.
“Fair enough,” Bruce admitted. “What do you want to know?”
Clark watched as Bruce took a seat at his desk, tossing a soft stress ball that had been worn down in the air and catching it. “Luthor was trying to bring almost a thousand kilos in uranium stateside. Your company was listed as the shipping company.”
“I canceled that order as soon as I heard about it,” Bruce interjected.
“But Wayne Enterprises was listed as a partner of HM Weapons.” Clark pointed out. “What is your relationship with them?”
“What does HM Weapons have to do with this?” Bruce asked.
“What do you know about HM Weapons?” Clark asked, dodging the question.
“Answering my question with another question,” Bruce observed. “Nice deflection.”
“I’m not deflecting. I’m careful.” Clark corrected. “You have no idea what I’ve been dealing with …”
“From Luthor?” Bruce pressed, “I can imagine.”
“No, you can’t.” Clark shook his head. “You have no idea what he’s capable of.”
“Do you really think I get into business without doing my research?” Bruce stared back, following Clark’s pace with the turn of his head. “I run a multi-billion dollar corporation. I’ve dealt with bullies like Lex Luthor before.”
Clark thought about asking how he planned to deal with Luthor but thought better of it, steering the conversation back to the reason for his visit in the first place. What is he building? Why is he trying to bring that much uranium over here?”
“How should I know?” Bruce asked tossing his stress ball in the air, staring at it as it moved above him.
“You were partnered with him.” Clark pointed out.
“I am NOT partnered with that sycophant!” Bruce shot up angrily, getting into Clark’s face.
“Then how did Wayne Enterprises end up with a multi-trillion dollar deal with LexCorp?”
“I canceled it.” Bruce spat back emphatically. “I canceled it the minute I realized it was for him.”
“What were you doing working with HM Weapons in the first place?” Clark pressed. “Do you have any idea what they’re doing over there?”
“Do you always question people you first meet like this or am I just special?” Bruce shot back.
“Do you always deflect when you don’t want to answer the question?” Clark pointed out.
“Who says I’m deflecting?”
“Then answer the question.” Clark challenged, narrowing his eyes at him, “What is he doing?”
“I don’t know,” Bruce repeated adamantly. “I never connected the dots between Luthor and HM Weapons till recently when I canceled the deal. Before you go and ask again, Wayne Enterprises had a contract with Honeybraun Industries. That was it. There was no contract with HM Weapons. I’d never heard of them before.”
“They’re an illegal arms company supplying terrorists with weapons of mass destruction all around the globe. Focused mainly in the Middle East.” Clark supplied. Bruce seemed genuine.
Bruce let out a low whistle, “And Luthor’s got his claws in that company?”
“Yeah,” Clark said bitterly.
“When I discovered Luthor had a hold in the deal I canceled it.”
Clark sized him up, taking in his sincerity. “Okay.”
“Okay, what?”
“Okay, I believe you,” Clark said.
Bruce shook his head, “You don’t like me very much, do you?”
“I don’t know you.” Clark corrected. “Given my history, I try to be cautious until I’ve made my mind up about someone.”
“And what does your mind tell you?” Bruce asked.
“You seem genuine. I guess I can understand how you could be fooled by Honeybraun Industries. The entire US government had the wool pulled over their eyes with its shady dealings.”
“If what you’re saying is true…” Bruce shook his head, “I’m not the only shipping company out there. That’s over a trillion dollars at stake. There’s now way Luthor just let that go.”
Clark sighed, “I know. I have a feeling whatever it is it can’t be good for Metropolis.”
“Nothing Luthor does is good for anyone but himself,” Bruce said bitterly.
“You seem to have a history,” Clark observed.
“A long one.” He rolled his eyes, “Another time…you know when you’re not still suspicious of me?” He smirked at him.
***
<“I’m not liking that towel very much right now.”
“No?”
“No.”>
<“Don’t stop.”
“Never.”>
<“I’m not liking that towel very much right now.”
“No?”
“No.”>
<"Tell me."
"Yes.">Lex watched in a bitter rage as Lois Lane gave herself again and again to his enemies...both of them. He took another drink of his scotch, feeling the smooth liquid hit the back of his throat as an eerie calm came over him.
It seemed he hadn't known her at all.
His grip tightened on the remote as he watched the image of Lois Lane in Clark Kent's arms then again in Superman's. It didn't make sense. Everything he'd learned of her background in his thorough investigations had told him she was faithful, loyal. So why would she cheat on Clark Kent if she could have Superman?
Why bother with a relationship with her partner at all if she could have the most powerful man on Earth?
Something didn't jive well with the information he had. He continued to mull it over then clicked the remote to change the screen back to the live feed of Lois Lane's apartment. There had been zero activity all weekend, and his crew had been unsuccessful in infiltrating Clark Kent's apartment to apply the solution. He didn't dare let his mind wander too long on what he and Lois Lane could have been doing to keep them occupied all weekend.
His grip tightened further around the remote as he muttered, "I will not be made a fool."
<“What is all this?”
“Every tattoo parlor in Metropolis. The new superhero has a tattoo on his left hand. We thought tracking down the parlor might help identify him.”>***
“What is all this?” Lucy motioned to the list Lois was sifting through as she took a bite of pizza.
“Every tattoo parlor in Metropolis,” Lois explained, pointing to the list. “The new superhero has a tattoo on his left hand. We thought tracking down the parlor might help identify him.”
“How many have you gone to so far?” Lucy asked, taking the list from her.
“Well I’ve called all the ones on this list.” Lois pointed to the column with the red circle around it. “There’s only sixteen that specialize in custom works. I’ve got some appointments tomorrow to see if any of them recognize this piece.” She pulled up the sketch Clark had drawn.
Lucy admired the sketch. “Nice. Did you draw this?”
“No, Clark did,” Lois said offhand, then backtracked, realizing she may have given too much information with her statement. “I mean, did you know he was such a good sketch artist?” She gave a chuckle, “Who knew, right?”
Lucy gave her an odd look and smiled, “Right.”
***
TBC...
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